I've recently gotten back into the habit of morning rides. No 5 or 6am roll-outs here but less extreme 7-7:30 departure times from Wheelrunner & Gregario, two local shops here in Amsterdam.

Thursday's fill-in Ride Leader, Jen Bestbier, & I were talking about recent developments of local marketing campaigns that different brands are currently rolling out here in Amsterdam. The context was our consensus that a brand will get passed if they market half-assed. At one point, Jen said:

"You'll Never Make It If You Half-Bake It."

Ha! I put that on my mental shelf for this week's newsletter title, and yesterday I did some googling about what fully-baked marketing even means. ; )

Well, I'll save my own dissertation on the ingredients that Twotone endorses, recommends, and implements in our own marketing mix, but I did find an entertaining Fully Baked Marketing Strategy synopsis by Samantha Kempster on Linkedin:

📝 1: "Gather Your Ingredients (Conduct Market Research): Before you bake, you need to know what you’re working with. Research your market, competitors, and audience"

🎯 2: "Know Who You’re Baking For (Define Your Target Audience): Your audience’s tastes determine the final product."

🤔 3: "Decide What You’re Baking (Establish Goals & Objectives): Are you making cookies, cake, or scones? In marketing, this translates to setting specific, measurable goals for your campaigns."

💫 4: "Perfect Your Recipe (Develop Your Unique Value Proposition): What makes your baked good stand out? Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) is the special ingredient that differentiates your brand."

🫵 5: "Choose the Right Oven (Select Marketing Channels): Different ovens bake differently, just like marketing channels reach audiences differently."

🥣 6: "Mix the Ingredients (Create a Content Strategy): Combine your tactics into a cohesive content plan."

⏱️ 7: "Set the Timer (Develop a Timeline): Without a timeline, you risk burning or underbaking your strategy."

♨️ 8: ", (Implement Tactics & Analyze Results)"

👨🏼‍🍳 9: "Taste and Adjust (Refine & Adapt). The first batch isn’t always perfect. Regularly review your strategy."

Samantha's analogies cover nearly all the bases, but apropos my post-ride convo with Jen, what I'd add for point nº10:

👀 10: Observe & Learn: keep tabs on others baking in your industry. New recipes, results, tastes, and tactics can quickly overshadow your tried & true recipes. Failing to learn from others' iterative approach is your own self-reproach.

I'm not typically a baker, but I cook up marketing strategies every day. If you have ideas for missing steps, send them my way! : )

Thank you for reading!

with gratitude,

Jon

🗓️

Upcoming Events

May

🇳🇱 14 Wheelrunner Wednesday Morning Ride (Weekly at 7:00am)
🇳🇱 15 Gregario Thursday AM Ride (Weekly at 7:30am)
🇵🇹 16 Angels of Dirt Screening Lisboa Motorcycle Film Festival
🇳🇱 16-18 Urban Sports Week Amsterdam
🇳🇱 17 Wildcard Rally
🇳🇱 21 Talking Tailored Series #1: Meet Pierre from Chiru Bikes
🇳🇱 24 Amsterdam Museumplein Skatepark Opening
🇳🇱 25 Maats' 190km Store to Store Ride
🇬🇧 21 Angels of Dirt Screening at DEUS in Dorset
🇩🇪 31 Angels of Dirt Screening at Craftwerk Berlin
🇳🇱 31 Fenderfest Nº2

June

🇳🇱 1 Aidsfonds Rainbow Ride Amsterdam
🇩🇪 5 Angels of Dirt Screening Cologne hosted by German Flat Track
🇳🇱 6 Dox Under The Track Nº11
🇮🇹 6-8 Bicycle Adventure Meeting
🇳🇱 7 Angels of Dirt Screening Noordelos
🇳🇱 8 Pathfinder Maastricht
🇳🇱 11-13 Bicycle Film Festival Maastricht
🇳🇱 15 Pirate Radio: Kootwijk. Veluwe Gravel
🇧🇪 17-18 Micromobility Brussels
🇩🇪 25-29 Eurobike (26th is 4th Annual Twotone x CRANK! Dinner!)

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Talking Tailored Series #1: Meet Pierre from Chiru Bikes 21 May

Slow Riding & Full Living | Bikepacking the Belgian Ardennes

Words, photos, and video by Antoine Willemart chronicling an entertaining exploration through the Belgian Ardennes. Read the recap here. Antoine is also sporting a handcrafted framebag by Yiannos, aka ENA Bags. Read ENA Bags' latest newsletter here.