IPA provides marketing boost for Bikeworks

 

Pimp My Cause has created an exciting partnership with the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) through which our cause members can gain support from the top agency leaders participating in the IPA’s in-residence training programmes.

The second cause to have benefited from this opportunity is Bikeworks.

Bikeworks is a social enterprise based in east London that works to change lives through cycling.

They do this by:

1) Running an All Ability Cycling Club with a focus on new, disabled and older riders, that offers refurbished bikes and a cycling training programme.

2) Training people to fix their own bikes, through tailored training days and a fix your own bike club and through an employment scheme to train unemployed people to help them find work as a cycle mechanic.

3) Supporting cycling initiatives through partner businesses.

Bikeworks had been struggling to find inexpensive and effective ways of marketing themselves and so contacted Pimp My Cause to ask for help.

Bikeworks was then selected for the IPA's training course in May to receive support through our partnership. Ben Preston, Head of Business Development for Bikeworks, presented their charity and their marketing ambitions to the IPA’s training course for agency planners asking for their help with developing effective low cost marketing ideas to help them expand their business and provide more support for London cyclists.

The IPA course participants recommendated:

• Tidying up and simplifying both Bikeworks’ communications and their website.
• Using the tagline ‘The Bikeshop with a social mission’ to clearly express their purpose.
• Adopting a “buy a bike with a conscience” moto and to share that message through gumtree adwords.
• Creating more engaging videos that share the backstory of Bikeworks.

The participants also helped to design some inexpensive marketing tools including a sticker campaign and bike seat covers that will be used to help their existing customers and supporters share their story.

Since May the Bikeworks team have been working to put these ideas into practice. They have made the suggested seat covers and stickers and are distributing them across London.

The seat covers were designed using the bike shop with a social mission tagline and have been distributed across London.

Ben said, “We have had good feedback about the stickers and bike seats both on social media and in the shop.

“We have also simplified the website and completed some needed SEO work. We are integrating our bookings page and are about to create some engaging videos using the ideas from the IPA course participants".

We look forward to sharing Bikeworks' new videos soon!