Popular Biznews blogger Enrico Liebenberg usually enlightens us on financial matters. But during the Holiday Season he took a closer look at another obvious passion, cycling. In this entertaining blog, Enrico argues that telecoms group MTN is stealing a march on other big businesses by investing early in Africa’s mushrooming presence in this popular sport. Helped by a relocated African winning cycling’s biggest event last year, the Tour de France. – AH
The cycling industry in South Africa has been growing at a rapid pace over the past 10 years. Just have a look at all the events on the calendar compared to 5 years ago. The 11th edition of the Cape Epic starts on 23 March 2014 – just have look at the entry fee to get an idea of how much the guys and girls spend on their hobby.
There are roughly 500 000 bicycles imported to South Africa each year of which less than 5% are for the commuter market. According to data researched in 2009 there are at least 422 000 active cycling participants in the market of which 44% older than 35 years. These active cyclists are mostly concentrated in LSM bands 7 – 10.
So what does this mean to a potential stakeholder in a cycling team? Your brand will be exposed to a concentrated group with disposable cash, not to even mention the exposure through digital and printed media.
If we look at bit further than the South African shores the potential exposure is much greater. Cyclingnews.com compiled a sponsorship report with the assistance of Repucom for 2013 Pro Tour Season. The Pro Tour of Cycling is made up from 19 teams; the racing season usually runs from January to October. During this January – October 2012 world tour sponsors bought the following:
· $ 2.1 billion worth of media exposure for the World Tour.
· $ 88.4 million average media exposure by a World Tour Team.
· For every $1 spent on sponsorship, the return was $ 5.4
· 68 000 Broadcasting hours in 175 countries.
Although there are great returns to be enjoyed when sponsoring a local outfit, the big returns are as usual to be enjoyed in the big league. During Stage 8 of the 2012 Tour de France a local French team enjoyed at least $ 9.9 million worth of TV and media exposure as one of the team members was racing from the front and ultimately took the honours of the stage.
Cycling is fast becoming a massive networking platform for businessmen; just have a browse through interviews with some of the high profile business people in the country. They will normally go for a ride and enjoy coffee somewhere along the road – these are the guys who could support your brand.
To cut a long story short – there is much to be gained from a sponsor perspective in cycling. Just have a look at what Team MTN Qhubeka has been achieving over the past few years.
MTN Qhubeka is an African registered pro-continental team – the first ever from Africa. The continent has a big presence on the team, complemented by accomplished European stars. Apart from racing on the international stage they are making a massive contribution in social upliftment in South Africa by donating bicycles to communities who complete various tasks to qualify for the bicycles. By getting the communities to complete the mini-projects the reach of the bicycle is much further than just a commuting vehicle.
Team MTN Qhubeka hopes to be on the starting line of the 2014 Giro di ’Italia in May 2014. I believe they will feature in the Tour de France in the not too distant future – and hope to share in that experience one way or another. Incidentally the MTN brand was featured under the top 100 most valuable brand in the world in 2013 – with a 23% improvement of brand value from 2012 to 2013. This being the same period the MTN-Qhubeka team raced full time on the European circuit.
South African companies stand to gain great exposure by starting to support a small cycling outfit locally and developing it into an international team over 5 years.
To gain more insight on the MTN-Qhubeka team have a browse through their website at www.teammtnqhubeka.com.
