Volvo Ocean Race

Free Running Project

Role: Local Market Manager

the story.

The Volvo Ocean Race is an around-the-world sailing yacht race held every 3-4 years. The teams who compete race port-to-port, sometimes taking more than 20 days from one to another, working tirelessly to ensure their boat is the fastest it can be as they battle mother nature and destructive force of the ocean every minute.

In 2015, teams raced from Alicante, Spain to Gothenberg, Sweden, with 9 stopovers, including Newport, Rhode Island, the only North American stop.

Sometimes better known as ‘The Sailing Capital of the world’, Newport has a rich history which includes being home to the National Sailing Hall of Fame, home to every challenge of the America’s Cup between 1930 and 1983, home the United States Naval War College and the starting point of every 635-mile Newport Bermuda Race.

summary.

During the 2014-2015 stop-over in Newport, Rhode Island, the Volvo Ocean Race provided a unique opportunity to bring the World of Red Bull to life in a way that was quite different from which these salted sailors and fans were used to - free running.

As the Local Market Manager, I worked directly with VOR port partner, Sail Newport, as well Red Bull Athlete Managers and Red Bull sponsored professional free runners, Pasha Petkuns and Jason Paul to bring this activation to life in Newport.

I worked onsite with our camera crew, athlete managers and VOR racing teams in order to storyboard and capture these athletes finding the most creative way to move from Point A (Fort Adams)-to-Point B (Aboard Team Brunel VOR65).

Media coverage of the activation resulted in over 2MM global impressions.