Ocean Globe Race Sponsorship Opportunities

2023 will mark the 50th Anniversary of the first historic Whitbread Round the World Sailing Race. The Ocean Globe Race (OGR) is designed to commemorate the event using the same technology that was used by competing teams in the original race.

Like the modern Ocean Race (previously known as the Volvo Ocean Race), the OGR is a team racing event that will stop in several ports along the way. Starting in the UK and stopping in South Africa, Australia, South America and Europe.

Why Sponsor the Ocean Globe Race

The Whitbread Round the World Sailing Race is well remembered and still has a high level of recall and awareness among sailors, even 50 years on. Many of the former competitors are well known in the sailing industry.

The memory of the Whitbread race has been kept alive through the highly successful Ocean Race, also known as the Volvo Ocean Race. In 2010, the Volvo Ocean Race organised a Legends Regatta in Alicante which proved to be very popular.
The race includes stopovers in several markets. This allows sponsorship to be activated in the stopover venues. There will be 5 starts which will multiply the crowds and the news coverage.
4 classes of boat will compete. There are up to 34 places for teams. Some well known names from the past will be competing including Tracy Edwards. There is a wide variety of nationalities competing in the race – not just the ‘usual suspects’. The number of boats competing should increase the audience, however this also means that it’s harder to get a share of the voice.

Ocean Globe Race Sponsorship Considerations

The rules of the Ocean Globe Race specify that the technology used in the original race should be used for the new edition. This means that brands looking to promote high performance technology may not fit with the race themes. There are other reasons why the OGR might not be the best sponsorship vehicle for your brand.

While this race is based on an old concept, it is a new race with a new name. There is no brand recognition, even among sailors. The name is also very similar to other races like the Golden Globe Race and The Ocean Race – people may find it difficult to find coverage.
The concept of the race will appeal to an older audience. People who are fans of more modern sailing formats may not be interested in the classic boats.
Fans of the original race will be 60+. This will impact the use of social media.
The race is organised by a relatively new organisation. The focus is on adventure and sailing rather than commercialisation.
Offshore sailing is a subset of sailing that has a fanbase which is concentrated in the UK and France. While there are teams from other countries, the race does not stop in the USA or Asia so the race will need to be augmented with other activities to activate in those markets.

OGR Audience Analysis

The Ocean Globe Race has not been held before. A similar event was run in 2016/17 called the Golden Globe Race. This was also a retro offshore around the world event, but for single-handed sailors. There were no stop-overs.

There is a lot of crossover between the Golden Globe Race and the Ocean Globe Race. They are retro, offshore races. The difference between solo or crewed or stopping versus non-stop will not affect the core audience.

Gender Split
The audience for offshore sailing is predominantly male. The Vendee Globe numbers skew the average due to 6 female competitors in the most recent race. The Ocean Globe Race has already announced the return of Tracy Edwards, who famously competed in the Whitbread Race with an all female team.

Age Profile
Offshore sailing is less popular with the younger generation. There are exceptions. Alex Thomson Racing, sponsored by Hugo Boss has a thrill-seeker, extreme sport positioning and brings the average down. For the properties that have the highest affiliation or match with the Ocean Globe Race, the largest cohort is 45-54.

Education & Interests
67% of the audience who identify with these offshore sailing pages are college educated.
40% are married, 28% are in a relationship and 29% are single.

Ocean Globe Race Sponsorship Strategy

Without the innovation and high-tech messaging, a different sponsorship strategy is required for the OGR. Using our unique weighted score-card, we have identified several sponsorship themes that can be communicated through sponsorship of the Global Ocean Race.