Sponsorship Sailing Along On the High Seas…

It’s an unusual property with some unique brand partners, so we asked the folks at the Volvo Ocean race to break down the biz…

In 2012, the Volvo Ocean Race organizers announced a huge shift to a one-design boat that would be used by all entries. The idea was to lower the price – and barriers – to entry for any potential sponsors that wanted to be part of the around-the-world race that began life in 1973 as the Whitbread Round-The-World Race.

By going to a one-design race, cost for entering and running a campaign has been roughly cut in half from about $10-15 million – not including marketing or sponsorship activation which is entirely up to the individual sponsor. The rule change has also allowed late entries into the race by eliminating the development time for teams to design, test and build their own boats in the preceding 2-years. Lastly, it has leveled the playing field. No longer does a sponsor have to fear having a  “slow boat” at the start line, competing at a disadvantage the entire way around the ocean race track.

After declining participation over the past decade, the race has had an uptick in competitors to seven boats for the 2014-15 race, the race’s 12^th edition. Considering that the last few races have had six different sponsors entering boats (in previous editions sponsors could enter two teams) this is certainly a step in the right direction – if a small one. But perhaps more impressive are the types of sponsors that have entered the race, including several global conglomerates. And this is perhaps the biggest statement yet of the future potential of the one-design rule.

Let’s take a quick snapshot of each of the seven sponsors behind the teams.

Team:                          Abu Dhabi Ocean Race

Country:                     United Arab Emirates

Skipper:                      Ian Walker (GBR)

Sponsor(s):                Abu Dhabi is sponsored by the Middle East emirate itself with the country’s logo and branding splashed across the boat. Abu Dhabi is also a sponsor of the race and hosts a stopover – the first city in the Middle East to host the race –giving Abu Dhabi multiple branding points. National airline Etihad has on-board branding, as does race sponsor IWC watches.

Team:                          Dongfeng Race Team

Country:                     China

Skipper:                      Charles Caudrelier (FRA)

Sponsor: Dongfeng Race Team is sponsored by Chinese truck giant Dongfeng Trucks.

Team:                          Team Alvimedica

Country:                     Turkey/USA

Skipper:                      Charlie Enright (USA)

Sponsor: Turkish medical device company Alvimedica has sponsored this team taking the storyling of being the youngest team in the race with predominantly under-30 sailors – similar to Alvimedica’s positioning as a young medical company. The team made the smart decision to brand itself as a joint U.S./Turkish entry to increase media coverage in the U.S. around skipper Charlie Enright (29) from Bristol, RI.

Team:                          Team Brunel

Country:                     Holland

Skipper:                      Bouwe Bekking (NED)

Sponsor: Brunel might not be that well known in the U.S., but they are a global giant with 13,000 employees and offices in more than 40 countries offering professional staffing and project management services. Brunel has previously sponsored a team in the race and Holland’s seafaring heritage make this an interesting campaign.

Team:                          Team SCA

Country:                     Sweden

Skipper:                      Sam Davies (GBR)

Sponsor: You may have never heard of SCA but chances are you have used their products almost every day. SCA is a leading global hygiene and forest products company with brands like Tempo, Tork, Lotus and many others. You’ve likely dried your hands or wiped food using their napkins hundreds of times. There are sponsoring the race’s only all-female entry under the brand premise of women’s empowerment.

Team:                          MAPFRE

Country:                     Spain

Skipper:                      Iker Martinez (ESP)

Sponsor: MAPFRE is Spain’s leading insurance company, the fourth-largest insurer in the world, and also the No. 1 insurer in Latin America with offices in 47 countries and more than 36,000 employees. They were late to announce their sponsorship but their bright red boat with massive MAPFRE logo goes well with their corporate branding.

Team:                          Team Vestas Wind

Country:                     Denmark

Skipper:                      Chris Nicholson (AUS)

Sponsor: World largest wind turbine company is sponsoring a team in a race powered by the wind. We can’t thing of a better synergy in sports sponsorship – and its slogan – “Wind. It means the world to us.” – is quite pithy for the around-the-world race.