Extreme Sailing Series Europe 2010 Open For Entries. Calendar TBC.

For the last few years, professional commercially backed sailing as a media friendly event has had two stand-out performers – the Volvo Ocean Race and the Extreme Sailing Series Europe (previously known as the iShares Cup). The Extreme Sailing Series Europe (ESSE) has all the elements to make it attractive to sponsors, media and a more mass-market audience. The boats are fast and exciting to watch, the races are held close to shore against unique backdrops, some of the sport’s top sailors compete and innovations like the 5th man VIP position have been copied by several other sailing events to give sponsors a real differentiator from sitting in a stadium.

Yesterday, the ESSE issued their notice of race and opened the event officially for entries. Of a potential six races, five are yet to have specific venues attached to them and only one (Andalucia) seems to be the same as 2009. In an environment where sponsors are risk-averse, consistency of events and locations is key to providing long term stability. With the absence of a title sponsor and an unconfirmed calendar, the ESSE will be a harder sell in 2010.

With or without a title sponsor, OC Events have shown that they can put on great events. Just as the company is self-funding the embryonic Asian series, the ESSE can still deliver exciting sailing. Mark Turner, CEO of OC Group said in the statement:

“We continue negotiations with various potential main partners to support our long term plans for both the European and Asian series. However, securing new partners before the European season kicks off is not absolutely necessary and won’t affect our plans for 2010 – this year will be another spectacular season of Extreme 40 racing, racing that continues to change the way sailing is seen. We are keen to grow our original brand – Extreme Sailing Series – regardless of developments on the sponsor front as we go through the year.”

One of the ways in which the ESSE is trying to be more sponsor friendly is to change the rule relating to branding of the boat and sails. The sail branding rules have been amended one step further for the season, as planned when the 2009 50% branding rule was introduced. Race Director Gilles Chiorri said:

“Looking back through the photographs and TV footage from 2009, it was clear that the boats with their sails 100% branded were the most dynamic and stood out amongst the fleet, therefore we have introduced a new rule for 2010 that all boats’ mainsails shall be 100% branded, so that there is no penalty on the teams already doing this.”

Notably absent from the proposed calendar is Cowes Week (Though one of the proposed dates does fit). Mark Turner has publicly said that the destination on the Isle of Wight where OC is based is not economically viable for the Extreme Sailing Series. Commenting in Island Business Online Turner said:

“The business model doesn’t work without venue host deals for us. We are investors, always have been, we take risks, we do things a bit quicker than perhaps a bigger business might do, or whatever. So we’ll quite often start and kick start things if we’re in the right venue. But its not sustainable to continue with venues that don’t necessarily want us there.

“The average each of our events contributes (to a venue) is a seven figure sum into that economy, be it through direct spend, be it through media coverage, be it through developments that happen because of the high quality people we’re bringing into the circuit. In terms of the Cowes event specifically being inside Cowes Week we’re looking at something like two-thirds of the media coverage for the entire Cowes Week is coming from our event. That in itself has a direct impact on what Cowes Week can do in the future as well.”

Despite the professionalism and commercialism that OC Events brings to sailing; not being able to announce a full calendar makes it difficult to convince sponsors that ESSE is akin to a high-end motorsport series or any other competing sponsorship platform. The markets in which the events take place have a huge bearing on whether or not the sponsorship is a good fit with a brand.

In order for ESSE and other sailing events to be taken really seriously, there needs to be long term storytelling consistency. The dates needs to be in the diary every year. Same Extreme 40 time, Same Extreme 40 channel. With many European companies closing off sponsorship budgets at the end of November, the announcement of a partial calendar in late January increases the level of difficulty by a significant factor.

The calendar as announced yesterday looks like this:

There will be  five, possibly six event weekends at iconic venues and cities in locations including the UK, France, Germany and Spain.

• Event 1: 27-30 May  – LOCATION TBC
• Exhibition Event: 19 June: J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race
• Event 2: 14-18 July OR 31 July to 5 August – UK – LOCATION TBC
• Event 3: 26-29 August – Germany – LOCATION TBC
• Event 4: 9-12 September – LOCATION TBC
• Event 5: 23-26 September – LOCATION TBC
• Event 6: 9-12 October, Almería, Spain

Final venues will be announced one by one over the coming weeks.

Despite question marks over the calendar, the ESSE still provides one of the most compelling marketing platforms using sailing. OC Events will continue to provide a full PR and Media programme throughout 2010 including a host broadcaster service, TV news and a TV series for global broadcast media. The 2009 series delivered a media value for just the six territories the series visited, of over EUR5 million (despite a 10-15% drop in equivalent advertising rates) and the 6-part TV series was aired in 130 countries across 29 international networks resulting in 38 hours of TV programming in one month.

Off the water, the teams, sponsors, media and VIP guests will be hosted and entertained in bespoke hospitality facilities offering teams the opportunity to mingle with their guests before and after sailing in a choice of settings, from general access to made-to-measure private corporate entertainment suites.

The closing date for entries to the 2010 series is 15 March 2010.

iShares Cup Looking for New Title Sponsor for 2010.

We’ve held up the iShares Cup as one of the great examples of how the sport can be shaped into a platform to deliver real results. As well as providing a great return for sponsors, the Extreme 40 European series has brought the sport to a wider audience and provided economic benefit for the venues hosting the events.

OC Events, the company that organises the Extreme 40 series in Europe has officially announced that title sponsor of the event, iShares will not be continuing their backing in 2010. Nevertheless, the series will be back next year, with negotiations underway for a replacement for iShares.

iShares signed a two year renewal at the beginning of this year, a time when banks and financial institutions were under extreme pressue to justify their sponsorship decisions. Unlike many sponsorships which rely on a connection between senior executives and the sport, iShares had no emotional attachment to sailing and so were able to show that the investment in the iShares Cup was purely commercial.  The deal included a 10 day window exit clause following the final event of the season and the aquistion of iShares from Barclays by BlackRock Inc is cited as the reason for the company taking the break option.

Rick Andrews, head of iShares marketing, Europe, commented:

“With a change in company ownership of iShares coming on 1st December, we are unable to commit to the sponsorship of this event in 2010, and we have had to use a break clause in our 2 year contract with OC Events.”

iShares success may impact on OC Event’s mission to find a replacement. The company were partners in the event’s formation, influencing the markets that the series visited and creating the platform to achieve their specific objectives. iShares will benefit from the title sponsorship for a while to come, just as Skandia still benefits from their long term backing of Cowes Week. Until a replacement sponsor is announced, one imagines that it will be easier to refer to the event as the iShares Cup than the Extreme Sailing Series Europe. Rick Andrews doesn’t think it will take long for someone to step up and replace them as title sponsor:

“The iShares Cup has been a phenomenal success for iShares and it is with much sadness that we have been obliged to make this decision. Client response from surveys has been phenomenal. They are just absolutely blown away by lots of different elements. However, we are confident that such an outstanding property will not be on the market for long – the value for money, the exceptional client experience and the return on investment from this property have really helped propel iShares forward, and I am sure that OC Events will be able to capitalise on our experience with a new partner shortly.”

One imagines that Mark Turner, CEO of OC Group, one of the sport’s most commercially savvy operators will have had some contingency for this outcome. He said in a statement:

“Disappointing of course, but this is the world of commercial sponsorship – the Extreme Sailing Series concept will continue to be developed in Europe next year, along with all the stakeholders that have shared the success of 2009 – teams, sponsors and host venues. We have built up a benchmark sailing sports entertainment product, at the highest sporting level, providing excellent returns for all concerned. Fortunately the event now has many stakeholders and many different revenue streams, so while we will obviously bring in a new title sponsor for 2010, things are very different to 2007 when the title sponsor represented nearly all the income. We have team sponsors, host venues and other event partners already contractually committed through as far as 2012. The Extreme Sailing Series will be back in 2010, and we plan for it to be even bigger and better.”

OC Events also announced yesterday that the The Extreme Sailing Series Europe 2010 has confirmed three venues and five teams. The platform has shown that it can provide real value to a title sponsor, though while OC Events have been investing in an innovative product, sponsorship values have been falling steadily throughout 2009. It’s a buyers market, with sports like F1 that were previously out reach for some brands now offering deals previously unheard of.

Perhaps though, Mark Turner is looking to break the mould again for sailing. The sport is dominated by sponsors who use it to market to other organisations (B2B). For sailing to really get visibility amongst a wide audience, it has to be seen as a way that brands can promote their products and services to consumers. Turner said in the official statement:

“…we can also see this as an opportunity to bring in a more consumer focused brand as title sponsor to help us take it to the next level again. We now have the scale and reach to deliver for consumer facing brands as well as those more focused on business to business.”

Extreme 40 Format Heads to Asia.

It was only a matter of time before the Xtreme 40 platform concieved by Herbert Dercksen and brilliantly executed by OC Events spread from Europe to other markets. The format was tested in the Middle East last year and yesterday, the company announced that a “winter” series would be run from November to March in Asia.

Extreme Sailing Series Asia will visit Hong Kong, Singapore and Oman with the possibility of a fourth venue to be confirmed. The plan is to grow to a six-event series by 2011/12. Bids have already been received for the future series from a number of other venues across Asia.

After the spectacular finale of the six-stage European iShares Cup circuit last weekend in Almería (Spain), five of the boats were packed up to be shipped directly to Hong Kong.

Mark Turner, CEO of OC Group:

“The iShares Cup has been running very successfully for three years now in Europe and the Extreme Sailing Series Asia is the next step in the evolution of this exciting sailing format – a format which has become a benchmark in terms of changing the way sailing is seen. Our aim is to build this series each year on the same foundations on which the European iShares Cup has been built – a comprehensive sailing entertainment event that packages the sport to appeal to the public, media and provide experiential VIP client hospitality. For this inaugural series in Asia we won’t be focused on the public side directly, instead we will work hard on the VIP and media aspects, as we did in the early iShares Cup years. But, of course, our aspiration is to build this circuit up over the coming years to match the award-winning iShares Cup format including a strong public element.”

The first event in the Extreme Sailing Series Asia will take place over the 20th-24th November in Hong Kong, supported by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, to coincide with their annual ‘Around the Island Race’ on the 22nd November. With over 200 entries the Around the Island Race is Hong Kong’s largest and most inclusive sailing event. The RHKYC is well equipped to support the series given its long time presence in Hong Kong waters as the premier sailing club.

The circuit will then move on to Singapore from 11th-15th December where sailing has become synonymous with sporting excellence in the region, after multiple medal success at the Asian Games and the ISAF Youth World Championships. One of the country’s key objectives is to make Singapore a key hub for sailing competitions.

Muscat, Oman will host the third event over the 1st to 5th February just before the America’s Cup in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, subject to the current legal dispute. The Sultanate of Oman, home to the legend of Sindbad, is known throughout the Gulf for its spectacular beauty and hospitality. The two Oman Sail boats that finished in 1st and 3rd place in the European 2009 iShares Cup, will return to the Extreme Sailing Series Asia this time with two Omani recruits from the Oman Sail Academy on board as part of the crew.

The inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia will see the same high calibre of competitors currently competing in the European circuit with Olympians, World Champions and Record Holders battling it out for victory in this new territory.

For further information, please email info@extremesailingseriesasia.com

World Yacht Racing Forum 2009 Announces Speaker Line-Up. #WYRF

For better or worse, depending on where you sit, sport is now business. Big business. All sports are having to come to terms with the realities of the economics and business models of sports – whether it be professional events or grass-roots development.

Most would agree that the business of yacht racing is confused and fragmented. Even at the top level, many teams are not run as a business with gaps in revenue filled by wealthy owners out of their own pocket. It seems that anyone can announce a new series or a new event or a new class – irrespective of the impact it might have on the sport as a whole.

The only way that the sport of sailing will compete for share of media, sponsorship dollars and talent is to come together and talk through some of the issues facing the sport, and to that end the World Yacht Racing Forum is a must for anyone who is in the business of yacht racing.

The first forum, held in Monaco in 2009 attracted over  300 delegates from 37 countries, the second edition of the Forum returns to Monaco this 9-10th December, 2009. The topics promise to address some of the most pressing issues facing the sport – with sessions for debate including:

• Yachting Sponsorship – can Sailing deliver real value for money?
• Leveraging a Sponsorship Deal – How do we maximise the investment?
• Can Yacht Racing deliver economic returns for host cities and ports?
• Tapping into new Media audiences – The Future of Sailing on the Web and Television
• How can event costs be trimmed for today’s economic climate?
• Governing the Sport – What Can Sailing Learn from other Sports?
• What space is there for Multihull Racing in the international calendar?
• Americas Cup: How do the Challengers see the future of their event?

Over 60 speakers will address these issues, not just from the sailing world, but from Formula 1, Tennis and other sports that arguably do it much better than sailing does it.

This year’s World Yacht Racing Forum promises an outstanding line up of sailing personalities and top speakers including Conference Chairman Peter Gilmour (AUS) and keynote addresses by Tom Whidden, CEO of North Sails, and two time Vendee Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux. Other confirmed and invited speakers include;

• Mark Turner CEO, OC Group
• Nick Fry Chief Executive, Brawn GP
• Nathalie Quéré Head of Global Sponsorship, BT Global Services
• Michael Rasmussen Chief Marketing Officer, VELUX
• Daniel Miles Group Head Marketing, Puma AG
• Jerome Pels Secretary General, ISAF (International Sailing Federation)
• Vincenzo Onorato CEO, Mascalzoni Latino
• Jamie Singer Partner, Onside Law
• Bruno Troublé Founder, Louis Vuitton Cup
• José Antonio Muñoz Manager, Deporte Andaluz
• Knut Frostad CEO, Volvo Ocean Race
• Scott Macleod Senior Vice President- New Business, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
• Ignacia Triay Director, Audi MedCup
• Julien Benoist Head of Sponsorship, Foncia
• Richard Moore CEO, Capitalise
• Richard Brisius CEO, Atlant Racing
• Maria Moynihan Lee Festival Director, City of Galway
• Daniel Calero Manager, Puerto Calero – Canaries
• Ulrich Lacher Managing Director, IFM Sports
• Henrik Sund Managing Director, Grow AB
• Stéphane Kandler CEO, K Challenge
• Ian Taylor CEO, Virtual Eye
• Richard Simmonds Managing Director, Sunset & Vine
• Marijn Harinck Founder, United Games
• Jean-Dominique Lauwerins CEO, Be Tomorrow
• Michel Desjoyeaux Multi Vendee Globe Winner
• Josh Hall CEO, Portimao Global Race
• Dominique Wavre President, IMOCA
• Riccardo Simoneschi CEO, B Plan Marketing
• Paul Cayard Professional Sailor
• Stephan Kandler CEO, K Challenge
• Sotoris Buseas CEO, Greek Challenge

This year, a new event has also been added to the schedule – the Yacht Racing Design and Technology Symposium – which will run parallel to the Forum in an adjoining conference room (www.yrdts.com). The Symposium will include presentations and panel discussions from experts in the field of yacht racing design and technology including the latest developments in performance hull and composite design, hydrodynamics, coatings, rigging, sail making and much more. Owners of racing yachts from a select number of classes are being invited to the Symposium free of charge. A total of 14 panel sessions and presentations are scheduled across both conferences, plus two evening functions for all participants.

Both conferences will share an exclusive exhibition and networking lounge with over 30 stands allowing delegates to meet and network with new contacts and industry colleagues. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit the exhibition area of the adjoining Motorsport Business Forum at the Grimaldi Forum on the same dates, plus an invitation to the exclusive ‘Track & Ocean’ cocktail reception jointly hosted on 9th December at the Meridien Beach Plaza Hotel.

Although only in its second year, the World Yacht Racing Forum has already found its place firmly on the yachting calendar as Event Director James Pleasance explains;

“What last year’s Forum proved is that the sailing industry absolutely needs an event like this. By industry professionals coming together and sharing strategies and best practices, it helps raise the quality and value of the sport globally, as well as addressing some of the sports key issues. It is also an excellent place to network and make new contacts. Monaco is very accessible in December, it really is a must-attend event for anyone in the business of sailing and yacht racing.”

Register at http://worldyachtracingforum.com/registration.php

Artemis Think Britain’s Got Offshore Talent.

Sponsorship is about return on investment. Even in the current economic climate, there are brands and properties that don’t fully understand how sponsorship delivers results to the bottom line. Artemis, the UK investment management company, are in the business of ROI and therefore sponsorship has to deliver.

So how did Artemis come to sponsor sailing, and how are they ensuring that they continue to get the results they want?

Mark Tyndall, CEO of Artemis Investment Management explains that the goal was to use sponsorship to engage the company’s primary market – independent financial advisers who sell Artemis’ products to investors. It was also important that those investors had an awareness and recognition of the Artemis brand.

Although Mark loves the sport of sailing, his emotions were put aside while an objective analysis was carried out as to which property would deliver their objectives. Triathlon and Athletics were amongst the options, but in the end the company chose offshore sailing as the vehicle to prmote Artemis to it’s UK market.

That was back in 2006 and since then the company has backed a combination of events and sailors including the Artemis Transat, Artemis Challenge during Cowes Week and more recently the Even Keel Project, using the Artemis 20 boat.

In 2008, Artemis, a brand new Open60 and UK sailor Jonny Malbon were on the start line for the Vendee Globe, the pinnacle of the offshore sailing calendar. Looking back, the company admit that the preparation for the race was not ideal and problems with sails meant that the campaign came to an end in New Zealand. They weren’t the only ones – only a third of the fleet finished the race, but Artemis had some decisions to make.

Most Vendee Globe campaigns are designed to end shortly after the race. Artemis had invested heavily in a new Open60, which along with Artemis 1, now renamed Artemis the profit hunter, gave them a platform to try and deliver the maximum ROI. To help them achieve that ROI they turned to the OC Group.

OC’s job for 2009 is to deliver a program for Artemis that will allow them to evaluate the value for money they are getting from their sponsorship. That evaluation will be based on three key criteria:

1. That they are satisfied that they have the best competitors and the best team to deliver their goals over the long term.
2. That, given the changing economic conditions, the company can still devote the same commitment to sponsorship of offshore sailing that it used to.
3. That there is a real payoff that goes beyond the ’soft’ benefits of feel-good factor, aspiration and motivation. That there is real media value being gained.

Based on OC’s own experience of a distributed approach to sailing, they have convinced Artemis that the marginal cost of running several skippers in several disciplines is relatviely low, once the basic platform is in place. So the plan is to develop a ‘talent pool’ of British offshore sailors who will include Sam Davies, Jonny Malbon, Nick Bubb and Ollie Bond.

The program will also use the second Artemis Open60 to give experience to non-team sailors including Ben Rogerson and Oscar Mead.

The OC program will also see the new Artemis compete in the Transat Jacques Vabre at the end of the year with Sam Davies teaming up with Sidney Gavignet. In order to be competitive in a race that is traditionally downwind and light airs, Artemis has undergone a major overhall.

Firstly, OC undertook two boat testing againt their other Open60, BT to determine just what the performance of the boat was. They then set about optimising the boat which included taking out up to 500kg of weight. Though the diet is not complete, Artemis will have a chance to show any speed difference against 9 other Open60’s in the Artemis Challenge next Wednesday.

The Artemis Challenge is also a great opportunity for the company to really use their involvement in sailing to make an impact on their primary market.

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