Aussie cycling champ Cadel Evans .
Cycliq hires Aussie cycling legend Cadel Evans to spruik its bike cameras
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Bike camera and safety light maker Cycliq has signed up Australia’s only Tour De France winner, Cadel Evans, on a sponsorship deal.
Shareholders responded like they were competing in Le Tour’s time trial — pushing up shares 10 per cent on Monday to 1.8c.
The retired four-time Olympian, who took out Le Tour’s yellow jacket in 2011, will put his name behind Cycliq’s (ASX:CYQ) range of hybrid light and camera products in a series of videos.
“Road safety is an issue that I am passionate about and I am pleased to be working with this innovative Australian company that is making it safer for cyclists on the road,” Mr Evans said.
Cycliq makes dash cams for bicycles — lights with in-built wide-angle cameras to capture accidents or other incidents.
The devices feature battery life long enough to record an entire Tour de France stage in HD.
Chief executive Chris Singleton told Stockhead Mr Evans had approached the company about a sponsorship deal.
“Cadel is a big advocate for safety and our message of safety on board really resonated with him,” Mr Singleton said. “He approached us which was pretty neat.”
They hope to tap into Evans’ thousands of social media followers, as part of a marketing strategy focussed on sponsorship.
Earlier this year, they signed young Aussie cyclist Caleb Ewan as a brand ambassador, a move that Mr Singleton said was already showing benefits in the Korean market.
“We want to align ourselves with people who share our message – we’re more than just about having a bunch of super sportsmen clad in lycra, its more about keeping them safe in what they are doing when they are training and in their day-to-day,” he said.
New ‘connected edition’ products are expected later this month, touted as ‘smaller, lighter, sharper and brighter’ than the previous.
They say the new range will mark the evolution from crowdfunded start-up to producer of consumer electronics.
Cycliq reported $756,000 in sales for the September quarter, and burned $1.2 million — leaving just over $2 million in the kitty.
The camera-maker expected to spend $2.9 million this quarter.
