Member Article

Advertising and the Grand Depart 2014 in Yorkshire

With over 5 million roadside viewers and a global audience of 3.5 billion in 190 countries, it’s safe to say that the Grand Depart in Yorkshire in 2014 was a phenomenal success. But what role did advertising play in helping local businesses stand out as the world’s eyes fell on Yorkshire?

Last year’s Grand Depart for the Tour de France needs little introduction. It was an extraordinary success that has gone down as the “grandest” Grand Depart in the history of the Tour de France. Due to the overwhelming victory of the event, cycling in the hilly dales, Yorkshire will never look back.

The excitement that erupted in the run-up to the Grand Depart went beyond cyclists and Tour de France enthusiasts, as people of all ages, backgrounds, interests and ethnicities became united as dedicated followers of the 2014 Tour de France’s Grand Depart.

And it wasn’t just the citizens of Yorkshire that were ‘getting involved’. Local businesses of all industries, sizes, shapes and niches were keen to represent Yorkshire and play a leading role in this phenomenal event.

With virtually the whole of the county being awash with colour, vivacity and vigour, if a business wanted to make an impact as 3.5 billion eyes across the world was staring down on them, they realised they had to stand out.

And the way that many businesses stood out in the Grand Depart was through advertising.

Ready to ride

From radio, print, billboards, buses, advans and even television, every form of media was ready to ride on the back of the Tour de France. The savviest of business were lapping up the limelight, utilising all forms of advertising to put their business on a pedestal when the world was watching.

DIY advertising

Throughout the event, some local businesses even took advertising into their own hands. Amongst the plethora of thrill and vibrancy that lined to the Grand Depart route, many exploited the opportunity to get broadcast around the world by flying their own banners and flags on the roadsides where the world’s media was poised.

Welcome to Yorkshire

Welcome to Yorkshire, the official visitor shop for Yorkshire, were intent on creating a real buzz throughout the region.

Welcome to Yorkshire’s Grand Depart advertising campaign incorporated all media platforms, including a Tour de France Roadshow.

In the months leading up to the event, Welcome to Yorkshire put on a series of roadshows across the region, designed to celebrate and promote the fact the greatest cycling race in the world was coming to Yorkshire.

The roadshow was dedicated to helping local businesses implement effective tactics to build on Yorkshire’s successful bid to host the Grand Depart of the Tour de France 2014.

The power of video

Even a Yorkshire-based campsite turned to the power of advertising to generate support for the event and some publicity for the campsite.

The campsite’s Tour de France spoof video, which featured instructions on how to do ‘Le Tour’ up north, became an instant viral hit, attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers.

It has long been recognised that advertising enables businesses to stand out from the crowd. The momentous, multi-faceted advertising campaigns that took place during the Grand Depart for the 2014 Tour de France were simply proof of the pudding that advertising, no matter how opportunistic really does work.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Forward and Thinking .