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Profiled in the Portland Business Journal

Read All About Us!

Our company was profiled recently by Pete Danko, contributing writer for the Portland Business Journal (PBJ). It is a great piece about our start-up roots and our continued growth. Read the full piece and check out the PBJ slideshow on us as well!

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Introducing…New People at PPP!

Howdy folks! I just joined Portland Pedal Power as the new Marketing Specialist, and I couldn’t be more excited to be working with the fabulous team here. So far I’ve toured the town on the big bikes, attended a Sundown Concert with Ecotrust, visited the new exhibit at the Portland Art Museum with some of our team, and have met with several of our great sponsors and partners. I’m excited to help grow social media, strengthen partnerships, and further develop our marketing strategy. The amazing Peter Wang also just joined the team as the new Vendor Relations Manager, and we took a moment to interview each other. This is the magic that happened:

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Peter being techy in the shop.

MD: So Peter, tell me why you are an amazing person.
PW: I am not so much an amazing person. I am just amazed a lot.

MD: Are you excited about joining the PPP team?
PW: Yeah, I mean, I get to ride bikes and get paid for it. It’s like a reverse gym membership.

MD: What background do you bring to Portland Pedal Power?
PW: I graduated from Oregon State University with a business degree, but I am also interested in tech stuff like the cloud and user experience. I’m halfway between computer nerd and business bro.

MD: So you call yourself a nerd. What’s the nerdiest thing about you?
PW: I play StarCraft. I know the characters and I am sad that they are concluding the story after 17 years this winter. On the other hand, I did get into beta fairly quickly. I have that going for me, I guess. One thing to be sure, though, is that a part of me will never be the same once the Legacy of the Void (the final part of the story) ends. That’s the day I will have to carry on my own journey without the Protoss fighting along with me. En taro Tassadar!
(Maria blinks uncomprehendingly)

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Don’t worry, I always wear a helmet.

PW: Maria, let’s start with a story. What was it like riding the big bike in high heels?
MD: Well here’s the thing, biking in heels is easier than walking in heels, and even though the guys in the office raised their eyebrows, I did take the big bike out the first time with a new pair of wood heeled wedge pumps, and I looked FANTASTIC. Or at least, I felt like I did.

PW: I know the words wood, heeled, wedge, and pumps on their own, but I have no idea what they mean when they come together.
MD: That is the number one reason I am needed here at PPP.
(Peter blinks uncomprehendingly)

PW: What did you study and why did you choose your major?
MD: I was a Literature major at UC Santa Cruz and I chose it because I like to read and write things.  I then went on to get a graduate MFA degree in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. Then somehow I ended up working in Marketing (which I dig). I still write stuff; I am working to finish a novel.

PW: What made you want to work for PPP?
MD: I come from a recent longtime marketing job working with urban planners and transportation nerds. I was a bikey person already but I got even more bikey working with them. I really like the idea of working for a bike-based business, I love the food in Portland, and I’m excited to engage more with the community. There are so many awesome partners and sponsors and restaurants and food carts working with Portland Pedal Power. So, this job really rests at the intersection of several of my passions.
(Peter and Maria end the interview abruptly to eat pizza)

***

Both of us are super excited to join the excellent group here at PPP. Say hi if you see us on the bikes or at the food carts!


Online Marketing and the Bot Invasion

Illustration by Brad Jonas

Online marketing is a great tool, isn’t it? You get thousands of impressions on a daily basis from people all over the world. Your Facebook page, your Google AdWords, and your blog are viewed by anyone and everyone with a computer, getting attention no banner, billboard, or grassroots advertising campaign can come close to achieving.

That 15 minutes of fame you were promised in the 60s suddenly turned into a 24/7 live feed of your business activity, making your corner store bakery a worldwide phenomenon. And the best part? You can see it all happening and record it with online statistics.

Sounds great, right?

Well like many ventures, Online Marketing isn’t free of it’s own issues. In fact, online marketing seems to be inundated with it’s own Bot Invasion, sent to destroy your analytics numbers and inflate your digital budget. Just when you thought the T-9000 was your worst enemy

The Association of National Advertisers recently published their findings on a major online fraud study, and discovered 11% of display ad impressions purchased by 36 major US advertisers were served to bots. Video ads were even worse, with 23% of all impressions sent to non-human traffic. One unnamed premium lifestyle site was sending 98% of its video ads to Bots.

To put that into perspective, this trend means that of the $140 billion the globe will spend on digital marketing, $15 billion will be lost to Bots through display ads alone.

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Assimilate This!

Think you’re getting away bot free? Think again: sites related to finance, family, and food have the highest percentage of bot fraud, anywhere from 16%-22%. Bot’s don’t need sleep, infect personal computers, and can view thousands of sites at a time.

So what can you do? It looks like Bots are a way of Online Marketing life. Is resistance to Bot Fraud futile if you’re trying to get your name out there?

Well, the last time I checked, you can’t steal impressions from a moving bicycle with Ad Space. Especially when you’re getting 132,000 impressions per bike per month. Not to mention the 13.8% ROI you get from our PPP Interactive Promotion.

Yeah, we like to brag.

Don’t misunderstand, Online Marketing is a great tool, and one that we use frequently. You are reading our Blog after all. But when you’re looking for personalized attention, numbers that deliver, and a marketing plan free of the Bot Invasion, look no further than the bike lane. Our Brand Ambassadors pass along info about all our vendors, advertisers, and local events on every delivery. As an added bonus, they also happen to be immune to Bot Assimilation.

Contact us to break away from Bots and get your name out to the world!


Portland Pedal Power is Looking for Interns!

Calling all Portland Area students! Portland Pedal Power is looking for two summertime interns wanting to further their knowledge in the wonderful world of marketing and event planning! We’re looking for hard working individuals who value local, sustainable business practices. Of course, learning is a two way street, and we’re looking forward to finding out what you can teach us during your time here!

The first internship we’re planning is focused on marketing. We would like someone to look at our current marketing plan, help in our use of social media, set some long-term goals, and help us record some relevant data.

The second internship we’re planning is focused on events in the PDX area. We make a lot of appearances around the PDX area, and we’re interested in what else is out there! This project would analyze and record attendance at local Portland events, from the Rose Festival to the Naked Bike Ride.

A willingness to ride a bicycle is always a plus! Both internships will last for the duration of the summer(three to four months) and have a monthly face to face check-in. After the duration of the project, we’ll have a big celebration and the intern can give a presentation on their findings.

As someone who took advantage of this opportunity last year, I highly recommend you consider taking us up on the chance! I learned more during my 3-month internship than I ever did in a classroom, and its a great opportunity to learn from real-world situations.

Feel like learning a bit this summer? Visit the Oregon Entrepreneurial Network website for more information and sign-up for a chance to meet with us! We’re looking forward to seeing you there!


Grow Your Small Business with the Portland Business Alliance

PBAAre you trying to take your small business to the next level? The Portland Business Alliance and Portland Community College’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) have just what you need to make that happen. The PBA and the SBDC partner to offer extensive training designed to help small businesses continue to increase revenue and build a solid core of employees. The Portland Pedal Power team is currently working through the program, which has helped local businesses like Pedal Bike Tours, Cellar Door Coffee Roasters, Inform Restaurant Accounting and Portland Sewing. The 10-month program includes classes that meet monthly, as well as one-on-one instructor sessions.

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