Columbia sponsorship - behind the scenes
by Ron... on Aug 7, 2008 12:49 AM EDT
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PrintA few days ago The Oregonian published an interesting story on how Columbia came to be a sponsor. Read about the story here.
I am amazed how fast the whole thing came together, and how the internal debates almost made this a non deal. Not a suprise is that the CEO and the marketing team now consider the sponsorship to become a big hit.
Not quite sure I can belive that $3M US is enough to sponsor a top level team, I suspect Stapleton must be kicking in some of his own money still.
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$3m
is just title sponsorship, for a team whose bills are still being paid out of their settlement with the Mob.
Die Mannschaft!
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 7, 2008 9:32 AM EDT reply actions
The European marketing managers...
... who couldn’t figure out how sponsoring a cycling team would translate to showing Columbia to be an outdoor activity clothier… should be fired. Boneheaded … really boneheaded. From the moment it was announced I thought it was an inspired sponsorship, and I’m pretty confident it will translate into sales for Columbia.
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
A tepid lot
From the article, it sounds like there were immediate dividends in terms of attention to their products in Germany. I don’t know much about Germany, but it sounds like a place where you can sell an awful lot of fleece and gore-tex. So the marketing guys, ya know, grow a pair.
In fairness, not everyone reacts to losses by spending. But sometimes it’s a good idea.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 7, 2008 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions
The German's have a particularly outdoorsy culture...
... they coined the phrase “wanderlust” after all… and certainly you must have run into one or 3,000 of them during your time in the Olympic range (you can always tell… they are the ones that hike in black socks and Birkenstocks). I have a friend that works at a German equivalent of REI/Sports Chalet and I’ll try to remember to ask him if he’s seen any uptake in Columbia gear over the past few months.
Of course… having your name and logo splayed across a riding team does nothing for you if your product isn’t on the shelf for people to buy… but still, you’d think Nike or Addidas (Ok, bad example) or someone would be stepping up as well.
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
Yep
saw some Germans on the trail. No big surprise.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 7, 2008 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions
gah
been racking my brain for the word that captured the health-nature movement (that is somewhat connected with a rather unhealthy movement) of the early part of the 20th century, particularly in the south. Know it?
Which south?
South United States or South Germany?
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
POE... Purity of essence...
I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
yes, it was very close to the puravida thing
figure it out when you get back from your ride. Watch the bay doors.
Jugendkultur?
Succeeded the pre-fascist Wandervögel, adding a more explicit youth focus and body-culture focus, but keeping the relatively male emphasis.
But for a nuanced, spellbinding and Olympic-relevant view into that time, please read this (perfect for the Olympic season in general, and for rembembering the distinction of athlete vs. organization, and for people vs. gov’t).
when we left the wide trail to the crater rim in Japan, and started down the steps along the rim
The mix changed from 90% Japanese to about 50/50. 20 minutes further in, all we found were ~6 Germans, 2 Swiss (Francophone); a couple of Dutch (I think); a probable Kiwi and a suspected Canadian.
wide trail: 
50/50 here:
The rest of the stairs (they look like tramtracks approx in the middle of the picture), explaining the further enrichment for Germans
To walk around this in the afternoon sun:
IMHO, the only way to increase the appeal of the team to germans, swiss and austrians would be to work in Karl May and/or Death Valley.
OooOooo... good reference to Karl May...
although I’d have to say North Rim Grand Canyon trail rides trump Death Valley for Germans.
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
Euro marketing guys...
were likely most concerned about giving up their marketing budget and plan. Being asked (OK – told by US managers)) to blow up the original plan 4 months into the year was a hard pill to swallow.
Side note: Columbia is headquartered in Beaverton, OR outside Portland, along with Nike and Adidas (US HQ). Nike got there first and then the others followed thinking they could recruit employees away from Nike. Not a bad strategy.
German Volksmarch attire
Columbia sportswear is exactly that type of clothing Volksmarchers wear.
German’s have a traditional family activity called “Volksmarch” (means People ’s March) that is a 5-10km organized walk, usually on Sundays. When I lived in Germany, all stores closed on Sunday. Even petrol stations. So if you didn’t fill up Saturday you were out of luck. But I digress.
Volkmarches were fun and interesting. They are community social events. Each one gives a unique patch, medal, pin, etc to the participants. I think you could chose which you wanted. They are collectibles. Some of the old medals are beautiful. Our German landlord had a collection of them displayed.
The “marchers” or walkers often wore jackets or vests with patches sewn on that had been collected from previous marches. I liked the wood walking stick with the metal volksmarch pins hammered into them. When its get filled up with pins, get a new one and keep the others as pieces of art. They could be quite beautiful. It was a point of pride for many Germans.
Americans stationed in Germany in the military participated regularly. It was a big deal.
Rain, snow, cold or hot, they walked… or we walked. I miss it. It was everywhere and almost every weekend you could find one to participate in.
Here
I’m sure it would be embraced in the same way Critical Mass is. Now if you wanted to get a group of people to go drive on the highway…
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 7, 2008 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions
if only you'd seen
my recent conversations (on an MTB-related site) about CM . . .
But anyway, since I never seem to pass up a chance to post my own stuff (gets tiresome, no), this is from last Friday’s DC CM:
Man
if that were a breakaway, they’d be cooked in five minutes.
"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."
by Chris Fontecchio on Aug 7, 2008 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions
does not get tiresome!
Nice picture. I guess you’re currently at the benevolent peak of your CM bipolar response? How was the A-hat quotient (AHQ) on this one?
Average AHQ
was lower than usual, but definitely spiked in the usual spots (i.e., red lights). Still a net negative for the cycling community, to be sure.
Dude... I for one refuse to participate or assist a charitable organization...
... unless I get some sort of pin or ribbon for it. Cheap Bastards. :-)
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
no, no, most of the local groups are outing groups
the leave the policy / issues / money stuff for those who are into it. Generally a couple of walks a weekend, and no budget. If you want a patch or pin, go be a boyscout or girlscout leader. Plenty of patches and pins.
THAT I would do...
... for the cookies.
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
Most stores still close on Sunday... and early on Saturday...
... except for “Langer Samstag” when they stay open until 4 or so. But yeah, Sundays… good luck, even the Pharmacies are closed. I’ve actually got a hiking stick at home that has a growing collection of hiking medals nailed to it, all from domestic hikes though… you can take the boy out of Germany…
... now where’s my Wurstkoffer…
I know, it said "als" instead of "ist"... don't give me any crap...
I was already a huge Stapleton fan...
..after reading the article I like him even more…if that’s possible!!
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