It is interesting when you attend triathlons like Ironman Wisconsin and the different bike companies that show-up. I was at IMF in 2002 and Cervelo, my bike manufacturer was there. I somewhat like the cool factor and to me Cervelo being at my race was cool. The intangibles about why my bike was the best They were also there to make a minor repair when I really needed it.
This year at IMW there was no Cervelo. But there was Elite Bicycles, talking the talk with everyone. Guru was there. The guys from Guru were even out on the bike course cheering athletes up one of the hills.
I don’t really know what it means if anything… Is there a point when a manufacturer is just too big to attend the races?
I’m not ripping on Cervelo and still dig my bike but a Guru is sounding appealing.
I think whether or not a bike manufacturer is at an event is dependant on several factors:
How important is the triathlon market to their business - obviously for Cervelo, Guru, QR and others it is key.
What is the set up at the expo or the event? Do they have retail partners in the area or in the expo? Is the Expo exclusive or can anyone buy space and set up. Are there off-site opportunities? All of this will impact who is there and in what capacity.
Timing. I know at this time of the year many bike companies are almost totally focused on the various trade shows, such as Euro Bike, Interbike and others. These shows are critical to future business success and take up a considerable amount of time, focus and reasources.
I’m not sure on all the reasons, but definitely they want to promote their product. You almost have to look at these as a trade show opportunity. When I was responsible for the trade show promotions for a former employer, I did an analysis for each show, determining number of potential and existing clients, etc. You can calculate a % return for your efforts.
I remember doing a Cactus Cup mtn bike race in Phoenix in '94 or '95. There was a big expo there in conjunction with the race. I rode up to the Klein (pre Trek) booth on my Klein Fervor (nebula green - very cool) and they were excited to see someone on one of their bikes. They gave me all kinds of schwag.
Agreed - any opportunity to get in front of current and potential customers is very important. However, the costs to attending these events ramps up quickly unless, you have the type of booth that can fit in a suitcase and you only need one person on site at the booth for the Expo. It can be very costly to ship everything to an expo, house and feed the staff for 2 - 5 days. Many companies will only go if there is retail possibilities and then they almost always have to partner up with a local retailer, as going direct with many sports products, can cause more head-aches than it’s worth.
There is a bunch of bike companies in the madison area i am suprised none of them where there. There was one Trek at the Nike Booth. Javelin was also there and QR in the Timex booth.
There are always challenges with these expos. In a perfect world, they would be wide open and anyone who wanted to be there could be there. However, this is not the case, typically due to exclusivity on the part of event sponosrs. If Gatorade is the drink sponsor for the event, they likly have it in their contract, that they have an exclusive on all on-site display and promotion - and rightly so if they are paying big money or support services for the event. Thus, you will not see a Cytomax booth in the expo if Gatorade has signed on in this manner. IMNA seems to stick fairly close to this model with their events. Other events do it diffferently. For example the New York City Marathon Expo is open to anyone, but only event sponsors are allowed to sell goods at the expo. Everyone else can only display and do PR. I think the Boston Marathon is the same. At the Chicago Marathon the Expo is open to anyone, and anyone can sell, but they give the event sponsors huge booths right up front, that you have to walk through to get to the other booths.
At some events, there are off-site set up areas for non-event sponsors often in local retailers shops or in a seperate conference area.
I was under the impression that the expo is open to any bicycle company who wishes to pay the IMNA crew the money to set up at any or all of the expos. The reason I say this is because Javelin is the official bike of the IMNA series, however, Guru is set up for every race. Within the Inside Out Sports booth, depending on what city you are in, there may be reps from any or all of the products that they carry. For example, I believe I saw a Cannondale rep at IM Moo. I will however, like to express how Elite bicycles differs from the other manufacturers (personally, I ride Elite and couldn’t be any happier with my bicycle and service). They are there in conjunction with Inside Out Sports who sells their brand and is a team sponsor that provides free service for everyone at Ironman events that owns an Elite, when Elite themselves are not able to attend. It is quite amazing the people who attend from Elite. Their head honcho, Dave Greenfield, who is quick to double check the fit of ANY rider, no matter what bike, that comes by the booth. The chief tech, Richie is also there, and this guy, is not only a little nuts (jumping stairs on his tri bike!), he is an amazing mechanic. One of my friends had major derailleur problems during the race and Richie rebuilt the cassette to allow for a proper chain line on what needed to be a single speed for the rest of the race. Bringing me to my final point, not only was Elite out there cheering me on, both Dave and Richie were on the course providing tech support for all riders. It is has been my experience with Elite though they are there for sales and promotion, it is more important for them to be there for their clientelle and to support triathlon as a whole.
last year got to IM Wisconsin only to realize that my wheel bag didn’t make flight. not only did i get loaned a pair of Zipp wheels from Greenfield’s personal ride, he also switched my stem for a better fit. at the end of race (my first IM), Greenfield hung out at finish line to personally give me my finisher medal. pretty cool. after this experience i would never purchase a frame from another company…and the xmas card was pretty nice too.
They were also there to make a minor repair when I really needed it.