Thrane & Thrane Renew Volvo Ocean Race Sponsorship Deal.
Much of the success of the Volvo Ocean Race is due to the way in which it delivers media content. Placing locked-off cameras on the top of hills and pointing them at a match racing course is one thing, but getting HD video off a Volvo 70 doing 30 kts in the middle of nowhere is another challenge altogether. The technology that has delivered the content for the last two editions of the Volvo Ocean Race will play a large part again with Thrane & Thrane announcing that it will play a vital role in delivering the close-up, onboard action.
The Copenhagen based company has signed up to become Official Sponsor of Satellite and Radio Communications Equipment for the third consecutive race. The agreement means that Thrane & Thrane’s latest generations of SAILOR® FleetBroadband and VHF equipment will be onboard every cutting-edge Volvo Open 70 as they line up in Alicante for the start of the race in October 2011.
Knut Frostad, Volvo Ocean Race CEO said:
“We have once again selected Thrane & Thrane to provide a comprehensive communications package for the teams, based on the support and faultless performance of the SAILOR equipment in the previous two races. We need the latest and best technology to ensure our vision and commitment of bringing the extreme offshore racing to a global TV and web audience. In this context we’re delighted to have Thrane & Thrane back onboard, and we’re confident that their latest FleetBroadband and VHF solutions will facilitate unmatched broadband and safety communication to the racing crews.”
The scope of supply for the 2011-2012 race includes new generation products. With the World’s first 2nd generation FleetBroadband antenna, the in-house developed SAILOR 500 FleetBroadband will be the central communication hub for each race team. From upload of race footage, reports and interviews for television and web, to download of weather data vital for competitive navigation performance, all of the teams will benefit from true broadband communication along the entire course around the globe.
The teams will also benefit from the compact SAILOR 150 FleetBroadband for crew voice calling and IP data whilst two SAILOR mini-C systems will be onboard for constant positioning data and global safety communication.
Walther Thygesen, CEO, Thrane & Thrane said:
“The Volvo Ocean Race really is about Life at the Extreme so we relish the challenge of putting our equipment through its paces once again. It is the ultimate test platform and we receive invaluable and immediate feedback from the crews, which has made Volvo Ocean Race an integral part of our product development process. Our products have performed consistently successful during the two previous races and if the SAILOR products can withstand such an ultimate test, then their credentials as the toughest most reliable communications equipment for all maritime applications are well deserved.”
Volvo Ocean Race Route Confirmed.
The Volvo Ocean Race stopover ports are known, and now, so too are is the format and the race course. The offshore racing will be complemented by in-port races for the benefit of spectators and VIP guests, allowing sponsors to leverage their investment to the widest audience. As one sponsor said last year at the World Yacht Racing Forum “the business is done in the hospitality tent, not in the boat.”
The course and dates for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 have now been officially announced. The racing format and stopover schedule features a number of innovations the most notable sees the event conclude with an In-Port race in the finish port of Galway. Importantly for sponsors and the media, the race will visit eight stopover ports on five continents and race through four oceans, in under nine months. This makes the Volvo Ocean Race one of the only truly global sailing properties with a physical footprint in the worlds largest and emerging markets.
Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad said there were two clear aims.
“Firstly we have reduced the time the teams are onshore and the time they have between the In-Port and the Leg Start. Traditionally the teams would change their yachts from an offshore sailing mode to an inshore racing one and back again for the Leg start. By bringing the two events together we lower the costs to them and their sponsors. We have also achieved more time for the shore crews to work on the yachts and subsequently the sailors get more time off.
“Secondly we can entertain the local public with the spectacle that is the Volvo Ocean Race on the water, for a long weekend of great racing and thrilling viewing. We hope by providing the local spectators with this on-the-water display, we will increase the public’s awareness and passion for the sport of sailing.”
The format of the stopovers goes like this:
- The Pro-Am races will be first on the agenda for the weekend, where the power of the Volvo Open 70s are showcased to the public and race guests.
- The second day sees the Volvo Ocean Race teams battle it out in two In-Port races, which count to their overall points tally. The short course of the In-Port races and the proximity to the stopover harbours and beaches, will allow the public to watch the racing up close.
- The finale to the long weekend is the Leg start.
The start and finish ports also have a revamped schedule. Alicante will have a week of festivals between the In-Port and Pro-Am race weekend and the start of Leg One to Cape Town. Galway will be the first finish city in the event’s history to stage an inshore race after the final leg.
There will be no scoring gates in this edition of the race but the fleet will still pass round some famous islands. On Leg One the fleet will pass the island of Fernando de Noronha, 200 nautical miles off the Brazilian coast as the first proper rounding mark of the race.
Due to increasing pirate attacks and hijacking off the coast of Somalia, the fleet will sail around an exclusion zone, which will be added to this area nearer race time.
On Leg Eight from Lisbon, Portugal to Lorient, France the fleet heads offshore again for a 1,940-nautical mile leg, rounding the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores before heading back towards the northwest coast of France. The Fastnet Rock is the last landmark the sailors will catch sight of before their final sprint up the west coast of Ireland to Galway.
The Volvo Open 70′s will cover over 39,270 nautical miles racing around the globe.
Volvo Ocean Race Appoints Pedro Galván Paris to Top Sports Marketing Post.
April 12, 2010 by admin
Filed under Appointments, Spain, Volvo 70
It was probably inevitable that when the Volvo Ocean Race left its long term base in the UK and moved to Alicante, Spain, that there would be some personnel changes. The appointment of Pedro Galván Paris as Marketing and Communications Director shows that the organisation is still leading the sailing world when it comes to pursuing the best people in sports marketing, not just the best people in the sport of sailing.
Galván was formerly Chief Marketing Officer of Euroleague Basketball for over five years and during this period he was also a member of the Board of Directors at ESA (European Sponsorship Association).
The news comes after Volvo Ocean Race organisers announced that Greg Miall would join the team as Commercial Director, another appointment from outside the sailing community. The Volvo Ocean Race is sending a clear message that they want to be one of the best sporting events in the world, not just the best sailing event in the world.
Pedro Galván Paris has an exceptional background in Strategic and Operative Marketing as well as in Sports Marketing, having ESADE and IESE degrees. He has also taught in several premier business schools and spoken at conferences on sports marketing. His role encompasses all Marketing and Communication output from the Volvo Ocean Race.
During his time at Euroleague Basketball Galván focused heavily on the sports marketing and partnerships agreements, especially concentrating on the brand building experience. He said:
“I think the Volvo Ocean Race has huge potential to increase its growth on the world’s stage as a premier sporting event and I am looking forward to being an active part of this. I want to increase awareness of the race for all audiences across the board, not only for the sailing fans but also for the general public. The race has such a capacity to capture the hearts and imaginations of people and we want to spread that globally as we did at Euroleague Basketball.”
Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad has been employing the services of top headhunting firm, Egon Zender International to procure his new team for the 2011-12 race. The appointment of Galván completes the Directorial staff for the Volvo Ocean Race. Frostad said:
“I believe we have the best possible person in Pedro to develop our Marketing and Communications in the future. I am looking forward to working with him on our strategy for the next race and elevating the race to new levels.”
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Emirates Team New Zealand will enter the 2011-12 edition of the race in conjunction with Real Club Nautico Palma. Reports from Spain say that the team will be backed by shoe company ‘Camper’. Team NZ spokesman Warren Douglas has denied any deal has been signed, but the two parties have scheduled an announcement for 5pm today (Monday)
PUMA Will Return for the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race
Some thought that the announcement of Miami as the US stopover for the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race might impact on PUMA’s decision to participate. The global sportswear brand obviously thinks bigger than that, and given the success of the first campaign, it would have been strange for the company not to be back.
PUMA will not be shouldering the whole budget next time around. For the 2011-12 event, PUMA will partner with BERG Propulsion. The team will be known as PUMA Ocean Racing, powered by BERG Propulsion.
PUMA’s entry into the sailing shook up the sport by leveraging experiences in sports marketing around the world. The announcement that PUMA will be back in the next Volvo Ocean Race means two things; 1) That the Volvo Ocean Race delivers real ROI and justifies the marketing spend and 2) that other sponsors in the race will have to lift their game to get share of voice.
The entry into competitive sailing extends PUMA’s focus into premium lifestyle sports – a category PUMA has forged through its Formula One partnerships, motor sports collaborations such as Ducati and Ferrari, and the launch of a sport lifestyle golf collection in 2006.
The decision underlines the race’s status as a compelling marketing platform, according to Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad.
“PUMA Ocean Racing was a ground-breaking team in the last Volvo Ocean Race, not only bringing a very competitive team, but the creativity of a world class fashion brand. Their funky attitude and design spoke to a young audience who engaged with both PUMA and the race.
“It is great to have Ken Read and his team back, after their outstanding performance in the 2008-09 race and I am sure he is striving to achieve the ultimate goal.
“We appreciate greatly BERG Propulsion, who have decided to join the race again after tasting it in the previous event and now they are playing in the upper league of sponsors.”
Jochen Zeitz, PUMA AG Chairman and CEO, said: “We are proud of PUMA Ocean Racing’s success in the last Volvo Ocean Race and look forward to the adventures this next race will bring.
“The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the world’s iconic sporting events. It proved to be an extremely successful marketing tool for us and an important launch pad for the sailing product category. We look forward to building the sailing category even more throughout the next race, as well as expanding into other forms of outdoor lifestyle ventures.”
Miami Confirmed as North American Volvo Ocean Race Stopover.
Boston has been made a one-stop-wonder by the announcement of Miami as the North American Volvo Ocean Race stopover. Florida will host the event for the fifth time, beating out other ports in the bidding process. Miami will be the beginning of the transatlantic leg to Lisbon for the 2011-12 edition of the event.
Florida hosted the NFL Superbowl in 2010 and City of Miami Mayor Thomas Regalado commented:
“The city will be welcoming the race. For us, this is like the superbowl of sailing. 2012 will be the biggest and best year and Miami will feature on the global map.”
Miami previously staged a stopover of the race in 2001-02. Florida has a long association with the Whitbread/Volvo – this will be the fifth time the sunshine state has welcomed the world’s premier offshore race. Besides Miami, Fort Lauderdale played host in 1989-90, 1993-94 and 1997-98.
At the official announcement today, Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad, said:
“We are very confident Miami will deliver a first-class event for us in the spring of 2012 and the people of Florida will welcome us to their shores once again. It’s a very special day here for me to announce Miami as the successful North American stopover port. I was here in 2001-2002 and it looks very different today. This waterfront looks to be one of the best locations around the planet and I’m sure Miami will give us a wonderful stopover.”
