Case Study: Big Mountain Bike Adventures

The Problem

Big Mountain Bike Adventures (BMBA) is a premium mountain bike adventure-tour operator focused on guided mountain biking experiences all over the world. Over the years, its reputation and customer base had grown, but several business and marketing challenges began to hinder further growth:

The brand was inconsistent across channels: the visual identity, messaging, and tone varied between the website, social media, merchandise and partner materials.
The existing website was outdated (hard to maintain, not optimized for mobile, slow loading, and not structured for SEO or conversion).
Content was sparse and tactical (photos, ride descriptions) but lacked a cohesive narrative to drive bookings, storytelling, SEO, and customer engagement.
Their marketing (paid ads, partnerships, co-promotions) was fragmented, lacking a coherent strategy, and performance tracking was weak.
They had strong relationships with local tourism bodies (e.g. destination marketing organizations, lodging partners, local bike shops), but lacked a formal partnership / co-marketing strategy to scale those relationships and mutual promotions.

These gaps limited their ability to scale bookings outside of their existing core markets, attract new audiences, and leverage partnerships more strategically.

The Solution

We engaged with BMBA in a full brand & digital transformation. The scope included:

Brand Strategy & Engagement
New Website Build
Content Development
Marketing, Social Media, and Partnership Strategy

Below is how we approached each phase.

Brand Strategy & Engagement

Discovery & Research

We began with a deep-dive discovery phase:

Interviews & workshops:
We met with the owner, and staff, and reviewed survey data from a selection of past customers to uncover perceptions, strengths, weaknesses, differentiators, emotional drivers, and gaps.
Competitive audit:
We mapped key competitors in the international adventure/mountain bike tour operator space: how they position themselves, their messaging, visual identity, strengths, and gaps.
Stakeholder alignment:
We worked to align the BMBA leadership on long-term vision, key strategic goals (e.g. geographic expansion, new products, loyalty programs, partnerships and programs).
Brand health audit:
We reviewed all existing touchpoints — print collateral, signage, social media, email templates, partner brochures, marketing campaigns — to assess consistency, gaps, and misalignments.

Below is how we approached each phase.

Brand Strategy & Positioning

From the research, we defined:

Brand Purpose & Essence
Why BMBA exists beyond just “running bike tours.”
Brand Promise & Pillars
What customers can always expect.
Audience Personas
Developed 2 core customer archetypes with psychographics, motivations, preferred channels.
Positioning Statement & Messaging Hierarchy
The unique place BMBA occupies in the minds of prospects (versus competitors) and key messages (reason to believe, proof points, tone & voice).
Brand Identity Refresh
We refined (or in some cases redesigned) the visual system: logos, color palette, typography, iconography, imagery style, and brand guidelines — ensuring they align emotionally and strategically with the brand promise.

New Website Build

Architecture & User Experience

We conceptualized the new site as a key sales & storytelling engine:

Sitemap & navigation:
Designed clear user flows for potential customers (Trips, Gear / Preparation, About / Why BMBA, Book / Contact).
Wireframes & prototypes:
We created desktop and mobile wireframes, reviewed with the client, iterated until navigation, bookability, and storytelling flows were optimized.
Conversion focus:
Clear call-to-actions, booking paths, contact forms, trip filters, trust signals (testimonials, certifications, safety, sustainability).
Positioning Statement & Messaging Hierarchy
The unique place BMBA occupies in the minds of prospects (versus competitors) and key messages (reason to believe, proof points, tone & voice).
Brand Identity Refresh
We refined (or in some cases redesigned) the visual system: logos, color palette, typography, iconography, imagery style, and brand guidelines — ensuring they align emotionally and strategically with the brand promise.

Visual Design & Development

UI design:
Using the refreshed brand identity, we designed high-impact pages — home, tour detail, region pages, partner pages, blog, etc. Emphasis on immersive imagery, dynamic elements, and interesting layouts.
Responsive & performance:
Built mobile-first, optimized for speed, accessibility, and modern standards.
CMS & back-end:
Architected a flexible back-end with Wordpress that allows BMBA to update tours, blog, gallery, and other content easily.
SEO & technical setup:
We performed SEO technical best practices — site structure, metadata, schema markup, page speed, mobile friendliness, sitemap & robots files, redirects, analytics integration.

Content Development

Content Strategy

We conceptualized the new site as a key sales & storytelling engine:

Editorial calendar:
Mapped out content themes aligned with customer personas, seasonal peaks, partner opportunities, and trip calendar
Content pillars:
Defined 4 core pillars to anchor content consistency.SEO keyword mapping: We paired key keywords and search intents with content opportunities
Email newsletter:
mapped out a strategy for consistent monthly content and created a template with the new visuals.
Blog & articles:
We produced a batch of cornerstone content — long-form reviews, local stories, guest posts, and charitable initiatives — optimized for SEO and shareability.
Social media content:
WWe created a social strategy, and worked with the social media manager to highlight “behind the scenes” imagery, ride teasers, customer stories, and integrated promotion plans.

Marketing & Partnership Strategy

Partnership & Co-Marketing Strategy

Partnership audit & mapping: We mapped existing and potential partners —tourism boards, bike shops, and non-profit bike associations
We reached out to Canada and US-based bike orgs to set up partnerships, contests, and trip donations to increase brand exposure

From Chris Winter

"Anjulie and Adventure Consulting is a pleasure to work with and helped us to transform our business. She is professional and sharp, and her no-nonsense approach was refreshing and helped us achieve our desired outcome in a short time. Highly recommend!”

CHRIS WINTER • OWNER / FOUNDER

BIG MOUNTAIN BIKE ADVENTURES

CASE STUDY

Big Mountain Bike Adventures