SPORTS IMPACT HELPS THE BOAT RACE GO GLOBAL

On Saturday 3 April, sports sponsorship and PRagency Sports Impact completed itsthird Boat Race in an event marketing role that has helped to establish the annualOxbridge contest on the Thames as a major sporting occasionacross the world.

Since SportsImpact was appointed ahead of the 2008 Race by The Boat Race Company Ltd,organiser of the annual clash between Oxford and Cambridge University boat clubs, thenewly-titled Xchanging Boat Race has seen:

Ø      the number of countries around the world taking live TV coverage or highlights almost double (up from 103 to more than 200 in 2010);

Ø      the number of hits on the official website (http://www.theboatrace.org/)

grow to record numbers, with more than one million visitors in Race week;

Ø      the level of press and online coverage increase by more than 40%;

Ø      four new sponsors become official partners to the Race – BT, Hackett, Sharp’s Brewery (Doom Bar beer) and Bremont Watch Co.;

Ø      access to top quality images of the Race expand through Getty Images;

Ø      a quality official programme featuring forewords by the Prime Minister and Mayor of London produced in conjunction with Event Merchandising;

Ø      the introduction of an official pre-Race dinner staged in the City of London in association with the National Sporting Club/MBN Events;

Ø      the re-introduction of a special Race-day supplement in The Daily Telegraph with more than 800,000 copies;

Ø      the domestic TV audience peak at an average of 5.5 million over the last three years.

“The Xchanging Boat Race remains a quintessentially British event, but its appeal is spreading as more foreign broadcasters appreciate its value as the last truly amateur sporting contest performed in a professional manner,” said John Taylor, Chairman of Sports Impact.

Broadcasters from China, Georgia, Holland, Germany and the United States sent film crews to report on the event last week, while BBC Worldwide provided a world feed of the Race to networks in more than 200 different countries in North & South America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Australasia and Europe. It was also live on BBC America and the BBC World News channel for the first time.

“This growth in global exposure for the Race is reflected in the interest we’ve received from potential partners, with whom we are looking to develop long-term associations,” said Taylor.

The number of media attending the event has also grown. A total of 100 writers, photographers and broadcasters covered the Race and made use of the BT Media Centre facilities at Putney and Mortlake.

“Given the level of competition from the Premier League clash involving Manchester United and Chelsea on the same day, plus the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix and David Haye’s world title bout, these are excellent figures and confirm the standing of The Boat Race both at home and abroad,” said John Collard, CEO of Sports Impact.

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For further details contact John Collard or Andy Smith
at Sports Impact on 020 8971 9230 or johnc@sports-impact.com