May 2016 has been reserved for Zagreb’s Cyclist Union and their Bike2Work campaign, aimed to promote cycling as a healthy, profitable and socially responsible way of travelling to work. This was the second year that Cyclist Union was conducting the Bike2Work campaign, but the first time it took a larger, national scope. Participation was tracked through an online application LoveToRide, by following the number of registered bicycle rides during 21 days.
Up until that point, it was focused on Zagreb and Bike2Work had already gathered a number of participants. Our task was, therefore, to create a comprehensive campaign strategy that would enlarge the number of participants on a national level. As a main social media tool we’ve chosen Facebook, where Cyclist Union gathers an audience of +29,000. Our tools included targeted Facebook posts and videos with campaign ambassadors, such as musician Darko Rundek, journalist Maja Sever and local citizens who use bicycles as the main mean of transportation.
We also conducted a national PR campaign, including press coverage of local actions, such as sharing healthy breakfasts for cyclists and the Critical Mass - a form of peaceful protest by cyclists, as well as press conferences and radio jingles on the local stations across Croatia. Special focus was on personalized communication with Croatian organisations, companies and local governments, accenting an opportunity for them to be recognized as socially responsible by joining the campaign. Bike2Work campaign reached the participation of 666 organisations, companies and local governments, and 4342 cyclists, with 269,723 km crossed over 25,857 bicycle rides.
