Case study Xiaomi Kite Cup driven by Land Rover’2021

Challenge and analysis

Kitesurfing in Poland is becoming more and more popular every year. Although nowadays water, wind and sun lovers are no strangers to the sport, it was still in its infancy in our country 16 years ago. Kitesurfing already has so many fans around the world it has been included in the programme for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. More and more nurseries are popping up on the Baltic Sea, training a lot of young talent and giving them hope for top laurels. The Hel Peninsula is one of the best basins in Europe for this sport. Despite the pandemic, the organisers decided to hold the Polish Cup and Championships in kitesurfing and for the first time in Europe, a discipline called wingfoil. Also for the first time, two new brands appeared at the Championships: Xiaomi Polska – a consumer electronics manufacturer and Land Rover Polska – the world’s leading manufacturer of luxury vehicles, and the competition was officially named the Xiaomi Kite Cup driven by Land Rover.

The challenge for the agency was to skilfully combine the communication of several areas: electronics and a luxury automotive brand, without losing the spirit of a spectacular sport, although not yet so popular in Poland. Due to the nature of the sport, the activities were carried out during the holidays.

Realization

PRESS CONFERENCE – We started our communication by organizing a press conference (live and online) at the end of June in Warsaw on the Vistula Boulevards, during which the most important information about the planned competitions, competitions, prizes, as well as the ecological thread and support for the MARE Foundation were presented. The conference was attended by Michał Zieliński (PSKite and organiser), Michał Jodłowski (international judge – World Sailling and International Kiteboarding Association), Jolanta Stryjczak (head of public relations, Xiaomi CEE, Nordic & Baltic Region), Chwalisława Waligóra (PR Manager Land Rover Poland), Olga Sarna (CEO MARE Foundation).
THE COMPETITION – XIAOMI KITE CUP driven by LAND ROVER was held in three cities: Rewa, Krynica Morska and Puck in 4 main competitions: Freestyle, Formula Kite, Arrows Open and, new this season, Wing foil. The proper course of the competition was supervised by the Polish Kiteboarding Association. Any athlete could take part in the XIAOMI KITE CUP driven by LAND ROVER. All they had to do was register at the competition office in the morning on the day of the competition and submit the registration documents.

2 – 4 July, REWA, Polish Cup in kitesurfing and wingfoil and Polish Freestyle Championships.
30 July – 1 August, KRYNICA MORSKA, Polish Cup
13 – 15 August, PUCK, Polish Cup and Polish Championship in Formula Kite.

Every day before the start of the competition, we encouraged beachgoers and the competitors themselves to clean the beach together and take part in educational competitions on the protection of the Baltic Sea. Prizes included watches and wristbands from Xiaomi.
Between competitions, visitors could get acquainted with the latest flagship Xiaomi smartphones from the Mi 11 series or the Mi Smart Band 6 in a special dome tent. Automotive fans, meanwhile, were treated to luxury Land Rover cars, including the latest Discovery Sport, whose exceptional driving characteristics and comfort could be tested during test drives.

During each competition, the competitors were cheered on at the beach by those known and loved from the small screen. They also had the opportunity to take their first kitesurfing lesson. Among them were actors: Krystian Wieczorek, Anna Oberc, Anna Powierza, Bartosz Obuchowicz (known for his love of extreme sports), Sylwia Nowak (actress and singer) or Przemysław Kossakowski (journalist and traveller), who reported on the competitors’ actions on their social media channels with great interest and commitment.

The competition’s mobile press office looked after representatives of the local media on site, giving them the opportunity to interview the competitors as soon as they got out of the water, as well as the experts: the organizers, the judges, the President of the Mare Foundation.
Information about results and the competitors’ achievements was published on a regular basis on the competition’s social media channels, on a dedicated website and communicated to the media in separate materials along with photo, video and MP3 footage of the competitors’ statements.
A key element of the communication was high-quality photo and video footage, shot by a team specialising in extreme sports photography. A photographer and cameraman captured the water and aerial stunts of the athletes while on the boat right next to them.