SailGP ‘We Are Racing’ dominates Piccadilly Lights

SailGP, the world’s most exciting racing on water, officially launched its Season 4 ‘We Are Racing’ global brand campaign with a week-long 3D DOOH immersive full screen takeover at the Piccadilly Lights.

With Season 4 well underway, SailGP is laser-focused on bringing the best racing to fans, both new and pre-established, across the globe. ‘We Are Racing’ aims to drive brand awareness and grow the league’s global fan base. The launch in central London comes as the global championship begins its European leg. Kicking off with the third event of the season in Saint-Tropez on September 9-10, before Grands Prix in Taranto, Italy, September 23-24 and Andalucia-Cádiz, October 14-15. 

Using innovative DeepScreen® technology produced and developed by Ocean Outdoor and SailGP’s own production team, the 30-second takeover running August 28 to September 3 includes action-packed footage showcasing SailGP’s hydrofoiling F50s and dramatic 3D graphics highlighting Sir Ben Ainslie’s Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team, three-time SailGP championship winners Australia plus the United States SailGP Team. 

Imitating SailGP’s own high-octane events and close to shore racing, passersby will literally see the F50’s fly out of the screen and come hurtling towards them at unbelievable speeds.

To unveil the new campaign, Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team strategist and most successful female sailor in Olympic history, Hannah Mills OBE, and fellow Emirates GBR athlete and Olympic rowing gold medalist Matt Gotrel MBE – who stunned fans in Season 3 by falling overboard in Sydney Harbour – arrived in Piccadilly Circus in full race kit to surprise and delight gathering fans in London.

Mills said: “It’s fantastic to see SailGP on such a prominent platform and it has been great to come here today to see it for the first time. While the new brand campaign aims to grow our audience and fan base – which will be great to have more people around the world cheering us on – I also hope that it inspires the next generation. As athletes, our actions can have a real impact and influence others. I'm passionate about using that platform to get people involved in both sport and sustainability, which is the core of SailGP." 

The Piccadilly Lights activation also celebrates SailGP’s new UK broadcaster with ITV becoming the latest home of SailGP and the Emirates Great Britain SailGP team. Fans can stream all the events live on ITVX with highlights from each event available the following week. For the first time, highlights from one of SailGP’s showcase events in Saint-Tropez will be shown on ITV1.

As part of the first phase of the season-long brand campaign, SailGP also unveiled new team identities for the national teams competing in the league. Tying in with the league’s strategy to put fans at its heart, the new identities provide an opportunity to drive deeper engagement with fans and build greater national affiliation to the teams – particularly with a younger audience – helping to grow the teams’ fan base. Recent Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix winner Diego Botin’s Spain SailGP Team has been relaunched as ‘Los Gallos’ after the team was nicknamed the young roosters by Spanish fans and France SailGP Team becomes ‘Les Bleus’, due to the historical nickname given to many French sporting teams of the past and present.

The ‘We Are Racing’ campaign developed by SailGP and WePlay tells the story of SailGP’s commitment to delivering heart-stopping, cutting-edge sport with purpose, to recruit a new generation of racing fans worldwide. This breakthrough global campaign will run across 14 markets – relevant to SailGP’s teams and event locations – and leverage a range of digital platforms, social channels and broadcast partnerships to reach an ever growing global audience. The campaign will bring fans closer to the action through feature hero content, behind the scenes footage, athlete marketing and immersive storytelling – around the teams, athletes, events and purpose – to give fans an intimate view into the world of SailGP and emphasizing why SailGP is one of the most exciting new developments in the global sporting calendar.

Leah Davis, SailGP Global Marketing Director, said: “Season 4 is a breakthrough season for our championship and the launch of the global brand campaign is key to growing and broadening our fan base and increasing brand awareness. And, what better way to launch it than with an innovative, high-speed, high-impact 3D activation at Piccadilly Lights that really brings to life everything that SailGP has to offer and gives fans and passersby a unique opportunity to get a taste of SailGP – in central London.”