After building a strong reputation with cycling enthusiasts, 99 Bikes is going after a much wider customer base. The retailer and creative agency alt/shift/ have launched ‘We Know Riders’, a national campaign that makes store staff the central creative device.
The next growth audience is not the hardcore rider
The push extends last year’s out-of-home work into a full multi-channel effort ahead of the holiday sales period. The strategic priority is commuters, casual riders and gift shoppers who do not yet think of 99 Bikes the way serious cyclists do.
This is a classic brand-familiarity gap. The core audience already trusts the store; the next wave of growth comes from people who may feel out of place in a specialist bike retailer.
Staff behaviour becomes the ad
The creative dramatises the retailer’s reputation for expert, judgement-free service. In one scene, a burly employee wobbles along on a child’s bike with a bow on the handlebars. In another, an espresso-sipping, lycra-clad weekend road warrior checks tyre pressure. The repeated idea is that no rider’s needs are overlooked.
Rachael Mortimore, senior creative at alt/shift/, described the brief as an ‘anti-snob campaign in disguise’. The point, she said, is that 99 Bikes’ expertise is about understanding every kind of rider, not jargon or gatekeeping.
One idea, full-funnel media
The campaign runs as 30-second and 15-second TVCs across BVOD and SVOD from October, including Netflix, Prime Video, Paramount+, 7plus, SBS On Demand, 10 Play, LG TV and Samsung TV Plus. Paid YouTube, transit and large-format out-of-home, and audio on Spotify, LiSTNR, iHeartRadio and Nova Podcasts carry the same creative idea. Media is handled by Scout Frontier.
This is a useful template for retail brand building. A single idea, adapted for sight, sound and short video, can build familiarity in the channels where casual customers actually spend time.
What marketers can use
- Widen the brand without lowering the register: 99 Bikes keeps expert service while opening the door to beginners.
- Use employees as proof, not props: staff behaviour is the claim, which is more credible than a tagline.
- Launch before the seasonal trigger: an October start gives the campaign time to shape holiday gift purchases.
Jane Miles, brand marketing leader at 99 Bikes, said the company’s people are the reason customers return. alt/shift/ found a way to make that feel ‘fresh and funny rather than worthy’, which is the tone the campaign needed.
The takeaway
The anti-snob angle is transferable. Find the anxiety that stops your next buyer, then show your team removing it. Keep the execution consistent across video, outdoor and audio so the idea compounds instead of fragmenting.
Source: Campaign Brief
