Transforming a global brand
Vittoria is part of the fabric of cycling. Famous for their road cycling products for over half a century, they were known for being fast, traditional and Italian. Less famous is their fantastic range of mountain bike and gravel tyres. This was reflected in their commercial performance – a top contender in road, less so off-road.
Vittoria was acquired by Wise Private Equity and a new leadership team was installed with understandably ambitious growth plans. They recognised this multi £m growth would come in part from continued product innovation across all cycling sectors, but critically their brand had to communicate a new positioning and narrative to ignite this revolution.
Partners to the leadership team
We became partners to the Vittoria board and investors at the very start of this journey, and quickly recognised valuable insights existed within the business. They just needed a little Light.
Armed with our significant experience in this sector, we swiftly established a clear picture of the global strengths and weaknesses of brands in the global tyre category. From this, we could clearly identify an exciting and authentic positioning for the brand – a clear space in the market with significant headroom across all cycling disciplines.
The Ride Ahead
Now we needed to capture this positioning with a compelling brand idea. One that could support growth and inspire their international stakeholders, product development, employees and communications.
The Ride Ahead was the result – an idea that embraces past and future. It captures a spirit of adventure and risk-taking – the next ride, location and discovery. Because there’s a world of possibilities on the horizon. And that’s what inspires both brand and cyclists.
Taking the amazing tyre innovation from within Vittoria, we worked with them to reflect that to the outside world – as innovative in marketing and communications as they are in tyre manufacturing.
“Great creativity and structured process. Nice guys to work with”
Stijn Vriends, President and CEO, Vittoria Group
“I like the speed and alignment we reached in a short time, the capability to adapt to our reality and help us with the right level of challenge”
Ernesto Garcia Domingo, Chief Commercial Officer, Vittoria Group
We’re proud of the journey we’ve been on with the leadership team
Together we achieved a considerable amount in a short space of time. There is no doubt that the solid foundations for the brand that were put in at an early stage and then shared with all the stakeholders have had a significant impact:
raising the profile of the products
broadening reach and deepening engagement
creating a brand that’s part of cycling culture not just tyre products
Increased association with key pillars like innovation and sustainability is ongoing, supported by initiatives like:
the opening of Vittoria Park – 5 hectares of riding experience
a new carbon-neutral factory in Thailand
regular advertising campaigns like the ones shown below
In December 2022 Vittoria announced a huge new deal with private equity investors Telemos Capital acquiring a majority stake in the business.
A selection of pages from the Vittoria Brand Narrative that we created.
April 2021: The Ride Ahead was introduced with the AIRLINER campaign.
May 2021: Sponsorship of the UCI MTB World Cup events around the globe.
June 2021: Big news! The partnership between USA Cycling and Vittoria
July 2021: The limited edition L’Eroica handcrafted tyre by Vittoria and A.Dugast
June 2022: Launch of Great Expectations content
August 2022: Own the Unknown – global campaign
October 2022: The Ride Ahead – Manifesto film
May 2023: Feel what the Pros feel – global campaign. YouTube, Instagram, TV in the United States