Ask the trade: Where should marketing budgets be directed?

Revisiting our retail panel from last week where the relationship between sponsorship and sales was discussed, our trio of retailers today explore where industry marketing budgets should be spent and targeting which demographics…

Specifically on the medium or location of marketing, where would you like to see cycling most visible to the public or the enthusiast?

Dave Mellor, Woodside Bikeworks
On the whole, the industry does very well at marketing to enthusiasts through different mediums. More could still be done to promote cycling to the wider public from the point of view of both sustainable transportation and as a sport. Obviously it’s not an easy task although Cycling UK does some great outreach work.

As a side note, I’ve thought for a long time that our industry is way too product-centric. I’d like to see marketing focus on the actual experience of riding a bike similar to how it’s done in sports like surfing or snowboarding. Even though so many enthusiasts are tech geeks I think this approach would broaden the sport’s appeal rather than a constant stream of new products or colours. And don’t get me started on the sub-genres we keep inventing; what even is Downcountry?

Paul Corcoran, Pennine cycles
You don’t always know what markets are being reached via the internet and you need to use all media outlets, including paper copy, to ensure the public and enthusiasts are reached. I’d like to see manufacturers and suppliers advertising the products that can be purchased at independent bike shops. Otherwise, it can appear that products are only available on the internet and not at bike shops.

Dan Makin, Dirt Factory

It may be unlikely, but I’d like to see some on more mainstream TV channels. It will be interesting to see how the new World Cup coverage on Discovery plays out and the level of exposure it gets.

What demographics, if any, do you feel are let down by industry outreach efforts?

Dave Mellor, Woodside Bikeworks
Again, I think we’re really good at preaching to the converted, but could do more to recruit new people to cycling of all disciplines; particularly the next generation.
Thinking back to when I first got into mountain biking in the early-mid 90s, reading mags like MBUK, it felt like the articles and ads were aimed at me and my mates, building trails and jumps in the woods. Now I’m approaching my mid-40s, and yes, the sport itself has grown up a bit, it still feels like the sport is aimed at my age group. That’s fine for a while, probably, but if I was a teenager now I’d probably think mountain biking was something my parents did on a weekend.

It’s fair to say the industry realised quickly that there wasn’t much money in the dirt jumping and trials trends of 20-odd years ago, but what it did do was get a generation excited about playing out on bikes, and most of us are still here, just on more expensive bikes. Let’s have some more pump tracks and skate parks, and more affordable, little hardtail to ride them on, please. That way we’ll still be selling carbon dream machines in another 30 years’ time.

Paul Corcoran, Pennine cycles

We like to support suppliers who know and understand our business and recognise what we are about. We give a personal service ourselves and expect to receive similar from the suppliers we choose. I’m not always sure suppliers are giving customers what they want and sometimes just need to shift their stock.

Dan Makin, Dirt Factory

I’d like to see it reach the low-income families and individuals. We do a lot of community work in deprived areas around the UK when touring our modular pump track and air bag, so we get a good insight into the lack of awareness out there.

On the plus side, more and more facilities are popping up e.g. free outdoor bike parks and pump tracks, but there is a real lack of strategy when it comes to reaching under-represented groups to get them active and involved. Local authorities need to catch up a bit and realise there are new and emerging activities, interests and opportunities and not just the traditional football, rugby and swings and slides.  More needs to be done on promoting access to places to ride, basic advice for beginners, how to join a club/social ride, as well as the safety and etiquette side of things.