Skoda Superb 'Red Car', 2D Ads & Green Jersey Giveaway Front Tour Work

Skoda’s multi-strand, integrated Tour De France campaign combines general brand awareness and positioning advertising, with specific activation based around its sponsorship of the race’s Green Jersey and also the launch of its new Skoda Superb.

The multi-channel activation campaign in 2015 marks the 12^th time that the VW-owned car brand has partnered with the world’s premier cycling race – having been an official Tour de France sponsor since 2004.

This year sees the official sponsor and official auto partner provide the Tour an immense fleet of 250 vehicles – led by the new Skoda Superb serving as the familiar, race-leading ‘Red Car’

The Škoda Superb, the marque’s completely redeveloped flagship, is in the fan and media spotlight as it is serving as the Tour’s ‘mobile control centre’ for Tour-Director Christian Prudhomme.

The official Red Car is visible to millions – it not only leads the rider field, but it is the only car permitted to cross each stage’s finish line with the riders.

A predominantly digital ‘Leading The Field’ strand of Skoda’s Tour activation highlights this aspect of the partnership.

For the race it has been painted ‘Corrida Red’ and has a huge panoramic glass roof that can be opened at the touch of a button to enable Prudhomme to stand up and communicate with the riders en route.

This fully equipped Tour Superb comes with fsix radio antenna, our radio channels and several microphones to enable the Tour director to receive information and give orders.

‘I’m really looking forward to travelling in the new Superb. The car offers more space than the already spacious predecessor and really looks the part – a perfect Red Car,’ says Prudhomme who outlines how the new Superb helps him organise and manage the race.

The vehicle sits at the heart of race communications and organisation and it is from the red car that all facets of the race are controlled.

Plus, it is in the vehicle that the race director will also entertain dignitaries – from French President Francois Hollande to Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands – with informed race insights and chilled champagne from the minibar.

The rest of the Skoda Tour fleet, which the brand describes as the centrepiece of its Tour sponsorship activities, consists primarily of Octavia estates and other Superbs to serve as accompanying vehicles.

Combined, during the race’s three weeks, the vehicles will cover 2.8m km.

Indeed, Skoda boasts that since the sponsorship began in 2004 its fleet has travelled over 30m km at the Tour de France without a single broken down.

For the first time, Skoda is sponsoring the Green Jersey for the best sprinter at this year’s 102^nd Tour De France – which takes place from 4 to 26 July and covers 3360km over 21 stages..

(Between 2004 and 2014, ŠKODA sponsored the White Jersey for the best young rider.)

In addition to the brand visibility benefit of the jersey deal, Skoda is also using this strand as a multi-tiered consumer competition.

Skoda is running an online, stepped cycling-based question-led competition that acts as a list building enterprise.

Fans are challenged to simply answer the questions, enter their email address and press submit to enter the draw.

To enter the grand prize competition – which is a real Tour Green Jersey signed by every rider who wore green during the 2015 tour – fans need to answer 10 questions and ‘invite 3 friends’ to be eligible.

While to enter the 5 middle prize of an all-inclusive trip to the Tour (including airfare, transportation and 2 nights’ accommodation, plus a helicopter flyover of the peloton) payers need to answer just 5 questions and invite 3 friends to be eligible.

The other prizes range from 19 replica Skoda green jerseys and 19 WeLoveCycling branded official 2015 Tour De France Xbox/Playstation games.

Skoda is also running a broad Tour De France international advertising campaign across multiple media channels – from its own ‘WeLoveCycling’ website (www.welovecycling.com) and at www.skoda-radsport.de, which feature live reports and films, to press and TV executions.

Director Colin Hesterly created a charming, hand-drawn Škoda story (inspired by vintage car ads and the Czech car manufacturer’s own 120 year bike and auto history) for a series of two-dimensional TV ads which are airing internationally as stand-alone commercials and as Tour De France programme bumpers

Hesterly worked with Not To Scale NY and creative agency Fallon Prague on the ad campaign.

The Making Of Skoda – Tour De France from Not To Scale on Vimeo.

Plus it is also deploying a range of content-led social media work across its own platforms – including Facebook.

[ŠKODA FAN TOUR]Le départ du Tour de France, c'est aujourd'hui !Venez célébrer la Grande Boucle du côté des fans en rejoignant le ŠKODA FAN TOUR : https://skodafantour.com/

Posted by We Love Cycling on Saturday, July 4, 2015

https://www.facebook.com/SkodaCycling/videos/vb.474291262651700/834356129978543/?type=2&theater

Skoda is also activating across its social channels, including www.facebook.com/skoda-cycling and Twitter (which is showcasing each day’s stage route profile),

Today, for the first time, @letour will go offshore with a finish line "in the sea"! #TDF2015 http://t.co/wVD5AoD5n9 pic.twitter.com/4RIpgSVG6t

— ŠKODA UK Cycling (@SkodaUKCycling) July 5, 2015

and Instagram for image based Tour content.

First sprinter stage of #TourdeFrance and second signature on our #greenjersey from #andregreipel Would you like to put your hands on it? Click the link in our bio and enter our competition to win green jersey signed by every rider who wore it during 2015 #TDF! #skoda #Utrecht #Zelande #Netherlands #holland #letour #winner #welovecycling #cycling

A photo posted by We Love Cycling (@wlcmagazine) on Jul 5, 2015 at 9:47am PDT

‘Supporting the most famous bicycle race in the world is an annual highlight in our comprehensive sponsorship of cycling,’ says Skoda director of sales and marketing Werner Eichhorn.

‘Our commitment to the Tour de France has a special highlight this year with the premiere of our new Škoda Superb as the ‘Red Car’. 120 years of ŠKODA – that also means 12 decades of our connection to cycling: the history of our company began in 1895 with production of bicycles by our founding fathers Laurin and Klement.’

Comment

Cycling is the genuine cornerstone of Skoda’s sponsorship strategy.

In addition to the Tour de France, it also partners with the Tour of Spain (‘Vuelta’) and numerous other international and domestic bike races and grassroots cycling programmes.

Indeed, Skoda actually began life 120 years ago making bicycles and bikes (and bike accessories) still form a part of Skoda’s extended product range.

By being the anchor sponsor of the Tour it ensures the car brand has a primary position in the world’s most famous and most watched bike race.

According to several metrics, the Tour is the world’s third largest sporting event – after the football World Cup and the Olympic Games.

In 2014 the property’s own figures claim that 15 million supporters cheered the riders on the roadside, while 1.4 billion people watched the race on the TV and/or via a web live stream.

Skoda’s non Tour De France cycling marketing strands this year – which are hubbed around its umbrella digital platforms at www.welovecycling.com and facebook.com/skodacycling – include three interesting initiatives (all led by a YouTube short film series): ‘Auction For Africa’, ‘In The Fix’ and ‘Bike Friendly Cities’.

The ‘Auction For Africa – Beyond Pink and Shrink’ campaign aims to auction a limkited edition Cinelli bike to raise proceeds for providing bikes to women in Africa (where bikes can offer great access to opportunities).

‘In The Fix’ is a video series exploring two different towns – Berlin and Moscow – which share a fixed gear cycling subculture.

‘Bike Friendly Cities’ showcases what consists a bike-friendly city – from bike lanes to connectivity and safety.

A campaign which explores places such as Sevilla,

and Copenhagen.

Links

Skoda ‘We Love Cycling’ Website:

http://www.welovecycling.com/?skip-redirect=true

Skoda Cycling YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/skodacycling

Skoda Cycling Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/SkodaCycling

Skoda Cycling Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/we_love_cycling/

Skoda Cycling Instagram:

https://instagram.com/wlcmagazine/

Skoda Cycling Twitter: