SailGP: changing perceptions

By Alyssa Meyers, Marketing Brew
As Formula 1 becomes more popular in the US, another racing sport is trying to pick up steam: sailing. SailGP, the international sailing league, is working to grow brand awareness and change preconceived notions about the sport.

Co-founded in 2018 by billionaire and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, SailGP is an international sailing league that’s trying to put a fresh spin on an old sport. The league’s high-tech boats can reach 60 mph, and with nearly a dozen teams representing countries around the world, it’s working to build a fan base while trying to shed some of the stereotypes historically associated with sailing.

“We are still very much in that introductory phase in bringing in new audiences and introducing the sport to new fans in the US,” Ben Johnson, SVP of strategy and commercial development at SailGP, said. “We are focused on taking a sport that has existed for hundreds of years and really reinventing it from scratch.”

It’s not all cloudy skies, though. Interest in the league is growing, as indicated by its broadcast and digital engagement, and SailGP has secured sponsorships with brands like Rolex, T-Mobile, and Red Bull.

Sailing competitions have traditionally taken place offshore or places that they can be hard to see, according to Johnson. But SailGP’s races happen about 20 yards away from land, meaning that spectators can see them and get a sense of the speed of the boats.

The league currently consists of 10 teams representing 10 countries, including the US, Australia, and Germany, the newest addition. That’s up from six in its first season.

Still, the sport faces challenges. For one, there’s the yacht-club vibe sometimes still associated with sailing, and to grow an audience, Johnson said the league has to reflect the diversity of US sports fans.

To start, SailGP has established programs like SailGP Inspire, which partners with local sailing clubs and other organizations to help make the sport more accessible to young people, and Women’s Pathway, a program geared toward getting more women involved with the sport.

Plus, awareness of the sport in the US is minimal, according to Johnson. Just a third of this season’s 12 events take place in the US, which can make it difficult for the league to stay relevant stateside while the majority of the races happen in other countries especially considering the fact that it is competing with other, more established sports for peoples’ limited attention.

“If you’re both introducing the sport and trying to keep your existing fans engaged, it means you have to be really thoughtful of what that user experience is on our platforms,” Johnson said. The league is airing and creating content on multiple platforms to help raise awareness, like linear TV, the SailGP app, YouTube, and social media.

SailGP races are very short-format with three 15-minute heats per day over two days. Bet you can guess what popular video app that’s compatible with.

The league is seeing its fastest growth on TikTok, according to Johnson, where it has more than 300,000 followers and 5 million likes. SailGP also joined Threads and saw just tremendous engagement and growth on that platform.

Across social platforms, SailGP has seen a 240% increase in video views from season 3 to season 4, and a 136% increase in impressions, according to stats the league shared. Its overall social following grew by about 44% in that time to 1.6 million.

In addition to social, Johnson said the league views linear TV as its entry point to mass awareness in the US. CBS broadcasts the races, and they’re getting more popular. During its third season, SailGP saw a broadcast audience of more than 117 million viewers worldwide, more than tripling its roughly 39 million viewers from season 2, which was a 131% increase from season 1, according to the league. – Full story