Market Musings

Marketing. Today I am thinking about marketing. There is a lot of marketing going on out there in the bicycling world these days. A great deal of money and time and effort is being put into just how to get all of us to interact, on one level or another, with the bicycle. While I do not have numbers to back up my theory, it is my guess that there is a great deal more time and money put into getting us to buy bicycles than into those things that would get us to actually ride them more.

I do not mean to be cynical in this line of thinking. We need the bicycle companies of the world to be successful so that there are bicycles for all of us to use. A competitive industry means choice in what we ride and how much we pay for it. I am simply wondering aloud if there aren't better ways to do it so that the sales are improved through marketing lifestyle vs gear ratios.

On the Specialized web site, there is a section for women. All of the pictures on it are of women either in the mud, on their way to the mud, resting after being in the mud... Please, don't get me wrong, I love riding in the mud! Off road riding is one of my favorite things and I miss being able to do it greatly. What strikes me is the lack of scope the marketing shows.
Recently, Specialized has tried to branch out with their Globe line. Not only have they branched out with the machines themselves, they have broadened their view of how to market them. As many know, Globe gave many bloggers out there Globe bikes to ride on the condition that the people who received their bikes wrote about the experience and how their bikes fit into their daily lives. They chose a broad cross section of people from different age groups and regions and races.

I think this is brilliant! There is no beating you over the head with "Globe is great!", just a lot of stories about how life is lived on a bicycle. The regular Specialized web site leaves me cold. There is nothing there for me as I know nothing about bike parts, and quite frankly, I am not that interested in them. The people pictured do not represent me, how I live or even how I want to live. The Globe blogs make me want to know more about the company and the bikes they make. The people that ride them look like me and my family and my neighbors.

There are other bits to this thought floating in my head. How women and young people are ignored by the industry as a whole. How a desire to simply live with a bicycle seems to get eclipsed by those who feel that we should all aspire to be fast and muddy. How cyclists are portrayed as incompetent or daredevil (or both) despite the fact that our vehicles do not accelerate out of control or knock down power polls or leak antifreeze that kills animals that drink it.

I guess I'll just keep plugging away with my camera and take pictures of what I think makes cycling attractive to the masses.

It is certainly what attracts me- a 39 year old mother of three with a career and a commute (not so much career / commute these days, but you get my point). My guess is that I was not what came out of the various marketing meetings and focus groups : )

bicycles as marketing

this weekend, i went into a big chain store to get an umbrella since i lost mine during this week of rain & theirs are cheap and sorta girly cute. when i got there i saw some of this phenomenon of bikes as marketing i believed we've talked about before a bit.

here is a smaller store using the same technique.


i notice that while both seem to be using the "cool" card since "cool" sells things, each store seems to be saying something different. i think the big chain store is saying, hey ride bikes, look cute, get exercise, get fit, get skinny, look good in clothes, buy lots of (our) clothes. the other store seems to be saying, hey, bikes are utilitarian. see, you can put our rugs in a bakfiets and transport it from our store to your store/home/whatever.

anyway, those are some things i've seen in my everyday life of bikes as props. aside from television commercials, i haven't seen it too much around, but i think that's because i don't normally go to stores so much.

also, as an aside, i believe that the display people may have had this display in mind while creating the newer one. ummhmm.

sights and sounds from the south

birmingham, alabama

i went to birmingham, alabama recently and one of the first things i saw was a large billboard showcasing some bicycle marketing we've talked about here on the blog before. this time was advertising a bank.



they equated bicycles with efficiency. heh. i can dig it. also glad to see that bike marketing is permeating a city infrastructure which basically supports no bicycles. i'm not trying to be sarcastic either. maybe the marketing will seep through and begin to have some sort of influence on the city, or not, but gotta remain hopeful that change is coming. all over the US.

austin, texas

i also went to my hometown of austin, texas. bikes are everywhere there, and i can't help smiling when i see bikes all over the streets.

i went to austin city limits music festival again, and as i mentioned previously, they recommended pedal power to get to the festival. we definitely took advantage of their bike parking. and also got to see some great bikes.

the little blue cannondale is mine. got it as a christmas present last year. if anyone knows about this era of cannondales, please share! says it's made in the usa.









i miss texas, and can't wait to get back for a non-working vacation sometime in the near future. had a great time, but it's time to head back to san francisco.

friday fun times: be a bike hero

was walking around the neighborhood today on an errand...and saw this cuteness happen. i walked past then decided to go back and take a pic.

there was a bike locked up innocently. a tag was hanging from it saying, "thank you, you are a bike hero"





so even though this tag is totally viral marketing, it's cute, so who cares. :) and no need to click through or even scan a QR code. feel free to look them up on twitter.

take a deep breath, smell the wheel grease, and have a great weekend!

What is the price of your bicycle?

Here at this blog we ride all kinds of bicycles. Mostly re-purposed, passed on from relatives, found on the curbside, with the exception of Ade's Yacht (the bat), I could say all of them did not cost much at all.

Ade

meligrosa

cailtexican

This morning I read an article (from a woman's persepctive, written by Christina Binkley) and found it quite interesting. Check it out at wsj.com: The Season of Biker Chic

These are old-fashioned-looking bikes with heavy frames, strong, wide tires and handlebars high enough to let the rider sit upright.

Well, my frenchie is that. Melyssa's bike is that. And most of Ade's bikes are that. But they certainly did not cost over $1,800 USD. The article does offer information from bikes in the range between $300 - on. I am all for exposure of bicycle city riding of all kinds, not only the uber cutesy marketing that has recently sprung out (not that I am against it either) but all choices. People should ride as they please. And also support new companies that make an effort to be locally active (ie, Public bikes has participated in many events here in San Francisco)
The article also mentions the various companies, targeted at getting more women to ride, which I think sets the tone for a thumbs-up in my books.
My favorite part of the wsj article, which sounds like a story cut for our story blog here is:

"My ride to the office is 7.2 miles, mostly downhill. As I cruised to work, I saw Los Angeles from a new purview. The city is badly in need of bike lanes, and the streets are littered with hazards like glass.

But generally, I found L.A. surprisingly easy to bike in. To avoid car traffic, I tried to stick to quiet neighborhood streets. Being near to the ground allowed me to discover several new shops and restaurants along the way, and the ride made the city community seem closer and smaller. I arrived at work feeling as energized as I do after a morning yoga class. I even made a mental plan to do this more often."

(this excerpt and the quote above from wsj.com by Christina Binkley: The Season of Biker Chic)

So to put out the question out there, how much would you drop on a new bike? (from publicbikes.com "Our bikes are designed in the United States, by us. They are built and assembled in Taiwan...more") or would you rather fix an older bike yourself?
And I'm curious that if design and colour would influence you to drop almost 2K on say, those juicy citrus orange mixte public bikes? If I had spare money I'd be tempted because they are quite irresistible, but to be honest, if I had 1500 to burn on a bike, I'd probably do so on a touring bike like a Surly LTH.
Maybe.

thursday thoughts: bikes as installation art?

UPDATE--late wednesday evening:

so i had a post written out from a few days ago regarding the below pictures. but then i checked in with another fellow SF blog, mission mission, and they have also seen the cords, literally hanging around town. turns out marketing: it can haz some hazy powers over the calitexican (and apparently over other bloggers). along the same lines, now that i know this is advertising, this is NOT an endorsement, just merely an observation. kthx.

to keep with the integrity of the post, i will keep it as is, because it may be interesting (to some) my initial reactions. but my honest one was, why waste all that material on a bike like that...

(tuesday during the day)
i'm not quite sure what the intentions of this person behind this bike seem to be, but this bike just could not be functional. i also apologize for the iphone at night picture, but the best camera is the one you carry with you, right?

wrapping every spare pieces in pink corduroy. except the brakes and the bike light. seen outside of ritual coffee roasters in the mission.

i also like how the bike is completely locked up. you know, just in case someone wanted to score a pink present.

KT over at velo vogue has noticed them too.

is this the beginning of springing into action in springtime, or just arting around town? what is the purpose of them, or do they have no official stance? or do they just mark "hipsters reside here?"

does anyone know? please share in the comments.