Partner activations inspiration

Cycling is unique in its commercial model, where sponsors are part of the team name. However, establishing a new team name can take considerable time due to the deeply ingrained old team name, especially when the team has been very successful and hasn't changed its colors.

To address this issue, we launched the Name Game. This challenge tasked commentators and podcasters with pronouncing the new team name with the highest accuracy during the spring classics to maximize sponsor value for Visma and Lease a Bike.

AI analysis
We analyzed TV broadcasts and podcasts using AI to assess and rank the accuracy of the team name pronunciation. Successfully! Before the campaign, the team name was pronounced correctly 33.4% of the time. During the campaign, this accuracy rose to an impressive 69.8%. Mission accomplished.

In collaboration with SRAM, we organized an event at our High Performance Center. SRAM wanted to offer a unique experience to their key retailers. They did this by presenting their brand-new groupset at our location, combined with an exciting event centered around the partnership with the team. The program included a tour, a bike ride with support vehicles, and a catered lunch. At the end, all participants received a goodie bag from Team Visma | Lease a Bike to take home.

As of January 1, 2024, Lease a Bike became the second title sponsor of our team. Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Lease a Bike share the mission to inspire people to cycle more often—for sports, commuting, and in our daily lives. With the Bike to Work Days, Lease a Bike aimed to encourage healthier and more sustainable living and to make cycling accessible to even more people in the Netherlands and the other countries where they are active.

Even the employees of Team Visma | Lease a Bike swapped their cars for bikes from May 13 to 16, with team directors trading in their support vehicles for cargo bikes.

Due to regulations from the ASO, the organizer of the Tour de France among other events, the team is not allowed to ride in their usual yellow kit. This would typically be seen as a problem, but for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, it was an opportunity. It provided the chance to design a unique Tour jersey and sell it as an additional product. In collaboration with AGU, a plan was devised to merge the ambitions of both organizations. Both Team Visma | Lease a Bike and AGU aim to increase international brand awareness from their Dutch roots. The campaign was bolstered by the team's successful results, leading to tremendous success. Here are the campaign details:

Conversion:

• 207,000,000 cumulative media reach
• PR value of €2,900,000
• Sales result of +1140% compared to the regular kit

Swapfiets has the right to associate with the team through their contract and came up with a cool activation for the Tour de France: the Blue Tire campaign. This campaign won a SponsorRing in the Sport category. From the jury report: "The Blue Tire deserves a golden SponsorRing because it was a simple yet powerful idea with excellent execution. It marks a great start to a collaboration, creating a lot of 'buzz around the brand'. High praise for Swapfiets and Jumbo-Visma for achieving this in a sport like cycling, where equipment is 'sacred'. It took courage to realize such a campaign. Reaching the cycling fan was crucial and worked well, supported by a robust social media campaign."

Swapfiets Conversion:

• Reached 250 million people
• Gained 40,000 new subscribers
• Achieved 140 editorial mentions
• Created €3 million in media value

Gorillas and then Team Jumbo-Visma announced their partnership in grand style. They created a commercial where a Gorillas courier made a delivery in a Tour de France-like setting. The commercial also featured stars like Primoz Roglic and Wout van Aert. Following the kick-off, we produced a legendary activation on Alpe d’Huez: the Freakin’ Fast Mountain Delivery Service for fans who had been camping on the mountain for days. These two companies, both focused on speed, found a perfect synergy. In addition to these campaigns, Gorillas also gained brand recognition through their logo placement on the Tour de France jersey.

During the Tour de France, all eyes are on the riders enduring the 21 stages. It's the perfect platform for them to showcase themselves, but this also applies to the team's partners. Lease a Bike wanted to share their passion for cycling, and they did so quite literally by giving away their logo position to other companies through a contest. Companies could sign up, and winners were chosen by a lottery. This resulted in smiling faces among partners and companies that received extra attention during the Tour.

To add some flair to the collaboration with OFM, we came up with the idea to dress OFM stores with mannequins wearing our team kit. During the Tour de France, they displayed the Renaissance kit, and throughout the rest of the season, the regular kit. Additionally, a QR code allowed customers to purchase our apparel directly in OFM stores. This way, both parties created additional opportunities and sales.

"Wearing a helmet can prevent 88% of head injuries worldwide." That was the motto behind the activation by Lazer in collaboration with then Jumbo-Visma. Together, they aimed to raise awareness about the importance of wearing a cycling helmet. And they did so with purpose. During the most famous and challenging one-day race, Paris-Roubaix, the entire team wore a special helmet. This sparked an online discussion about helmet use and brought attention to the issue. The helmets worn during the race were later sold, raising €6,700 for the Brain Fight Fund.

Conversion:

• Over 1.5 million views on Instagram
• Combined media value exceeding €400,000

Most importantly, the initiative reignited conversations about the importance of wearing a helmet.

After winning the Tour de France in 2022, our hope for 2023 was to inspire new generations to pursue their own dreams. A starry sky filled with dreams became the focal point of Team Jumbo-Visma's 2023 Tour de France jersey. To encourage everyone to believe in their dreams, we found an ideal partner in Efteling to create the story 'The Vélodrome. Ride your dreams'.

Starry sky
The story revolves around a young cyclist who, under a twinkling starry sky, breaks free from the carousel called The Vélodrome and, as if in a dream, ultimately finishes on the Champs-Élysées. The starry sky on the jersey reflects powerful dreams, adorned with beautiful golden details. This starry sky was personalized for each individual, allowing them to choose the date of a special moment. The starry sky from that day was then printed on the shirt.

In the introduction, reference was made to the annual Tour de France campaign. In 2021, this campaign was highly successful and even led to winning a SponsorRing. Here's what was reported about the campaign:

Involving fans
Team Jumbo-Visma and AGU shared objectives in merchandise and aimed to strengthen their relationship with active cyclists. They had long considered involving cycling fans in the design of the Team Jumbo-Visma kit, with the belief that this engagement would boost merchandise sales. Taking it a step further, Team Jumbo-Visma and AGU made fans an integral part of the Tour team. Fans could choose from three shirt designs, each featuring space for thousands of fan names. After the shirt with the most votes was selected, fans had a week to purchase it and claim their spot for their name.

Exclusive updates
The 5,651 purchasers of the shirt received a personalized welcome video from director Richard Plugge, followed by a contract that made them part of Team Jumbo-Visma for three weeks. Shirt owners were then invited to join a Telegram group where exclusive updates from riders and team leaders were shared during the Tour. This initiative allowed fans to truly feel like they were part of the Tour team.

Further enhancing this experience were press conferences for fans on rest days, the opportunity for fans to write notes to the eight riders, and as a grand finale, all 5,651 names were painted on the climb to Tignes.

When faced with the challenge of hosting the year's biggest and most important event within a COVID-19 bubble with strict measures around the course, former Team Jumbo-Visma partnered with Jumbo to create a new digital activation. Named "Tour de Kans" (Tour of Chance), this initiative allowed everyone to participate in a 23-day digital tour featuring various games such as Wheel of Fortune, memory games, Snake, and quizzes. The digital tour was structured like an advent calendar, where participants could scratch open a new box each day of the Tour. By playing these games, participants had the chance to win various prizes.

AGU Conversion:

AGU sponsored a box during Tour de Kans, offering participants a chance to win a clothing package and receive an automatic discount code after participation.

• 29,180 people participated in the campaign and received a Direct Mailing (including AGU's discount code).
• The mailing was opened by 70% of the participants.
• AGU generated approximately €13,000 in additional revenue from the use of the discount codes.

This digital activation not only engaged fans during a challenging period but also provided valuable exposure and sales opportunities for partners like AGU.

Vacansoleil sent a Direct Mailing to the database of former Team Jumbo-Visma as part of their rights package. The mailing was sent in December/January with the goal of informing as many people as possible about the early booking discount offered during that period.

Vacansoleil Conversion:

The Direct Mailing from Vacansoleil produced the following results:

• Sent to 140,308 individuals
• Open rate of 18.5%
• 3,897 people clicked through to the early booking promotion

Heineken, through its contractual rights, had the opportunity to showcase a team bike, opting in 2021 for an in-store activation strategy. Customers were required to purchase a six-pack of Heineken 0.0 and register on a website for a chance to win the bike.

Heineken Conversion:

• The promotion was featured in approximately 150 Jumbo stores.
• Over a span of 3 weeks, more than 5,000 people registered for the promotion.

Note: Evaluation indicated that adding a receipt requirement posed a significant barrier to entry for the sweepstakes.

Futurumshop, as part of its contractual rights, had VIP experience tickets for the Tour de France, and in 2021, they chose to offer this hospitality package through a Strava Challenge. Participants had to cycle 100 km within 21 days to qualify for the prize.

Futurumshop Conversion:

• 145,000 individuals participated in the challenge.
• 126,000 individuals successfully completed the challenge.