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One thing that puzzles me after watching "The Hard Road" and "Pro":

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One thing that puzzles me after watching "The Hard Road" and "Pro":

Old 01-23-06, 08:42 PM
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One thing that puzzles me after watching "The Hard Road" and "Pro":

What is a company sponsoring a bike team expect to gain? Do they want a kick back from the paltry prize money that one of their riders hope to win or just billboard space on their jerseys and bikes ala NASCAR?

Sponsors seem to come and go in bike racing with the exception of the monsters like T-Mobile, CSC or Discovery...hell even US Postal jumped ship.

If I was some guy like Bill Gates or Donald Trump, I'd love to support a bike team more than supporting those prima donnas in the NFL, NBA, etc. Bike racers are very similar to rodeo cowboys in that they simply love what they are doing even though both sports are hand-to-mouth existences and there is a potential for alot of injuries.

Anyhow, back to the original question: Why are there any domestic sponsors at all?
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Old 01-23-06, 09:34 PM
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Believe it or not, but some of these companies are reaching their target market or marketing objectives by supporting a team.
Teams that go to the Big Dance in France reach a HUGE audience. It's all about getting your name out there, a million times.

Some teams use cycling for marketing, but also to help their own operations. For example: Saturn Corp: Association with a team-oriented sport and healthy lifestyle incorporated into their corporate culture. They used their team for in-store appearances and family fun rides, but also at their Spring Hill plant to demonstrate teamwork to the line workers.

If you think that being on the team simply means pulling a jersey over your head, you're wrong. Most team members from the big teams can speak in detail about their sponsor's product. They are diplomats/representatives who are out in the public singing the company song. For example, Jelly Belly riders take a tour of the factory and can tell you how the beans are made. (It takes 17 days to make one Jelly Belly. Or is it 7? I forget. I never took the plant tour.)

In the case of Navigator's, it's simply a wealthy fan of cycling who wants to support a team, as you said you would if you were Gates or Trump. Face it, there's not a large market for insurance for ocean-going vessels. But Ed Beamon and Ray Cipolini have a good thing going, so hopefully it'll stay around a while longer.

So to answer your question, it's usually a marketing tool. There are exceptions.

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Old 01-23-06, 09:39 PM
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Go buy a stop watch and a note pad. Watch the '05 TDF. Log in the amount of time the word "Discovery" can be seen. Use tick marks on the note pad every time the announcers say the phrase "Discovery" or "Discovery Channel".

Huge amount of air time and press for a pretty paltry sum compared to buying ad space.
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Old 01-23-06, 10:07 PM
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Hehe though Ed did tell me that they are the insurance company's "best advertising"...guess he has to try
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Old 01-24-06, 06:12 AM
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Originally Posted by Sincitycycler
What is a company sponsoring a bike team expect to gain? Do they want a kick back from the paltry prize money that one of their riders hope to win or just billboard space on their jerseys and bikes ala NASCAR?

Sponsors seem to come and go in bike racing with the exception of the monsters like T-Mobile, CSC or Discovery...hell even US Postal jumped ship.

If I was some guy like Bill Gates or Donald Trump, I'd love to support a bike team more than supporting those prima donnas in the NFL, NBA, etc. Bike racers are very similar to rodeo cowboys in that they simply love what they are doing even though both sports are hand-to-mouth existences and there is a potential for alot of injuries.

Anyhow, back to the original question: Why are there any domestic sponsors at all?
Event Services answered some of this...

Tom Weisel, the guy that owns the company that owned USPS and now Disco is an investment banker. He is also a champion cyslist and still races and owns a Masters team that was Postal Masters, now is AMD (and uses Serottas). Before USPS, he owned a team called Montgomery Bell.

You may be too young, but the biggest stage race in the US used to be called the "Tour de Trump'.

Many companies that sponsor US pro teams want to access the cycling demographic. It is also inexpensive in comparison to the NFL, NASCAR, etc...

BTW...Postal jumped ship because they caved into a "watchdog" group of lunatics that somehow thought that the 1% of USPS's ad budget that was going to the bike team was somehow contributing to an increase in stamp prices. Wonder what they think now?

Sponsorship is vital in cycling. There are no "admissions" or "concessions" to help pay the bills.
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Old 01-24-06, 01:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Vinokurtov
Go buy a stop watch and a note pad. Watch the '05 TDF. Log in the amount of time the word "Discovery" can be seen. Use tick marks on the note pad every time the announcers say the phrase "Discovery" or "Discovery Channel".

Huge amount of air time and press for a pretty paltry sum compared to buying ad space.
Yes I know, but the coverage is on OLN -I didn't even know I had that bull-riding channel until I got into cycling- and with Lance, a once-in-a lifetime superstar.

Lemond was big but what ever happened to team "Z", or 7-11 which, as a company, is still doing well?

For every Disco their are hundreds of one-year wonders like NetZero, right?
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Old 01-24-06, 01:29 PM
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Sure.
Sponsors come and sponsors go. That's true in almost every sport. There are some that stick around forever.

Corporate goals and objectives change. (Team Saturn)
Some teams are mismanaged out of existence (John Worden and the Mercury Cycling Team)
Sometimes, top level management changes and the new regime doesn't "get" cycling (EDS and their shameful treatment of the velodrome in Frisco)

Nothing lasts forever.
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Old 01-24-06, 02:52 PM
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it's a good way to make a company appear to be routed in the community. bike races have a very festive atmosphere for spectators, they're in a good mood getting fresh air and food and drinks are involved. when people are having a good time, they're prone to have a positive image of the company logos they see.
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Old 01-24-06, 04:36 PM
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Maybe a bit of it is altruism. The last company I ran didn't make a single sale directly attributabe sponsoring a youth soccor team or the new high school scoreboard. We did enjoy local name recognition from some of our sponsorships, but we never had anyone tell us they bought our srvice due to the soccor team. Didn't matter. We sponsored them for years.
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Old 01-24-06, 05:13 PM
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Originally Posted by timmhaan
it's a good way to make a company appear to be routed in the community. bike races have a very festive atmosphere for spectators, they're in a good mood getting fresh air and food and drinks are involved. when people are having a good time, they're prone to have a positive image of the company logos they see.

this is why th baby seal hunt has no sponsor.
 
Old 01-24-06, 11:40 PM
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Originally Posted by EventServices
Believe it or not, but some of these companies are reaching their target market or marketing objectives by supporting a team.
Teams that go to the Big Dance in France reach a HUGE audience. It's all about getting your name out there, a million times.

Some teams use cycling for marketing, but also to help their own operations. For example: Saturn Corp: Association with a team-oriented sport and healthy lifestyle incorporated into their corporate culture. They used their team for in-store appearances and family fun rides, but also at their Spring Hill plant to demonstrate teamwork to the line workers.

If you think that being on the team simply means pulling a jersey over your head, you're wrong. Most team members from the big teams can speak in detail about their sponsor's product. They are diplomats/representatives who are out in the public singing the company song. For example, Jelly Belly riders take a tour of the factory and can tell you how the beans are made. (It takes 17 days to make one Jelly Belly. Or is it 7? I forget. I never took the plant tour.)

In the case of Navigator's, it's simply a wealthy fan of cycling who wants to support a team, as you said you would if you were Gates or Trump. Face it, there's not a large market for insurance for ocean-going vessels. But Ed Beamon and Ray Cipolini have a good thing going, so hopefully it'll stay around a while longer.

So to answer your question, it's usually a marketing tool. There are exceptions.
Big Dance in France
Hey, I like that.

I won't call The Race the Tour Day France anymore...
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