|
TEAM CARIBBEAN
SIGNS MAJOR MEDIA SPONSOR
St. Thomas, USVI--June 15--Team Caribbean's America's Cup Challenge announced today it has signed the San Juan Star group of newspapers and magazines in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as the "Official Corporate Media Sponsor" of the campaign. The agreement calls for two full pages in six daily newspapers to be devoted to Team Caribbean each week for the duration of the campaign. In addition, one full page devoted to Team Caribbean will appear in the monthly San Juan magazine. The agreement is valued at close to three-quarters of a million dollars.
The pages will include advertisements with sponsor logos, major team announcements, status reports on the campaign, progress reports of the design and boat building programs, and news briefs and race results from Auckland after the team arrives. The text for each of the pages will be written by Team Caribbean and approved by San Juan Star management.
"This is a huge boost to the campaign," said Steve Morton, Team Caribbean's vice president of marketing. "Our recent announcement about establishing a sales headquarters in Puerto Rico is already paying big dividends. This agreement with the San Juan Star, a well-respected Pulitzer Prize winning publication, allows us to communicate directly with the people and companies of Puerto Rico and continually keep them aware of our progress. And, of course, it is also a valuable added benefit for both existing and new sponsors."
The six daily newspapers in which the pages will appear are: The San Juan Star, El San Juan Star, El Arecibo Star, El Mayaguez Star, El Ponce Star, and El Star Extra. The San Juan Star is printed in English and the others are written in Spanish.
"By being a part of Team Caribbean's campaign to win the America's Cup, Puerto Rico steps onto the world stage," said Gerry Angulo, publisher of the San Juan Star group of publications. "Our readers are excited that our island is to be part of this major international sporting event and the San Juan Star newspapers are proud to have the opportunity to bring this prestigious event into their homes. We believe Team Caribbean has the capability to win in Auckland and we want to be with them every step of the way."
Team Caribbean in one of sixteen declared international Challengers for the America's Cup, to be held in Auckland, New Zealand with racing beginning in October 1999. Because of its proximity to the Virgin Islands and its wealth of sailing talent, Puerto Rico has become a major contributor to the campaign. By enlarging its geographic and financial base, Team Caribbean is better prepared to defeat the established sailing powers from Europe, Australia, the United States and Asia while remaining committed to the team's basic tenet of presenting the first America's Cup multicultural and multiracial challenge. Puerto Rico is a natural choice for strengthening the team.
The campaign is the first Caribbean-based challenge for the America's Cup, the only U.S. territory ever to challenge, and the only challenge ever made official by a woman commodore. Several regional sponsors have been signed by the team over the last 18 months, including Cellular One of Puerto Rico and Texaco Caribbean Corporation. Other major sponsors include Topa Equities, Ritz-Carlton of St. Thomas, and GANT USA. |
