Vodafone Sponsor Trimaran to Promote Coverage and Speed.

It’s perhaps surprising that mobile phone network operators don’t use yacht racing more as a promotional tool. With the exception of Telefonica in the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, it seems that network operators get more value from football, rugby, cricket and music and entertainment sponsorships. Now Vodafone in New Zealand have decided that sailing would be a good thing to promote marine coverage and network performance.

Vodafone has taken naming sponsorship of the ORMA trimaran previously Team G3, to launch ‘TeamVodafone Sailing’ with the boat’s major rebranding about to start. The associations of speed are important, but there is also the old fashioned billboard factor that will give the brand presence in one of the most well known racing harbours in the world.

Vodafone’s Director of Sales Grant Hopkins says:

“We have invested heavily in our Extended 3G network to cover 97% of where kiwis live, work and play – and a whole lot of kiwis play on the water. Whether you want to send a PXT of your award-winning snapper to a mate, keep the emails at bay or in the case of TeamVodafone check the weather to be in the best position for the wind, this partnership is about showing boaties you can still use all of our great data services at fast speeds on the water.”

Moored just 100 metres from the Vodafone HQ at the Viaduct in Auckland harbour, TeamVodafone is the fastest mobile billboard in town. As well as racing in Auckland, TeamVodafone intends to compete in numerous regattas and races in Oceania – Coastal Classic, Sydney- Hobart, Auckland – Fiji to name a few…and will challenge a few records getting there and back. Watch out for it overtaking the Waiheke ferry in the Auckland harbour.

In August next year TeamVodafone will also enter the ‘Round Australia Race’ – the last time it was raced it was won was by kiwi’s Sir Peter Blake and Mike Quilter in Steinlager 1, back in 1988.

TeamVodafone Sailing is owned and skippered by Simon Hull with an experienced professional crew. Simon has owned and campaigned a succession of race boats, the most recent the Transpac 52, V5 – recent wins include the Coastal Classic yacht race in 2007 and 2008, and the Bay of Islands Race Week in 2009.

Simon commented

“It is fantastic to have a brand as strong as Vodafone to back the team. Bringing one of the fastest sailing boats on the planet all the way down here from France has been a dream of mine for some time. It takes sailing here to a new level, and Vodafone’ support enables us to go for the records that we know she is capable of.

Hopkins ends:

Of course this partnership is not just about coverage, let’s face it this boat is fast, it’s innovative and it will push the boundaries to break records – you can’t get more Vodafone than that.

More New Zealand Sailing news.

Team NZ Enter Volvo Ocean Race with Sponsorship from Camper.

Another one of yacht racing’s worst kept secrets was officially announced yesterday. The battle for the hearts, minds and soles of yacht racing fans will be contested by Camper, the Spanish-based international footwear manufacturer. The brand will sponsor an entry in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2011-12. The campaign will be run by Emirates Team New Zealand. The announcement clarified some rumours, but started some new ones with Emirates Team NZ team boss Grant Dalton suggesting that given the lack of conflict with the America’s Cup, Alinghi may also enter the race.

Camper is the second shoe brand to announce an entry in the race, with global sports giant PUMA also announcing its plans to compete. Camper is a family-owned company which started making shoes on the Spanish island of Majorca in 1877. Today Camper operates directly 320 stores and ‘shop-in-shop’ locations in 42 countries and distributes its products through 2800 independent retailers. The sponsorship is believed to be in the region of 25 Million Euros.

In announcing the Volvo Ocean Race project, Camper said:

‘Competing in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011–12 provides Camper with the motivation to continue improving the quality of its products and its presence around the world. The history and the authenticity of the race, the human adventure, the effort, the desire to improve and the teamwork fully fit the Camper values. The Mediterranean as a territory and as a culture has always been at the centre of the Camper image. From Alicante this round-the-world race will be, without a doubt, a strong source of inspiration for the future of a brand that walks with imagination.

For us it is a privilege to take our first steps in the Volvo Ocean Race together with Emirates Team New Zealand, undoubtedly one of the most prestigious professional sailing teams in the world. Despite New Zealand being in the antipodes of Majorca, we feel very close to them sharing their way of thinking and so Emirates Team New Zealand makes us feel confident when undertaking this project.’

The Spanish sponsorship and identity will be treated very favourably under Spanish tax law, believed to return a 2:1 credit on every Euro invested in a project of this type.

The entrance of the New Zealand team was made possible through the expectation that the next America’s Cup will not take place until 2013 or 2014. The announcement is also another example of the growth of sailing ‘super-teams’; franchises that compete and leverage their sponsors across multiple platforms. Team New Zealand will not give up on the America’s Cup, rather it will split its activities across different disciplines.

Emirates Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton says:

‘The Volvo project instantly energises our team, allows our designers and engineers to get going and in Camper we have found a great partner. They are a family company with family values and a culture that fits very well with Emirates Team New Zealand and our family of sponsors. The team has the capacity to integrate a Volvo Ocean Race campaign to sit alongside its commitments to the Louis Vuitton Trophy regattas, the Audi MedCup 2010 and the next America’s Cup.

‘With Louis Vuitton, the team started the Louis Vuitton Trophy, Dean Barker and the team campaigned successfully on the Audi MedCup TP52 circuit last year and now we have a Volvo Ocean Race campaign to organise from scratch.’

Long time supporter of the team, Emirates Airlines will also benefit from the deal with the race scheduled to make a stopover in Abu-Dhabi. Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Corporate Communication, Boutros Boutros, said:

‘We are very pleased to continue our support of Emirates Team New Zealand through this venture. It will add a further dimension to the global reach of our sponsorship of the team, which has already been very successful for Emirates through the America’s Cup, the Louis Vuitton Trophy and the Audi MedCup. With this latest diversification, there are many benefits for the team, for New Zealand, and for Emirates, as well of course for Camper.

‘It will be fantastic to see the team competing in the United Arab Emirates, the home country of Emirates, when the Volvo Ocean Race comes to the capital city of Abu Dhabi. It will be a good opportunity to showcase what the UAE can offer in terms of five-star infrastructure, tourism and business attractions. ‘We are sure that this campaign will be run by Emirates Team New Zealand in the same thorough and competitive manner as all of its previous efforts, and we are only too happy to be associated with an initiative that meets the same professional standards that we continually strive to maintain as an airline.’

Not only will the Volvo Ocean Race start in Spain, the home of Camper and pass through home of Emirates Airlines, the race will also call in at Auckland. The arrival of Team New Zealand into the harbour will be an eagerly anticipated event of the race. CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race,  Knut Frostad said:

‘We are delighted to welcome Grant Dalton and Emirates Team New Zealand to the Volvo Ocean Race, which gives us our first proper New Zealand entry for many years. Dalton, a former winner of this event, brings with him not only a wealth of experience, but a very charismatic and highly competitive team of sailors. The people of Auckland will surely be very proud to watch the progress of Emirates Team New Zealand as it takes on some of the world’s best. I would also like to welcome Camper to the Volvo Ocean Race family. We look forward to working with their strong international brand, elevating the profile of their new team and our race.’

The Emirates Team New Zealand design team, headed by principal designer Marcelino Botin, will design the yacht. It will be built by Cookson Yachts, Auckland, and launched in the first quarter of 2011 before been sea-trialled and shipped to the Atlantic coast of Spain. The yacht will be called Camper and will carry the burgees of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and the Real Club Náutico de Palma.

Video of Grant Dalton talking on NZ television…

Photo Credit – Emirates Team New Zealand / Photo Chris Cameron ETNZ ©

Eight Teams To Compete in Auckland Louis Vuitton Trophy.

12 months ago, the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was an experiment. On the other side of the world, in New Zealand, in what would be considered neutral ground (were the vast majority of both remaining America’s Cup teams not Kiwi),  ten teams, including the current Challenger and Defender of the America’s Cup, competed over two weeks in a match race regatta in two pairs of supplied boats. The boats used were ACC yachts from the 2007 America’s Cup and all teams rotated through the four boats.

It was to become the formula for the Louis Vuitton Trophy. In 2010, the LVT will replace the vacuum left by the America’s Cup shambles, but it remains to be seen what will happen to it if any certainty is restored as a result of the Deed of Gift match in Valencia next week.

Even though the Louis Vuitton Paciffic Series was relatively hastily arranged, it was enough of a success to lead to the formation of the World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA) who, along with the city of Auckland will organise the regatta from 9-21 March. The Louis Vuitton Trophy will be part of a larger aquatic festival, staged from the same venue and at the same time as the Auckland International Boatshow (10-14 March) in Auckland’s Downtown Viaduct Basin.

The WSTA member teams entered for the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland regatta are from seven countries. Unlike last year, the host Emirates Team New Zealand, skippered by Dean Barker, will not get an automatic pass to the regatta finals, but will have to earn the right to be there by passing through the round robin and semi final stages with a winning record. The seven other teams hoping to also make it to the finals and ultimately prevail are:

• Aleph (France, skipper Bertrand Pacé)
• All4One (France/Germany, skipper Jochen Schumann)
• Artemis (Sweden, skipper Paul Cayard)
• Azzurra (Italy, skipper Francesco Bruni)
• Mascalzone Latino Audi (Italy)
• Synergy (Russia, skipper Karol Jablonski)
• TEAMORIGIN (Great Britain, skipper Ben Ainslie)

The press release for the Auckland event also includes media value numbers for the event held in Nice in November last year. It is an interesting comparison to the numbers issued by the Extreme Sailing Series Europe (ESSE) last week.

OC Events had their entire series of six events valued at €5.9 Million by an independent agency. According to the WSTA, the single Nice regatta had a provisional media value  of over €9 Million. The WSTA number relates to 1200 articles (versus 894 for ESSE) and 354 hours of TV (versus 535 for ESSE).

The two organisations obviously use very different mechanisms to value their media return. Both can be rationalised, but such discrepancies make it hard for outsiders to make informed judgements about investments in the sport.

More information about the Auckland round of the Louis Vuitton Trophy here…

Louis Vuitton Trophy Announces Events in Growth Markets.

Thanks to ALL4ONE for providing great up to date information on the emerging series that is the Louis Vuitton Trophy. The French German Team are one of the most pro-active when it comes to providing information to partners and stakeholders, including the media.

Yesterday, the enigmatic World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA) and Louis Vuitton announced four new events to take the series through until January 2011. The concept will build on the successful recent event in Nice; designed to transform a port venue, regardless of its previous sailing culture, into the capital of professional yacht racing for two weeks, along with all the associated activities and excitement, on and off the water.

The calendar visits the new growth markets for sailing, which are also large and growing markets for Louis Vuitton.

• Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland: 9 – 21 March 2010
• Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena, Sardinia: 22 May – 6 June 2010
• Louis Vuitton Trophy Middle East: 13 – 28 November 2010
• Louis Vuitton Trophy Hong Kong: 9 – 24 January 2011

In a statement, newly-elected WSTA board Chairman Paul Cayard commented:

“The Louis Vuitton Trophy is gaining momentum following the great regattas held in Auckland and Nice in 2009 and I really believe 2010 is going to be an even better year for our teams, their crews and supporters.”

Jochen Schümann, ALL4ONE’s Sports Director and Skipper:

“Great to have a reliable schedule for Louis Vuitton Trophy events, after the success that was met in Nice Côte d’Azur in November 2009. ALL4ONE is already planning another overall crew training for February in Valencia on ACC boat, in order to prepare an upcoming busy season as one platform for four challenges with the Louis Vuitton Trophy events, the TP52 MedCup, the RC44 circuit and the World Match Racing Tour.

Emirates Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton said the team welcomed Louis Vuitton’s return to Auckland:

“Last February we tested the concept. Its success far exceeded everyone’s expectations.” The Louis Vuitton Trophy has emerged from that experiment as a viable, top-level regatta. It’s good for the teams, it’s good for the sport, it’s good for host cities and we’ve given the fans something to watch.”

The Middle East venue has been embargoed until January 15th, 2010.

Auckland Combines Three Events into the Festival of Sail.

One of the sessions at the World Yacht Racing Forum, which we haven’t covered in detail yet, focussed on the economic returns to venues of hosting sailing events. Yacht racing is lucky to be seen by tourism authorities as being able to bring attention and visitors to a place. But racing on its own might not be enough to bring the crowds. Combining events together helps to maximise the investment in promotion and infrastructure as well as expose sailing to a wider audience.

Selling a visitor experience is different to running events where the competitors are the only stakeholders considered.

Auckland is a city where sailing is as recognised as other sports. The city has invested heavily in developing the waterfront which is home to the country’s America’s Cup team. There is also a sense that relevant government agencies, investors and the sport all work together to create events that deliver the most return for all stakeholders.

Against this background, Auckland Mayor John Banks has announced the Auckland Festival of Sail – three major international regattas to be held on the Waitemata Harbour in March 2010. Mr Banks says:

“Not only is this great news for Aucklanders with another festival added to the summer events calendar, it’s also great news for businesses, especially those in the hospitality, tourism and marine sectors. Major events are important economic drivers especially during the tough times that we are currently experiencing. Securing this festival in Auckland is another step on our road to establishing the city as a desirable international events destination and we look forward to welcoming the world’s best sailors to our shores next year.”

The managing director of Emirates Team New Zealand Grant Dalton said the three regattas, combined with the Auckland International Boat Show, will provide three weeks of top-level action right in the city.

“When the idea of the Auckland Festival of Sail was first raised, many groups came together to really put on a show for Auckland and New Zealand. We have worked closely with Auckland City agencies, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Louis Vuitton, the World Sailing Teams Association and many other organisations and individuals to make it happen.

Scott Colebrook, commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, says the Squadron is proud to be undertaking an integral role in the Auckland Festival of Sail.

“As the organizing authority of these three significant events, running back to back, we will be placing huge demands on our volunteer race and boat management personnel and resources. With assistance from Bucklands Beach Yacht Club we look forward to our contribution to this marvellous combination of high profile regattas featuring the world’s best yachtsmen and teams that will showcase our City of Sails to an international audience.”

We’ll be writing up the discussion around venues from the WYRF in the next couple of days.

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