Marketing
Cycling
Handbook
Marketing
Cycling
Handbook
1
Introduction
1.1
1.2
1.3
The challenge – and the opportunity
About this handbook
What is marketing?
1.1 The challenge – and the opportunity
Increasing cycling in the UK is a priority
for everyone. It would mean a huge
improvement in our quality of life – both
personally and collectively. But first we
have to change peoples’ attitudes towards
cycling. Specifically, we have to persuade
many non-cyclists to try, and enjoy, cycling
– then keep on doing it!
1
is to try to increase awareness of an
existing provision which is under-used –
maybe an on- or off-road cycle route, a
programme of organised cycle rides or a
schools-based project. By applying the
techniques suggested in this handbook,
you will start to get a sense of what
works in your area and how best to take
things forward.
1.3 What is marketing?
The National Cycling Strategy (NCS) aims
to increase cycle use by all age groups. Its
immediate objective is to triple the number
of cycle trips by 2010, taking 1996 figures
as a base. This is ambitious – but
achievable. It would simply mean that
cycling in the UK reached the levels
already achieved in other European
countries such as Sweden and Germany.
It’s easy to think of persuasive arguments
in favour of cycling. The challenge is
communicating them effectively to the
people who are most likely to try it for
themselves. That means thinking, and
taking action, at a local level. And this is
where you can make a difference.
1.2 About this handbook
This handbook is designed to help you
plan and implement successful local
cycling marketing campaigns. It explains
how to use basic marketing tools to work
out which groups of people to target and
how to communicate with them. It also
includes examples of good practice which
demonstrate the value of marketing
techniques and show what’s possible.
Marketing is no more than a set of
principles and techniques that can be
applied to almost any objective. It seeks to
understand people as consumers, to know
what interests and motivates them, and to
present them with good, relevant reasons
for doing something.
Above all, marketing encourages you to
be customer-focused. Only then can you
understand the barriers that stop people
from cycling. These may be physical things
– like not having a bike, being unaware of
safe cycle routes, or not having secure
cycle storage. Or they may be more
intangible concerns, like having a poor
image of cycling, or feeling that it’s “just not
for me”.
For example, one cycling initiative aimed
at schoolchildren discovered that many
children were not cycling because their
bikes were in a poor state of repair.
Arranging basic cycling maintenance
classes was an effective way of getting
them cycling again.
Even small-scale projects can make a
difference, so don’t feel you need a major
initiative to get going. A good starting point
1.1 1.2 1.3
2
Deciding on your objectives
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
What do you want to achieve?
Setting objectives
Are your objectives SMART?
Turning objectives into actions
How will you achieve your aims?
2.1 What do you want to achieve?
Being clear about what you want to
achieve is the first stage of a well-thoughtout marketing plan. It helps you focus on
the key issues and make the most of the
resources available.
2.2 Setting objectives
When drafting your marketing action plan,
the first step is to set your objectives – the
ultimate goals of your marketing activity.
Here are some simple tests you can apply
to your marketing objectives to establish
whether they are sensible and workable.
Do your objectives reflect the needs of
consumers?
Your objectives should reflect the needs of
consumers – the groups of people you have
identified who would benefit from cycling
more – as well as the aims of your
organisation and any partner organisations
involved in the project.
First, you will have to define your target
audience. You can find out how to go
about this in section 4.
2
Have you considered how your programme
will be resourced?
In an ideal world your resources would
match your ambitions. In practice, it may
be difficult to find new resources for
marketing. However, you may be able to
put together local partnerships in which
people from different groups – cycling
organisations, council officers, community
representatives, health professionals – work
together to achieve a common goal. These
partnerships may open up new sources of
funding.
2.3 Are your objectives SMART?
To set objectives effectively, write them
down and make sure they’re SMART.
Smart objectives are:
Specific
Make sure that your objectives relate to
specific outcomes, not the actions you take
to achieve them. For example, producing
a promotional leaflet is not an objective,
although it may be an important action
that contributes to achieving your aims
Do your objectives tie in with local or
national policy objectives?
Consider how your objectives contribute
to the achievement of wider regional and
national policy objectives.
Measurable
Can you measure progress, and is there
a system in place to help you do so? It is
easier if you can focus on something
quantifiable – a rate or percentage or
number: for example, the percentage of
children at a local primary school who
cycle to school.
Are your objectives practical?
Focus on realistic, achievable goals; a
record of success will gather its own
momentum and drive further initiatives.
Achievable
In principle, could you achieve your
objective, given a reasonable amount of
effort and application?
2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5
2
Deciding on your objectives
Consider boosting the effect of your marketing activity by gaining
the support of a partner organisation or sponsor. Sustrans has
obtained the support of Halfords in publishing information aimed
at encouraging non-cyclists to try cycling
Relevant
Are your objectives relevant to consumer
needs and motivations?
Time-specific
Is there a clearly stated finish and/or a
start date?
An example of a poorly set objective
would be:
Increase recreational cycling in
Summerstown.
A ‘smart’ version of this might be:
Increase the average daily number of
cyclists using Summerstown’s riverside path
by 15 per cent over the 12 months to
31 July 2005.
2.4 Turning objectives into actions
Here are some examples of objectives
and the actions you might take to
achieve them.
Objective 1
To raise awareness among school children
(in the 9 to 11 age group) about cycle
routes between their school and home.
To achieve this objective you could
approach the head teachers of the relevant
schools and suggest you talk to children in
class about ways they could cycle safely to
school. You could encourage schools to find
out about the school cycling and training
project which will be launched in spring
2005. You could also arrange a guided
cycle to school with parents and helpers.
Objective 2
To encourage weekday shoppers to cycle
rather than drive to the local supermarket.
2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5
You could approach the local supermarket
and discuss how it could encourage people
to cycle – for example, by raising
awareness of secure cycle storage provided
by the store, or offering cyclists a free coffee
or tea in the store café. You also could
persuade the local bike shop to stock a
large-capacity, removable shopping bag.
Objective 3
To encourage a local women’s group to
cycle a different route each month during
the summer months as part of its planned
activities.
You could build a relationship with the
women’s group by attending/speaking at
meetings, offering support in planning
routes, finding volunteers to guide initial
rides and providing information on safe,
enjoyable cycling.
2.5 How will you achieve your aims?
Once you have established what you want
to achieve, you must work out how to do it.
Remember, your marketing action plan
must meet the needs of a specified group of
people or ‘market segment’ (see section 4),
and the partner or sponsoring organisation
if there is one.
Your action plan should address the
following areas:
What do people want or need?
As different people expect different things,
you must decide who your target groups
are and identify their needs and wants.
Section 4 provides more details on
segmentation and targeting.
2
Deciding on your objectives
How can you create a positive experience?
What benefits does the target group
expect? How can you ensure its experience
is a positive one? See Section 5.
How will you communicate the benefits
to people?
What messages do you want to
communicate? What are the most efficient
and cost-effective promotional tools for
reaching your target audience? For more
information, turn to Section 5.
Have you done what you set out to do?
When drafting your plan, it is important to
think about monitoring and evaluation, so
you can learn from your experiences and
do even better next time. You will only be
able to do this if you can measure progress.
See Section 8.
2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5
3
Finding the information you need
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
Facing facts
Gathering information
Primary research sources
Secondary research sources
Making best use of your information
3.1 Facing facts
Understanding people and their behaviour
is the starting point for any marketing
programme.
Whether you are looking to develop a new
cycle route or to promote regular cycling
to inactive people, you need to understand
your ‘customer’. Being a cycling expert or
enthusiast does not necessarily make you
very good at this! You need reliable
information.
3
exercise in which representatives of local
groups expressed their views about a
specific cycling issue
_ Responses from a ‘focus group’ meeting in
which a group of invited attendees
discussed a series of pre-set questions
Secondary research refers to information
gathered by others. The obvious advantage
is that someone has done the work for you!
However, this information may be more
general, less up to date and less directly
relevant to local circumstances than
information you gather yourself.
3.2 Gathering information
Before starting to gather information, be
clear about what information you need
and how you will use it. Put your preconceptions aside and try to be openminded. Using information effectively
means being prepared to change your
mind about things.
Information falls into two categories.
Original information that you generate
yourself is known as primary research. The
advantage of primary research is that it can
be highly specific to local circumstances.
The drawback is that it can be expensive
and demand significant time and resources
to obtain. If you look hard, you will often
find that the information you’re looking for is
available in secondary research sources.
There are many types of primary research.
This category would include:
There are many types of secondary
research, including:
_ Census information
_ Academic research
_ Articles in transport magazines
_ Department of Transport surveys and
reports
_ Material gathered by organisations like the
National Cycling Strategy Board, the CTC
or British Cycling
If the information you need is difficult to
find or your needs are complex, you may
need to seek the assistance of a specialist
before trying to gather data.
Here’s a quick rundown on some of the
main forms of information gathering.
3.3 Primary research sources
_ The results of a questionnaire designed to
find out local employers’ views on cycling
_ Data on the number of cyclists passing a
certain point on a cycle route
_ The results of a community consultation
Observation
One easy way to monitor how many
people are cycling is to count them! You
can also obtain information informally
when cycling yourself. Make sure your own
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5
3
Finding the information you need
Researchers travelled around the UK checking cycle storage facilities
at railway stations. They looked closely at how cyclists were choosing
to secure their bikes. Large numbers of cycles locked to railings or
other structures suggested that bike racks were in the wrong place
experience is typical, though.
This type of market research is called
observation. Observational research is
gathering data by watching people, their
actions and activities. You can observe
cycling facilities to see if they are well-used,
or watch parents arrive at school with their
children to get a broad picture of how
many walk or cycle.
Observation is an inexpensive and useful
way to gather initial information. Taking
photographs over a period of time can also
capture information for future reference.
Open-ended research
People are often reluctant to express views
that they fear may give offence. So if
someone knows you are trying to promote
cycling, they may subconsciously try to
please you by appearing more positive
about it than they really are.
Sometimes it makes sense to ask people
about their views without being too specific
about what it’s for. For example, if you are
trying to find out what schoolchildren really
think about cycling, it may be better not to
tell them that you are actively trying to
promote it!
Community consultation
A way of enabling a wide cross-section of
local people to share their experiences and
views. This is useful both when you are
gathering information and when you are
actually planning or promoting a particular
course of action.
Community consultation can reveal things
which you might not discover any other
way. For example, you might find that
people did not use a particular cycle route
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5
“The process of community
consultation can reveal
things that you might not
discover any other way”
because of worries over safety. The key to
increasing use would not be promoting the
route, but working out what would make it
safer – for example, improving the lighting.
An advantage of community consultation
is that it enables you to reach beyond
people who are already committed to
cycling. Community consultation can be
organised in the form of workshop sessions
or drop-ins. It’s better to go to where people
are – clubs, workplaces, schools, libraries –
rather than expect them to come to you.
Another form of community consultation is
aimed at discovering the views of specific
interest groups – for example, local cycling
clubs, environmental groups, health
professionals and so on. This can be a very
efficient way of tapping into local expertise
and building wider support for your
promotional strategy.
In-depth interviews
You can gather a lot of useful information
by conducting one-to-one interviews. They
are a good way to explore people’s views in
depth or get reactions to publicity material
or projected events.
Ask the interviewee’s permission and try to
choose somewhere fairly quiet. It is a good
idea to record your conversation if you can;
that way, you don’t miss any points they
make and you don’t have to scribble notes.
3
Finding the information you need
A Leicestershire school had few pupils cycling to school and poor
security and storage facilities. A teacher organised a school
conference on cycling. Pupils were given disposable cameras to take
pictures of the problems they encountered trying to bike to school.
This stimulated interest to the point at which the school was able to
mount a successful funding bid. Pupils were involved in how the
funds were spent, selecting a package of measures including a new
bike store with lockers. 50 pupils and 5 staff now cycle to school
Focus groups
Similar to in-depth interviews in that they
are fairly informal in nature, focus groups
typically involve talking to between six
and eight people at one time.
Focus groups are usually a small sample
of typical users or consumers under the
direction of a group leader who guides the
discussion. Like one-to-one interviews, they
are a useful way of exploring issues in
some detail or testing reactions to ideas.
They are best done with the assistance of
a professional market researcher.
Focus groups generally last a couple of
hours, and you need somewhere quiet to
hold them. You may need to offer travelling
expenses and provide refreshments.
Questionnaires
In-depth interviews and focus groups help
you to identify the key issues. They can
be used on their own, but are often used
before drawing up a more detailed
questionnaire to use with a much larger
group of people.
Questionnaires are more structured than
other primary research methods described
above, typically containing questions that
require respondents to select from a predetermined list of specific answers. This is
useful because it allows you to quantify
responses (eg “72 per cent of respondents
said they would cycle into town if they
were allowed to use the canal towpath”).
Questionnaire design is a specialist area
and you will need the input of someone
experienced in this field.
A good questionnaire is easy and quick to
understand, relevant to the respondents,
simple to answer and straightforward to
analyse – and will generate relevant, fair
and reliable data.
Pilot testing a questionnaire
It’s useful to pilot test your questionnaire
before “going live”. This means trying it out
on a small sample of people first. This will
reveal whether the questions are understood
and meaningful. Much better to find out in
advance if you’ve not got it quite right.
Sampling and reliability
Your questionnaire results and conclusions
must stand up to close scrutiny because
you’re going to base decisions on the
findings. One issue is whether your survey
sample is a fair representation of the wider
population whose views the findings are
used to represent.
If you plan to put together your own survey
or questionnaire, you could start by taking
a look at existing examples. For surveys
on children’s use of bikes, look at
www.saferoutestoschools.org.uk
www.schoolzone.co.uk
www.eco-schools.org.uk
www.youngtransnet.org.uk
3.4 Secondary research sources
Whether or not you decide to conduct
primary research, you may want to
consider what secondary research
(research already undertaken and
published by others) is available. The
vast range of potential sources includes:
Government statistics on population, health,
leisure and transport information, available
either in printed form or online. Local
authorities in particular are likely to be aware
of existing research on the local population.
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5
3
Finding the information you need
A school in Eastleigh set itself the objective of increasing the number
of pupils walking or cycling to school over five years. They devised a
questionnaire and sent it to 600 pupils and parents. The results
indicated that bike storage facilities were inadequate and insecure,
and cycleways poorly lit. As a result of the survey, the local authority
has provided funds to address these issues
Statistics compiled by organisations and
public bodies. Cycling and transport
organisations such as the Cyclist’s Touring
Club (CTC), British Cycling and many
others publish a wealth of cycling-relevant
facts and information online and in print.
Area tourist board statistics and information
on leisure and recreation trends.
Newspapers and magazines (particularly
specialist publications). They often have
useful background information or facts
about local issues.
The internet Search engines like Google are
a good place to look for information on
themes in your research, although you
need to look carefully at sources. Not all
information you find online is reliable.
3.5 Making best use of your information
As well as making use of research findings
yourself, you may want to share them with
others – the people who participated in
your research project, for example.
Sometimes research results are newsworthy
and can be used to get wider publicity for
your programme. For example, a local
newspaper might be interested in a news
item about the number of local children
who would cycle to school if they were
encouraged to do so. Publicity would be a
good way of preparing the ground for the
measures you plan to implement.
Research findings are not always what you
anticipate. Be prepared to adapt your plans
accordingly. Being responsive and flexible
will make your marketing plan stronger in
the long run.
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5
“If research findings are not
what you expect, you must
be prepared to adapt your
plans accordingly”
Toolkit 1
Getting
specialist help
You may find your project requires
specialist, professional input in certain
areas. For instance:
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
Market research
Marketing planning
Creative design
Brand identity design
Copywriting
Web design
Media buying
Photography
Whether or not you use any of these
services on a commercial basis will
depend on:
_ Your objectives
_ The scale of your project
_ The time and financial resources
available
_ Your own skills and experience, and
those of members of your team or project
partners
_ Project deadlines
_ Project requirements
Golden rules
Dealing with specialist suppliers for the first
time can be daunting. If you decide that
outside help is needed, follow these golden
rules.
_ Ask your network of contacts (or the
major cycling organisations) to
recommend suppliers they’ve used
and been satisfied with. Or find the
appropriate professional body (eg The
Market Research Society, The Chartered
Institute of Marketing) and ask for their list
of approved members.
_ Suppliers should be experts in their
particular field, and should also have
(or be prepared to develop) an
understanding of and sympathy for
cycling.
_ Generally speaking, you get what you
pay for. Establish a clear budget and find
the supplier who will deliver best value
for that sum. Don’t necessarily go for the
cheapest option.
_ Meet two to three different suppliers to
compare their strengths and weaknesses
– even if you feel comfortable with the
first one you see.
_ When you find a potential supplier,
ensure that the people you meet are the
people you would be working with once
any contract is agreed.
_ Ask potential suppliers to provide client
references. Most will be prepared to put
you in touch with previous customers.
_ Be clear about deadlines. Ask the supplier
to provide a project schedule, with clearly
assigned responsibilities.
_ Provide a written brief and agree it with
your supplier. This should specify
objectives, the services to be provided,
quality criteria, timings and budget
parameters.
_ Hold regular progress meetings to ensure
the project runs smoothly.
If you establish clear lines of
communication with your supplier you
should enjoy a productive working
relationship, get the results you need –
and learn a lot in the process!
4
Identifying and understanding your audience
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
Making resources work harder
Segmenting your audience
Targeting – setting priorities
Ideas for segmentation
Evaluating market segments
Forms of segmented marketing
4
4.1 Making resources work harder
4.3 Targeting – setting priorities
In an ideal world you would tailor your
marketing effort to the specific needs of
each and every potential cyclist. In the real
world this is clearly not possible. You need
to identify and focus on the groups of
people your research suggests will be most
receptive to pro-cycling messages.
Once you have applied your criteria for
segmenting the population, you will have
a series of defined sub-groups, each with
certain shared characteristics. The next
stage is to decide which sub-groups offer
the most potential, and then concentrate
your resources on meeting their needs. This
process is called targeting.
There are two processes involved in
targeting your audience: segmentation and
targeting. This section explains more about
these concepts and how you can make use
of them in your work at local level.
4.2 Segmenting your audience
The process of dividing consumers with
similar needs or wants into smaller subgroups is known as segmentation. This
recognises that different people have
different needs and motivations.
Rather than treating consumers as a single
entity, it is far more effective to tailor your
message to meet the needs of key subgroups. By doing this, you maximise the
impact and relevance of your marketing
message, giving yourself the best possible
opportunity of achieving your objectives.
Sometimes your target audiences have
been determined by the wider objectives of
your organisation or partners. For example,
if you are working with health professionals
your audience may be people who are
physically inactive or overweight or who
have suffered from a health condition.
In other cases there is no pre-determined
target group, and it is up to you to study
each of your possible target audiences in
turn and work out which are likely to be
the most receptive.
For example, if your general objective is to
promote cycling to school, you may choose
to focus your efforts on children in years 5
and 6, because they are old enough to be
allowed to cycle to school on their own.
4.4 Ideas for segmentation
You need to think carefully about the
criteria you use to segment your audience,
as this will make a big difference to the
outcome of your project.
You could create groups based on age,
gender or the area in which people live or
work. Or you could focus on behavioural
factors such as what types of activities
people participate in, whether they already
have a bike or what their attitudes are
towards transport and recreational issues.
There are numerous ways in which people
can be classified into segments. They
include: age; socio-economic group; family
lifecycle stage; geography/location; a
combination of demographic and
geographical factors; and behaviour.
There is no single best way to segment your
market. It depends on your objectives, the
resources you have available, and the
context in which you are operating.
4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6
4
Identifying and understanding your audience
Cycling isn’t just for youngsters. “Pedal Back the Years” is a project in
Cornwall that is directed specifically at encouraging older people to
take up cycling. Health visitors and community workers can refer
people for cycle rides on existing trails or between villages
Age
For example, you may wish to focus on
school children, particularly those in the
later stages of primary school. Or you could
target the active retired, or people in their
twenties who used to cycle but have lost
the habit.
Socio-economic groupings
Social and occupational factors are very
closely related in the UK. The concept of
social class can be a contentious issue.
However, it is widely used in marketing
and social research and can be useful if
you are considering newspaper
advertising, for example. The most
commonly used classification is:
A
Upper middle class
High managerial, administrative,
professional
B
Middle class
Intermediate managerial,
administrative or professional
C1
Lower middle class
Supervisory, clerical , junior
managerial
C2
Skilled working class
Skilled manual workers
D
Working class
Semi-skilled or unskilled workers
E
Older people, casual workers and
others on very low income
Family lifecycle
This approach categorises people according
to their family situation.
A family lifecycle approach may be
4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6
suggested by the facilities available in your
area. For example, there may be a cycle
route that is particularly suited to families
with small children, well away from main
roads and passing a playground.
Or if there are scenic routes to enjoy, you
may wish to target members of bodies like
the National Trust or English Heritage.
Geography
A simple way to segment the population is
according to geography/location. This may
be useful if you are encouraging people to
bike to work, for example. It may mean
targeting those who live or work within a
certain distance of a cycle route, or who
work in a certain location. To do this you
will need some basic information about
travel patterns.
Demography
Demography is the study of human
population in terms of size, population
density, location, age, sex, occupation,
education, religion, health profile, race
and nationality.
You probably already know a lot intuitively
about the demography of your local area.
For example, it may be clear that a lot of
people living on a particular housing estate
work in the local retail park and could be
encouraged to bike to work. Or you may
have spotted that a particular area has a
high proportion of families with small
children who would enjoy cycling together
at weekends.
You can combine demographic and
geographic factors to get a more detailed
picture of potential to cycle – for example,
people who live within two miles of the
town centre.
4
Identifying and understanding your audience
Girls are less likely than boys to cycle to school. Within the Safe
Routes to School programme, Sustrans is making targeted efforts to
encourage them. Headlines like “Girls don’t cycle, do they?”
challenge girls to give their views and say what stops them cycling
“If you know broadly what
motivates people, you can
design projects to inspire
and encourage them”
Behavioural factors
People cycle for different reasons. Leisure
cyclists may go cycling to discover a new
area or enjoy a view. Teenagers may bike
to meet friends. Others may cycle to get to
work or stay fit. If you know broadly what
motivates people, you can design projects
that encourage them to cycle more.
4.5 Evaluating market segments
There are a few simple questions you can
apply to evaluate whether each market
segment would make a viable target group
or not. Your shortlist of potential target
segment(s) should pass the following tests:
Is the segment distinct?
Have you identified groups of people who
are similar to each other, yet sufficiently
different from the rest of the population?
You should be able to describe your target
segment in a few words: for example,
families living within one mile of the local
primary school.
Is the segment large enough?
Will targeting this segment be an efficient
use of your resources? Can you justify the
cost of a marketing campaign aimed at
only a small number of people?
Can you reach the segment?
You need to be able to communicate with
the target segment using appropriate
promotional tools. (Read more about this in
Section 7.) Make sure that the target
segment can be reached using the
promotional methods which are within your
budget.
Is the segment relevant?
How does marketing to the segment help
fulfil the goals of your organisation? Does it
give you a clearer picture of how to design
or adapt cycling provision?
If the answer to any of these questions is
no, look again at your chosen segment(s)!
4.6 Forms of segmented marketing
When you have divided the target
population into meaningful subgroups,
you need to decide which segments you
will concentrate on. There are three broad
approaches for you to consider:
_ Mass marketing
_ Differentiated marketing
_ Niche marketing
Mass marketing
Having conducted your segmentation
exercise you may find that everyone
wants more or less the same things. Mass
marketing is where you recognise that
market segment differences are minimal,
and decide to go after the whole market
at the same time. (For example: everyone
living in Summerstown.) You have
identified a common need.
Differentiated marketing
Research may have revealed a number of
very distinct segments, each with very
different needs. Differentiated marketing is
where an organisation decides to target
several market segments and designs
separate opportunities and promotional
4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6
4
Identifying and understanding your audience
campaigns for each. (For example: families
with teenage children living in the north of
Summerstown; people working in the retail
park to the west of the by-pass.)
Larger local authorities may be able to
develop or adapt different cycling
opportunities to meet the needs of different
user groups eg recreational routes,
commuter routes, safe routes to schools,
and so on. A promotional campaign can
be designed specifically to meet the needs
of each of these target segments.
The same facilities can meet a range of
different needs. So long as the different
uses are compatible with each other, you
can promote the provision to a range of
market segments.
Niche marketing
Niche marketing is when an organisation
aims to identify and serve the needs of a
single target group.
While your provision may be generally
available for everyone, you may wish to
organise special activities to encourage
greater use by one specific group of people.
(For example: pupils in years 4, 5 and 6
at Summerstown Primary School, plus
teachers, parents and carers.)
Niche marketing allows you to tailor
provision to highly specific needs, leading
to higher levels of satisfaction among
your target group.
4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6
Toolkit 2
Thinking about
segmentation
Not all groups are equally receptive to procycling messages.
In 2001, researchers at the Transport
Research Laboratory* looked at people’s
attitudes to cycling. They found that most
people fell into one or other of nine groups.
Their findings are a useful starting point for
thinking about segmentation.
The nine groups (with the percentage of
the population they represent) are:
_ committed cyclists (7 per cent)
Cycle about four times a week; few
opportunities to increase this
_ regular cyclists (8 per cent)
Mostly male; scope to increase their
cycling for both recreational and
everyday journeys
_ occasional cyclists (15 per cent)
Most own bikes but use them only once
every couple of weeks. Very receptive to
promotional messages
_ toe-dippers (5 per cent)
Most own a bicycle but cycle only
occasionally. More likely to cycle for
leisure than everyday journeys. Cycling
promotion needs to convince them of
the benefits of cycling
_ the unconvinced (27 per cent)
Two-thirds are women; very few own
a bike. Promotion needs to focus on
increasing cycle ownership, although
not all are receptive
_ the unthinking (18 per cent)
About half own a bike, but use it rarely.
Generally pro-cycling in their attitudes.
Need to focus on promoting cycle
ownership, and then on leisure rather
than everyday trips
_ the no-needers (12 per cent)
Predominantly female and over 44;
don’t own a bike, or think they need
one. Difficult to persuade
_ the self-conscious (6 per cent)
Almost all women, half under 26; most
own a bike and cycle occasionally.
Not likely to cycle more unless their
circumstances change
_ the lads (3 per cent)
Predominantly young (under 26) and
male. Do not own a bike and no plans
to get one, though not actively hostile
to cycling.
* Transport Research Laboratory report 481,
A quantitative study of the attitudes of individuals
to cycling (2001) by D Davies, S Gray, G Gardner
and G Harland.
5
Winning people over
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
Plan for the long term
Developing the experience
Barriers to cycling
Thinking about promotion
Adapting your message to your audience
Making it memorable
Brand identity
Managing expectations
5
5.1 Plan for the long term
experiences as well.
If you were to launch a new cycling
initiative in your area and get a terrific
response on launch day, that would be
immensely encouraging – but it would
not necessarily indicate longer term
satisfaction and success.
The only real way of testing whether
you’ve got it right is to keep talking to
people and asking them their views.
Research should be an on-going process,
not something you do just once.
Since effective marketing is about
genuinely meeting people’s needs, the true
test of success is whether one-off cycling
experiences can be developed into regular,
sustainable patterns of behaviour.
5.2 Developing the experience
Try putting yourself in other people’s shoes
and looking at cycling from their point of
view. This may lead you to focus on the
benefits of using a traffic-free cycle route,
for instance, rather than the route itself.
(“Get to your local shopping centre in less
than ten minutes…”). See Section 7 for more
on benefits.
People are typically less interested in the
physical features of a route and more in the
benefits it offers – attractive views, secure
family cycling or a route past the pub.
Initiatives to raise awareness of a new or
existing provision can be a source of
positive satisfaction in themselves – for
example, a well signposted cycle route
leading to a famous beauty spot.
5.3 Barriers to cycling
Your research may reveal that although
some of the things that influence people
are outside your control, you can affect the
way people perceive them. For example,
there is little you can do about the weather
(although if you think people’s perceptions
of the weather are inaccurate, it may be
worth correcting them). But you can
emphasise that not even the most
committed cyclists cycle everyday, come
rain or shine. Sticking to dry weather is fine!
Sometimes you will need to work in
partnership with other agencies or
organisations to address aspects of the
wider experience. For example, you could
approach public transport operators to
discuss producing joint promotional
material – incorporating cycling
information in timetables, for instance – or
work with local bike shops on initiatives
involving local schools.
5.4 Thinking about promotion
It’s good practice to think about promotion
early on. Considering how you will “sell”
your new project or provision is a good
discipline; it helps you make sure you’ve
tailored the offer to your target audience
and are clear about the projected benefits.
Think about the barriers that prevent
people from cycling. When you’ve
identified a negative factor, think of
things you could do to counter it. Think
of things you could do to reinforce positive
5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8
5
Winning people over
Even when we like the idea of doing something, sometimes it takes a
reward to get us to take the plunge. As part of Bike Week in
Yorkshire, IKEA has offered free meals to customers arriving on bikes
Think about the main purpose of your cycle
route, event, activity or other provision.
_ Does it fulfil that purpose in its current
form?
_ Who will make use of it?
_ What are the potential barriers that may
stop people using the provision?
_ How will you enhance people’s
experiences, or change their behaviour?
_ How will people know about it?
_ What information do they need to make
informed choices?
People involved in cycling promotions often
work in partnership with other organisations
– the local tourist board, transport operators,
bike businesses, cafes, shops and
community groups. You will be in a
stronger position to get their support and
help if you have answers to these questions.
5.5 Adapting your message to your
audience
Cycling offers a wide range of personal
benefits, but you will not achieve the best
results by promoting the full range to
everyone. Rather, think about the market
segments you are targeting. Consider
which messages will appeal most to
different segments, and make sure the
benefits you offer are relevant.
Here are a few examples of potential target
segments and how you might target
different benefit messages to each.
Commuters
Cycling to work saves time and/or money
and keeps you fit too
5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8
School children
Cycling is fun and makes you feel free and
independent
Leisure cyclists
Cycling is a relaxing and enjoyable way to
see the local area
Adults
Cycling is fun, perks you up and improves
health, well-being and body shape
5.6 Making it memorable
Given the sheer volume of information we
try to make sense of every day, we develop
associations to help us recall information.
You are competing with a broad range of
attractions and activities for the user’s time,
so you need to consider how you can make
cycling more tempting and attractive than
other forms of transport for particular
journeys. You need to establish positive
associations in people’s minds.
For people to recall your project or
initiative, it needs to be:
Consistent
Positive associations are built up over a
long period of time
Relevant
Something that really matters to your
target consumers
Distinctive
Something that makes your offer stand out
in people’s minds
Easily communicated
Represented by an idea or image that is
easy to put across
5
Winning people over
The cost of buying a bike can be a barrier to people wanting to try
cycling. North Yorkshire County Council tackled this issue head on
with a pertinent message: “For the cost of one month’s petrol, you’d
never have to fill up again!”
“You must provide honest,
accurate and up-to-date
information about cycling
opportunities”
One way of making a cycling initiative
more memorable and compelling is to give
it a brand identity of its own.
An American idea catching on in UK
schools is WOW (Wheels on Wednesdays),
encouraging pupils to cycle to school at
least one day a week. You could create
even more of an event (and a great
photo opportunity) by supporting WOW
participants with pom-pom wielding
cheerleaders!
5.7 Creating a brand identity
Branding can be a useful way of making
cycling promotions more memorable and
effective. A brand identity is a name, term,
sign, symbol or design (or combination of
these) used to identify your organisation or
the facilities, events and activities it
provides, and to distinguish it from others.
Brand identity should express the key
features of your organisation or product:
Key aspects: personality, ambitions, way of
communicating with people
Benefits: such as health, convenience,
relaxation, low cost, views, etc
Values of your organisation: such as
serving the community
person would it be?” This can be a helpful
way of working out a consistent brand
personality and making sure it is presented
effectively in different media.
You may need to choose a brand name. If
so, make sure it is:
Easy to pronounce, recognise and
remember Short names are best. Build up
brand recognition by using the brand
name or logo on all your promotional tools.
Distinctive Your name should be
memorable, different from others and
instantly recognised
5.8 Managing expectations
It is important to manage the expectations
of your target audience. To do this you
must provide honest, accurate and up-todate information about cycling
opportunities. Under-selling your provision
will reduce response. Over-selling it –
making promises you can’t keep – will
simply lead to disappointment.
The degree to which users are satisfied with
a service depends upon their actual
experience of what’s provided, measured
against their expectations. A satisfied user
of a cycle route will want to cycle again –
and she/he may tell friends and
acquaintances about it too. Word of mouth
is the most powerful form of promotion.
Remember, even the best promotion in the
world will find it hard to sell a bad product
twice. The image and information you
present has got to match the reality of the
experience.
Brand researchers often start by asking,
“If this brand was a person, what kind of
5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8
Toolkit 3
Making use of
good design
Why design matters
Good design is more than just windowdressing; it adds real value to your
message. This is because well-designed
communications are much more likely to
be noticed and remembered.
Words and pictures should work together
to make a compelling whole. If you
develop a strong style and stick to it, you
have developed your own local cycling
“brand” – a distinctive approach that
people recognise instantly.
Getting people’s attention
_ People respond instantly to leaflets and
posters – you only have a second to catch
their attention.
_ If they think there is something interesting
on the page they will scan it more slowly
_ Then they’ll read on – if they think it is
relevant to them
If you are closely connected with a
project, it is sometimes difficult to look at
promotional material with a fresh eye.
Try your ideas out on someone who isn’t
too involved – and ask them to be honest.
If something doesn’t have the required
impact, you need to know before spending
money on printing and distribution.
Effective design
Some basic rules apply to posters, leaflets
and other promotional material.
Most people like simple layouts with plenty
of white space. They are put off by too
much text and find clean, unfussy
typefaces easier to read.
Briefing a designer
Professionally-designed material is almost
always more effective, so using a
professional graphic designer for things
like posters and leaflets may be money
well spent.
If you use external design consultants it is
important to provide a clear brief. Tell the
designer as much as you can about the
background and purpose of the
promotional material he or she will be
working on:
_ Your target audience, in as much detail
as you can (eg young people in their
teens and twenties who are interested in
fitness and watching their weight)
_ Your key messages (cycling is a
convenient, everyday way to keep fit)
_ What you are trying to get people to do
(cycle somewhere local at least once a
week)
_ How you want them to feel (interested,
inspired, energised)
_ What you want to achieve (an increase
of 10 per cent in the use of a local cycle
route to the town centre)
Try to create a positive and constructive
relationship with the designers you work
with. It will help if they understand and
sympathise with your aims and objectives,
so make sure they know exactly what
you’re trying to do and why it’s important.
6
Making it happen
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
Preparing your marketing action plan
Planning partnerships
Your implementation framework
Tips for making it happen
6
6.1 Preparing your marketing action plan
6.2 Planning partnerships
A systematic approach to marketing
involves a number of different stages and
tasks. Drafting a marketing action plan is
the best way to ensure that your overall
approach is coherent and thought-out. It
will help you win support and backing,
and maintain the project’s direction as
time goes on.
Marketing cycling is a big challenge,
best tackled in partnership with others.
It’s helpful to engage people at an early
stage in planning, market research, or
promotional activity. Shared ownership
can mean increased resources and
commitment.
Many aspects of marketing planning which
you will need to include have already
been covered in this handbook, and you
may already have had a go at them.
1 Set SMART objectives
2 Gather research
3 Segment your audience
4 Establish target segments
5 Tailor the idea to meet the needs of your
target market
6 Develop targeted messages and possibly
a brand identity
You will also need to:
7 Design a detailed
communications/promotional
programme
8 Build in ways of monitoring and
evaluating the success of the project
Establishing a steering group or working
party is a popular way of harnessing the
knowledge and contacts of project partners.
Once your marketing action plan is drafted,
it’s a good idea to gain feedback from
colleagues, as well as from representatives
of a range of other interested parties. These
might include tourist officers, education
providers, community leaders, health
professionals, local cycling shops, other
businesses and user groups.
It may be too early to produce detailed
costings, but an initial idea of cost is
needed for planning purposes. It can be
useful to get a rough idea of the cost of
your planned activities by talking to
suppliers and agencies. Make any
necessary amendments to your plan
before you start work on the details.
6.3 Your implementation framework
To implement your plan, you need to:
See sections 7 and 8 for more on
communications and evaluation.
Your marketing action plan will catalogue
and summarise your methodology, findings
and progress. As you put the action plan
together, refer regularly to your objectives
and make sure that your project meets the
needs of target users and any partners or
sponsoring organisations.
Get the necessary approvals
If someone’s approval is needed it is a good
idea to involve them early on, at the
planning stage, so they feel a sense of
shared ownership of the plan.
6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4
6
Making it happen
Decide on the steps leading to
implementation
What do you need to do to make your plan
a reality? Decide on the sequence of events
and activities leading up to your end date.
Using timelines or project planning charts
may help.
You may be juggling cycling promotion
with other responsibilities. Be realistic, and
don’t make commitments you can’t keep.
Assign responsibility for actions
Decide who will be responsible for ensuring
that each stage in the action plan is
completed.
Set up a working group
This may mean putting together a working
group, working with an existing group,
recruiting outside help, or giving parts of
the job to other staff or volunteers.
Set deadlines
Set your target deadlines, then work back
from the launch date to decide the timing
of the tasks leading up to it. Before you set
your deadlines, establish your priorities.
Some elements of your campaign may be
less time-critical than others.
Market testing
Whatever promotional tools you choose,
remember to test them before going into full
production. You need to know if they will
work and will achieve the desired effect.
Build in evaluation
Think through how you will check progress,
put in place monitoring arrangements and
plan corrective action.
6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4
“Decide who shares
ownership of the plan,
and who is responsible
for making decisions”
Confirm budgets
Many of the steps in your plan have
associated costs. Ensure those responsible
for each step know the budget limits.
6.4 Tips for making it happen
Agree
Decide who shares ownership of the project,
and who has the responsibility and
authority to make decisions. Sometimes
group consensus is necessary and reaching
this may take time. Identify and agree at
the outset who will decide what.
Involve and inform
Keep people involved and update them
regularly. This helps build support for the
programme and often stimulates helpful
ideas and connections with other events
and activities.
Co-ordinate
If more than one person is implementing
the plan, make sure that everyone is kept
“in the loop”. It is helpful if one person acts
as overall co-ordinator.
Check
Monitor the progress of the plan at regular
intervals and be prepared to revise it if
things change.
Toolkit 4
Preparing your
marketing
action plan
This shows how you could set out your
marketing action plan.
List your objectives and how they will be
measured
_ Objectives
To encourage people to cycle rather than
drive to the local supermarket
and do top-up shopping without having
to sit in traffic jams for half an hour
Provide details of your promotional
programme
The message we want to promote is:
“The smart way to shop”
Promotional tools
_ Evaluation
Number of people using secure cycle
storage adjacent to the supermarket,
measured over an average week
Identify your target group and the benefits
it might expect
_ Target group
Week-day shoppers using two
supermarkets in and around the
Summerstown area
_ Benefits
A simple way to get fit, do top-up
shopping through the week and avoid
traffic jams around Summerstown
ring road
Explain what is needed to meet the needs
of your target group
_ Required
Secure, all-weather cycle storage
Suitable cycle bags or panniers for
individuals to carry shopping in
A motivating promotional offer
Awareness of dedicated cycle route
across ring road and into the store
Explain your positioning strategy
_ A great way to get fit, get some fresh air
_ leaflets distributed outside store and
door-to-door
_ in-store posters
_ editorial coverage in local paper
_ promotional offer
Implementation
_ Approach supermarket manager to
allow distribution of leaflets instore.
Responsibility: cycling co-ordinator.
Deadline: by June 1. Budget: travel
expenses and preparation of briefing
paper=£10
_ Arrange promotional offer on panniers
and shopping bags at local cycle shop.
Responsibility: chair of local cycle group.
Deadline: by June 14 Budget: n/a
_ Discuss promotional offer with store –
eg half-price tea or coffee in store café
for anyone who cycles. Responsibility:
cycling co-ordinator. Deadline: by June 1.
Budget: n/a
_ Leaflets and poster for in-store noticeboard
and community noticeboard. Responsibility:
cycling co-ordinator and volunteers.
Deadline: by June 8. Budget: graphic
design, £350; paper and print £100.
7
Communicating the message
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
Promoting benefits not features
How we make decisions
Planning effective promotions
Promotional techniques
Successful campaigns
7
7.0 Communicating the message
7.1 Promoting benefits, not features
Communicating effectively is an important
aspect of any marketing or promotional
campaign.
Our lives are full of choices. Understanding
how people make decisions, and what
motivates them, can help you to develop
more effective promotional programmes.
This section focuses on techniques for
communicating with your target audience
and suggests some things you can do to
make the most of your opportunities.
Looking at things from the user’s point of
view can help you understand what
messages will be relevant and motivating.
Most people recognise the benefits of
cycling – they just choose not to do it.
There could be all kinds of reasons for this.
For example, your market research might
indicate that they:
_ don’t know where to cycle
_ think they don’t have time
_ don’t feel fit enough to cycle far, or up hills
_ don’t have a well-maintained bike
_ are put off by wet weather
_ don’t have anywhere to leave their bike
at the destination
_ are concerned for their own or children’s
safety
To be effective, your communications must:
_ Address people’s concerns about cycling,
whatever they are
_ Communicate the benefits of cycling in a
way that makes sense and is motivating
to individuals
_ Encourage people to give it a try!
A key point to remember is to focus on
benefits, not features. For instance, a firsttime personal computer buyer is more likely
to choose a PC “powerful enough to
manage his/her life with” (a benefit) than
one “offering a 100Gb hard drive” (a
technical feature).
Similarly, you might promote the benefits
of a new cycle route as “an enjoyable, fast
and convenient way to the shops”, rather
than as “a hard surfaced track created by
the city council to divert bikes from the
High Street”.
It makes sense to identify the benefits you
think will mean most to each particular
audience. For adult women, cycling may
offer an easy way to incorporate exercise
into daily life without the expense of gym
membership. You might choose to focus on
the positive effects on body shape and
general health.
Children may be more influenced by a
desire for independence and freedom.
Motorists may need reminding that cycling
is sometimes a fast and convenient way to
avoid traffic jams.
7.2 How we make decisions
Experts have identified four key stages in
the decision-making process. You can
use the AIDA model to make sure each of
these stages is addressed in your
communication plan.
7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5
7
Communicating the message
A Yorkshire council offers “Families on wheels” and “Returners to
cycling” courses to help those with specific needs to get out on their
bikes. Courses include basic cycling skills, advice on what to wear,
and route planning guidance
create
Awareness
“I’ve seen these great images of
women cycling”
generate
Interest
“Perhaps I should think about
taking up cycling”
awaken
Desire
“I’d like to look like that”
invite
Action
“And there’s a fantastic offer on
at the Summerstown bike shop
at the moment”
Awareness
Your target audience has to know about
a cycling opportunity, in order to be in a
position to choose it
Interest
Beyond initial awareness, you have to
make people curious and interested
Desire
Passive interest needs to be developed into
an active desire to participate
Action
We need to find the final “trigger” that can
make our target audience take the plunge
– in other words, start cycling!
Completing this four-stage decision-making
process could take anything from a couple
of seconds (an impulse purchase of a new
chocolate brand at the supermarket
checkout) to months or even years.
Different stages in the decision-making
process suggest particular forms of
communication. Local advertising, for
example, can take your message to a big
7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5
audience, so is good for creating
awareness. But there is limited scope to
include detailed information (about a
network of cycle routes, for example) in
an advert, so it is not as effective at
encouraging action.
Public speaking is not so good at general
awareness raising but allows you to
establish a connection with a smaller group
of people and to communicate personal
enthusiasm and commitment.
An offer or reward – a free guided ride, for
example – can help spur people into action
once they are convinced of the general
benefits of an activity.
7.3 Planning effective promotions
The term “promotion” covers any activity
that communicates your message to a
target group. For example you could stage
a launch event, publish an information
leaflet, give a talk to a group of people or
do an interview on local radio.
The most effective promotions are part
of an ongoing programme of
communications, not one-off activities.
Investing time at the planning stage will
help you to make the best use of your
resources – money, expertise or people. To
achieve your overall objectives, it may be
a good idea to set ‘sub-objectives’ for your
promotional activity. (For example, making
people living on the housing estate west of
the Summerstown by-pass aware of the
cycle route leading to the supermarket.)
Again, make these marketing objectives
SMART, and relate them directly to your
target audience(s).
7
Communicating the message
7.4 Promotional techniques
Many marketing tools are available. Some
are expensive, so consider what you can
afford and what impact you are likely
achieve for your money.
You will probably want to use a mix of
different techniques to reach different
audiences.
Mass marketing
Local advertising
Local newspapers and
magazine coverage
Poster campaigns
Leaflet displays
Press invitations and visits
Door-to-door leafleting
The internet
Differentiated marketing
Local magazines and
newsletters
Leaflets and information packs
Personal encouragement
(public speaking)
E-mail campaigns (permission
based)
Niche marketing
Guided or led cycle rides
Personal talks
School or youth club visits
Leaflets or information packs
Local advertising
Local press advertising is relatively
expensive but can reach large audiences.
To find out the cost, telephone your chosen
publication(s) and ask for a rate card (the
list of advertising charges for the
newspaper or magazine).
Pricing structures can be complex, so if
you are seriously considering advertising in
a publication, ask the advertising sales
person to explain how it works. You should
also try to establish whether the readership
includes your target audience. Most
newspapers will have demographic data
about their readership.
Publicity and press
If you are hoping to get press coverage
you need to have an interesting story to
tell. Local newspapers like stories and
photographs of local people. You stand a
better chance if you can provide good
briefing information. Your press or PR
officer, if there is one, can help develop a
story that works for the publication and
your audience.
If you don’t have a press office, try to build
up good relationships with the journalists on
the local newspaper, and learn how to
write effective press releases.
Editorial coverage is free and may be seen
as more objective and credible than paidfor advertising. You can invite selected
journalists and photographers to attend
launch events or special activities to
generate additional publicity.
Bear in mind that ultimate editorial control
lies with the newspaper, so you do not
have any control over what appears.
7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5
7
Communicating the message
Sussex University launched a “Give it a go” promotional campaign for
National Bike Week. The package of support offered to students
included subsidised training, help with bike repairs, organised rides
and a free breakfast
Personal encouragement
Personal encouragement through
interaction with your target group(s) is
one of the most cost-effective promotional
methods. By talking to people and
organising activities in which they can
participate, you are building up
relationships and encouraging them in
the most human and involving way to
try cycling.
Word of mouth
It’s free and has more credibility than any
other form of promotion. People are far
more likely to act as a result of a personal
recommendation than a message in a
leaflet or poster. Personal example is
challenging and encouraging: “Well, if they
can do it, then I can too!”
However, with word of mouth you do not
have control over the message passed on.
And bad experiences are as powerful an
influence as good ones!
Public speaking/presentations
Other than the public speaker’s time and
travelling expenses, this involves little
expense, and the benefits can be
considerable. Most audiences find a
speaker’s evident enthusiasm infectious.
Public speaking also makes it possible to
gauge how many people are interested in
getting involved in a project – and then
you can offer on-the-spot information
and support.
Presentations are generally smaller in scale
but can be no less effective. You could hold
regular briefings with local community
groups and businesses, updating them
about the latest routes, facilities and events.
7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5
“People are far more likely to
act as a result of a personal
recommendation than a
message in a leaflet”
Direct marketing
Direct and individualised marketing can
be effective at changing people’s transport
habits, though they are both labourintensive. Both entail communicating
directly with members of your target
audience, either by mail, telephone or
face-to-face.
With individualised marketing you tailor
your offer to the needs of individuals. For
example, you ring someone up and ask
if they would be interested in cycling to
work. If they express an interest you help
them identify a route, provide them with
information and possibly even arrange
an incentive.
Photography
Good photography can be a powerful
element of almost any promotional
campaign, communicating your message
simply yet persuasively.
You will find that newspapers and
magazines will be far more likely to cover
your project if you can offer a good
photo opportunity. Local newspapers like
photographs featuring local people –
they sell papers!
The images you use can make a big
difference to people’s perceptions of
cycling. Be imaginative and look for
unusual photo opportunities. Cycling
pictures often look fairly uninspiring, with
an undue emphasis on tarmac and road
7
Communicating the message
Pupils at an Edinburgh school created an “e-cycle” animated e-mail
to promote cycling in an entertaining way. They sent it to everyone
they knew, encouraging recipients to forward it to their friends. The
message soon went global!
markings! Make them attractive with an
appealing background, unusual location
or props and you’re more likely to attract
the press.
A local councillor or politician cutting a
ribbon is not very exciting. How about
a photo of a politician or celebrity on a
mountain bike, or a group of children
cycling together to school for the first time?
(Make sure that the politician or celebrity
is happy to do what you’re suggesting,
before you sell your photo opportunity
ideas to your press contacts!)
The internet
There are a variety of ways to use the
internet. You can establish your own
website – or even set up a database and
send regular e-mail updates to people who
express an interest in cycling. (If the latter,
you will need to conform with the
government’s data protection legislation
and ask people’s permission before adding
their e-mail addresses to your list.) Or you
try to get mentions on other websites – for
example, the cycling or tourism pages of
your local authority website.
7.5 Successful campaigns
Leaflets
Simple maps and leaflets – for example,
maps showing cycle-friendly routes in your
area – are widely used as promotional
tools. They need to stand out from the
clutter in order to be effective. They rely on
skilful writing and design and carefully
managed distribution to make sure they
reach your target audience.
Displays
If someone is already in the area, signs,
maps and information boards can provide
high visibility promotion at the point of use.
They are only able to deliver a small
amount of information, but can prove very
influential. They too require skilful writing
and design and careful placing.
Events
Cycling-related events and other
community events and activities can
generate awareness-raising success stories
that provide good press coverage. The
London to Brighton cycling event, or the
amateur follow-up to the Tour de France,
are good examples of this.
Although some marketing activities can
stand alone – such as major launch events
– they are most effective when they are
planned in advance and part of an
ongoing programme. The most effective
campaigns use a mix of marketing tools to
reinforce core messages.
Value for money is an essential
consideration in planning any campaign.
You will need to balance the cost of the
marketing activity against the impact it
will make on the target audience.
Reliable information will help you predict
the impact of your marketing activities.
For example, you could ask a similar
organisation what kind of response it
received from an advertisement in the
local press.
Many of the research methods discussed in
Section 3 can be used to test and evaluate
the effectiveness of your campaign. Show
people the material you’re planning to use,
and ask them for their views. Find out
where they get information, and which
newspapers and other media they read.
7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5
7
Communicating the message
The test of a successful campaign is
whether you achieve your aims and
objectives. Each step in the planning
process can contribute to this success.
Here are some tips:
Allocate adequate resources for research
Learn from past experience, reviewing past
and similar campaigns
Your promotional campaign should leave
a legacy for others, providing information
for people who will undertake similar efforts
in future. Sharing and learning from the
experiences of others – local authority
cycling officers, marketing officers from
other organisations, the National Cycling
Strategy Board – is an important part of
developing marketing skills and expertise.
Start with the target markets that are
easiest to influence – for example, focus on
people who have a bike but aren’t using it
much. Many campaigns fail because the
target audience does not recognise the
issues or want to change its behaviour
Keep it simple – promote a single change
in people’s behaviour which is achievable
and can be explained in clear terms
Develop and promote something that
feels tangible to support the change in
behaviour – the more a campaign
resembles “selling a product”, the more
successful it’s likely to be
Understand and address benefits and costs
– increase the perceived benefits of
behaviour change and reduce the barriers
Make participation easy – provide simple
ways for people to make a start and get
cycling
Develop attention getting and motivational
messages
Provide response opportunities that make it
easy and convenient for people to act
Allocate appropriate resources for
promotion – provide funds to reach the
target audience often enough to
communicate the message
7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5
Track results and make adjustments,
monitoring progress and adjusting your
marketing plan as you go.
Toolkit 5
Writing a
press release
Only the strong survive!
The majority of press releases get binned.
A news editor will spend only a few
seconds reading your press release, so
try to make it as effective as possible.
cross-section of people (eg 70 per cent of
people don’t take enough exercise to stay
healthy)
Journalists often cut and paste to meet
press deadlines. Write a good press release,
and you may be surprised to see virtually
all of it appear in print!
_ Look carefully at your story and try to find
an angle that will interest the news editor
and his/her readers. You can use a
national event (eg Bike Week) as a
jumping off point, but the main theme of
the story should be local events and local
people
How to help get your
news printed
_ Convey the essentials in as few words as
possible: Who? What? When? Where?
Why?
_ Don’t assume everyone is as interested
in cycling as you are. “Sell” your story
_ A good headline will catch the editor’s
attention. It should be short and
descriptive, not long-winded or flippant
(puns, double meanings)
_ Check the newspaper’s deadlines
beforehand. A press release reaching the
news desk 30 minutes too late is a waste
of everyone’s time
_ Be clear and forceful, but avoid
exaggeration. Use everyday language.
Be self-critical: look at your story and ask
“if I didn’t know anything about this,
would I be interested?”
_ People and events are more interesting
than policy targets or committee decisions
_ Include a photo, a photo opportunity and
a quote as a part of your press release
What makes a good press
release?
_ News editors are looking for news, heartwarming stories and developments of
interest to readers. Relevant facts help
make a story seem relevant to a wider
_ Keep it brief – a single page is ideal. If
you want to add facts and figures, add
a separate background page
The pyramid approach
_ Think of your press release as a pyramid
with the most important information at
the top. This makes it easier for the news
editor to cut the copy to suit the space
available
_ Write short paragraphs no more than two
or three sentences long
_ Get the meat of the story into the first two
or three paragraphs with detail later
_ At the end include a contact number and
name, with a mobile number and details
of availability
Toolkit 6
Working with
the local press
It’s a competition!
_ Even a small local paper will receive
20 or more press releases a day. You
need to work hard at getting press
coverage. Remember that you’re
competing with lots of other local groups
and campaigns
_ Local newspapers are always keen
to respond to a good lead, so offer
interesting exclusive stories, preferably
with strong picture opportunities
_ Don’t assume that the editor is particularly
interested in cycling initiatives or can
remember other things you’ve done in
the past. “Sell” your message
_ Look at the issues that are getting
coverage locally and see if there could
be a link. For example, if the local paper
is featuring stories on traffic congestion,
you might be able to get publicity for a
cycling initiative which could help
Build relationships
Get to know your local press contacts. Ring
up the paper and find out the name of the
best person to talk to. Call them and say
who you are and what your work involves.
Say in advance when you will have news
for them.
_ Find out about deadlines. Make sure you
make contact in sufficient time to get
coverage at the right time
_ When speaking to a journalist, never
assume a conversation is “off the record”
_ Press releases are good, but personal
contact is better. Call your contact to tell
him/her that the press release is coming.
Outline the key points and offer to
provide more information if needed
Think about pictures
Real action pictures are difficult to take and
don’t always work well in a newspaper. It
may be better to set up the photograph to
bring your message to life.
_ The worst sort of photograph is a “firing
squad” – people lined up looking tense
and uncomfortable
_ A good close-up of one or two people on
bikes works better than a shot of a group
of people
_ Try to think up an unusual shot that will
catch the attention of the editor and
readers
_ Think of the people you hope will see the
photo and what will attract them. If you
are trying to appeal to school-age
children, for example, try not to make the
picture too regimented or formal-looking
_ Emphasise the local angle by giving
details of the people involved and where
they come from
8
How did it go?
8.1
8.2
8.3
Monitoring as you go
Evaluation
Basic techniques
8.0 How did it go?
If you follow the SMART guidelines for
setting objectives (see 2.3) you will find
it much easier to work out how successful
your initiative has been – and prove it
to others!
8.1 Monitoring as you go
Monitoring is the process of collecting
and analysing information about your
promotional programme as it is being
implemented. It involves regular checking
to see whether things are going as
planned. When you drew up your
marketing action plan, you will have
identified ways of measuring how much
progress you are making. You should do
this at regular intervals and keep a record
of your results.
Monitoring your progress ensures that you
can take timely corrective action if things
start to go wrong. You also reduce the risk
of running out of time and resources
towards the end of the project.
8.2 Evaluation
Evaluation is the process of collecting and
analysing information about the
effectiveness and impact of your marketing
programme. It combines the results of
monitoring with detailed information on
outcomes. It will help you:
Make improvements
and changes in future
Apply what you have learned
to other areas/projects
8
Provide information
for funding partners, sponsors etc
Evaluating your project allows you to
compare the theory (what you were aiming
to achieve) with the practice (the actual
outcome). It allows you to work out exactly
how far you have moved towards your
original objectives. It also helps
demonstrate the wider value of the project
to the community.
8.3 Basic techniques
There are some basic techniques to help
you monitor and evaluate marketing:
Counting
How many people used a new facility or
attended an event (and how many did you
think would)? A simple measure – like
installing people counters on a cycle route
before the route is actively marketed – can
provide a baseline against which to
measure future activity.
If fewer people participated than you
hoped, why was that? (Was your event not
noticed by your target audience? Did the
weather put people off?) What could you
have done differently? If the response was
better than you expected, try to work out
the reasons – you may be able to
reproduce the same effect in the future!
Telephone enquiries
Always ask callers how they heard about
the project and where they obtained your
telephone number. The responses may help
you to target promotional messages more
effectively in future. If you get a lot of calls
after you’ve given a talk to a local group,
for example, that might indicate that it’s a
good way of stimulating interest.
8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3
8
How did it go?
Organisations such as the YHA, the National Trust and the Caravan
Club all co-operate with Sustrans, linking their websites directly to its
site. Sustrans is able to monitor web traffic and find out how many
“hits” originated from partner sites
“If you have a website, it is
useful to measure how
many people are using it”
Response mechanisms
You can measure the success of a leaflet or
booklet by including a way for consumers
to respond – for example, a coupon,
website address or form requesting further
information.
Website usage
If you have a website it is useful to measure
how many people are using it – perhaps by
a simple site visit counter
8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3
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More information
9
Websites
www.nationalcyclingstrategy.org.uk
A comprehensive resource with an
excellent links section, including sections
on planning, promoting cycling and local
cycling initiatives
www.cyclecityguides.co.uk
Cycle City Guides is a leading urban cycle
map producer; its site includes many maps
produced independently by local
authorities and others
www.sustrans.org.uk
An essential resource for anyone planning
a local cycling initiative. Contains a huge
amount of practical information, much of it
for or about local authorities
www.whycycle.co.uk
Bike industry-supported website with lots of
useful information for new and potential
cyclists
www.saferoutestoschools.org.uk
Information and guidance on the Safe
Routes to Schools scheme
www.go-ride.net
A cycling programme for young people,
supported by British Cycling, the governing
body of cycling as a sport, and Sport
England
www.travelwise.org.uk
Website of Travelwise, a partnership of local
authorities and other organisations working
together on sustainable transport
www.local-transport.dft.gov.uk
A Department of Transport site containing
information on travel plan guidance and
details of research into travel plans and
travel behaviour
www.bcf.uk.com
The website of the sports cycling governing
body, British Cycling
www.transport2000.org.uk
The website of Transport 2000, a leading
campaigner for sustainable transport,
including walking and cycling
www.ctc.org.uk
Website of the UK cyclists’ organisation
www.cobr.co.uk
Website of the Consortium of Bike Retailers
www.cyclesense.net
Simple safety advice for cyclists
www.companyofcyclists.com
Website of the Company of Cyclists, a
company providing cycling promotion and
support services
www.nottingham.ac.uk/sbe/planbiblios
A comprehensive bibliography on
sustainable urban travel, with particular
emphasis on cycling and walking, based
at Nottingham University
9
9
More information
Publications
Addresses
Cycling: the way ahead for towns and
cities.
European Commission, May 1999; can be
downloaded free of charge from
www.europa.eu.int/comm./environment/
cycling/index.htm
National Cycling Strategy Board
Zone 3/17 Great Minister House
76 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DR
Tel: 020 7944 2977
The Department of Transport produces
reports on transport patterns, sustainable
transport and cycling; for details see
www.dft.gov.uk
The Transport Research Laboratory
produces reports on cycling-related issues –
for example, on attitudes to cycling, and
the impact of cycling on health – which are
available from its website at www.trl.co.uk
Social Marketing: Improving the Quality
of Life
By Philip Kotler, Ned Roberto and Nancy
Lee. Published by Sage Publications (2002)
ISBN 0761924345
Hands-on Social Marketing: A step-bystep guide
By Nedra Kline Weinreich. Published by
Sage Publications (1999) ISBN 0761908676
Marketing in Local Government
By Kieron Walsh. Published by Longman
Group UK Ltd Harlow (1989)
9
CTC
69 Meadrow
Godalming
Surrey
GU7 3HS
Tel: 01483 417217
Sustrans/National Cycle Network
35 King Street
Bristol
BS1 4DZ
Tel: 0117 929 0888
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Acknowledgements
10
This handbook was produced by the
National Cycling Strategy Board with the
support of the Department for Transport.
We are grateful to the following
organisations for their contributions: to
Sustrans, the CTC and British Cycling for
their knowledge and experience of
marketing cycling; to Circus for editing and
design; and most particularly to the Paths
for All Partnership and Scottish Natural
Heritage for permission to draw on
Promoting paths for people: A marketing
guide and toolkit, as our inspiration when
compiling this handbook.
For further copies, please contact: National
Cycling Strategy Board c/o Department for
Transport, Zone 3/17 Great Minster House,
76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR.
This handbook is dedicated to all those
who believe in cycling and who, in their
various ways, work to promote it as an
essential part of our way of life – whether
for transport, physical activity or fun.
© Crown copyright 2004
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