The Big Sell Le Tour de France La grande vente - La Caravane

Liberté egalité velocité

Le Tour de France 2014 Stage 3
Everyone wants to catch the riders as they pass. Put this photo into painting mode care of Nikon

Selling of Silks and spices and other exotic luxuries years ago depended on supplies from organised caravans, which go back to the 2nd millennium BCE.

The domestication of camels allowed Arabian nomads to control the long distance trade in spices and silk from the Far East to the Arabian Peninsula.

The word Caravan is still used today in the world largest sporting event Le Tour de France Cycle race.

Today Monday 7 July, Stage 3 will take riders of Le Tour de France 2014 from Cambridge to Essex with a finish on The Mall in Londres.

The Grand Départ began in Yorkshire last Saturday.  The beautiful Yorkshire countryside made for a wonderful couple of days.

 With a worldwide television audience of 3.5billion people watching the Tour de France over 188 countries around the world broadcast the Tour de France . 

121 different television channels across the world show the race every year.

Yorkshire Building Society use the tour de France 2014 Caravan
 to give exposure to their new logo and signage and re-brand.
http://www.ybs.co.uk/index.html

Good for local business:

1,200 hotel rooms are reserved each night for the teams, staff, press and tour personnel along the route. 

The Tour de France attracts 12 million spectators along the route in a typical year's race

It's estimated Le tour in 2007 brought £88m to the south-east economy generating £35m worth of media coverage for the area.

Nuffield Health linked promotion of their brand with a competition  for those wearing their promotional T shirt winning prizes. Getting people to be seen on the local CCTV . Plus a particlualry cuddly bear .

http://www.nuffieldhealth.com/

Interview with Nuffield Healthcare at
Trafalgar Square at Le tour de France 2014
The V.I.B.  Bear was very popular with
 the crowds both young and adult

Skoda one of the tour sponsors

The actual race is just a small part of the show. 

Starting some two hours before the race, the "Caravan" is a cavalcade of floats, decorated cars and other vehicles moves along the route, throwing out goodies and free samples to the spectators; it is a massive advertising stunt. 

The Caravan gets the attention of the crowds and keeps
the excitement going at Stage 3 at the  I km to go mark
for 2014 Tour de France in London

The advertising caravan, made up of the Tour's official sponsors, and is followed by a long line of official cars, technical vehicles, media and motorbikes, lights flashing, horns sounding, all warming up the spectators for the actual event itself. 

Clever play on the strap line of previous
 Renault ads of some years ago and current British cycling star.

Then, at last, the riders will come by - and are gone again as quickly as they appeared, pounding up the Mall at speeds that can reach 50 mph or more

There will be many French ex pats who now work in London, who will appreciate a little bit of 'home' coming to the city via this caravan.