For many people who go on to
become race crew, the eye-catching posters across the London Underground and
National Rail networks have been the driving force in bringing the adventure to
their attention and getting them to sign up.
Recently, the reintroduction of
large format, cross-track billboards has complemented the more frequently seen four-sheet
posters calling for people to ‘Achieve Something Remarkable’ or ‘Change Your Commute’.
Around 38 per cent of Clipper 2015-16 Race crew recalled seeing
the ad on the underground, or cited it as their primary source of where they
found out about the race.
Katharine Schäfli, head of brand
at Clipper Ventures, said: "The image of the 70 foot ocean racing yacht really
catches our attention and imagination. Bearing
down on us from across the platform, it triggers the natural curiosity of
everyone who wants to achieve something remarkable in their life.
“The idea resonates well with
people from all walks of life, and around the world. ‘Could This Be You?’ has compelled many commuters to
look into the adventure. Often the
crew recruits will tell us they have seen the advertising over several years,
then one day they see the ad again and feel compelled to sign up for the race -
perhaps on a dreary Monday morning whilst commuting to the office,” Katharine added.
The confronting nature of the
50/50 campaign poster showing people in their normal profession then as an
ocean racer has also been hugely successful. As many as 40 per cent of race crew have never
sailed before training so for many it is the appeal of stepping outside of
their comfort zone and challenging themselves that attracts them to the extreme
ocean adventure.
The increased sophistication of available
data means we can now reach our target audience with pin-point accuracy. In
2015, we commissioned Exterion to compare the available Mosaic data drawn from
the thousands of adults in the UK who had either shown interest in becoming
Clipper Race crew** or successfully signed up for the Clipper 2015-16 Race.
The ambition of the Clipper Race
is to be accessible to people from all walks of life, spanning three
generations and across the globe. The insight learned from the available data
has helped us fine tune our creative copy, and better understand the interests
and media habits of our crew.
The
average time commuters spend on the platform engaging with cross-track ads is
around three minutes. In the recent campaign, 16 stations in central London
were selected, reaching a possible 2.8 million people each day
[1].
By combining both the improved dwell time of cross track with greater
reach and frequency offered by the smaller 4 and 6 sheet formats which are seen
in close proximity, we can achieve both high levels of engagement and also
broad awareness.
The London Underground also plays
a role in broadening the international appeal of the Clipper Race. Adventure-minded
crew from across Europe and further afield find the posters really stand out
and capture their imagination.
David Cusworth Director of Crew
Recruitment comments “In the early days of the Clipper Race around 90 per cent of our crew came from
the UK.
“That figure has now dropped with almost 40% coming from over 40 nations
around the globe. The multi-cultural aspect of the race has added to the
challenge but also to the energy and reward.”
Much of the appeal is through word of mouth and the enormous amount
of press coverage each edition of the race generates around the globe.
Katharine concluded: “Increasingly
we use digital channels to generate awareness of key events surrounding the
Clipper Race, especially when there are opportunities for the public to get
close to the fleet, or on board the yachts. In the future and with augmented
reality and 360 video films now quite common place, we can look toward to
finding exciting formats with Exterion that continue our journey together.”
Follow the story of the
production of the cross track 48 sheet billboards for the London Underground
Campaign here.
[1]Source: ExterionMedia/TFL