Yanmar builds its brand via shows, strategic partnerships, online ads
by Jeni Bone on 5 Aug 2010
The natives helping out to remove the engines, submerged for 2 days. Yanmar Marine
http://www.yanmar.com.au
The market leader in the diesel engine sector, with a presence in the Australia/South-Pacific region with its engines from nine to 900hp, Yanmar was a prominent exhibitor at the recent Sydney International Boat Show.
Taking a substantial 75msq, it was the biggest diesel engine display at the show, well positioned in the middle of Hall 3, near the stage in a high traffic area.
According to Jeff Fraser, marketing coordinator at distributor, Power Equipment, the event is all about 'branding and building relationships with customers – new and existing'.
'It’s not a retail show for us, it’s about building our relationships with direct customers as well as business to business customers. We gave the option to our NSW dealers to buy in on our stand and we had a big turn out, with about eight or nine dealers on the stand over the five days.'
From his observations, the mood at Sydney boat show was 'very positive, upbeat and anticipating a better 12 months ahead'.
'There are signs consumer have their confidence back. US boat sales are up, ever so slightly, and once the election is held and behind us, people will hopefully be back in the market and making big purchases.'
Yanmar supplies its diesel engines to some of the country’s leading builders and brands, including Seawind, Stebercraft, Buizen and Lightwave Catamarans.
Headquartered in Osaka Japan, the company produces a huge range of engines across various industries and applications, of which marine – recreational and commercial – is a large part.
'In Australia, we only import a small section of the Yanmar marine range – they make a lot larger engines in their commercial range,' explains Fraser.
Consistent with Japanese corporations, Yanmar is committed to strict environmental policies, recognised as conforming to the highest global parameters. Production at the Amagasaki plant is monitored by a strict set of Lloyds approved standards that maintain the quality of a range of engines up to 5000hp. At Nagahama, production is carried out under control of the famous 'Kamban' system. This modern showpiece production system times deliveries to achieve a production rate of one product every 24 seconds, the highest rate in the diesel industry worldwide.
The Biwa Factory in Japan is a 'tour de force' of technical achievement, but was also planned from the outset with ecology in mind. The aim there is 'to build a global-use, environmentally friendly range of engines in a plant that mirrors that philosophy'. A substantial part of the company’s revenue is spent on R&D, with the goal of being 'a good and responsible participant in our global society'.
Recently, Yanmar has taken advantage of two internationally newsworthy opportunities to position the brand as market leader, durable and reliable.
As Jeff recounts: 'The first was the alliance with Jessica Watson on her circumnavigation, which Power Equipment sponsored, giving Yanmar global exposure during her voyage and of course, as she powered up and headed in through Sydney Harbour with live coverage fed around the world.'
With a full fuel tank of 200 litres of fuel, Jessica regularly relied on the Yanmar diesel to start up and charge her on board power systems. Her yacht, Ella’s Pink Lady had a high power demand with a host of navigation and communication equipment being used constantly over the seven months.
Then there was the colourful, but entirely true story of the castaway family of four, the Barries, marooned in Mogmog in Micronesia after a typhoon wrecked their boat.
With the help of the locals, Andrew Barrie retrieved his two Yanmar engines out of the hull and up on to the coral beach. The Saildrive legs and props had escaped the battering unscathed. Then the Yanmar engines were examined. To his amazement, Andrew found the port engine had no water in the block at all, despite being fully submerged for two days.
Jeff says that the next step was receiving an email from the Barries and then a call via satellite phone. 'They explained the situation and we soon got an inventory of parts that they required. The parts were quickly organised and shipped off to Mogmog, which is by no means an easy feat. They had to be flown in with the mail to a tiny atoll near the island of Yap.'
The Barrie’s plight, while rare, is not unheard of, says Jeff. 'Power Equipment, together with the extensive support network that Yanmar is renowned for, has excellent systems in place to support Yanmar customers the world over, so we were able to assist professionally and promptly.'
The starboard engine which had a little water inside was the first to be stripped down and repaired.This included starters and alternators. There was obviously a little corrosion, but once cleaned up it looked and worked as good as new.
After changing the oil and with a full day spent cleaning and rebuilding, the acid test came when it was time to hit the start button. Surrounded by locals, the Yanmar immediately fired and ran.
The port engine was quicker to get back running, just a half a day for this one. Again the villagers congregated around the engine when it was time to start. She coughed and spluttered a bit, but on the second try the Yanmar 3YM30 burst into life and also ran for two hours without missing a beat.
'We also provided engineering advice to get them back up and running. The best endorsement of all was when Jennie Barrie said to her husband ‘this was where we found out that Yanmar was the right choice’. You can’t beat that for word of mouth recommendation.'
Beyond word of mouth and media coverage, trade media advertising and boat shows are important marketing investments. Next on the calendar is the Mandurah boat show in WA, says Jeff, 'then next year, perhaps the Melbourne Docklands boat show, then Sanctuary Cove, then Sydney again'.
Yanmar also use online might of MarineBusiness-World.com, Sail-world.com and Powerboat-World.com, 'as well as sponsorship of game fishing tournaments nationally, sponsorship of the Wooden Boat Festival, next year in Tasmania, plus ad hoc cooperative advertising with dealers at a consumer level and supporting their local events with advertising, promotional items and point of sale – anything we can to help promote their business and Yanmar'.
Power Equipment has branches throughout Australia: Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and now far North Queensland. More at www.yanmar.com.au
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