CASE STUDY
Yamaha Outboards
CHALLENGE
Helm Master® EX was Yamaha Outboards’ most feature-rich boat control system yet. How did we engage visitors and convey the advantages of the new Helm Master EX without overwhelming our audience?
SOLUTION
Develop an immersive web experience that follows a sequence of consumer questions and answers them in digestible chapters, each one with its own interactive style. The result was an engaging visual journey that conveyed complex product functionality, features and benefits.
As visitors scrolled down the page, the information became increasingly advanced as the experience progressed
Each section answered an implied consumer question such as: What can it do for me? Can I see it in action? How do the components work together?
To keep engagement high, each section provided a new interaction style: reading, toggling, animation, video and hot spots
RO!
Helm Master EX sales volume exceeded peak monthly Helm Master sales volume less than a year after its introduction. Not only that, but on-page engagement metrics were astronomical, earning our work a 2020 Neptune Award from the Marine Marketers of America.
0
Times
The Sales Velocity
0
Minutes
Avg. Time On Page
0
Times
The Avg. Time on Page in 2020
APPROACH
UNDERSTANDING THE SIMPLE BENEFIT OF A COMPLEX PRODUCT
To fully understand the features and benefits of Helm Master EX, we met with stakeholders and engineers, listened to pro angler insights, drove boats and analyzed the competition. This gave us significant background to retell the story in a strategic way from print to web to dealer POS.
DRIVE INTEREST & TRAFFIC BY STARTING SIMPLE
To drive traffic to our detailed Helm Master EX web page, print ads took a different approach. They led with the very simple end benefit of Helm Master EX—more enjoyable boating. Features of note were spotlighted in headlines—in VERY down-to-earth terms—leading readers to want to learn more.
TELLING A COMPLEX STORY IN A STRATEGIC WAY
Data showed user interaction throughout the Helm Master EX page—most notably the intro video, automation animations and system integration hot spots. Our user survey got 700 responses in 6 months, with 88% finding what they were seeking and 96% noting everything worked.
HELPING THE DEALERS TELL THE STORY
Helm Master EX point of sale pieces echoed both the print ads as well as the web page. Working together, they spotlighted individual features and benefits as well as provided an overview of the system. It was just enough info to help the dealer continue the conversation.
Award-Winning Marketing
The campaign was awarded a 2020 Neptune Award in Marketing Innovation, presented by the Marine Marketers of America. One of the judges praised the engaging and interactive experience on the webpage, commenting that “it took a series of complicated concepts and communicated them quickly, elegantly and aesthetically.”
The judge continued: “Thorough, smart copy, animation and video create a home run for this launch. I'm not surprised the average user is spending more than three and a half minutes soaking up the benefits and features of the Helm Master EX.”
