(Madison, Wis.) – Engaging a full-range of strategic, creative and multimedia services, Planet Propaganda gears up for Trek Bicycle Corporation’s second annual dealer seminar. Called “Trek U,” the touring educational program took to the road in November 2005 reaching as many as 10,000 people working at more than 2,000 independent bike dealers around the world.
Contributing to the successful branding of Gary Fisher mountain bikes, Planet’s president Rob Sax says Trek invited them to help shape the seminar concept from the start. “They were looking for a way to make the shop rats (the affectionate name for bike dealers’ staff) love Trek the most. If these guys like your company and products most, they’ll sell them the hardest.”
Sax continues, “The shop employees are generally guys in their 20s making money doing something they really like. They’re passionate about biking. They love the sport. They’re active riders. They’re in front of customers every day and they take tremendous pride in knowing as much as possible about the equipment and accessories they’re selling. We want to earn their loyalty by teaching them Trek’s most important stories and giving them interesting information that they can share with their customers. The more comfortable they feel talking about Trek, the more confident they’ll be selling it.”
“In some ways it’s like a giant game of telephone,” observes Sax. “The message goes from Trek to their reps to the shop owners to the shop sales people to the consumer. No matter who’s passing along the message, we want to make sure that it keeps its integrity.” Relaying this message, Planet helps the hosts hold their audience’s attention by wrapping Trek U’s educational content in an entertaining, humorous, fast-paced, visual format.
For 2006, Planet will adapt the seminar’s contents to an online format. The goal is to help bike dealers train new employees and refresh returning seasonal staff at a critical time, just before they enter their busiest time of the year. “While this is a new direction in Trek U’s presentation method, we’re still talking to the audience that we know, in the language that they understand and are comfortable with. We don’t want to bore them. We aren’t going to intimidate them,” emphasizes Sax. “This group won’t be easily swayed with traditional marketing. They’ve got to see it, hear it and feel it for themselves. This is about good, old fashioned encouragement plus an assload of swag.”
Planet’s intimate understanding of speaking to bike dealers is critical to their success with Trek. “We continue to move challenging projects to Planet for two reasons: They understand the ultimate goal, and they know how to get it done,” says Dean Gore, Gary Fisher brand manager.
During its first year, Trek U reached more than 1,000 people working at independent bike retailers in 50 U.S. cities. Several days after the presentation, attendees were asked to complete an anonymous, on-line survey. With 80 percent of the surveys rating the conference as “excellent” or “very good,” respondents also took the time to offer 461 comments. These ranged from the industry veterans noting “As a 25-year Trek dealer, I was surprised by the number of tidbits I picked up,” and “It was one of the better industry events that I have been to in the 10 years I have been in shops,” to the ageless applause, “I feel far more prepared to present the facts to the customer,” to “Thank you for taking the time and making …the people in the trenches’ lives a little easier.” Their feedback, compliments and constructive criticism directly influenced Trek U’s expanded tour scheduled for 2005 and its 2006 format.
Planet Propaganda is a design, advertising and interactive company committed to shaping passion-based brands. Founded in 1989 in Madison, Wis., Planet’s national clients include Gary Fisher mountain bikes, Bretford furniture and workspaces, PunchStock royalty-free images, and Jimmy John’s gourmet sandwiches. For more information, please visit
