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JUST INCREDIBLE: At a glittering reception in LA on August 4, Bike Friday owner Richard Vallens was named the winner of the Toyota Prius in the international Saatchi & Saatchi Lovemarks Poll for his Bike Friday Love Letter. Read the Lovemarks.com announcement / Press Release (100 kb PDF). Congratulations Richard, and thank you so much for being a Bike Friday champ. We'll have to wait and see what Richard's gonna do with that car - fold his Bike Fridays into it? Sell it and buy 3 more Bike Fridays? Stay tuned ...- LC The Contest Read about how the Bike Friday community took part this poll. CustomerEvangelists.com weighs in on the win +++ |
 RICHARD VALLENS' WINNING LETTER My Bike Friday Family Tandem is a flying carpet of great magic, the perfect solution to the eternal quest of doing something with your kids where you can both have fun and truly communicate. My rides with my son (14 now, 8 when we bought the bike) on our Family Tandem are the BEST, absolutely the best memories he and I have. We’ve had a complete Blast! on this bike – physically close enough to talk and hear well (and conspire), with the bicycling effortlessly filling any gaps in conversation. I’ve learned everything about my son by being close enough to hear as his thoughts and impressions burble out during long Family Tandem rides. So many times, it was just us in our own world, father and son on the Red Bike. Bike Friday is my Lovemark. Richard Vallens, USA |
 And here's what we received from Richard after he was handed the keys: The significance of winning goes far beyond the car, and I am just delighted for you folks at Bike Friday. "I" didn't win this contest comprised of 1500 entries from 80 countries, Bike Friday did. They were surprised when I stood up and gave an acceptance speech (both pre-planned and extemporaneous). You're liable to become a Lovemarks role model. The Lovemarks concept is the BABY of Kevin Roberts, Worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi. He's the one picked my entry as the winner, and he's the one who stood next to me while I was speaking. He is very curious about this bike company in Oregon. There were around 200 audience members - tons of ranking ad people and some ad media. I've only been home an hour and have already had two press inquiries via e-mail. Whoever had the idea of promoting Lovemarks should get an incredible, extraordinary, phenominal, and MASSIVE amount credit for whipping your owners into action. And a great BIG thank you from me for helping to park that Prius in my driveway (not that there exists one to give me, mind you, given that they're sold out for eight months to a year). My acceptance speech follows: It you want to know excitement, hearing you’ve won a car will address that emotion pretty well. If you want to know challenge, keep the secret from your family for five days, while luring them here tonight without telling the real truth. If you want to know INSPIRATION, learn that a 35 person company - called Bike Friday - shined more brightly in this competition than Apple Computer, Harley Davidson, or Honda. I am just SO enthusiastic about tonight - NOT just because I won a Prius, because we get to SPOTLIGHT such a deserving company. Bike Friday DEFINES a Lovemark. They really, truly do. In winning, all I did was post part of a heartfelt thank you letter I wrote to Bike Friday’s management, telling of my experience with their product. THAT was my Lovemarks entry. Winning this contest is not about something I did, it’s about something Bike Friday does, and does every day. What they make is custom bicycles, almost all of which fold and go in a suitcase. What they market is enthusiasm, dreams of cycling in far off places, and a worldwide community of owners. And in the case of their Family Tandem that we own, they market precious moments with your children. When Kevin Roberts describes a Lovemark, he is talking exactly about Bike Friday, and how they do business. Their products DO inspire Loyalty Beyond Reason. I’m living proof. Living proof that now drives a Prius! - Richard Vallens Pictured: Kevin Roberts, Lord of Lovemarks.com and Richard in front of what could well be a wall of Toyota Prius love letters. A new Prius - not a bad coup for penning a heartfelt paragraph! What's more, Lovemarks.com is featuring an ongoing contest to win prizes every month for entering a love letter at least as good as Richard's ...go for it. |
Some quotes from other Lovemarks entries A bike is one of, if not the, best inventions for human kind. My Bike Friday is the best bike I have ever owned, and I have owned many. It is fast, fun, and lets me ride more wherever I may find myself. Ride like a racer, tour like a dreamer, train with a purpose, see things other modes of transportaion do not allow. Bike Friday is the most innovative, efficient, easy to love bike from people who understand more than just specs and prices. I take mine everywhere with me. Bike Friday rocks. I have two other bikes right now but my Bike Friday is the one I actually feel an emotional attachment to. Its use is always a rewarding and wonderful experience in sun, rain, even snow. I will never sell my Bike Friday. Never. -Scott, Canada After spending about a million hours in various cities around the glove, and wishing I had a bike, I found out about Bike Friday folding bikes. Now, when I travel, I don't have to leave my bike at home. It goes with me, packed smartly in an ordinary suitcase. When I get where I am going, out comes the bike and off I go. There are no compromises with a Bike Friday.It is smooth, nimble, and dependable; a wonderful ride. A bike is the perfect vehicle from which to see the world. One travels fast enough to cover a great deal of ground, but still slow enough to feel the air and notice the details of a place. A Bike Friday makes the world incredibly interesting. It is a magic machine. -James, United States +++ A TRUE EVANGELIST I just got a call from Richard who was at the reception, no doubt draped with models wearing LOVEMARKS sashes ... in his acceptance speech he said "Want to know how it's done? Go to www.bikefriday.com." And here you are! Now before one more person says 'Small wheels - don't you have to pedal more?' you gotta read this. |
RELATED LINKS The Contest Read about how the Bike Friday community took part this poll. |