WSL Chief Revenue Officer Cherie Cohen hosted key WSL sponsors at the Kelly Slater Wave Company’s Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California, last week for meetings and future planning.
Sponsors that attended included Body Glove, Firestone Walker, Florence Marine, Hoag Medical, Hurley, Outerknown, Pacifico, Red Bull, Rip Curl, Sambazon, Vissla, and Yeti.
Cristiano Barbieri of WSL sponsor Sambazon. Photo courtesy of WSL.
Cohen said the get-together used to be an annual event until COVID, and the WSL is planning to return to a regular cadence going forward.
SES took the opportunity to ask Cohen how she thinks the upcoming Olympics that will include surfing could impact the WSL when it comes to sponsorships.
The WSL hosted key sponsors at the Surf Ranch. Photo courtesy of WSL.
“The Olympics will undoubtedly expose competitive surfing to tens of millions of new fans which should translate to more interest in our athletes and sport,” she said. “With more interest comes more engagement which will ultimately drive interest in new partnerships and sponsorships.
“We have already begun working with official Olympic partners like Samsung to extend their campaigns, which creates new opportunities for the league as Olympic rights holders like NBC and Globo (a Brazilian television network) to help us translate this interest to full time fandom,” Cohen said.
The WSL has already attracted some new sponsors this year including Lexus, Eventbrite, Chase, and Rolex/Tudor.
John Moore of Outerknown hugs Jed Pearson of the WSL. Photo courtesy of WSL.
