Discover Boating Health Score Index: July 2026 Performance and Media Test Findings

Discover Boating continues to test and refine how it reaches and engages prospective boaters-using performance data to understand what is working and where improvements can be made. Central to this work is the Discover Boating Health Score Index (HSI), which tracks key indicators across the early stages of the consumer journey and provides a consistent way to measure progress in growing awareness of recreational boating and attracting future participants to the lifestyle over time.

July's results provide the latest insight into Discover Boating's performance and ongoing optimization efforts. The HSI registered at 83% in July, up eight points from June and two points year-over-year. The score remains approximately 17 points below the July 2024 baseline (fixed at 100%).

Key indicators show that:

• Boating continues to maintain strong visibility, ensuring the category remains top of mind with consumers.
• Participation remains healthy, with consumers continuing to get out on the water and engage in boating-related activities.
• Discover Boating's July Test & Learn campaign delivered positive results, demonstrating that the refined marketing approach is attracting more consumer attention.

Taken together, these indicators demonstrate healthy consumer awareness and interest, providing a strong foundation for future industry growth.

HSI Measurement Note: As 2026 marks the first year of the new HSI framework, portions of the 2024 & 2025 baselines were estimated, and year-over-year comparisons should be viewed as directional. Beginning in 2027, both years will reflect the same methodology, providing more precise comparisons. For 2026, Discover Boating's focus remains on performance trends, momentum, and the insights informing the go-forward strategy.

New Test & Learn Findings

The second phase of Discover Boating's Spring/Summer Test & Learn work concluded in July and explored a critical question: At what level of media investment do we begin to see diminishing returns?

Testing during peak boating season allowed Discover Boating to evaluate the potential to capture prospective boaters' interest when category demand is at its strongest. Results demonstrated that both the 2x and 4x budget levels provided meaningful opportunity for media platforms to identify and drive additional prospective consumers to Discover Boating.

During Wave 2, Discover Boating also optimized creative and adjusted media channels to focus more on the quality of engagement rather than traffic volume alone. For channels such as Display and Paid Search, this resulted in fewer website visitors but more engaged audiences showing stronger signals of interest, including clicking through to member websites.

HSI Dashboard & Resources

The full HSI Dashboard, FAQs, and two installments of the introductory HSI webinar series can be found HERE. Please reach out to NMMA's Maggie Maskery at [email protected] for more information.