A little bit of a clothing and footwear theme today with the London Boat Show being used to make a few announcements.
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, has done a deal with the Rockport Company® to become the Official Footwear supplier of the race. The multi-year partnership will run until 2014.
Rockport will provide hundreds of pairs of its Hydromotion 2 performance sailing shoes to all skippers, team members, and Clipper Race staff at various times throughout the three-year partnership, including the remainder of the current race and the whole of the Clipper 13-14 Race.
Rockport will launch an integrated marketing campaign in 2012 that will include elements on Rockport.com, social media channels and in-store promotional campaigns in select markets, as well as Clipper Race properties on Rockport owned social channels including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
In addition, in-port marketing and public relations initiatives will be activated at select major port stops during the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Clipper Race founder and chairman, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston said:
“I am very pleased to welcome Rockport on board as an official supplier to the Clipper Race, which provides a unique global platform to promote international brands around the world. We value Rockport’s partnership and look forward to putting their footwear to the ultimate test.”
Daniel Tschuemperlin, Senior Vice President of Product and Brand Management at Rockport added:
“We are thrilled to partner with a major global event like the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and having participants take the Hydromotion 2 collection for the ultimate wear test. For years, Rockport has invested immense amounts of time and resources into making not only the most technologically advanced boat shoes but also the most stylish, and we feel there is no better way to prove the merit of these products than to have the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race staffers, skippers and sailors wear them over the next three years.”
While some entertainment and sport based yacht racing events are struggling in the current economic climate, the Clipper race is gaining momentum around the world with it’s unique business model.
The race recently announced a sponsorship deal with Qingdao in China, host of the sailing events of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, to continue its participation in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race through to 2016.
Qingdao has fielded an entry and hosted the event since 2005 and has credited the Clipper Race with helping it not only prepare for hosting the Olympics but also in developing its brand as China’s Sailing City. It will now become the first destination in the world to sponsor six editions of the unique biennial event.
William Ward, chief executive of Clipper Ventures said:
“I am proud of the role the Clipper Race has played in helping Qingdao to be successful, promoting its sailing achievements and helping to tell its story around the world. It also brings our sponsors together in Qingdao to stimulate international trade between China and the rest of the world.”
Madam Lin Zhiwei, Chairman of Qingdao Sports Federation:
“We have decided to continue our collaboration in Clipper 13-14 and Clipper 15-16. It has become an important event to build our brand as the Sailing City of China.”
