Sailing Sponsorship Case Study: Rockport and Telefonica

The Volvo Ocean Race has ended and the next edition is well into the planning stages. Not all sponsorships are big title deals. There are opportunities for companies to partner with teams and events at all levels. We caught up with Rockport to ask them about their tie up with Telefonica in the recent Volvo Ocean Race.

Y$ – Why has Rockport chosen The Volvo Ocean Race as a mechanism to promote the company & brand?

With a foundation in Boston, MA, the Rockport brand has a strong nautical heritage and first introduced boat shoes in 1989 by merging its heritage of walking shoe comfort with the technology needed in a boat shoe. Rockport is known for putting its boat shoes to the test with international sailing crews. In 1994, Rockport sponsored the Whitbread ‘Round the World Race and, most recently, Rockport outfitted the Assa Abloy team in the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race in Rockport’s Caspian shoes with Hydromotion^TM technology.

Y$ – Were other types of sailing besides the Volvo Ocean Race considered?

Rockport has a history with the international world race. In 1994, Rockport became the official boat shoe supplier of the prestigious Whitbread ‘Round the World Race, which later became known at The Volvo Ocean Race. Based on the success of the initial sponsorship, Rockport sponsored a team in the 2001-2002 world ocean race, which was very successful. Rockport didn’t consider other types of sailing because it has had such a great experience with previous races

Y$ -Why was Telefonica Team chosen as the platform for the sponsorship?

The relationship between Rockport and the Telefonica team started as a simple seeding project in Spain. However, we recognized it could be a bigger opportunity and become another key milestone in the brand’s nautical/boat shoe history. We are fortunate enough to have been able to partner with them. Through their work and passion for sailing, they’re allowing us to tell our product story and to help show the authenticity in our performance footwear.

Y$ – Are there stops on the Volvo Ocean Race that are more important than others from a marketing point of view?

Certainly, the Telefonica teams’ one and only North American stop in Boston – Rockport’s home – was significant because the teams were presented with special edition styles of Rockport’s HydroPlex boat shoe (redesigned in the teams’ colors – one blue, one black – and including the Telefonica logo) to wear while embarking on the final stretch of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Y$ -What are the success factors in terms of the sponsorship?

Rockport considers this sponsorship a success due to the Telefonica teams’ overwhelmingly positive response to the HydroPlex boat shoe. Their satisfaction with the shoe’s performance, including water drainage technology and a rubber outsole offering great traction even on wet, slippery surfaces further demonstrates the authenticity of the product.

Y$ – How will you measure whether you have achieved your goals?

Rockport has achieved their most important goal – providing a boat shoe for the Telefonica team that is stylish, but also performs technically and can withstand the intense weather conditions the team has faced on the race worldwide.

Y$ -You’re using a bunch of social media platforms to activate the sponsorship – how are these working for you?

We’re currently compiling RockportSailing.com unique visitor numbers to date, but the RockportSailing Facebook page has over 1000 fans and almost 80 followers on twitter.

Y$ – Are you using specialist experts to integrate the social media part of your campaign?

We are working closely with our brand partners to develop the best future for rockport and social media. For this particular exercise, we worked closely with our media team at Carat to creatively and quickly develop the content and ideas.

See how Rockport activated their sponsorship via a special microsite at: http://www.rockportsailing.com/

Telefonica Blue Welcomed 1st to Qingdao

Telefonica Blue has won leg four of the Volvo Ocean Race, crossing the finish line in the fog at 07:00:25 GMT, or 15:00:25 local time.

The brusied fleet will be welcomed by the first ever Chinese Volvo Ocean Race Village, officially opened on Wednesday afternoon with a series of drumming and dance performances, a few short speeches, and a climax punctuated by a very loud set of fireworks strung up along a mock-up of the ‘Great Wall’.

In his speech, race CEO Knut Frostad thanked the local organising committee for their preparations, and paid tribute to the fleet at sea, still battling the elements on their way to Qingdao.

“I want to complement all of the sailors, for the skill and seamanship they have shown in very difficult conditions,” he said. “We often say that ‘to finish first, first you have to finish’ and on this leg, from Singapore to Qingdao that is more true than ever before.”

2011 Annoucement Good for Sponsorship Say Volvo Teams

Volvo Ocean Race organisers have announced that the next edition of the race, the 10th, will start in 2011.

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The decision has been welcomed by team principals who believe it gives certainty and continuity to the event and makes it easier for sponsors to commit.

“It’s essential to make this type of announcement now,” said Michael Woods, Team Russia’s CEO. “Certainty in any financial business environment is vital. For us to bring potential sponsors into the ports without knowing there is going to be a next race is a risk. Now we know there is another race it is worth the investment that we can bring potential sponsors to visit us later on.”

Jamie Boag, the CEO of Green Dragon, also believes the continuity will make the event more appealing to sponsors.

“One of the biggest problems that we have is the continuity, saying to somebody that ‘you have to put all these millions in and oh, by the way, if you hang around you can maybe do it in three years time’. Being able to go now and say they will be definitely something in three years time, makes life a lot easier.”

Tom Touber, the project manager of Team Delta Lloyd, was the director of shore operations at Team ABN AMRO in the last race hopes today’s news will help Delta Lloyd commit to the next race. He said: “This was a very, very positive announcement. This proves that Volvo is in very good cooperation with the syndicates.

Telefonica Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking hopes a new set-up will see extra assistance given in the search for sponsors. “We have been struggling always to find sponsors,” he said. “You have to get the right contacts so you need professional people in charge to find a sponsor for a sailing team.

“I’m not the right person to find a sponsor. I hope they can put the right people in place and then they can just hire a team manager or a complete team to race the boats.”

Sponsors might also be impressed with some of the numbers the event has already clocked up. The headline figure is the number of visitors to the race village to date from the opening of day of Friday 19th September which has reached 500,000.

The highest daily total was yesterday for the in-port race when 62,000 people went through the turnstiles.

Telefonica Volvo Boats – Black and Blue

Next Tuesday, 16 September, the two new boats built by the Spanish team, Telefonica for the next Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 – Blue Telefonica and Telefonica Black – will be officially launched in the Race Village at Alicante, in front of the Telefonica building.

It was last June 5 when they brought the hull of Telefonica Black’ from New Zealand by plane, while the twin brother, Telefonica blue, came over on the 30th in the same month to Valencia.

Since that time, they have not stopped working on them, not a single day: tuning, reviewing materials, structure and stability tests, daily workouts, testing, training offshore and primarily the 2,000-mile qualification for the second generation Volvo Open 70s.

Those 2,000 miles tested the skills of the crews and vessels in navigation offshore, while at the beginning of August it was the turn of the inshore navigation, thanks to the participation of Blue Telefonica and Telefonica Black in the Cup Sailing del Rey.

On September 16, the Spanish representative in the Volvo Race will stage a live one day special, as important as the official launch of its two boats. The countdown has begun.