Source BMX is an online and physical BMX store, based in Hastings in England. They sell a variety of BMX related products; such as complete BMX bikes, BMX frames, wheels and parts, clothing, shoes and even some skating products [1]. Another service they offer is their skatepark which the two owners had a big part of creating, coming up with idea and the location themselves [2]. The main element of the shop was, and still is, it is ‘100% rider owned and run’. In the documentary ‘The Source Park Documentary’, this was spoken about and on their website it is seen in many different areas. This is because, in the rider community it would make Source look a lot more trustworthy and approachable, compared to much bigger brands, for example Halfords, who wouldn’t have such a personal understanding with their products. They also say on their website they only sell brands they ‘believe in’ [3]. They also sponsor riders, meaning they’ll provide them with bike parts and many BMXing opportunities.
Source BMX, as a shop, was created by two brothers, Marc and Richard Moore. They both did BMXing from about the age of 5 years old and they did it for fun with the rest of their family. When Marc (one of the owners) was just 14 they travelled to Australia for him to compete, and he came 3rd in the world. In the documentary trailer for ‘The Source Park Documentary’, Marc speaks about how he used to ‘bunk off school’ and ended up quit college all together when he was younger. The idea of creating the shop Source BMX was from their father who thought of putting in their money to make their own bike shop. Richard (Marc’s brother) said their father said this ‘basically to give Marc a job’ [4]. I think that this laid back and relaxed approach to the business is what makes it so successful in the market.
From my audience research on yougov.co.uk, I found out the gender most interested in BMXing is males. I also think the average age of someone interested in BMX is about 15-25, and I don’t think yougov’s estimation for this was very accurate, saying the average was 25-39. The average social grade C2DE, and the top region of interest is the North East. Another important factor is that the average political side is very far left. From this information it will help me decide when would be a good time to air the advert and on what channels, platforms etc. For example, I’d want to show it on more ‘alternative’ channels, such as Kerrang, an alternative music channel, where lots of skaters would go to. This information will also help me narrow down ideas for my advert, based on what that demographic would want to see and desire. Looking at the average social grade (C2DE), which is usually called ‘working class’, I wouldn’t make Source BMX look expensive and probably wouldn’t mention prices of things like complete bikes, as a lot of people in working class can’t easily afford those prices. From yougov I also looked at the ‘favourite music artists’ section. From this I saw that this demographic enjoy more rap and electronic music. This gives me an idea of not only what genre of music to use in my advert, but can also help with further demographics as I can look into what type of people like what type of music [6]. Also, listening to the music I think it can help me understand more if I do things like listen to the lyrics and watch music videos, which commonly shows what people desire or aspire to be.
For my primary audience research I decided to do a questionnaires using Google Forms. I created a 10 question questionnaire for people to answer [7]. I tried to keep my answers mostly multiple choice so that people would be able to quickly and honestly answer them. In my survey I found out a lot of useful information. The average age of people who did my questionnaire were aged 16-24 , as I knew this to be the average age of most people interested in BMX. My survey was also done by 91.7% males and 8.3% female, as I knew this would be roughly what my target audience would be. This meant I could get a good idea of what my audience would be interested in in TV and adverts etc. When looking at employment situations, I found out 50% were students, 25% were unemployed and 25% were part time workers. This gives me an indication on things such as when to show the advert. For example I wouldn’t show the advert during college/school times as it wouldn’t be as well-reached by the audience I need to see it. The question of when to air my advert was also answered with my fifth question ‘What times do you usually watch TV?’. From this I learnt that the two most common times for my audience would be between 7pm – 10pm and 10pm – 2am. Another question I asked an optional question of ‘What job do your parents have?’, to try and understand what social grading they may have, as a lot of people may not have known what a social grading is. From this question I got jobs which I considered to be: 3 C1’s, 3 C2’s and 2 D’s, which is quite close to yougov’s answers so I will still not focus on prices during the advert.
After learning who would be watching and when they’d be watching, I wanted to know what they’d want the advert itself to include. Therefore, one of the next questions I asked was what type of music they enjoyed. The most popular was rock music with 7, followed by metal with 5 and pop and rap with 3. This helps me understand what music I should use during my advert and correlate with a trend I’d already noticed with Source BMX [8]. A lot of their pre-existing adverts include rock music as their soundtrack, so it shows that it is enjoyed by this audience. I also asked what type of adverts they enjoy watching with the top two being comedy getting 8 and story-based adverts getting 6. This is different from the music options because this is not the same as it doesn’t follow trends, as BMX adverts usually have fast-paced editing and no story or even dialogue/voice overs. Therefore, I will have to decide what I think will be better. The final question I asked was have you ever rode BMX or skated, to which the answers were 75% yes and 25% no. To those who answered yes I asked why they had. 4 answers stated along of the lines of it was enjoyable for them and they thought it was fun. Also, some said because of friends and because they were younger, which means they could be influenced back into it. I also asked the 25% who hadn’t rode or skated why and they said: they’re ‘too old’ and ‘not enough effort’. I think this could mean they don’t necessarily dislike it, but they just might need to be persuaded. I also asked if they think an advert could persuade them and they said yes if it made BMXing look fun and enjoyable.
I think the key part of the Source BMX brand that sets it apart from its competition is that is feels like such a family-run, relaxed business, from their adverts and the edits on their YouTube [9]. This is very important in the BMX community as a lot of BMXers probably feel different for riding BMX, but feel they have somewhere to belong and a shop like Source helps even more. This friendly, personal approach is what I feel makes Source superior to its competition in the market. For example, after ordering from a popular BMX/bike shop ‘winstanleysbikes’ [10] there isn’t as much of a personal feeling, getting just a simple receipt and the product. However, after ordering from Source BMX the customer gets an abundance of things like stickers, bags and more if they order over a certain amount, even having orders quality checked before, which a lot of companies don’t offer. This would make the customer more inclined to order again and tell others about it. Another thing that Source BMX provides is their skateparks, which have even broken records and boundaries. This means the shop are able to get more profit as they have their main park attached to their shop, which means one can go from one to the other easily if they need to buy anything, or if they just want to have a look. Also their park offers different types of riding, such as ‘girls only’ or ‘under 11’s’ [11]. This would help even more people get into BMXing, increasing the interest and helping the brand and sport itself.
Already, Source BMX has a very good standing in the market. It is the UK’s number one BMX shop, having an ‘excellent’ rating on TrustPilot [12]. Also, a key part of their reviews from Google is how welcoming the skatepark and staff are. Another noticeable part of the reviews is how family-friendly they seem to be, welcoming a lot of children and beginners. This feeling of welcome makes the customers so much more satisfied, benefiting everyone. Because of this I think in the advertisement it should be emphasised that this shop is for all different levels. Also, Source BMX won BMX Retailer of the Year 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 from the BMX magazine ‘RideBMX’. This is also very good for the brand and advert as it shows trustworthiness and consistency throughout the years.
One of the pre-existing Source BMX adverts that I chose to analyse was the ‘Source Park Opening Weekend Edit‘. I think in this advert it clear to see what they are mainly trying to advertise in this advert, which is the Source Park, one of Source BMX’s skateparks. I think the main feeling of this advert is to get people who already ride BMX and skate interested in the park and therefore the shop. The noticeable way this is done is by having famous professional BMXers featured. Not only do they have them riding in the actual park but they interview them and get their own positive opinion on the park, like saying their favourite parts. This would influence aspiring riders to go here as they would feel they could be the same level as them. Also, I think the soundtrack plays an important role in the advert, as it is very exciting music that would make a rider passionate and want to go and ride their. A quick way the advert grabs the audiences’ attention is through the editing in time with the music, with the cuts happening to the beat. This makes the watcher notice subconsciously notice the music which makes them feel more motivated to ride. Also, they show the construction of the skatepark, showing that they’ve done it on their own and showed that they put their effort into it, creating the more personal appeal again. Furthermore, the opening shots are all quite quick to grab the watchers attention, then as the advert carries on, the riding clips become longer, with things like tracking shots. They also use things like slow motion to show how well the riders are doing the tricks. Also, one of the comments on the video was ‘you guys get a f**k ton of respect for this’. This shows that this business seems to be on a level ground with their customers and as they leave comments which seem as if they are friends.
Another Source BMX advert I decided to focus on was the ‘Source BMX Normal Trailer‘, to advertise Source BMX’s third full length video ‘Normal’. It is clear that this advert was made not only for people wanting to watch a riding documentary, but to get people into riding all together. This is clear as the first section is of people bailing and falling off of their bikes when attempting tricks, and also people getting angry and throwing their bikes. This would attract the already-BMXing audience as they would’ve probably experienced a relatable experience, perhaps an injury. Also, parts of this section could be seen as comedy to some, and even shock to others, grabbing their attention also. I think that, similar to the Source Park Opening Weekend Edit, the soundtrack is also very important to the overall feeling of the advert, portraying a feeling of adventure and fun excitement. I think this is one of the main elements of what would bring in non-riders. Even during the quite cringeworthy moments, for example of people getting clearly injured, the music makes it seem epic and cool, as if it is an achievement. Then, the second section of the advert is all of the riders pulling good tricks and doing ones that would shock a lot of people again, as you wouldn’t think they were possible. This would again attract non-riders as they would be amazed by the riders and want to try, along with people who already ride. The editing is very fast paced and only a minute long, so they can show a range of riders and tricks as quick as possible. Also, the editing suits the music; fast, loud and quite shocking. Again, similar to the first advert, professional riders are used again with their names in the credits at the end to get more support and interest for the video, from people who are interested in riding and professionals.
[1] https://www.sourcebmx.com
[2] https://www.sourcebmx.com/en/Source-Park-Location/cc-70.aspx
[3] https://www.sourcebmx.com/en/About-Us/cc-1.aspx
[4] https://vimeo.com/184251083
[5] https://yougov.co.uk/profileslite#/BMX/demographics
[6] https://yougov.co.uk/profileslite#/BMX/entertainment
[7] https://goo.gl/forms/xhcyAgQyahGdsWe42
[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5BfqubRFUI
[9] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr1vAo8ZyBFeKTpbLyVDr9g
[10] https://www.winstanleysbmx.com
[11] https://www.sourcebmx.com/en/Source-Park-Book-Now/cc-64.aspx
[12] https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.sourcebmx.com
Eve Chester SDC 
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