As sponsors of a category at this year’s Boat Builder Awards, Saltwater Communications presented the Retail Marketing Initiative award to Dominator Yachts at the inaugural ceremony in Amsterdam.

Maritime communications agency Saltwater backed the awards this year to begin its landmark 25th anniversary celebrations in 2016.

Organised jointly by IBI, METSTRADE and RAI Amsterdam, the awards ceremony included Saltwater managing director Georgina Bartlett presenting the award to Dominator Yachts for its Ilumen Virtual Reality system at the impressive National Maritime Museum. The judges praised the technology as a genuine innovation, the like of which has not been seen before in the maritime business. Boston Whaler, Sea Ray and Riviera were also nominated as companies using both innovative and comprehensive strategies to boost brand presence and sales.

Other awards winners at this year’s Boat Builder Awards were Paolo Vitelli - Azimut Benetti (Lifetime Achievement Award), Monte Carlo Yachts (Innovation in a Production Process), Galeon Yachts (Innovative On-Board Design Solution), Brunswick Marine EMEA (Boat Builder International Distributor/Dealer Development), and Jeanneau and Harken (Boatbuilder & Equipment Manufacturer Collaborative Solution award). There were also three honourable mentions for Karnic, Fairline Boats, and Falcon and Mastervolt’s CZone digital control and monitoring network.

Saltwater is an experienced public relations, social media, marketing and advertising specialist in the marine leisure, commercial maritime and superyacht sectors.

The new awards initiative has been organised by IBI, in conjunction with METS organiser Amsterdam RAI, to recognise the business achievements of individuals and teams within the global leisure boat building industry.

The ceremony and exclusive gala dinner for 250 people was held at the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam during this year’s METSTRADE, the world’s largest annual gathering of marine equipment suppliers.

Nominations for the awards were sought from across the industry and the winners were selected by an international panel of judges appointed by IBI and METS.

For more information about Saltwater Communications, please visit www.saltwatercoms.com or www.saltwaterpr.com, or contact us at enquiries@saltwatercoms.com.

Pictured are: Angela Pernsteiner (left) and Christoph Pernsteiner (second from right) from Dominator Yachts accepting the Retail Marketing Award from Georgina Bartlett (second from left), MD of Saltwater Communications and Ed Slack, Editor of IBI (right)