Bicycle Resources Overview

Bike Month Events, Bike to Work, and Bicycle Safety Events Provide an Excellent Potential Source of Revenue and Contribution Back to the Community

Example of Club Event and Major Sponsors

Let me introduce myself.  I work for BikenSafetyPromos as an outside marketing consultant.  I have over 40 years of experience in the bicycle industry and over 25 years of experience in the Promotional Products Industry.  As President of a plastics manufacturer, I was responsible for selling printed products into virtually every member of the Fortune 500, and all of the top ASI distributors. 
I have written numerous books on small business and articles and posts for the Promo biz. 

With that introduction in mind, I hope to help you build your business in multiple ways through the channel of bicycle safety items used for events related to cycling.  You may or may not be aware of the massive number of events or numerous local, regional, and national organizations that are working to get more folks on bicycles, make cycling safer, and thus help to decrease carbon-based energy use, increase the health of the nation, reduce traffic congestion, and provide an outstanding method of recreation to many who have forgotten how much fun cycling can be.

In this blog, you will note all the menu tabs across the top of the page.  In these tabs we will provide a continually updated list of information to help you find event, start events, produce successful events, and find new customers in the process.  Through your effort you should be able to produce income for your business, but also make a contribution to the above potential community benefits.  Maybe best of all, is that your network of relationships that will be generated through this type of event or client is likely to be a springboard for many other promotional opportunities.

In fact, if I were your business consultant, I might suggest that becoming an active member of the rotary, chamber of commerce, PTA, or other civic organizations would be an excellent way to build a network.  Getting to know the folks at City Hall or the Police Department can also lead to good connections.  Bicycle Safety events tend to bring together all of the above.  But instead of you needed to seek out the right committee to join, you can be the rainmaker. 

Even if you only bootstrap onto bicycle safety or bike month projects that already exist, you are very likely to develop the kinds of relationships just noted.  Here is the short list of organization types that are very likely to be doing bicycle safety or bike month type events. 

1. Police Departments commonly have bike safety programs, rodeos, or work with schools and other organizations to promote bike safety, pedestrian safety, and related safety issues.
2. Optimist Clubs specifically target bicycle safety as a project and tend to have events during Bike Month in May.  Sometimes Rotary, chambers of commerce, or other service clubs may be taking the lead in your area for these types of events.
3. If a local organization is not heading it up, sometimes the school is doing the leading on bicycle and pedestrian safety.  Check with PTA or other parent organizations as well as the school administration.
4. Parks and recreation departments or other city and county departments commonly have safety programs.  Find out from the mayor's office where to start looking.
5. There is now a national effort under the banner of Share the Road.  Check with your state offices or Google Share the Road and your state, county, or city to see if there are programs locally.
6. Charity fundraising events for cyclists, runners, walkers, physically handicapped, and other groups are always looking for swag.  Similar to breast-cancer walks, the numbers can be huge for these events.  Bug-Eyez are the perfect item as they will actually get used at the event and after. Google Charity bike rides and your city.
7. Bicycles and breweries.  Bicycles and coffee shops.  Not sure why, but over the years cyclists have become fans of great brewing, whether beer or coffee. As you know both of these types of breweries love to put on special nights or weekend events.  They would almost certainly want to be involved in a city-wide event. Local businesses offering specialty beer or coffee will likely be very interested in offering Bug-Eyez as a promotional.
8. Hospitals - We heard from dozens of distributors at the PPAI show that their hospital clients have multiple events and ongoing projects around safety.  Every one of these folks also believed that Bug-Eyez would be a great item for these hospital based projects.
9. Running or cycling clubs.  These may be small with only a few members, but some are quite large.  They commonly have professionals and local leaders as members.  They generally have ongoing events each week, and may have larger rides or tie in to charitable rides. 
10. Corporations often participate in Bike to Work Week.  You might want to ask the question on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google+ to see if any of your network knows if their company or any local companies are doing something for Bike to Work Week.