Where There’s a Team, There’s a Way

Brands have obviously had to shift the way they do business during the pandemic. We recently talked about the International Builders Show being virtual this year and how home and building products manufacturers adjusted to digital sales in response. Fitness brands have taken their classes and made them virtual. Beauty brands have leveraged the power of influencers posting videos of how to choose the right makeup, or skin care product since it can’t be done in-store right now. You can even order a car online and have it delivered to you, as to avoid Covid. Microsoft Teams and its promotion of Priority Bicycles is another incredible example. Where there’s a team, there’s a way.

I learned about this while binge-watching a series I’ve already seen three times on Hulu, because the company partnered with Microsoft Teams to tell their story in a commercial. The commercial first aired during the Super Bowl in February, so in thinking about that after seeing it again now, I became curious if it had proven success for Priority in terms of sales and brand awareness.

If you’ve not seen it, the commercial shares that through the pandemic, the bike brand had to get creative in how they conduct business, both internally and externally. That said, they started to use Microsoft Teams to not only to meet as colleagues, but also to create a new product and to sell products to customers. Impressive, right? I encourage you to watch here.

The television ad is shot on Teams to further prove it’s point, which is also very smart and well done. After showing how employees engage with one another through the digital platform, it goes on to explain that Priority makes appointments with customers online and initiates Team meetings virtually to walk people through the buying process and any service needs they have.

One of the employees featured in the commercial explains, “We can offer a personal connection through a virtual visit” as he’s seen talking to a customer on Teams. We’re able to see two-to-three-fold the number of customers we were able to see before. Without Teams there’s no way this would have been possible. I really think it’s going to set a standard for retail going forward.”

In exploring my curiosity for the commercial’s success, I came across an interview with Priority Bicycle CEO, David Weiner, in Bicycle Retailer. In the interview, Weiner tells us the number-one goal in the partnership is to drive brand awareness. And it worked. He is quoted saying, “We were approached about how we use Microsoft and Teams. We were happy to share our story. Microsoft had their pick of thousands of companies. We were honored. We believe in their systems and they’ve absolutely helped grow our business.”

The article finishes with Weiner elaborating further, stating, “We believe that 2020 set the new floor for bike buying, and sales will continue to grow both in-store and online.”

It’s astounding to me that this small bike brand was able to come up with such an amazing business plan and make it nationally recognized during such a challenging time. This has inspired me to really spend the year thinking well outside of the box as things continue to evolve through the changing world.

There is a Difference. Let us show you.

Are there other brands you’ve been impressed with through the pandemic? I would love to hear other success stories. Please send them to me at abby@draperdna.com