BRAINTREE
TOUR DE TECH
Do you ever think about what makes riding in an Uber so easy? Or, how an online cart can quickly be purchased with the click of a button? That’s Braintree. A PayPal owned, global payments platform that powers businesses behind the scene.
Braintree was looking for a clever way to interact with London’s tech scene and become a helpful hand in building the foundation of so many companies. While payment processing is something every business requires, it is often a last thought for start-up companies so to reach this audience, we knew we had to find a way to organically enter their everyday lives and add value to their day-to-day, showing Braintree’s benefits—not just telling them.
We partnered with a tech start-up/urban cycling program, Buzzbike, to create an engaging brand experience that improved the lives of these hardworking, mobile-savvy, on-the-go entrepreneurs.
We developed the Tour de Tech. A 6-month cycling competition where 50 companies raced from October 2016 to April 2017, using the Tour de Tech app.
The virtual race was broken down into 6 segments, each varying in length. Teams would compete for a chance to win each segment and the overall award. Riders could watch the leaderboard move in real-time, motivating the competition. For teams that trailed, we incentivized them to keep riding with individual performance badges and prizes.
The development was dense, accounting for everything from cheating riders, speed analytics, constant real-time calculation and site pushes, plus much more.
App data also tracked routes our riders took in the city, allowing us to position outdoor posters where they would be seen, cheering them on. By weaving a seamless experience into their daily commute, we proved our mission of seamless integration. And by creating a race with employee-minded prizes, we appealed to their competitive spirit and showed that we care not only about their business, but their work culture as well.
In six months, Braintree went from having little awareness or consideration, to having a highly engaged community at the heart of London’s tech scene. Engagement with the Tour de Tech remained consistent over all six months, resulting in 50,000 cumulative miles biked by all riders. Average app engagement was 229 minutes per biker.
Teams enjoyed the program so much that consideration increased by over 70%. They also talked about their positive experience, generating over 1 million organic social impressions. But it wasn’t just digital engagement. On the final night of the race, with three teams vying for the grand prize, 12 riders went out at midnight to race for the title of champion.
The Tour de Tech generated £120M in sales leads and is continuing its program for a second ride!
