CMI Pro Cycling
Info Package & Long Term Business Model
The Team:
Presentation: Equipe CMI is an international cycling team. The team fields an Elite International team consisting of riders from many countries in Europe, the US and as far away as Australia. The team participates in UCI/Pro stage races (multi day events) around the world, while also promoting cycling, a healthy lifestyle and sharing their stories of world travel with cycling fans and friends. All members of the International team are passionate about the sport of cycling and love to travel to faraway lands and meet new and different people. One of the team’s aims is to race in as many different countries as possible. With the globalization of today’s society, we believe that sharing and promoting not only the sport of cycling, but also healthy living and the value of teamwork around the world is important. Cycling is a sport that reflects the difficulties and hard work required for individuals to shine, while also reflecting the importance of having good support and teammates around you. Overcoming adversity is what the sport of cycling is all about. With our many participations in events on the African continent, we feel cycling is a good media for motivating and showing people how adversity can be overcome, how perseverance, hard work and good relations can help you in everyday life. In many countries the sport of cycling is also used as a political statement. Cycling is a comparatively cheap sport, and many countries use the sport to promote their nation or to show the world the improvements they have made, or the changes they have gone through. A good example of this is the Tour of Rwanda, where the country has used the sport of cycling to invite cycling teams from around the world as well as the world’s media to show how successfully they have overcome their past. Our team members share a form of easygoingness and seriousness that is rare for an entire team. The team has strong results on the international circuit, but has shown that enjoyment of the sport, and sharing that with others is just as important as winning races.
Team Ethos: The CMI ethos is what drives the team. While every team wants to win races, and although this is without a doubt one of the main aims of our team members, CMI is about more than just a race. CMI has 3 basic aims. 1) Winning races: Needless to say every team aims to win races. Bike racers have a natural drive to race and to win. This is the most standard goal of any team and CMI has had impressive results over the years, with stage wins in big Pro races in Europe as well as on the Chinese and African Pro circuit revealing a variety of skills and abilities, ranging from fast sprints to overall stage race wins via young rider classifications. Over the years, CMI has amassed an impressive amount of UCI points far outweighing its budget or rival teams, often outranking well established and longstanding Professional teams. The team has also been successful enough to have riders selected to their National Teams, National Championships and World Championships.
2) Bringing people closer to the sport: CMI wants to bring the general public closer to the sport of cycling. It is very easy to find articles, videos and documentaries on races, race results and team’s endeavors in various races; but CMI wants to bring people one step closer. We aim to give people a true behind the scenes look at Pro Level racing. Are riders always lodged in nice hotels? Are they always well fed, what is it really like to travel the world and adapt to different races in different countries, what kind of training do the riders do, what happens when you are sick? etc. CMI wants people to be able to relate to the riders at Pro level races and see what it’s truly like, day in and day out, through a series of “CMI Lifestyle” videos and articles. The team also aims to bring people closer to the sport via a series of #InspiredToRide concepts. As the team travels the world, coming into contact with different people and ways of life, riding in various terrain, we plan to inspire people to get out and ride their bikes through a series of short #InspriedToRide videos, stories and articles available both online and in print from our Lifestyle Magazine, as well as through our cycling trips & vacations to share the experiences of riding in locations such as the Pyrenees, the Sahel desert or Spanish Costa Brava hand in hand with cycling fans.
3) Youth Development: The third string to the CMI bow is the development of young riders. Aside from National Team programs that are often limited to one type of rider (eg: track rider support from the British Cycling Federation) there is very little actual youth development. Many teams and clubs aim to help and support young riders, but very few offer them access into Pro races around the world, exposing them to different styles of racing and to experienced teammates from whom they can learn and hone their cycling skills. Cycling also offers a great opportunity for young people to travel the world and broaden their minds and cultural knowledge of the world and of how people live in other countries, not only serving them well on the bike, but also offering them a great experience for later in life.
GOALS: The team has established itself as a team that can perform well at the Pro level on a comparatively small budget thanks to careful management, passion and strong team unity; however the drive to perform is reflected in the team’s drive to progress. The team aims to move up in the cycling world by getting into bigger and better races, while also increasing the amount of races they participate in, thus increasing the team’s visibility and potential for results as well as increasing our interest and ability to develop younger riders into better more rounded people. This requires a progression in budget in order to race on two different fronts at any given time, and in order to travel further and more regularly to get to some of the world’s best and most exciting races. The team’s drive to progress doesn’t only apply to its sporting values. Progressing the team also means increasing the team’s fan base and “followship”; through the media, social media and direct interaction with the public through cycling trips, holidays and “training camps” throughout the year. A New Horizon is born: As a further mark of the team’s progression and scope, 2016 saw the addition of “CMI Tri”, our Triathlon and Multisport team that applies the same ethics and ethos to a Triathlon team. The ultimate purpose of this is to further spread the importance of health in fitness in modern society while also spreading the communication reach potential to a wider audience outside of cycling alone.
What does CMI offer: What CMI offers its partners, supporters and sponsors is not just a simple “billboard” for your brand. Although in cycling it is possible to sponsor a team for about a 10th of the cost of supporting a football or basketball team of the equivalent level, unless the team you sponsor is playing in the NBA, the World Cup or riding the Tour de France, it isn’t always easy to quantify a direct return on investment. Other than simply putting your brand in front of cycling fans and spectators around the world, CMI offers a message, a way of life and an image that can reinforce your company’s status in a given sector. The message the team shares is one of enjoyment of the sport, of a healthy lifestyle and the value of sharing our experiences with those we come into contact with, as well as the value of hard work and teamwork. Some commercial partners support the team as a way of validating their presence and position on the market in the eyes of their distributors and shops around Europe. Bicycle industry companies support the team as they share a love and an interest in both travel and in the sport of cycling, therefore their support of CMI reinforces their presence in the cycling industry, by showing their customers that they are involved in the sport at all levels. Other companies have supported CMI as a way portraying an image to their employees to show they are interested in outdoor activities and in their staff’s wellbeing. Supporting the cycling team enables them to offer their staff members short getaway trips or vacations organized by the team’s management company. Of course there is also the more “standard” sponsorship reasons, such sponsors who have sponsored the team to show their name, brand or product to their key demographic (cycling fans and amateur riders and spectators) via race presence and media attention (TV, magazine, Team training camps and trips); as well as industry sponsors who are looking for product feedback from riders on new products by using the team for product testing and development, which can be quite extensive considering the team’s wide scope of racing and training conditions.
Media attention: Media attention is just one of the aspects of the team that enables it to showcase its abilities, sponsors and partners to the wider world. Although CMI does a lot to get its name and concept out to the world via its own media outlets and trips and training camps, media coverage from outside sources is highly desirable. Over the past few years CMI has seen coverage from media sources ranging from cycling specific magazines to TV stations such as TV5 Monde or other National TV stations and non cycling newspapers such as LeMonde. ( See some examples below)
Communication: The CMI team is passionate about what it does. The team is used as a communication platform to bring the public closer to the sport, to the riders, to the experience of racing at the pro level as well as the joys of riding in the great outdoors. Cycling is a growing activity as well as a growing sport in many parts of the world. Some parts of the world see the bike as a lifeline as it can be their only means of transportation, whereas other parts of the world see it as more of a challenge and a sporting or competitive activity. But the common strand between all of these areas is “the bike”. People can relate to cycling in ways that they often cannot relate to other sports. Very few people have never ridden a bike in their lives. As such CMI likes to share this common experience with its fans and supporters, while also sharing and breading a passion for something that is often so symbolic and reminiscent of childhood, of fun and of freedom that it touches a very wide range of people. Whereas some big teams such as SKY and RadioShack want to keep their fans at arm’s length, we want to bring them closer, bring them into the team and give them the full experience. For this purpose, CMI has developed a line of thinking it calls “CMI Lifestyle”. “CMI Lifestyle consists of a series of videos, posts, photos and trips by the team and it’s riders that will motivate and inspire people to ride bikes. It also includes our inhouse print and online Magazine “Lifestyle Magazine”, which is available in select locations in the English Speaking world. The team has also developed a series of lighthearted, tongue in cheek videos introducing the viewer to places we have travelled to as well as local habits and particularities of these countries. With an increase in budget, the team will be able to increase and improve these videos and communications. Both the “CMI Lifestyle” and “#InspriedToRide” content are diffused to fans and supporters via the many forms of established social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Pinterest to name but a few. Needless to say, the team will maintain regular communication and interactions with fans and supporters via social media, as well as through face to face interactions during trips, holidays and group/shop rides.
Stats: CMI have a number of differing methods to communicate with it’s fans, partners and clients. Here you will find a few of the quantifiable statistic from our numerous communication outlets. All stats are based on Organic statistics and do not take note of any paid advertising which often skews the stats. WEBSITE: The website gets over 1000 unique visits a month; the majority of visits are English speaking (Australia, USA & UK) with French language visitors coming in a strong second. SOCIAL MEDIA: The Team facebook page has well over 1000 Likes, and with all of CMI’s separate Facebook & Twitter accounts combined we have a “followship” of over 6000 separate users. The team engages directly with its followers via social media as well as through active athletes “apps” such as Strava where the team has an open club enabling fans to join and follow the racing and training regime of the team’s riders and members. The team further interacts directly with it’s clients and fans on a face to face level with organised cycling trips and vacations as well as organised group rides open to the public in Europe and as far away as Australia. GEOGRAPHY: During the 2016 year the team has had visits and follows form many parts of the world. The USA has ranked number 1 in terms of visits and “followship”. The top ten nations is listed below: 1: USA 2: Australia 3: France 4: United Kingdom 5: Hungary 6: China 7: Brazil 8: Spain 9: Finland 10: Germany
Public Trips and Camps: CMI has brought in it’s title sponsor, experienced Cycling Trip and Vacation organisers to take care of the team’s public access trips and camps. CMI runs trips and vacations for groups of clients to ride some of the fantastic roads that our riders get to enjoy as racers. Our season long access to a base in a quiet village in the Pyrenees enables clients to not only ride some of the world’s most famous Tour de France roads, but also relax in the peace and quiet of the Pyrenees National Park while enjoying a drink and taking in the local cuisine. Other trips include trips to see the world’s biggest races including the Tour de France, Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix. Such trips are also available to sponsors and suppliers to come along and either interact with the team, or offer some of their friends or business partners a retreat or “active business meeting” getaway. The majority of CMI Tours trips are “Custom Trips” designed for specific clients seeking a specific trip or vacation. We have also partnered with TV commentator and Giro d’Italia stage winner David McKenzie to offer a line of luxury trips. For the more serious clients CMI runs “training camps” where clients can improve their riding skills and fitness with the help and coaching of some of our more experienced riders. Camps of various levels are on offer throughout the year. These trips and camps serve the purpose of providing cycling fans with a fun trip that is adapted to their abilities, while also bringing them closer to the team and it’s riders. It also enables us to place sponsors’ products directly in contact with their target audience and demographic. Further information on CMI Tours can be found on the website: www.cmitours.com or by requesting a catalogue.
Long Term Business Model LONGEVITY - STABILITY - DURABILITY
The Race for Charitable Causes
- LONGEVITY - Cycling teams come and go over the years for two primary reasons. 1) Teams being too heavily driven by one single sponsor 2) A lack of long term durability _____________________________________________________________ 1) In spite of not having a multimillion dollar budget, CMI has remained in the cycling arena throughout the years for one main reason: the team has always maintained it’s own identity and structure while sponsors have come and gone over the years. Unlike many teams in cycling who tend to disappear after a number of years, by maintain CMI as the primary element of the team and then associating sponsors to the project, the team has been able to maintain stability throughout the years. This longevity is an important element of the team. It means that when partners and sponsors get involved with the team, they can rely on CMI’s past and more importantly its future. 2) Most teams sign sponsorship contracts to guarantee the financial stability of the team. These contracts usually span a few years at most; often leaving the team to hunt for further and future sources of financial revenue by seeking other and new sponsors throughout its life. At CMI we are implementing a system that will prevent this lack of long term durability by introducing a reason for fans and supporters to be involved in the team for reasons other than simply winning races.
- STABILITY & DURABILITY - THE RACE FOR CHARITABLE CAUSES
It is time for a new structure and a new goal for cycling teams. Over the course of the next few years, the team will use its activities as a platform to raise money for various charitable causes. Using the team to advertise products is one important element, but using the team’s activities, races and riders to help support needed and worthy actions around the world gives everyone a more purposeful and durable existence. FOUNDATION In the next year the team will affiliate itself with one to two Foundations through which it will focus its fundraising activities. These foundations will have an interest in supporting a variety of worthy causes. STRUCTURE & IMPLEMENTATION Throughout each cycling season, the team will work with a number of smaller and larger corporations and groups. For selected races the team participates in, it will implement international crowdfunded fundraising for the event. Partner corporations and groups will pledge to match the funds raised for the charitable cause of choice for that event. The entirety of the matched funds will go to charity and will be tax deductible. Using different sources to finance the team brings stability, whereas having a charitable goal brings durability.
CONTACT US: For sponsorship opportunities, questions regarding the Team or any of our trips please feel free to contact us on info@cmitours.com Follow us: Web: Facebook: Equipe CMI:
http://www.cmicycling.com http://www.cmitours.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/EquipeCMI/
CMI Tours:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CMITours/
Instagram: Equipe CMI CMI Tours
https://instagram.com/cmicycling/ https://instagram.com/cmitours/
Twitter: Equipe CMI: http://twitter.com/cmiprocycling CMI Tours: http://twitter.com/cmitours YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/EquipeCMI Blogger: magazine.cmitours.com Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/equipecmi/ Google+: https://plus.google.com/+EquipeCMI