Bike Brand Launches Sponsorship Program For 'Real Riders'

As the Tour de France steps into high gear, one bike company has passed up professional cycling in favor of sponsoring 30 everyday Joe's. Giant's Real Rider program will sponsor everyday people that sign-up at their website, rewarding the winners with free gear, photo shoots and inclusion in the company's ads.

"At Giant, we’ve always been proud to sponsor the world’s best riders. They’re a talented (and actually pretty nice) bunch," the company's website reads. "But we realised that they’re only a tiny proportion of the people who are out there cycling and supporting the sport."

The TV campaign, which will coincide with Tour de France's coverage in Australia, was created by Leo Burnett Melbourne.

This isn't an entirely new trend. In fact, ordinary Joe's have it pretty good these days. In the past few months SponsorPitch has landed an official beer and brought Prilosec's everyday sponsorship campaign to your attention. Novelty aside, this should be an effective way for Giant to blend media buys, sports marketing and social media into an effective experiential campaign down under.

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