Category Archives: powersports

lead and you…part two

no, not recess - peanut butter!The media circus has come and left town since we last considered the impact on youth powersports as a result of the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s interpretation of how much lead should kids be allowed to eat. (Hint: none.)

Malcolm Smith’s protest drew the attention of SoCal’s news outlets and a nice mention in USA Today, along with links on bike blogs throughout the land. Which got me to thinking, how much lead is too much? For instance, working my way through the University of Florida included a stint at the Gainesville Sun. This was at the dawn of what would briefly be known as cold type, or the sunset of hot type. Continue reading →

sema adds channel…pwspts is in

web-powersportJust in time for 2009. SEMA – the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association – has added a powersports and utility vehicles channel to its massive automotive collection of OE and aftermarket exhibitors.

Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vice president of communications and events, said that “The Powersports and Utility Vehicle marketplace is of growing importance to our core buyers. Manufacturers in this area will discover a slew of potential buyers. Continue reading →

the evolution of the revolution

cycle world's for sale: along with the rest of the periodical industryLast week’s AdAge announcement of Hachette Filipacchi’s decision to put their enthusiast titles, e.g. Cycle World, on the block sent another round of chills down the spines of print purveyors. That spicy tidbit was followed by AdAge’s own go-to guy Bob Garfield’s rant on the nuclear meltdown of print in one form or another.

The speed with which print journalism is being rendered obsolete is as baffling as it is breathtaking. Because I remember when Nat Geo used to credit film type – Ektachrome, Kodachrome, etc. – next to their images, my interest in print’s place and what’s coming next is more than passing. Continue reading →

common sense…just isn’t

free the tykes! let 'me ride, we sayCycle World editor David Edwards bells the cat with his web preview of May’s editorial on the unintended consequences of the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s ban on lead-containing products used by children.

Meanwhile, offroad star and industry icon Malcolm Smith has scheduled a media event/protest/back at ya for Thursday, March 19, at his dealership to highlight the problem faced by hundreds of dealers and thousands of enthusiasts nationwide as a result of the lead ban. Continue reading →

dog eat dog? – maybe not

mij's the industry leader in recruitment and hiringNews from Indy – Alex Baylon, creator of the original powersports career destination MIJ – Motorcycle Industry Jobs – on word that show producer Advanstar is cranking up their own job listing service is weighing his options.

Our view is that it’s a free market web world out there, and carbon footprint doesn’t necessarily translate into online heft. People read what they’re familiar with, and corporate size alone doesn’t mean market domination. Craft counts, so does knowledge – and the two aren’t necessarily attributes of a cubicle keyboard address.

physician, heal thyself

Ad Age reports today that automotive site edmunds.com has embarked on a self-styled industry PSA to kick start the moribund car market.

The quasi-campaign, which dots the car buying site’s hundreds of thousands of pages with banners pushing consumers to buy now, right now, is internally valued at $10-mil plus.

Why? According to Edmunds own ceo, it’s time to “give back,” with car sales the worst since 1992 and predicted to slump even lower.

Could the same concept work for the powersports channel? Could powersports media run their own version of in-house creative designed to motivate consumers? Worth a try is all we’re saying.

mx to or at pri

You never know who you’ll see at PRI. Ex-MX Champ and current truck racer/event promoter Ricky Johnson, left, was at the Alpinestars booth talking strategy with team owner Steve Barlow, center. Steve owns 2 Red Bull/KMC/Bosch sponsored CORR trucks, drives Pro 4 while RJ handles the Pro 2 truck.

It’s no secret that marketing budgets have been slashed and with them the lifeblood of direct sponsored motor and powersports rides. Broadcast and print budgets have also been hung out to dry. What happens next is anyone’s guess: much will hinge on how quickly new from the ground up marketing models are created.

green – the new gold standard

More obvious than omnipresent at the 2008 Performance Racing Industry’s show, the greening of the motorsports industry is definitely underway. The Go Green pitch was in the house and awareness of the implications was impossible to ignore.

A new series – Green Prix, no less – debuted. Battery powered laptimes? Not just for RC anymore. The two biggest influences both started with ‘E’ – economy and environment.

This is an easy call – public opinion negatives regarding fossil fuel along with financial realities affecting everyone are going to have an enormous impact on the future of every sanctioning body and every series’ support, starting right now.

pri ’08 – subdued, not somber

I visited the 2008 edition of Performance Racing Industry’s efficient and very well produced trade show this week, not knowing what to expect from the trio formerly known as the Big Three, or how all the rescue plans would or would not impact the show.

Fair to say the mood wasn’t jubilant. On the other hand it wasn’t funerial, either. Impact: aisles were easier to navigate than in previous years and overall the vibes were lukewarm positive.

Between Honda’s pullout from F1 and AMA Superbike, along with rumored large scale corporate cancellations in NASCAR the broader implications of marketing to a mass audience will shock more than a few. We’ll have a web feature up soon and more commenting on the blog.