Make it stand out

The successful rebranding of Bell Helmets positioned them to be most relevant in the powersports and dirt cycling categories where they were pioneers. Despite this recalibration at the time Bell still maintained an influential road cycling team (BMC) which was an important asset, especially for its European distributors. Bell had a place in road cycling culture past and present. Our challenge was to reestablish their authentic position while creating greater distinction from their sister brand of Giro. We had to do this while launching the Gage helmet, the last helmet designed before the repositioning of the brand and relatively "ho hum" in terms of its place in the market.

Bell has never been a “living in lycra” place. It is a DIY brand that is actively engaged with getting your fingers dirty and living wide open. This position does not jive well with the Grand Tours of European cycling. Instead we chose to focus on the less glamorous races, the Spring Classics. Single day thigh busting races ridden by a much more "blue collar" style rider. The BMC team has riders on their roster who specialize in these races and we felt that this was the proper vehicle for Bell's position in road cycling. The result: The hard road. branded content and an integrated campaign that launched The Gage helmet with much success despite the product's lack of innovation or USP.