This past April, the Italian component manufacturer, Campagnolo, announced a new campaign: Dream Bigger. This slogan, Dream Bigger, is intended to inspire cyclists to push themselves to achieve and “dream big” with their cycling goals.
In the context of Campagnolo’s products, “Dream Bigger” suggests that the company’s high-end bicycle components can help cyclists achieve their goals and reach their full potential. More to the point, by purchasing Campagnolo’s components, cyclists can build high-performance, dream bikes capable of taking on any challenge, whether it be a competitive race or an epic ride.
However, what Dream Bigger means exactly is not so clear. It may be that Campagnolo just decided that 2022 was the year to strike. After all, with rumors of more than 100 new technology patents in the pipeline, and robust sales, Campagnolo certailnly has the resources to launch something grand. Unfortunately, this has not been so evident. The Campagnolo booth at Eurobike was intriguing from afar with it’s halo of light illuminating a selection of boutique components, but in the end, it fell short of getting us any closer to understanding Dream Bigger.
And Campy’s website page for their Dream Bigger campaign doesn’t reveal much either, except the fact that Campagnolo may be too caught up in past successes, rather than future goals. The webpage starts with a running history that recalls and reminisces about past achievements under the founder, Tulio Campagnolo, but, again, doesn’t reveal much about the “big dream.”
Whether it’s an error in semantics on the part of Campagnolo’s marketing department, or an error in vision by leadership, is anyone’s guess. What does matter is whether Campagnolo is able to accurately see who they are today as a brand. Much of what Campagnolo has achieved since 1933 in the cycling industry has not been about doing things bigger, but doing things better. With Shimano and Sram holding the top two spots in the market as the largest [read: biggest] component manufacturers, it’s hard to imagine another brand, like Campagnolo, doing things bigger.
Dreams can be wonderful things. But as we all know, bigger is not necessarily better. Campagnolo would do well to stick to what they’ve always done well: Dream Better.
