Bayerische Motorenwerke is back in the America's Cup business. The company will be involved in the 35th edition of the prestigious regatta as a global partner of organiser ACEA (America's Cup Event Authority). In addition, BMW Cup defender Oracle will support Team USA in the areas of technology and innovation. This is the car manufacturer's fourth involvement in the Cup. The partners have agreed not to disclose the amount of the financial commitment.
This is yet another success for the marketers of the America's Cup following the reacquisition of Louis Vuitton as a partner. BMW will be involved in the global marketing, branding, communication and all activities from now until the final Cup duel in 2017. Oracle Team USA will feature the BMW logo on the yacht, on the wing sail and on the team clothing. In addition, the three letters will also be printed on the turning marks of the race course and on the stern of all challengers. This should lead to some interesting logo encounters, as many Cup teams have their own car sponsors. The Brits have just won Land Rover as the main sponsor for their campaign, while the Kiwis are once again working with the support of Toyota.
In addition, BMW will provide the performance data of the yachts and the athletes via recordings as part of the television broadcasts. SAP and Audi do a similar thing in the German Sailing League and in Olympic sailing. The images presented in this way make the sport of sailing easier to understand, even for non-experts, and provide viewers with lots of interesting additional information. BMW will provide a fleet of vehicles for guests and team members in the regatta villages of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series.
ACEA's boss Russell Coutts, who won the America's Cup five times as a sailor, expressed his enthusiasm accordingly: "BMW stands for outstanding engineering, design and quality. This fits perfectly with the America's Cup. We are very proud to have BMW on board as a global partner of the event." Jimmy Spithill, who led Oracle Team USA to victory in the last two Cup editions, said: "We know that BMW engineers are among the best in the world and will make a valuable contribution to making our yachts faster. This will give us the decisive advantage in the battle for victory." Nothing less is the goal of the team and its new technology partner: victory in the 35th America's Cup.
