Switching Up The Marketing Strategy...

[BaldGuy]

Imagine if they advertised as much as GEICO just for one day. Never seen a company advertise as much as them. I bet whatever they spend in one day could fund the Elio project.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

Imagine if they advertised as much as GEICO just for one day. Never seen a company advertise as much as them. I bet whatever they spend in one day could fund the Elio project.

Yep, I don't get it, there are only so many policies to write,they each can't save you $400 if you switch, and don't forget Progressive!
And recently I've become terrified of all TV medication ads, when the rattle off all the side effects, that's what's gonna kill ya, not what the med is Rx'ed for

 

[Smitty901]

Imagine if they advertised as much as GEICO just for one day. Never seen a company advertise as much as them. I bet whatever they spend in one day could fund the Elio project.

GEICO has a product to market now can deliver insurance in a few minutes. ELIO faces not having a product to deliver not much to show and no time line to do so. That does not make them bad . It makes them hard to market beyond a hand full of risk takers and even then the risk takes come in at different levels.
When Harley brought back the Tour Glide resigned a bit as the Road Glide it was slow to catch on. It took a few years and some of us risk takers to make the switch. Over time that helped many other get off the fence now RG is over 10% of their market and growing. 2007 I had the only RG you saw on the road around here now there are a lot of them.

 

[carzes]

Elio Motors has studied and understands the demographics of likely reservation holders and Paul Elio has even discussed some of the demographics of reservations holders in various interviews. EM has concentrated their limited marketing resources on the demographics most likely to make a reservation as this is what they are selling at this time. The demographic that EM understands to be the most likely to make a reservation is middle aged and older males who ride, or used to ride, motorcycles.

Breaking this down we all know that men tend to be the focus of the majority of vehicle advertising. We also know that middle aged and older people tend to have more discretionary income they are willing to part with as they are generally more established in their lives. So these two parts of the EM demographic equation are fairly straightforward from a marketing point of view.

The reasons for the focus on motorcyclists is interesting. Motorcyclists as a group are more likely to have excess capital as motorcycles tend to be expensive toys for most people. This demographic also tends to be accepting of some level of risk in their lives which covers the fact that there is an inherent level of risk involved in making a reservation at this time.

Anyone else who is exposed to the Elio Motors concept and makes a reservation at this time is welcomed of course however EM is purposefully targeting the demographic most likely to make reservations. Once we move closer to retail availability I expect to see a big shift in marketing aimed more at the mass market as this is where EM will need to be at that time.

Also, I'm sure that EVERY motorcyclist who's ever been out riding in inclement weather has thought, "man, it would be awesome to have an enclosed motorcycle."

 

[RUCRAYZE]

Also, I'm sure that EVERY motorcyclist who's ever been out riding in inclement weather has thought, "man, it would be awesome to have an enclosed motorcycle."

with 50 yrs of riding, I can attest to it- and living in S Florida, the helmeted "hot" head will appreciate the A.C. and automatic transmission!!

 

[Smitty901]

Also, I'm sure that EVERY motorcyclist who's ever been out riding in inclement weather has thought, "man, it would be awesome to have an enclosed motorcycle."

Motorcycle riders cover a large group of people, from those that just own one but don't really ride it, to those like us that ride 20-60K a year. Some ride little bikes to larger touring models some of us both. High performance machines to cruisers.
Not having an enclosed cab is why many of us ride. There is a percentage of us that will go for the ELIO just because we can. But it's appeal to rides will be some what limited. The buyers will likely be middle age for many reasons . Money the young seldom have much, Middle age rides tend to start having issues with knees and back have a harder time holding larger bikes up. Many of our friends started slowing down their riding from 55 years old and up.
Believe it or not riding in rain and colder weather is no a big issue for many of us, part of the enjoyment.
ELIO's best bet will be just what they market it as now, Lower cost, high mileage transportation. Then the look at what we can do with this thing crowd will build on that.
The ELIO would have been great with 3 children in college. We missed out on that option maybe it will be the biggest thing on campus in a few years.

 

[RUCRAYZE]

Motorcycle riders cover a large group of people, from those that just own one but don't really ride it, to those like us that ride 20-60K a year. Some ride little bikes to larger touring models some of us both. High performance machines to cruisers.
Not having an enclosed cab is why many of us ride. There is a percentage of us that will go for the ELIO just because we can. But it's appeal to rides will be some what limited. The buyers will likely be middle age for many reasons . Money the young seldom have much, Middle age rides tend to start having issues with knees and back have a harder time holding larger bikes up. Many of our friends started slowing down their riding from 55 years old and up.
Believe it or not riding in rain and colder weather is no a big issue for many of us, part of the enjoyment.
ELIO's best bet will be just what they market it as now, Lower cost, high mileage transportation. Then the look at what we can do with this thing crowd will build on that.
The ELIO would have been great with 3 children in college. We missed out on that option maybe it will be the biggest thing on campus in a few years.

@72, I'm happy looking back at my rides, looking forward to my first 3 wheeler!!

 

[JEBar]

Motorcycle riders cover a large group of people,

I couldn't agree more .... in a way, it reminds me of the variety of folks who own/drive pickup trucks ...

The buyers will likely be middle age for many reasons . Money the young seldom have much, Middle age rides tend to start having issues with knees and back have a harder time holding larger bikes up. Many of our friends started slowing down their riding from 55 years old and up.

Believe it or not riding in rain and colder weather is no a big issue for many of us, part of the enjoyment.

I'm no longer middle age (happily take all of the senior discounts that I can get) but a combination of aging and injuries forced me to part with my last bike several years ago .... I never evolved to the point that I enjoyed being out and about on a bike in cold, rainy weather .... I guess I've been fortunate in that I've always owned another vehicle that I could use on such days ....

The ELIO would have been great with 3 children in college. We missed out on that option maybe it will be the biggest thing on campus in a few years.

one of our sons drove a bike through his 4 years at UNC .... he was one of the few students who didn't have much trouble finding a parking place .... our three kids had to work their way through college and bought their own vehicles .... at their price point, economic operation, and looks of an Elio, I agree that EM will probably find a huge market on college campuses

 

[Smitty901]

At 60 I still ride 20-60K a year average. No where near slowing down yet. Sense my ELIO has been delayed I will be trading off the 2013 RGU in August for another RGU. The day will come legs won't hold 1100 lbs touring bike up. I will find a work around to extend that a few more years. the back to a side car again to finish out this life.

 

[JEBar]

At 60 I still ride 20-60K a year average. No where near slowing down yet. Sense my ELIO has been delayed I will be trading off the 2013 RGU in August for another RGU. The day will come legs won't hold 1100 lbs touring bike up. I will find a work around to extend that a few more years. the back to a side car again to finish out this life.

I certainly hope things go as you envision .... a while back I tried to help a fellow setup a big Harley that had (literally) fallen over on its side .... $2,900 in repairs but that's a different story .... almost instantly, my back let me know that lifting on that bike wasn't a good idea .... I've never messed with a side car, that should be interesting