Activate Cyprus is a leading company of high standard outdoor sports activity services based in Cyprus. They specialize in the organization of events for a variety of outdoor sports such as road cycling, mountain biking, running, triathlon, archery, hiking and others. They are able to organize events of different magnitudes and for different sporting groups—from world-class events to sport hobbyist events. They also organize sport-oriented seminars, conferences and custom-made tours and activities around sports.

Activate Cyprus is the organiser and host of two world-class international events:

1. Cyprus Sunshine Cup: One of the most prestigious mountain biking race events in the world and one of the most famous Mountain Bike Series in the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Calendar. Due to its exceptional route, the Cyprus Sunshine Cup offers the opportunity to top mountain bikers to score points in the UCI category, while giving the chance to amateur biking enthusiasts to challenge their limits at the same stages.

2.  Cyprus Gran Fondo 2018: This three-day "Cycling for All" road event is featured among the biggest cycling events of UCI as part of the Gran Fondo family for cyclists ranging from beginners to pros. The event provides the opportunity for recreational riders to qualify for the World Gran Fondo Championships held every year.

When we started working with Activate Cyprus, the brand and the company did not actually exist. At that time, there were two different entities under a common co-ownership, which were unable to complement each other in a financially meaningful way:

• Bikin’ Cyprus Adventures whose main scope of activities included the organisation of road cycling, mountain biking and hiking tours throughout Cyprus, as well as bike rentals and accommodation arrangements for cycling and hiking enthusiasts.

• Bikin’ Cyprus Events Management that organized six of the most internationally popular cycling and triathlon events hosted in Cyprus including the Cyprus Sunshine Cup and the Cyprus Gran Fondo (ex VW Cyprus Cycling Tour).

The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) referred Bikin’ Cyprus to Base Element following their request for assistance in expanding their international reach. Setting its sight on attracting an international clientele, the companies’ management identified their primary target markets as European and regional in terms of geography (United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France and Israel) and niche audiences in terms of travel purpose (cycling, hiking, triathlon and other recreational sports).

From our very first interaction with the management, it was evident that a strategic business approach was a prime necessity. Having established this approach, we could then address the need for digital marketing and communications to reach international target audiences.

We worked together with the management to see how they could strategically repackage and reposition their product portfolio to maximize its potential. From our collaborative approach, it was clear from the beginning that a new brand identity should be created in order to unite the two entities into one.

By rebranding and launching under one brand umbrella, the management of the company could:

• Capitalize on the massive exposure of the events to create business for the niche travel agency which had been a more lucrative business line

• Transfer expertise and expand the offerings in other sports-related tourism activities.

We set up a questionnaire and a strategy workshop in order to gather all the necessary data from the company stakeholders and to define the wants and needs of the new business. After extensive research on the industry, the competition and the target audience, we jointly defined a strategic product position roadmap and a SWOT analysis for the combined business.

Subsequently, we worked on the new brand identity, articulating the new brand values, a mission statement and a brand manual together with the new name and logo. Once we defined the strategic product roadmap, we used it as a foundation to create the website architecture and the content marketing strategy. Finally, we designed and developed an ecommerce website that not only used the latest UX/UI trends, but also presented and promoted the unified product offering, targeted activity tourists from all over the world and contributed to the business objectives of the company. 

This is how Activate Cyprus was born.

The brand identity and website functionality and architecture were carefully crafted to address specific international segments of professional athletes and sport amateurs that would be interested in participating in outdoor activities in Cyprus or have their sports holidays on the island. In addition, the website included a booking and ecommerce solution so that prospective clients could buy or book directly.