Extreme Sailing Series Moves Sailing Closer Towards Being a Professional Sport.

Last week in Cowes, sailing fans got to see several forms of the sport side by side. Beside the amateurs, who disappeared off the start line into all corners of the Solent, was the 1851 Cup – an exhibition match for version 5 America’s Cup boats, the Artemis Challenge for the IMOCA 60 class and the Extreme Sailing Series.

Each of these events is designed for a different audience. the general racing is for competitors – participants who drive the grass roots of the sport. the americas cup also exists for competitors, just more wealthy ones – with spectators requiring sizable power boats to watch. On the other hand, The Extreme Series unapologetically places the spectators at the centre of their product offer.

Part of the product that OC Events is selling with the extreme series is a sailing format that rewards good sailors and punishes the smallest of mistakes.

There is a dark side of many spectator sports that tempts viewers to keep watching because there is a high risk of something going wrong. Just as a percentage of ice hockey fans want to see a fight or NASCAR fans want to see a wreck, the prospect of an extreme 40 flipping or breaking adds a different dimension to the sport of sailing that many other formats either fail to communicate or hush up.

Some may want to criticise the promotion of a 40 foot carbon catamaran sailing into a wall at 35 mph, but the 50,000+ Youtube views of Groupama’s accident at cowes week dwarfs viewing numbers of any other clip from the event. People are still talking about it, but they are also talking about the good news too.

I was asked again last week – “If you had a client with a decent budget, which sailing event would you place it with.” Like all good sponsorship consultants, my answer was “it depends” – because different sponsors have different objectives. However, the Extreme Sailing Series consistently delivers to its sponsors and partners and has aggressive plans for the future.

Regular readers will know that we have a problem with the phrase ‘the F1 of sailing’ because nothing in the sport currently comes close. But if the Extreme Sailing Series expands from its current European and Asian events into a couple more international markets, then the series may just be the platform to help sailing really go pro.

Artemis Challenge Part of Sponsorship Drive for Dee Caffari.

Cowes Week 2010 featured several special events. Along with the 1851 Cup exhibition regatta for old America’s Cup boats and the Extreme Sailing Series, the Artemis Challenge returned to the regatta to showcase the powerful IMOCA 60 offshore sailing yachts and to raise money for charity by involving some celebrities in a special ’round the island race’. Yachtsponsorship.com ‘s David Fuller was aboard Dee Caffari’s boat for the event.

On Tuesday morning, the Artemis hospitality tents at Cowes Week were full of offshore racing talent. The Artemis Challenge is one of the only events where fans of British offshore sailors can see them competing in home waters, even if the race is for publicity and charity. There is something that Dee Caffari, Sam Davies, Brian Thompson, Mike Golding, and Steve White all have in common – they are all looking for sponsorship to allow them to compete in the next Vendee Globe.

Each skipper has a slightly different story to sell to potential promotional partners and each has different strategies for raising the required money to compete at the highest level. Like all sport, it is not always the most talented athletes who do well, but those who can attract the financial backing to put together winning campaigns. Talent and financial backing is the best combination.

The Artemis Challenge is as much about raising sponsorship as it is about raising money for worthy causes. The whole of Cowes Week is an opportunity to sail the 60 foot racing billboards that are the IMOCA 60s in front of thousands of people and really show guests what sponsoring a 60 foot ocean going race yacht is all about.

Dee Caffari has benefited from a five year relationship with Aviva. The company has supported Dee to three world records including becoming the first woman to sail solo, non stop, around the world in both directions. Indeed Aviva’s activation of Dee’s most recent Vendee Globe campaign spanned business press, newspapers and school curricula and their involvement in the Round Britain record generated a huge return on investment (ROI).

But marketing strategies change, and the insurance and investment brand has shifted its promotional budgets to other sports like athletics and more recently rugby. In July, Aviva announced a £20 million deal to replace Guinness as sponsor of premiership rugby in the UK.

As Founding Partner, Aviva will remain a member of the team behind Dee Caffari’s 2012/13 Vendée Globe campaign, but to mount a challenge that could see Caffari become the first British Winner of a Solo Round the world offshore race since Sir Robin Knox Johnston in 1969, new sponsors will need to be found.

Before that Dee will be taking part in the Barcelona World Race with sponsorship from GAES Centros Auditivos brought to the team by her co-skipper for the race Anna Corbella. The organisers of the Barcelona World Race have helped many of the competitors secure budget for the race to ensure the host city gets its required return on investment. As a result, Caffari is working hard to keep her goal of an entry in the next Vendee Globe afloat.

The Artemis Challenge is an important part of Dee’s role as an ambassador for the Toe in the Water charity. The race offers a £10,000 prize for the chosen charity of the winning Skipper. Joined for the race by former England rugby international Martin Bayfield, ‘GAES Centros Auditivos’ came in fourth on the day.

Martin Bayfield commented:

“It was great fun, great people and a great experience and I absolutely loved it. Dee was very gentle and very kind, and very polite about my steering.”

Dee said:

‘We had a great sail to the Needles and after our hand break turn back into the Solent we hoisted the spinnaker. The strong winds and good boat speed made for some exciting sailing to the finish, all of which helped hook Martin into a new sport. We are sad that we didn’t win a pot of money for Toe in the Water but everyone onboard had a great time out on the water which is what Cowes Week is all about.’

While Dee didn’t win the race at Cowes, the sister-ship belonging to Mike Golding did. The result shows that the boat is still competitive and will continue to deliver Aviva and Gaes value. Dee herself will also continue to deliver value to her sponsors, because unlike some of the offshore sailors, who are most at home alone at sea and reluctant media performers, Caffari is a media savvy brand ambassador who can engage audiences from boardrooms to classrooms.

Yacht Racing Business Thoughts For 2010-08-08

• Seems that this new Twitter ‘Who you should follow feature’ is delivering us a lot of new followers – Welcome! #
• I uploaded a YouTube video — Dee Caffari At the 2010 Artemis Challenge at Cowes Week http://youtu.be/q7FPmbwSwG8?a #
• I uploaded a YouTube video — Extreme 40 Sailing Series – Cowes Week 2010 http://youtu.be/lcXaXvs882M?a #

America’s (Cup) Got Talent – Three Video Finalists Chosen.

The competition to select the new breed of video artist to deliver the 34th America’s Cup to a fresh, wide audience has selected 3 initial finalists.

I’m a 40 yo ex NAVY helicopter rescue swimmer, avid catamaran sailor and current Photographer, video director and producer. I have some great ideas that will go unheard with this (age) limitation.

“All three represented a nice mix of shot composition, artistry and effects to make them appealing to watch.”

America’s Cup Searches for Crowdsourced Cool Television Concepts.

The revolution will be televised and the sport of sailing will be fixed in post-production.

There is absolutely no doubt that sailing is one of the most photogenic sports on the planet. Modern event organisers like the Volvo Ocean Race realise that the delivery of the sport via HD video is one of the most important factors for making yacht racing more relevant to a wider audience. Indeed the televising of yacht racing has consistently innovated broadcast technology and is far superior to many sports.

Nevertheless, Russell Coutts has stated that the next edition of the America’s Cup will include a televisual revolution. Don’t expect to hear any classical music on the soundtrack for AC34 – the goal is to make sailing more like a video game or music video. Coutts says:

“Transforming television is the single-most important change we can make to this magnificent competition. We’re looking to the next generation to help bring the screen alive. We expect this competition to open our eyes to some creative concepts that will increase the event’s appeal to younger audiences.”

It is implied in this statement, and others made by Coutts, that the sailing itself will have to be more exciting and engaging. The draft protocol makes provision for the sailors names to be emblazoned on the back of their shirts – one day cricket style – which might point to other changes that are being considered.

Perhaps taking inspiration from the defending club being based in one of the world’s hubs of new media, the Defender is looking to crowdsource new talent by launching a competition to find new ways of making sailing interesting on TV.

The call to actions states:

Ambition is the main requirement for entry. Naturally, content must be original and 100-percent rights-cleared. Clips may be of any sport or activity and any combination of camerawork, editing and production. The 28-year age limit is in place with a view to blending new talent with the best and most-experienced specialists in sports broadcasting.

A panel of extreme sports and social media leaders will review the videos. Producers of the most interesting videos posted by 12 July 2010 will be flown to Valencia, Spain, to participate in the 34TH America’s Cup Media & Race Evaluation Trials slated for the end of July.

The ultimate competition winner, to be announced at the end of September, will get to choose from prizes that include a top of the range Apple MacBook Pro, installed with the latest video editing software, to a high-end, HD camera. Other finalists will receive BMW ORACLE Racing official team gear.

With any luck, entrants will keep in mind that the audience for sailing, like F1 is looking for more than pictures. Incorporation of live data is as important as a fast edit or funky digital effect. The bottom line is that the competition needs to be close and there needs to be human interest or no amount of strobe editing or hip-hop soundtrack will make anyone want to watch it.

More at: http://www.americascup.com/videocompetition/

Next Page »