CASE STUDY: Thinking Outside the Box for the Schwinn Tailwind “Pedal Assist” eBike

OBJECTIVE:

Take Schwinn Bicycles and position it at the forefront of a still nascent, but very visible and important, market segment within the United States: “pedal assist” electric bikes. However, very few eBikes were being sold each year within the U.S. and few were seen as fun or exciting. These were just some of the challenges facing David Politis when he was approached by the over 100-year-old Schwinn.

The Tailwind “pedal assist” eBike from Schwinn.

OVERVIEW:

Owned by Dorel Industries (TSX: DII.B, DII.A) and one of four bicycle brands within the Cannondale Sports Group, Schwinn has high-end bikes that are sold in Independent Bicycle Dealers and specialty retailers, with entry-level Schwinn brand bicycles sold by mass retailers throughout North America. In addition, by mid-2008, Schwinn had also added six eBikes to its extensive IBD product line.

In spite of growing acceptance in Europe and with more than 20 million total units sold worldwide, eBikes have historically been a small niche market in the United States for all bike manufacturers, Schwinn included. However, with the anticipated 2009 launch of its newest electric bicycle — the Tailwind — Schwinn planned to create a new eBike paradigm within the U.S., with the Tailwind and its other electric bikes at the forefront of the U.S. marketplace.

Through the combination of its own eBike technology and cutting-edge Super Charge ion Battery (SCiB) technology from Toshiba, Schwinn claimed that its Tailwind was the most innovative eBike in the world. The Tailwind was also the first product to incorporate Toshiba’s SCiB technology and the only eBike to use it. In fact, the Tailwind set new standards in the electric bike category, namely

• Its battery could be completely recharged in 30 minutes (roughly a 25- to 30-mile range) through a standard three-prong residential electrical outlet (versus the standard 3- to 4-hours competing eBikes take to recharge); and
• Its battery could be re-charged a guaranteed 2,000 times versus the industry standard of 500- to 1,000-times. (Interestingly, Toshiba had already tested the Tailwind SCiB battery to more than 6,000 re-charge cycles while still maintaining more than 80% of its capacity.)

Schwinn planned to introduce the Tailwind to its retailers and to the bicycle trade industry at the 2008 Interbike International Bicycle Expo in September. But given that its first Tailwind production units were not expected to be in IBDs until Spring 2009, Schwinn wanted recommendations on how best to launch the Tailwind to the rest of America in 2008/2009. Hence, the entrance of David Politis and the two agencies he had founded and directed: Politis Communications and SOAR Communications.

GOALS:

• Leverage media coverage to create high consumer interest/demand for the Tailwind, especially among non-trade media outlets.
• Position Schwinn Bicycles as the eBike industry leader in the U.S.

STRATEGIES:

• Provide targeted media outlets with early access to the Tailwind for early exclusive news and/or review opportunities;
• Utilize social media services/platforms to engage innovative thought-leaders on the forthcoming Tailwind; and
• Formally launch the Tailwind to the world at large through the largest technology tradeshow in North America – the Consumer Electronics Show – a venue guaranteed to
  • leverage both the Schwinn and Toshiba brand names, as well as
  • propel the Tailwind to the front of the eBike class in the U.S.

TACTICS:

Using traditional PR thinking, Politis arranged an advance exclusive interview and demo ride for a reporter with the Los Angeles Times two days before the opening of the tradeshow portion of Interbike. This resulted in front page coverage on the Tailwind in the business section of the LA Times on the opening day of the show.

Conversely, an unorthodox approach to bicycle PR saw Schwinn unveil its Tailwind to a selected group of technology and business reporters attending a Showstoppers media reception in New York City on the evening of the first day of Interbike. The reasoning? The Schwinn Tailwind wasn’t just a bike — it was an eBike. In fact, it was the most technologically advanced electric bike on the planet.

That night alone, interviews and briefings were held with more than 50 journalists and media outlets. Within a few weeks, both C/NET’s Loaded, Barron’s and Men’s Vogue ran positive reviews and/or stories on the Tailwind, with other stories and reviews in the pipeline.

Leading into the new year and CES 2009, Politis and his teams also created a Twitter account for the Tailwind and began reaching out to both journalists and industry thought-leaders. Even before CES 2009 began, the Tailwind began attracting attention as NBC Universal’s DVICE.com named the Tailwind as one of the “5 Amazing Products” to see at CES.

The Schwinn Tailwind eBike featured on the Today Show with Al Roker.

And the day before the show officially opened, the Tailwind was featured on a 90-second pre-CES segment of the TODAY Show with Al Roker, a segment that saw the Tailwind on camera for all 90 seconds.

In addition to conducting dozens on media interviews at the Schwinn booth in the Sands Convention Center, Schwinn also participated in the Showstoppers Media Reception at the Wynn Resort & Casino the opening night of CES 2009. But here again, Politis and his teams thought outside of the box and made special arrangements with Showstoppers to secure a neighboring 200×60-foot area in the ballroom where more than 100 journalists took the Tailwind for an indoor demo ride on the carpeted floor.

By the end of March, Schwinn had generated more than 235 million impressions with prospective Tailwind customers in the U.S. alone through video, audio, print and online stories and reviews, with an advertising value of over $5 million. Notable media coverage included coverage by

• The Associated Press;
• C/NET;
• CNN (three total segments, including one on CNN International);
• Consumer Reports;
• Gadgetell;
• MSN and MSN Tech Video;
• PC World;
• Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer (named one of the “Top 10 Picks from CES” by Jonathan Takiff);
• San Francisco Chronicle;
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer;
• TreeHugger.com; and
• Wired,

just to name a few.