Why do racing jerseys for us FREDs still have a million ads?
 

I understand that pro bike racing requires lots of sponsorship, and thus you expect to see Lance and company wearing jerseys splattered with company sponsored ads/logos.

I also get that there's some "prestige" associated with wearing the same jerseys as these pros, even if it has "Astana" or "Liquigas" or "US Postal" emblazoned on it. Kind of like wearing Air Jordans, I guess.

Still, I went to my LBS the other day, and their main jersey display were plastered with ads. For no discount, nonetheless. In fact, you were paying a PREMIUM to get the jersey with those corporate ads on them. You pay $99 for the logofied one, whereas a similar plain vanilla version costed about $70, from what I could see from browsing the racks.

I don't see this adfest in running T-shirts or swimwear. And there's a lot of money put into running marketing, as the "masses" tend to run. Is there a reason why some of you would be willing to pay the premium simply to have TdF sponsors and such advertised on your jersey?

Just go to Performance.com or Nashbar and buy the generic cycling jerseys. They are visible and a lot cheaper.

Do you mean like a club jersey? Example?

Freds need love too you know.

I don't understand what you mean. Do you mean your lbs only has jerseys with local sponsors? If so, I've never seen this. Unless you mean like Fruit Loops or Spongebob or something.

Our shops all have pro jerseys, "funny" jerseys, and prints/patterns (think PI or T6).

Because people continue to buy them.

The shop probably got a discount.

The local bike shop has probably sold some advertising to a few local companies to defray the costs of the jerseys for the shop. As the shop is probably looking to make money, they hope by providing a jersey for local riders who may want to support their local economy.

http://www.probikekit.com/_img_200x256/c9025.jpg
I think the OP means like this. Buy a Pro Team jersey and get a jersey just like the pros wear. Sponsors and all.

That's more obvious then. Those advertisers are buying the placement for the tv cameras and for the fans who buy the shirts as well.

Pretty the OP specifically meant not pro jersey's...

Agree, the thread title is "Why do racing jerseys for us FREDs still have a million ads? "

I wonder the same thing.

I find it particularly funny how little it takes to sponsor a local team. A whopping 10%-20% discount (off full MSRP, mind you) gets you a prominent spot on most team kits. Teams are that desperate for logos :lol:. At the end of the day, it's ego. When you're not on the internet talking about your 30mph hammerfests, you should at least look like you're getting paid to ride.

How wrong you are...

Yeah I knew someone would chime in to clarify all the lavish discounts bestowed upon them. It's still about pretending to be pro instead of a local schlub. It's fantasy.

Betcha I can throw a football over them mountains.

No, it's not. Racing is a hobby, I don't pretend for it to be anything else. I have no allusions or fantasies that I am a pro. One doesn't have to be a pro to have a decent sponsorship deal. Many teams (as opposed to clubs) have good discounts, much better than 20% off MSRP. Sponsors get some benefit of exposure, word of mouth, and often new customers in the cyclists themselves. In exchange we wear some advertising. Our local teams here are very active and it is not umcommon to pictures in the newspaper.

Um, whatever...

"Grandma says stop eating all our steak"

Most of my jerseys advertise my favorite refreshment, beer. Arrogant ******* Ale is my fave. Plain jerserys suck.

http://www.bicycle-gifts.com/jersey.htm

https://secure.lefthandbrewing.com/d...?category=More Wearables&prodid=46 C

Click on more wearables at left hand.

I hate beer, but not only is "Arrogant ******* Ale" a completely awesome name, that jersey rocks my world!

From a business standpoint, the only real benefit to sponsors is a guaranteed customer - you. Obviously, they still make money selling stuff at a discount. The advertising stuff is mostly just for fun, or are people really buying tarmacs because umd rides one?



PRO. I'm sure the marketing guys were crackin' the bubbly :p

One of our sponsors was a local company that was expanding and needed to hire many people, so the idea was to get the name out and also for team members to refer people. It worked fairly well for them, and they hired many people through the program. As you say, the sponsors may also get us as customers, but also if we like the product/service we will tell others (and are often more inclined to do so) so they benefit from word-of-mouth exposure as well. Our title sponsor is a sports nutrition company and I get lots of questions about it at races and have given out a fair number of samples of it from my own (free) stock. Again spreading exposure.

Some sponsors are product and some are just cash to the team. This funds things like subsidized clothing, race/travel reimbursements, parties, dinners, etc. I'm also in a club that is primarily built around supporting juniors, and most of the sponsorship money goes to that. Benefits to juniors include free clothes, race reimbursement, coaching, a scholarship program, and we also helped with fundraising and set up/manage an Olympic fund for one of our past juniors (he has gone twice).

As for somebody buying a tarmac because I ride one, I don't know, and I don't really care. I'm just one person but from Specialized's perspective, they get a lot of bikes out there on the road and in the races, people see them being ridden and raced in large numbers and again adds to exposure for the brand. Bikeforums has a strange anti-popularity sentiment sometimes, but in the real world people see that something is popular or they are exposed to it a lot and when they go shop for a bike it's what they think of.

Advertising = Exposure. That's the whole point.

Advertising is all about coverage and exposure. Local teams may not be televised on versus but my point is that our rolling billboards still make it out into the local media, where it matters for local business anyway.

Actually, I was referring to the pro jerseys, but the commentary on the nonpro jerseys is definitely appropriate. I'm aware that discounts to clubs can be very helpful - I was more surprised that people would pay a premium for a "pro" jersey that just has corporate logos on it.

And why doesn't running or swimming have similar logo issues with clothing? There are SO many runners, and so many opportunities for logowear, but how often do you see a recreational runner cruising by on the weekend with logowear versus recreational cyclists with similar getups?

People wear the "pro" jerseys for various reasons. They are replica jerseys so of course they are the same as the pro teams. Running and swimming don't have pro teams with sponsorship on their clothing, therefore there is no analog replica jersey to be had.

I got an FD Jeux jersey for $40 - looks good, looks different, and Big Phil Gilbert was riding for them.

If cheap and good looking, I'd wear it. I don't want to pay $100 for a jersey, but under $50 and I'm happy.

Your point is well taken but if a runner is sponsored, it's by a giant corp like Nike. To sponsor a cycling team is much more expensive - they have upwards of 20 riders and travel around the world.

Some of the cycling clubs in the area sell advertising space on their jersey. Makes the club money and gets ad space for the sponsor at a reasonable cost.

I like a plain jersey but it would be more advanatageous for sponsors to pay for my jersey - when I ride by people have more time to read the ENTIRE jersey.