Partnering with Team DSM brings the DSM brand to a bigger audience and highlights the difference our nutritional expertise can make on a global stage. So how do we generate maximum impact?
Through this partnership of co-innovation, we share our latest products and advances with Team DSM. In return, we benefit from the riders’ feedback, insights, and data. Together we develop and test nutritional solutions that ultimately improve the health of people across the world. It’s this story of advancing performance through nutrition that we want to get out to the wider world – building international awareness of DSM and strengthening our innovation credentials with customers. We also benefit from showcasing and amplifying the DSM brand through the dynamic and high-profile events and tours of world professional cycling.
From a branding perspective, the centrepiece is undoubtedly the eye-popping, epic imagery – which invariably features the DSM Simplified Logo displayed prominently on the riders’ chests. We already have a wealth of imagery, which can be downloaded from the Team DSM section of the DSM Brand Center.
To maximize return on investment in the partnership and create the right impression of DSM, we need to ensure consistent messaging. Our messaging platform has been written to guide all DSM communications about Team DSM. Please note the platform is designed to address multiple audiences (including investors, customers, potential recruits, and the public), so you’ll need to tailor these messages to your specific audience, while always reinforcing the Theme. It is also intended to support both top-down communication (starting with the Theme: “Performance through nutrition”) and bottom-up storytelling (starting with a Proof Point or Pillar, and building up to the Theme).
Narrative
The narrative tells the story of our partnership with Team DSM. It covers the benefits of the partnership to Team DSM, DSM, DSM’s customers and people across the world. It leads with the Theme and covers all Key messages.
Elite cycling is the ultimate stress test for our nutrition innovations.
With races measured in kilometers but victory won by millimeters, every detail in elite cycling is monitored and managed in the quest to help riders maximize their talent. There’s no space to hide. And with riders pushing themselves to the limits of human performance, elite cycling is the ultimate environment in which to test innovations in nutrition.
We share a commitment to science and data.
DSM and Team DSM are dedicated to evidence-based improvement. Our cyclists and scientists work hand-in-hand to break new ground. Through advanced measurement across all aspects of focus, endurance, resilience, and recovery, we discover new opportunities to enhance performance through nutrition.
Ours is a partnership of co-innovation.
We rely on each other to be the best we can be. Together, we accelerate the innovation cycle for everyone’s benefit. DSM provides Team DSM’s riders with cutting-edge nutrition to help them realise their full potential. While the riders’ feedback, insights, and data enable DSM to see and shape the future of nutrition, developing and testing solutions that go on to improve the health and performance of people across the world.
Pillars
There are four areas in which DSM supports the success of Team DSM and its riders. These pillars provide the organising structure through which we talk about the work of our partnership. The copy, right, shows how we can talk about the work we are doing with Team DSM to enhance performance in each of these key areas.
Why it matters
Reaction time, visual acuity, performance under pressure. Brain health is critical to achieving optimal performance. An extra hour of quality sleep, a reflex response to a crash beside you: having a sharp, focused mind can be the difference.
What we’re doing
DSM are working hand-in-hand with Team DSM to discover new ways to support riders’ focus on the road: from enhancing the quality of vision with FloraGLO® and OPTISHARP®, to improving brain and eye health with life’sTMOMEGA (a plant-based omega-3 supplement, more sustainable than fish oil).
Why it matters
How long can you hold on? That question is at the core of elite cycling. Nutrition is central to the answer – playing a role beyond just fueling the athlete. The right nutrition optimizes the speed and efficiency of nutrient uptake and helps maintain the body’s durability and fitness over time, allowing athletes to function at their peak for longer.
What we’re doing
DSM are using the latest bioscience and advanced data analytics to build personalized nutrition plans through the Mixfit digital platform. Team DSM can plan exactly when, what, and how much each rider should eat throughout their day, so they can continually perform at their peak. Riders are also benefiting from PeptoPro®, a peptide derived from dairy protein that contains all 20 amino acids and supports protein synthesis during exercise.
Why it matters
Riders’ bodies are tuned and pushed to their limits by elite cycling. Protecting athletes from these extreme demands and fighting off illness is mission critical. The right nutrition boosts riders’ immune systems and builds their resilience: from gut health to muscle strength.
What we’re doing
Working like a probiotic, HiMOTM Blend 5, a human identical milk oligosaccharide, enhances gut health and immunity whilst mitigating digestive distress damage. It works as an advanced prebiotic, supporting beneficial gut bacteria and a balanced microbiota. DSM’s Lacto GG® also improves the balance of good bacteria in the microbiome. DSM’s Quali® range of vitamins also supports overall health and immunity – with tailor-made high-quality multivitamin premixes of essential nutrients. Quali®-B and Quali®-C offer optimal doses of vitamins B12 and C to support the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, amongst other functional benefits.
Why it matters
Recovery is fundamental to cycling – not just from the prior day’s dehydration and exertion, but from the injuries and illnesses that are a constant threat to athlete fitness. The right nutrition will increase the speed and efficacy of recovery, boosting performance throughout the year.
What we’re doing
DSM’s nutritional solutions offer Team DSM support across all aspects of recovery. For example, CanolaPRO® protein bars provide the team with an easily digestible plant protein. Rich in cysteine, CanolaPRO® may help protect against future exercise-induced muscle damage. PeptoPro® is a peptide derived from dairy protein that contains all 20 amino acids. Science shows it can ensure a quicker update of protein for muscle repair and decreased Delayed Muscle Onset Soreness. Team DSM also has access to specialist supplements to support recovery, such as our omega-3 rich life’s™OMEGA and Quali®-C (water-soluble Vitamin C that contributes to collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage).
Communicating our partnership to Personal Care & Aroma customers
In some situations the theme of ‘Performance through nutrition’ may not be suitable due to category relevance or regulatory issues. For colleagues communicating with our Personal Care & Aroma customers, the messaging platform should be adapted as shown right. Much of the messaging remains the same, with the main changes being the inclusion of ‘personal care’ alongside mentions of ‘nutrition’, and the introduction of relevant proof points (e.g. Sports in the Sun). The adapted content, shown right, should be used as the basis for introducing our partnership with Team DSM to Personal Care customers only. For any other use-cases where the core theme and messaging may need adapting, please contact Tom Stamsnijder for guidance.
Elite cycling is the ultimate stress test for our innovations.
With races measured in kilometers but victory won by millimeters, every detail in elite cycling is monitored and managed in the quest to help riders maximize their talent. There’s no space to hide. And with riders pushing themselves to the limits of human performance, elite cycling is the ultimate environment in which to test DSM’s innovations in nutrition and personal care.
We share a commitment to science and data.
DSM and Team DSM are dedicated to evidence-based improvement. Our cyclists and scientists work hand-in-hand to break new ground. Through advanced measurement across all aspects of focus, endurance, resilience, and recovery, we discover new opportunities to enhance performance through nutrition and personal care solutions.
Ours is a partnership of co-innovation.
We rely on each other to be the best we can be. Together, we accelerate the innovation cycle for everyone’s benefit. DSM provides Team DSM’s riders with cutting-edge products to help them realise their full potential. While the riders’ feedback, insights, and data enable DSM to see and shape the future of nutrition and personal care, developing and testing solutions that go on to improve the wellbeing and performance of people across the world.
Why it matters
Riders’ bodies are pushed to their limits by elite cycling. Protecting athletes from extreme conditions and fighting off illness is mission critical. The right nutrition and personal care protects their bodies and builds their resilience: from gut health and muscle strength, to protection against the sun
What we’re doing
Sports in the Sun is a uniquely practical sunscreen for professional cyclists. Developed iteratively with Team DSM’s feedback, this sweat-resistant, breathable Parsol® UV filter formulation has become an essential part of riders’ daily safety routine – protecting short- and long- term skin health without compromising on racing performance. Working like a probiotic, HiMOTM Blend 5 (a human identical milk oligosaccharide) enhances gut health and immunity whilst mitigating digestive distress damage. It works as an advanced prebiotic, supporting beneficial gut bacteria and a balanced microbiota. DSM’s Quali® range of vitamins also supports overall health and immunity – with tailor-made high-quality multivitamin premixes of essential nutrients. Quali®-B and Quali®-C offer optimal doses of vitamins B12 and C to support the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, amongst other functional benefits.
To give you an idea of how it works, take a look at these three examples: a company-branded advertisement (1); a multi-product branded advertisement (2); and a companybranded social media post (3).
The brand hierarchy is simple:
Level 1: We promote the DSM brand through epic imagery that puts our Simplified Logo in the spotlight.
Level 2: We promote the Team DSM partnership typographically, via text (Fira Sans typeface, in bold, always on the same line).
Level 3: All this sits within our standard DSM brand identity.
Product-branded communications
The same principles apply here, except of course the product brand (in this case, HiMO™ Blend 5 (4) & CanolaPRO® (5)) is the hero endorsed by DSM.
DSM ‘at the track’
This relationship also presents us with many new opportunities for promoting the DSM brand in the race environment itself (as seen in examples (6), (7) and (8)).
So how do we tell the brand story of this partnership – from both a B2B and B2C perspective? After all, it will give us a whole new level of exposure to the public. Right now, our relationship is still at the starting line, but these examples show some early ideas on where it could take us.
Establishing relevance
In all cases - and especially where we use Team DSM photography – we need to be extremely clear that our message comes from DSM, not Team DSM. Advertising in particular is all about establishing relevance. We therefore need to be smart in linking the value that our products bring to the Team DSM partnership with the benefits they deliver to our B2B and B2C audiences.
B2B versus B2C
Because of the increased focus we will now be placing on our end markets, it’s highly likely that a fully defined B2C branding communications strategy will be developed. Of course, communicating to consumers involves several new nuances (and challenges) – as the examples on the right show.
Just to reiterate, these examples are purely speculative. We appreciate that for any ‘live’ campaigns you will need to produce a thorough brief for your agency based on your objectives, audience and overall approach.
Boilerplate
The text right shows boilerplate language that can be used to provide consistent, factual introduction to the DSM/Team DSM partnership. It is targeted to a broad audience and would be used, for example, at the end of a press release.
Since 2021, Royal DSM, a global purpose-led science-based company, has been the main partner of Team DSM, the professional cycling team. The partnership between DSM and Team DSM is founded on a shared goal: to advance performance through nutrition. With a shared commitment to science, data and innovation, the partnership enables DSM to develop and test new solutions at the limits of human endurance feedback, while Team DSM’s riders receive the latest innovations in nutrition that support focus, endurance, resilience, and recovery. Through our shared commitment to evidence-based nutritional innovation, our collaboration helps deliver new solutions to improve the health and performance of people across the world.
The most important thing to remember is that there are two different brand identities.
Each one has its own brand identity, assets and look & feel.
SMS cycling owns the Keep Challenging strapline and the blue stripes (1)
displayed on a black background, not DSM. (For their complete brand identity see www.teamdsm.com).
DSM of course owns all the brand assets that you’re very familiar with: eg, our simplified logo, color palette, and bright look & feel (as seen on www.dsm.com).
The one and only place they come together is via the Team DSM brand identity.
The DSM Simplified Logo can be added splitting the blue vertical stripes (2). This is applicable for existing cycling clothing and merchandise only (3). The bottom line: because DSM and Team DSM are two separate brands, we need to ensure they work together in harmony.
Creating new nutritional and materials innovations is a major aspect of our Team DSM partnership. Eventually, we may want to explore ingredient branding opportunities (or produce samples and giveaways) that are created as a direct result of the partnership.
Therefore, for activities that are exclusively related to the Team DSM partnership we created. A customized dual-branded label (4).
This is the proof point – the seal of quality – that identifies new nutritional and material-based solutions that emerge from our partnership. Its role is to be displaying on these solutions – thus making what we produce tangible and authentic.
With this in mind, Team DSM doesn’t have a ‘standard’ dual-branded logo like other DSM partnerships (5). The rationale is simple: creating a new logo with the DSM wordmark repeated twice would be extremely confusing for everyone!
Here we see the Team DSM label displayed on the Team DSM website (6) (because it refers directly to them). However, on our DSM website (7), we stick with DSM branding because the content is not directly referring to the partnership.
In all cases, always ensure that in the first instance you consult the Global Trademarks Center of DSM Intellectual Property for advice on how to proceed.
If you want to refer to the Team DSM relationship in more detail, we recommend that you simply use the following partnership descriptor.
Team DSM is a professional cycling team competing at UCI WorldTeam level. At DSM, we’ve applied our science-based innovation – both inside and out – to help these elite athletes reach new performance heights and maximize their potential in one of sport’s most demanding disciplines.
Dynamic applications like a digital noticeboard or virtual reality booth might be used to promote Team DSM on one day, but a different DSM-related topic the next. Here, the physical branding would always remain set as DSM, featuring our Simplified Logo. The Team DSM branding would come via the content itself, or dedicated giveaways (like VR goggles or confectionery).
For merchandising – eg, giveaways and goodie bags that are not directly related to a co-created product – you have two options:
We will not be producing any other co-branded merchandise.
The short answer is no. The only way that customers can refer to Team DSM is via a factual statement. For example: Team DSM uses products containing Fruitflow®.
To reiterate, no other usage is allowed (especially if the customer has no relationship with Team DSM).
