Ahoy, Captain!
Picture this: a stunning 360-degree virtual tour that beckons visitors from across the globe to explore your waterside paradise.
This isn’t just a dream; it’s a powerful tool waiting to transform your marina’s appeal.
Boats, Yachts, and Docks – What do I use virtual tours for?
Marinas
Boat Rentals
Boat Dealerships
Marine Construction Businesses
Houseboats
Short-Term Vacation Rentals
Yacht Charters and Fishing Charters
Boat Builders
Docks, Buildings, and Restaurants
Ship Store, Fueling, and Launch
What are virtual tours?
Virtual tours came into the spotlight during the peak of the nationwide COVID-19 shutdown. With restrictions on in-person activities like house showings, parties, school gatherings, and group meetings, people began seeking alternatives to traditional in-person showcases. This marked the rise of video content and 360-degree virtual tours.
In the context of marinas, virtual tours offer an immersive experience where potential boaters can seamlessly navigate through various viewpoints, providing a 360-degree, crystal-clear view of the marina or specific points of interest. This dynamic approach paints a vivid and accurate picture of what a marina or vessel truly looks like, surpassing the limitations of traditional photos or videos alone. Think about how often people use Google Street View these days.
Examples
Berkshire Tritoon
Virtual Tour
Party Boat
Virtual Tour
Marina Bay Harbor
Virtual Tour
Why choose us for your marina or marine business’s virtual tours?
Unlock the True Potential
Our seasoned photography skills and cutting-edge equipment are ready to unlock every inch of your waterfront’s full beauty, showcasing the facilities, waterscapes, and amenities that set you apart.
Engage, Entice, Enthrall
Our virtual tours aren’t just images – they’re immersive experiences that engage, entice, and enthrall. Potential visitors feel viscerally present, drawn by the allure of your distinct charm.
Navigate with Expertise
Hammer & Nail Marketing is a boutique agency that provides marketing services for marinas and marine industry businesses. We understand marinas inside out. We know the best angles, the ideal lighting, and the strategic flow that makes a virtual tour shine.
Time-Tested Techniques
Our team has worked with major movie studios like Universal, Disney+, and Netflix to provide production services on projects like The Iron Claw, Captain America, and Where the Crawdads Sing. We are photographers, cameramen, producers, and visual effects supervisors bringing an overload of post-production expertise to your waterfront.
Seamless Stitching
In post-production, the magic happens. We seamlessly stitch together your images into a cohesive panorama. The result? A virtual tour that feels as natural as holding up a conch shell to hear the ocean.
Interactive Elements
Make your virtual tour truly unique by adding interactive elements like clickable hotspots, marina nuances, or linking to other parts of the tour. With the click of a button, your marina will come alive.
Preparing, Shooting, and Sharing
Our Methodology for Crafting Exceptional 360-Degree Virtual Tours
Shooting a captivating virtual tour involves a well-organized process, divided into three essential phases:
1
Preparation
Determining Assets: The first step is to identify what needs to be captured. How many vessels are in scope? Typically, we can cover three to five boats per day, with the exact number depending on their size.
Understanding Marina Size: Is the marina relatively small, with 50 slips, or is it expansive, boasting 500 slips or more? Does it span 10 acres or a sprawling 100 acres? The size matters, as it influences the duration of the shoot, which might need to be scheduled over multiple days.
Camera Selection: The tools of a craft don’t determine the quality, the operator behind them is what makes the difference. That being said, it’s also important to use the right tool for the job.
We have a range of options, including Matterport, Theta, Insta360, and GoPro 360, ensuring we match the perfect tool to your unique requirements.
Location Scouting: Ahead of the shoot, we conduct a thorough location scout. We plan what to capture and devise contingency plans for any unexpected weather conditions, ensuring a seamless process.
2
Production
The Shoot: This phase typically spans one to two days, and its purpose is self-evident – capturing the marina and its vessels in all their glory.
Post-Production Processing: In post-production, we meticulously stitch together the images and refine them. If a seagull photobombed a shot, fear not, we’ll eliminate imperfections and restore perfection.
Logo and Privacy Considerations: We pay attention to details, including the removal or blurring of logos, license plate numbers, or faces when necessary. We also add your logo where necessary!
3
Publishing and Delivery
Publication Destination: Your virtual tours deserve the spotlight. Do you want them to reside on your website? If we handle maintenance and support for your site, we’ll take care of the publishing. If you prefer self-hosting, we’ll coordinate how best to deliver them to you.
Archiving and Data Backup: Your virtual tours are valuable assets. We can ensure their safety with regular backups, or you may choose to manage this aspect yourself. Archiving is included in our maintenance and support package.
With this systematic approach, we guarantee exceptional virtual tours that showcase your marina’s beauty, ensuring a seamless and visually stunning experience for your audience.
Testimonials
“The Hammer & Nail Marketing team demystified digital marketing for our marina. We’re in the boating business, we’re not in the tech business. We were skeptical at first, but quickly saw the value in going digital. Within 2 months of launching our marina’s new website, we had a +50 ft vessel come into our marina as a direct result of seeing us online. They would have never found us otherwise. 5-stars across the board.”
“Sam and his team were responsive and interested in helping us meet our business objectives. The design of our website started with a consultative call about our preferences and advice on best practices in design considerations. We are thrilled with the final product and the ongoing support from Hammer & Nail.”
Transparent and Simple Pricing
Understandable and Calculable
We believe in transparent pricing that’s easy for you to grasp and calculate independently.
Base Fee:
We start with a base fee of $300 on all projects. This fee helps cover essential expenses such as data storage, software licenses, and overhead costs.
Photography Fees:
We charge for our photography/videography work on a per day per crew member basis. We’ll give recommendations based on your marina or dealership’s unique needs.
- $1,500/day for a one-person crew
- $2,500/day for a two-person crew
- $3,500/day for a three-person crew
Examples:
- In a one-day shoot with a two-person crew, we can typically shoot four to five boats, a marina, team photos, and marina amenity photos.
- A one-day shoot with a three-person crew is typical if you want to capture video content for social media.
Street view for marinas:
Pricing for street view at marinas varies and is assessed on a case-by-case basis. The complexity of the marina layout is a significant factor.
We consider factors like the number of docks, twists and turns in the layout, and the need for clear line-of-sight vantage points. Please see the example below for reference.
Post Processing Fees:
We will review an overview of all the material that was shot on our photography days with you to decide what needs to be processed. We will store unedited footage for three months unless otherwise discussed (we can store for longer if needed).
- $75 per virtual tour station
- $50 per headshot/team photo
- $300 for processing marina amenity photos
- Video editing is estimated per deliverable because there is so much variation in the work
Examples:
- A virtual tour of a pontoon boat will have four stations so it will cost $300 to complete the post processing.
- A marina virtual tour had 20 stations shot on the shoot day, but the marina decides to only process the five stations that show off the docks. The cost to the marina today is $375. But they could decide to have the stations processed showcasing the ship store or the service center at any time within the next three months.
Hosting Fees:
If we maintain your site for you, good news, hosting is included. If we don’t currently maintain your site we can transfer hosting to you or we can host your virtual tours for you at $25/month.
Additional Pricing Notes:
- Travel fees may apply if the marina is located beyond a 90-mile radius, measured “as the crow flies” from our nearest photographer.
- We are pleased to offer a 10% discount for orders that initially exceed $5,000 in total.
Contact Us
Let’s Sail Together!
Don’t let your marina’s potential go untapped. Join us on a journey that promises to elevate your marina’s online presence, attract new visitors, and leave boat owners in awe.
Contact us today to discuss how we can turn your marina into a digital masterpiece that will have everyone saying, “I want to be there!”