10 years is not a lot for a 118 year old watch brand. But 10 years does seem like a long time for a sports sponsorship deal, especially for a series that is only in its 3rd season. The announcement that Rolex has done a 10 season deal with SailGP shows that the series can demonstrate a long-term plan for viability that sponsors, team owners and partners can sign up to.
While the organisers would probably not admit it, SailGP borrows heavily from the Extreme Sailing Series – a global tour that began in 2007 and ran until 2018. During that time, the boats were changed from the original Extreme 40 to the foiling GC32 catamaran, sailors, teams and venues came and went and the event endured several economic cycles. It was an upstart series, ground-breaking in its format, but probably never secured a 10 year deal. So what does Rolex know about SailGP that we all don’t?
Of course Rolex is not new to sailing as a sponsor and not new to long term deals. The watch-maker has been the title sponsor of the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race since 2002, but that race has been run since 1945. What SailGP will look like in season 13 when the deal is supposed to end is anybody’s guess. What will watches look like?
That’s the piece that is interesting. The press release and the reality don’t really line up.
Rolex Director of Communication & Image Arnaud Boetsch said: “Rolex has long supported those who go above and beyond to drive innovation and positive change. The Swiss brand’s involvement with yachting stretches back 65 years, during which time it has forged deep-rooted connections with elite organizations and individuals at the forefront of the sport. The unrelenting pursuit of excellence, together with the marriage of human achievement and technical development, as well as the fierce team spirit required to succeed, make Rolex a natural partner of SailGP.”
Handmaking mechanical watches does tick the box for an unrelenting pursuit of excellence, but Rolex doesn’t really seem like a brand that is known for innovation or technical development. The innovation of the perpetual rotor was patented in 1931.
Meanwhile, the market for ‘wearable devices‘ that do a lot more than just tell the time is only going to accelerate. Maybe Rolex is just blocking more innovative products that are more useful to sailors, watch-like devices from Garmin and Suunto and even Apple.
What is known is that SailGP is not afraid to go where the money is. The series recently visited Dubai for the first time and an event is planned for Saudi Arabia. Maybe this is what Rolex is signing up to – though again, the demographics of these countries skew very young and consumers might be more likely to buy an NFT than a Swiss timepiece as an investment.
