Reigniting Momentum: How We Helped Jorvik Tricycles Break Out of Marketing Stagnation

When the founder of Jorvik Tricycles first shared his concerns with me, the issue wasn’t dramatic underperformance.

Sales were okay. Marketing activity was happening.

But progress had slowed and momentum had stalled.

The feeling was that marketing had become static rather than strategic. Results weren’t deteriorating, but they also weren’t moving forward in the way the business expected or needed.

“We didn’t feel like marketing was really moving us on. Things weren’t broken, but they’d become stagnant - and we weren’t seeing the step-change in sales we felt the business was capable of.”

James Walker, Founder, Jorvik Tricycles

That distinction mattered…because it suggested a deeper, more structural challenge beyond tweaking marketing tactics. It suggested exactly the kind of challenge faced by many ambitious businesses, and the kind of challenge I love to help overcome. And, as an ambitious and driven founder, James wanted help to figure out how to get back to growth. What followed was a meticulous process of analysis, evaluation, and strategic transformation.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the work we did and the outcomes it helped deliver.

Step One: Interrogating Where Momentum Had Stalled

The first phase of work focused on interrogating marketing performance honestly and objectively, without assuming the solution was simply “more marketing”.

This included:

• A full review of channel performance and ROI

• Analysis of audience behaviour and media consumption

• Assessment of brand perception beyond direct-response metrics

• Benchmarking against competitors and adjacent categories

One clear finding was that elements of the digital strategy - particularly Google Ads and keyword selection - were poorly aligned to the real decision-making behaviour of Jorvik’s core audience.

In short:

• Keywords were a little too diverse for this well-defined audience

• Spend was concentrated in areas that looked efficient but didn’t reflect how customers actually research, evaluate and decide

• Digital activity was optimised for performance metrics, not long-term brand demand

The result: marketing was happening but not creating meaningful forward momentum.

Step Two: Recognising the Real Constraint: Capability, Not Effort

The deeper insight was that the issue wasn’t effort or intent. It was that Jorvik had outgrown its existing marketing setup.

To unlock the next phase of growth, the business needed:

• A stronger strategic narrative

• To build on the emotional connection with its audience

• Broader channel thinking beyond digital performance

• A partner capable of leading integrated brand and broadcast-led activity

This led to a decision that many businesses avoid…but which proved transformational. Rather than tweaking around the edges, we reset the marketing supply chain entirely.

Step Three: A Full, Rigorous Agency Procurement Process

I designed and led a comprehensive procurement and selection process, ensuring Jorvik appointed the right long-term partner for where the brand wanted to go next.

The process included:

• Defining future marketing capability requirements

• Long-listing agencies across the UK and Europe

• Shortlisting against strategic depth, cultural fit and ambition

• Inviting selected agencies to tender

• Running structured pitch sessions with clear evaluation criteria

This was not about finding the loudest or sexiest pitch - but the most strategically aligned partner that would work well with the Jorvik team and their growth ambitions.

The outcome was the appointment of HUB - a team with the confidence, creativity and experience to take Jorvik to the next level.

Step Four: Appointment, Onboarding, Exit

Once Hub was appointed and onboarded, my role with Jorvik was complete.From that point onwards:

• HUB took full ownership of marketing strategy and execution

• The agency led campaign development, media planning and delivery

• Jorvik had the structure and partners required to drive sustained growth

As Rob Shaw, CEO of HUB, summarised:

“This was about unlocking ambition. Once the right foundations and partnerships were in place, our job was to build momentum, and that’s exactly what followed.”

The Impact: From Stagnation to Acceleration

Under HUB's leadership, the refreshed strategy has already delivered:

• Strong year-on-year revenue growth. In fact, a staggering 94% uplift on UK sales so far (great work team HUB!)

• Significant uplift in brand awareness and search demand

• Integrated campaigns across TV, digital, print and direct mail

• Industry recognition, including Prolific North’s Best Ecommerce/Retail Campaign (more here: https://thisishub.com/work/jorvik-tricycles/)

Most importantly, it re-established forward motion, commercially and culturally.

“The work gave us renewed confidence in our marketing direction. It helped us move from stagnating to ambitious growth.

James Walker, Founder, Jorvik Tricycles

Why This Matters And Where I Add Value

This project reflects the type of challenge I’m often brought in to solve:

• When founders feel marketing has gone flat or needs to evolve with the business

• When results are perhaps okay but ambition isn’t being met

• When marketing being done is actually masking deeper strategic misalignment

• When the real issue is structure, partners and direction - not activity

My role is to help businesses:

✔ Diagnose the real problem

✔ Challenge assumptions

✔ Help define the needs of the business

✔ Build the right ecosystem

✔ Then step back and let great partners execute

If your marketing feels stuck, even if performance looks “fine”, it’s often a sign that the business has outgrown its current approach.

If that resonates, I’d be glad to talk.