MT Influence #25

Introduction: Driving Growth, Connections, and Industry Impact

November was another busy month for the McKenna Townsend team – developing strategic communications plans, attending events, and delivering meaningful industry impact.

For our leisure marine team, a major focus was Metstrade, the most influential global B2B event in the leisure marine sector. With multiple press events planned and managed for our clients, the team was on the ground ensuring everything ran seamlessly.

Another highlight of the month was attending the The BFA Annual Conference as proud Advisor Members. It was great to be in a room full of franchisors, franchisees and industry partners, who all shared a common goal; to celebrate the power of franchising.

Looking ahead to 2026, we’ve been hard at work planning marketing and advertising programmes for our clients, as well as preparing for the first major leisure marine event of the new year: boot Düsseldorf in January.

As the year draws to a close, we also want to take the opportunity to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

Metstrade delivered

Once again, we attended Metstrade 2025 which took over the entire RAI Amsterdam complex for the first time due to the show’s impressive growth, with over 20,000 visitors enjoying expanded halls, enhanced zones and close to 1,700 exhibitors to explore.

Leisure marine professionals from all over the world gained international market insights, collaborated with new partners, built meaningful connections and learnt about the latest trends and innovations. Our show highlights included:

• Supporting our clients with new launches, media events, interviews, and product demonstrations
• DAME Design Awards – The 34th edition showcased the ‘best of the best’ new products in the leisure marine industry
• The Boat Builder Awards, celebrated at the heart of Metstrade this year, with Johan and Britt-Marie Carpelan, co-founders of Targa Boats, honoured with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award
• Women in Marine networking breakfast, saw Michelle Goldsmith, Vice President & General Manager, Soundings Trade Only lead the discussion, which included the importance of supporting causes beyond our own industry, why leadership in times of crisis defines both culture and long-term resilience, and the ongoing debate of AI vs. people, and how the future will rely on blending both.

We were also delighted to co-sponsor the VIP lounge alongside IBI, which provided the perfect backdrop to many of our meetings. The refreshed and sophisticated decor provided the perfect atmosphere to network and present, with excellent catering to boot.

Celebrating the franchise industry

We were delighted to attend the BFA Annual Conference and BFA HSBC British Franchise Awards in Telford in November, as proud Advisor Members.

This standout event featured an inspiring agenda of keynote speakers, interactive breakout sessions, and plenty of networking with industry leaders. A particular highlight was Piers Linney’s keynote on harnessing the power of AI to drive innovation, efficiency, and growth.

The breakout sessions we attended on ‘Recruiting for Growth’ and ‘Brand Power’ also offered plenty of food for thought. It was great to hear so many franchise success stories, gaining fresh insights, and connecting with both new and familiar faces.

The day concluded with the prestigious BFA HSBC British Franchise Awards, celebrating the industry’s achievements – congratulations to all the winners!

The Conference and Awards showcased the incredible growth of the franchise industry. As proud Advisor Members of the BFA, we’re honoured to be part of such a vibrant and thriving community.

Planning for 2026

With 2026 fast approaching, we have been busy planning comprehensive marketing and media buying programmes for clients.

McKenna Townsend has managed AkzoNobel’s North American media buying programme for its Industrial Coatings Wood and Coil and Extrusion segments for many years. Using our wealth of experience, knowledge of the sector and great contacts, we’ve developed an annual advertising schedule that maximises budget and generate key results.

McKenna Townsend has also delivered a 2026 social media strategy for one of our marine clients to build on the success of this year’s performance. The comprehensive strategy covers new ideas and methods to be implemented, drawing on learnings and trends seen in the last 12 months to provide an actionable and collaborative social media programme.

Paid and Organic – Social Strategy Synergy

In today’s crowded social media landscape, organic and paid social aren’t alternatives; they’re partners in a holistic strategy.

Your organic content lays the foundation for your strategy. It helps to builds trust, brand authenticity, community, and a sense of relationship with your audience that resonates on a human level.

Meanwhile, paid social provides the amplification, precision and speed you need to scale, to reach new highly-targeted audiences. Paid social is where you can deliver measurable outcomes and turn latent interest into tangible conversions.

By taking learnings from both, you can create a feedback loop that improves creativity, sharpens targeting and strengthens your social media presence. Together, paid and organic form a complete, future-proof social strategy, and it’s their synergy that delivers real sustainable results.

We’re heading to boot Düsseldorf

As the industry prepares for another exciting edition of boot Düsseldorf this January, our team will be on the ground throughout the show supporting clients. From press events and media briefings to journalist and influencer 1-to-1s, paid media placements, and social content strategy, we help brands maximise visibility before, during, and after the show.

If you’re attending, we’d love to connect. Whether you’re focused on driving meaningful coverage, amplifying your presence through targeted media buying, or building an integrated PR, paid media, and social strategy for 2026, boot Düsseldorf is an ideal time to sit down together.

During the show, we’ll be supporting clients with press events, on-site press office management, and journalist and influencer meetings. It’s also a great opportunity to talk through media buying and campaign planning for 2026 across print, digital, and paid social.

Alongside this, we’ve been working extensively in the social media space, developing social strategies and content for brands, and will be on hand at boot Düsseldorf to support live show amplification and real-time content.

We’re already working with a number of brands on their 2026 marketing and communications roadmaps, and boot Düsseldorf provides the perfect opportunity to plan early, align budgets, and secure time in our calendar.

If you’d like to arrange a meeting during the show, simply reply to this newsletter or message us on LinkedIn as we’d be delighted to meet.

We look forward to seeing you in Düsseldorf and helping you make the most of one of the most important events in the marine calendar.