With the announcement in May that An Post, the state-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland were withdrawing their sponsorship from cycling, it meant that the An Post-Chain Reaction Cycles team were on the hunt for a new main sponsor.
When we spoke to the team’s manager Kurt Bogaerts, he wasn’t panicking about the future of the team and felt there were a number of potential avenues to pursue.
“We’re looking at various options at the moment,” confirmed Bogaerts. “I really believe that what we can offer to sponsors is something that will be of interest. We’ve proved over the years that we can really promote a brand through our results and our ability to get our name out there. We want to take it to the next level.”
Since its conception, Bogaerts has demonstrated his ability to help riders get to the next level with numerous cyclists at WorldTour and Pro Continental level having come through the ranks of the An Post team.
Amongst those riding for WorldTour and Pro Continental teams who have previously ridden for Bogaerts’ team are Sam Bennett and Shane Archbold (Bora-hansgrohe), Owain Doull (Team Sky), Gediminas Bagdonas (Ag2R La Mondiale), Kenneth Vanbilsen (Cofidis, Solutions Crédits), Conor Dunne, Andy Fenn, Aaron Gate and Matt Brammeier (Aqua Blue Sport) and Mark McNally (Wanty – Groupe Gobert).
It’s clear therefore that Bogaerts has developed a winning formula for a development team at Continental level, but the Belgian who helped to develop the Sean Kelly Cycling Academy into the professional team has even bigger ambitions. Ideally, he would like to run concurrent UCI Continental, Women’s and Pro Continental or even WorldTour level teams and Bogaerts feels that the team can offer great opportunities to potential sponsors.
In 2013, cyclingnews.com in conjunction with sports measurement, evaluation and intelligence company Repucom produced a report which looked at sponsorship of pro cycling. Amongst the key findings was that there was a return of 5.4 dollars for each dollar spent on title sponsorship of a WorldTour team meaning that for every dollar invested up front, the brand received over five dollars in equivalent advertising value from the team.
Team Sky led the charge, whereby their budget was estimated to have been in the region of €20-€25m but they generated over $550m of equivalent advertising value to its sponsors.
Adidas who provided Team Sky with their kit at that time generated in excess of $65m from TV exposure, according to the report. Their sponsorship investment however was estimated to have been under $1.5m, including rights fee and product costs.
Whilst the primary reason for many sponsors to become involved with the sport is to increase brand awareness, it’s not the only reason.
Eduard Doerrenberg, CEO of Specialist men’s hair product brand Alpecin told Marketing magazine why his brand decided to get involved with cycling sponsorship, firstly with Team Giant-Alpecin before linking up with the Katusha team.
“We believe that cycling and the cycling community is a perfect fit to our brand Alpecin because it’s a very male environment,” explained Doerrenberg. “It’s a lot of men taking care of their looks and health so that fits perfectly into the Alpecin idea.
“We were quite convinced that cycling, as many people say, is the new golf and so cycling is a global sport. The Tour de France is the biggest yearly global sports event, so of course riding was the terrific chance to bring the brand into 130 countries with just one activity.”
The phrase “cycling is the new golf” has been used to death it seems over the past ten years or so, but Doerrenberg provides an explanation as to why he feels that cycling is becoming the sport of choice for many.
“You can see a clear global trend, specifically in developed countries, where people between 25 and 45 prefer to cycle instead of playing golf,” explains Doerrenberg. “That’s mainly driven by the idea that it’s much better for your fitness to cycle than to play golf. Golf takes longer but I think the whole fitness idea, the whole idea of health and being self-responsible fits perfectly with our encouraging men to take Alpecin early enough not to lose their hair or to lose much less than they would otherwise.”
“So it’s a perfect fit. The whole idea of prevention, not waiting until, I don’t know, you are overweight by 30 kilos and then you have a problem. You cycle to have a fit body and the same for the hair, we want to encourage men to do something for their hair fitness.”
Healthy living was also the main reason why German supermarket giant Lidl decided to become a co-sponsor of WorldTour team Quick Step Floors. Lidl Belgium Purchasing and Marketing Director Jeroen Bal said: “The motivation for our sponsorship is to use cycling and the team to spread awareness of Lidl as a key supplier for fresh products.”
Another company that see a huge benefit from sponsoring a cycling team are Nederburg Wines. Dè-Mari Kellerman, General Manager of the South African wine company explained to The Buyer why the company decided to become involved in cycling after linking up with Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka.
“Pro cycling is commanding growing global support from cycling enthusiasts, as well as spectators,” she explained. “In the UK alone, cycling attracts the biggest live attendance of any sport, and it is watched via multiple viewing channels across the world, particularly in markets where Nederburg is active, including South Africa, the UK, Europe and North America.”
Kellerman also sees other opportunities with the sport to engage with customers and other key stakeholders that might not be possible with other sports.
“During the 2016 Tour de France, Nederburg hosted selected members of the off- and on-trade from key markets,” said Kellerman. “They were wined and dined and had the chance to meet some of the Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka team members along the way. They were also given a tour of the state-of-the-art team bus and learned about the intricate inner workings of a pro-cycling team.”
The engagement with the team is something that Bogaerts has recognised as being important having invited team sponsors and customers to meet and ride with the team at training camps over the past number of years. This opportunity for decision makers in companies who are often cycling fans themselves to get on the inside of a professional team is not something available with all sports.
Having Sean Kelly as the team’s ambassador is also a unique selling point for the team as the former World Number One readily makes himself available to meet with sponsors and their clients.
As for An Post themselves, they feel that sponsorship of cycling offered the opportunity to not only promote their brand but also to engage with numerous stakeholders.
“As a platform to leverage our business, cycling sponsorship has enabled An Post to maximise exposure for our brands in a dynamic and different way,” confirmed Aileen Mooney, Corporate Communications Manager for An Post.
“The sponsorship has also provided high profile channels to engage with communities, businesses, volunteerism and our staff all over Ireland. The return on investment to the Company has ensured our longevity as the dominant sponsor in this space.”
“The results have underscored our corporate reputation as one of Ireland’s most trusted Companies. As well as delivering positive brand association for the business, the sponsorship has consistently increased awareness of and driven participation in Irish cycling for a decade.”
