Rather than just gathering adults to preview its back-to-school items, Schwinn opted for a more interactive event on Wednesday, allowing its target customers to try out and decorate bicycles. Handled by marketing and communications company MFA, the daytime promotion brought editors, mommy bloggers, and their kids to Gary's Loft, where an indoor track, an activity station, and display vignettes provided a brightly colored backdrop. Schwinn brand ambassador Summer Sanders—Olympic gold medalist and mom of two—hosted the affair and was on hand to chat with the children and their parents about the different products.
Set up to allow kids to fully interact with Schwinn's offerings, the venue's open-plan space was sectioned off into vignettes, with a large area devoted to an indoor track bedecked with roadside items like traffic cones and school crossing signs. Another area, equipped with a low coffee table, rug, and comfy couch, encouraged the kids to make paper license plates and pick up playing cards and straws to decorate the bikes. More accoutrements, including streamers and bells, sat in a red wagon, while taller tables held gear for adults, such as helmets, pumps, and water bottles.
Schwinn also showcased adult bicycles, including the eco-friendly Vestige, which is made from natural, biodegradable flax fibers.