Sponsors

Print advertising as sponsorship

Posted on 04. Jun, 2009 by in Marketing, Sponsors, Trends | 7 Comments

Print advertising as sponsorship

Streetwear and sneaker design tastemaker Jeff Staple has launched a print magazine called Reed Pages (his store/gallery is called Reed Space). It’s a good-looking mag, although visually it doesn’t stand out from the rest of the modern design genre. That said, Reed Pages takes a fresh approach to content where all stories are given equal billing and organized alphabetically. But what’s most interesting about Reed Pages is its approach to advertising. According to Staple, there isn’t any.

Team might be better off financially without Astana

Posted on 06. May, 2009 by in Bike Racing, Sponsors, Sports Business | 1 Comment

Team might be better off financially without Astana

The Kazakhstan cycling federation pays Bruyneel’s program with money it receives from a consortium of Kazakh companies. Those companies are unwilling or unable to pay the federation, which has in turn put the team in financial straits. Luckily, if the Kazakhs pull out entirely, all the pieces will be in place for a new title sponsor to “save” Lance Armstrong’s team just in time for the Tour de France. Even in this economy, that’s a very saleable sponsorship. It might even be better in the long run than if Astana had stayed on. Why? Sponsorship activation and metrics.

Twitter and pro cycling’s human element

Posted on 27. Feb, 2009 by in Bike Racing, Bike industry, New Media, Sponsors, Sports Business | 3 Comments

Twitter and pro cycling’s human element

More than any other pro sport, cycling has taken to Twitter like a fish to water. I believe it’s because the approachability of the tweet fits with the already approachable nature of the sport. As Twitter and other social tools permeate our everyday lives, myths will become human and a pre-humanized sport like cycling will adapt more quickly and naturally than its larger counterparts. In other words, we’ll benefit from the convergence of what Mike refers to as the road version and the raw version.

Kadisco at the Tour of California

Posted on 15. Feb, 2009 by in Bike Racing, Client News, Personal, Sponsors, Trends | 1 Comment

Kadisco at the Tour of California

This is going to be a busy week for me with a several hats to juggle and lots of text, photo and video content to create. First, I’m on the road with MASH all week. We’re riding all the Tour of California courses from start to finish on track bikes. I’ll also be producing some web content for Zipp around their pro teams, Cervelo Test Team and Garmin-Slipstream. I’ll be talking to riders, directors, and mechanics about what wheels they’ll be riding on different stages, and what factors go into those choices.

Tour de France team budgets, 1989-2008

Posted on 05. Jan, 2009 by in Bike Racing, Client News, Sponsors, Sports Business | 1 Comment

The March 1989 issue of VeloNews – reproduced on page 18 of the January 2009 issue – estimated budgets for some of the era’s leading teams: Cafe de Colombia, PDM,  Panasonic, etc. In 2008 dollars, the average of the 9 teams on the list that contested the ‘89 Tour is $6.12 million. According to VeloNews’ [...]

Beware the sponsor-owned team

Posted on 15. Dec, 2008 by in Bike Racing, Sponsors | No Comments

Beware the sponsor-owned team

The Rock Racing rumor mill has been cranking today, as Rock & Republic announced a round of company-wide layoffs affecting team staff. Not even the riders seemed to know if the team was shutting down. Eventually, Rock Racing released a brief statement late in the day saying that the program will continue. Regardless, the story [...]

Anti-abortion fast food lovers join USA Cycling

Posted on 08. Dec, 2008 by in Bike Racing, Sponsors | No Comments

Anti-abortion fast food lovers join USA Cycling

The Amore e Vita/McDonald’s cycling team, based in Lucca, Italy and registered in Poland in 2008, has found a home with USA Cycling for 2009. First question: what is “Amore e Vita”? Literally translated as “love and life,” the team describes it as a “Christian and humanitarian message of undoubtable beauty.” The team’s website features [...]

Tour de Georgia back in 2010?

Posted on 17. Nov, 2008 by in Bike Racing, Sponsors, Sports Business | 3 Comments

Tour de Georgia back in 2010?

Like a can of peaches [cringe], the Tour de Georgia is on the shelf. It’s been the best in North America from a pure racing standpoint, although they have had financial trouble in the past. The dismal economy obviously isn’t helping their cause, but I don’t think that’s really the problem. It’s that bike races [...]

To err is corporate

Posted on 11. Nov, 2008 by in Bike Racing, Sponsors | No Comments

To err is corporate

VeloNews.com is reporting that the folks at Barloworld have changed their minds about the decision to withdraw from their team sponsorship following a positive doping test during the Tour de France. As I wrote for ROAD, you can’t fault a sponsor for dropping or sticking with a team; both have their pros and cons. Here’s [...]

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