You may remember from the media coverage last week that Lance Armstrong decided to go for a bike ride in Scotland. Pretty unremarkable after all you would have thought he must go for the odd ride quite often. Except this time he invited some friends along with him – actually 1.8 million friends.
Armstrong sent out a tweet saying he was in Scotland and fancied going for a ride that afternoon. Cue pandemonium in Paisley (yes, Paisley) town centre with hundreds of cyclists and media turning out.
He’s at it again – a few hours ago I got another tweet from the seven-times Tour de France winner:
Armstrong, already the most followed sportsman on Twitter, is re-defining the barriers between sportspeople and the public. This is pretty much the equivalent of David Beckham saying he was going for a kick about at his local park, who wants to join him and bring your jumpers for the goalposts.
This is consumer engagement at its rawest – brands take note. This ‘mass exclusive’ event directed by Armstrong himself means that even sat at my desk, I feel part of it and if I lived close enough I’d certainly be down there on my bike. Imagine the power of a brand delivering and facilitating this level of interaction without diluting it?
By Dominic Curran on August 25th, 2009
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