THE RIDERLESS BIKE

TitleTHE RIDERLESS BIKE
BrandSTEVE WAUGH FOUNDATION
Product / ServiceCHARITY
CategoryB09. Celebrity Endorsement
EntrantRED AGENCY Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation HAVAS AUSTRALIA Sydney, AUSTRALIA
PR RED AGENCY Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Production FINCH Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
James Wright Red Agency Chief Executive Officer, Red Agency APAC
Nick Day Red Agency Senior Account Manager
Brenna Baeyens Red Agency Account Coordinator
Stu Turner Havas Executive Creative Director
Seamus Higgins Havas Executive Creative Director
Gustavo Vampre Havas Digital Creative Director
Zac Pritchard Havas Creative
Damian Galvin Havas Creative
Bohdi Lewis Havas Digital Strategy Director
Bohdi Lewis Havas Digital Strategy Director
Carly Pelham Havas Account Director
Lawrence Pretty Havas Senior Account Manager
Harriet Ta htouh Havas Broadcast Producer
Angelica Scott Havas Digital Producer
Nic Adamovich Havas Senior Designer
Darren Cole Havas Head of Design
Clint Crothers Havas Digital Design Director
Adam Shutler Havas UX & Design Director
Adam Shutler Havas UX & Design Director
Peter Segerer Havas Digital Executive Producer
Dena Mohamed Havas Social Media Producer
Kelvin & Vicki Saik Finch Director
Amy Dymond Finch Producer
Corey Esse Finch Executive Producer
Emad Tahtouh Finch Director of Applied Technology
Patrick Barnes Finch Senior Applied Technologist
Albert Woffenden Finch Applied Technologist
Hamish Pain Finch Applied Technologist
Hazel Gibson Finch Producer
Cara Szabo Finch Production Assistant

The Campaign

-Due to safety, only 70 experienced riders can undertake the event, meaning the public and the children the Foundation supports can’t participate – until now. We decided to push the boundaries of technology by creating something inspirational that would capture people’s imagination and be representative of the amazing inspirational stories of these kids. -Meet the Riderless Bike: A world-first fully autonomous children’s bicycle that would follow the peloton and represent all the children with Rare Diseases we were raising money for. The children themselves could experience the ride themselves thanks to a 360 Camera on the Riderless Bike that relayed a live stream to the website. - We had to navigate approvals from the Road Traffic Association, NSW Police, local councils and insurers to get the bike on the road, involving demonstrations of the technology and intense negotiations.

Execution

-Created a dedicated web page (www.captainsride.com) for public donations, also offering a first-person viewpoint of the ride. Whenever the Riderless Bike was in motion, anyone visiting the website had the opportunity to experience the ride. -People could sponsor the Riderless Bike for part of the route, and we triggered Facebook posts from Steve Waugh and his Foundation as the peloton rode through each section on the map. Telling different stories of the kid's bravery and driving awareness of 166 diseases over five days. It enabled us to say 'this part of the ride is for Bradley and Thomas who are suffering from Arts disease' etc and we shared their story. -Utilised high profile influencers taking part in the ride via activating their social following, asking them to use the hashtag #CaptainsRide, encouraging people to visit the Captain’s Ride website, see the Riderless Bike, read the grant recipients' stories and donate.

-Getting approvals from the RTA and the NSW police was a massive ordeal that was successfully navigated – and was an incredible endorsement of our new technology. -552 earned media across broadcast television and radio, print and online and social. -485 articles contained a ride image (90%) -100% articles contained 1+ key messages about the charity -Total reach was close to 200m people -$8million+ AVE – we generally don’t use AVE but was mandatory to report. -Traffic to the Captain's Ride website +150% compared to previous year -Donations rose by +237% compared to the previous period, a higher conversion rate being observed during the campaign, signalling activity drove highly qualified traffic.... -We raised $1m+ for children with rare diseases - known as the orphan of the health system, often without diagnosis, without treatment, without research and therefore without hope. Michelle Campbell-Ward – Grant recipient “Well done all of you! My son and I have enjoyed following your journey this week. His rare condition has been causing him some grief over the last few days so it has been particularly encouraging to be reminded every day that he is not alone in this fight.” Steve Waugh, Former Australian Cricket Captain “It has truly been ‘a ride’ on all fronts, everyone digging deep to deliver. It has been a privilege and absolute pleasure to work with you all on this campaign, so thank you for your part, support, commitment and going the extra mile – it’s valued and appreciated beyond measure.”

The Situation

The Captain’s Ride is a challenging charity cycling event for the Steve Waugh Foundation, raising funds for the 400,000 children throughout Australia affected by rare diseases. Steve Waugh AO led a group of 70 riders on an enormous six day 701km on-road cycle event to the peak of Mt Kosciuszko. Unfortunately, the children he supports are unable to participate. This year however, while the riders’ cycled, a world-first 'Riderless Bike' that brought up the rear: A self driving children’s bicycle with an empty seat, fitted with GPS and a 360 camera, generating awareness of rare diseases and helping raise $1,000,000

The Strategy

1) Campaign Launch: Host a media day for broadcast, print, online, local and trade publications - offering Steve Waugh and Australian Rules Football Champion and Australian of the Year, Adam Goodes, for interviews and photography - to explain the technology behind the bike and the reason for its creation. 2) Sustain Momentum: Script and film engaging content videos of the Riderless Bike in action to bring the concept to life and illustrate the connection between the ride and children with rare diseases. This would be shared with technology media and high profile social publications such as UniLad to amplify beyond traditional media reach and encourage website visitation and ultimately, donations. 3) Race Week: Engage with local media on the road, generating tailored articles and interviews with other celebrities joining the ride such as legendary British Olympic decathlete, Daley Thompson CBE and Australian Olympic cycling legend Anna Meares.

Links

Website URL