Amgen Tour of California Sponsorship Success

Visit California is always proud to sponsor the Amgen Tour of California, during which riders from all over the world compete against the beautiful backdrop of the Golden State. The race was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories – a virtual postcard, inspiring people around the world to visit California.

As in years past, our industry partners had the opportunity to share in the spotlight by presenting the jersey to the Sprint winner at every stage as well as the overall winner.  Thank you to the following partners for joining us and representing California tourism:

• Stage 1: Sacramento
  • Kumar Sharma, Best Western Plus Placerville Inn
• Stage 2: South Lake Tahoe Presented by Visit California
  • Rachel Carlson, Black Bear Lodge
  • John Rice, Sierra-at-Tahoe (Stage Winner Presenter)
• Stage 3: Morgan Hill
  • Pat Blair, Comfort Inn Morgan Hill
• Stage 4: Morro Bay
  • Diana Zuniga, Hotel Buena Vista 
• Stage 5: Ventura
  • Anna Jacobson, Santa Barbara Adventure Company
• Stage 6: Mt. Baldy Presented by Visit California
  • Sonja Coffee, Doubletree by Hilton Claremont
  • Andrew Behnke, Doubletree by Hilton Claremont (Stage Winner Presenter)
• Stage 7: Pasadena
  • Dirk De Jong, Radisson Hotel Los Angeles Midtown at USC

In 2019, Visit California received recognition throughout the Tour including onsite, online and on the NBC and NBC Sports live broadcasts. Highlights included Visit California content during the broadcast, presentation of the behind-the-scenes web series, presentation of the Visit California Sprint jersey, a welcome message in the print program from Visit California President and CEO Caroline Beteta, onsite signage and the opportunity to host our stakeholders onsite at the VIP hospitality tent.

Visit California capitalized on our investment, via our paid, owned and earned channels. 

Paid

A new episode of “Jonny Moseley’s Wildest Dreams,” entitled “All Terrain Bike!” pits Jonny against mountain biking legend Hans "No Way" Rey and seven-time Amgen Tour of California competitor, pro-cyclist Alison Tetrick for a three-stage cycling race across varied terrain: snow, dirt and road. The group sets out, atop Mt. Shasta, on snow bikes; switching to mountain bikes and road bikes to close out the competition in Redding. The full-length episode launched on YouTube and Facebook in the US, UK, Australia and Canada on May 6 and an abbreviated version aired during the broadcast of the Amgen Tour of California May 12-18. The episode has garnered 5 Million impressions and 920,800 video views since launch as well as 15.68 Million broadcast viewers. 

Additionally, Visit California partnered with Beautiful Destinations and Brand USA on a Mobile Content Creation Lab that told the many stories that can only be found in the United States. The objective of the United Stories campaign is to help shift perceptions internationally of the U.S. by creating content with a welcoming, inclusive and diverse message.

With the focus on California, The Amgen Tour of California served as the perfect canvas to show off all the Golden State has to offer.  Using the seven days to ride alongside the bikers, the mobile content studio documented not only their journey, but also used the event as a way to tell a larger story of California. From Sacramento to Pasadena, with the women joining in Ventura, the Mobile Content Creation Lab was right there documenting stories and offering a new perspective of the state, via the race. 

Final assets include a 2.5-minute hero video, 30-second videos, social cut-downs, Instagram stories, an Instagram live and photography distributed via Beautiful Destinations and Brand USA’s social media channels from July through October. The content was translated into seven languages for distribution across 14 international markets (UK, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, India, Sweden and Global Instagram) via organic and paid social, YouTube and VisitTheUSA.com/UnitedStories. This content will be distributed to over 12 Million followers of Beautiful Destinations’ social channels and 7 Million followers of Brand USA and is expected to result in over 2 Million impressions and over 50,000 video views. 

Owned

In the months leading up to the race, Visit California’s social channels re-introduced the Tour to all consumers, not just avid cyclists, promoting the host destinations through editorial content and Amgen Tour of California video content. As we approached the start of the Tour, social promotion focused on influencer and user-generated content from participating destinations. Through user engagement, Visit California integrated a mix of content for both casual and elite cyclists, including posts encouraging fans to share their favorite bike ride or the stage they are most excited to see. During the race, posts focused on each stage’s host cities.

VisitCalifornia.com and the California Now Blog delivered a mix of content ahead of the race. While the website features evergreen content about the Tour; along with cycling tips and a host of the state’s best bike routes, selected by Amgen Tour of California pros, the blog took a different editorial approach. The blog featured a listicle-style article with five unique characteristics from each host destination and a series of questionnaires from some of this year’s competitors, for the more passionate cyclist.

Finally, the e-newsletter program served as an additional distribution channel, delivering the latest content about the race to its 200,000 subscribers.

Earned

Leading up to the race, in early April, Visit California hosted six North American influencers on staggered trips to each of the 13 host cities. This relay-style activation drove awareness to the Amgen Tour of California and promoted cycling in the Golden State, while highlighting each destination. Beyond their individual trips, the influencers also posted updates during the race, further promoting the race and the host destinations.

The influencers:

• Alex Tienda kicked off the trip in Northern California, by visiting Sacramento, Rancho Cordova and South Lake Tahoe. He posted on his Instagram (@soyalextienda), blog and YouTube, as well as his Twitter and Facebook.
• Nathanael Billings visited South Lake Tahoe, Stockton and Morgan Hill posting on his Instagram (@nathanaelbillings) along the way, as well as his Facebook and Twitter.
• Laura Lawson Visconti visited Morgan Hill, before taking the trip to the Central Coast’s Monterey, and Morro Bay. She posted to her Instagram (@lauralawsonvisconti), blog and Pinterest, and created a beautiful video shared on Instagram and YouTube.
• Kerri Jackson from Women Who Explore continued the Central Coast leg of the trip, visiting Morro Bay, Pismo Beach and Ventura. Kerri posted to the Women Who Explore Instagram (@womenwhoexplore) and her personal channel (@kerri_outside). @womenwhoexplore also reposted Laura’s video.
• Matthew Segal visited Ventura, before making the trip to Southern California’s Ontario and Mt. Baldy posting on Instagram (@mattsegal) and Facebook along the way.
• Lastly, Taylor Tippett wrapped up the trip in Southern California, visiting Mt. Baldy, Santa Clarita and Pasadena. She posted to her Instagram (@taylortippett) and her blog.

The six influencers produced a total of 206 social media posts, including three blog entries and two YouTube videos, resulting in 4.5 Million impressions, 65,000 engagements and $45,000 in media value. Visit California’s owned channels also leveraged and amplified the content by sharing influencer Instagram stories to a dedicated ATOC highlight and by posting Q&As with each influencer on the California Now blog.

We look forward to once again having California be the backdrop for this world-class race in 2020!