1. Case Study Gerard Vroomen
and Cervélo Cycles
The New Rules of Marketing and PR
2. Gerard Vroomen will tell you that he is an engineer,Gerard Vroomen will tell you that he is an engineer,
not a marketer. He will tell you that the company henot a marketer. He will tell you that the company he
cofounded, Cervélo Cycles, does not have anycofounded, Cervélo Cycles, does not have any
marketing experts. But Vroomen is wrong. Why?marketing experts. But Vroomen is wrong. Why?
Because he is obsessed with the buyers of hisBecause he is obsessed with the buyers of his
competition bikes and with the engineering-drivencompetition bikes and with the engineering-driven
product he offers them. He's focused his companyproduct he offers them. He's focused his company
to help his customers win races— and they do.to help his customers win races— and they do.
3. In the 2005 Tour de France, DavidIn the 2005 Tour de France, David
Zabriskie rode the fastest time trialZabriskie rode the fastest time trial
in the race's history on a Cervéloin the race's history on a Cervélo
P3C at an average speed of 54.676P3C at an average speed of 54.676
kph (33.954 mph)kph (33.954 mph)
4. The winner of the 2008 Tour de France, Carlos
Sastre did it too on Cervelo
5. And at the BeijingAnd at the Beijing
Olympics, CervéloOlympics, Cervélo
bikes were riddenbikes were ridden
by more than 40by more than 40
athletes, resulting inathletes, resulting in
three gold, fivethree gold, five
silver, and twosilver, and two
bronze medalsbronze medals
6. ““Our goal is education,Our goal is education,”” Vroomen says.Vroomen says. ““We have aWe have a
technical product, and we're the most engineering-technical product, and we're the most engineering-
driven company in the industry. Most bikedriven company in the industry. Most bike
companies don't employ a single engineer, and wecompanies don't employ a single engineer, and we
have eight. So we want to have that engineeringhave eight. So we want to have that engineering
focusfocus
7. Vroomen writes all of the content for the CervéloVroomen writes all of the content for the Cervélo
site himself, Vroomen can update the site himself.site himself, Vroomen can update the site himself.
8. Cervelo website includes number of site map
sections such as
Engineering, Experience, Athletes
and very important ..
10. And nice call to action button
under the list of FAQ’s
11. Athletes page description
‘’Our athletes are key ambassadors
for our bikes and an important source
of feedback in our design process.
Meet the people who push our bikes to
the limit.’’
13. Under the ExperienceUnder the Experience
section you will findsection you will find
more stories. And that’smore stories. And that’s
what people want towhat people want to
here. There is userhere. There is user
generated section calledgenerated section called
‘’Your Stories’’ too !‘’Your Stories’’ too !
14. Ryan Patch is the sort of customer Cervélo wantsRyan Patch is the sort of customer Cervélo wants
to reach. An amateur triathlon competitor on theto reach. An amateur triathlon competitor on the
Vortex Racing team, Patch says, “Vortex Racing team, Patch says, “On the CervéloOn the Cervélo
site, I learned that …site, I learned that …
15. …’’…’’Bobby Julich rides theBobby Julich rides the
same bike that is availablesame bike that is available
to me. And it's not just thatto me. And it's not just that
they are riding, but theythey are riding, but they
are doing really well.’’are doing really well.’’
16. ‘’‘’I can see how someone won the Giro de Italia on aI can see how someone won the Giro de Italia on a
Cervélo. That's mind-blowing, that I can get the sameCervélo. That's mind-blowing, that I can get the same
bike that the pros are riding.’’bike that the pros are riding.’’
17. Search engine marketing is important forSearch engine marketing is important for
Cervélo. Because of the keyword-richCervélo. Because of the keyword-rich
cycling content available on the site,cycling content available on the site,
Vroomen says, Cervélo gets the sameVroomen says, Cervélo gets the same
amount of search engine traffic as manyamount of search engine traffic as many
sites for bike companies that are 10 timessites for bike companies that are 10 times
largerlarger
18. Vroomen says building out the web marketing atVroomen says building out the web marketing at
Cervélo takes a lot of time, but it is simple andCervélo takes a lot of time, but it is simple and
cost-effective. “This is the future for companiescost-effective. “This is the future for companies
like us,” he says. “You can be very small andlike us,” he says. “You can be very small and
occupy a niche and still sell your products all overoccupy a niche and still sell your products all over
the world.the world.
