Since its bold emergence in 2017, Super League Triathlon (SLT) has carved out a well-earned reputation for disruption.
The brainchild of entrepreneur Michael D’hulst, businessman Leonid Boguslavsky and four-time triathlon world champion Chris McCormack, SLT’s mantra from the outset was to shake up the swim-bike-run events space.
Now, under a new brand designed to embrace its ‘challenger’ status and build on its foundations as a globally relevant and engaging rights-holder, Supertri is ready to dive into a new era.
The birth of SLT was driven by a desire to redefine the appeal of triathlon from being solely a participation sport into a product that delivers for audiences as well. However, the next chapter will see Supertri lean on its ‘super’ credentials for triathlon storytelling by combining key pillars of professional racing, mass participation events and esports into a single platform, underpinned by a range of media that deliver compelling content around an engaging product.
Redefining the sport
Supertri is the new name for the Championship Series, comprising professional closed-league formats that offer thrilling races on stadium-like courses.
Additionally, Arena Games – the amalgamation of real-life and virtual racing – is relaunching as Supertri E, with its globally broadcast professional World Championship in partnership with World Triathlon crowning official world champions.
Meanwhile, a separate, common visual identity will complement individual mass-participation event brands, providing continuity through a narrative that triathlon is for everyone, regardless of experience or age. Initially, this branding strategy will be rolled out across the Chicago Triathlon, the sport’s biggest event in North America, as well as the Legacy Long Beach Triathlon on the course of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and the New York Triathlon.
According to Supertri, it is exploring other opportunities to expand across other races.
“We have grown incredibly fast since our first test event in Hamilton Island in 2017, and now is the right time to look to the next stage of our development,” D’hulst says. “We are very proud of the pillars we have developed in our brand, and our vision: ‘To Inspire The Competitor In Everyone.’ That very much speaks to my own journey into the sport and is the approach for what we do and who we are.
“We inspire and entertain, whether you are a professional athlete, a participant or potential participant, or just a fan who watches our broadcasts and wants to support an athlete or a team. In addition, we have committed to our overarching brand values which will define every decision we make in the future. For us, this is less about a name and a logo, and instead our whole ethos and our future, and I am really excited about the next chapter of Supertri.”
Defining principles
A new set of principles have been developed in the hope of encapsulating Supertri’s DNA through the brand.
Breaking boundaries, creating moments, fuelling ambition, enriching communities and delivering excellence have all been earmarked as defining principles for Supertri, which is looking to become ‘the ultimate challenger brand’.
In this underdog category, it seeks to disrupt, dare and inspire people to be even fitter and healthier while retaining its focus on delivering elite-level triathlon events full of action and entertainment.
Fan base
Achieving this goal would sustain and grow what is already a passionate fan base.
A large proportion of followers participate in the sport themselves and invest significant amounts of time and money into it as a result. In 2022, research from Goodform Group found that the average annual spend of triathletes on triathlon was $4,865, while the average training time invested per week was 5.2 hours over a mean of 6.25 sessions.
Indeed, Supertri is hoping to tap into a growing pool of followers with desirable demographic make-ups.
Some 151 million people worldwide are interested in triathlon, with around 56% being under the age of 34 and 78% under 44 years old. Some 60% hold management titles in their professional lives and 36% of triathlon fans are considered to earn a ‘high’ household income.
According to its advocates, Supertri has comfortably the most engaged audience in triathlon with more than 55 million broadcast views and more than 250 million digital video views in 2023. Last year, SLT generated sponsorship media value of $51.5m.
“The growth of Supertri and everything it has done for our sport has been one of the great joys and achievements of my life,” said Supertri president Boguslavsky. “We have redefined triathlon and how the world sees our sport, breaking free from preconceptions of eight-hour races and staid formats and promoting values of health and wellness.”
Partnerships
Despite having already attracted partners of the calibre of Asics, Zwift, Garmin, Humango, and Fuel Hub, it is hoped that the Supertri rebrand will also boost the commercial outlook.
To support this growth, Supertri’s digital engagement strategy will be vital. Through branded content and authentic integrations, executives are confident that Supertri can connect with a digital audience that they believe is twice as engaged than any other in the triathlon space.
This would build on significant digital achievements to date. More than 250 million digital video views were registered across SLT channels last year, representing a 127% increase on 2022, and more than 55 million global broadcast viewers tuned in across 145 countries.
“We cannot stand still and applaud ourselves,” said Boguslavsky. “We are ambitious and want to achieve much more. I fully believe the Supertri brand and the scope it gives for growth, and the values we will define ourselves by, allow us the perfect framework to change the world through the greatness of sport.”
Supertri’s determination to flourish further is in parallel with a perennial focus on the wellbeing and engagement of athletes.
According to D’hulst, one of the primary considerations has been to ensure Supertri’s events calendar tallies with the interests of competitors who are preparing to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris this year and Los Angeles in 2028. Although there has been a historic focus on the autumn for events, a spring season could be launched across Supertri’s core regions to provide athletes with even greater opportunities across the calendar.
With this in mind, it is clear that the relaunched Supertri is about going beyond a mere name change as the property endeavours to stay true to the innovative approach that has served it so well so far.