Pendleton originally accepted Betfair’s Switching Saddles challenge 12 months ago. Having sat on a horse for reportedly the first time in February 2015, the former Olympian has trained hard and secured permission to compete in the Foxhunter Chase event later this week.
Reports suggest that Betfair paid Pendleton £200,000 for signing up to the challenge and the betting company has also splashed out on trainers, horses and PR agency Pitch, which came up with the 'Switching Saddles' idea.
As part of PR efforts, Betfair launched an advert charting Pendleton’s journey and has been encouraging fans to use the hashtag #GoodLuckVP throughout the festival.
The #CheltenhamFestival is upon us and here's the story of how @v_pendleton has made it there... #SwitchingSaddleshttps://t.co/DiJeCSkba7
— Betfair (@Betfair) March 13, 2016
So far the #SwitchingSaddles campaign has dominated media coverage. Between 6 March 2015 and 14 March, 733 pieces of coverage were recorded across print, online and broadcast media, Pitch told PRWeek. While the majority of coverage has been positive, there remains a risk that any injury to Pendleton could turn the promotion into a PR disaster.
She's the talk of the town! Another brilliant day of coverage for @Betfair #switchingsaddles #CheltenhamFestival #pr pic.twitter.com/132rHz5ND1
— Pitch (@pitchlondon) March 15, 2016
In contrast, William Hill has played it safer with a tongue-in-cheek approach to promotional activities.
Claiming a world’s first, William Hill commissioned fashion designer Emma Sandham-King to create a custom-made Harris Tweed suit for veteran racehorse Morestead, which it modelled together with champion jockey AP McCoy.
Don't @AP_McCoy & his pal Morestead look dapper in their tweed suits as they get #CheltenhamReady?
— William Hill Betting (@WillHillBet) March 14, 2016
??ONE DAY TO GO??https://t.co/MqyjV0wRSI
The bookmaker has also been promoting the hashtag #Cheltenhamready and its moneyback promotions are being marketed prominently across social media in order to drum up business.
Get #CheltenhamReady with our Money Back 2nd offer - on mobile or desktop. https://t.co/l9EVpyoGgR pic.twitter.com/A7842oZ9or
— William Hill Betting (@WillHillBet) March 15, 2016
