Case Study · Bike Itaú

450 km of Bike Lanes,
Celebrated Citywide

Rio finished 450 km of bike lanes. Through Bike Itaú, the brand turned the milestone into a free public ride. Here is what the campaign delivered.

  • 01Bike lanes celebrated450 km
  • 02People who rode10,000
  • 03Earned media valueR$4.5M+
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01 · The Milestone
450 km
Of New Bike Lanes

Rio de Janeiro finished building a citywide cycling network. Through Bike Itaú, the brand set out to own the moment.

02 · The Turnout
10,000
People Who Rode

Families, first-timers, seniors, and serious cyclists, all on the same lanes.

03 · The Coverage
R$4.5M+
Earned Media Value

A public ride became a public story, carried across Rio's press and beyond.

04 · The Idea

Turn Infrastructure Into a Moment

A bike lane is infrastructure. A citywide ride is an event. We opened the new network with a free ride anyone could join, with Bike Itaú the thread running through it.

05 · The Setting

Woven Into the City

The orange bikes were already part of daily life along the Flamengo waterfront. The celebration tied the brand to a healthy, public moment in the life of Rio.

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01 · The Frame

A Milestone, Years in the Making

Rio de Janeiro completed 450 km of bike lanes, a cycling network built out across the city. Through Bike Itaú, the orange bikes already part of life along the waterfront, the brand set out to turn that milestone into a public celebration.

Cyclists riding Itaú bikes at the BiciRio event
A field of riders along the Flamengo waterfront, Sugarloaf in the distance.
02 · The Idea

Turn Infrastructure Into a Moment

A bike lane is infrastructure. A citywide ride is an event. The plan was simple: open the new network with a free public ride that anyone could join, and let Bike Itaú be the thread running through it.

The route followed the bay, the same lanes Rio rides on a normal weekend, now the stage for one shared moment. The bikes people already knew, in a setting they already loved, gave the campaign its warmth before a word of coverage was written. Earned attention starts with something worth turning up for.

Riders on the Rio bike lane during BiciRio
The lanes trace the bay from Flamengo toward Botafogo.
03 · The Ride

Ten Thousand People Showed Up

On the day, 10,000 people rode. Families, first-timers, seniors, and serious cyclists shared the same lanes along the waterfront, with Sugarloaf in the background.

The turnout was the point. A milestone that could have been a press release instead became a morning out for the city, open to anyone with a bike or willing to borrow one. That breadth, all ages and abilities on the same road, is what made the day feel less like a brand activation and more like something Rio did together.

A family cycling together at BiciRio
All ages turned out, from young families to first-time riders.

A cross-section of the city, on two wheels.

Older riders taking part in BiciRio
Group ride during the Itaú BiciRio event
Friends cycling side by side at BiciRio
04 · The Coverage

R$4.5 Million in Earned Media

The ride became a story. Coverage across Rio's press and beyond carried Bike Itaú and the 450 km milestone to a citywide audience, exceeding R$4.5 million in media value.

A good photograph does the work of a hundred pitches. Sugarloaf, the orange bikes, and a clear morning gave editors and feeds an image they wanted to run. The brand sat inside the frame without ever interrupting it, which is exactly how earned coverage is supposed to feel.

A couple riding Itaú bikes in Rio
An easy, shareable moment, the kind press and social both pick up.
05 · The Result

By the Numbers

A milestone became a movement: a complete cycling network, a citywide ride, and coverage that carried the brand across Rio.

450 km
Of New Bike Lanes Celebrated
10,000
People Who Rode
R$4.5M+
Earned Media Value
Cyclists along the Rio waterfront during BiciRio
Bike Itaú, part of how Rio moves.
06 · What It Built

A Brand Woven Into the City

Beyond the numbers, the campaign tied Bike Itaú to a positive, public, healthy moment in the life of Rio.

Celebrating the 450 km network did more than mark a milestone. It associated the brand with the city's own progress, with families and weekends and the waterfront, the kind of association paid attention earns and money cannot simply buy. The orange bikes were part of Rio before the ride. After it, they were part of the story Rio tells about itself.

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