Armada Marine
Expanding a Canadian Boat Manufacturer Across Canada & the U.S.
The Challenge.
Founded in Montreal, Armada Marine has built a reputation for producing reliable, competitively priced pontoon boats designed for recreational boating enthusiasts. Unlike traditional marine brands that focus heavily on direct-to-consumer marketing, Armada operates primarily as a B2B manufacturer, selling boats wholesale to marinas and boat dealerships, which retail them to customers.
By the time we began working together, Armada had already established a solid dealer network across Canada, with 34 retailers carrying the brand, most concentrated in Quebec. However, the company had yet to establish a meaningful presence in the United States, the world's largest pontoon boat market. For Armada, this represented a major growth opportunity.
At the same time, Armada wanted to re-engage existing Canadian dealership prospects who had previously expressed interest but had not yet committed to carrying the brand. The release of Armada’s 2025 Dealer Program and Pricelist, which included limited-time cash incentives on new 2025 orders, created an opportunity to reconnect with these prospects and encourage them to secure inventory for the upcoming season.
The objective was twofold:
Re-engage existing Canadian prospects through an email marketing campaign
Generate 10 new dealership partnerships in the United States within 3 months by building a digital lead-generation system targeting marina owners looking to expand their product offerings.
The Strategy.
The goal was to transform Armada’s digital marketing channels into a reliable pipeline for recruiting new U.S. dealerships, while converting warm Canadian prospects who had already expressed interest in the brand.
Boat dealerships are a niche B2B audience. Unlike consumer markets, there are far fewer potential buyers, and reaching decision-makers requires precise targeting and highly relevant messaging.
Rather than casting a wide net, the strategy focused on reaching a very specific audience: marina owners and boat dealerships actively looking for value-oriented boat lines that complement their premium inventory.
The marketing approach centered around three core pillars:
Lead Generation & Nurturing
The strategy also focused on building a structured system capable of both capturing new dealership inquiries and nurturing existing prospects through the evaluation process before they connected with Armada’s sales team.
Precise Audience Targeting
Digital advertising platforms were used to reach marina operators, dealership owners, and marine industry professionals in regions with strong demand for pontoon boats, particularly across the Great Lakes region and northern U.S. states.
Dealer-Focused Messaging
Messaging positioned Armada as a profitable partnership opportunity by emphasizing the financial and operational advantages of carrying the brand.
The Execution.
Campaign #1:
Re-Engaging Canadian Prospects
A targeted email marketing campaign was deployed to re-engage Canadian marinas and dealerships that had previously expressed interest in becoming Armada retailers.
The campaign introduced Armada’s 2025 product lineup, highlighted new boat designs, and communicated several time-sensitive financial incentives designed to encourage dealerships to place orders before seasonal deadlines.
Campaign #2:
U.S. Dealer Acquisition
To expand Armada’s presence in the United States, paid campaigns were deployed primarily through Facebook Ads Manager.
These campaigns used geographic targeting and marine-industry audience segments to reach dealership decision-makers across northern U.S. boating markets.
Lookalike audiences built from Armada’s existing dealership and website visitor data helped expand reach to businesses with characteristics similar to Armada’s current partners, improving lead quality and lowering acquisition costs.
Retargeting campaigns were also implemented to re-engage website visitors who had explored Armada’s dealer program but had not yet submitted an inquiry.
Advertising directed prospects to dedicated landing pages designed to capture dealership inquiries and provide additional information about Armada’s dealer program.
The Results.
Within the first year of the campaign, Armada successfully expanded its dealership pipeline beyond Canada and began establishing a foothold in the U.S. market.
The combined email and advertising strategy generated both renewed engagement from Canadian prospects and new dealership inquiries across the United States.
Key Outcomes
28 qualified dealership inquiries generated through email marketing, leveraging Armada’s existing prospect list with no advertising spend required
35% reduction in cost per qualified lead from Facebook advertising through ongoing campaign optimization
17 new U.S. dealership partnerships secured through paid campaigns, exceeding the original goal of 10
Expanded brand visibility across key northern U.S. boating markets
