Making waves at SIBS

The Challenge

Southampton International Boat Show is the UK’s biggest marine event, bringing together exhibitors, media, industry stakeholders and visitors for a high-profile showcase of the latest boats, products, launches and sector news. For 2025, ADPR was brought in to support the show’s PR and press office activity, helping to build momentum around key announcements, exhibitor stories, product debuts, show content and live event opportunities. The challenge was to move quickly, identify the strongest media opportunities and deliver a responsive press office for a busy live event. ADPR needed to help journalists access the right stories, spokespeople and content, while supporting the British Marine and Southampton International Boat Show teams on the ground.

The Solution

ADPR delivered PR and press office support in the lead-up to, during and after Southampton International Boat Show 2025.

We built our approach around the areas where we could make the biggest impact quickly: strong marine media relationships, a clear understanding of editorial deadlines, and useful, ready-to-run content for journalists.

We used our long-standing relationships with specialist marine media to identify live editorial opportunities and prioritise the stories most likely to land. This included product debuts, exhibitor news, show announcements, line-up updates, and opening and closing press releases.

To maximise coverage, we structured pitching around journalists’ deadlines and content needs. Rather than sending generic updates, we created targeted, print-ready stories that could be used with minimal extra work.

We also opened direct lines of communication with exhibitors to extract their latest launches, updates and show stories, shaping these into media-friendly angles. At the same time, we embedded ourselves within the British Marine and Southampton International Boat Show teams, ensuring we were across news as it developed and able to respond quickly to media enquiries.

Alongside proactive media relations, ADPR supported the event press office, helping to manage press pass registrations and media attendance. On the ground, we liaised with exhibitors, helped coordinate the opening photo opportunity, supported broadcast press, arranged interviews for the British Marine team, ran the press office and prepared crisis response statements.

This practical, flexible approach ensured journalists had access to the right information, spokespeople and stories throughout the event.

The Results

Between mid-August and October, ADPR generated 51 pieces of coverage in marine titles, reaching a total audience of 2.6 million. Of those 51 pieces of coverage, 41 included a link, helping support digital visibility as well as media awareness.

Coverage was secured across a broad mix of specialist marine, boating and trade titles, including Yachts and Yachting, Marine Business World, Classic Boat Magazine, Practical Boat Owner, Motor Boat & Yachting, Powerboat & RIB, International Boat Industry and Marine Industry News, among others.

Key coverage themes included world-class debuts, the show line-up, exhibitor news, opening day activity and the closing announcement celebrating the success of the 56th Southampton International Boat Show.

The PR activity supported visibility around a major event that welcomed more than 91,200 visitors, with over 500 watercraft, 700 brands and more than 50 world and UK premieres.

ADPR also helped manage a high volume of media interest through the press office. The press pass system recorded 388 registrations, with 231 media attendees coming to the event, including 46 marine press, 32 freelancers, 20 influencers and bloggers, 12 national press, 12 broadcast TV journalists and five local press.