It is the nichest of the niche, designed to inspire the sailor and sense of adventure in all sports and entertainment fans, albeit using the highest of high tech to satisfy sponsor spend and communicate in real time through satellite technology to millions of logged on interested parties. It is the Volvo Ocean Race, and as it recently left Boston Harbor, it proved again that with the right partners and targeting the right audience even niche sports can survive in a down economy. So how does an event bereft of all the traditional activation pieces…ticket sales, traditional signage, well known personalities, mainstream television, even normal sponsor product placement…surviv. By controlling costs, creating suspense and telling the stories of those involved, and using the races global appeal as it goes through various regions to retell and educate those who come to see the ships and crew in port. The high end clientle or racing also gives it digital cache, which turns into a good followthrough for a high end product like Volvo, or even other sponsors like Tiffany. Throngs of cheering crowds will not get them the same exposure for this select audience as naming rights and digital signage. Without mainstream television coverage, the niche is driven to the web for 24/7 info, from streaming video to blogs and photos, all capturing the high seas for those who cannot get the info anywhere else. Again, costs are controlled as the technology for streaming remains very simple…no need for multiple cameras ala Formula One or other high tech events. The property simply delivers what it is to exactly the base of clients that it needs to, while also bringing in a casual observer or two along the way. Ironically it was the Whitbread Round The World Race that actually helped launch digital sports, as Quokka used it as their driver to lead to a mega Olympic deal with NBC that eventually failed. However the base of that deal, showing that devotees and some casual fans will go online to catch their sport when there is no place else to get information, remains the driver in ocean racing, and shows the industry again how if you can create a simple model and deliver what you promise, even the niche can survive.
Some other good reads…Bill Reynolds in the Providence Journal has a good profile of Red Sox owner Larry Lucchino… the LA Times Jerry Crowe has a good piece on the Fabulous Forum…which is now a church…and the New York Times has a good profile of the Diamondbacks unlikely manager AJ Hinch.
