And as artificial intelligence integrates deeper into marketing workflows we see a growing strategic threat for cycling brands, with the existing tendency towards group-think by brands likely to be exacerbated by AI usage. AI may offer unparalleled speed and efficiency, however its widespread adoption threatens to flatten brand identities, making direct competitors look and sound almost identical and leading to unintentional "creative herding".

In this article we shine a spotlight on this risk by highlighting proof points around competition, creative herding, the psychology of attention, and how forward thinking cycling leaders are already concerned about this risk.

The Reality of a Crowded Market

Data from our subscription based Leaderboard market tracker reinforces just how many brands actively compete for mindshare in any given category. When we asked road, gravel and MTB enthusiasts to name brands unprompted across key categories, they recalled a huge volume of different brands:

• Road bike brands: 55
• Wheel brands: 82
• Apparel brands: 120

With dozens and sometimes over 100 options available to riders, standing out is incredibly important. Yet, an analysis of brand websites and advertising reveals that many are already falling into identical positioning and visual traps. Take the road bike market as one example, where launch taglines consistently default to minor variations of the exact same message…

• “The fastest bike in the peloton” (Canyon Aeroad)
• “The fastest road bike ever made” (Specialized SL9)
• “The fastest just got faster” (Cervelo S5)
• “Fastest and lightest” (Trek Madone)
• “The fastest bike in the world” (Simplon 2)

When every brand claims to be the fastest and adopts the same tone, the consumer experiences a blur of "sameness", and probably a little boredom and eye rolling. And this isn’t just a road bike effect - take a look at recent eMTB launches and see if you can spot the similarities.

The Von Restorff Effect - the psychology of recall

This copycat approach is self-defeating if your goal is to maximize attention, recall, and commercial impact. Human psychology shows that distinctiveness plays a huge role in memorability. This is known as the Von Restorff Effect - when multiple similar items are presented together, the one that differs most from the rest is significantly more likely to be remembered. If your brand and product launch visuals, tone, and messaging match the rest of your category, you significantly reduce your chances of being remembered. This study also reminds us that recency is also a key driver of recall, which is why advertising best practices is to reach target audiences repeatedly… but that’s a topic for another day and another post.

How AI Turbocharges "Creative Herding"

The threat of creative homogenisation is accelerating as brands embed AI into their day-to-day operations. In our SHIFT Cycling Leadership Survey, conducted at the start of the year, an overwhelming 93% of respondents confirmed they are already utilizing AI within their business, with the marketing department leading adoption.

However, the specific ways AI is being deployed risk creating an echo chamber of identical outputs:

• 63% use AI for drafting copy, leading directly to the same tone across platforms
• 49% use it to summarise or analyse data, resulting in highly similar target insights
• 34% rely on it for generating campaign ideas, leading to the same concepts

Industry leaders are already raising red flags. One Marketing Director we surveyed noted, "We have a very high reliance on AI for our content and ads. We might lose some originality and distinction if every other brand is doing the same." Whilst another department Lead expressed concern that teams under extraordinary workload pressures due to year-on-year budget cuts rely too heavily on AI for copywriting and creative work that fundamentally needs to remain authentic and engaging to succeed.

Aiming for the Middle

By its very nature, generative AI aims for the statistical middle. It naturally operates on proven ideas, preferred writing structures, category norms, and safe, sensible outputs.

This macro-trend of linguistic flattening was perfectly highlighted by a report from Barron’s. When analysing corporate press releases, earnings calls, and SEC filings, Barron’s discovered that the specific phrase structure "It’s not just X, it’s Y" suddenly appeared in 73 corporate documents within a single quarter. This surge followed two previous decades where the phrase saw only a handful of mentions. The publication directly attributed this sudden uniformity to the widespread rise of AI as a corporate writing aid.

For cycling brands, this serves as a clear warning of how easily creative executions can drift together into a sea of sameness when relying on automated tools.

The Strategic Path Forward: Choosing to Stand Apart

AI tools do offer immense potential for cycling brands, but it will take clear strategy and original thinking to unlock standout executions. The tool is only as effective as the strategic intent behind it.

If brands use AI simply to automate the status quo, it will turbocharge the industry's long-term issue of creative herding. The result will be campaigns that are boring for riders and significantly less effective for brands.

To survive and thrive in the AI age, brands must actively resist the urge to blend in and continuously audit their distinctiveness. To protect your brand from disappearing, you must ask:

• Do we have truly unique products or product stories to tell?
• Are we building a better, proprietary understanding of our riders?
• Do we have absolute clarity on how our brand is fundamentally different?
• Are we deeply committed to distinctive, unconventional creative executions?

Efficiency is a metric, but increasing efficiency without a clear strategy just leads to reaching mediocrity faster. Trying to stand out and be different is no longer a safe strategy, it's the risk strategy.

If you’re interested in getting new insights or clarifying your strategy in an AI-impacted world, get in touch with us for a conversation doug.baker@shiftactivemedia.com.