Marketing
TOUR DE FORCE
WHAT'S NewS Issue 8 August/September 1997
sponsorship
13
The Tour de France proved a real Rl tour de force for a group of
Utrecht and Paris branch's international corporates. As one cliënt
enthused: 'A unique experience at the centre of a mega-cycling
event in one of the greatest city's in the world.We now know
what makes the Tour de France so special.' How can you give your
clients this kind of star treatment? What's NewS finds out.
At the Paris finishing line, Vincent Pijpers (right)
with happy-capped clients applauding the efforts of our
Rabobank Tour de France team.
'I know Fm always saying it, but the devil
is certainly in the detail,' says Robin
Bargmann. 'Planning is everything - and
^fell in advance. This Tour de France cliënt
program actually began iife last December.'
The concensus appears to be that this type
of event can earn real kudos. 'In this
particular case,' he says, 'we were
organizing a trip right in the middle of the
traditional Dutch holiday period - on our
side, Arthur Arnold actually interrupted his
vacation to attend. Clearly, we are
committed to events like this, but if you
want to attract customers you have to offer
something more than just entertainment.
Thanks to knowledge-driven presentations by
our own people, this concept proves a real
winner for the bank.' RI brought in the
network to ensure that the business seminar
- Developments in investment and
corporate banking - offered to clients had
the same high calibre as the Tour.
GRANDSTAND VIEW
If you are wondering why the Tour de
France, and how we were able to acquire
100 tickets for the grandstand overlooking
the finish line, the answer is easy: L'Equipe
Rabo. 'We have this fantastic Cycling
Plan,' says Vincent Pijpers of RI
Marketing. 'The Rabobank organization
injects major sponsorship into cycling in
all its forms in the Netherlands, but also
into a professional team. For many people,
and certainly those who follow the sport,
the Rabo Team is already well-known. But
not enough people associate it with the
bank. So, events like this one in Paris are
multifunctional. They reinforce the name
association factor. And they contribute to
relationship building. Essentially, this is a
very attractive option for RI because we're
Iiiggybacking on the sponsorship generated
)y our parent organization.'
OPENING DOORS
As already noted, the planning for this trip
began back in December last year. 'We have
STAGING EVENTS
The Tour de France is exactly that - a tour
around the country in various stages. While
the finish is clearly a top event, the stages
themselves can make very appealing dient
progams. Utrecht, Paris and Luxembourg
branches took clients to various stages -
and very successful they proved. 'Selected
clients were invited to the stage races which
were really special events,'says Van
Griethuysen, 'because they rode in the
'team cars'driven by people like formerTour
champion Hennie Kuipers and Peter Winner.
This kind of intimacy is a highly effective
one-to-one relationship tooi.'
structural meetings to determine how to use
the sponsorship options offered by the
whole organization,' Bargmann explains.
'Typically, we'd be discussing possible events
for our clients in the fall of the preceding
year. At around that time, Marketing sends
out information to the network on
opportunities for cliënt events and explains
what they can do to help arrange a program
that will meet specific needs.' Pijpers stresses
that a clear idea of what you want to do
with your clients is a real advantage. 'Our
role is to facilitate,' he says. 'We have a
package of events that the network can
make use of. We are here to open doors. We
work best if the relationship manager has a
clear idea of what they want to do with their
clients. They know their guests, they know
what they will and will not enjoy. So I think
it is crucial to have a very definite image of
your goals. And our experience also shows
that the success of any kind of cliënt event
really depends on the relationship manager's
own commitment.'
PLANNING AHEAD
Another satisfying element in this specific
event is the great networking that
contributed hugely to its success. The
process of organization was as follows.
'First, I called Vincent and asked if he
could get us 100 seats for the final, a hotel
and a charter,' Bargmann recalls. 'Once
we had that arranged, we contacted Hans
van Griethuysen and his people, who had
already started organizing their own main
cliënt events around the Tour, asking what
they could do to help us out.' In fact,
those first calls were made seven months
before the actual event and it is this timely
organization which, Bargmann believes,
was lacking in the previous year's
program. In 1996, the start of the Tour de
France was held in a city in the
Netherlands. Although tickets were
available for our clients, the organization
was not optimal. 'Tickets were sent to
clients on a kind of 'If you're interested,
you're welcome' basis. The weather was
terrible and basically we weren't
organized. This year was very different.'
ANNUAL HAPPENING
Down in the French capital, the Paris team
were hard at work to ensure both the
visitors and their own guests knew what
an equipe Rabo could do - on and off the
Tour de France course. 'We were clearly
very eager to do something with this
event,' says Van Griethuysen. 'The Tour is
top of this country's sporting calendar and
attracts spectators from all over the
country and all over the world. So we
were willing to pump in resources and
effort to make it a real success. We've
backed it with advertising in France's top
business journal as well. But in spite of
our enthusiasm, we could not have done
this alone. We needed it to be a joint effort
and it showed that we can all get the
various kinds of mileage we want out of
the same event. I'd like to make clear to
the network that Paris branch will be
turning this into a big annual happening
and that everyone is welcome - just let us
know in advance, please. We're all really
enthusiastic because it shows that small,
small Paris can do big, big things.'
