dispelling the myths; marketing bicycling to women

Marketing Bicycling to Women; Increasing Female Ridership

Women on a Roll

Photo by Martha Williams

Women Bike aims to change the face of bicycling by creating pathways for women of all backgrounds to embrace bicycling and participate as riders, advocates and leaders

Women on a Roll

First Women Bike report Compiles more than 100 data points Identifies barriers and opportunities to get more women riding

Myth: Women are a homogeneous group

WOMEN BIKEChanging the face of bicycling by getting more women on bikes

and participating as riders, advocates and leaders

Myth: Women don’t like bikes

Myth: Women aren’t concerned about biking as a community issue

Myth: Women don’t commute by bike

Myth: Women don’t ride as much as men

Myth: Women aren’t engaged in advocacy

Myth: Women are a bicycling minority

Myth: Women bicyclists are no different than men

Myth: Women aren’t absolutely, positively essential to mainstreaming bicycling

Myth: Gender parity isn’t possible

Netherlands = 55% women

Myth: Gender parity isn’t possible

Engaging more women = Leading edge of bike advocacy

2012 2013

2012: Two-hour panel, 200 attendees 2013: Full-day event, 400 participants

2014: Join us on March 3!

>> Fun (73%) >> Fitness (69%) >> Recreation (45%)

TOP 3 REASONS WOMEN RIDE

Motivations

>> 93% of Seattle women said cycling is “great exercise and keeps me in shape”

Riding for health

Motivations

>> Women (31%) are significantly more likely to ride as a family activity than men (18%)

Riding with family

Motivations

>> 42% of women say they’d ride more if they had people to ride with

Riding for social connection

Motivations

>> 3,100+ riders for Rapha Women’s 100 >> 36% of 2012 USA Triathlon members were women

Riding for empowerment

Motivations

>> Comfort >> Convenience >> Confidence >> Consumer products >> Community

>> 5 Cs to More Women Riding…

Messaging

Don’t change how people THINK

Messaging

Change how people FEEL

Messaging

Tell STORIES

Be VISUAL

Messaging

It’s NOT about the bike, or the ride, or the cycle track, or the law, or the trail, or the bike plan, or the education class…

Messaging

What are we REALLY selling?

Messaging

It’s NOT about the bike, or the ride, or the cycle track, or the law, or the trail, or the bike plan…

Messaging

Media

3/4 of women online use social media 72% of online women use Facebook (62% of men) Female bicyclists are more likely than male cyclists to have a Facebook (85% vs 64%) and Twitter (34% vs 24%) account

Media Women are more active on

Pintrest and Instagram

Pintrest: 25% of online women Instagram: 15% of online women

Media

Word of mouth: 67% of women follow up when sent a news item by a friend or family Women are 56% more likely than men to share or like what others post on social media

Media

Who are your MESSENGERS? >> on your website

>> featured in your materials >> in leadership

Photo of Janette Sadik-Khan, by Derin Thorpe, courtesy of Momentum magazine

Women Bike: Join Us!

Attend the National Women’s Bicycling Forum bikeleague.org/forum March 3, 2014 Use our resources bikeleague.org/womenbike Subscribe to our E-news bikeleague.org/womenbike Join our community facebook.com/womenbike @womenbike | #womenbike Contact carolyn@bikeleague.org