Thursday, November 28, 2019

TOUR DE FRANCE SHANGHAI CRITÉRIUM 2019 SUCCESSFULLY HELD, REFLECTING GROWING INTEREST IN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS EVENTS IN CHINA

The integrated marketing solutions provider Activation Group announces world-class sports and entertainment intellectual property to expand innovative experiential marketing business

HONG KONG, Nov 18 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- 2019 Tour de France Škoda Shanghai Critérium, an international cycling competition, was held at the China Art Museum on 15 and 16 November 2019. The Tour de France champion Egan Bernal for the year 2019, a three-time Grand Slam champion Vincenzo Nibali, and a four-time Tour de France champion Christopher Froome, along with other Tour de France stars, including five world-class cycling teams and 7 outstanding local teams, participated in the event. With outstanding ability, Caleb Ewan took the lead and was crowned the champion of Tour de France Shanghai.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191116005032/en/

In 1903, the first Tour de France was held in France. The event has a history of more than 100 years and is regarded as the most prestigious event in the cycling world. In 2017, Tour de France took place in China for the first time. For the past three years, it has been held in Changsha, Beijing, Zhuji and Shanghai. Domestic and foreign, professionals and amateur cyclists as well as the public have already enjoyed Tour de France. With the support of the local municipal governments in China and partners, Tour de France in China has been held in Zhuji and Changsha, where 4,000 people participated in the closed-loop cycling event and thus broke the record of attendance. The brand of the Tour de France has been gaining traction in China as the event combines the elements of sports and entertainment with the participation of the world’s top cyclists.

Tour de France intellectual property (“IP”) combines elements of sports and entertainment as a model for sports event marketing

In recent years, an intellectual property-based operating model has been adopted in sports event marketing. In that operating model, sports events are at the core of the marketing content while the participants and audience alike can enjoy various forms of entertainment during the experiential marketing. The markets for intellectual property (“IP”) and brands can thus be developed. Taking the 2019 Tour of Shanghai as an example, domestic amateur cyclists can compete with top professional cyclists. Fans can participate in a public relations photo shoot before the game and wear personalized Tour de France yellow jerseys. The Tour de France brand has attracted a large audience, allowing them to experience the charm of Tour de France. Such experiences have formed a unique and innovative product in the intellectual property-based operating model for marketing. At the same time, the professional cyclists try their hand at singing Peking Opera, and are taken to the streets to taste traditional breakfasts in a place where Tour de France is held. Moreover, a series of retro products of Tour de France and the products of the cycling event that have been adapted to local cultures of the places where the event has been held have also been launched. These activities can promote a cultural exchange between international professional cyclists and the locals of the places where the event is held, thus expanding the market for intellectual property of Tour de France. The ingeniously personalized service to the Tour de France contestants allows them to fully enjoy their participation in the event and, at the same time, enables Tour de France to grip the host country.

The top international French sports company and Tour de France planner, Amaury Sport Organization (A.S.O.) has actively promoted the globalization of the Tour de France brand in recent years. This is aligned with the IP marketing concept of the Activation Group. The two parties have cooperated since 2017 to promote the Tour de France IP in China. Tour de France held in Changsha in 2017, Beijing, Shanghai and Zhuji at the beginning of the year has, in turn, earned its host cities fame and plentiful business opportunities. It is reported that an experience center for cycling will be opened in Zhuji in 2020. It will be positioned as a first-of-its-kind "one-stop, multi-functional, outdoor cycling tour service center", which will be complemented by the official cycling routes and themed homestays. With its strong sense of market, Activation Group has explored the integration of the Tour de France with mass consumption, enabling cyclists and sports enthusiasts to enjoy entertainment as a part of their lives.

In addition to the experience center for cycling in Zhuji, Activation Group has also announced another new strategy for Tour de France IP under which a bicycle-themed TV series "Legendary of Cycling" will be produced. As the first TV drama of its kind in China, "Legendary of Cycling" combines such elements as youth, inspirations, deduction and cycling. The production of the TV series scheduled to start in 2020. Real-time and on-the-spot shots of a Tour de France event will be included in the TV drama. For both the Tour de France brand and Activation Group, the innovative and pragmatic IP-based operating model for marketing will open up a new and sustainable consumer market. 

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