g.r.

Somehow I've ended up in Adelaide Central Market... It's the only place with any people in the city this morning.... http://bkite.com/3kqvj 5 days ago

• At airport before the mammoth journey to S. Wales begins- Sydney, Singapore, Frankfurt, London, Wales. Hope the travel gods are smiling. #

• Up on eBay… http://tinyurl.com/ye4wq23 #
• Booked on Deutsche Bahn for Frankfurt-London thanks to BA on strike. Low canx fee, cheaper than flight, just 2 hours later arrival = awesome #
• Desperately holding out for Mad Men S3 on Blu Ray… #
• Just overheard in the office… 'So wheres ares yous goin?' My poor english accent will be destroyed before long. #
• Sooo… how am I supposed to get to work tomorrow? http://www.smh.com.au/national/sydney-bus-strike-called-20091217-kyfw.html #
• Too hot for 10pm http://yfrog.com/3g27cwpj #
• I like — yup, we've got a new video. it's a christmas song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il-OFaFzHQM /via @pomplamoose #

• 5 step easy eBay buying process – http://newformula.org/-/4 will send this link to anyone who ever asks me anything about buying on eBay. #
• Case study – Cervelo – How good content = engagement http://www.globeriding.com/cervelo/ #

Let me preface this post I’m not a massive cyclist – at least not as much as I’d like to be. I grew up mountain biking in the Wiltshire Downs – I enjoy cycling, get great pleasure out of it but I think unless I end up with a suitable commute I probably won’t get into road biking myself beyond the odd weekend ride for leisure and fitness reasons.

Regardless, I really enjoy following the pro-cycling scene – well, the Grand Tours at least. Cervélo, a high end bike manufacturer run a pro team who competed in this year’s Tour de France, Giro d’Italia etc., fielding a competitive team and coming home with stage wins and jersey holders. The team has been followed by a couple of documentary makers since birth in 2008, and Cervélo have slowly been releasing beautifully shot episodic updates of the team’s progress.

I really wanted to highlight what they’re doing as a great example of engaging digitally with their customers (and prospective customers). The quality and entertainment value of the video has been consistently high, and the level of engagement it has brought to the brand from me is most likely second-to-none; certainly far more than regular ad campaigns or regular social media. Yes, the $$ cost to Cervélo was probably significant when compared to a regular mag or online marketing campaign; but considering they are running a pro team it’s probably relatively insignificant when compared to a year’s team budget.

I felt that Cervélo have given me something high quality, exclusive and interesting – enough for to return regularly to their site to get the next instalment – and it’s not often that you actually get something good for free.

  

Cervélo
Documentaries @ Bartape.net

Footnote: other cycling brands doing similar things
Trek Bikes Document series (and on YouTube)
Rapha – their blog and Vimeo account

• Shows how little I know about Japan – Yahoo, not Google is on top – http://newformula.org/-/2 #
• Flights and ticket booked for the @webstock conf in Wellington, NZ in feb. Choice! #
• Loving the concept behind NY Times Skimmer' – http://newformula.org/-/3 – great example of how publishers should embrace new mediums #
• Awesome pics from The Big Picture – http://bit.ly/6gEnWW I had the opportunity to work in Glacier in 2002 and turned it down. Regrets… #
• Nursing 4 mosquito bites in 15 mins, with only face and hands exposed. Australian mosquitos love me. The feeling is not mutual. #
• Just lost third knuckle on right hand amongst the mossie bite swelling. This is getting ridiculous… #