ATPI x Brunel
Succesful PR during the Volvo Ocean Race
For the third time in succession, ATPI provided the Sponsor Activation during the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 for Brunel; a business service provider specialising in project management, deployment and consultancy. This gruelling competition, in which teams sail non-stop around the world, lasts up to nine months and takes place once every three years.
Background information
What were Brunel's primary objectives? Generating a new influx of potential candidates in highly qualified IT positions and also building relationships with various target groups: from clients to employees.
Good PR
Team Brunel’s participation in the race generated a lot of publicity and the company received more than 20,000 CVs during their 18 month involvement in the event. Our goal was to bind this group to Brunel and to get to know the people behind the CVs.
Engagement
We saw an opportunity to use the registration process as a chance to convert a list of digital contacts with a face-to-face introduction at the Race Village in Scheveningen.
We were also tasked with the challenge of making thousands of employees feel connected to Brunel, as a large number of them are deployed outside the company. We were able to do this with our customised onsite programmes which made them rfeel part of the organisation and sent them home with a smile on their faces.
All hands on deck for a programme packed full of fun, content and action
During the week that the Race Village was open, we brought thousands of business associates into contact with each other by organising events such as substantive discussion sessions with potential candidates, a Friends & Family day, and Race Village tours where people were allowed to board the boat. It was a good mix of fun, content and action.
An important goal for this project was to encourage different target groups to follow Team Brunel closely by involving them in the race from the very beginning. Attention-grabbing content formed a vital part of the marketing and communication mix. We used an on-board drone to record and relay the daily challenges faced by the crew, whichproduced inspiring and impressive content. Waves that ravaged the deck during a storm, accidents on board, intense emotions from the crew; this type of raw "real" footage is rare.
There was a drone on every boat, which produced beautiful and impressive content
Always have a plan B
During the Volvo Ocean Race an unrelated accident led to a ban on all RIB trips during the event. This meant all hands on deck were needed behind the scenes to devise an alternative to this popular element in the programme. Brunel trusted ATPI to deal with it. Steven Biester of Brunel: "The alternative was just there, seemingly effortlessly and without fuss. You were prepared for everything".
Huge impact
Brunel achieved their most important objectives. "The impact of being able to see this great adventure from up close was huge; touching the boats, seeing the spartan bunks, the gruelling life on board - people don't forget that quickly. And then there were the hundreds of selfies taken on site by guests with a grin from ear to ear. That's why we do it!", said ATPI’s Jurrie van den Berg, General Manager Client Services.
