I think we need to take a page from the Harley Davidson history to up our
numbers as well as increase our visibility.
In 1988 ( please bear with me there is a point to all of this!) Harley
Davidson was on the brink of bankrupcy. They were bailed out at the last minute
by a Chicago bank, this enabled them to finish work on their then new V-Twin,
They shipped it off to the top 3 motorcycle publications in the country and
after rave reviews ; waited for the sales onslaught... and waited ... and
waited. They had the best product with great reviews, but no buyers. THey then
took the unheard of position of cancelling all media and print advertising and
putting all the remaining resources
into trucks loaded with "new" product and hit the road. They went to every
Harley dealer in the country for " test rides" something no other manfacturer
had ever tried. Moral of the story is that Harley took the show to the folks
that were already intrested in motorcycles and just showed them in a new way. $
10,000 in HD stock in 1988 is now North of $ 2 MILLON !
1. Lets try to arrange a "test" drive in each division, maybe Q or Jim Elder
would
donate the use of a car for a fall drivers school. A car could be put on
display at each National event in that division for the year with a sign. "
enter drawing for free drivers school in this car". We might get each division
to throw in a discount for the school because we would be promoting the school
for everyone that signed up. Also hit the race shops/ manufactures for promos
for helmets, suits, gloves, etc. Make it a real " arrive and drive". Get Rob
from Formula car magazine to do a piece on it and make it a season long
promotion. Yes you'll only have one winner in each division, but all the car
builders would get a database of " newbies", Formula Car would get a new
subscribers database, and the F500 community will have planted a lot of "
seeds" for future growth.
2. Just like Harley has a trade marked sound " pot-at-o, pot-at-o, pot-at-o"
our class has one of the most unique sounds in the paddock. When a GT 1 fires
up all I hear is money, and when a Spec Miata fires up, " Is it running ?" But
when an F500 starts notice the " new" spectators around the paddock. Now I know
that a lot of you have done this for years and it's 2nd nature, but watch the
heads turn, this unique sound is what sets us apart and should be part of a
marketing campaign.
" Catch a quick buzz", F500, " Get a quick Buzz" F500 or something
similar.
It's probably too late to do anything for this year, but with a little
planning, I think this could be a great way to energize future numbers.
Thanks,
Steve Moore
Red Dog Racing
Red Devil # 67
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