BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
INTRODUCTION
Island Cruising provides yacht & powerboat cruising rallies around New Zealand, Australia and the islands of the South Pacific These rallies are flexible and designed to allow sailors to cruise the islands aboard their own boat at their own pace.
Island Cruising NZ was formed in 1985 and Down Under Rally was formed in 2014 Both companies have a long history of helping sailors in Australia & New Zealand prepare for and undertake a long coastal or offshore voyage.
In 2023 Island Cruising also purchased The Down Under Rally and we now seamlessly cover the entire South West Pacific.
The Rally sails up to the South Pacific Islands - Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu & New Caledonia from May to November each year. We actively encourage International cruisers to join us to sail back to New Zealand or Australia at the end of the season. We also run a South Island Rally over summer
Prior to departure, we provide guidance to skippers preparing their vessels to go offshore. Our members are actively purchasing products and services to get their boats, their crew and themselves ready for the voyage ahead
We partner with marine businesses to help promote their products and services to our highly engaged audience This creates a fantastic opportunity to market your business directly to new customers who are actively preparing their vessels and provides you with a high return on you marketing investment.
We like to ensure that our partner businesses are reputable brands who provide great value, quality products and exceptional service to our members and rally participants.
We invite you to join us and become part of our cruising community.
The Island Cruising community is made up of cruisers who are actively sailing or preparing their vessels for a long coastal or offshore voyage. You can focus your marketing efforts directly to the people who are most likely to benefit from and engage with your products or services. This targeted approach improves the efficiency of your marketing spend, leading to higher conversion rates and stronger client relationships
2024 Rally Participants: 162 boats
Members
THE COMMUNITY
Our offering goes way beyond a static advertisement in a monthly magazine or a social media post We provide affordable, engaging and diverse marketing solutions which can be tailored to suit your budget and business offering.
Becoming a partner of Island Cruising & Down Under Rally means you become an integral part of our incredible cruising community. Your support enables us to help educate sailors about how your products & services can help them to achieve their sailing dreams and to sail away safely & sustainably.
Our cruisers come from a wide background - young couples & families, working professionals, retirees, people new to sailing, and those who have cruised all the way around the globe. The vessels are a mixture of monohulls, multihulls & even power boats They range from 28' - 100'+, with most being around the 40 - 50' range.
We work hard to promote your business offering, encouraging our participants to connect with you and your business and to tap in to your knowledge and expertise at every step of the way
You will benefit from the exposure we provide in a targeted manner to our engaged audience who are actively shopping for the products and services our partner businesses offer.
Stretch your marketing budget further - we have options to invoice you annually or monthly and all of our partnership packages can be tailored to suit your requirements.
Your Business Island Cruising
The Cruising Community
PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS
OUR WEBSITE
The Partners Directory on our website is a space where you can profile your business along with any special offers you’d like to provide to our members Our members use the directory to decide where to shop for their next boating product.
SOCIAL MEDIA
We have a variety of popular social media channels and also manage a number of South Pacific sailing groups with a combined audience close to 33,000 people. We share partners posts, showcase your products and can tag you in our great photos too
CRUISE NEWS MAGAZINE
Our monthly online magazine enables you to profile your business offering to a wider audience
Cruise News is emailed out to a database of over 13,000 addresses, and is shared widely on our social media channels.
HOST A WEBINAR OR EVENT
Host a training session on your products, profile your range, launch something new.
This can be in-person at your business or online. We also record our webinars for people to watch later or live stream on Facebook Our members love to learn about how your products and services can benefit them.
PROMOTE YOUR BRAND
ONLINE LEARNING
Our members have access to a wealth of resources, videos & templates in the members area of our website. Each week we cover a new topic, and can include content and links about your business offering to the specific training modules.
YOUR LOGO
Your logo will be displayed on the back of all our printed reference books and on a dedicated page inside our Rally Guide books.
We work hard to encourage our members to engage with you and your business and build your brand awareness
RALLY PACKS
We invite you to add your product samples, branded goodies or advertising material in our rally packs.
Rally packs are sent out six weeks prior to the rally departures and are packed full of useful items, information and equipment for the adventures ahead
MEMBER CARD & APP
Our member app has a business directory where your company will be detailed along with your contact details, location, offering, discounts and a direct link to contact you for more information.
Members can also access their membership card via the app or wallet app to show you their card and to access any discounts you might like to offer.
PROMOTE YOUR PRODUCTS & SERVICES
PRODUCT PLACEMENT
Our rally flagship Bella Vita - a Cavalier 45, is the perfect place to showcase your brand & products, giving us first hand knowledge of how an item works, and then enabling us to recommend & demonstrate its use directly to our rally participants, members and followers in our magazine and social media pages.
TESTING & REVIEWS
We can help test or trial your marine related products or services and review them in our monthly Cruise News Magazine.
We can write articles, add links back to your website, sharing photographs of the product in use and tagging you in social media posts.
TRAINING & EDUCATION
Our rally participants are hungry for information, and advice, they are constantly researching & purchasing new equipment to make their cruising experience safer and more enjoyable You get direct access to our community to promote and educate your potential customers about how your products & services can help.
You will be given a complimentary membership of Island Cruising so you can see what goes on behind the scenes
Our weekly members newsletter is a great place to share special offers, or engage in our upcoming events
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
The Islands of the South Pacific are spectacularly beautiful but fragile, and visiting sailors play a vital role in preserving the natural beauty of the islands and reinforcing the long history of mutual respect between the islanders and world cruisers. We encourage our members to protect and preserve the ocean, islands and culture of the South Pacific.
We love to do good things for the communities we visit Projects include:
Days for Girls - transportation of reusable sanitary kits for teenage girls to Fiji
Rotary Club - transportation of clothing to tsunami victims in Tonga
Vava’u Environmental Protection Agency - Beach clean
Lions Club - distribution of reading glasses to communities in need
Sea Mercy Fiji - Cyclone relief support
B’yond Disaster Relief - transportation of donated cyclone relief resources
Va’vau Volunteer Maritime Response Assn - transportation of donated life jackets
Susui Village, Fiji - fundraising for new outboard motor for village boat
Citizens of the Sea - Citizen Science environmental projects
We’ve been recognised for demonstrating excellence in the cruising community. Recent accolades come from:
The Ocean Cruising Club Award for advocating for cruisers stuck during COVID
Yachting New Zealand Excellence Award for Cruising 2023
Lux Life Nautical Tourism Awards - Best Yacht Rally 2023
Corporate LiveWire Business Innovation Award - Bespoke Education Platform 2024
MARKETING INVESTMENT
We have a partnership package to suit every marketing budget The options below are for a one year period and renew annually in February each year - and pro-rated for part-year timeframes. We can tailor any package to suit your requirements and your marketing budget. We will also consider Value In Kind and Commission based partnership arrangements if that better suits your model. Please get in touch to discuss.
GOLD PACKAGE
1 x free membership of Island Cruising.
12 x full page advertisements & editorial content in our Cruise News magazine.
Your business profile on the partner directory page on our website and app.
The opportunity to do a webinar to our members and streamed on our Facebook page, & content in our online training
Your logo on all our printed material and rally guide books
Unlimited Facebook post shares on our Facebook page
NZD$3000 + GST (if applicable) per annum
SILVER PACKAGE
1 x free membership of Island Cruising.
12 x half page advertisements & editorial content in our Cruise News magazine.
Your business profile on the partner directory on our website & app.
Your name & logo on all our printed material
Unlimited Facebook post shares on our Facebook page
NZD$2000 + GST (if applicable) per annum
BRONZE PACKAGE
NZD$1000
1 x free membership of Island Cruising.
12 x 1/4 page advertisements in our Cruise News magazine
Your business profile on the partner directory page on our website & app
NZD$1000 + GST (if applicable) per annum
TAILOR YOUR OWN
Our packages are flexible and can be tailored to suit your business requirements and marketing budget.
We love to collaborate and support other marine businesses. Contact us for details.
GEMMA DOOLEY
With a strong background in events planning, Gemma combines her organisational skills with her love for sailing, bringing a fresh perspective to the Island Cruising team
She’s excited to contribute her passion and knowledge, helping fellow sailors create unforgettable experiences on the water.
VIKI MOORE
Viki is a life long sailor, a qualified RYA Offshore Yachtmaster, former Director of Yachting New Zealand, founder of Women Who Sail New Zealand, Regional Rear Commodore - South Pacific for the Ocean Cruising Club, former President of the Little Ship Club of Canterbury, and former On Water Operations Manager for SailGP. She has a wealth of sailing experience under her belt. Please get in touch for a chat about how we can work together
