Cycling Sponsors

RichN95.
RichN95. Posts: 27,137
edited July 2009 in Pro race
Cycling survives due to sponsors. So of the team sponsors (past or present) which have you actually given money to? (Non cycling specific brands only)

I've bought Columbia clothing**
I have some Quick Step flooring**
I used to have a Motorola phone
I have watched the Discovery Channel
I have shopped in a Systeme-U supermarket (one for the old guys)
CSC were involved in some of my office's IT
I bought a cattle branding kit from Agritubel

(One of the above is a lie)

** This denotes that cycling played a part in me buying the product.

From what I've been told I should buy some of Silence-Lotto's products - and not lottery tickets
Twitter: @RichN95

Comments

  • bobtbuilder
    bobtbuilder Posts: 1,537
    Off the top of my head....

    I have also had a Motorola phone
    I have watched the Discovery Channel
    I have withdrawn money from a branch of Credit Agricole
    I have drank some Esta The (Giro)
    I have had a T-Mobile phone
    I have drank Gerolsteiner mineral water
    I have drank Pepsi
    I have shopped at a Casino supermarket
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I really don't know whether to put my Katusha Rocket Launcher in the front or back garden.
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    +1 for Gerolsteiner and when I moved to Germany I got a T Mobile account because I'd heard of them through cycling. :)

    I own some Columbia shirts (though I was buying their stuff before they got into cycling).

    Amazingly, I don't think I've ever used anything from Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli...
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,602
    I've had a Caisse d'Epargne bank account, which is the only thing that cycling sponsorship has made me buy.
    I've used Motorola though.
    I've also had a contract with Bouyges Telecom, but that was 'cos it was cheapest
    I've also ridden on Kazakhstan railways

    Also one lie in there...
  • emadden
    emadden Posts: 2,431
    I've been trying to get my hands on some AMGEN stuff... a bit hard...

    Seriously though, I think the majority of sponsors get into cycling just because of the head of the organisation is nuts about cycling...

    A few examples: In the Amgen case, people question what the hell the maker of EPO is doing sponsoring the ToC. The reality is that Kevin Sharer (Amgen's CEO) is completely bonkers about cycling...

    The same goes for the old Phonak team (Valentin Chapero)
    and Quickstep, Agritubel and a few others...


    Do I buy the sponsors products... not entirely consciously but if I were faced with the prospect of buying a product and was presented with two options, one a "cycling" brand and the other something else, I would buy the cycling brand.

    Even though some sponsors dont get into it for the advertising propospects, the increased sales would surely help their decision to sponsor a team when being quizzed in the board room :-)
    **************************************************
    www.dotcycling.com
    ***************************************************
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,123
    emadden wrote:
    I've been trying to get my hands on some AMGEN stuff... a bit hard...

    Seriously though, I think the majority of sponsors get into cycling just because of the head of the organisation is nuts about cycling...

    A few examples: In the Amgen case, people question what the hell the maker of EPO is doing sponsoring the ToC. The reality is that Kevin Sharer (Amgen's CEO) is completely bonkers about cycling...

    The same goes for the old Phonak team (Valentin Chapero)
    and Quickstep, Agritubel and a few others...


    Do I buy the sponsors products... not entirely consciously but if I were faced with the prospect of buying a product and was presented with two options, one a "cycling" brand and the other something else, I would buy the cycling brand.

    Even though some sponsors dont get into it for the advertising propospects, the increased sales would surely help their decision to sponsor a team when being quizzed in the board room :-)


    I think that is a good point - if it's a choice between a non-cycling brand and a cycling brand -then it's no contest - it probably makes little difference.

    I've had a Motorola phone, I have a Garmin Edge 205 and Quick Step flooring. My phone contract is up and I'm thinking about getting a HTC mobile!!

    I've never seen Gerolsteiner mineral water anywhere, neither any Silence anti-snoring products.
    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I did sent postcards on holiday in Florida. Presumably thru USPS ?
  • donrhummy
    donrhummy Posts: 2,329
    I had never heard of Gerolsteiner before they sponsored a team but I became a big fan of their sparkling water and turned 3 others onto it as well.

    I've bought a Motorola chipset for my computer.

    Bought Castelli clothing after hearing about them as a sponsor.

    Went in to Columbia store to look for some cycling clothes to support them (but oddly, none exists).

    Bought SRAM rival after hearing about Contador using them to win 2 grand tours (and trying it out).
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    I have Quick Step flooring in my house. I was oddly excited when we had it done and there was a picture of the cycling team on the back of the catalogue. Very strange.

    I have the Discovery Channel but never watch it. It's shite.
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    I bought (another) shirt in Columbia yesterday and there was a TV in the shop showing a promotional film for the cycling squad. It's an odd experience, standing in a Chinese store which sells American clothing, watching Mark Cavendish out on a training ride! :?

    I asked the sales assistant if they were going to be selling cycling kit.


    Salesman said, "No"....... :(
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • dougzz
    dougzz Posts: 1,833
    Maybe it's a football supporter thing but if I was a sponsor I'd worry more about the negative. I personally will never deal with O2, JVC or Emirates because of the pond life they're prepared to sponsor.

    Like all sponsorship it's not so much about making you go and buy a product as it is just brand awareness. Although I suppose one is just supposed to lead to the other. Of course in cycling that can get very negative quickly, hence the number that have disappeared.
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    My phone is HTC
    I've shopped at Casino
    I've withdrawn money from Credit Agricole
    CSC do our offices IT (badly)
    I bought an ONCE scratchcard purely cos it was ONCE
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • Agent57
    Agent57 Posts: 2,300
    I've shopped in a 7-Eleven and Halfords. I've bought and recorded on PDM tapes, had a Panasonic DVD player and a Peugeot racer in the 80s (I suppose they count as cycling though, although mostly better-known for the cars). I've also shopped in B&Q, so at a stretch I could try to claim Castorama as well. ;)
    MTB commuter / 531c commuter / CR1 Team 2009 / RockHopper Pro Disc / 10 mile PB: 25:52 (Jun 2014)
  • APIII
    APIII Posts: 2,010
    The last place I worked had a Lampre-Daikin air conditioning unit!
    My uncle bought a phonak hearing aid a few years ago. They were running a competition at the time and he won a VIP trip to the Vuelta. He gave it to me. Great uncle 8)
  • knedlicky
    knedlicky Posts: 3,097
    I’ve shopped in a Super-U supermarket, and also in a Casino one and in a Mercatone Uno one.
    I’ve also shopped in Halfords, and used Ever-Ready batteries, and Varta ones too.
    I’ve been in a Castorama D-I-Y shop too.
    I’ve had a Bosch fridge and still have Bosch tools (however, admittedly, Bosch was never a top team sponsor)

    I’ve drunk Esta iced tea, and also Gerolsteiner water.
    I’ve drunk coffee from Columbia (nothing to do with the present Columbia team. Café de Columbia was a sponsor in the 80s), and expresso from Saeco machines.
    I’ve (albeit infrequently) eaten at McDonald’s, and tasted 7-Eleven, and I’ve also drunk Coca Cola.
    I‘ve drunk Mackeson beer, and Watney’s beer (although Mackeson were never a top team sponsor. Not sure about Watney’s, it was their Belgian subsidiary which supported a Belgian team)
    I’ve eaten Splendor chocolate, and Coeur de Lion camembert cheese.

    I have Campagnolo components on my current bike, and also a Selle Italia saddle, Schwalbe inner tubes, Look pedals and Look cycling shoes.
    I used to have Weinmann brakes on a previous bike, and also Continental tyres.
    I’ve had a Raleigh bike, I’ve also had a Mercier bike, and yet another bike was made with Reynolds tubing.

    I have a Ti-Raleigh cycling tricot, and a Fiat tricot, and I used to have a Santini cycling bib & hose.
    I’ve had a pair of Carrera jeans, and I run in Adidas running shoes.

    I’ve had a Renault car and tanked up at an Elf petrol station, and also at an Esso one, and at a Shell one.
    I’ve had Continental tyres on one car, Michelin tyres on another.
    I’ve some Michelin restaurant guides, and have often bought and read L’Equipe.
    I’ve written with a Bic pen, and used a Bic cigarette lighter.
    When I smoked, I mostly smoked Gitane.

    I’ve had a Telekom account, and a Motorola phone, as well as a Motorola cycling bottle.
    I’ve used the services of US Postal, and also of Credit Agricole and of Credit Lyonnais.
    I’ve had a Panasonic VHS recorder and used PDM tapes and CD-discs.
    I’ve heard Chris Barber play (the jazzband man sponsored a UK Cycling team once, but not a top team)
    I’ve been to Merlin-Plage.

    Except for being attracted to the Mercier bike, and trying Columbian coffee and Esta iced tea, I wouldn’t say that going any of these places or having any of these items came from advertising in the Tour or Giro or other race.
  • pat1cp
    pat1cp Posts: 766
    pottssteve wrote:
    +1 for Gerolsteiner and when I moved to Germany I got a T Mobile account because I'd heard of them through cycling. :)

    I own some Columbia shirts (though I was buying their stuff before they got into cycling).

    Amazingly, I don't think I've ever used anything from Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli...

    Isn't that something to do with the Italian Air Force ????
  • micron
    micron Posts: 1,843
    Shopped in Castorama, Casino, Systeme-U, Champion and Carrefour
    Had T-Mobile and Bouygues contracts
    Have an account with Credit Agricole (used to get nice stuff with the team on it)
    Bought FdJ scratchcards
    Drunk in plenty of PMU bars
    Borrowed my brother's Polti steam cleaner to do the stairs the other day
    Have had insurance with AG2R
    Couldn't afford Quickstep flooring but got some from B&Q so back to Castorama again

    And probably many more and, yes, many of those decisions were directly influenced by the fact that those companies sponsor/sponsored cycling. I remember pestering my parents to at least go into a La Vie Claire shop when they were sponsoring and used to display jerseys in their windows. And my son has Kickers who are owned by Zannier who set up the Z children's clothing stores :wink:
  • Motorola, I have a phone, although the reason for getting it was it is a V3 and looks like a Star Trek Communicator. I still have a Motorola cycling Jersey for when I need to look like a fashion victim
    Have Shopped in a Champion supermarket.
    Looked at some Quick Step flooring, but didn't buy as it was damned expensive.
    Have a Garmin GPS, but bought that a long time before they sponsored cycling.

    What perhaps interests me more, is the sponsorship marriages

    Silense Lotto. Seem like strange bed fellows?

    Gewis Balan, that was a strange marriage too, an ice cream manufacturer and a garage door maker (that's if my memory serves me correctly)
    If you see the candle as flame, the meal is already cooked.
    Photography, Google Earth, Route 30
  • donrhummy
    donrhummy Posts: 2,329
    The best advertisement? Cavendish "calling on his cell phone" victory salute for new sponsor HTC! Cool.
    http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/13737 ... medium.jpg
  • drenkrom
    drenkrom Posts: 1,062
    I wake up every morning in my Innergetic-branded matress. I walk on QuickStep flooring to the kitchen (my landlord installed it, pure coincidence). I fire up the Saeco coffee machine. I sometimes fall into a bag of Jelly Belly, have some Colavita olive oil in the pantry, have used KodakGallery.com, have watched Discovery Channel and thoroughly enjoyed that Kazakh documentary "Borat".
  • csp
    csp Posts: 777
    I have a Prodir pen.
  • kourou
    kourou Posts: 40
    Regarding Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli, I'm pretty sure I have used PVC!

    And before anyone makes a smart remark (but don't let me stop you), is it possible to live in the Western world and not do so?
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,137
    kourou wrote:
    Regarding Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli, I'm pretty sure I have used PVC!

    And before anyone makes a smart remark (but don't let me stop you), is it possible to live in the Western world and not do so?

    In their case, it's PVC windows.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Le Commentateur
    Le Commentateur Posts: 4,099
    According to La Gazetta dello Sport, Armstrong was one sponsor short of giving two fingers to Astana and forming his own team for the tour, hence the unbranded look to the team jerseys during the Giro.

    In retrospect it might have been better for Contador if the split had happened.
  • Go-KL
    Go-KL Posts: 8
    To add to the many products above:
    I've eaten all sorts of Linda McCartney products.
    I had my picture taken outside a BigMat store in Belgium.
    I've worn Carrera jeans.
    I've shopped in Mercatone Uno.
    I've drunk Lipton tea.
  • zippypablo
    zippypablo Posts: 398
    I've used Caisse d'Epargne bank
    shopped in Casino and Champion supermarkets
    Installed Quick Step flooring in my old house
    got a T Mobile account but am about to finish it and go with someone else. (might go for HTC phone)
    Used Boygues Telecom when in France
    Drank Kas soft drinks
    probably missed afew out.
    If it comes down to a choice I'll buy the cycling sponsors product.
    Never did buy a Festina watch though :wink:
    If suffer we must, let's suffer on the heights. (Victor Hugo).