Louis Vuitton joins BMW ORACLE Racing Team
At the BMW ORACLE Racing, two humongous companies namely BMW the maker of high quality BMW floor mats and Louis Vuitton famous luxury French fashion and leather goods brand have combined to become the power behind the 'American' America's Cup team sailing the San Francisco based Golden Gate Yavjt Club. The two companies are highly respected which makes it interesting to think what image or identity the team will project since these two are not at all American companies.
The America's Cup is one of the longest running sailing events that have involved United States since its start in 1851. Even in the past the American team has always had radiate a strong presence in the competition and except for two occasions has actually participated in the America's Cup Match. Despite the team's background and associations with the States plus with such marketing giants backing it up, it will make you wonder just how American do they feel?
"International" is the dominant word for the 32nd America's Cup which will have three new participating countries. Moreover, most of the teams have members comprising from different countries. For the American team there are only three American sailors, Groeschner explains why this is so, "The world is getting closer; Europe is almost unified, and the anglo world has dropped its borders. There is easier access everywhere. But this is a more philosophical question. The fact is that BMW ORACLE Racing is a serious contender. We want to win the Cup and to do that we need top professionals, good preparation and a firm technological background. Strong team work is essential for performance. These are the elements that form our identity and what we want to portray."
The entire team façade including the boat, the base, and the team clothing are made particularly uniform, neat and simple. The boat is spotless just like the traditional white sailing gear and it's as organized as the special edition crew shirts with printed names and numbers at the back. the overall look is serious to which Groeschner agrees by saying "Absolutely. But serious should not be read or understood in a negative way. We are focused, we know what we want and everything you see here is for a reason. It is a little bit of team culture. But we are also open to the public - we have created an 'educational area' alongside the hospitality and VIP facilities. People love to entertain in this environment, the Cup is very special, and our guest programmes have been a great success. It's a good sign for the sport that there is a healthy, growing interest."
For the rest of the competition the team's performance have successfully demonstrated the remarkable blend of technological expertise, strong leadership, and the skilled and experience of the sailors. According to Groeschner, "It's vital that people know where they are going, that the team knows what they are working for every day. Team identity is the corps of success or failure. It must be right; sponsors need to know what they are putting their money into and the guests what the team stands for: BMW ORACLE Racing is hi-tech, international, tough competition and professionalism. It forms the overall team and our global representation."
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