The Schwinn Bike Project

Transcription

1 BIKE PROJ The Schwinn Bike Project

2 Planned obsolescence is one of the major issues of today. Essentially, it describes the fact that many of our products are engineered to fail, or go out of fashion. This keeps companies in business and the economy strong. The flip side to this is excessive waste. It s not just within electronics that the practice of planned obsolescence has become the norm, you can find it in the car industry, the fashion industry and the music industry for example. Our consumer society runs on it. ENGINEERED AIL

3 ,300,000 Latest Australian statistics CARRS Australia Report New bicycles bought in a year Good, but consider the waste

4 I SURVEYED 25 RIDERS FROM THE NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY BIKE USERS GROUP This is what I found out...

5 10% of participants said they could fully fix a bike

6 82% of participants said they have thought about restoring an old bicycle

7 100% have thrown away more than two bicycles

8 THE BRAND Made the derailleur geared bike mainstream Founded in 1895 in Chicago by Ignaz Schwinn t year 1957 Varsity sales better than all other Grew to become one of the derailleur bikes combined biggest bicycle brands grant Bankruptcy in 1993 Now owned by Dorel

9 Schwinn currently has a huge range of bicycles in many different classifications. For example, the Schwinn range includes racing bikes, kids bikes, vintage/retro bikes, casual bikes and mountain bikes. This makes Schwinn one of the most diverse bicycle makers.

10 The problem with Schwinn was that it never discovered itself. Perhaps relying on it s past success in the market, it never dared to innovate or specialise. Schwinn had so many different images in a effort to be everyone else that it lost it s strong foothold in the industry. It s time for Schwinn to innovate, to introduce a strong new initiative and take a step in a new direction that is responsive to current-day issues and people.

11 SCHWINN BELL & WHISTLE I am proposing the creation of a new Schwinn sub-brand, aptly named Bell & Whistle. The name encompasses the action of making things new again, by giving them a second life and fitting them out with the latest and greatest. B&W is all about cool, custom bikes addressing a young, savvy market and exploring bike restoration, fixing and customisation as a viable business venture. This isn t your local bike shop, it s something more. Something that encapsulates a culture and proactively helps people and our environment. Bell and Whistle is community-driven, running workshops, part-hunts, meet-ups and other social events to push the bicycle restoration scene into a larger scale. Customers have access to a new range of pre-restored bikes, but can also get involved in fixing and restoring their own. This is a great way for Schwinn to break into a new, relevant and thriving market to show the world that it s not dead, it s merely been waiting to unveil one of it s most inspirational and valuable ventures yet.

12 Communication strategy #1 BRING YOUR OWN This communication strategy for Bell and Whistle revolves around people bringing their own bikes to Bell and Whistle restoration warehouses, or being visited by mobile restoration units. Customers can pick from a range of colours for re-sprays, restored accessories and other parts to reinvent their bike. Customers have the opportunity to learn how to perform basic bike fixing and maintainence tasks. This is about the customer being involved and being able to create something awesome.

13 Communication strategy #2 AN ALL-OLD RANGE Bell and Whistle will introduce and actively promote a new range of fully restored bicycles. These bikes will come with a number of options that the customer can choose before they buy. This initiative will be promoted online, and through old bike and part hunts and various other social events to build a community of restored bike owners.

14 Communication strategy #3 RESTORATION WORKS This is Bell and Whistle with a conscience. With this strategy, the brand will build new bike restoration and training centres to get young people involved in doing something great for the bike community and Australia as a whole, as well as preparing them for future employment by giving them a solid skill-base. Take your old bike in, or commission something unique, and have it restored for free. This is all about giving back the community and creating goodwill.

15 VISUAL STYLE

16 WORKSHOPS & STORES

17 CHEERS!