Ducati Sponsors A Blog…

Thought this was interesting… The Blog Herald is reportingtonight that growing Italian blog network Blogo.it has announced that it has signed an exclusive sponsorship deal with Ducati for Blogo’s new MotoBlog. They claim that this will be the first sponsorship for a commercial blog in Europe… Personally I find it hard to believe that Ducati is the first European company to try this, but hey who knows. I guess it’s possible, though the wording sounds awfully PRish to me… If true this would mark yet another very keen marketing move by the Bolognia gang… Of course all that flashy and forward thinking marketing goes for not if you’ve still got people bitching about quality control issues.

Still it’s an interesting technology play that vaguely reminds me of how Ducati was one of the early pioneers selling bikes over the internet with the released of the Mike Hailwood MH900 in 2000. Originally that bike was only sold via the internet, so obviously they’ve been thinking of the ‘net as a medium for their brand for quite awhile. Of course when it comes to blogs, one of the great attractions is that they’re not usually corporate PR vehicles but rather other consumers sharing their experiences. I wonder if a very publicly stated corporate sponsorship will alter that perception for end users of the site or if they’ll even care… Frankly I’m not sure what makes sponsoring a blog any different than placing an advertisement on it.