Traditional marketing, advertising and media don’t deliver anymore. To engage customers and change perceptions, you need to produce valuable content and be active in new channels. And choose the right partners.
Blur is more than a very visible sailing team. We’re the most active website for ambitious sailors in Northern Europe and a trusted source of information. We have a solid track record working with leading global brands.
References
We’ve been a partner in some major product and technology launches, where it’s important to change perception and get an understanding of new concepts.
North Sails launch of 3Di included a factory visit, real life tests and follow up several years later to prove their claims of a superior product (link).
B&G wanted to show that the new H5000-series was accessible for club racers, so we made a full series on installation, calibration and typical use cases (link).
Similar, Henri Lloyd ‘s launch of their Elite Series was a combination of visibility, technical articles and real life tests (link).
The team has also been part of event- and destination marketing. A collaboration with J/boats resulted in full coverage of the Spi Oest Regatta with daily video reports.
Bitter End Yacht Club wanted to attract visitors from Scandinavia when Norwegian increased their flights to the Caribbean. We did this with a combination of online advertising and an in-depth travel article (link).
In 2013-2015 the team had engineering company GVA as profile partner. This increased brand awareness in their recruitment efforts and was important to build internal culture.
We’ve also been involved in creating and managing a number of events. Many of them as joint ventures with partners: Marstrands Big Boat Race (for North Sails) has become Scandinas biggest annual big boat regatta. M32 Series (for Aston Harald Composites), started in 2013, are now a global concept. And the Swedish National Sailing Series (Allsvenskan, for the Swedish Sailing Association).
The new way of marketing
McKinsey: The consumer decision journey
Consumers are moving outside the marketing funnel by changing the way they research and buy products. Here’s how marketers should respond to the new customer journey.
Entrepreneur: 8 Do’s and Don’ts of Influencer Marketing
First, and probably most importantly, is to choose the right influencers to reach out to. You want to make sure their following is actually part of your market. That way, your message gets conveyed to people who will actually have an interest in what you’re promoting.
Entrepreneur: Marketing Via Paid Online Influencers Sees Dramatic Growth in Survey
Sponsored social ranked first among all other channels for overall effectiveness, scoring 7.27 on a 10-point scale. It beat out experiential marketing (7.25), celebrity endorsement (6.87) and television advertising (6.54). Based on that list, it’s no surprise that 74 percent would use or recommend sponsored social in the future.
A recent example comes from French multihull brand, Outremer, that provided with a new Outremer 45, who told the story of buying, outfitting and sailing the boat.
YouTube sensation Riley and Elayna of ‘Sailing La Vagabonde’ have just landed a wonderful deal with legendary French catamaran manufacturer, Outremer Yachting, to extend their cruising adventures onboard a new Outremer 45 involving a historic sponsorship deal confirming the power of social media.
What's next?
In the next few years, 2020-2023, we have some real challenges lined up, starting with Rolex Giraglia Race and then in the US. This will generate even more interest, much like Rolex Fastnet Race in 2015 and Rolex Middle Sea Race in 2019..
Contact
peter@blur.se
+46733 304000