Social Media Leveraging Case Study
Social Media Leveraging Case Study
Winner 50 – 199 Division 91% participation with 51 out of 55 staff participating and 34 new riders Why did Scott Carver take part in the Challenge? A few years back Scott Carver participated in the Sydney Rides Business Challenge and won. As the winners, we received two bikes, which have become the 'office bikes' and are free for people to take to meetings, lunch or just to ride around as they choose. Actually, you can book them just like you would the meeting rooms or the office car – it’s kind of fun and they are pretty decent bikes as well. It became a matter of pride to protect our position from the previous challenge. What were your goals for your staff in the challenge? I'm not a cyclist, but as the office marketing person I was inevitably charged with getting everyone together, which is fine as I am also very competitive - I wanted to win! The fact that we have won before drove me even more and the main objective was to get 100% participation – so even if I could get people on the bikes for the bare minimum, I was happy. I started a little internal competition on one of the empty walls in the office. Basically, I cut out little bikes for everyone who signed up to the challenge (which they could colour and personalize as they wished). There was a start line and key Km indicators, which as people clocked their rides they could move their bike along the wall. There wasn't a prize, but it was a cute idea and it got everyone involved, even if it was just to laugh at my ridiculous antics. I think knowing that everyone could see each other progress throughout the competition made everyone a little more competitive. What did you like and what worked in the Challenge for you? The Sydney Suit Ride was great. It was the probably the most enjoyable part of the challenge and made everyone feel like they were a part of something bigger. I even made little numbers plates with our company logo on them for all the bikes that participated on the day. It was interesting to see how many people on the streets noticed them and were commenting. For Scott Carver, what worked well were the lunchtime rides we organize on a Wednesday. Basically anyone who hadn't ridden would elect the week they were going to ride and we would head down to The Domain, this way no one really had a reason not to get involved. We had the two office bikes and the regular riders in the office let others borrow their bikes. It was a fun way to get everyone together, have a laugh and get more people participating; I think that was really key to our success. These rides also made for some pretty hilarious shots that went up on Twitter and Instagram. We were pretty vocal about our participation in the challenge as it is an important agenda to follow and we really wanted our followers to know why it's relevant to us as an organisation, particularly as we are based in the CBD and are influencers in the urban agenda.
What would you do differently? Since the last challenge we have grown by 15 people. People have left and new people have come, so I think we will probably follow the same tactics for next year and see how we go. I don't know whether we will have more regular riders or less, so it will be interesting to see if there is any more resistance. I guess I will know my game plan closer to the time. We have also moved closer into the city, which means The Domain is only a short walk up the road and we also have some pretty neat lock up bike racks in the garage downstairs, no doubt this will act as a plus, as people will have somewhere to store their bikes now. What benefits did you see? There were some staff who ended up either riding more often, asking to borrow the work bikes to take home so they could ride into work – which was great. Personally, I ended up purchasing a bike and I have ridden it a handful of times since the Challenge. It's an amazing feeling getting on a bike; you have this unique sense of freedom, like you are gliding. I can't explain it, but it’s an intense feeling when you haven't ridden for a while, that's for sure. What road bumps did you tackle during the Challenge? We initially registered 50 employees, because we had 50 at the start of the competition, but over the duration of the competition we slowly grew to 55, which was annoying. People were on extended holidays, someone got pregnant, people were sick, which makes the challenge difficult – but that's just logistics right? We would hit 100% and then drop down again, so we went through phases of elation and then exhaustion! There are also 1 or 2 people – who are quite adamant about never getting on a bike, no one knows why but we have to respect that. For that reason, we will probably never get 100% participation, but we can try!!
How did the company support your efforts? We have four directors and they all got involved which was great. I think it helps if there is a positive influence from the top, which inevitably trickles down onto all employees. Bob Perry (Director) and Dajon Veldman (Urban Design Sector Leader) are super keen on the cycling agenda. Dajon is also from the Netherlands, so for him, the prospect of a cycling culture is second nature and one he sees important to making Sydney a more dynamic, liveable city. Read Bob Perry’s Blog Post on Scott Carver’s participation in the 2015 Challenge. What positive stories came from the Challenge within your staff? You will be pleased to know that one of the staff members learnt to ride a bike for the first time. It wasn't this year but the previous year when Scott Carver won. That year a whole bunch of the guys and girls in the office got together in The Domain and taught her to ride and this year she participated in the challenge without help from anyone. So that was great to see! Will you take part in the next Challenge? Yes. Scott Carver has grown to 65 people now and no doubt will be more than that when the next challenge rolls around. I am keen to get 100% riding and hopefully some of us will get our hands on some of the prizes throughout the duration of the challenge.
Register your business for the 2016 Sydney Rides Business Challenge now at sydneyrideschallenge.net!
Winner 50 – 199 Division 91% participation with 51 out of 55 staff participating and 34 new riders Why did Scott Carver take part in the Challenge? A few years back Scott Carver participated in the Sydney Rides Business Challenge and won. As the winners, we received two bikes, which have become the 'office bikes' and are free for people to take to meetings, lunch or just to ride around as they choose. Actually, you can book them just like you would the meeting rooms or the office car – it’s kind of fun and they are pretty decent bikes as well. It became a matter of pride to protect our position from the previous challenge. What were your goals for your staff in the challenge? I'm not a cyclist, but as the office marketing person I was inevitably charged with getting everyone together, which is fine as I am also very competitive - I wanted to win! The fact that we have won before drove me even more and the main objective was to get 100% participation – so even if I could get people on the bikes for the bare minimum, I was happy. I started a little internal competition on one of the empty walls in the office. Basically, I cut out little bikes for everyone who signed up to the challenge (which they could colour and personalize as they wished). There was a start line and key Km indicators, which as people clocked their rides they could move their bike along the wall. There wasn't a prize, but it was a cute idea and it got everyone involved, even if it was just to laugh at my ridiculous antics. I think knowing that everyone could see each other progress throughout the competition made everyone a little more competitive. What did you like and what worked in the Challenge for you? The Sydney Suit Ride was great. It was the probably the most enjoyable part of the challenge and made everyone feel like they were a part of something bigger. I even made little numbers plates with our company logo on them for all the bikes that participated on the day. It was interesting to see how many people on the streets noticed them and were commenting. For Scott Carver, what worked well were the lunchtime rides we organize on a Wednesday. Basically anyone who hadn't ridden would elect the week they were going to ride and we would head down to The Domain, this way no one really had a reason not to get involved. We had the two office bikes and the regular riders in the office let others borrow their bikes. It was a fun way to get everyone together, have a laugh and get more people participating; I think that was really key to our success. These rides also made for some pretty hilarious shots that went up on Twitter and Instagram. We were pretty vocal about our participation in the challenge as it is an important agenda to follow and we really wanted our followers to know why it's relevant to us as an organisation, particularly as we are based in the CBD and are influencers in the urban agenda.
What would you do differently? Since the last challenge we have grown by 15 people. People have left and new people have come, so I think we will probably follow the same tactics for next year and see how we go. I don't know whether we will have more regular riders or less, so it will be interesting to see if there is any more resistance. I guess I will know my game plan closer to the time. We have also moved closer into the city, which means The Domain is only a short walk up the road and we also have some pretty neat lock up bike racks in the garage downstairs, no doubt this will act as a plus, as people will have somewhere to store their bikes now. What benefits did you see? There were some staff who ended up either riding more often, asking to borrow the work bikes to take home so they could ride into work – which was great. Personally, I ended up purchasing a bike and I have ridden it a handful of times since the Challenge. It's an amazing feeling getting on a bike; you have this unique sense of freedom, like you are gliding. I can't explain it, but it’s an intense feeling when you haven't ridden for a while, that's for sure. What road bumps did you tackle during the Challenge? We initially registered 50 employees, because we had 50 at the start of the competition, but over the duration of the competition we slowly grew to 55, which was annoying. People were on extended holidays, someone got pregnant, people were sick, which makes the challenge difficult – but that's just logistics right? We would hit 100% and then drop down again, so we went through phases of elation and then exhaustion! There are also 1 or 2 people – who are quite adamant about never getting on a bike, no one knows why but we have to respect that. For that reason, we will probably never get 100% participation, but we can try!!
How did the company support your efforts? We have four directors and they all got involved which was great. I think it helps if there is a positive influence from the top, which inevitably trickles down onto all employees. Bob Perry (Director) and Dajon Veldman (Urban Design Sector Leader) are super keen on the cycling agenda. Dajon is also from the Netherlands, so for him, the prospect of a cycling culture is second nature and one he sees important to making Sydney a more dynamic, liveable city. Read Bob Perry’s Blog Post on Scott Carver’s participation in the 2015 Challenge. What positive stories came from the Challenge within your staff? You will be pleased to know that one of the staff members learnt to ride a bike for the first time. It wasn't this year but the previous year when Scott Carver won. That year a whole bunch of the guys and girls in the office got together in The Domain and taught her to ride and this year she participated in the challenge without help from anyone. So that was great to see! Will you take part in the next Challenge? Yes. Scott Carver has grown to 65 people now and no doubt will be more than that when the next challenge rolls around. I am keen to get 100% riding and hopefully some of us will get our hands on some of the prizes throughout the duration of the challenge.
Register your business for the 2016 Sydney Rides Business Challenge now at sydneyrideschallenge.net!
