Rick Deppe / Puma
We have had great success with our online properties ... We have surpassed the previous race in media reach and increased our value in new territories such as India and China ...
Wednesday 11 November 2009 12:30 GMT
By Cameron Kelleher
The media results announced today for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 show a significant increase over the 2005-06 event.
In 2008-09, the race offered a varied diet for both traditional and adopted race followers as part of a committed strategy of multi-channel communication.
The Whitbread/Volvo has been at the forefront of technical innovation in media communication. In the 1997-98 race, the first videos and emails were transmitted from the on board media desk. The event's web site was the biggest single event sports site in the world.
In 2008-09, the race acknowledged the shift in the global media landscape and broadened its communications beyond the traditional medium of television and print.
A content-rich website in four languages (English, Spanish, Chinese and Russian), broadband TV, a dedicated, multilingual mobile channel and the phenomenal success of the race's online game, enabled audiences to interact as never before.
And with a foray into social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, the race entered millions of hearts and minds the world over.
The plethora of storylines that the Volvo Ocean race conjures up - human endeavour, technology and nature - are reflected in the extensive television, print, online, audio and mobile coverage generated throughout the cycle of the 2008-09 edition.
The addition on each Volvo Open 70 of a Media Crew Member (MCM), an 'embedded' reporter equipped with the latest technology in High Definition filming and satellite communication, has also proved highly successful.
The findings of an independent research programme, undertaken by IFM Sports Marketing Surveys, illustrate that a ground-breaking route, which took the fleet to new territories such as China and India, enabled the race to provide unrivalled global penetration for professional sailing.
Additional data and analysis from Google Analytics illustrates that the online package brought engagement with both hard-core sailing fans and those new to the sport.
Partnerships with Google Earth, YouTube and global online video distribution network The Newsmarket also broadened exposure to global audiences.
"As the media world evolves into a more online community, we have had great success with our online properties and new media areas, said CEO Knut Frostad. "Our official online properties had over 89 million visitors with over one million fans visiting more than 100 times and the official game was a run-away success with over 221,768 players from over 180 countries.
The cumulative broadcast audience was 1.3 billion. Over 3,300 hours of coverage was generated through 11,000 broadcasts in 46 different territories. Coverage was shown on 217 channels globally.
China led the way in new territories, by delivering an audience of 600 million, 45 per cent of the race total.
Programming and news, produced and distributed by Sunset+Vine/APP, reached Western, Central and Eastern Europe, North and South America, Africa and the Middle East, Central Asia, the Far East and the Pacific Rim. There was also coverage in countries as diverse as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Iran, Iraq, Latvia, Slovakia and South Korea.
"We are very happy with the numbers we have generated in the 2008-09 edition of the race," Frostad added. "Not only have we surpassed the previous race in media reach, but we have increased our value in new territories such as India and China."
Stories that chronicled the crews' ongoing battle against the forces of nature were featured in publications ranging from mass-circulation newspapers and lifestyle magazines to specialist titles with niche readerships.
The event generated 13,038 press cuttings in 15 monitored territories, providing a cumulative circulation of 606 million, a 104% increase on the previous race.
The combination of TV and print provided Volvo with a media value of US$116.5million, an increase of 34.6% over 2005-06, and a syndicate media value of US$279.4million, a rise of 52%.
Port stopovers attracted over 2,600 media accreditations from 47 countries and provided an unparalleled experiential programme for journalists. Additionally, 412 executive media guests hosted by teams and sponsors from 29 countries.
The Volvo is one of those rare sporting events which gives media privileged access to the stars of the show - the Volvo Open 70s and the sailors.
During the 2008-09 port stopovers, journalists were able to sail in in-port and pro-am racing and could participate in shorter legs and race starts.
Over 75 journalists received the money-can't-buy opportunity of sailing onboard a Volvo Open 70, during training, in-port and pro-am racing.
The story of life on board was told through the eyes of the Media Crew Member. The MCMs had a perfect vantage point to capture the trials and tribulations of the crews during the race, through the heavy Southern Ocean extremes to the gasping heat of the windless Doldrums.
Through their footage, photographs, audio and emails, race followers were given a unique insight into high-octane ocean racing. The media and stakeholders were able to source a wealth of material to use from the MCM, their man on the inside.
Both the work of the MCM and the delivery of HD TV programming benefited from the launch in 2008 of Inmarsat's FleetBroadband, manufactured by Thrane & Thrane, providing high-speed satellite connectivity across the world's oceans.
Audio partner, World Sports Communications, delivered daily news reports, interviews, features and weekly podcasts in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Radio reached a cumulative audience of 1,168,860,000 cumulative with 1,500 broadcasts on more than 80 stations in 16 countries
Through a partnership with global distribution agency onEdition, race imagery reached 5,000 picture desks around the world. There were more than 160,000 photo downloads from the Volvo Ocean Race image library with images actively distributed to 103 countries.
KEY MEDIA HEADLINES
1.619 BILLION
1.327 BILLION
1.168 BILLION
89,596,892
US$54.2 MILLION*
10 MILLION
221,768
TELEVISION
11,057 broadcasts, from 46 different countries provided over 3,386 hours of coverage and a cumulative audience of 1.327 billion
400 news outlets from 62 different countries downloaded a total of 10,463 video news clips (The Newsmarket)
BROADBAND TV
1,199,892 unique visitors throughout the race
Monthly unique users exceeded 100,000 during the first four months of
the race and page impressions ranged between 500,000 to 1 million
2,269,008 visits that registered 8,479,593 page views (3.74 pages per visit).
ONLINE VIDEO
1,060,973 views on the race's YouTube site from 449 countries
10,463 video clips downloaded by 62 countries (from international online distributor The Newsmarket)
WEB
English, Spanish, Russian and Chinese sites received 23,855,785 visits, a 27.5% increase on the 2005-06 Race
4,060,928 unique visitors, a 15.7% increase on 2005-06
Biggest single day (Monday, 15 June, leg nine) - 200,351 visits to the four sites
Daily average during race legs - 125,256 visits
95,352 was the highest number of unique visitors
10,147,842 total visits to all race viewers
83.62% of the audience visited the site more than once
63.27% of the audience visited the site more than nine times
Over one million users visited the site more than 100 times
ONLINE ARTICLES
30,202 online articles
101 countries published online articles
3,181 online sites carrying stories on the race
MOBILE CHANNEL
10 million mobile page views delivered to over five million visits.
Every second of the race, somebody was hitting the server
Mobile traffic increased by 150% over 2005-06 race
ONLINE GAME
221,768 registered players from more than 180 countries
World's biggest online sailing community
3,397,096 unique visitors came to the site, spending an average of 7:02 minutes
Average daily players was over 60,000 peaking at 120,000
Nearly 42 million hours spent on the game
PRINT
Cumulative print circulation of 606.7 million - increase of 104% on the 2005-06 race
13,038 print articles
28,918 mentions in print
Total readership over the 10 legs was 1.6 billion
PHOTOGRAPHY
4473 images distributed to publications in 103 countries
Over 3,000 registered users
Over 160,000 image downloads
RADIO
1,168.86 million - cumulative global audience
1,500 broadcasts on more than 80 stations in 16 countries
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
2,631 accredited media from 47 countries
412 executive media guests were hosted by the Volvo Ocean Race, Teams and Sponsors from 29 countries
MEDIA VALUE (TV, print)
US$54.2 million* - average media value for each team's main sponsor (source: IFM Sports Marketing Surveys)
(*Top seven teams)
Sources: IFM Sports Marketing Surveys End Of Race Report 2009. Google Analytics. VEMU, World Sports Communications, Stopover Organisations.