After placing first and fourth in the 2005/2006 Volvo Ocean Race, ABN AMRO said it will not enter the 2008/2009 Volvo Ocean Race.
The press release sent out by the company did not mention why the company was not entering the race, or that a member of ABN AMRO Two, Dutchman Hans Horrevoets, was killed in the previous race after falling overboard.
Horrevoets spent 40 minutes in the water before he was rescued and he could not be resuscitated, according to Glenn Bourke, the CEO of Volvo Ocean Race.
The 2005/2006 round-the-world race, in which the company had two boats, was its first global sponsorship attempt to raise global awareness of the brand and introduce its theme ‘Making more possible.’
“The campaign’s primary objectives were to involve employees from all key territories around the world, achieve worldwide brand exposure, create a platform for client hospitality, communicate the core values of the bank to a global audience, and win the race,” says the press release. “All objectives were achieved during the race.”
ABN AMRO One won the seven month race taking six out of nine offshore leg wins and five out of seven in-port races. The ABN AMRO Two finished fourth and broke the world record for 24 hour speed.
“The Volvo Ocean Race has been a great marketing platform for us and its impact will continue long into the future,” says Jan Berent Heukensfeldt Jansen, managing director of team ABN AMRO. “We entered the Volvo Ocean Race as a three year, one-off campaign to meet specific objectives, promoting the unity and strength of the ABN AMRO brand to a global audience. We did everything we could to win the race, and with a combination of teamwork and professionalism TEAM ABN AMRO traveled the world reflecting all that the bank stands for. The results of the campaign confirm that all our objectives have been met, which is largely thanks to the outstanding effort made by the large number of people involved. The Volvo Ocean Race is a unique event with a global following, and one which we are very proud to have been part of.”