How Fusion helped fans embrace the moment – Tour de Femme 2023
Lifeplus Wahoo’s innovative 2023 campaign supported cycling fans to watch the Tour de Femme 2023 and Embrace Every Moment, thanks to free GCN+ passes.
Fans are an essential part of a bike race. If a tree falls in a forest and no one sees it does it make a sound? If a sprinter crosses the line arms aloft with no fans present are they still touched by glory? For sport to do its fine work of inspiring, entertaining, even educating it needs an audience.
The time has come to galvanise
The culture of Team Lifeplus Wahoo is about more than just winning, the goal of this campaign was to galvanise women and others into watching women’s cycling. This has benefits that extend beyond the 2023 Tour de Femme, it is essential for the longevity and commercial viability of the sport and all its teams.
When fans are truly feeling the successes and failures, the fun and excitement, the edge of the seat adrenalin of the final sprint there is a lasting connection with the team.
Our campaign slogan #EmbraceEveryMoment was created to encourage fans to be actively involved in the race, rather than just passive viewers. We want the fans to feel the moments of passion, courage and inspiration, to deepen their relationship with the Lifeplus Wahoo team and grow their connection with women’s bike racing culture.
Growing fan base
French analyst Mediametrie estimated that the last stage of the Tour de France Femmes attracted more than three million viewers in the country. (The men’s Tour de France was watched live by an average of four million people in France.) In a fairly dismissive manner Laurent-Eric Le Lay, director of sports at France Televisions, told reporters “It’s a nice surprise,” going on to say “It’s a very solid base on which the cycling world will be able to build.” We want women’s professional cycling to continue to ‘surprise’ with its popularity amongst fans until comparisons no longer need to be drawn between men’s and women’s races.
Coverage results in numbers
Fusion managed the Team Lifeplus Wahoo press office before, during and after the race to help increase the team’s visibility within UK media. The coverage achieved by Fusion’s work put Lifeplus Wahoo and the Tour de Femme in front of 333 million potential readers.
176 pieces of coverage
333M total readership
Featured in Daily Mail; The Independent; Daily Star; Leicester Mercury; Cycling News
