Tour de France: How have Yorkshire brands used The Grand Départ?

It’s not often that Yorkshire, England, is in the spotlight on the world stage, but this weekend it certainly was.

The Tour de France kicked off and Yorkshire businesses and infrastructure experienced millions of people turning out to see the Départ.

I thought I’d do a little round up of the official supporters of the Grand Départ that have been making the most of the media’s attention.

If you’ve clicked on this article because you’re interested in cycling, check out Econsultancy’s Marketing Cycle. You can join us as we and senior marketers cycle to Paris in October.

Yorkshire Building Society

Some proper stunt marketing from Yorkshire Building Society, a Départ supporter.

Marketing agency Soul dyed a herd of sheep yellow. The pictures are stunning and have already been social media gold, featuring on BuzzFeed and big news outlets.

Marketing agency Soul dyed a herd of sheep yellow

The Yorkshire Building Society’s YouTube page has some associated content, but unfortunately it doesn’t really add anything to the pictures.

However, YBS is also the sponsor for ITV’s Grand Départ coverage and has an out-of-home campaign underway. It seems to be the Yorkshire brand attempting the biggest campaign around the Tour, and I’m sure the sheep have already paid dividends.

Leeds and Bradford International Airport

Props go to LBIA as the most digitally active of the Départ’s supporters. The airport has sponsored a gaming app, the Tour de Yorkshire, created by twentysix, so that mobile users can race virtually through the Yorkshire landscape.

Tony Hallwood, Aviation Development & Marketing Director at Leeds Bradford Airport, said:

The Tour de Yorkshire game showcases some of the region’s top locations, so the gamer will experience racing through Yorkshire as the professionals will be during the race.

Leeds Bradford Airport is the gateway to Yorkshire, with over 70 direct routes from around the world and hundreds more achievable with connecting services via London Heathrow with British Airways and Amsterdam Schiphol with KLM.

gaming app, the Tour de Yorkshire, created by twentysix

Full article published 8 July 2014 in E-consultancy