Ofo Appoints Fusion Media

Docking station-free bike sharing platform, ofo, has appointed Fusion Media to handle its consumer PR brief for the UK market.

ofo’s yellow bikes are hired through a smartphone app for 50p for 30 minutes, capped to a £5 a day maximum, and can be picked up and dropped off anywhere that bike parking is allowed.

ofo does not require riders to pay a deposit before use. Instead, to access a bike, riders can download the app and unlock their nearest bike via Bluetooth connection.

According to ofo it has more than 32 million transactions daily, connecting over 10 million bikes to riders in over 250 cities. In total, more than five billion rides have been provided to over 100 million users globally.

ofo first launched in the UK in April this year in Cambridge, and has since rolled out to Oxford, Hackney, Islington, City of London and Norwich.

Founded in 2008, London-based Fusion Media is a boutique agency focusing on PR and digital for cycling and endurance sports. Their portfolio of clients includes brands like Strava, where they work as the social network’s European PR agency, Evans Cycles, Red Bull, Wahoo, Shimano, Telegraph Events, Ribble Cycles, Royal Dutch Gazelle and Madison.

The agency will focus on growing awareness of bike sharing in the UK, while also engaging specialist, consumer and lifestyle media with the brand and its push to grow cycling in the UK.

ofo has been awarded accreditation by Bikeplus, the UK representative body for bike sharing, and has a ‘UK Charter’ that details safety specifications, community principles, responsible business practices and general service guidance.

Joseph Seal-Driver, operations director at ofo, said: “Getting people cycling is good for the environment, good for health and good for our business. We’re excited to partner with an agency who leads the way in communicating the benefits of cycling to a variety of different audiences. We were impressed with Fusion’s deep-rooted and specialist knowledge and their agility and versatility as we continue on a path of rapid growth for ofo in the UK.”

Adam Tranter, founder and director at Fusion Media, said: “Getting more people on bikes is a hugely inspiring task for us and one we’re very passionate to be working on with ofo. Cycling has gripped the UK and we’re delighted to be working with an innovative global technology company that can help tackle congestion and change mobility in our towns and cities for the better.”