PORTSMOUTH, England, March 30 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- PUMA, the global sports lifestyle company, has announced today that it will enter a boat in the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race - the world’s most challenging fully-crewed round the world sailing event.
PUMA’s decision underlines the race’s stature as a compelling marketing platform. It comes after confirmation from telecommunications giant Ericsson that it will participate again following its entry in the 2005-06 event. Further announcements will be made in the next few months with entries from Europe, the Americas and Asia.
PUMA will also become the official supplier of replica merchandise for the event, which starts in October next year.
"We are thrilled to announce PUMA’s entry into the Volvo Ocean Race - one of the world’s iconic sporting events," said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO, PUMA AG. "The race’s global reach, lifestyle appeal and true sporting characteristics match the PUMA brand perfectly and provide PUMA with exciting new opportunities to make a mark in the world of sailing, on and off the water. This continues our strategy to expand into new product categories and explore the potential of the brand."
In 2005-06, the Dutch banking group ABN AMRO recognised the race’s commercial appeal with a two-boat campaign. Last week ABN AMRO scooped Britain’s Hollis Sponsorship of the Year Trophy for the sponsorship value it gained from the race.
In a unique marketing tie-up, Walt Disney used the race in 2005-06 as an eight-month rolling billboard for the global launch of the sequel to Pirates of The Caribbean.
Commenting on the latest high-profile sponsor for the event, Glenn Bourke, the Volvo Ocean Race CEO, said: "This race is hugely demanding psychologically, physically and emotionally and we are confident that our new partner PUMA has what it takes to support the sailors with high quality and innovative lifestyle products.
"The new markets the race is going to - India, China and the Middle East - have an enormous interest in the human drama of the race. People can get their brain around sailing round the world for nine months in debilitating conditions. That’s a story of interest to the Joe Public who has no understanding of sailing in general. It’s a story that is broadening in its appeal globally."
Formerly The Whitbread Round the World Race, the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race will be the 10th running of the iconic marathon. Spanning 39,000 nautical miles, the race takes in five oceans and stops in 11 ports on four continents over nine months. Starting from Alicante, Spain, it will for the first time, take in ports in China, India and the Middle East.
The exploits of the crews in the 2005-06 race were watched by a cumulative global television audience of 1.8 billion with output in over 190 territories.
