Yacht Sponsorship » Sponsorship

A Funny Thing Happened…

Sailing Sponsorship Editor — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:26:45 +0000

The World Yacht Racing Forum has taken place again, with some of the sailing industry’s top people in attendance, talking about the business of yacht racing. Over the next few weeks, we will be transcribing some of the sessions that took place at the forum and giving you the chance to learn some of the best practice and insights from the panels.

Does Sailing Deliver Sponsorship ROI? : Featuring Mirabaud, BT Global Services and Kevin Roberts from Sportsbusiness as well as David Fuller from YachtRacing.biz. More…

Driving The Growth of Sailing Through Digital : Featuring people who are doing it, making apps, building Facebook pages and interfacing TV from boats to global TV networks. More…

Also at the forum, the Extreme Sailing Series announced its calendar and venues for 2012. We caught up with OC Thirdpole Chairman Mark Turner and asked him about a wide variety of issues. Watch the video here…

Recent Sailing Business Related News

If you still haven’t switched over to YachtRacing.biz, then you might have missed the following stories – and our particular take on them.

Ben Ainslie clashes with cameraman at Perth 2011 World Championships – What does it mean for the sport?
Audi pulls the sponsorship plug on the Med Cup.
Sam Davies announces new sponsor for Vendee Globe campaign
RC44 Announces 2012 Calendar – Minus San Diego.

See you at the World Yacht Racing Forum? 20% Discount Code.

Sailing Sponsorship Editor — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:57:56 +0000

Get a FREE Directory of Sailing’s Who’s Who when you register with our exclusive code.

From the 13-14 of December, the Who’s Who of the Yacht Racing and Sailing industry will gather in Estoril, Portugal to discuss the future of the sport and to do deals.

As well as a packed program of discussions, the World Yacht Racing Forum (WYRF) brings together hundreds of decision makers and buyers for yacht racing products and services.

We’ve teamed up with the World Yacht Racing Forum to offer you – the who’s who – 20% off a delegate pass for the conference, plus… the first 10 delegates to register with our special discount code will receive a free Dark Blue Book worth £50.

To save over 150 Euros and get your free directory read on…

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The first 10 registrations using the code will also get a 2011 Dark Blue Book worth £50.

Yacht Racing Business News Update.

If you haven’t switched over to our new sailing business news portal yet, here are some of the stories that you might have missed in the last couple of weeks.

World Match Racing Tour searches for stars : Sailors on the WMRT will need to show that they can deliver value to the tour and it’s partners, not just be good at sailing. New criteria for Tour Card Holders includes marketability.

Groupama Go Global with their Sponsorship : Groupama is looking to bring together its global operations around the Volvo Ocean Race. The company has invested heavily in the new mono-hull project and is leveraging years of experience with Franck Cammas.

How to Sell Your Product to the Navy : Volvo Ocean Race sponsor Inmarsat talk about how B2B sponsorship activation works and how testing your service in extreme conditions helps positioning.

The Week’s Top Yacht Racing Business News

Sailing Sponsorship Editor — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:57:03 +0000

But first, an ad for Sailing Sponsorship and Sports Marketing

Behind yachtsponsorship.com is a sports marketing agency – Pilote Media.

Pilote has a unique perspective on the yacht racing and sailing market. Since 2008, the company has provided comment and insight into some of the best (and worst) practices in the industry. Many companies and brands have adopted best practice, but a lot haven’t.

You might have noticed that this site looks a bit different. There’s a reason for that. This site ranks on top of Google and Bing for a huge number of valuable sailing and marine search terms. From America’s Cup sponsorship to Dinghy Insurance.

Rather than close it down, we are using it to promote the digital sponsorship activation and digital marketing services offered by Pilote Media. If you want the latest yacht racing and sailing business news – head on over to yachtracing.biz.

Sunsail Racing Sponsorship of Biscay 2012 a Good Deal.

Sailing Sponsorship Editor — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:32:41 +0000

The Royal Southern Yacht Club recently announced a calendar of events to celebrate their 175th Anniversary, including a new offshore race – the Biscay 2012. One of the sponsors of the race will be Sunsail – more specifically, Sunsail Racing – and the tie-up is a clever one.

As Sunsail rolls out its new fleets of Sunsail F40s, they are creating one of the largest identically matched fleets in the world. One design racing has a huge fan base as sailors love to know how good they are against their competition given the same boat and budget – it’s one of the reasons that the MOD70 is gaining ground over other classes that are ‘open’.

Sponsorship of Biscay 2012, doesn’t just give Sunsail Racing a good platform to help re-position the brand as a racing product, it also gives sailors a reason to charter – not just for the race itself, but for practice.

Simon Conder; Sunsail UK Head of Marketing said;

“This is a great partnership for Sunsail, the Royal Southern Yacht Club is a prestigious sailing club and the new fleet of F40s are the perfect boats for this challenging and exciting race. The Biscay 2012 is a great addition to the Sunsail Racing Events Calendar and will challenge crews, whilst allowing fantastic stop-over locations.”

The deal is win-win – Royal Southern gets the prospect of 40 extra boats on the start line of the new race. Sunsail get to show racing sailors that they have changed – that the boats were built with racing in mind and they also get to tempt offshore sailors who want to compete in a big offshore race, the chance to do so without having their own boat.

Sponsorship seekers are still sometimes not very scientific with the way they prospect. They may see a brand sponsoring another sport and think – ‘well if they sponsor them, perhaps they will sponsor us too..’ Others target broadly by industry – reasoning that financial services seem to have a lot of money so they would be a good place to start.

A little bit of thinking about what the sponsor might want out of the deal helps to create deals that work. Sailing is increasingly used as a mechanism to drive travel and tourism, but apart from the government backed destination marketing budgets, there are relatively few travel and tourism sponsors in the sport.

There are of course some recognizable brands, like Emirates Airlines, The Wave Muscat and W Hotels, and smaller events often have local hotel partners, however – brands that stand to gain from increased direct revenue rather than some magical media value number can often be the best sponsorship partners.

So how does Sunsail Racing make more money out of sponsoring a race in Europe in 2012? Well as the press release says:

Competitors for Biscay 2012 are able to build their racing miles in the F40s in the Sunsail Racing Programme in the Canary Islands this winter and in the UK next year. The four Regattas in the Royal Southern Yacht Club’s 2012 summer racing programme will also count towards crew qualification for the Biscay 2012 race.

A good deal for brand, event organiser and sailors….

More Travel & Tourism news.

TAGS: BISCAY 2012, CHARTER, F40, MARKETING, OFFSHORE, ROYAL SOUTHERN YACHT CLUB, SPONSORSHIP, SUNSAIL RACING, TRAVEL

5 Top Clubs Give 5 Top Tips on Sponsorship

Sailing Sponsorship Editor — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:21:07 +0000

During the 5th Commodores’ Forum of the International Council of Yacht Clubs (ICOYC) held last year at the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club in Perth, the attendees discussed sponsorshipfrom the point of view of Yacht Clubs as event organisers. The following is taken from the ICOYC newsletter published in July.

‘Five lessons learned’ when dealing with sponsors.

John McNeill, Staff Commodore of the St Francis Yacht Club.

Understanding that sponsors want eyeballs, reaching people through our activities to sell their products or services.
Work to the sponsors schedule and their marketing goals.
Set up a press room with a view of the starting line.
Help fulfill their goals without compromising the culture of your own club.
Sell the long term – your best sponsors should become your good friends.

Ragnar Klevaas, Past Commodore, Royal Norwegian Yacht Club.

Norway’s public sector is rich due to oil and the government supports many activities.
There are no big brand names like in Denmark or Sweden.
Popular sports in Norway are winter sports and football.
Sailing does not receive any media coverage hence very little sponsorship.
Good relations have been built with private banking sponsors.

Russell Murphy, Commodore, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.

Sponsorship is no free lunch …
Most sponsors with products, profile and funds have extremely well-managed marketing departments, clubs underestimate that relationships require professional management.
At their club, sponsors do not pay in cash, their sponsors do it in kind.
Relying on cash will make the club vulnerable in case an event sponsor withdraws.
Without proper measurement, yacht clubs have little understanding of values and events – making them vulnerable to selling events cheap.

Craig Peploe, General Manager, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

It is essential that someone in the club is responsible for account managing the significant sponsor.
Legwork must include maintaining the relationship and looking after the more immediate needs of the sponsor including regular communication.
The club must provide as much advance notice as possible to actions expected of them, functions they need to attend, invitations to other events, etc.
It is a lot easier to retain a current sponsor than it is for them to leave and have to recruit another. Significant sponsorships should be for a minimum three-year term.
The club’s database needs to be protected – guidelines need to be established for when it is acceptable for a sponsor to direct market to members.

Inge Strompf-Jepsen, Past Commodore, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.

Do not promise a sponsor something that you cannot deliver!
Understand what the sponsor is trying to achieve – work with the sponsor but manage their expectations.
Help get the sponsor’s message across – if a request is reasonable look at whether it is possible to make it happen.
Retain control – the running of the event should not be dictated by the sponsor!
Respect your sponsor – ensure the sailors know who the sponsor is and that they show their respect and appreciation.

For the full Article (PDF) click here…

TAGS: ICOYC, INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF YACHT CLUBS, ROYAL HONG KONG YACHT CLUB, ROYAL NEW ZEALAND YACHT SQUADRON, ROYAL NORWEGIAN YACHT CLUB, ROYAL PRINCE ALFRED YACHT CLUB, SPONSORSHIP, ST FRANCIS YACHT CLUB

Video: Oman Sail’s Sponsors Activate.

Extreme Sailing Series Editor — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:30:45 +0000

Sponsors Focus on Consumers At Cowes Week

Oman Sail continues to combine professional sailing with savvy marketing. This is long-term, grown-up strategy meets great execution of tactics. While Leigh McMillan was winning the Cowes Round of the Extreme Sailing Series on Muscat the Wave, the sponsors were making the most of the crowds around the corner in the main Cowes Week entertainment areas.

Cowes Week might have a reputation for being stuffy or old fashioned. Some might say that it is the epitomy of the ‘Flintstone generation’ approach to sailing. That might be true for the classes and teams sailing out of the Royal Yacht Squadron, but demographics in the Yacht Haven and the beer tent is the kind of audience that brands like Aberdeen Asset Management, Oman Air, and Talisker Whiskey want to talk to. Chances are – if you can afford a pair of Dubarry boots and the ability to take a week off to sailing, you are the kind of adventurous traveller who might want to experience travelling to somewhere like Oman.

The advantage that Cowes Week has over some other sailing events, is that the audience is a known quantity. They are not a mythical social media community or some trendy marketing segmentation – they can be well defined by their age, gender, geography and social standing. It might not be millions of (unqualified) TV eyeballs, but that’s the point – some brands don’t want to be mass market.

While the new title sponsor of Cowes Week, Aberdeen Asset Management played to their B2B VIP Guests through closed door hospitality and some flags, Oman Sail and Muscat the Wave, who have a more ‘consumer’ focus, were activating in tried and tested pavement level ways – competitions for data collection mixed with banners and other visual awareness methods which combined with good results on the water.

Oman Sail Renew Offshore Program with MOD70

The MOD70 is gaining momentum. With politics and increasing costs plauging the IMOCA 60 class, the one-design multihull is being looked at seriously by many offshore teams. Now Oman Sail has announced that the MOD70 will be part of the team’s offshore campaign.

Sidney Gavignet, who has skippered the Oman Air Extreme 40 this year will head up the MOD70 program. Sidney joined Oman Sail team in 2010 to skipper the 100 foot trimaran Oman Air Majan in the Route du Rhum. Gavignet, skipper and project manager of Oman Sail MOD70 said:

“For me the MOD70 is the most attractive boat on the water currently. The boats are quick and although I always enjoy racing around the planet, it’s better when it’s quick! Also it’s absolutely one design, similar to the Extreme 40, so racing will be extremely close amongst the six boats from New York to Brest.”

Sidney will step off of the Oman Air’s Extreme 40 after Act 5 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Cowes to manage the MOD70 project and the all important crew selection process. The team will be made up of four top international crew and two top Omani national sailors for the offshore legs with an additional international and Omani sailor joining the crew for the inshore legs. A rigorous selection process will start in October.

One of the main deciders for Oman Sail’s participation in the MOD70 circuit was the destinations the boats will visit in the World and European tours, the majority of which are key markets for Oman with direct flight routes to Muscat with the countries national airline, Oman Air. The programme will continue to promote Oman as a unique luxury tourist destination around the globe.

David Graham, CEO of Oman Sail said:

“The MOD70 will take the Oman Sail project to another level. It is a very powerful boat whose crew will need to have the skill base to perform against some of the world’s best sailors. It will be crucial to recruit the right people to the project and I know we have a number of great sailors in Oman that will earn their place onboard and make Oman proud. It is a truly inspirational project that will provide a platform for our current top sailors compete and develop their sailing skills and inspire a whole new generation of Omani’s into sailing.”

More Sponsorship Activation News
More Travel & Tourism News

Royal Southern Launches New Race with Sponsorship Support.

Yacht Racing Business Editor — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:51:29 +0000

In 2012, the Royal Southern Yacht Club will celebrate its 175th Anniversary. In a country where the average life expectancy of a business is 12 years, the Royal Southern continues to show how a yacht club can be commercial enterprise and a thriving hub of social and racing activity.

The Royal Southern yacht club is several businesses, some of which run 7 days a week, around the clock. The management team control the revenue and expenses of a restaurant, marina and event space. But in order to stage the activities planned for 2012, the club requires commercial sponsors.

Sponsorship is something that yacht clubs around the world are coming to terms with as an essential part of their business model. The subject was the topic of discussion at a recent Conference of the International Council of Yacht Clubs (ICOYC), which will hold their 2012 conference at the Royal Southern Yacht Club.

At an event at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, the Royal Southern Yacht Club Commodore, Mark Inkster introduced some of the companies that will partner with the club to support the calendar of events including a new race.

Royal Southern Yacht Club 175 partners will include sailing apparel company Gaastra, Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, Swarovski Optik, and Sunsail Racing. The deal with Sunsail is particularly clever and is good for the club, but also for the sport of sailing.

Sunsail Racing will be the technical partner for the new Biscay 2012 Race, with a new fleet of Sunsail F40 performance cruiser/racers, built by Beneteau, constituting the largest part of the Royal Southern Yacht Club’s inaugural Biscay 2012 race fleet. Sailors looking to get into offshore racing will be able to charter the yachts at a reasonable cost, lowering barriers to entry for top level sailing.

Sam Davies, an honorary member of the Royal Southern Yacht Club will also be an ambassador for the new race. She said:

“Any sailing initiative that helps encourage a wider audience to participate in some competitive offshore racing has to be a good thing. Being able to encourage the Club’s racing members to sign up to this but also open it up to a wider sailing fraternity to enter Biscay 2012 is very welcomed. The Royal Southern’s Race Management is superlative and Biscay 2012 couldn’t be in better hands. Congratulations to you all and thanks again for inviting me to be a part of it.”

More Sailing Sponsorship News

Extreme Sailing Series Publishes Half Way Media Numbers.

Sailing Sponsorship Editor — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 10:45:47 +0000

In December 2010, the Extreme Sailing Series announced that it would expand to become a global tour of events. Taking the ‘stadium sailing’ format out of Europe and into new markets, some with immense populations starved of sailing content, had to lead to an increase in the media value for sponsors and partners.

As the Extreme Sailing Series continues to test their business models with regards to media, streaming the Cowes round live to the internet, organisers OC Thirdpole have released an independent interim media evaluation report covering the first three events (Muscat, Qingdao and Istanbul) of the 9-Act global 2011 tour.

Commissioning such reports is expensive, but it is vital that sponsors and media analysts have independent research to base decisions on. There is still too much hyperbole in the industry about the real size of the audience for sailing – no matter what format.

Mark Turner, Executive Chairman of OC ThirdPole recognises that the PR headline figure is worthless to anyone serious about sailing as a commercial enterprise and says:

“First and foremost, we aim to be totally transparent with our methodology and results – and we’ve been using the same quite harsh methodology for three years now. We want our figures to be as realistic as possible, therefore no talk of ‘reach’ to billions of households – even if we are very happy with our expanded global TV footprint. Media evaluation figures are always treated with a level of scepticism – the most important thing for us is the continued strong progession of our global media results.

Compared with the first part of last year’s series, the coverage has increased by nearly 90%. Havas Sponsorship Insights project that the series will generate €23m of media value for the full year – nearly two and a half times the 2010 result. This number is considered conservative and discounts exceptional ‘one-off’ coverage of Act 2 in China, where capsizes generated significant interest.

Coverage included in this report includes over six hours of live television coverage across Turkey and the Balkans on the national broadcaster TRT which followed coverage of the Monaco F1 Grand Prix.

Alastair Macdonald, Director of Sponsorship Insights at Havas commented:

“This interim media evaluation report for the Extreme Sailing Series 2011, illustrates the level of media coverage the series has gained after the first three events. There has been a significant increase in the volume of coverage compared to the first three events of the 2010 series, including some outstanding exposure in Asia. We have used the amount of coverage gained so far this year to make a projection for exposure for the full nine-event series, and the value that this media coverage may deliver.

Mark Turner commented on the results:

“We are pleased with this continued upward progression in the level of media coverage achieved by the circuit. It’s obviously only one measure of the value of the event for sponsors and host venues, but it remains an important one for us to deliver ever increasing returns on investment for our different stakeholders.”

More Sailing Media News
More Extreme Sailing Series News

China Team Sponsors On Board With New Fan Goals.

America's Cup Editor — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:21:58 +0000

While it remains to be seen how many of the America’s Cup teams competing in Cascais will have the funds to mount a challenge for the real America’s Cup in 72 foot catamarans, China Team has announced sponsorship support from a wide variety of partners.

There is no doubt that China has the depth of population and the commercial clout to fund a challenge and China Team might be the one that actually manages to attract the audience that theAmerica’s Cup Event Authority will change sailing forever through their demand for extreme, speed-obsessed racing.

Firefall, a team based action shooter game (very Facebook Generation) has been announced as the official partner for China Team for the Cascais World Series Event.

Firefall is described as the latest online gaming frenzy, created by Red5 Studios, Inc. The online game, is set in the year 2233 (much like the opening sequence of America’s Cup Uncovered), in a world where a cataclysm has occurred and teams of friends across the world join together and fight for the survival of humanity against the army of the Chosen and save the earth.

Red5 Studios CEO Mark Kern says:

“Congratulations to China Team to become the China challenger for the AC34. We are very proud to be the Official Partner for China Team for the Cascais World Series, and will actively follow the China Team successes over the next 2 years.”

Also joining China Team as partners will be Tony Studio and Mbaobao.

Tony Studio, established in 1999, is the leading brand of styling industry in China. Tony Studio provides individual and tailor-made styling services to deliver style and modern sophistication at the forefront of the fashion industry to their exclusive clientele, under the vision of fashion super star Tony Li.

CEO Tony Li says:

“Tony Studio is excited to sponsor China Team, as Tony Studio and China Team share many values, such as sophistication, exclusivity, and success. We believe that China Team is well positioned to bring success to China in this prestigious sailing event”.

Mbaobao is described as the leading B2C handbag company, and one of the top ten B2C online vendors in China. The company sells many brands, and is funded in part by Italian company Vosconti.

The centralized America’sCup.com website rules means that Louis Vuitton will sit side by side with BagsOK.com.

Mbaobao CEO Ye Haifeng says:

“Just as a few years ago, we never thought that we could become who we are today, growing tenfold in just 3 short years, our dream is coming true; we believe that China Team has a dream and we want to be a part of that dream coming true as well, as it is the pride of the whole of China, not just China Team”

Wang Chaoyong, Chairman of China Team says about the sponsorship strategy:

“One of the main goals of the 34th America’s Cup is to extend the reach of the America’s Cup to a whole new and younger generation audience. China Team is delivering on this goal in China by attracting many younger generation entrepreneurs as partners and sponsors who are excited about China’s potential in sailing, especially in such a prestigious event as the America’s Cup.”

“Unlike the traditional sponsors of the America’s Cup challengers, these new generation of companies can relate to the Chinese young sailors, training and getting ready to sail in the races around the world with China Team. Their reach among China’s younger generation is enormous, with millions of younger Chinese fans now getting to know China Team as well as the America’s Cup through these partners”.

More America’s Cup News

New Cowes Week Sponsor Helps Relaunch Online Offer

Sailing Sponsorship Editor — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:08:15 +0000

Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week has a new website, and it’s pretty good. The site is simple, clean, easy to navigate and most importantly is designed to understand that the event has multiple stakeholders and audiences.

Title sponsorship of Cowes Week has been missing from the event in recent years, and as a result, money has been spent in other areas. With the support of Aberdeen Asset Management, the web presence of the regatta has been given a much needed face-lift.

Organisers have also created a mobile site which is intended to give instant access to results, news, start times, courses and entertainment schedules during the regatta, but using an Android powered Samsung Galaxy II S, we can’t find it yet.

The site also links to the required social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook. So far, 2260 people like the facebook page, which is almost the same as Emirates Team NZ. The social media element is not mentioned in the press release directly, although the site is refferred to as anonline presence which is a trendy digital marketing term that alludes to a brand’s web footprint being more than just its website.

And for those sailors who want to take their expensive smartphones sailing, and have enough battery to keep the GPS on throughout racing, Aberdeen Asset Management have funded a new tracking system trial.

The ‘ngTrack’ system uses competitors’ own smartphones instead of expensive dedicated tracking devices to monitor the locations of boats taking part. Position data is transmitted in real-time to regatta HQ and is available to view online through a simple, easy-to-use viewer. The system is being trialed with the IRC Class 0, Dragon and Multihull classes this year, but Aberdeen hope to extend the facility to the wider Cowes Week fleet in 2012.

Commenting on this year’s tracking trial, CWL Chief Executive, Stuart Quarrie said:

”I have been keen to secure a tracking solution for the regatta for some time and this trial bodes well for a total solution in future years. Being able to track the fleet will be a huge bonus from both a spectator and race management viewpoint”.

Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen Asset Management said:

“The new tracking system is something we’re really pleased to have been able to support in our first year at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week. At Aberdeen we are aiming to help enhance the event and hopefully this cutting-edge GPS tracking system trial will do just that for all those taking part. We are very much looking forward to receiving feedback from these initial trials to find out if this initiative has been the success we all hope it will be so that we can look to extend it to the whole fleet in 2012.”

The Aberdeen Asset Management sponsored Extreme 40 has also taken to the water off Cowes. The team will compete in the UK round of the Extreme Sailing Series, which takes place during Cowes Week.

More Cowes Week News