Food producers are helping the Vendee Globe sign up sailors for the next edition to begin later this year. After Sam Davies announced that she would fly the flag for French tomatoes, having signed up Savéol - Jérémie Beyou has revealed poultry product producer Maître Coq as his campaign backer.
Beyou will compete aboard the boat that Michel Desjoyeaux won the last edition of the race on. The Vendée Globe will begin on the 10th of November, with sixteen sailors now entered.
The Vendee Globe is a unique race in the sailing calendar for a number of reasons. Its non-stop nature means that a large proportion of the coverage for the event is focused on the start and finish – providing the Vendee region with fantastic opportunities to promote itself, its infrastructure and companies.
Such a showcase allows smaller companies from the region to invest, knowing that they will get exposure that may otherwise not be possible.
Bruno Retailleau, President of the SAEM Vendée says:
“The Vendée Globe is really pleased to see Jérémie returning as one of the entrants for the next Vendée Globe. His performance and determination confirm the high competitive standard that we shall be seeing in the next Vendée Globe.
As President of the Vendée Council, I can also welcome the presence of another sponsor from Vendée, seeing the positive effects of the business community and leaders in Vendée becoming involved with the skippers.
The Vendée Globe is an exceptional way to communicate, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses, who can currently make the most of some great opportunities… With Jérémie Beyou registering, the Vendée Globe is on track to hit the target we set ourselves of seeing between 15 and 20 skippers taking part.”
But while such an arrangement works well for the Vendee Region, it can make it harder for foreign skippers to sell the race to potential sponsors. One the one hand, there is a case for pitches like – “the only US Skipper in the Vendee” or “helping the UK to win for the first time” – the very French focus suits some brands better than others.
But like everything in yacht racing, nothing is so black and white. for companies that are looking for more than just media value, like Gamesa or brands that understand how to sweat the asset, like Hugo Boss – there are returns to be had outside of France from the Vendee Globe.
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