When you come right down to it, I think it’s fairly safe to say that for most consumers the final out the door price for a brand new motorcycle ultimately determines whether or not they leave their dealership with the bike in question or not. Of course there’s some percentage of folks who simply ‘must have’ a given bike and will pay whatever they have to have it — case in point the Desmosedici 16RR. Nobody is going to be haggling over the OTD price on that bike. But the 1098, a bike built for the masses, is a different beast. Price is ultimately one of the most attractive components to the bike, at least here in the States.
Yesterday Federico Minoli in his DesmoBlog did something that I think is commendable — he broke down the rather large difference between Ducati’s MSRP pricing in the States verses the rest of the world in his post titled, Prezzi….
You may not like the answer, but it’s simple logic. Price is determined by the market, i.e. by the competitors’ prices. If we have a look at price gaps among sport bikes the table is as follows:
In my mind this is a rather brash bit of marketing - certainly it’s something that in the form of a blog entry offers consumers a rare peek into the thinking that goes on at a factory when they price a product. Certainly no matter which side of the pond you’re on, you have to admit that it takes a certain kind of self-confidence to be this bold in such a public manner. Of course that doesn’t make somebody in the UK feel a heck of a lot better if they’ve got to throw down quite a bit more coin for a new 1098 then their American counterparts do.
There have been numerous rumors floating around as to why the 1098 ultimately will cost less in the US, some suggestion Ducati North America is subsidizing the bike, others cite the exchange rate (like Minoli), but among all the conjecture the one thing that I think has been overlooked is the fact that the American Market is far to important for Ducati to ignore because its a worldwide marketing vehicle that has the power to not only affect sales in the States but also other countries around the world. Now this is just my 2¢ and clearly DMH wants to sell bikes in the States, but in a more global view that’s almost inconsequential.
What’s more important is that Ducati builds a foothold in the States because it opens up the massive American marketing machine to both the product and the brand. A marketing machine that exports its wares around the world in a number of ways. It needs 1098’s showing up in Hollywood feature films and in glossy Madison Avenue magazines. It needs the US Entertainment Industry to embrace the bike in the same manor that folks speak of other worldwide design icons, such as Apple Computer iPods. The company needs the ‘it’ status that can only come from having their product show up on the Sunset Strip in the background of a Paparazzi photo. In my humble opinion if Ducati was really smart they’d seed new 1098’s to high powered celebs who ride like Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Michael Jordan etc. Seeing those worldwide stars on the 1098 would be far more effective then seeeing photos of them riding two-up with Randy Mamola at a Moto GP Event.
The reality is that the massive American marketing machine is a world-wide export that helps to define culture around the globe. What’s cool in New York City or Los Angeles becomes cool in other places simply because it’s cool in the big cities. And there’s no better way to ensure that kind of celebrated design aesthetic then to have the people who make the decisions whether or not to place products like the 1098 in a movie or a commercial or a magazine fashion shoot see dozens and dozens of 1098 sitting at their local Starbucks.
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Wow, that’s the dummest thing I’ve ever heard, and what’s worse is the fact that it’s probably true… To think anyone would buy a bike simply because a closet dwelling scientologist like Tom Cruise has one is pretty lame…
Well, the point I was trying to make is that while die-hard motorcycle consumers will purchase whatever they deem the best bike for themselves (as they are a discerning group in most cases), for the rest of the population who simply have to have whatever is the ‘it’ product at the time whether that be a phone, an iPod or a motorcycle, marketing rules the day. Design and style alone don’t make something a mass market appeal. Take the Triumph 675 for instance, there’s a killer track bike with damn sexy looks, but it’s not an icon. It’s not known by anyone outside of the motorcycle world. I don’t say that to put down the bike. It’s a fantastic motorcycle. But for that bike to go to the next level it needs marketing muscle well beyond what Triumph can afford. Or for that matter Ducati can afford with the 1098. The reality is that the more times people see a product such as a motorcycle in other arenas that have nothing to do with motorcycling itself the more it continues to reinforce the idea that this particular bike is lust worthy and therefore the more folks will in turn ‘want’ that product. The bike or bikes that are marketed the best, that appear to be the ‘coolest’ or the most in demand will ultimately sell the best and receive the most attention. Mass market success in sales rarely is about being the best product in a given class, it’s about the most recognized product in a class. The most known. Garnering that image is paramount to creating high demand and high sales figures for Ducati. Again, just my take…