Putting the Italians on bicycles: marketing at Bianchi, 1885-1955

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to examine marketing practices within the bicycle industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilizes both primary and secondary sources to provide a retrospective analysis of marketing strategy at the largest Italian bicycle company.

Findings

The paper explains how marketing works at the Bianchi company and provides a detailed analysis of how it built its brand identity over time.

Research limitations/implications

Very few primary sources were available. There was neither a company archive nor other archives. For the most part, the paper is based on secondary sources.

Originality/value

The paper tries to fill the gap in current marketing literature that usually neglects the bicycle as a relevant topic, despite bicycle companies being a predecessor to the automobile industry. Moreover, the paper demonstrates that bicycle companies developed a rather sophisticated approach to marketing that is still in use.

Citation

Mari, C. (2015), "Putting the Italians on bicycles: marketing at Bianchi, 1885-1955", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 133-158. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHRM-07-2013-0049