Do you remember when all you wanted from Santa Claus was a bike? Just a bike. No frills. Okay, maybe some streamers. And a purple unicorn motif was a plus. Throw in a banana seat and you’d have hit the jackpot. But at the end of the day, it was just a bike.

Now, Santa first brings kids a Y Bike, then a Like-a-Bike, then a tricycle before he finally comes through with the real deal. Bikes Yikes!

The lesson here, though, is how repetition and slight modification can have a big impact on the kid’s final ability to ‘drive’ themselves to their friend’s house on two wheels. By the time they’re ready to make that move, it’s easy. It’s like — dare I say — riding a bike.

It’s sort of like we tell our clients: It’s not enough to do something once or twice or even the exact same way, for that matter. You have to stay at it and you have to repeat your message — in different ways, to different audiences, using different tools — as many times as it takes to get it right and achieve your end goal.

Sometimes our clients aren’t totally comfortable with this approach and we have to work with them to crawl-walk-run. Or in this case, bike-bike-bike.  But in the end, the impact is significant and lasting.

So the next time you’re ready to promote a new product and want to get the word out, just be sure you’re bike-bike-biking down as many paths as it takes. And if it’s the purple unicorn bike you’re riding, get ready for some jealous stares.

NOTE: The girl in this photo isn’t me, but this is the exact bike I had as a kid. Oh, how I wish I’d thought to coordinate my socks with my mode of transportation, like a good little child of the 80s.