Feature: London Pedicabs pedal for promoters

By Sales Promotion

Public relations agency Virgo Health PR was looking for innovative and relevant ways to support Reckitt Benckiser’s campaign to launch the new Nurofen Express last year. The key message of this campaign, which included £10 million of TV advertising, was that the new painkillers targeted pain twice as fast as standard Nurofen tablets.

The PR agency turned to London Pedicabs, the outdoor marketing services company with a fleet of bicycle-drawn vehicles. As part of a week-long “Fast Lane Frenzy” tour, a fleet of branded pedicabs were taken across the country providing free rides to get people to their destinations “twice as fast”. Starting with three days in London, it subsequently took to the streets of Birmingham, Manchester and Hull.

The agency’s director Lisa Rodwell says: “Virgo Health PR was tasked with delivering a campaign that would guarantee 360 degree noise around the launch of Nurofen Express. A crucial part of this was creating a memorable experience for consumers that would reinforce the brand proposition. London Pedicabs helped bring this to life with a highly visible campaign that ensured we really became the talk of the town.”

Three pedicabs can still be seen around the streets of London to promote the ISP Awards 2008, which are being announced at a ceremony at the InterContinental Hotel Park Lane, London, on May 22. Liveried with the Awards creative work, the bicycle-powered cabs also hand-delivered the Call for Entries brochure to agencies in London in January.

London Pedicabs has helped to promote brands such as Tesco, Vodafone, O2, Volvo, Nurofen and Eon. It was established three years ago by Graeme Rivett as a specialist Outdoor Marketing Services company after he had been working with the bicycle-drawn vehicles as a promotional medium for five years.

Anthony Robertson, sales director at London Pedicabs, says: “The London Pedicabs media and promotional offering adds a new dimension to standard outdoor media. It engages with consumers, delivering the brand in a completely experiential way.”

With the increasing emphasis on carbon emissions caused by marketing, Robertson adds that pedicabs are a “truly green medium. By running a transport service with zero emissions, we are committed to the improvement of the environment particularly in city and town centres.”

More case studies and information at www.londonpedicabs.com.