Road ID Raises $50K For Charity, Teaches Us Social Marketing

Remember Bob Roll and the rest of the gang touting their Road ID bracelets on the Tour de France telecast on Versus? They were promoting the “Road ID Ride of the Day” promotion and giveaway. Well, here are the results and the winners–and a little marketing tutorial on how to get the word out about your product…

Press Release: Road ID announced that it has raised an astonishing $50,188 for charities in July, using a marketing campaign tying together its Tour de France advertising with a powerful social media component.

The funds were raised in an online contest by offering a rich set of prizes – valued at over $14,000 — from Road ID and co-sponsors including Trek, HED Cycling, Garmin, Giro, Oakley and Newton.

Click ‘more’ for the winners and results.

Participants entered in one of four ways and received one entry for doing each of the following: making a Road ID purchase of $20; following Road ID on Twitter; following Road ID on Facebook; or by making a $5 donation to one of the twelve “Road ID Gives Back” charities.

The campaign promoting the give-away was multiplatform, ranging from banner ads on cycling websites like CyclingNews.com, Bicycling.com and Velonews.com to newsletter mailings and social media content. The integrated campaign found particular success during the Tour’s telecasts on Versus, where the company sponsored the “Road ID Ride of the Day,” which appeared four times each day of the Tour. In perhaps the most creative element of the campaign, Road ID partnered with the network’s on-air talent: Bob Roll, Robbie Ventura, Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen and Craig Hummer, who are all advocates and ambassadors for the company and wore their personalized Road IDs on-air, yielding valuable air time and endorsement.

The effort provided a marked increase in the Erlanger, Kentucky company’s marketing presence: their Facebook followers grew from 13,100 to 51,300. Their Twitter following grew by 112% and yielded 882,000 Twitter impressions and the promotion alone had 220,000 hits on the Road ID website

The Grand Prize, which was won by Derek O. of Spring Hill, Florida, included a 2011 Trek Madone 6.9; a Garmin Edge 500 or 310 XT; a Giro Ionos Helmet, Oakley Livestrong Jawbone glasses; Newton running shoes and a $200 Road ID shopping spree.
The top charity donor, Dan J. of McLean, Virginia, won a Road ID jersey signed by Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner, Bob Roll, Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, and Craig Hummer. The jersey was scant recompense for a man whose philanthropic ideals may serve as a model for all of us.

“My wife and I make a conscious effort to give a fixed portion of our income to charity each year,” noted Dan J. “The bulk of our giving tends to go to ‘big’ charities like Doctors Without Borders or Catholic Charities. But your contest brought my attention to these (other) worthy organizations.”

As a frequent cyclist and triathlete, the systems analyst found special appeal in a variety of Road ID’s charitable partners. “I’ve lost parents and friends to cancer, so Livestrong was a natural choice,” he noted. “I ride a bike. I sometimes commute by bike. On roads. Cars scare me. If Dave Zabriskie’s organization (Yield to Life) can make a difference, then the world would be a better place.”

And since Dan is a dog owner, the ASPCA got the rest of his largesse. “On a less noble note, the prospect of winning a Madone, or even the signed jersey, made this attractive …(and) my award jersey is now hanging over my desk at my office!” he concluded.

The Road ID charities benefitting from the promotion included:

Ø Arthritis Foundation: $825
Ø USA Cycling Development Foundation: $865
Ø The Davis Phinney Foundation: $1,180
Ø Dave Zabriskie (YieldToLife.org): $1,950
Ø Levi Leipheimer’s Gran Fondo Charities: $2,500
Ø National MS Society: $2,740
Ø Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (TNT): $2,835
Ø ASPCA: $3,225
Ø Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF): $3,360
Ø Susan G. Komen (Race for the Cure): $3,520
Ø Wounded Warrior Project: $9,625
Ø Lance Armstrong Foundation (LIVESTRONG): $17,563

Road ID’s marketing director PJ Rabice said, “Cycling fans have proven to be enormously philanthropic, and we’re just happy to have hit on a way to connect the community with our charities.”

About Road ID

Road ID was born in the fall of 1999, when Edward Wimmer was training for a marathon and had a close encounter with a motorist. His father, Co-Founder Mike Wimmer, had voiced concern regarding the fact that he did not carry ID during training. The near miss was the catalyst for the creation of wearable ID gear for outdoor enthusiasts. Road ID now offers a variety of models including the Wrist ID Sport, the Wrist ID Elite, the Ankle ID, the Shoe ID, and the Fixx ID (necklace) and is a staple for professional and amateur athletes alike.