OCSC Sailing

About the Client

Anthony Sandberg founded the Olympic Circle Sailing Club (www.ocscsailing.com) in 1979 as a one-man sailing school. Today, his 10,000 square foot facility located in Berkeley, California, is the largest single-location educational sailing institution in the country, with over 50 boats ranging from 24 feet to 50 feet. Students who learn to sail with OCSC on the rigorous waters of San Francisco Bay – where 25-30 knot winds and 6-7 knot currents are common – gain the confidence to sail anywhere in the world. More importantly, OCSC emphasizes the communal nature of sailing by offering seminars, lectures, movies, organized outings & social BBQs and parties.

Strategy

Over the years, OCSC has benefited from favorable press in a variety of media. As the business continues to grow and evolve, however, founder Anthony Sandberg and CEO Rich Jepsen wanted more control over the messages being delivered. In 2005, they hired Galvin Communications to communicate that OCSC is more that just an excellent sailing school – in fact, the company offers first-class adventure travel trips around the world, organizes corporate team-building events for businesses of all sizes, and is a leader in environmental stewardship.

Of course, the Galvin team needed to understand the full OCSC brand experience. We participated in a week-long Basic Keelboat certification class (ah, the perks!) and used our experience to create compelling pitches aimed at both the business and lifestyle press.

Results

OCSC’s story of success was covered by nearly every Bay Area publication, including the Contra-Costa Times, Berkeley Daily Planet, San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune/ANG Newspapers, SF Weekly, San Francisco Business Times, and East Bay Business Times. In all cases, the articles touched on the key message points that OCSC wished to convey.

Galvin Communications arranged broadcast coverage that began with an extensive segment on KPIX-TV’s “Evening Magazine,” the Bay Area’s most popular nightly magazine program. Anthony Sandberg was an in-studio guest on “Gary Allen on Business,” which airs Saturday mornings on KNBR 680 AM, while Rich Jepsen was a guest on Clear Channel Radio’s “Tech Talk with Craig Peterson.”

Nationally, Galvin Communications placed OCSC in Inc. Magazine and Business Week and arranged coverage of a flotilla trip to Greece by Outside Magazine (scheduled to appear in March 2006). We continue working with OCSC on a variety of initiatives.

Testimonial

“The relationship with your firm has been absolutely exceptional. Every step of the way you listened, proposed and fulfilled way beyond any expectations. You really got to know us as a business and as a community of people. You were able to grasp our story and reflect it back to us in a manner that we had not even understood. You crafted stories that were welcomed by newspapers, magazines, radio and television. What you were able to do for our public image and brand has exceeded our previous efforts exponentially. I am totally delighted with your work and the style and professionalism with which you do it. It is a pleasure to work with you personally and professionally and I now have an unfair yardstick with which to measure other vendors. Thank you for making 2005 a high watermark year for OCSC. I'm looking forward to a long run of fun and success with your team.”
Anthony Sandberg, Founder & President, OCSC Sailing