TV advertising

What a good point! The nearest we get to bike advertising was in the "The Boat that Guy Built"

 

I would think it is general attitude of people to bikes. Not that popular so brands making bikes and cars do not want to get involved. In US plenty bike adds but mainly Harley and Honda, in Germany BMW has adds in Italy it is mainly scooters. Those countries are bit more biker friendly then average.

 

But they advertise massively on Eurosport (at least French Eurosport - I don't get to see English Eurosport). The rates must be very cheap as you see the same adverts over and over. If I was in bike marketing, I'd do the same. The targeting must be spot on, when you are advertising during MotoGP or WSBK.

But the sad thing is that the ads are universally crap and completely interchangeable. None of them has been memorable - not one.
It must be like falling off a log to make a highly viewable bike ad:
1. dress super totty girl who can actually ride a bike (maybe thin on the ground...) in leathers and get her to ride your bike. Better than that - have a few of them. I bet you the male target audience would sit up and take notice. It may be a cheap gag, but sex sells. You might have noticed this strategy in MTV music videos - it's pretty much the only strategy they use.

If you're not going to use sex, at least they could try intelligence, originality, humour or something off the wall.
Come to think of it, nearly all car ads are naff too, except this one (best car ad ever):

 

Well the best general motorcycle add advertises a bank, there are good adds

 

Some of my faves





Im sure you will like this one Steve, very subtle...

 

Back in the middle ages, there were the serfs and knights.
The serfs bumbled about in crap and the knights rode white chargers and looked cool in their armour.

Nothing has changed.
Knights weren't mainstream and nor are bikers. You have to embrace some danger and it's not for everyone.

Bikes have only been more mainstream when cars were too expensive and people required transport. That is no longer the case, so now it's a lifestyle choice and not an economic necessity. The majority prefer a safe and tedious lifestyle.

 

As you say, bikes were once the mainstream, especially after the war, my dad remembers his dad and mum on the motorbike whilst he and his sister argued in the sidecar. Apparently it was very common at the time.

 

Go to Asia (I've seen it in the Philippines) and you get entire families on a Honda CG125. And their goat.

(BTW, that's "their goat". Not "their GOAT").

It's because they're poor, rather than they don't want a Ford Fiesta.

 

But that means bikes are luxury goods here and most luxury goods are advertised.

 

You are a bike manufacturer. You are advertising to a niche market (bikers are what, 5% of the population?). What makes more economic sense: to advertise to the general pubic (bearing in mind that 95% of your advertising spend will be wasted) in the hope that you switch them on to biking, or advertise to the 5% (far cheaper) and try and steal market share from your competitors?

I know where I stand on that one. If the Motorcycle Association wants to do a job to expand the market, that's a different kettle of cod.

 

Gliddofgold yes and no. The least make it part of brand advertisement like Honda did number of times. They have a correct attitude of bike being a machine like car, boat, plane and other so they use them in adds. Those Kawasaki adds were not meant for UK market. Bikes might be a niche but even Armani advertises their range and how many average people that would only by a practical item will go and buy 500GBP jacket. To prove my point that manufacturers do advertise just not in Uk. There is plenty just not in UK

 

Ruffs thing is from what I see UK motorcycle scene is much more alive then lets say Germany or Poland. Do not know exact numbers and it might be just illusion but you see much more motorcycles of all kind on UK roads then I seen in Germany or Poland. That includes if you are in major cities not just country roads. You can also use MC all year in some parts of UK which is not possible in Europe. Anyone knows where to check number of registered bikes in each country of EU?

 

That is a very interesting list. So it means that all the things that an advertiser would really want to talk about when selling a bike are banned. Of course, there are always ways around it. I worked in alcohol marketing for years and a similar situation in in force in many countries, but you work with it. Or alternatively, you decide that marketing with one hand tied behind your back means that your budget is not going to be well invested and you do something else.

Luca's ads are interesting in that they are incredibly long, so never designed to be aired on mainstream TV. Cartier caused a lot of buzz by screening their 2 minute ad a few months ago because no one does this as the cost is prohibitive (ads are normally 30 secs max). So a 6 minute ad is clearly designed for YouTube and the web.

As for the size of prospective bike markets, I was always under the impression that the German market is far bigger than that of the UK, but I could be wrong and things may have changed.

If you think about it, there are loads of sports and pastimes which don't advertise on mainstream TV. Can't remember any ads for golf clubs, scuba diving, or electric guitars. Motorcycling is a leisure pastime these days, not transport.

 

I've found what you're looking for: it's here. acem - Market figures
And yes, the German market is quite a bit bigger than the UK one. As are the French and the Italian markets.

 

Motorcycle (manufacturer) advertising is much more targetted, due to the demographics as mentioned.
If you tune in to Bike World you'll find Ducati advertising during the break, along with other motorcycle related companies.
Anyone who watches bike racing on British Eurosport will already have seen "we buy any bike .com" and other related ads!