Funding the Future re-launch

The Challenge

Leading yacht charter company, Sunsail, sought to bring back its "Funding the Future" initiative after a brief hiatus. The campaign provides sailing and yacht clubs across the UK the opportunity to compete for £6,000 in funding to invest in their projects. Entrants are invited to submit entries detailing how they would utilise the funding and the difference it would make to their club, whether it involved improving their facilities, investing in equipment or launching youth academies to nurture future Olympic talent. This would be announced at the Southampton International Boat Show, on Sunsail’s stand. The challenge was to generate excitement, drive entries and secure media coverage for this significant initiative.

The Solution

To revitalise the Funding the Future initiative, we started by developing and pitching an engaging press release to announce its return, generating excitement among sailing clubs and the media.

We created written content for a dedicated landing page on Sunsail’s website, which included application details, top tips for applicants, and the terms and conditions for the contest.

To maintain momentum throughout the campaign, we developed a series of social media posts scheduled over five months, aimed at engaging and informing potential entrants about the deadline for entries, while creating excitement around the announcement of the winners.

Throughout the competition, we built a panel of sailing experts to form the judging panel who would review the entries. Once all the applications had been received, we then organised a meeting to facilitate the judging process and created a summary document to streamline evaluations.

As the announcement date at the Southampton International Boat Show (SIBS) approached, we sourced a cheque for the winner and coordinated attendance with the three shortlisted sailing clubs. We prepared a speech for the winners’ announcement and provided comprehensive support for the Sunsail team during the event, as well as creating press packs for the shows, including the winners’ information (which we shared after the event).

The Results

Overall, 20 journalists attended the winner’s announcement at SIBS, enhancing our media engagement. After the announcement, we pitched for additional interviews with the sailing media, which generated positive coverage and interest in the initiative.

The Funding the Future initiative successfully generated significant media interest, resulting in 25 pieces of coverage across key publications such as All At Sea, Sailing World, Yachts and Yachting, RYA, Practical Boat Owner, local media such as the Dorset Echo and Central Somerset Gazette, as well as national titles including Yahoo!.

The campaign achieved an estimated reach of 6.5 million, with 61 entries submitted from grassroots sailing clubs across the country – a new record for Sunsail.

The event sparked additional interest from media outlets keen to be involved in the judging process for the following year.