The cycling industry is ever-increasing, and with so many brands from all over the world competing to be in the limelight, it’s easy to forget that there’s plenty of innovation right on our doorstep. Richmond Cycles is a bike shop that has always supported locally-grown businesses, from custom bikes to hand-made luggage. Their diverse product offering undoubtedly differentiates them from most big online alternatives.
While ‘supporting your local’ is nothing new, since the dawn of the pandemic, consumers have become more conscious of where they spend their money and where the businesses they buy from are based. With that in mind, Richmond Cycles wanted to make sure that this message was made clear and ensure that when customers think of buying local, they think of Richmond Cycles – that’s where we came in!
The Plan
With a clear message in mind, it was time to formulate a plan. When coming up with a campaign, it can be easy to overcomplicate things – but as the saying goes, ‘less is more’! There was a clear and straightforward objective with this brief: to get local cyclists to associate local brands with Richmond Cycles. No need for subliminal messaging or mind games.
‘Made In The UK’ was the tagline we settled on, with the aim of making as much noise about Richmond Cycles’ range of British-made brands as possible through the duration of the campaign, split into mini-campaigns per brand. First on the list was Brompton. As a long-time stockist of this iconic British folding bike brand (based just across the river from Richmond Cycles!), it made sense to kick things off with them.
Short-form video content is becoming one of the best ways for businesses to get their brands out there, so we wanted to create a series of shareable videos that would capture the target audience's attention. So, what do you think of when you think of Brompton? Yep, that’s right: the fold! Focusing on the fold, we wanted to create two primary pieces of content – one that would demonstrate Richmond Cycles’ Brompton expertise and another that would bring out the personality of the shop and staff. These pieces should also allow Richmond Cycles to interact with the audience, all with the product at its core. The first would be a ‘How To’ demonstration of the Brompton fold, and the second would be a competition to find ‘Richmond’s Fastest Fold’. Once we had a plan, it was time to bring it to life!
The Process
1 – How To Fold Your Brompton Video
The key to this content piece was to make it informative and professional without being too in-your-face-authoritative. This would make it clear that Richmond Cycles is a trustworthy and knowledgeable Brompton dealer while also putting across their friendly and welcoming personality. While ‘How To’ videos have been done before, it was important building block as it would set up what was to come in the second half of the Brompton campaign, and if done right, should act as an evergreen piece of content that current or new customers would refer back to or come across when researching the brand.
To achieve a professional tone, we opted for a video demonstration shot on a DSLR (rather than a mobile phone) paired with a voiceover. This would also mean that the video could be cut into multiple edits to suit each platform (i.e. Instagram Reels & YouTube). After a short stroll along the river, we found a worthy backdrop in front of the Richmond boathouses. The big wooden doors framed the video perfectly, and the colour even matched our demo Brompton! The video consisted of a long-shot demonstration, along with close-up detailed shots of each step in the fold – simple but effective.
This was also accompanied by a blog article in order to drive traffic to the website and showcase their in-stock Bromptons.
2 – ‘Richmond’s Fastest Fold’ Competition
The second phase of the Brompton campaign was the ‘Richmond’s Fastest Fold’ competition. The primary focus of this was to bring out the personality of Richmond Cycles, driving attention and engagement towards the shop from the target demographic by creating fun and shareable videos and encouraging the audience to get involved. The premise of the competition was simple: the person that can fold a Brompton the fastest wins! Anyone could enter – entrants were encouraged to come in-store to give it a go, and the winner would receive a £75 store voucher or 10% off a new Brompton.
To demonstrate the competition, each staff member was filmed completing their fastest fold. This format and concept lends itself to a more casual and fun approach, made primarily for Instagram Reels, with the goal of catching attention and holding it. With that in mind, each attempt was filmed on a tripod-mounted mobile phone in-store to make it feel more organic and ‘home-made’, with the emphasis being on the edit. Each video had a slightly different twist so that things didn’t become repetitive, accompanied by various songs and sounds matching a fun theme – it was vital that each video grabbed the audience's attention. The clear and simple concept meant that the video didn’t have to be explained with an intro, and each video included a visual timer to create anticipation and retain that attention.
These videos were shared throughout the duration of the competition (2 per week), to keep it relevant and interesting.
The Result
Once released, the campaign didn’t take long to gain traction. The videos were shared across Richmond Cycles’ social media throughout the duration of the competition period, with several being reposted by Brompton’s official Instagram account to their 150,000+ followers! With over 82,000 views to date and a 187% increase in reach over the previous 30-day period, the ultimate goal of putting more eyes on Richmond Cycles and putting them on the map as a valued Brompton dealer was achieved. The winner of the competition put their prize towards the purchase of a new Brompton, and the ‘How To Fold Your Brompton: Manager Jake's Guide’ is now also one of the top performing articles on the Richmond Cycles blog.
If you have a project idea and want more info or want to work with us, contact us at info@weareunearth.com.