In 2004 Britannia was recommended to Hardy's and received a call from their PR company (PBC), asking for ideas on how Britannia could add a water-based element to their promotional plans for the Hardy's Voyage brand of wine.

Britannia worked closely with both Hardy's and PBC, to gain a full understanding of the project, and then submitted a proposal that would link closely with all the elements of our client's project.

The resultant project involved Britannia liaising with Hardy's and PBC for a period of five months to provide a bespoke solution that included:

Branding of the boat and liaison with Wet & Wild, the branding company. The branding involved:

- a full hull wrap with black vinyl; white vinyl overlays of the Hardy's logo and the 'Best wine under the sun' strap line; sail branding of the mainsail, headsail and spinnaker; production of branded black mesh sails for use in marinas.
- Mast and boom branding and the renaming of the boat as Hardy's Voyage.
- Sourcing of skipper, mate and other crew members.
- Selection of suitable marinas, all arrangements for delivery of Hardy's Voyage to these marinas and all water-based activity within the marinas.
- Client sailing days in various locations around the UK and all associated catering.
- Racing in Skandia Life Cowes Week.
- Use of the Hardy's Voyage boat for photo shots and promotional activity, including the launch of Wine Idol by Carol Vorderman in St. Katherine's Dock in London.

This was the first time that the Hardy's brand had been involved in a sailing project of this scale in the UK and it was great to work with people that were also able to understand the marketing side of the project. The results were fantastic, the boat looked incredible and the project exceeded all our expectations.

Constellation Europe

The Hardy's Itinerary
You can see the project develop and the full itinerary below:

April - July
Britannia, Hardy's and PBC work together on all details of the project

27 - 30 July
Twelfth Knight is prepared and branded in Port Hamble Marina and renamed Hardy's Voyage

31 July
Hardy's Voyage sets sail for London

5 August
The Hardy's Voyage project is officially launched in St. Katherine's Dock and Carol Vorderman launches the search for the Wine Idol.
Hardy's Voyage is present to support two days of press briefings onboard the boat and wine tastings on Marble Quay.

7 August
Hardy's Voyage sets sail to compete in Cowes Week

9-15 August
Hardy's Voyage sails and races at Skandia Cowes Week 2004.
Various corporate sailing days, press days, wine tastings take place,
as well as two days of racing in Cowes Week.

16 August
Hardy's Voyage sets sail for Brighton Marina

17-22 August
Hardy's Voyage is based in Brighton Marina to support wine tasting activity in the Brighton Marina Yacht Club and to host several client and press day sailing trips.

23-26 August
Hardy's Voyage sets sail for Bristol City Docks

27-30
August Hardy's Voyage moors in Bristol to support quay-side wine tasting activities.

31 August
Client sailing day from Portishead Marina.

1 September
Hardy's Voyage project ends and yacht returns to Port Hamble Marina.

'We approached Britannia for ideas in relation to a major project we were working on for our client. PBC PR agency represents many of the major brands in the UK drinks market and we needed to find a company that could provide a creative and reliable solution to our requirements, within a tight time frame.

We were delighted with the speed of response from Britannia and by the way that they were able to manage every aspect of the project. The Hardy's Voyage boat was a great success and the fact that it was in safe hands left us free to focus on the PR aspect of the project, without worries or concerns about the yacht.'

PBC PR Agency