SailGP
How WePlay drove next-generation engagement and captivated global sports fans with high-speed sailing for SailGP through the ‘We Are Racing’ campaign.
SailGP
How WePlay drove next-generation engagement and captivated global sports fans with high-speed sailing for SailGP through the ‘We Are Racing’ campaign.
SailGP is the world’s most exciting water sport, showcasing high-speed foiling boats in spectacular global locations. As one of the fastest-growing properties in sport, SailGP partnered with WePlay at the start of Season 4 to expand its international reach and drive fan engagement.
That partnership began with a bold brand push (the We Are Racing campaign) designed to elevate the league’s profile, showcase its elite athletes, and attract a new generation of fans. Now in Season 5, our focus has shifted towards converting that awareness into measurable outcomes, including global ticket sales and direct revenue.
Together with SailGP, we’ve developed a dynamic strategy that blends brand storytelling with performance marketing, ensuring impact at every stage of the funnel.
- Creative Development: The Drum-nominated We Are Racing campaign led with a hero video capturing the speed, intensity, and athleticism at the core of SailGP. Athlete-led stories, social-first creative, and immersive storytelling brought fans closer to the action across 14 global markets.
- Media Strategy: WePlay’s media approach blends awareness and conversion. Passive platforms like Instagram and YouTube drive scale and storytelling, while active channels are optimised for clicks, sales, and ROI. Each campaign is tailored to the location, language, and audience of the host city.
- Audience Engagement: Campaign assets were integrated across digital, broadcast, and live events to ensure consistency. Contextual targeting and real-time optimisation helped engage fans at relevant moments, turning attention into action.
- Ticketing Performance: Building on the momentum of Season 4, WePlay’s commercial focus in Season 5 has driven record ticket sales across multiple territories, with the US leg in particular outperforming expectations.
Our esteemed success with the ‘We Are Racing’ campaign in 2024 increased brand awareness and visibility for SailGP, introducing them to key markets such as the UAE. With an increased generation of investment, the media attention surrounding the sport has grown, alongside moving targets for ticket sales. WePlay have continued to surpass these expectations, with the profound American leg of Season 5 selling out across three events in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.
127%
growth in social media engagement year-over-year.
33 million
new racing fans reached across 12 markets, exceeding projections by 112%.
48%
increase in broadcast growth season-over-season, boosting SailGP’s global broadcast footprint.
157 million
views on YouTube during Season 4, up from 37 million in Season 3—a 324% increase in audience viewership
