Shayne Vervoort, Marketing Manager Hi-Tec writes:

“Being involved in the Otter and Southern Storm was an amazing opportunity for Hi-Tec.

The involvement was important for Hi-Tec for a couple of reasons:

• It gave Hi-Tec the opportunity to be linked with a truly aspirational event and brand (Southern Storm and The Otter).  Hi-Tec and people in adventure circles do not see this merely as another event on the calendar – it will quickly become the event on the calendar.  The combination of the race, the route, the participants and the great organization of such a race all help in creating this aspiration and sense of an event rather than “just another race”.  To be the footwear brand associated with such an aspirational event raises the perception of the product we sell and the prizes we can comfortably charge.
• The Southern Storm and Otter push the boundaries with regards to what is both humanly and organizationally possible – Hi-Tec wanted to be part of this and have the brand recognised as one that pushes what is known to be possible in sport and adventure.  An example of this is how Magnetic South managed to get permission to have a trail run on the most famous hiking trail of South Africa – for our brand to be associated with this type of first is incredibly valuable as that success is passed onto the brand by association.

During the event we found a number of things exceptional and truly surprising having dealt with a number of events/event organizers before.

• Organizers tend to over-promise and under-deliver.  In Magnetic South’s case this was exactly the opposite.  I found additions were made after the contract was signed and extra effort was put into late requests even though they were not part of the original agreement.
• Although one pays event organizers to “organize”  the event often the sponsors promotional material and publicity get’s over-looked in that organizing.  With Magnetic South I found that the team took special care and attention with the sponsor’s stake in the event; after all as sponsors we are not involved for philanthropy.  The team made sure promo material was always in the best places for media and advertising opportunities.  Normally the logistics serve as a hindrance to multiple exposure (one normally has to choose an either/or position) – in the Otter and Southern Storm this was not an option – exposure was everywhere (one only has to look at the size of the team to understand how this is made possible).
• Safety was paramount in the event.  As a sponsor your brand is ultimately seen next to the good or bad of an event and because the organizing committee takes such a back seat in publicity, one’s brand is often seen solely responsible for the good or bad of an event.  With this type of pressure hanging over the sponsors it is incredibly important that the organizing committee looks at safety very seriously.  I have never seen a company who took safety as seriously – on the Otter alone there one support staff for every kilometre of the race, a helicopter and a rescue boat out at sea on standby.  As a company we were very impressed on how seriously Magnetic South were over the 6 days of racing and how meticulously they looked after our brand.
• The team.  A team is normally one brain with a bunch of helpers doing the grunt work.  Magnetic South is a team in the truest sense of the word.  The company is made up of a number of individuals, each with their own speciality and experience but at the same time each able to make a decision on their own; confident that it is allowed and ultimately the right decision.  This makes working with the team a pleasure as it is not only one person who has to make all the decisions – instead it is a well organized team who know their jobs but also who know what is possible/allowed because of the countless meetings/planning sessions they have.

Hi-Tec have been incredibly impressed with the success of the Otter and Southern Storm.  We in no way feel that this was a once-off success – with the Magnetic South team in control of such an event with think the success will be replicated year-after-year.

Hi-Tec feel that the association was incredibly valuable for the brand and are confident in the events future success.”

Shayne Vervoort, Marketing Manager Hi-Tec
November 2009