The 2009 Tour de France — a 3 week cycling race around France — ended this past Sunday with many viewers wondering, “What the heck is Astana?” Astana, as it turns out, is a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan, named after its capital city Astana. It is also the sponsor of this year’s Tour winner Alberto Contador, third place finisher Lance Armstrong, and the race’s overall winning team.
Watching this year’s race, I noticed that a lot of big corporations — many of which are professional services firms in the sectors of finance, telecommunications and consulting — have chosen to sponsor cycling. This trend isn’t all that surprising once you realize that cycling has gained on golf as a networking activity for corporate executives. And increased participation in the sport naturally drives an interest at the professional level.
With an annual price tag of $3-5 million, lead sponsorship of an international professional team is out of reach of most companies. But to target a burgeoning crowd of corporate executives, a number of professional services firms have begun to sponsor local amateur cycling clubs.
In the DC area alone there are 11 amateur racing clubs with 50-400 members each — all wearing corporate logos on their jerseys. Clubs increase the visibility of their sponsors every time they participate in a mid-Atlantic-region race, train on the roads, or sit in coffee shops before and after rides. Today, sponsors include Kelly Benefit Strategies, Inova Health System, Signal Financial, Bohler Engineering and Deloitte, each of whom pay $2,000-$20,000 for their logo to appear on a club’s jersey (cost depends on the team, as well as size and placement of the logo on the jersey).
Sponsoring a local cycling club is an easy way to boost visibility of your company’s brand, promote an active lifestyle, and foster a competitive spirit. With the return of Lance Armstrong, a Tour finally free of doping scandals and improved television coverage, the sport of cycling is growing in popularity. So next time you climb on your bike, consider whether a foray into sports sponsorship might help your firm reach new audiences.
[Originally posted by John Koblinsky on The Hinge Marketing Blog]
