A co-worker and I were sitting at a bar one night after work. We watched as people filed out of an office building and walked past a bike rack neatly situated outside the front door, which clearly had been erected as a convenience (if not an incentive) for them to use if they biked to work. Not surprisingly, very few people had bikes locked to it, and those who did looked as though it was a trend befitting their lifestyle. Insert hipster joke here.
My co-worker and I debated why more people didn't bike to work, and what it might take for a movement of professionals to begin biking to work. The next day, I decided to approach the problem as though it were a client assignment. This is what I came up with.
5. wouldn’t it be awesome if the case for
biking to work were as simple as a play
for one’s health and financial savings?
6. wouldn’t it be awesome if the case for
biking to work were as simple as a play
for one’s health and financial savings?
7. Biking to work leads to
weight loss
Bikers lose up to 30lbs. in the
first year alone
8. Biking to work leads to
weight loss
Bikers lose up to 30lbs. in the
first year alone
3 hours of biking per week
reduces cancer risk
Chances of heart disease and
stroke drop by 50%
9. Biking to work leads to
weight loss
Bikers lose up to 30lbs. in the
first year alone
3 hours of biking per week
reduces cancer risk
Chances of heart disease and
stroke drop by 50%
Biking improves stamina
and focus
Energy increases 20% and fatigue
decreases 65%
11. wouldn’t it be awesome if the case for
biking to work were as simple as a play
for one’s health and financial savings?
12. Car ownership in 2012 rose
to $8,946
The cost of owning a bike each
year is $308
13. Stand-still traffic costs drivers
$700/yr. in wasted fuel
Bikers can earn $20/mo. in tax-
free reimbursements
Car ownership in 2012 rose
to $8,946
The cost of owning a bike each
year is $308
14. Drivers spend $20B/yr. on
parking and meters
The average cost of a bike lock on
Amazon is $30
Stand-still traffic costs drivers
$700/yr. in wasted fuel
Bikers can earn $20/mo. in tax-
free reimbursements
Car ownership in 2012 rose
to $8,946
The cost of owning a bike each
year is $308
20. BRAND
VISION
Overarching Idea
Very few bike
commuters
Bike
commuting as
culturally
accepted
CHANGING BIKE COMMUTING BEHAVIOR
barrier
#1
barrier
#2
PRETENTIOUSNESS
21. A model rocking a $3,000 Italian suit, sporting a
throwback one-speeder, and kitschy overnight tote is
about as close as we’ll get to a high-powered exec
biking to work. American society dictates a hierarchy
of spending proportionate to the amount of money
we pull down each year. Powerful men are expected
to push powerful whips. It’s an outward expression of
success. It’s an identity. And it’s the identity that
corporate climbers and bottom-feeding minions alike
exhaust themselves to replicate. A trend of c-suitors
pedaling to work while identity-less Beamers sit in
cookie-cutter suburban driveways is idealistic at best.
PRETENTIOUSNESS
22. BRAND
VISION
Overarching Idea
Very few bike
commuters
Bike
commuting as
culturally
accepted
COUNTER-INTUITION
CHANGING BIKE COMMUTING BEHAVIOR
barrier
pretentiousness
barrier
#2
23. It’s assumed that because a bicycle requires manual
labor and can only propel any individual at mediocre
speeds, it will take longer and be inconvenient to
navigate a commute on a bike. But this flies in the
face of data showing that half of the working
population in the U.S. commutes five miles or less to
work, which on a bike would take less time or, in rare
instances, the same amount of time as commuting by
car. Couple this with ill-conceived notions that finding
a place to safely lock one’s bike for the day, and it’s
no wonder that few people brave the concrete
concourse on two wheels.
COUNTER-INTUITION
25. CHANGING BIKE COMMUTING BEHAVIOR
Very few bike
commuters
Bike
commuting as
culturally
accepted
Trickle-Down Cyclenomics
barrier
counter-intuition
barrier
pretentiousness
26. While this is a play on words from Reagan’s
economic policy, it’s an idea that stems
more from Thomas Jefferson’s philosophy
27. “The first duty of government is the
protection of life, not its destruction.
Abandon that, and you have
abandoned all.”
28. “The first duty of government is the
protection of life, not its destruction.
Abandon that, and you have
abandoned all.”
A management
employee satisfaction.
a key ingredient to workplace culture.
29. CHANGING BIKE COMMUTING BEHAVIOR
Trickle-Down Cyclenomics
Very few bike
commuters
Bike
commuting as
culturally
accepted
barrier
counter-intuition
barrier
pretentiousness
Create a coalition of the most powerful and successful men in a city to
overcome barriers and drive influence through bike gangs.
30. not only will a bike gang of a community’s
most powerful men and women influence the
behavior of the people they employ, it will
change the perception of biking to work and
influence policy-makers to take action
32. BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES
Employers, politicians, and influencers setting an
example for a community, and thereby becoming a
catalyst for change. Bike Friendly America provides a
toolkit of projects, policies, programs, and plans
designed to make biking better. Witnessing firsthand
the benefits and joy of biking to work, our gangs are
the decision makers to make such communities a
reality. In Portland, OR, the implementation of a BFC
increased biking to work by 74%.
33. France has started a six-month experiment with
paying people to cycle to work, joining other
European governments in trying to boost bicycle use.
In France, some 20 companies and institutions
employing a total of 10,000 people have signed up
to pay their staff 25 euro cents (34 U.S. cents) per
kilometer to bike to work. In Belgium, about 8% of all
commutes are on bicycles. In the Netherlands, it is
about 25%. Such policies need sign-off from
individuals at the top of the ladder. And while tax
breaks have proven ineffective in the U.S., maybe
monthly deposits will take hold. TDB is the fastest
way to expose the decision-makers to this idea.
A LESSON FROM OVERSEAS
34. a shift in behavior will require the buy-in of
a community. But i believe it should begin at
the top and filter to the bottom. if as a
people we emulate the behaviors of those we
wish to become, it’s those individuals who
can and should drive change
35. thanks for riding along.
Chris Barbee, Senior Brand Planner
chris.barbee@me.com