Introduction
Skandia Team GBR is the team from which the British sailors competing in the Olympic and Paralympic classes are selected. Whilst sailing is Britain’s most successful Olympic sport, having earned five medals in Sydney and five in Athens, in comparison to other Olympic sports it does not have a high profile, receiving minimal media interest. As part of a broad campaign to raise the profile of Skandia Team GBR ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing, Pitch PR devised a photo shoot, funded by Skandia, in which five Olympic gold medal hopefuls took precious time out of their intense training schedules to be photographed naked, painted in gold body paint, as part of an iconic, patriotic ‘Golden Sailors’ photo shoot. The exclusive photos were dedicated to Skandia Team GBR’s mantra, ‘Sail for Gold’.

Objectives
To draw attention to Skandia Team GBR, communicating their desire to win gold at the 2008 Olympic Sailing Regatta in Qingdao this August. It was essential for the photographs to be handled sensitively. It was also vital to ensure the correct wording and messaging was used alongside the images, which did not contain any branding, to enable Skandia, title sponsor of Skandia Team GBR to gain return on the shoot. During the Olympic Games, the athletes are governed by the BOA and their associated Olympic sponsors. It is therefore critical for Skandia to make the most of their access to the team ahead of the Games, when their brand can be associated with the athletes.

Strategy and plan
Pitch and Skandia Team GBR set about securing buy in from the sailors themselves, inviting top gold medal hopefuls to take part in the shoot, which was run over two days. Despite juggling strict training schedules abroad, and none of the athletes being paid for their appearance, a number of sailors were secured for the shoot, including Sydney gold medallist Iain Percy MBE.

A test shoot was undertaken by photographer Ranald Mackechnie, who specialises in nudes, to test the make-up, lighting and poses to be used for the images.
Each of the five sailors were photographed separately during a 19 hour shoot over two days at a studio in Brixton. Body painting specialist Phyllis Cohen spent two hours with each athlete, to bathe them in a rich gold body paint, a mix of Mac pigment and hair gel. The athletes posed with and without union jack flags, and had personal ‘mantras’ painted on their backs.

The images were post-produced to create a comp shot, with all five of the athletes pictured together.
In conjunction with Skandia and using TGI data, Pitch drew up a shortlist of suitable target media for an exclusive double page spread, which would target Skandia’s key audience. The Mail on Sunday was identified as the best fit publication, and Pitch secured an exclusive double page spread within the paper. The ‘Golden Sailors’ image was published alongside exclusive interviews with each of the athletes, on Sunday 20th April.

The main image, along with portraits, was subsequently syndicated to news and sports media, via PA Photos and proactive pitching. The image was consequently published in The Times and Express news sections, Telegraph and The London Paper sports sections on Monday 21st April, along with additional coverage secured online and in regional press.

Measurement and evaluation
PR Value for the print coverage achieved was calculated using standard equivalent advertising rates. Each of the critical Key Performance Indicators were achieved, with branded mentions accompanying the images in each item of print coverage, a double-page exclusive secured in the client’s key publication, and at least three other significant items of national coverage subsequently secured.

Results
Coverage for the photo shoot stretched across national newspapers, regional titles, online, and in the sailing press, reaching in excess of five and a half million readers.

Total PR value for Print Media: £415,387

Return on investment for coverage alone was more than 25 times the initial outlay from Skandia.