Winning at the Sponsor Game - by Kathleen Mangan in Sailing World

From Sailing World December/January 04
 "Copyright Sailing World, used with permission."

Levitra, a medication for men, similar to Viagra, was an unlikely sponsor of a team at US SAILING’s Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship. But that’s exactly why it worked well for the drug’s co-marketer, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. The sponsorship was controversial enough to generate media coverage, as well as boater response, regardless of the team’s results.

The pharmaceutical company enthusiastically supported helmswoman Marie Klok Crump, and crewmembers Townley Everette, Blair Hamilton, and Sarah Lynch in the regatta, which was held off Annapolis, Md., Sept. 29 to Oct. 3. The team got enough funding for a new set of sails and team apparel, all prominently displaying the Levitra logo. From the spectators, the four women received a seemingly endless stream of one-liners.

“Men couldn’t resist coming alongside the boat and delivering lines like, ‘Your jib is quivering,’ or ‘Need help getting your sails up?’” says Crump. Other boaters asked for product samples. “It was all in good fun,” she added.

From a results perspective, the foursome might seem like an unlikely team to sponsor. They’d never raced together until two days before the regatta and they finished 33rd out of 66 boats. But Crump says, “This illustrates that sponsorship success isn’t measured by performance. It’s all about visibility and exposure.”

To hold up their end of the bargain, Crump and her crew sent out publicity in advance of the event, distributed daily regatta reports, handled media interviews, and coordinated a VIP boat for Levitra staffers to watch the racing. “Sponsorship is a business agreement,” says Crump. “Both sides need to benefit.”

The team did have some inside help landing the deal; Everette works for GlaxoSmithKline. But the company quickly saw that sponsorship offered real opportunity, explains Crump, adding that Harken also sponsored the team. The lessons: you don’t have to be an Olympic hopeful team to land a sponsorship, and it can be worthwhile (and amusing) to approach non-traditional companies for sponsorship.

—Kathleen Mangan