Urban Partnerships, a division of experiential specialists MKTG, has joined forces with Havas Media to facilitate a partnership between Buzzbike and Braintree, part of the online payments giant PayPal, which will being free branded bikes to London. Buzzbike offers riders 24/7 use of a high quality single speed bike and rewards them, via an app that connects to their bike, for riding it regularly and parking it on the street during the day. All completely free of charge.
The service differs from other cycling schemes as it is brand powered. Brands support the scheme by fully branding the striking bikes in localised, targeted areas and can engage directly with riders via a branded app that connects with the bike to track usage and reward the user the more they ride. As well as the opportunity to engage with riders every day using the app, brands can also gain invaluable insight into riders’ usage behaviour through aggregated data collected as riders travel around town. Braintree is sponsoring an initial launch of 200 bikes, targeting the London tech and start up community with a campaign aptly named “Tour de Tech,” created in collaboration with Crispin Porter + Bogusky LA.
Inspired by the tech community’s penchant for bikes, connected devices and competition; the scheme is a chance to engage their audience with integrated marketing they’ll actually enjoy. Havas Media’s “Meaningful Brands” study shows that brands that focus on providing social benefit and on making lives easier and healthier receive higher levels of engagement and trust in return. An expansion of the scheme to 1,500 bicycles is due in spring 2017 with a goal of 6,000 bikes over the next five years (brand partners to be confirmed).
Russell Prie, Managing Partner at Havas Media, said: “Cycling has become a way of life in London and this sponsorship will embed the Braintree brand into the cultural fabric of the area. Over the next six months we hope to learn a lot about the behaviours of developers, entrepreneurs and individuals within the start-up organisations that make up a large proportion of this community. Not only does the scheme help mobilise workers from the tech community in a new and exciting way, it also provides Braintree with a platform to engage in conversation with a very specific audience and help provide a service that is of significant value to their unique way of life. Our study shows that brands that focus on providing societal, as well as practical benefits, and that make a conscious improvement to our quality of life, receive higher levels of engagement and trust ,which results in proven improvements in business. These principles are absolutely reflected in this initiative.”
Christopher Nicola, Head of Urban Partnerships, added: “The Buzzbike scheme enables us to gain insight into cyclists’ behavioural patterns, which will provide brand partners with valuable consumer data. In turn we can also use this data to better plan DOOH media and create hyper-targeted, interactive and responsive campaigns.”
