Global Extreme Sailing Series Delivers Better Media Numbers.

Sailing Media Value ReportThat sailing rights holders spend the money to have their media value independently assesed shows that the commercial sport of sailing is serious about providing return on investment for a wide variety of stakeholders.

[cleeng_content id="651930726" description="99 cents or 10,000 hours. Become an expert for less than a dollar. We do the hard work so you don't have to." price="0.99" referral="0.1"]In an age where every marketing dollar, pound, and yuan is scrutinised and digitaly measured, the old language of potential viewership and gross value does not impress many CMOs or Marketing Directors. The advantage that events like the Extreme Sailing Series and the World Match Racing Tour have over other sailing events is that they have consistent metrics over time that can be analysed year on year.

The Extreme Sailing Series went global in 2011 – taking a format that has found success in towns with educated sailing audiences to new markets. Adding iconic cities like Istanbul, Boston, Singapore and Qingdao to the calendar should have guaranteed a larger media value than the previous year – and a new report by Havas Sponsorship Insights reveals a 2.7 times increase in value compared to 2010.

The headline number, using the same methodology that has been used since 2009, comes out at €25,747,203 – higher than the number that the interim report predicted.

Lou Newlands, Media & Communications Director of organisers OC ThirdPole commented:

“We are pleased with this continued upward trend and that we exceeded our targets too, even without any Main Partners in place to help activate. Importantly, we can continue to confidently market the Extreme Sailing Series to existing and new stakeholders in the knowledge that this award-winning circuit can deliver significant, and continually growing, media return to investors.”

Mark Turner, Executive Chairman, OC ThirdPole added:

“We have been using the same quite harsh methodology for the last three years and have avoided publishing inflated numbers on audience size – something the sport of sailing often seems to lack consistency on. The important number for us is the progress we are making each year, so its great to see a 2.7 multiple of 2010 coverage, significantly more than just the move from 5 to 9 events.

We treat the absolute numbers with healthy scepticism, and we don’t see much value in TV reach numbers even if they are large and sound impressive. The most important thing for us is the continued strong progression of our global result across all forms of media, and the specific returns this generates for our stakeholders – team sponsors, host cities and event partners.”

While there is some debate about the value of broadcasting events live, other huge sporting events like the Superbowl (and the advertising revenue that it delivers) show why live is a key part of the equation. There is something really powerful about checking into a hotel in a city like Istanbul and turning on the TV to see an event like the Extreme Sailing Series being broadcast to a new audience. Some clever timing, that saw the final day’s racing in Istanbul follow television coverage of an F1 Grand Prix also contributed to the success of new venues like Istanbul.

The format of the Extreme Sailing Series, with boats racing at touching distance from the shore, means that a great looking TV package can be produced with relatively few cameras at a much lower cost than other forms of the sport. A few collisons and capsizes also don’t hurt the numbers.

Packaging that content into highlight packages that can be distributed around the world, helped deliver the EXSS €11,077,354 in 2011 via their six part made for TV programs.

As advertising budgets move away from some traditional platoforms, online media is becoming more valuable. In 2011, Havas estimates the value of online for the Extreme Sailing Series at €1,465,632 – a 296% increase on 2010, but this probably still undervalues it by some way.

But why do Media Valuations in the first place? The answer is of course to give sponsors an idea of what kind of return on investment they are getting. The Extreme Sailing Series hasn’t had a title sponsor since iShares changed ownership – but reports like this allow the series to position itself to brands who want to reach a global market for a fraction of the price of other events. These kinds of reports are a key part of the pitch…

Alastair Macdonald, Director, Sponsorship Insights, Havas Sports & Entertainment

Given the nature and value of the benefits delivered for Extreme Sailing Series™, our view would be that a title sponsorship of the event has the potential to be a highly cost-effective marketing investment, delivering an extremely favourable rate of return, relative to the type of investment that may be needed from a potential sponsor.

2011 Extreme Sailing Series Media Value Key Stats.

  • Total overall value €25,747,203
  • Press value €9,043,159
  • TV value €12,861,627
  • Online value €1,465,632
  • Duration of evaluated TV exposure 301h 38m 19s
  • Duration of online TV exposure 31h 00m 46s

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