Project brief: The Bikes Belong Coalition is a national bike-advocacy group that has a goal of putting more people on bikes more often. Our charge was to create a national movement with the clout necessary to influence lawmakers in Washington, DC, to increase funding for better cycling infrastructure. In order for us to reach our goal, we needed to create a brand that appealed to all types of cyclists, both casual and hardcore. By creating a brand that represented cyclists as a whole, we would be able to get the support needed to positively influence future legislation for bike funding and help encourage more people to ride more often.

Currently, cycling is experiencing a resurgence. Whether it’s higher fuel costs, a desire to help curb our carbon footprint or just to live healthier, more people seem to be returning to two wheels for transportation. One of the key challenges we had to overcome with this campaign is the somewhat negative stigma attached to bike movements such as Critical Mass. In order for us to reach our goal of a million names of support, we needed to portray biking as something anyone and everyone should do without alienating our core group of cycling enthusiasts.

Approach: To launch our newly formed brand, we started by targeting the most passionate cyclists: our fellow bike advocates. The People for Bikes brand made its debut at the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC. A month later, we targeted hardcore bike enthusiasts at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California. This annual three-day race attracts 40,000 riders each year and is the unofficial kickoff to the cycling race season. By targeting these two groups, we established a base from which to launch our grassroots movement. Those who signed the pledge were encouraged to get their friends, family and fellow riders to sign as well.

Using our connections within the cycling community, we next targeted independent bike dealers across the country. We developed a simple yet elegant point-of-purchase display designed to build brand awareness while also generating pledges.

In addition to bike shops, the People for Bikes brand made appearances at bike events across the country, such as Ride the Drive in Chicago. We also partnered with cycling-friendly New Belgium Brewery as part of their annual Tour de Fat events in cities across the country.

Our print and banner campaign appeared in bicycling publications and at bike-industry trade shows. The simplicity of the message and highly graphic approach had the stopping power necessary to get people to take notice of our brand and understand the importance of each and every person who signs the pledge.

Effectiveness: Our client at Bikes Belong has received overwhelming support for the People for Bikes initiative. Not only have their bike-industry partners applauded the brand but they’ve also become the brand’s biggest advocates. Since the brand launched last March, our logo has appeared on the homepage of major bicycle manufacturers such as Trek, Cannondale, Specialized and SRAM, to name just a few. Our industry partners have also donated media at events and in cycling publications such as Bicycling magazine, and the People for Bikes logo appeared on the bikes ridden by professional race teams during the 2010 Tour de France.

Love the audience engager. Celebrates the cycling community. Simply surprising and delightful.