MUMBAI: International banking group ABN Amro has appointed Pitch PR to oversee a global PR campaign around its team sponsorship in the 2005 - 2006 Volvo Ocean Race. The round-the-world yacht race starts in November.
 

 
ABN Amro’s involvement in the 2005 – 2006 Volvo Ocean Race marks the first occasion the company has undertaken a major international sports marketing campaign. The aim of the sponsorship programme, which involves the bank entering a two boat team with the ultimate aim of winning the race, is to raise the profile of the ABN Amro brand and unify the bank’s various business units around the world.

Pitch has been appointed for one year to create and oversee an international PR strategy for the campaign. Pitch will be responsible for maximising publicity opportunities, managing all media requests during the race including crisis communications, and running a press office and press conferences at stop over ports. Pitch will work in conjunction with ABN Amro’s existing PR agencies in their three home markets, such as Golin Harris in the US, and will also be responsible for implementing a proactive consumer PR campaign in the UK and France.

 
 
The Volvo Ocean Race is one the world’s toughest sporting events. The race starts in Vigo, Spain on 12 November 2005 and finishes in Gothenburg in July 2006. The race covers 32,000 miles, with nine stopovers in the following ports: Cape Town, Melbourne, Wellington, Rio, Baltimore, New York, Portsmouth and Rotterdam.
The Volvo Ocean Race has a rich history and generates global media interest. During the last Volvo Ocean Race, there were an estimated 800 million cumulative viewers on television, and over a billion cumulative radio listeners.

 
 
ABN Amro has entered two boats in the race and its crew includes sailors from the UK, US, New Zealand, Australia, France and Holland. ABN Amro 1 will be crewed by some of the world’s top sailors, whilst ABN Amro 2 is being crewed by a team of high potential sailors. The crew of ABN Amro 2 are all under the age of 30 and have won their place on the boat via an international competition.

Pitch PR is a consumer and corporate agency which specialises in working with clients involved in sport. Pitch PR founder and MD Henry Chappell commented,
“This is a fantastic new business win for us and a massive project to be involved with. The sponsorship is of major global importance to ABN Amro and their objective is that the campaign delivers over €60 million in media value worldwide. We have undertaken a number of similar international sponsorship activation campaigns since our launch so we are confident we can play a significant role in helping ABN Amro to achieve their aims.”