The Outer Line: How Rally Cycling Achieved Sponsorship Success at Tour Columbia 2.1
Rally Cycling recently came up with a creative way to stretch its sponsorship dollars at last month's Tour Colombia 2.1.
In a sport that is almost totally dependent on commercial sponsorship dollars for its economic livelihood, many pro cycling teams strive to implement innovative strategies that drive greater marketing value for their sponsoring partners. Successful teams deliver exposure and activation in target markets, creating a positive feedback loop between the fans, the team, and the sponsor. Ultimately, that kind of sponsor success encourages corporations to play the long-game in pro cycling, supporting a team over many years. Ideally, teams can become more sustainable, riders can be more confident in their future employment, and fans can be treated to a more interesting, competitive and sustainable sporting product.
Sounds easy, but some pro cycling teams are more progressive than others - in developing true partnerships, innovating new activation strategies, and ultimately delivering greater value to their sponsors. In some cases, the sponsors themselves may not even realize their partnership's potential, and miss out on valuable marketing opportunities. Pro cycling's economics are always challenging, but one team that is moving the sponsorship value needle forward is Rally Cycling of the United States.
