Eight Women, One Ocean, 30 Days – Integrated Marketing
To cross the Atlantic one needs perfect integration of all the required elements. Fitness, nutrition, equipment and support.
It is like any marketing campaign where each piece supports the other. If one piece is too “light” it jeopardises the success of all other elements. It is important to keep a careful eye on campaigns as you prepare for them and to re-evaluate as you prepare for launch.
It is the same for us on Atlantic 8. We are the first ever women’s eight crew planning to row across the Atlantic unassisted, departing end of January 2014 from Canary Islands and arriving to Barbados 30 days later. We will take on 3,000 miles of water, sleep deprivation, exhaustion, chafing, probably hallucinations, heat, blisters, storms, waves, big fish, no showers, and freeze dried food from bags.
We need support, to ensure that our boat gets built in time with the right navigation equipment, but also so that we can be rescued should we need it, and to cover vital on-board safety equipment and medical supplies.
We urgently need to raise £85,000 by 1st November in one block or in smaller tranches. Without this we will not go. If you can help please contact me, or please help by just liking, sharing or retweeting this blog on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to spread the word.
Our main goal is to break three World Records, the most significant for us being the fastest Atlantic crossing ever, currently set at 32 days and a few hours.
As soon as the crew was complete end of July, the integration of all elements started immediately with the creation of on- and offline communications channels, and online shared files. We created sub groups of members who could train together, we set tasks and responsibilities, arranged regular get-togethers and status updates, and we aligned everyone behind one training and one sponsorship strategy.
In July I had personally never rowed before. The learning curve is steep, the training is unforgiving, and it makes me beg for Fridays, which are our days off! We all have full time jobs and very busy lives so fitting our already stretched spare time around this undertaking is a feat in itself.
The most common question we get is Why?
Deep curiosity of what it feels like to test our physical and mental capabilities in an extreme situation. But above all to do something that we will all remember for the rest of our lives.
The other seven women embarking on this adventure with me are all deeply inspiring, and the thought of sharing this experience with them is truly humbling and makes me feel unbelievably fortunate. Some of the amazing ladies on the crew have already crossed the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, we have elite sailors, one works with Team GB Athletics and is an athlete herself. We have experienced rowers and all round sportswomen, and the list of achievements goes on… the crew is strong, confident, and amazing.
Just as getting the right resources aligned behind any marketing campaign will make it unbreakable, we have our own stamina, but also nutritionists, coaches, physiologists, masseurs and other specialists to make us unbreakable.
London Science Museum (5th biggest attraction in the UK) has confirmed an exhibition of our boat for 30 days after the trip including all sponsor branding. The exhibition is planned for Easter, which is one of their busiest times of the year. They have 280K Twitter and 88K Facebook followers, which would spread any sponsors’ name very wide!
Our biggest sponsor gets to name the boat and choose a charity that we will aim to raise as much money for as we can. Note that similar trips have achieved over £250,000 in charitable donations in the past.
To find out more about how to support our unique challenge or how to become a sponsor, please contact me.
Katarina Nielsen
katarina.nielsen@flock-associates.com
Follow our challenge on:
Twitter: @TheAtlantic8
Facebook: Atlantic 8