Brompton Bikes Alisha Attarwala Account Planner and Manager
The Marketing Manager, Brompton Bicycle Ltd., Kew Bridge DC, Lionel Road South, Brentford, TW8 9QR. To,
Contents 1. Executive Summary 2. Company History 3. Client s agenda 4. Target Audience 5. Competition 6. Primary Research 7. Evidence 8. Strategy 9. Media 10. Budget 11. Conclusion 12. Bibliography
Executive Summary This report is a proposal for Brompton Bicycle Ltd. According to Mintel, the recent success of Britain in Tour de France and the Olympics, as well as continued rises in the cost of vehicle fuel and public transport fares, has resulted in the popularity of the bicycle industry and has reflected a trend in the premium priced road bicycles. (Fig.1) (Mintel, 2013) This proposal will take you through the client s agenda, our proposed plan for advertising Brompton bicycles and how we intend to implement the same. Fig.1: UK bicycle market, 2007-2013. Source: Mintel, 2013.
Company History Brompton was established and registered as a limited company in 1976. However, the founder of the company, Andrew Ritchie first started designing the bike in 1975, in his flat, overlooking the Brompton Oratory in South Kensington, London. The design for the first 30 bikes was finalised in 1980 and production began in 1981. In 1982, a basic, 3 speed Brompton cost 211. In 1987, Brompton Bicycle started producing bikes on a full scale and had their first dealer York Cycleworks buy their bikes in 1988. Currently, they are exporting their bikes to over 42 countries such as USA, Canada, Ireland, Israel etc. and selling them at an average of 745 per bike. (Brompton, 2013) Client s agenda The client s agenda is to increase the awareness of Brompton Bicycle, and to increase the sales of the Brompton bike accessories. Target Audience According to a survey conducted on Survey Monkey, from the 50 responses that we received, we have established people, both male and female between the age groups of 25 and 34, living in London (60% live in London) are the target audience for this campaign. (Survey Monkey, 2013) According to Mintel, those aged 25-34 could be considered a key demographic for the cycling holiday market, as just under a third cycle as a leisure activity at least once a month. (Fig.2) (Mintel, 2013) Fig. 2: Walking and cycling as leisure activities performed once a month or more, by age, January 2013 Base: 2000+ internet users aged 16+ Source: Mintel, 2013
Competition Mintel s report on bicycles states that the UK bicycle market is almost wholly supplied by overseas production, with UK production (which had been 1.2 million as recently as 2000) now standing at 50-60,000 split mainly between Brompton, Moulton and Pashley. The report also states that, small wheel bicycle sales include folding bicycles such as the Brompton and Moulton brands. This lays out that Moulton and Pashley are the key competitors of Brompton, in the bicycle market. (Mintel, 2013) Primary Research We visited the Brompton Bicycle factory in Brentford, on the 8 th May 2013. A quick chat with Ross Hawkings, Marketing Executive led to the finding that if he had to create a product of his own, he would prefer something that was compact and unique, small enough to carry his phone, wallet and keys and preferably could be fixed on to the rear end of the bike. This would lead to the following benefits for the users: Since it would be placed at the rear end of the bike, it would not cause wind obstruction, thereby reducing the speed, when a person was cycling on a windy day The fact that the accessory would be small, compact and lightweight would mean that it could be carried anywhere and everywhere. The person could ride light, as there would be no heavy weight in his pocket. A Mintel report on Walking and Cycling Holidays revealed that 44% of those who are interested in cycling holidays would be motivated to take one by the prospect of a physical challenge, a quarter would like to complete a personal goal or challenge and one in ten would participate in a competitive event. This meant that if they were cycling or exploring places, they would prefer to travel light and keep most of their stuff at the place they were residing. Thus, having a small bag to carry their keys, cellphone, wallet and map would be a helpful accessory. (Mintel, 2013) From the survey conducted on Survey Monkey, the following were our findings: 50% of them owned a bike. 57% of them used their bikes a few times a year while only 10% used them everyday. (Fig.3) 94% of them carried their cellphones with them on their bikes, 82% carried their wallets and 66% carried a bag with them (Fig, 4)(Multiple choice question) Only 32% of them had heard about Brompton bikes. The rest 68% were unaware of them.
Fig.3: Responses to the question How often do you use your bike Source: Survey Monkey, 2013. Fig 4: Responses to the question What do you take with you on a bike Other Research and Evidence Brompton has been experiencing good growth in sales in recent years, the company reporting 18.8% growth in unit sales in 2011. (Mintel, 2013) According to a 2012 Financial Times report, a stagnation of high street spending in the UK and European slowdown has not hindered 20 per cent year on year growth in sales of its niche range of folding bikes. (Financial Times, 2012) Cycling has undoubtedly undergone a mini boom in the UK in recent years, with cited reasons varying widely and including Olympic sporting success, the growth of the National Cycle Network and the Cycle to Work scheme. (Bike Radar, 2012) Equipment purchase is less common, peaking with cycling, reflecting the fact that it is impossible to do the sport without a bicycle. (Mintel, 2012)
Strategy From the primary research and the other research and evidence, it is clear that most people carry their cell phones when they are riding a bike. The cycling industry is a growing market, where we notice that more and more people are now taking up riding. An ideal accessory to develop would be a small bag that could carry their cell phone, wallet and keys, which would be beneficial, as they would be able to ride light and the wind would not be an obstruction, as compared to other large accessories that cause wind obstruction. Based on the research, the following is the proposed strategy: Our creative strategy is Customisation and Personalisation. In conversation with Clare Morrison- Porter, Marketing Assistant at Brompton Bicycle the idea of customisation became apparent. We asked Clare if the company was open to the idea of customising accessories, and her response was positive. The company also customises their bikes such as the handlebar types and the colour of the bars. So, we chose this as our creative strategy. The campaign would be called The Creative Challenge (#CreativeChallenge, for use on social media). It will be an integrated campaign (crossing between various media, all intertwining), starting with a competition, where the prototypes of the accessory, will be sent out (in drawing forms) to our target audience. They will be given the chance of customising the accessory, according to their own choice and using that customised drawing, they post a picture on a social media and hashtag #BromptonBikes and #CreativeChallenge
in it (or tag the Brompton page on Facebook). There would then be a draw, one for each bag model (men s and women s) and the winners would get their bags custom- made by Brompton Bicycle. The bag would then be named after the winner and sold by Brompton in their classic range colours to the general public, although if they pay extra, they too could have their bag customised. This ensures that the winners bags stay unique, which is the whole aim of our strategy: customise it to make it your own. There would also be a pop up ad that is more focused on raising the awareness for Brompton Bicycle as a whole, by integrating it in London; having the London skyline in the background and the Brompton bike in the foreground, to advertise it to the audience in London. From the conversation with Ross, we also found out that it would be a good idea to advertise to the people living in the cities, especially London, and from our online survey, we found out that 60% of them were from London. Thus, we chose to do this. Media The media for this advertising campaign would include: 1. Online Advertising: Banner Adverts. 2. Social Media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 3. Direct Mail. Budget Ross Hawkings said that Brompton Bicycle Ltd. spends no more than 50,000 a year on advertising. Keeping this budget in mind, we have devised a very economical yet effective advertising plan, which will help save money on advertising, yet ensure that the sales and profits for Brompton is constantly on he rise. The use of the advertising budget would be as follows: 1. Online Advertising: Banner Adverts 500 According to Marketing Minefield, designing the banner advert would be less than 20. It s also mentioned that the cost for the banner adverts themselves would be less than 20 per 1000 impressions. Thus, just to be on the safe side, the expenditure on this should be about 500. (Marketing Minefield, 2013) 2. Direct Mail 707 Cheapest Print Online charges about 157 for printing 5000 leaflets on a 130gsm gloss sheet. (Cheapest Print Online, 2013) Insider Direct Mailing Service charges 110 per 1000 leaflets, which makes it a total of 550 for 5000 leaflets and they have their own mailing list as well, which would be an added benefit. (Insider Media Limited, 2013) 3. Social Media: Free There would be absolutely no cost at all to use social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Total proposed spending: 1207.
Spending the advertising budget on the above mentioned media is a good idea for the following reasons: Banner Ads It is highly inexpensive It is very segmented and is defined by the target audience and is very good to find new customers. It helps build the brand and raise awareness as the company name and logo pops in front of the consumer. Direct Mail It is far more personal, as compared to print ads and posters. It is easy to respond to, incase of a competition or an incentive such as a free goodie. It is quick to produce. Social Media It is extremely interactive. It has a wider reach as compared to print ads and posters. It will have the same effect in spreading the campaign like word of mouth would, as the target audience will share or like the post and it will pop on their friends newsfeeds.
Conclusion Ideally, this campaign should start running soon, the aim being June- July 2013. Summer is round the corner and people may be deciding on purchasing bikes and accessories to take with them on a holiday. The fact that Brompton will be all over the Internet will entice people to buy these products and thus guarantee an increase in sales. The timeline to run this campaign would be as follows: Week 1: Creative ideas finalized This week all the designs would be finalized and produced, so that the project can run live. Week 2: Introduction of the competition and banner ad In week 2, the banner ad will go live all over the media. This will be running constantly till whenever the client wishes for it to be live. The competition will be introduced on Facebook and Twitter, so that all the subscribers would be aware that a competition is coming up soon. Week 3: Competition and Direct Mail go live. This week, the competition will begin and the direct mail will be posted to everyone so that they can draw, colour and/or Photoshop it to create their designs, and post it all over Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, thus creating a brand awareness for Brompton Bicycle. Week 4, Week 5: Competition continues The competition will be on for 3 weeks, starting in week 3 and finishing off in week 5. Week 6: Creating a buzz Announcements that the competition has closed, the selection process is ongoing and that winners would be announced shortly. Week 7: Announcement of the winners The winners (1 male and 1 female) would be announced in this week. The above proposal is definitely going to lead this campaign to be a huge success and would surely help in increasing the awareness of Brompton Bicycle, as well as the sales of the Brompton accessories.
Research and resources 1. Brompton, (2013), About Us, (online), Available at: http://brompton.co.uk/about- us (Accessed on 14.05.2013) 2. Kavanagh M., (2012), Manufacturing: Beyond the Bean Counters, Financial Times (online), 31 st May, Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/0ea2d878- aa0c- 11e1-9772- 00144feabdc0.html#axzz2Te1dA1nw (Accessed on 16.05.2013) 3. Oliver M., (2013), Bicycles UK, Mintel (online), February, Available at: http://academic.mintel.com/display/637951/ (Accessed on 16.05.2013) 4. Segal H., (2013), Walking and Cycling Holidays UK, Mintel (online), April, Available at: http://academic.mintel.com/display/638030/?highlight=true (Accessed on 16.05.2013) 5. Oliver M., (2012), Sports Goods Retailing UK, Mintel (online), May, Available at: http://academic.mintel.com/display/590152/?highlight=true#search_thi s_report brompton (Accessed on 16.05.2013) 6. Willem van Sheik J., (2012), United Kingdom 2011: Cycling Economy Boomed, Bike Europe (online) 19 th April, Available at: http://www.bike- eu.com/sales- Trends/Market- Report/2012/4/bUnited- Kingdom- 2011b- Cycling- Economy- Boomed- BIK005805W/ (Accessed on 17.05.2013) 7. Peace R., (2012), Bike vs car - the sales race, Bike Radar (online) 12 th October, Available at: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/bike- vs- car- the- sales- race- 35502/ (Accessed on: 17.05.2013) 8. Banner Advertising Cost Guide, MarketingMinefield.co.uk, Banner Advertising Blog, (online) Available at: http://www.marketingminefield.co.uk/banner- advertising- cost- guide/ (Accessed on 18.05.2013) 9. 2013, A4 Single sided Flyers, CheapestPrintOnline.co.uk, (online), Available at: http://www.cheapestprintonline.co.uk/gloss%20flyers/a4%20single/1 30gsm%20Gloss/5day- nodesign.php (Accessed on 18.05.2013) 10. 2013, Insider Direct Mailing Service, Insider Media Limited, (online), Available at: http://www.insidermedia.com/advertising- sponsorship/insider- direct- mailing- service (Accessed on 18.05.2013) 11. Hawkings R., 2013, If you had to come up with an accessory of your own choice, what would you choose and why? [face to face conversation] (Personal communication, 8 th May)
12. Morrison- Porter C., 2013, Would the company be open to the idea of holding a competition and customization? [face to face conversation] (Personal communication, 8 th May).