How To: Build A Better Action-Sports Comp

mike lewis

• October 02 2009
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• 4 comments

In an era of contest consolidation, the Ride Shakedown is launching its first foray into the U.S. market this coming winter. On March 12-13, 2010 the event, which is going into its ninth year in Mon-Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, is coming south of our northern border, dropping in on the Summit at Snoqualmie, where 80 ams and 40 pros will compete for $35k.   Contest organizers Patryck Bernier and Brendan O’Dowd sat down with us to discuss effective brand partnerships, the future of contests, and their new clothing line.

Why did you guys decide to bring the Shakedown to Washington?

Brendan O’Dowd: We’ve actually been discussing expanding the event for some time. Last year we brought in Ride as the title sponsor with the

goal to bring the event elsewhere. It will not just be limited to the U.S. We’re looking at Europe and eventually elsewhere. Why Seattle, it’s pretty simple. It’s Ride’s backyard. It’s very easy for them to open a lot of doors for us. We have a really good relationship with Ride, they have a really good relationship with Summit, and they understand our way of putting our event together.

What do you think sets your event apart?

Patryck Bernier: Back when we created it, the idea was to do something different that was fun for the riders, but also fun for spectators. When you go to events, sometimes it’s like it never ends. For somebody that doesn’t know what’s going on, it can get pretty boring.  The idea was to create a format that the spectators will get close to the action and is easy to understand.

We created a jam format where the guys have a certain amount of time to get two judged runs. They can practice for as long as they want and then when they’re ready for a judged run they need to call the trick they’ll be doing on the jump. It’s a jump followed by a rail, so it’s a combination of both obstacles, fifty percent on each. The crowd is waiting anxiously for the judged runs. Some guys don’t mess around and do them right away, some wait and see what’s landed and adjust their tricks, which adds a strategy effect. For the crowd, it’s easy for them to know what is landed and they know who is in the running.

BO: This format also avoids riders coming in and doing the same trick all day and going home with a check. If a rider calls a trick for his first run, and lands it, he can’t repeat it on his second judged run.

How effective has it been as far as getting spectators out?

BO: Our biggest turnout was in ’08 when we had 22,000 people show up. Last year it pissed rain all weekend, but we still had 10,000 people show up. It proved to us that we have a very loyal fan base. Whether it’s minus 40 or pissing rain, we’re going to have a minimum of eight to ten thousand people show up.

Is it an open format or invite?

BO: On Friday it’s an open, amateur qualification. We cap it at 80 registrations and take the top three and invite them to the main event on Saturday with the 35 pros that we invite. Last year was the first year that we brought women in. Oakley approached us to sponsor the event and they wanted to tag themselves to everything that had to do with the women’s category. The women were riding with the guys so there wasn’t a heat of girls and then guys. Not to be sexist, but often what happens is the crowd will kind of lose interest if it’s strictly women. We mixed them to keep the pace and the tempo at a high level.

Do you guys charge spectators?

BO: That’s the beauty of the Shakedown - it’s free.

While lots of contests are being canceled you guys are focusing on expansion - what are sponsorship dollars looking like?

BO: I think that our biggest challenge for this first year of Shakedown [in the U.S.] is going to be corporate sponsorship, not only because of the economy but because of the Olympics. Being so close to Vancouver, I think a lot of the companies are putting their focus on the Olympics. Even though the Olympics do not necessarily captivate our clientele, I think that’s going to be our biggest challenge. If we can get through this first year, we should be Okay. It’s not a huge money thing for us, we are a privately owned business and enjoy making money, but it’s more a passion for snowboarding. There were years that we barely broke even, there were years that we lost money, and there are years when we made a fair buck.

Who do you have on board besides Ride?

BO: We’re trying to keep the same sponsors on both sides. We have Ride as our title sponsor, Oakley, Amp, and Empire Board Shop. We have Coors Light, Push.ca, those are our headline sponsors, and then we have smaller industry sponsors that go from Nikita to Drop, IFound, Bern, and smaller media sponsors that help us promote it.

What’s the return on investment for those guys?

BO: Obviously there’s a marketing and visibility value to it, but it’s more direct interaction at the event. Often the snowboarding industry will put a logo on a flyer and a banner and call it a sponsorship. We’ve learned through the corporate world that involving sponsors through logo placement doesn’t allow the brands to live through the event and give the kids an experience. We oblige our sponsors to have a certain activation on site. Yes they’re getting visibility through flyers, Web, TV shows and all that, but then once they’re at the event there has to be something going on in the sponsorship village. They can’t just pop up a tent and say “Hey, we’re sponsoring the event.” They need to create some fun activation where kids roam through the village and live the brand and live an experience.

Give a couple examples of successful ones.

BO: Vans came in in ’08 as our halftime show sponsor. They were integrated into the fabric of the rail and then we had skaters skating the snowboard

rail at the event. Last year we brought in a mini ramp and one of our main sponsors had an open session and was doing demos. Ubisoft had video games up, there are VIP zones for Coors Light and Amp. Some of the smaller sponsors bring popcorn machines, or slush machines and give it away. We had Nixon come in last year and they had a slapshot contest for T-shirts.

PD: We’re really trying to create brand integration. So with like Amp, we come to them and say “You guys should own a segment of the course.” Last year they owned the rail and they created a waterfall all around it. Every year it has been more about integration, about how we can make a corporate or industry partner more involved and make it an experience. We come to them with solutions and an approach to our target market.

So more of a partnership than just “Give us money”?

PD: Exactly, “What can we do together so you can get a return on your investment?”

How do you see the contest landscape evolving over the next few years?

PD: I think the contests that are going to be the most successful are the ones that are cool for the riders and bring a larger scope than just industry people coming down. It’s about getting mass public appeal. When you see people going to motocross and stuff like that, it’s easy to understand – a guy doing a back flip over a 60-foot gap. So what can we do in the snowboard world, because sometimes it gets really technical, and get more people to watch the events on TV or on-site.

Are you affiliated with any TV networks?

PD: Here in Canada we broadcast on two networks, one in French here in Quebec which is RDS, and TSN the national sports network. In the States we’re locked down for a live Web show on Fuel TV. We’re looking to get a major national broadcast, but in the States there are a lot of events. Until we make our place, it’s going to be challenging.

What are your goals for Shakedown?

BO: [In Washington] our goal is to have a solid event. Not to have 30,000 people the first year, but we want to make sure, regardless of how many people are there, it’s tight, well done, fun, and comfortable for everyone.

We’ve always pushed hard to create a brand and not just an event. Going into this year, we’re launching a Shakedown clothing line as well. We’re doing two seasons per year, spring and back-to-school. Going into the Seattle market, we’ve tied in with three important retailers that are going to help us promote the event and support our clothing line. We have SnoCon and Evo in Seattle and U.S. Outdoor in Portland.

Over the next couple years, it’s going to be beefing up the events, and getting our clothing line into key shops and increase our cash prize as much as possible.

Tell me a little more about the apparel line.

BO: It’s basically streetwear, a fun, easygoing collection. It’s a line of windbreakers, polos, shirts, cut and sews, different accessories. There are so many kids these days that like the trends and styles of snowboarding but don’t necessarily snowboard. We’re going to reach out not only to snowboarders, but people that enjoy fashion, which will bring more people to snowboarding. It will help us promote the event and the event will help us promote the clothing.

We also have a collab beanie with IFound, a collab helmet with Bern, a strap with Oakley. We’re looking at a glove with Drop, an in-catalog  helmet with Bern, and an inline snowboard collaboration with Ride.