The sport of sailing offers sponsors a wide variety of options to promote their products and services to a desirable demographic with great brand associations. But many sailors aren’t doing themselves any favours when it comes to approaching companies for sponsorship.

There are some great sailing campaigns out there that are let down by amateur sponsorship proposals, or by sailors setting their sights too high or not understanding how their offer compares to other sports – or even to other competitors in the same competition.

In order to help sailors, teams, event organisers and clubs get their share of the sponsorship budgets of companies we have designed a Sponsorship Webinar Series.

I said in a press statement yesterday:

Sailors and event organisers often fail to raise sponsorship because they are missing basic skills or they have the wrong or dated attitudes.

The nature of sponsorship has changed and companies compare a wide variety of marketing options before writing a cheque. Sailing could be missing out on sponsorship to other sports which adopt a more polished and commercial approach.

The nature of sport has changed. There are some who will choose to continue to play the amateur game – and that’s fine. There are others who will want to be semi-professional or even strive to make a career out of their sport. These people need to spend some time training to win in the board-room as well as winning on the water.

With that in mind, the webinar series is not free, but access to all the webinars will cost less than $100 – an investment well worth it for the future.

Educating Your People.

If you are a club or event organiser, why not consider hosting one of our workshops for your teams and sailors. You could add it as a half-day before an event, or a full day on a non-racing day. For more information about hosting one of our Sponsorship Workshops, contact us. 

Sponsoring Our Event

Want to promote your product or service to athletes, clubs or event organisers? Perhaps you offer crew clothing, insurance, boat wrapping, legal advice or video camera solutions. This audience is in need of these things.

Being an event sponsor gets you visibility at the event and an opportunity to present your company. We also promote our partners through our online platforms including social channels. For more information about sponsoring this event, please contact Pilote Media. 

In late 2012, we published an opinion piece that ruffled a few feathers – which is good….

In particular, some commentators have characterised the editorial piece as being somehow anti-sponsorship or that it suggests sailing doesn’t need sponsorship.

Yachtsponsorship.com exists to promote the sport and the commercial opportunities that it provides, but it also exists to give insight into best practise, long term trends and to act as a watch-dog.

While the title of the piece (Is Sponsorship Killing Sailing?) might be attention seeking, it is framed as a question. The conclusion of the piece is a warning that the sport gives too much away in return for sponsorship dollars.

The ‘rebuttal’ pieces talk directly to the dangers I am worried about. Hundreds of thousands of Australians can probably name Wild Oats XI and they can probably name Investec Loyal, but how many can name Mark Richards? How many can name the Australian skipper of Camper during the last Volvo Ocean Race?

The point of the original article was to argue that the brand exposure achieved by sponsors in sailing is so good that it can dwarf the participants. This might be great for the brands in the short-term, but in the long term, brands would be better to support the sailor’s brands rather than overshadow them.

One of the best examples of how this can be done is Team Sky cycling – everyone knows that Sky is the sponsor, but people also know the names Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish and even Chris Froome.

A large percentage of our business is helping sailors, teams and rights holders secure sponsorship for their sailing campaigns. I personally promote the benefits of sponsoring sailing to brands around the world and as a consultant who also works with sports like Motorsport; I know the areas where sailing does it better and where it still needs to improve.

We can all quote the media value figures and fight the corner, but as an industry, we also need to work on what we need to do better and that means addressing some of the harder questions.

We are still not doing enough to build sailors as sports stars.

In the Australasian context I want to work with sponsors that want to put Stu Bannatyne before themselves on a Volvo Ocean Race boat. I want to work with sponsors who understand that promoting Torvar Mirsky will promote their products and services to a desirable audience. I want to work with sponsors who can stand behind an Australian America’s Cup campaign so that Jimmy Spithill, Darren Bundock, Tom Slingsby, Kyle Langford and others don’t have help win the Cup for a database company.

If we are going to tell a story, then we need characters. Those characters should be people – not brands.

The Volvo Ocean Race recently released a 133 page report into the previous edition. Much of that report was dedicated to the return on investment received by sponsors of the race.

One of the findings of the report was that sponsors of sailing can get better returns than other sports because the brand-name is mentioned more than the names of the athletes. The report says:

“The Volvo Ocean Race occupies an exceptional space in the sporting world as a major property that is universally referred to with a brand name in the title, while offering similar opportunities for sponsors backing individual teams.

The fact that sailors on board are not generally household names across the world can actually help sponsors too. There is little option for media covering the race but to refer to several brand names whereas in other sport, news organisations work hard to avoid making such references. With the Volvo Ocean Race, such avoidance is not realistically possible.”

While this sounds good for sponsors, it doesn’t sound like something that is good for the sport in the long term, especially if sailing wants to create long term fans.

Fans follow athletes or teams, they don’t follow brands, which makes the situation that the Volvo Ocean Race is currently in a bit strange. Race organisers have announced the first entry for the next race. The entry has a sponsor, but it has no skipper and no team – so where are the fans going to come from?

The team is designated as an all female entry. The thought process presumably is that women will follow the team because of that fact only. But what happens when the sponsor doesn’t want to be in sailing anymore? What happens to the team and what happens to the fans of that team?

The Vendee Globe, which has the advantage of featuring just one person per boat, also suffers sometimes as the PR people stuff their releases with the sponsor’s name. But fans of Mike Golding or Sam Davies can continue to follow their favourite even if they are wearing a different company’s logo from the last time.

Other teams, that benefit from the patronage of a wealthy private owner or investor can also create long term franchises, though these have the same problem of longevity if that backer decides they don’t want to play anymore.

Ironically, the sport of sailing has the structure to create location based teams that have long histories and traditions. The America’s Cup is based on this structure, being a competition between yacht clubs – though this is often underplayed.

The sport of sailing relies on sponsorship because the business model doesn’t provide many other forms of revenue, however – the balance of athlete recognition and sponsor brand recognition is needs to swing in favour of the competitors if long term fans are to be created.

Get our regular email updates about Sponsorship and Sailing

There is a new trend growing in sailing sponsorship. With the stream of government backed regional promotion money drying up – especially in Europe, new angles need to be found to convince companies to invest in the sport.

Luckily, there is a group of companies that need to talk to a new audience, but they are not selling products or services.

There is a shortage of skills, and it is going to get worse. Science and engineering companies need to attract well qualified employees to stay competitive and some of them are using sailing as a way to promote themselves.

At the top end of the sport, companies like Safran, who sponsor an IMOCA 60 for the upcoming Vendee Globe are looking forwards.

Safran recently launched a ‘serious game’ to increase its recognition among students. The game is designed to introduce the company and its businesses to future graduates in targeted fields. Safran needs to add around 6,000 new employees this year, including nearly 1,000 in France. Safran will maintain the same hiring pace in 2013.

Over 100 engineers from Group companies have taken active roles in the design, construction and ongoing development of the IMOCA 60 yacht.

The news is potentially even better for female sailors looking for sponsorship.

Semta, the UK sector skills council for science, engineering and advanced manufacturing, has called on companies to encourage more women into advanced manufacturing and engineering, helping to close the skills gap that exists in the sector.

Lynn Tomkins, Semta’s UK operations director, said:

“The sector, which contributes £250 billion turnover to the UK economy, needs to recruit and train 82,000 scientists, engineers and technologists by 2016 and upskill 363,000 of the current technical workforce, whose qualifications are below world class standards.

Women are a great untapped resource at a time when we need a wealth of new talent and higher level skills to improve competitiveness. They comprise half of the working population, yet only 21% of the workforce in UK advanced manufacturing and engineering are women and only 6% of engineers are women.

So what better way to engage with women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) than through a high-tech, engineering based sailing program?

We currently know of at least 3 sailing projects that would fit an engineering or high-tech brand looking to attract and retain the best talent. Contact us for more information.

Want to get the latest sailing sponsorship news in your inbox? Our weekly email is curated by expert editors to cut out the PR spin and only give you the sailing sponsorship news you need to know. Subscribe Now

Marinepool Sponsors Chinese Offshore Record Attempt

Clothing brand Marinepool has announced a partnership with Chinese sailor Guo Chuan as he embarks on a campaign to sail a Class40 yacht around the world.
Christoph Stadler, Marinepool Marketing Director commented on the deal:

“Marinepool is proud to welcome Guo Chuan on board – as our partner and as Chinese ambassador for the Marinepool brand. He is one of the best known sailors in his country and joins some of the 
world´s finest sailors, among them world champions, world record holders and America´s Cup sailors in the Marinepool family.

Sector: Apparel and Footwear | Brand: Marinepool | Event: Record Attempts | Market: China | People: Chrisoph Stadler, Guo Chuan 

Rolex Renews Fastnet Sponsorship for 5 More Editions

Rolex has sponsored the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Fastnet race since 2001. This week, the Swiss watchmaker announced that it would continue to be the title partner of the biennial race for another 5 events taking the deal through to 2021. The Fastnet Race attracts a mix of high-end professional teams as well as amateur sailors.

Sector: Watches | Brand: Rolex | Event: Rolex Fastnet Race | Market: UK | People: Mike Greville, Commodore of RORC

Gazprom to Sponsor Nautor’s Swan 60 Class

Gazprom has extended its sailing sponsorship activity by becoming the title sponsor of the Swan 60 class. The Russian energy company is also a major sponsor of Esimit Europa which recently won the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. The company also sponsors the Swan 60 Bronenosec, representing the Yacht Club of Saint-Petersburg. The relationship Nautors Swan is planned to last for the next six years through to the end of 2017. The deal will include the creation of the Gazprom Swan 60 Class, title sponsorship of the Gazprom Swan European Regatta in 2013, 2015 and 2017 and a series of annual social events in various markets for the Swan owners and ClubSwan guests.

Sector: Energy | Brand: Gazprom | Event: Swan 60 Class | Market: Europe | People: Valery Golubev, Leonardo Ferragamo

Starwood Brand Backs China Coast Regatta

The latest sponsor to benefit from the large online following of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club is Starwood Hotels & Resorts. The company recently became the Official Hotel of the America’s Cup and now the Starwood-owned St. Regis Hotels & Resorts will become the title sponsor of the China Coast Regatta. Paul James, Global Brand Leader, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts said:

‘We are thrilled to have the opportunity to host the China Coast Regatta. Speed and sport have been part of St. Regis’ illustrious heritage since the first hotel opened in 1904 and the founding family, the Astors, became a prominent social fixture in the world of sailing.

Sector: Travel & Tourism | Brand: St Regis Hotels & Resorts | Event: China Coast Regatta | Market: China | People: Paul James, Mark Bovaird

Other Sailing Business and Sponsorship News

1010 Sponsors Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club Match Racing
Hong Kong based mobile communications brand 1O1O has been named the title sponsor of the Match Racing Series at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 seasons. Mark Liversidge, Chief Marketing Officer and spokesperson for 1O1O said: ’1O1O is thrilled to be title sponsor of the 1O1O Match Racing Series. Joining our existing challenges – 1O1O Million Challenge and 1O1O Golf Challenge – the Match Racing series sees one skipper challenge another to a head to head to battle, until one emerges triumphant.

Camper Sponsors Japanese Melges 32 Team
Now Camper has announced a collaboration with Japanese Melges 32 team –  “Mamma Aiuto”. Camper will act as the official footwear supplier to team – who use the “Seamar” shoe which was tried and tested in the Volvo Ocean Race. The sponsorship deal is in addition to the arrangement which sees Camper continue their partnership with Emirates Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup.

PSP Extends Sponsorship of Southampton Boat Show
PSP became the sponsor of the Southampton Boat Show in 2008, signing a three year deal which was extended for a further two years in January 2011. On Friday, at the opening of the 2012 PSP Southampton Boat Show, the title sponsor announced that it would extend the deal again for another two years.

Pilote Media Launches Social Media Boot Camp for Yacht Clubs
The publishers of Yacht Racing Business and the Dark Blue Book have created a workshop that is specially designed to help yacht clubs make more of their social media assets to attract sponsorship and deliver value to partners, stakeholders, sponsors and members. More information can be found here.

This post is a duplicate of one of our regular sponsorship deal email updates. To recieve the latest sailing sponsorhip news in your inbox – subscribe here

Sperry Topsider Extend Sponsorship Deal with US Sailing.

Sperry Top-Sider has agreed with US Sailing to a new multi-year sponsorship deal which will see Sperry Top-Sider remain the official footwear provider of US Sailing. This news follows the April announcement that Sperry Top-Sider has become the title sponsor of the US Sailing Team. Craig Reingold, President of Sperry Top-Sider commented on the announcement:

“By continuing our support of US Sailing – from its grassroots efforts to its elite athletes – we are ensuring proper investment in growing the sport of sailing. Sperry Top-Sider is a brand with a rich heritage in sailing, and it is essential for us to invest in the future of the sport.”

Sector: Apparel and Footwear | Brand: Sperry Topsider | Event:Olympic Classes | Market: USA | People: Craig Reingold, Jack Gierhart 

Exoscale Signs With Multi-One Design (MOD70)

On the eve of the start of the European Tour, organisers of the MOD70 event announced a new partnership with Swiss cloud services provider exoscale. According to the brief press release, the MOD70 deal is the first major sports sponsorship for the technology provider. exoscale Managing Director, Philippe Béal is quoted as saying:

“The philosophy of the Multi One Championship, the traveling circuit that is committed to combining safety, reliability and performance along with cost control could be ours. exoscale is a platform at the forefront of technology that allows for the reduction of capital investment and development, one that improves responsiveness and efficiency by freeing up resources then available for new innovations.”

Sector: IT | Brand: exoscale | Event: MOD70 European Tour | Market: Europe | People: Philippe Beal

America’s Cup World Series Audience Figures
Here are some of the statistics about the San Francisco round of the America’s Cup World Series. The figures were provided by event organisers.

• A crowd estimated at 150,000. 40,000 visited the AC Village at Marina Green on the final day.The spectator fleet on the Bay grew daily to a peak of 450 yachts on Super Sunday
• The America’s Cup YouTube channel featured 45 videos and generated more than 500,000 views-
• More than 2,900 stories were published in more than 1,000 outlets
• The new America’s Cup mobile application has been downloaded more than 10,000 times across the iOS and Android platforms.
• Ticketed seating sold out daily for a capacity crowd of 6,600, and there were more than 1,600 hospitality guests over the four days.

The NBC broadcast is reported to have reached an audience of 860,000 (a rating of 0.6)

If you haven’t subscribed to our regular email updates on all the sailing sponsorship news, then you are missing out on the most up-to-date digest of all the sponsorship news that our editors think you should know. Sign up for our email updates here… 

For those of you who missed it, here is the Report for the week ending 24th August.

King Of Shaves Back Team Wales at Cardiff Extreme Event

A wildcard entry for the Extreme Sailing Series in Cardiff will feature top Welsh sailing talent with the backing of British shaving brand ‘King of Shaves‘. The brand is not new to sponsorship of marine sports having backed sailors like Leigh McMillan and Oscar Mead as well as a P1 power-boating team.

Sector: Personal Care | Brand: King of Shaves | Event: Exteme Sailing Series | Market: UK | People: Will King, Tudur Owen, Hannah Mills, Dave Evans 

Charles Schwab Signs America’s Cup Deal.

The latest San Francisco based company to become an America’s Cup Sponsor is Charles Schwab. The company will be known as the ‘Official Investment Firm’ for all the America’s Cup platforms including the World Series and Louis Vuitton Cup. The pace of sponsorship deals by the America’s Cup is increasing – with the San Francisco event giving locally based companies a chance to see how the event will work on the bay.

Sector: Financial Services | Brand: Charles Schwab | Event: America’s Cup | Market: California / USA / Global | People:Stephen Barclay, Laurine Garrity 

SCA To Buy First Volvo Ocean Race One-Design for All Female Team

One of the world’s biggest producer of forestry based paper products has signed up for the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. SCA are the company behind brands such as TENA, Bodyform, Tempo, Plenty and Sorbent. The campaign will take advantage of the new rules which make it easier to enter an all female team. The project will be managed by Richard Brisius, who was behind the successful Ericsson campaigns. No Skipper or crew has been announced.

Sector: Personal Care / Paper | Brand: SCA | Event: Volvo Ocean Race | Market: Sweden / Global | People: Kersti Strandqvist, Richard Brisius, Knut Frostad 

Ruckus At Oracle Racing

Oracle Team USA are pushing the limits of what is possible with WIFI to get data on and off their America’s Cup boats. The defender of the cup has announced a deal with Ruckus Wireless to provide whifi technology to the team. The kit has to work at high-speed in salt water over long distances with a lot of carbon in the way.

Official Healthcare Partner Announced for AC

ACEA has revealed that Kaiser Permanente will serve as the Official Medical Services Partner and Health Care Partner for the Americas Cup events being held in San Francisco. The event has considered emergency reposnse as part of the the new format, with the boats capable of inflicting serious injury on sailors. Kaiser Permanente will provide services on land and at the spectator village. More…

This week, the Volvo Ocean Race announced that the format of the race would change from a ‘Box-Rule’ to a one-design. This means that every boat in the next two races will be ‘exactly’ the same.

The decision has some big implications for brands who are interested in sponsoring this kind of sailing, taking away one of the things that differentiated the Volvo Ocean Race from events like the Clipper Race. In fact one prominent designer has already dubbed the next two versions of the race “Clipper Plus”.

The aim of Volvo Ocean Race organisers is to reduce the cost of  a campaign and give all teams the same tools to win the race. This should put more of a focus on the sailors ability and open up the potential for more female teams or new sponsors to participate with reduced risk.

Positives For Volvo Ocean Race Sponsors.

and potential sponsors…

• Re-iteration of long term commitment from title sponsors Volvo Group and Volvo Cars – the new format allows the title sponsor to almost ‘guarantee’ at least eight boats in the race.
• Off-the-Shelf boat package from well known designer (Farr Yacht Design) and high quality boat manufacture from world class builders including Multiplast, Decision SA and Green Marine.
• Access to the same platform as the best funded teams – more level playing field gives the opportunity for new teams be competitive and lower risk of being ‘outspent’.
• Higher focus on sailors personalities and sailing ability, but also the ability to win the marketing race without winning the race.
• Potential to field a team with point of difference e.g. Womens team or Youth team.

Negatives for Volvo Ocean Race Sponsors.

and potential sponsors…

• Lack of differentiation of boat design – all the boats will look the same except for their livery. Sponsors will not be able to associate themselves with “the winning design” or the “best technology”.
• Good sailors will become more expensive and best sailors may not be available for your campaign.
• Volvo Ocean Race less differentiated from other sailing races – loses ‘Grand Prix’ status.

Sailing Sponsorship Alternatives to the Volvo Ocean Race

Brands looking to sponsor sailing have a wide variety of choices. In the offshore arena, there are choices to be made in terms of crewed versus solo, open versus one-design, stopping or not stopping, professional or pro-am.

At the Open end of the spectrum there is still the IMOCA 60 class or races which allow one-off maxi yachts. At the one-design end of the range there is the Multi-One-Design, Clipper Race and now the Volvo Ocean Race.

If you want to know more about the offshore sailing sponsorship market, or other sailing sponsorship advice, contact us.

If you are a brand and you think you might want to sponsor sailing, then check out some of these stories that have been in the news recently. Many feature quotes from the sponsor as to why they did the deal and the benefits they get out of sailing.

Fidelity Sponsors America’s Cup World Series Newport : The America’s Cup will return to Newport giving brands that want to sponsor sailing at the top level a new opportunity to connect with an educated audience that loves the sport. Fidelity will sponsor the Newport final of the ACWS. More…

Brewin Dolphin Sponsor Sailing in Anniversay Year: The Royal Southern Yacht Club is celebrating its 175th Aniversary this year and Brewin Dolphin are also celebrating a milestone. The financial services company is backing several sailing events including the Commodore’s Cup. More…

IHG Become ISAF Official Partner: For some companies, like those in the travel sector, sponsoring sailing is a great fit. Many sailing events are offering host cities a way to increase hotel room nights by bringing athletes and spectators. More…

Henri Lloyd Sponsor Offshore Sailing Through RORC: The clothing brand that supports Ben Ainslie has announced a sponsorship deal for the Royal Offshore Racing Club, organisers of the Commodore’s Cup and Rolex Fastnet Race. More…

Volvo Cars Activate Sailing Sponsorship Through iPad Game: Volvo Cars UK have been a sponsor of sailing in the UK for a long time. In 2012, the brand is making the most of the Olympics in London through a range of promotions including the launch of a new sailing game for iPad, Android and PC players. More…

Marinepool Add Another Sailing Sponsorship to Their Portfolio: Sailing clothing company Marinepool have been showing their support for the sport through a number of sponsorship deals. The company has announced that they will become the official clothing partner for the TOUR DE FRANCE À LA VOILE. More…

Don’t miss out on the latest sailing sponsorship news. Subscribe to our email newsletter for regular updates.

It’s been over a month since we had a look at the world of Yacht Racing Business. In that time, there have been title sponsorship deals announced, TV deals announced and some series have started their 2012 tours.

So here is a look at some of the more interesting stories from the business of sailing courtesy of Yacht Racing Business.

Alpari Announced As World Match Racing Tour Sponsor.

Great news for the Alpari World Match Racing Tour. The premier match racing events in the world will be supported by the financial services company for 5 years. The deal should mean greater opportunties for hospitality and budget for activation to a wider audience. More Alpari World Match Racing Tour News including Chicago Event…

America’s Cup Announce a US TV Deal.

One of the hardest things for teams trying to raise commercial sponsorship for the America’s Cup and World  Series has been the lack of certainty about where the bright shiny new TV product would be seen. Now  ACEA have announced that NBC will show some of the event live on free-to-air TV.

Ernesto Bertarelli is Back Sailing. 

We caught up with the Skipper of Alinghi at the opening round of the Extreme Sailing Series in Oman. We asked him if being a sailor made you a better business person. There is also a video of the interview here…

Oman Sail – A Blueprint for Sailing as an Economic Growth Driver

David Graham talked to us about how the Oman Sail project is about more than the professional teams on the water. A 25 year plan with political support from the highest levels has objectives to transform the Omani economy using sailing as the vehicle.

Does the branding of Sailing effect participation levels?

Yachting Australia has released a detailed report into the perception of sailing in Australia. The report will be used to create strategies to increase participation, think about branding, sponsorship and licensing opportunties. The report highlights the difficulties that the sport has positioning itself against the past-time of sailing – something that Loick Peyron talked about at the Global Sports Forum last week.