The 2025 Centenarians Rally
By Martin van der Wal
OENONE
Changing demographics, spending patterns and mindsets are posing a real threat to the survival of maritime heritage everywhere. This was the impetus for my proposal to celebrate the 100th birthday of Hoana with a Centenarians Rally. Hoana was to be the hook that the event swung on, but the real intent was a general profile raising of the entire milieu.
The event has come and gone. Did it succeed? It had two parts, first was two weeks alongside the Heritage Wharf at the Australian National Maritime Museum, second was the day of the Rally itself. The event had another three organisations involved, The Sydney Amateur Sailing Club who’s committee did all the heavy lifting, gathering the participants and hosting the Rally. The Wooden Boat Association: members erected a marquee at the Museum with hands on traditional shipwrighting exhibits. The Sydney Heritage Fleet: supplied the James Craig as the mothership on Rally day.
Each of these organisations will have there own perspective. Feedback from the James Craig has been positive, the ship had 140 paying passengers onboard and a good time was had by all. The WBA would do it again. The SASC is going to host the event on a bi-annual basis going forward. The ANMM has not supplied any feedback as yet. Did our messaging reach an audience? The message was simple. “Heritage is what we have inherited from the past, to value and enjoy in the present, and to preserve and pass on to future generations.”
Nine News claims a nightly average audience of 250,000 viewers. The segment aired was almost two minutes long. Premium Prime Time advertising rates for a 30 second slot on Sydney Television can be up to 20k. How do we define success? Mimesis is the current flavour of the month amongst Marketing guru’s. It has a number of arms and legs.
Mimetic Desire - showing people enjoying a product implies that viewers will also find it enjoyable. I think we passed that one.
Social Proof - showing or implying that many people like a product can induce a herd mentality - Mmmm maybe a longbow. Influencer Marketing - When an influencer (in this case the newsreader) who is trusted by an audience endorses a product, it can drive that audience to desire it as well - I think we can lay claim to that.
Aspiration and Identity - A brands success can be linked to the identity it represents - sophistication, success, or freedom - I think the News clip gave a taste of these factors without appearing too elitist.
Emotional Storytelling - The meta-communication of the clip, characters and setting, shapes how people connect with it - Hoana’s birthday provided a story, the Rally participants, the Sydney Harbour sailing, the representation of her young crew and the snippets of history provided by the interview against the backdrop of a historic clubhouse satisfied the criteria of emotional storytelling - we can claim success on that one.
So, did the event nudge the dial? Impossible to tell. But it did tick some boxes. What else can you do?
PARTICIPANTS
VENTURA -1893
OENONE -1901
MARITIMO KATWINCHAR -1904
SAO -1905
ATHENE -1905
NARA -1906
FLORRIE -1907
BENNO -1910
UTIEKAH 11- 1911
ASTER - 1911
RANA -1913
WAITANGI -1922
SEA ROVER -1923
RAMBLER -1924
SCARAB -1925
HOANA -1925