RE: [Ducati] re: Ducati over branding (PS)

[tampabaydesmo]

I completely agree with you man. I give your reply one wheel up, cuz two
would create an awful mess.....

Diego 

-----Original Message-----
From: ducati-bounces at ducati.net [mailto:ducati-bounces at ducati.net] On Behalf
Of Brian De Groodt
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 7:12 PM
To: Ducati Owners Group
Subject: Re: [Ducati] re: Ducati over branding (PS)



On Nov 6, 2007, at 3:59 PM, Diego wrote:

> Why slap your name on a product in a flooded market.
> Pirelli has done the same thing from time to time. Really cool  
> shoes, but no
> on wears them. Strange things people do.

True, I prefer the Goodyear's over the Pirelli's. ;-).  In all  
seriousness, I think there's a fine line here.  Partners like Sandisk  
have invested heavily in the MotoGP effort of Ducati, and a little  
turn around seems like fair play.  FWIW, the USB drive is very well  
constructed and it lives up to the Italian design one expects of  
Ducati (not sure they designed it, but it doesn't denigrate by way of  
design in the least).  Putting the logo on a few things here and  
there is definitely a proven way to potentially enhance a brand's  
recognition, but the choice of where to slap the logo has to be  
carefully considered.  Cologne, pocket knives, shoes, snowboards,  
bicycles and certain pieces of luggage strike me as the wrong ideas.   
This might be a disconnect in the Ducati marketing efforts in Italy  
and what flies in Europe and the US market and beyond.  Not sure, but  
if it helps in some small way for the guys and gals in the factory to  
keep their jobs, continue to produce great products, and field one  
hell of a racing effort, then I for one would call it a small price  
to pay.

The whole "we prefer to think of ourselves as the Porsche of  
motorcycles" thing by definition means a little of the exclusivity of  
the brand has to be yielded.  By Ducati management's choice and  
directive, it's no longer the Ferrari image of days past and that  
might mean some poseur, er, fan of the brand, that doesn't/can't own  
a Ducati might be sporting a pair of shoes because that's the best he/ 
she can afford at the moment.  I don't care much for it, but it's  
$100 in the dealer's pocket that services my bikes that he/she  
(allegedly) didn't make any money in selling me.  Hopefully the fine  
folks in Italy will make wiser choices now that the recent troubles  
of the past are behind them and concentrate on pulling back the  
product marketing reins a tad and plow ahead on more high quality  
products with 2 wheels.

Brand protectionism by long-time loyalists is funny to me.  It's  
common in my other world of passion and pursuit--bicycling (but  
particularly more nasty).  I've never quite understood it.  I feel it  
and it makes a funny feeling in my head when I see someone sporting a  
logo of something I know they don't own, or when I see some moron on  
a fixie with no brakes because he thinks it's cool, but I can't  
reconcile it logically.  If another motorcycle or bicycle is on the  
road instead of nothing or a car and that person operates within the  
reasonable norm of the law/rules, then who am I to say anything.  But  
I still feel that weird feeling (is it special?).

In any case, I'm rambling, but I'd like to nominate that the term for  
Ducati's current logo/branding efforts as "poor choices" over "over  
branding."

Oh yeah, and Kevin, I saw your bike at Laguna this year and would  
definitely give it 2 thumbs up for being everything a Ducati should  
be.  It's clearly loved by you and has loved you back with  
undoubtedly plenty of stories.  And to your point regarding the "old  
school" and earning it to ride a Ducati, it made me laugh because  
just yesterday I was sharing with a friend how my first street bike  
(a used early 70s Honda CB 750) left me stranded one morning on my  
way to work and was my only transportation.  So I beat the hell out  
of the tank with my helmet (I was young and dumber than I am now) in  
some fit of rage and hope that it would mysteriously make the carbs  
free of gunk.  No surprise, it didn't.  So I called in sick and  
picked up my Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for the day.   
Suddenly the book started making sense.

BD
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