Created by SportBusiness International, the summit will provide a forum for discussing the key commercial issues around one of the fastest growing areas of the sports sponsorship market, and will deliver a high-level overview of the range of commercial opportunities offered by yacht racing, as well as some of the obstacles faced by sponsors.
The programme draws heavily on first-hand accounts and case studies from a range of high-level individuals from the yacht racing community, as well as senior executives from the marketing and brand management sectors who will provide essential insight and critical perspective.
For Inmarsat, which has a 25-year history of providing voice and data satellite communications to the maritime community, the sponsorship is part of an integrated PR and marketing campaign to raise the company’s profile in the leisure sector.
All three services within the Inmarsat Fleet range are suitable for leisure vessels. The top-end service, Fleet F77, provides global voice and high-speed data connectivity to large vessels such as super-yachts or racing yachts, and is used by the likes of Ellen MacArthur and VendC)e Globe competitors. Fleet F55 is the mid-range service suitable for medium-sized vessels that still require a powerful solution, while Fleet F33, the newest and smallest member of the family, brings much of that same connectivity to small or coastal vessels.
“Inmarsat has an unrivalled heritage when it comes to maritime communications, and we now have a range of new services that are suitable for the leisure sector,” said Luisa d’Aprano, sponsorship manager at Inmarsat. “We are looking at a number of opportunities to promote these services to owners and managers of leisure vessels, both large and small. Many of these people follow and support yacht racing, and so the association with the summit is a good fit.”
Gerard O’Brien, marketing manager at SportBusiness International said: “We are delighted to welcome Inmarsat as sponsors of the Yacht Racing Business Summit.
“Inmarsat has played an important role in the development of communications which have made yacht racing increasingly accessible, fascinating and commercially attractive,” he said.
