Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!

The rebirth of cool; Cinelli

2011-02-25T22:19:00.000-08:00

(Originally posted on my new main blog; Two Wheels and Half a Brain)

Cinelli is one of the iconic brands in cycling, around since the late 40’s in one capacity or another. Cinelli is responsible for lasting designs and innovations that will be part of cycling’s history and heritage into the next millennia and beyond. The incredible history of the brand is something any company would like to have.

It is not to say that Cinelli has not had its problems and defeats, as well as all those victories. There have been many setbacks along the way, but Cinelli has managed to always smartly find a way to climb back from the abyss and reestablish itself as a brand to be reckoned with.

Cinelli had fallen on some pretty rough times in the 90’s, but then they introduced a very innovative handlebar extension called Spinaci. These clever extensions became exceptionally popular with racers around the globe and at the highest levels of the sport. Sadly, the international governing body of cycling- the UCI- decided they were unsafe and banned them from competition in mass start events. This meant the death of Spinaci and the countless copycat products they’d spawned. This also threw Cinelli back into some rough waters.

The brand never went away and was never all that close to vanishing, but the image had been dented again and the name was fading from the hierarchy of brands at the top of the sport- despite the best efforts of the products and the engineers and designers at Cinelli.

Ultimately, what saved the brand and has kept it alive to this day, is the brand’s great eye for Italian design. Cinelli has always had a strong reputation for iconic modern Italian design. From the famous winged “C” logo, to the hallmark use of color and an eye for spotting trends. This all lead to Cinelli constantly maintaining a cult following of rabid fans willing to look past mistakes or missteps, eagerly awaiting the next design- whether with glee or morbid curiosity.

It’s the eye for design and ability to remain “current” with fashionable trends that gave the fans something to love. And those fans have spanned multiple generations. The young fans of today are largely in love with the deigns of the past- and Cinelli has been smart enough to give them what they want. Cinelli has remained relevant by listening to their fans and allowing them to dictate where the brand is going… or returning to.

The strength of Cinelli today lies in the fact that the brand has been co-opted by the fixed gear/ urban cycling culture. Most of the fans of Cinelli now only know of the brand’s vintage appeal from the aesthetic, as opposed to the long history of race wins and product innovation. They’re drawn more to the cool factor than anything else… and Cinelli has no problem with that at all. Which is a stroke of pure genius.

In this incredibly cutthroat market for bikes and parts, Cinelli has been able to rise above the fray and retain it’s sense of style and elegance. The Cinelli of today looks a lot like the Cinelli of decades prior because that is what the consumers of today have been begging for. From aligning themselves with arguably the strongest name in the fixed gear subculture- MASH SF- to reissuing the products that originally built the Cinelli name, they have placed themselves in the center of a very visible and vocal segment of the cycling world.

Cinelli stands out as a brand that understands who they are, who they aren’t and who their true customers are and what they want. Unlike many brands who tell their customers what they want- or should want- Cinelli listens and gives their customers what they have asked for. It sounds stupidly easy to do, yet too few companies even bother to try; the idea of letting go of control is too frightening. It isn’t to say that Cinelli simply spits out product by request- they still design avant-garde products that push the edge of being a freak show highlight. It’s this blend of innovation and retro reproduction that keeps Cinelli alive today…

… and is likely to keep them alive tomorrow too.

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Tim Jackson

Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Kool-Aid is coming back... sorta...

2011-02-25T21:58:00.000-08:00

Hello... is this thing on?

It's been since October of 2009 since this blog has been updated. Lots of changes have taken place in that time- obviously- and lots of great discussions have been missed. It's been a long time since I last put out a call for guest writers to help keep this thing afloat- and I got a lot of great volunteers... in 2009!

So, with that said, consider this a repeat;

I am officially looking for guest writers to help bring this blog back from the dead... again.
Here's the original Kasting Kall.

To all those who tossed their hat into the ring the last time, please feel free to toss it in again! To those who thought about it before, but held back... here's your chance. AND... for those who are seeing this for the first time, I promise I'm a nice guy and won't be mean as Editor... so send me a sample.

Thank you again (again),

Tim Jackson

Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Kool-Aid Kall

2009-10-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

To all who have sent in writing samples and emailed an interest in joining the Kool-Aid Krew, I just want to say thank you and let you know you will be hearing from me soon- I promise. Frankly, I'm tempted to take all of you on as contributors... and just might! I'm one nutty editor/ Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser.

If you haven't already heard from me, you will soon, so please be patient... I do have a day job after all...

I'm very excited about the changes and upgrades coming to this site and I thank you for your patience and continuing support.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Become a member of the Kool-Aid Krew!

2009-10-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

Since November 20, 2005 this blog has been a stop and go project limited mostly by the lack of free time each of the various contributors has available... or in most cases, doesn't have available. Somehow, despite this very sporadic and inconsistent history of posting, the blog continues to hold a readership and I still get frequent questions about when we're going to be updating the blog again. Believe me, that's a far greater compliment to me than you know.

From the beginning, the idea of this blog was to create dialog; a dialog between members of the cycling industry, retailers and consumers. The original focus was to cover marketing in the cycling industry and other industries that choose to use cycling to communicate their messages. Over time the focus changed a little and began to cover other cycling related news- with an intended focus being on how that news impacted the industry. I believe it is safe to say that we've covered quite a few different topics over the nearly four years we've been here and it's safe to assume that the focus will remain fairly diverse.

Since each of the contributors listed on the right side of this page have very diverse viewpoints, it is clear that things will remain pretty diversely covered within the posts here. And here's where you potentially come in...

We're looking for new contributors for the blog. Want to join us? Then send a writing sample (or link to your existing blog, etc) and a brief bio to me at timothyvjackson (at) gmail (dot) com. You don't need to be in the bicycle industry to qualify, since we are looking to keep things diverse around here- varying viewpoints are very much desired. One thing that is required though... a thick skin and a good sense of humor. We don't want or allow sniper attacks on brands or people, so if you have an axe to grind you'll need to grind it elsewhere. We also don't allow sexism, racism, bigotry or political/ religious firebombing. In essence, we're here to be informative, invite discussion that has the potential to move a topic towards change and overall shed light on important topics that tie to the life and health of the cycling world and industry... even if it takes a little searching to find that connection from time to time.

So if you've got a burning desire to become a member of the Kool-Aid Krew, drop me a line and let me know. The goal is to have a large enough team of contributors to ensure that the site is updated at least once a week so that the burden does not fall onto any one person's shoulders. If you're a little shy about becoming a regular contributor, listed on the site, feel free to submit a post as a guest contributor as well.

Thanks again to all of the folks who have supported and encouraged this sporadic endeavor. We hope to make things a little more exciting around here in the coming months... including a change in the looks of things. Please excuse our e-dust as we do a bit of housecleaning... it will hopefully prove worth the patience.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Tradeshows and the cycling industry...

2009-10-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

Over the past five weeks, I've attended three separate week-long (for me) tradeshows. Needless to say, I'm fairly worn down and really tired of the seemingly endless cycle of packing and unpacking and packing and unpacking, etc, etc... but that's not the point of this.

Over the past few years, the relationship between tradeshows and the industry has been evolving in many different directions. The effectiveness and cost worthiness of tradeshows has been under examination by nearly every person and brand within the cycling industry- from retailer to manufacturer/ distributor to OE supplier and international distributors. The entire cycling goods foodchain has been scrutinizing the changes in the way business is done these days and what the shows all mean or do.

Here's one bike nerds view from inside the equation...

Retailers;
Retailers have really begun to trim back this year, here in the US, due to the weak economy. However, even before the economic downturn (also known as really terrible economic crash), retailers had been cutting back on their involvement with the main tradeshow- Interbike. The Dirt Demo component of Interbike has continued to grow in popularity, as retailers can ride the bikes they are already buying, thinking of buying, wanting to evaluate or just so they can get some competitive comparison against the brands they already sell. By the time Interbike rolls around, the vast majority of retailers have already placed preseason orders with their main suppliers and if they sell Trek, Specialized, Giant and a few others, they've already been out of their shops for regional or private brand tradeshows. All of this leads to a further shrinking of the relevance of Interbike to many retailers and a growing "show fatigue" by the time Interbike rolls around sometime in late September. Unless a retailer is specifically looking to replace a bike brand with another bike brand, there is very little use for Interbike other than to shake hands with suppliers.

However, for smaller ticket items like clothing and other accessories, Interbike still holds some limited power. But... in recent years very few retailers have gone to Interbike with the intention of "putting pen to paper" and placing orders. Again, with the strength of regional brand shows and the larger brands becoming increasingly large business partners for many retailers, Interbike's floor show is changing into much less of a tradeshow and much more of a social gathering. That said, Interbike has been savvy in beginning to address this and is looking to add more value for all who attend. The seminars held each year are growing in popularity and usefulness, as are things like the recently added Urban Legend Fashion Show. To further cater to the evolving shape of the Interbike audience, there has been a growing acceptance of Social Media and the small but growing importance it now has in the cycling world- giving media credentials to bloggers, Tweeters, podcasters and the like is a big step. Having an impressive media center in the midst of the show floor is an even more impressive step.

Eurobike may not have the same level of non-traditional show gimmics, but the show does continue to evolve and was quicker to develop fashion shows for the cycling world (though admittedly mocked by many folks in the industry at first). Eurobike suffers a bit less from the massive drop-off in order writing, as many European retailers do still place orders during the show. More importantly, however, Eurobike has become more of a distributor show- especially since it is now often the first introduction of many new products- a roll once prized by Interbike. Thanks to this explosion of early product introductions, Eurobike also benefits from a growing presence from the media looking to wet the appetites of product crazy cycling enthusiasts around the globe.

Manufacturers;
If you are a bike brand or a consumer product manufacturer and are trying to reach retailers, tradeshows are becoming harder and harder to justify. The cost of doing tradeshows is astronomical and prohibitive for smaller brands more likely to benefit the most from the extra exposure. Larger brands are shrinking their show presence, if not abandoning altogether, and are focusing the attention on regional private shows- you get the retailer all to yourself with nobody else getting in the way of your sales pitch. It's an intoxicating cocktail for many retailers when they get such special treatment too, so it is hard to find a reason NOT to do private shows.

For smaller brands who need the exposure, major shows eat up an entire year's budget and the stress can be nearly suicidal as well. Whether smaller bike brands or an accessory brand, the cost is high and the return is arguably low. But... can they risk not being there? Is being conspicuous in your absence something that will hurt you? Will your competition steal your customers if you aren't there? It's a big risk, as well as a big cost.

Most brands who have attended the ever-growing Dirt Demo are seeing that as becoming much more effective for them. In recent years, shows like Eurobike and the smaller Canadian show BTAC/ Expo Cycle have added demo days to their shows to address this shift in tradeshow appeal. Again, here in the US, there are many brands who attend Dirt Demo only and skip the floor show, or only show up with a very tiny presence. Brands as important to the industry as Specialized and Trek have been a part of this shift. Will it hurt them for not having a full footprint inside the exhibit hall? Not likely- many of their retailers have already ponied up the dough at regional shows and they still get plenty of press attention by being at demo- if not more attention. Let's face it, a fleet of very expensive wonder bikes bombing down trails or blazing down the asphalt says a lot... real or not.

Interbike and Expo Cycle both have seen a major drop off in the amount of orders written or new business created. Eurobike has suffered less of a drop off, but still faces the same challenges. The question then becomes "why are we here" for many of the exhibitors at the shows. Well, that all depends on the brands you ask, but it is increasingly becoming about relationships. It's important to be at the show to thank customers for their business and try to convince them to keep growing their business with you... if they haven't already placed that big, mythical "preseason order" already. And most of them have. As an exhibitor for a smaller brand, Interbike still presents a chance and a hope that new business will come our way. We attend both Dirt Demo and Interbike with the hope of seeing existing customers and also seeing potential new ones.

Here's the thing though- as I pointed out in my opening comment, tradeshow burnout is becoming a very real thing. Eurobike was just August 31- September 1st for demo and September 2nd - 5th for the show, Expo Cycle was September 9th for demo and 10th - 12th for the show and Interbike was September 21st - 22nd demo and 23rd - 26th for the show... and I just got back from the second edition of Interbike's OutDoor Demo East in Providence, Rhode Island held October 8th - 11th. I didn't attend Eurobike, but I was at the other three of the four events. As a manufacturer, that's an astronomical financial commitment, not to mention the man hours that have to be used for so many events. At what point do manufacturers say "enough is enough"? For global brands, it's very difficult to do that. Granted, at Eurobike and Expo Cycle, my presence at the show is to be there to support the efforts of the distributors we have (or my parent company Haro Bicycles has). All of those shows add up quickly- especially when they are nearly back to back.

The addition of the OutDoor Demo East last year "seemed" like a good idea and the initial feedback, minus the grumblings of "not another show", was that it was a success. This year's ODD-E was extended to four days, with the last two days being open to the public- something that much of the industry cringed over. How was the demo this year? Well... spotty at best. Day 1 was great because the weather was great. Day 2 had rain so very few retailers who attended actually rode any bikes in the cool and sloppy weather. Day 3 and 4 were open to the public... but there was also a two day stellar cyclo-cross event going on. And cross is huge in New England... with over 2000 racers signed up for the two days, it seemed like we'd all be busy... but the racers and the folks who came to watch and support them barely touched a demo bike over the two days. The racing was awesome and fun to watch, but that's the problem- I had the time to watch the races because nobody was riding the demo bikes. Nobody. Will we attend next year's event if it happens? Very hard to say right now. Lots and lots of evaluation is going into that question as we speak...

There are other smaller shows- mainly in Europe- but they play a much less significant role in the industry these days. These other shows were once important, but with the shift of dates and locations, they have fallen by the wayside a bit...

But, as another wrench in the works, there's the big industry show in Taipei Taiwan for all the OE suppliers, international distributors and bike manufacturers/ distributors. It's another layer of tradeshow commitment that can not be ignored. Which leads to the next tier...

OE Suppliers;
OE Suppliers are the folks who make the stuff that has a different name on it. The biggest brands in the world nearly all work with a finite number of manufacturers in Taiwan and China and those brands, kept somewhat in the shadows and away from the consumers, attract their customers in Taipei... or did. The Taipei Cycle show now suffers from a spot on the calendar- in mid March the past few years- that is becoming much less relevant to the bike spec'ing process. Many brands- including the one I am the Brand Manager for- complete and turn in their final spec to their factories at the end of December (if not possibly sooner). So by March now, many bike and accessory brands are in Taiwan to thank their vendors, meet with their International Distributors and then go visit their factories south in Taichung or over in China (mainly). For these OE Suppliers, the show is becoming hard to justify, as the spec process for that given year is already done and many production lines are already churning out the "new" products.

Here's where it gets complicated(er); there is now a growing series of mini-shows now mostly combined into one show in Taichung in December (5-13th) called Taichung Bike Week and Ride-On. The cool thing is that these two semi-competing shows have combined forces to actually altruistically serve the industry better. The December schedule allows product managers one final chance to see anything they need for their bike spec process. The informal format provides for private meetings away from the busier traffic of a full blown tradeshow and the costs are much lower. Plus, being in Taichung where much of the Taiwan bike industry resides, it is very easy to also do factory visits during the week. The growing strength of this new mini-show must be causing the Taipei show organizers to lose a lot of sleep.

On the other end of the Taipei show schedule is the China Cycle show in Shanghai, April 27th - 30th. This show now has a place on the map and calendar of growing importance. The date provides an early glimpse into what will be happening in the next round of product spec and takes place in the world's largest manufacturing center. Chinese made cycling products have grown in popularity with many prestigious brands now having their products made in China and the strength of home brands like Giant and Merida only lends to that growth. Giant is the world's largest bicycle maker and Merida is their largest competitor. Giant is a popular global brand of its own and Merida enjoys some strength as a brand in Europe and a few other areas outside of the US.

The shift away from Taipei as a spec show is turning it into much more of a show for International Distributors as well as for companies sourcing private label suppliers. Taipei, like all the other established shows, is learning to cater to new customers as the market has evolved.

***

As you can see, it's a complicated picture out there. Retailers have less use for traditional shows, Manufacturers have less use for traditional shows and the OE Suppliers have less use for tradtional shows. Demo events are gaining strength and popularity, so many have suggested that the tradeshows be shortened and the demo days expanded. There are others who say the floor show is a dinosaur and is fading out of relevance. But that really only addresses the shows for retailers. What about the other shows? Taipei is really getting the squeeze on both ends of its calendar and the smaller shows are forcing them to really change how they do what they do and there is much talk still about moving the Taipei dates to January... though that may still prove to be too late for most Product Managers.

Tradeshows are what many consider to be "a necessary evil"- but how long can we keep saying that to ourselves and justifying the crazy amounts of money all of us spend to make them happen?

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Taichung and the Bicycle Industry

2008-12-10T00:45:00.000-08:00

I just returned earlier today from a two week trip to Taiwan. Part of those two weeks was spent visiting the RideOn and Taichung Bike Week mini-tradeshows for the OEM market. If you don't already know, RideOn began about 4 years ago when a small group of OEM suppliers decided to have a small and very informal gathering to allow product managers a chance to get either a first look at upcoming products or a last look at existing products so they could make their spec decisions with the best and most recent information available. Taichung Bike Week began as something of an offshoot of the early success of RideOn. The plan was to provide another option for visiting product managers to Taichung, since they were already in town. Over the past few years, this has grown into a small, informal meeting for the suppliers to the OEM trade and their customers. It has also proven to be quite successful and valuable for the industry.

The spec process gets more difficult each year as so many options pop up in the marketplace and as the need to finalize spec earlier each year grows. In the "old days" of just a few years ago, spec didn't need to be finished for bikes until March and you would still get bikes delivered in the late summer time frame- in time for Interbike and the other major tradeshows. However, that is a thing of the past as factory capacities are stretched thin and leadtimes grow and grow. Now, spec is due to factories as early as mid-December if you have any hope of seeing bikes delivered by Interbike. Throw into this mix the fact that many companies like Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo have continued to present new products earlier and earlier ever year as well. All of this combined has made a product manager's job harder and harder each year- not to mention those of purchasing departments.

So with all of these various challenges and the timing of product cycles, the Taipei International Cycle Show has become decreasingly important to product managers across the cycling industry. The show is now more important to the International Distributor (ID) business and the various retailers from around the world who like to go to the show to see new products before they show up at the larger shows or who have their own private label products made in Taiwan or China. But, for the OEM trade, Taipei has become less important simply due to its place on the calendar.

Because of this and because of the growth of the two Taichung events happening with overlapping schedules in December, many product managers have been making the trip to Taichung. With this growth and activity, the events have caught the attention of the Mayor of Taichung, Jason Hu. Mayor Hu, who happens to be a very funny man with an Oxford education, has created a committee to work with the cycling industry to see how Taichung can better facilitate the work it is already doing on its own. Rumors had been going around the industry for weeks that the Mayor might have plans to create a competing bike tradeshow to rival Taipei International Cycle Show. These rumors were creating quite a bit of buzz among the attendees of the two events. As Taichung is the virtual center of the Taiwan bike industry, some felt that a major tradeshow hosted by the city might shut down the Taipei show altogether- even as the organizers of the Taipei show are now discussing the possibility of moving their own show's dates closer to the time of December/ January to better meet the needs of the OEM trade. Those rumors were put to rest and the uneasiness settled after a few minutes of discussion with the Mayor's liaison to the bike industry, Anna Wang.

Mayor Jason C. Hu and Anna Wang of the Industrial Development & Investment Promotion Committee of Taichung City.

After asking the representatives of the bike industry for their feedback and a list of their needs, Ms Wang made it clear that Taichung has no intentions to try to put the Taipei show out of business, but truly wants to help the industry go about doing its business. The cycling industry is a major player in the Taichung economy and keeping the industry happy and located in the city and county of Taichung is of vital importance to the Mayor and his team. Ms Wang stated that the city would simply like to help the industry work better and more efficiently and at a reasonable cost for all who attend. As it is now, RideOn happens at one end of the sprawling city and Taichung Bike Week at another. While RideOn offers a demo area to test product, Taichung Bike Week is all centered in the Landis, now renamed Tempus, Hotel. Product Managers are therefore forced to either shuttle back and forth between the two sites or make the choice to select one over the other. Each location has its pluses and minuses, but all seemed to agree that a venue that could handle multiple meeting or presentation areas and still allow a demo would be best. Worst case scenario, having some sort of shuttle service to and from the two sites would be a good starting point.

As it is now, there is no real cooperation between the two events and neither event produces a very accurate list of exhibitors and schedules for the attendees- something nearly all felt would be very useful. Another major point given by nearly all in attendance at the meeting was the need to keep the event/ events very low key and informal. Nobody present in the meeting wanted to see the casual event turn into a more structured and rigid tradeshow, nor did anybody want to see it become a marketing extension for any one brand- ie; Taichung Bike Week, presented by SRAM/ Shimano/ Brand X, etc. All felt that it was the low cost, low key, informal format of the events that has made them so successful and allowed them to grow so organically without any real coordination or effort. Taking all of these comments and concerns into consideration, Ms Wang said that she and her counterparts would take the notes and information to the Mayor and begin the process of finding ways to help the industry continue to use the event as a major tool in the product process.

Personally, I find this to be a very exciting development for the cycling industry. Having this level of cooperation from the city government is amazing and the cycling industry needs to do all it can to help the city of Taichung with this process. The organizers of the Taipei International Cycle Show, TAITRA, should also be excited by this news as it shows that the city of Taichung is not trying to steal away the show or force them out of business. TAITRA still has the chance to improve the show to benefit the customers it has and address the changes that have taken place over the past few years there. With more and more distributors and retailers attending and fewer and fewer product managers using the show for their final spec process, TAITRA could reshape the show to more accurately reflect the needs of those attending.

After the meetings and dinner reception with the mayor that took place in Taichung at the Splendor Hotel on December 9th, many of the attendees felt very optimistic about what the final outcome might look like. Members of both events felt that they had formats they wanted to protect, but both were willing to cooperate to build a better event that served the needs of their intended customers- the product managers and other representatives of bike brands from around the world. I am personally very excited by this time in the history of our industry and I hope that all of my brothers and sisters within the bike industry will work with the Mayor and his office to help them work with us to make the cycling industry an even better one to work in.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Fear and loathing in the global economy.

2008-10-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

The current rise and fall of the Global Economy is enough to make you reach for some Dramamine. With all the volatility surrounding pricing/ costs and ever-increasing leadtimes, it is enough to make many in the cycling industry wonder about their profession. But even though nearly all indicators look really bad, things might actually prove to be better than many of us have feared.

In a slumping world economy, it is certainly very easy to fear for the worst. After all, our potential consumers have less and less money to spend- if any at all. So why should we remain optimistic for even a second? Well, the economic squeeze has begun to cause a shift in the way people think of bicycles. I thought for sure that gas prices would have to climb much higher before people began to drive less and ride bikes more, but I am pleasantly being proven wrong there. I continue to hear from retailers and read about how repair business is increasing for many shops because people are pulling old bikes down from the rafters and out of tool sheds so they can drive less. Many retailers are even having a hard time finding replacement parts for older bikes because the demand has gotten so high for them, due to repairs. Those same retailers are also reporting that some of those consumers are coming back after a short while to upgrade the old clunker for something newer, lighter, better designed for their commuting needs. This is something that I personally did not expect to happen this soon. We still don't possess the proper infrastructure to support proper commuting, but people are braving the rough streets to save a little money, improve their health or help the environment.

Consumers, who many of us feared would no longer buy bikes when the pricing increases went into effect, do not seem to be as sticker shocked as expected. Let's face it, they are seeing prices go up on all of the things they buy and they have seen the dollar drop value against nearly every other currency, so they have come to expect the prices for everything to go up. It doesn't mean they are happily accepting it, nor does it mean they are making the same planned purchases... but they aren't all storming out the door without making a purchase. On top of it, many new consumers are walking in for the first time. Commuters and city cyclists are sprouting up all over the place. I've heard from retailers who have seen this shift taking place in their shops, seeing many new faces for the first time. Sure, some of these new or returning cyclists need a little more educating but they are walking in on their own and without us (the industry) having to drag them in kicking and screaming.

Cycling has also become much more fashionable, with plenty of celebrity bicycle sightings and an ever-growing urban hipster bike culture, it is becoming "cool" to ride a bike for the first time in decades in the US. I'm not trying to pass judgment on whether any segment or niche in the market is some sort of passing fancy or not, people riding bikes for any reason at all is a good thing in my mind (and in the minds of many of us in the industry). I mean, when you have bikes like this one showing up in the world- you know you've reached a certain tipping point. Many of these consumers will come in and spend a lot of money to look cool and then vanish from the market when they hop on the "next thing", but there will be at least a small amount of retention of these new cyclists- especially if we embrace them and share our love of cycling with them and let them develop their own... even if we don't "get it".

As many of us have been screaming for years, cycling is also fun and enjoyable. Remember, in a bad economy, folks still need to have fun and others want/ need to escape their fears and worries. Riding a bike is incredibly good for that. Some of those new consumers might have been planning to buy a bigger car this year and might opt to save some money and buy a bike instead. Or, maybe, they want to escape the worry of their stock portfolio suddenly being worth less than a politician's promises and riding a bike has popped into their heads. It has been seen in the gym/ health club world in the past; when things get tense, people want to work off their frustrations or fears by trying to get into better physical condition. For millennia, humankind has worked out frustrations, fears and anxieties by working up a sweat or taking the time to enjoy the outside world in some fashion. Cycling is an excellent vehicle for that.

When you take all the above into account and then toss in a growing global consciousness, things don't look quite so bleak. Many people are thinking very much about the environment and fears of global warming, as well as the impacts of oil demand on sociopolitical issues across the globe. Cycling provides an excellent way to combat these concerns as well as local concerns about traffic congestion, etc. It's an altruism, certainly, that many people say they believe in and don't really- but altruism has also become fashionable... as it has been for countless decades.

So what does it all mean? Well, on the very surface it all means that things aren't necessarily as bad as feared. More significantly though, I'm trying to point out that the bike industry sits poised to see growth that is actually sustainable and maintainable. I can not tell you how many conversations I had during Interbike this year about the hope many retailers felt about the future. Sure, there were many concerns about the economy, but overall the atmosphere was full of hope- much more so than recent years, by a huge amount. The cycling industry is paying better attention to the birth and growth of niche markets as well as the development of the commuting market. Nearly every bike manufacturer had a fixed gear bike and/ or a commuter bike in their line. And almost all of the clothing and accessory manufacturers had gear aimed at urban cyclists and commuters. I've never personally seen so much energy aimed at these segments of the market and the consumers who use the products. Hell, Interbike even put on the Urban Legend Fashion Show with the help of my friends in Canada at Momentum Magazine. When was the last time you saw or felt so much energy in this segment of the industry? I never have and I've been in the industry in one way or another for 26 years now.

It might not look or feel like it, as you watch the news and listen to the politicians painting a picture of doom and gloom, but the cycling industry stands on the precipice of fantastic potential if we just listen to our customers and friends. As long as we are aware of what is happening and what they are asking for- even if they don't yet know what it is- we can bring them into our club and they will hopefully bring their friends along for the ride as well. I'm not advocating false hope or idiotic optimism beyond reality, but I do see great potential for cycling in general. The race scene will have its usual ebb and flow and I'll be right there watching it, but the other categories of the cycling market and cycling culture are looking really primed for growth and expansion... and fun.

Let's not lose hope too soon, even as worldwide money markets look very frightening. Things look better than expected. Even pricing concerns seem to be diminishing slightly as oil prices come down to match dropping demand and shrinking economies. Strap on your helmets; it's an open road ahead.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Coming back from the dead...

2008-10-11T12:03:00.001-07:00

Ok, I know I've said this at least a dozen times over the span of the past year or two, but I really am going to try to bring this site back from the dead. With all that is going on in the world economy and in the world of the cycling industry, it is time to find the time to start posting here again.

I will be doing my best to come back- even if on an irregular basis- and post commentary on what I believe is happening in the cycling world, specifically for the industry. The original focus of talking directly about the marketing aspects of the industry will become a bit blurred going forward. Speaking only about the marketing side of things seems a little like under serving the isues of the day. As the world economy spirals in a free fall, it is important to talk about the new and heightened rolls the cycling industry can play during this time.

So, whether my friends and esteemed contributors here are able to find the time and/ or energy to come here and speak too, you will at least be seeing me from time to time... with a bit more regularity than the past year or so.

Don't call it a comeback, because it won't feel like one completely. Call it a slow and erratic re-emergence from the dark little cave of being far too busy to organize my time better. That just sounds more truthful. That said, I'm glad to be back here in this space and I look forward to firing up the conversations and hopefully bringing insight to the cycling industry for those who are in it or just want to know more about it.

Thank you for your patience- I'd like to get your readership back!

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispencer

An image the industry should aspire to?

2008-05-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Do we need more of this kind of imagery in our marketing? Discuss.

Via the Sartorialist.

Your social surplus (and what to do with it)

2008-05-05T00:13:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking, my social surplus? What the heck is that? And what does it have to do with cycling? Well bear with me for a moment as I give you, my fellow humble bicycle retailer, something to think about.

In my private time I'm deeply involved in social media, you probably know these things as MySpace, Facebook and other media like it - I'm involved in none of those, preferring blogs and of late mobile micro blogging services and networks like Twitter and Utterz for my social media creation/interaction kicks.

Now when I try to explain to folks in the bike industry why social media is important and why they should use it in their businesses, they look at me like I'm nuts and always ask "where do I find the time" or alternatively, "I don't have the time" and to be honest I didn't really had a ready answer for them even though I've often thought long and hard about it.

The reason I was always struck dumb by this response is that I didn't stop to look hard enough at my own media creation efforts and what it had replaced, but the answer was always there, I had stopped watching television, preferring the stimulation and interactivity of the web. In that I'm like a lot of people today.

What I have been unwittingly doing over the past five years is finally putting to use the social surplus created by the time saving tools of modern life, dishwashers, microwaves, fast food, the automobile, urbanism, an efficient roads network, good dentistry, etc, to create something, time I'd used in the past numbly watching Gilligans Island or Seinfeld.

Now don't go thinking I thought this up all by myself, it's true that I have been thinking about this, but it took a smart social thinker to contextualise it in terms we can all understand.

Here comes everybody! Or more accurately here is Clay Shirky in a piece that generated a lot of buzz among social thinkers and which put a bit more flesh on the skeleton of that thinking. It's a really clarifying read that makes you realise that you do have the time to create, not only for yourself but for your bicycle business.

If I had to pick the critical technology for the 20th century, the bit of social lubricant without which the wheels would've come off the whole enterprise, I'd say it was the sitcom. Starting with the Second World War a whole series of things happened--rising GDP per capita, rising educational attainment, rising life expectancy and, critically, a rising number of people who were working five-day work weeks. For the first time, society forced onto an enormous number of its citizens the requirement to manage something they had never had to manage before--free time.

And what did we do with that free time? Well, mostly we spent it watching TV.

We did that for decades. We watched I Love Lucy. We watched Gilligan's Island. We watch Malcolm in the Middle. We watch Desperate Housewives. Desperate Housewives essentially functioned as a kind of cognitive heat sink, dissipating thinking that might otherwise have built up and caused society to overheat.

And it's only now, as we're waking up from that collective bender, that we're starting to see the cognitive surplus as an asset rather than as a crisis. We're seeing things being designed to take advantage of that surplus, to deploy it in ways more engaging than just having a TV in everybody's basement.

The best part of the piece is the punchline by the way, because it more than anything else tells you why you should be on the web creating now, your future customers will expect it, in fact I'm betting that you already know this intuitively because you see this behaviour in your kids every day.

Now as Shirky says, this takes a bit of re-training if you're not a Gen Y digital native. It is something that's taken me five years to embed, and something Masi Guy is a natural at, but eventually the process of creating becomes a second skin, something you do naturally and without self consciousness, it's fun and addictive and it will rapidly replace your television viewing once you get into it.

So, what better way is there to spend the time you never thought you had than in helping your business to communicate more directly and creatively with your customers?

And yes, Maryanne was cuter than Ginger, the pony tails always did it for me.

A Twitter exchange

2008-04-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

An interesting exchange between me and one of the folks I follow on Twitter.

Twitterpeep: "Assembling a new bike for Mr6 - I better make sure everything gets screwed on tight!"

Me: "You have to assemble a kids bike? Isn't that the job of the retailer?"

Twitterpeep: "From a bike shop sure but this was purchased from Toys-R-Us and I trust myself more than I do their staff."

Question? If consumers don't trust big box staff, why do they trust their products?

So what holds folks back from purchasing from an IBD? Is it only price? Is it convenience? Is it just shopping habit? Or is it us?

It can't be convenience, because there are more IBD's than big box retailers, we are usually around the block somewhere. Price? How much is a consumers time worth? Is this a calculation? We deliver the bike to consumers assembled to standard and with a higher quality which saves them both time and sometimes frustrating effort. It can't be habit, consumers show very little brand or retailer loyalty these days....maybe they don't trust us either.

Feeling gassy?

2008-04-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

In recent days, weeks and months many conversations have been had about the current state of the US economy (and the global one for that matter) and the pressures put on Joe Consumer by the high (and climbing) prices of gasoline. Here in California, gas has been over $4.00/ gallon for weeks now and some experts believe that $5.00/ gallon gas will be here by the summer driving months. For stressed out wallets and budgets, that might just mean making some serious decisions about driving habits.

Here's the thing though: the current high gas prices are not the answer to the cycling industry's prayers. Not yet anyway.

US consumers are far too used to driving their cars. They practically live in them. We have all kinds of luxuries built into them. Our cars have become our sense of self for many of us. $4.00+/ gallon gas isn't going to change that any time soon. There are too many barriers to getting people out of their cars and onto a bike.

Lack of infrastructure- this one always raises quite a bit of debate, but in many cases people will not ride their bikes to commute- even for a very short commute- if they do not feel safe. Bike lanes are not the end-all answer, but they sure do help and address the major concerns of most people. This infrastructure applies to public/ mass transit as well- many people live far from their work (I live 40 miles away) and need to combine some form of mass/ public transit with their bike commute. Which means that we also need more commuter stations with lockers, racks, etc.
Lack of support- there are tax incentives for people to carpool or take public transportation, but none for cycling to work. Plus, how many of us have access to showers at our place of work? Not many, according to most studies I've read.
The dreaded retail experience- this one raises a lot of debate as well, but the majority of non-cyclists find the Bike Shop experience to be intimidating or downright unpleasant.
The price of gas isn't "that bad" yet. It is going to take gas prices well over $5.00/ gallon to really make people uncomfortable pumping gas into their cars. It will take gas prices, I believe, nearing $10.00/ gallon for us to reach that critical mass needed to tip the scales in favor of more people commuting.
The Gub-ment. The price of gas is such a sensitive issue and politically charged enough that it is in the daily discourse of the power holders in our capitol. Even John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, is talking about putting a temporary hold on the federal fuel tax over the summer to keep gas prices down. Driving is such an important part of our nation's economy that the politicians want to protect driving... not discourage it. The US car makers wield amazing power as well- they have successfully lobbied against legislation to improve fuel efficiency of their cars. We'll reduce federal taxes before we force car makers to improve fuel standards? Insanity.
The cycling "stigma". In the US at least, bicycle commuting is still widely viewed as something only poor people, convicted drunks with no driver's licenses or "losers" do.

I see plenty new large vehicles like Escalades and Hummers driving on the southern California freeways every day. The economy may be hurting, gas might be expensive and "going green" may be getting more popular... but people sure do love their cars. And our government likes it that way.

Those folks who are already on the fence, already considering bicycle commuting, might now have the needed incentive to begin commuting by bike. Maybe. An increase in gas prices is not going to be enough to drag the masses out of their heated/ air conditioned, rolling office/ entertainment centers. Not nearly.

There is hope though. There are more bicycle commuters now than there have been since the gas crunch of the late 70's. More and more manufacturers are embracing the product category. More communities are getting behind initiatives to get residents onto bikes. More companies are providing incentives to employees to ride their bikes by supplying lockers, showers and bike racks. The lobbying efforts of the industry and advocacy groups are beginning to get the attention of the check writers in DC.

All in all, things are improving. But... this continued talk about higher gas prices saving the industry from the throws of a bad economy (and rising costs) or being the catapult to move it into a post-Lance renaissance is foolish. We still have a lot of work to do and we still need to find new and better ways to reach out and pull in new consumers (non-cyclists). Otherwise, no amount of high priced fuel is going to save us.

Feeling a little gassy? I know I am...

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

It ain't all doom and gloom...

2008-04-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

My post from the other day, on 3/26, may have inadvertently painted an overly pessimistic picture of what I think is happening in the cycling industry. For sure, the industry faces some very real and serious challenges in the coming year (or more). All of the reasons I pointed to in the post- rising costs of goods, extended leadtimes, a shrinking US economy, etc - are very real and are not going away over night. However, I do see hope...

Historically speaking, the cycling industry has ridden out massive changes in the US economy over the years. If the economy dips sharply or even climbs dramatically, the US (and global) cycling industry tends to plug along at roughly the same level of strength (that's both good and bad). We tend to simply float along down river without hitting too many rocks- regardless of the water level.

Here are a couple scenarios;
Good economy- People buy expensive bikes because they have more disposable income. During the dot-com boom, many shops found out that they could actually make some money selling high-end road and mountain bikes. It was a good time for shops that catered to a more affluent crowd. At the same time, many people were beginning to "think green" and the bicycle has always been a favorite of that crowd. More city bikes were beginning to crop up all over the place. Commuters were becoming an important part of the business for many retailers and manufacturers. Then there was that Lance guy who had a penchant for winning 3-week long races in France in July. His first win was in 1999 and it helped to catapult the US road market to new and unheard of heights (even though the mountain bike market didn't do quite as well). The folks at Trek can tell you how good that was for them... and it was good, in case you're wondering. Overall, during a strong economy, the bike industry draws in a few new riders to the fold and the regulars have a little extra coin to spend on a new bike or a few fancy upgrades or accessories. Basically, things plug along nicely and maybe a few folks make a nice little profit, but things don't go up too dramatically.

Not-so-good economy- During a flat, weak or faltering economy, the US bike market doesn't do too much differently than when things are good with the economy. Some of the regulars are no longer in a position to buy an expensive new rig, or maybe make the mega-upgrades so they end up making more conservative upgrades or maybe buy a new pair of $175 bib shorts instead of the $325 bib shorts and a new pair of super-nice carbon-soled wonder shoes. But, in their place walks in the consumer who is maybe giving up on the idea of getting that new Escalade or H2 and still wants to get themselves something unique and special... maybe something like a new full carbon bike with that new SRAM Red group and new Zipp wheels. Still cheaper than a luxury SUV, gets better gas mileage and even feeds the need to lose a few pounds. On that consumer's heels walks in the person who is so mad about gas prices that they have chosen to ride a bike the 5- 10 miles to work. Or maybe they're a starving college student without enough spare money to burn on gas, especially with tuition climbing and books getting more expensive. Essentially, the industry doesn't fall apart and business for a few shops is better than ever while a few others might have a harder time than their competition.

So see, it sounds pretty similar either way. Here's the thing- the industry always gets a few new shops each year and loses a few shops each year. New consumers enter the market, for various reasons, and some of the regulars depart. New strong niches show up all the time and the ones that have become saturated with too much product fade out of popularity. It ultimately stays roughly the same, regardless of the major economic swings.

Our challenge now is to draw in more people from outside of our existing customer bases. We need to embrace more commuters and Average Joe riders- there are far more of them than there are those guys who are going to walk in and spend a ton of money on a high-end bike. We also need to reach out to the aging population of Baby Boomers. We all know that they represent a huge mass of consumers and they want to remain fit and active. Cycling represents a great activity for them- low impact, great aerobic benefits and something that can be done in small or large groups. On top of that, many people are getting more and more concerned about the health of the planet and the impacts of global warming. Cycling is once again an ideal way for people to help the planet while helping themselves by saving money on gas and improving their health at the same time. BUT... and this is critical... we have to help them find safe places to ride. Without safe roads to use for their commuting needs, many folks will give up on cycling the first time a Starbucks-wielding, cell-phone-talking, distracted driver buzzes by inches from their shoulder.

The cycling industry, though faced with numerous challenges, has many ways to grow its health, even while the US economy staggers along like a drunken and penniless frat boy after a night of binge drinking. Sobriety will come in the form of figuring out how to cater to those who still want to buy our products, reaching out to new consumers, embracing the less glamorous commuters/ tree-huggers and working to provide more and safer cycling infrastructure for all. Sure, it won't be easy and it won't even be free, but it will lay the foundation for a stronger industry that can grow even further when the economy does eventually turn around again. "This too shall pass..." But we can do more than simply surviving through the usual status quo- we can grow and create a better future.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Bad news brewing for the bike industry?

2008-03-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted over at my other blog...)

For years now, the bike industry has been riding a wave of popularity not unlike the "bike boom" of the 70's. Not only has this boom been good to the US bike industry, but the entire worldwide bike industry as well. It's been a really good ride, but almost all of us in the idnustry knew it would have to come to an end one day.

The world is not going to come to an end for the bike industry or for cycling enthusiasts and consumer, but there is going to be some noticeable change very soon.

Bicycle sales, especially in the US market, have been doing very well over the past 10 years. In many markets, that can be traced back directly to that Lance Armstrong guy and all those French bike races he managed to win. At least one brand really made out well on that deal, but at the same time many of the rest of us got a boost from their good fortune. Road bike sales climbed to an all-time high during the peak of the boom. Other categories faired pretty well too, in the end, with overall interest in cycling reaching higher levels than ever before. All in all, the past several years have been good to the bike industry.

The very competitive nature of the industry has lead to incredible values for consumers. Many years ago, a $1,000 bike was a pretty good bike. Maybe even a great bike. But now, the amount of product and technology present on a $1,000 bike is amazing. It is still possible to buy a bike that is not worth the money you pay for it- at all ends of the pricing spectrum- but it is pretty hard to. Technology and manufacturing have created a time where consumers typically get a very good product for the money they spend- this is especially true of bikes sold in the IBD/ specialty retail channel (ie- not Wal-Mart, Toys-R-Us, etc).

The down side of all of this pricing competition has meant that many manufacturers (and retailers) have had to operate with incredibly small profit margins- selling at lower than reasonable prices to gain market share. In essence, buying floor space (at the wholesale level) or buying loyalty (at the retail level). Thing is, it's hard to keep a business afloat like that and it is the major reason brands or stores come and go from the bike industry. Worst of all, when you operate on such narrow margins, any kind of increase in costs of goods means an increase in ultimate sell price...

... which brings us to my point...

Over the past few months, the bike industry has seen the "perfect storm" of circumstances hit it (like much of the rest of the economy); a slumping US and global economy, a massive increase in manufacturing costs, a dramatic jump in labor costs in both Taiwan and China, a sharp drop in the value of the US dollar and an increase in value of nearly every other global currency. The Taiwanese dollar, the NT, has gone from a little over $34NT/ $1US to just barely over $30NT/ $1US in just over 3 years. That may not seem like much, but it adds up quickly and doesn't even take into consideration any of the cost increases- that is just a loss in currency value. When you add in the cost increases for the actual products, it can become significant very quickly.

By some estimates, the cost of steel alone is going up as much as 65%! For my brand, which is heavily biased towards steel these days, that spells some pretty serious sleepless nights. Aluminum is going up. Carbon is going up. Anything petroleum-based is going up- like the materials used to make handlebar tapes and saddles. These costs are increasing leadtimes significantly as well, since many vendors are now unwilling or unable to spend the money to stock vast quantities of materials. This means that they need to order more often to meet their demands, but at least they don't have their capital resources tied up in raw materials.

In China, recent laws there are forcing a much needed increase in wages being paid to factory workers- as well as limiting the amount of overtime a worker can work. These are good changes, but they mean an increase in costs just the same. In Taiwan, there is a massive shortage of qualified skilled labor. The bike industry was once one of the best paying in Taiwan, but the rise in power of the tech industries there has drawn in a lot of the once strong work force in the bike industry. So now wages have gone up to compete for and retain good labor. It's a good time to be a factory worker in both China and Taiwan... or at least a better time.

In the past few months, I have seen 3 and 4 price increases from the same vendors. Just in the past 6 months- from some of the biggest names in the industry. Some vendors will not even quote a price any longer until they have a firm PO and then the pricing is only good for that one PO. This makes it impossible to accurately forecast the cost of a product and very difficult to create a selling price- when you have no idea if you will be making money on the product in 6 months. For me and the other brands at Haro, we print one price list per season and we live with that pricing for the duration of that product cycle/ season. This year though, we've had to issue a price increase to compensate for some of the price increases we've seen recently. We do our best to absorb those increases and preserve the pricing we've created, but when you are seeing double-digit increases, it becomes impossible to swallow all of those costs.

What does all this mean? Well, it certainly means there is a lot of nervousness in the bike industry right now. Many of us are very concerned about what the consumer is going to do; will they simply stop buying bikes (partly in thanks to what the economy is doing as well), or will they understand that we (the manufacturers and retailers) simply have no choice if we wish to stay in business? Some of us smaller players even worry if the Big Guys will simply eat the increases in the short term to maintain market strength and wait the situation out/ drive competitors from the market. Most things I have seen and heard indicate that those Big Guys are likely to pass on at least a small increase to their customers too. It would be hard to believe that they can afford such an increase in costs without passing along some of that burden. More to the point, it means that prices for Masi Bicycles are going to increase a little. On some bikes it will seem like nothing, but on others it might be more noticeable- when a bike goes from $700 to $775, it is more noticeable than when a bike goes from $4000 to $4300. Based on percentage, it is much less significant and the typical consumer in that higher price market is not as phased by the increase- generically speaking of course.

Bottom line- as much as it sucks, the bike industry is raising prices to slightly compensate for the rapid and painful increase in costs to produce a quality bicycle. I am seeing anywhere from a simple 5% increase to a massive 15-20% increase in my costs... and that's just the ones I know about so far, but that does not mean the retail price (or dealer price) is going up that sharply. In all likelihood... more increases are coming. And coming fast. Does it mean you are getting any less of a bike for the money? No, not at all. It just means that you'll be paying what is a more realistic price for the bike you get. Sure, there will be a slew of new low-spec bikes showing up on the market to keep the perceived necessary price points met. Some manufacturers will undoubtedly find ways to cut spec to keep a certain price (not our plan though). I'm not saying they are wrong to do it and we might find ways to create new models in those sensitive price ranges- it's just going to be a fact of life.

How long should this last and what does it mean long term? Well, that has yet to be accurately predicted to my knowledge. My guess is that prices are not going to be coming down any time soon. The global economy is still looking pretty volatile and the US$ keeps taking a beating. The Chinese Yuan is getting stronger, as is the Taiwan NT, and the Euro and the British Pound... so it is unlikely the Dollar is going to regain enough strength in the short term to eat up the cost increases. The overall volatility is likely to settle down, but as oil/ gas/ petroleum costs remain high, costs of goods will remain high- as will the costs to transport them. The global demand for raw goods- like steel- isn't going to decrease either. China and India, specifically, are eating up massive amounts of resources of raw goods as their economies expand and their development and growth increase as well. So, yeah... it's not too likely things are going to change any time soon to keep prices where they are now. I do predict that some smaller companies (retail and manufacturing) are going to pay the ultimate price for these increases and will either fade into history or be eaten by healthier competitors.

All of this would seem to point to very dark days for the bicycle industry, but things have actually been coming back up a bit after a mild slump in sales the past two years. Road sales have dropped, but are remaining strong- especially at the higher price points- and MTB and BMX are both seeing nice signs of life across the industry. At first glance it would appear that the industry is getting some support from consumers who are seeing the price of their other purchases going up all over the place. Costs of nearly everything across the board are going up... it's just a fact of life right now.

So even though buying a new bicycle might not feel as fun, due to the sudden increase in price, you're still getting a great deal on great products and the industry you are supporting is showing good signs of health... which hopefully means I get to keep my job a bit longer... I hope.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Back from the dead... sorta

2008-01-28T20:48:00.000-08:00

Ok, so reports of our untimely death have been grossly inaccurate... mostly.

I know I've been promising more content here and have failed miserably. It is my sincere aim to finally resurrect this little slice of heaven here and will also be trying to create a podcast for the site as the year moves on. My other podcast has been limping along, but I love the medium and will be trying to do a special podcast for this site, or at least piggyback onto my existing one.

All that said, I am stealing a post from my main blog and bringing it over here because it is something that I feel very strongly about.

Please chime in with your thoughts and your feedback on this issue because I believe the industry is at a threshold and has the chance to do great things. Let's hope we all rise to the occasion. (And new content will be coming here soon... I swear... I mean it this time...)

BLC and a plea to my industry friends;

The weekend's BLC conference was amazing. I have never been before and, like my trip to DC last March for the National Bike Summit, I came away energized and wanting to do more for the industry. You can expect to hear more about this from me in the coming months and years. I left DC last year full of ideas and desire to make a difference and to help enact change... but life caught up with me and time vanished. I am sure some of my drive and desire this time will suffer the same fate, but I am going to make more of an effort to help drive the cycling industry forward on the important goal of advocacy and developing more and safer infrastructure for all cyclists. It is clear to me that we, the cycling industry, can and should do more to support advocacy issues and that we need a far greater level of cooperation between all players in the industry. Two very smart women, Nicole DeHoratius and Robbie Kellman Baxter, were hired as outside researchers to evaluate many things about the industry. One of the major things they learned was that there is an insane level of paranoia and distrust among members/ companies in the industry. Of all the industries they have worked in, they have never seen such a level of distrust and unwillingness to either comment on the record or share information/ data about their businesses. That really hit me hard as I thought about the challenges facing my beloved bike industry. Without a greater level of cooperation and a willingness to share and collect some quantifiable data, the industry is doomed to failure and further erosion of sales growth.

I am a very small person within the cycling industry- I just happen to be one of the more loudmouthed. My realm of influence is pretty microscopic, but I can't sit complacently and watch things deteriorate further. I am making a plea to all of my like-minded brothers and sisters in the industry, from retailer to manufacturer, to get involved, share your data with the BPSA and drop the paranoia and let's all work to grow this industry to a higher level of profitability and overall health by applying our efforts to increased advocacy. I am making a pledge to do my part- however small- to meet that goal. I will be offering whatever help I can to John Nedeau and the BPSA. I will be getting my hands dirty with advocacy issues. I will be talking about important issues and will be advocating for change. I'm going to do my best to have my actions support my words. If I don't, I have no reason to hope to have an industry to work in 10, 20, 25 years from now.

I happen to know that many people within the cycling industry read this silly blog and I am hoping that they will read these words and let a few of them sink in. Without better cooperation among brands and a willingness to do the hard work ahead and dedicate resources to building a better future, we can all kiss this business good-bye. Personally, I want to stay in this business for many more years. Hopefully you will too.

Don't hesitate- get involved, volunteer, make a difference.

John Burke, President/ CEO of Trek Bicycle Company gave an incredible presentation and "opened the kimono" on his business to a room full of "competitors" in an effort to provoke change. Do I see eye to eye with John or Trek all the time? Hell no. But he was absolutely correct in his plea to get others in the industry involved in working towards a better cycling industry and a better world at large. It was one of the best presentations I've sat through in years and I'm glad I was at the BLC to see and hear it. Trek has launched a program called One World, Two Wheels. I recommend that you check it out. I am forced to give John and Trek a big round of applause for the work they've begun with this program. It's pretty impressive and very ambitious. But we have to start somewhere and why not aim high?

The bike industry has been my home for the better part of 26 years now. It's all I really know. It's certainly the one thing I have loved the longest in my life and it has, in turn, been pretty good to me. It's my turn (and all of our turns) to give a little something back. So I hope you, my fellow industry members, will join me and get more involved. I know I have a lot to learn from this process and hopefully I can contribute something to the ultimate greater good of the planet, the people who live on it and the bike industry too.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

We're not dead yet...

2007-10-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Things here have been quite quiet over the past few months- almost totally dead actually. Please don't think that we're gone for good... because we aren't.

As is often the case, things get pretty nuts in the business as we get anywhere near the major tradeshows, with Interbike being the biggest for most of us who play in this sandbox of a blog. The weeks (even months) before Interbike can be an absolute hell and then the following weeks (or even months) can be just as bad as you scramble to follow-up on conversations and promises. Seeing as how a fair chunk of the readers here are from the industry in some way or another, you are already painfully aware of this situation- which probably explains why readership here has not vanished entirely.

As the Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser here, I wanted to announce that this blog ain't dead yet and that more content will be coming in the coming weeks and on. So, thank you for your readership and patience as we all unearth and regain some semblance of sanity. Hopefully we'll be back more often than we have recently. Hopefully.

I'm looking forward to attending the Japanese tradeshow, Cycle Mode, for the first time in a few more weeks. I'm looking forward to having another show to add to the comparisons of Interbike, Eurobike, Taipei's International Cycle Show and Canada's ExpoCycle. I hope to do a comprehensive analysis of the season's shows afterwards... hoping.

Anyway, long story short- please don't write us off and mark us off as dead just yet. We're coming back and we'll be providing more content in the very near future.

Thank you for your continued readership,

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

U.S. Pro Team Sponsorships

2007-09-20T16:06:00.000-07:00

A lot has been made about the demise of the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team and the impact that may have (or just signify) on our business sector.

It’s surprising how long Discovery and its’ infrastructure survived in this game, and it seems likely that not only had they made their marketing point, but that winning Tour after Tour (even Lanceless) became boring for the VIPs of all parties.

But have you noticed the developments that are happening?

Three domestic teams are on the rise and maybe even Tour-bound, and for entirely different reasons.

Slipstream Chipotle

I wasn’t sure what to make of these hipsters in February. They bore no resemblance to their TIAA-Cref origins. They were well-designed from their socks and armwarmers through the BMW wagons to the cones their mechanics use in team parking. They had catchphrases, nicknames, the best team website with individual blogs… style. And the anti-doping message was consistent and integrated throughout long before the Tour. They backed up the packaging with both solid results and consummate professionalism. Slipstream topped off their season with results at Univest and 2^nd and 5^th overall at the Tour of Missouri as well as overall Young Riders jersey. They have signed several huge names (Vande Velde, Backstedt, Millar) for 2008 and may even have a surprise up their sleeve.

If they represent squeaky-clean marketing dreams and turn up at schools to talk about safety and fitness, there is another squad that debuted this year with very different motives.

Rock and Republic

This team was not at the Tour of California, but rolled up to the San Dimas and Redlands stage races in menacingly pimped Escalades. Bling encrusted baseball hats, different team kits for different riders, ink and piercings to the fore. All in the name of $300 jeans that few outside of Los Angeles Denim Bars were aware of or aspired to. Results were not stellar to begin with, but then Rashaan Bahati sprinted for the win at the CSC Invitational in Arlington and showed up on the cover of major cycling publications. Next year the team has also expanded and brought in Frankie Andreu as DS. Rumored new signings include Chris Horner and Freddie Rodriguez.

If your UPS guy can’t understand how points work in a stage race, or how a rider that did not win a stage won the overall, how about GOOD v EVIL? European cycling was great for a small number of cyclophiles for years – this is the time for domestic racing to take on its’ own identity. And better yet, both teams have a multi-year plan that sees them racing the Tour de France (Slippies this year).

BMC

Also noteworthy is Gavin Chilcott’s BMC squad. While Phonak kicked the company in one shin and Astana took them out entirely, the US side of the operation continues to grow and will also absorb some star names for 2008. Tony Cruz should be there, as will Nathan O’Neill and Jeff Louder. Other big names are still in play but looking like BMC candidates. The interesting thing about this for US retailers is having a bike company as title sponsor again. Sure, Trek and Disco were inseperable and there have been other close relations, but not since Huffy have we seen a sellable bicycle as top name on a Pro Tour jersey.

Healthnet, who have represented well for a number of years, are riding off into the sunset, and Kodak Gallery is divorcing Sierra Nevada. We should see Kurt Stockton’s Sierra Nevada in the regional sense again, and it remains a possibility that Kodak Corporate will step in where the Gallery stepped out for Robin Zellner.

Navigators, the longest-running domestic pro cycling team, are also closing shop.

All in all, 2008 looks to be the most exciting season ever for U.S. bicycle racing. For retailers and manufacturers, for racers and for spectators. Now, it remains to be seen if Vs is on the program, but with broadband broadcasting taking over that may not even stand in our way.

-Jeff Rowe

The Tour de France is good for cycling

2007-08-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

Velo News has done a rough analysis of the very positive numbers coming out of this years Tour de France - fortunately not the positives we usually think about - it was all crowd numbers, television audiences and print media, all of which appear to have experienced solid increases, and in the case of bike sales there is anecdotal evidence that, doping or not, the Tour is good for anything connected to cycling.

I was also very interested in web viewing numbers, knowing that my own blog stats showed some big increases - something I'm sure all cycling blogs experienced.

If the numbers are to be believed, the Tour's worldwide audience on the Web rivals that of television. Versus.com is reported that its unique visitors for of its Tour coverage are up 15 percent to 1.4 million, and total page visits grew 8 percent to 3.9 million.

At VeloNews.com, unique visitors to the site were up 15 percent to some 4.4 million, with page views up 11 percent to 32 million. Online video views on VeloNews TV grew from 1.1 million views a year ago to 1.3 million views this year.

I compared my blog (Spinopsys) stats over the duration of the Tour to a similar period last month (my biggest month ever) and saw raw visits increase 42%, absolute uniques up 47%, page views to 60%, time on site up 11% to over 6 minutes and pages viewed per visit increased 12%. There is more like this when I drill down further.

A simple explanation for the increase in interest could be the quality of the live television coverage of the event combined with the broadcast skills of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwan.

Cycling is a difficult sport to explain to the ordinary sports fan, and though Phil and Paul may sometimes drive many hard core cycling fans nuts with their commentary, they manage to explain and describe the action in a way that even the most cursory sports fan can understand - they make cycling's complexities accessible and easily digestible.

Cycling is also a difficult sport to broadcast technically and ASO has invested heavily in getting that just right. The closeup of the final sprint down the Champs d'Elysées was an awesome display of this and it brought a whole new dimension to the viewing experience. National networks have obliged and taken this quality coverage to the living rooms of general sports fans who now have a greater understanding of cycling.

Looking broadly at this expanded media attention not only is the Tour de France good for blogs, networks and newspapers it's great for cycling and impacts on anything related to it, ultimately it looks like more is more.

Just tell me when it's over...

2007-07-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person in the cycling industry who is kind of looking forward to this year's Tour de France being over. The marquee event in the world of cycling has become the proving ground for new products and a bicycle industry marketing circus. Even companies who have no product in the event benefit from the overflow of attention given to the sport and by extension the industry itself. It's been a great ride, in many ways, for the US cycling industry as well.

It began in earnest with Lance Armstrong's first Tour win in 1999 and propelled Trek into the stratosphere as he reached the historic win number 7 on their bikes. But, the rest of the industry also benefited from what was frequently called "the Lance effect". Road sales in the US alone climbed to heights never seen before and retailers rejoiced in selling more expensive and profitable road bikes. Consumers, who wanted to be like Lance, flocked to shops and paid good money for newer, lighter bikes. The industry, as a whole, was propelled and propped up by road sales.

Last year's Tour was won by sentimental favorite Floyd Landis, giving the US an eighth consecutive Tour win in spectacular fashion. But the joy was short-lived as the news broke of Floyd failing a drug test. At this time, we all still wait to hear of the results of his arbitration hearings. In the time since the news broke, several other doping scandals have broken as well. The list is too long to go through in detail, but a pair of the highlights is the news that Ivan Basso (riding for the Trek sponsored Discovery Channel team) confessed to involvement in the Operation Puerto doping scandal and then several members of the old Telekom team (now T-Mobile and sponsored by Giant) confessed to a major doping system within the team for several years- including Bjarne Riis, who won the Tour in 1996 and now owns/ directs the CSC team that Basso rode with when his name was first linked to the Puerto case and he was not allowed to race in last year's Tour.

Fast forward to the year's Tour... as painful as that is. The riders were "forced" by the UCI to sign an anti-doping pledge before being allowed to compete in the world's most spectacular cycling event. We were to be treated to a totally clean Tour. Heck, the riders had all pledged they wouldn't use any doping techniques. Barely a week into the race, which had been a great race, T-Mobile rider Patrik Sinkewitz crashes out of the race, but while in the hospital news breaks that he had failed an out of competition drug test during a team camp before the race. Roughly a week later, pre-race favorite Alexander Vinokourov crashes badly and soldiers bravely on. After a few very painful days of gritting his teeth and riding through the pain, Vino pulls off a dramatic and emotional time trial win to salvage his Tour. Sadly, three days later, during the second rest day of the event and after Vino pulls off a second win, it is learned that he failed a drug test for blood doping after his dramatic stage 13 time trial win. The second test of the B sample confirmed the first test and the entire Astana team pulls out of the race in disgrace. As if this news were not enough, on stage 16, Italian rider Cristian Moreni of Cofidis (a team that suffered doping drama before in 2004 with David Millar and other riders) is pulled from the race after failing a drug test and the entire Cofidis team abandons the race with him. Later that same day, unbelievably, the yellow jersey wearing Michael Rasmussen is pulled from the race and fired by his team for lying to them about his whereabouts in the month of June when he missed doping tests by his national federation. This wasn't his first missed test and the act of lying to his team and then being revealed to have been in Italy, rather than in Mexico as he said he was, was too much for the team sponsors to accept under the current climate. So, just days before the end of the race, the yellow jersey is out of the race in humiliation after sneaking out the back door of the team hotel.

One, two, three and then four separate scandals in one Tour. It's clearly enough to make sponsors rethink their association with a sport that already suffers from a bad public image when it comes to doping. Many rumors have been circulating that T-Moblie and Adidas will be leaving the German T-Mobile team. Word on the local US street is that potential sponsors who were planning to enter into pro team support have already pulled the plugs on any plans that were coming together. Is a mass exodus now going to take place? Will the sport of professional cycling, as we currently know it, vanish? Will US teams suffer as much as the higher profile European teams? Will Johan Bruyneel magically find a replacement for the exiting Discovery Channel? Will the sport of professional road cycling simply whither up and blow away? It's a very scary time for the sport. But look past the sport, will the industry take another hit as well? This year, for the first time in several years, road bike sales actually fell below the previous year's numbers. Will this latest string of bad news deflate sales even further? Here in the US, where Lance is still the king of road cycling even in retirement, the lack of a dominant US rider has certainly created less attention with US fans.

Many of us in this industry, myself included, are huge fans of the sport as well as members of the community of manufacturers, distributors and retailers. This constant bad press leaves us defending our beloved sport to our friends, families and the folks who ultimately pay us. It's becoming harder and harder each year to sell the top management on race team or event sponsorships. It's becoming very difficult indeed. The question does become, just how much of this is the public, the sponsors and the bike industry going to be able to stomach before the sport implodes upon itself... for good?

The reality, as painful as it is, is that progress is being made. Cycling has arguably the toughest drug testing regime of any sport. Certainly more than sports in the US like baseball, football, basketball and hockey. It's difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel or the silver lining to this all, but it is clear that a change in the sport is coming. Riders and teams are both seeing the need to combat doping- many now recognize that their livelihoods are in serious jeopardy of going away and that actual jail time is becoming a real threat. Doping is becoming less and less attractive and the dopers are being treated as pariahs. The desire to change is there- no matter how bad things look right now (which is really, really bad).

So as this year's Tour comes to an end, I now find myself happy to see it conclude, just not for the usual reasons. I still love our sport and this industry. I'll look forward to seeing the rest of the season conclude and I'll probably be excited when next year's Tour rolls around. The next few months and the next season could be pivotal- the fate of the sport and industry could be in the balance.

What are your thoughts? My fellow industry members- do we walk away or do we stand and fight? Is professional road cycling, especially on the European stage, no longer worth the expense and agony? Can our industry survive another year like this? I'd really like to know your thoughts on this.

Thanks,

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

The SWOBO interview; Tim Parr and Sky Yaeger

2007-07-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

SWOBO is one of those brands in the bike industry that poses a cult-like following of fanatics. They've pretty much always had that following, even during the 5 years that the brand was gone. SWOBO is known to most people as a clothing brand- which they are- but they are also branching out into a bike brand as well. The brains behind the bikes is none other than Sky Yaeger, formerly the brains behind the bikes at Bianchi for so many years. Tim Parr, one of the original SWOBO-ites and one of the current owners, was genius enough to hire Sky and bring her in to blend her ideas and the culture behind SWOBO to generate some really fantastic new bikes. As a product guy myself, I'm a tad envious... but this isn't about me.

At Sea Otter this year, I was lucky enough to sneak a quick conversation with Sky on the last day of the event and talked her into an interview, along with Tim Parr. After getting really backlogged at work, it took me a couple months to get my questions together for the two... but I did eventually manage to get my blather put down and off to the Dynamic Duo for their answers. What follows is pure gold... seriously...

Why bikes with a Swobo name? Has it been a project on your mind for years, or just something that sprang organically out of the relaunch of the brand?

Tim- The brand has always been about an idea, and not a particular thing. Roskopp and I were planning on doing Swobo bikes….but not to the extent that Sky is capable of doing. Her involvement took a small idea…and made it big.

Had you been thinking of a Swobo bike line before Sky left Bianchi?

Tim- Yes.

The “what’s it like to be a woman in a male-dominated industry” question gets asked of you too often, so I won’t ask that question… BUT… do you believe it is your estrogen levels that allow you a certain fresh perspective because you aren’t a part of the Old Boy Network?

Sky- Wait, I thought I was an Old Boy! Not sure what part my gender plays in the creative process. Don’t even know what estrogen is. What is that?

How easy or hard was it to reshape Bianchi for the US market?

Sky- For the last 10 years, Bianchi has been owned by a large Swedish group holding 10 other European bike brands. Italians owned by Swedish with a French management component, trying to find economies of scale in design and purchasing, and right or wrong, wanting one global product line. That’s all I will say.

What’s it like to have created such a now-ubiquitous bike like the Pista? Do you feel good or bad about seeing them everywhere? What do you think of people complaining that there are too many of them around now? Is that a compliment?

Sky- I love seeing them. It’s a nice feeling. Nobody has complained to me that there were too many. The complaints I heard were that we never had enough in stock.

What’s it like to have created one of the newest benchmarks for a fixed gear/ urban bike with the Sanchez?

Sky- I just realized I better get a frame, as I don’t have one!

Had the two of you spent much time talking over the years, prior to discussing working together?

Both- Yes.

How has the adjustment been, moving to a small clothing company that also makes some cool bikes, from a large bike company?

Sky- It was a very hard decision for me to leave Bianchi and the only analogy I have, is that it was like getting a divorce and selling your house at the same time. In college, when I worked in a bike shop, we sold Bianchi bikes; so I had many years of involvement with the brand. I miss a lot of the people I worked with. But I really wanted to do something totally different. I had bike ideas that could not have been realized in a big company. Now that it has been almost one year, I couldn’t be happier.

I may have told you when we spoke at Sea Otter this year that I looked to your work at Bianchi as one of the things that has been a guiding principle for me, since taking the Brand Manager position at Masi. The way you breathed new life into the brand in the US was nothing short of astounding. Not to get you to divulge all your “secrets”, but what are the principles in your product thinking? How do you decide to do what you do? As a fellow product guy, it is cool and frustrating how you keep finding ways to raise the bar for us all. The Sanchez is an amazing bike, simply perfect in many ways. Both the Folsom and Otis are pretty kickass too. The functional simplicity and hip factor just kill! Damn you!

Sky- There’s no distinction between my job and my so-called life. My interests, background and education are in the arts, not mechanical engineering. Being creative comes naturally. And I think about, read and soak up bike, art, music, industrial design, architecture and car cultures.

What bikes brands do you admire now and what brands inspired you or excited you in the past?

Tim- Admire now? The brands I admire now (in the bike industry) are for reasons that are only personal to me. That would be Kona and Santa Cruz. Inspired me in the past? None. My desirable future hasn’t been brought to life yet by anyone in the bike biz.

Sky- I admire people, not brands. Probably the most inspiring for me is Dario Pegoretti. Fulvio Acquati of Deda Elementi inspires me, but as a philosopher and teacher, not a maker of bike parts. Tim Parr, who no joke would come up on this list even if he wasn’t sitting next to me, created something 16 years ago that blew a typhoon up the skirt of the uptight bike industry. Tim and I are both inspired by the founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, who Tim worked with at Patagonia. His book, “Let My People Go Surfing,” is one you should read more than once.

How often do you get to ride bikes anymore? Your current bikes or any other?

Tim- I ride 8 days a week (in a good week). I’m riding right now in fact.

Sky- To paraphrase what Daniel Powell of Planet Earth said to me, “Some people call it base miles, I call it commuting.” During the week I have the luxury of not being stuck in a car on a commute and on the weekends I have the luxury of riding on Mt. Tam or West Marin on a road bike or MTB.

What do you think of the bike industry in its current form? What do you think about the whole concept store/ single brand philosophy that is growing (sadly)?

Tim- I’ve stopped thinking about the bike industry. For years I preached in many trade rags about the dangers of “marketing to ourselves” and the over emphasis on the 40 something, suburban, white guy. I’m over it.

The future of the bicycle is outside of the bike industry. The concept store thing? I don’t care…it will have no effect on what we’re doing, and where we’re going.

Sky- The term “Independent Bike Dealer” seems to have lost it’s meaning, as far as I can tell.

The HTATBL blog is a riot! Stevil Knevil simply rocks! He deserves a 2 case of beer per week raise. How involved with the blog are you guys? Is it a full-blown Stevil project or do either of you have input? As a huge blogging proponent myself, this obviously begs the question of what either of you think about blogging… so what do you think about blogging?

Tim- It’s just communication. We’ve always been pretty good at communicating with our people, and blogs are just another tool to make that happen.

I worked with Stevil to get the right tone and content flowing, then he has taken it from there. He’s good, and we’re fortunate to have him. He’s been with the brand since back in the early 90’s, so he understands exactly what we’re all about. He’s a good friend with a big heart.

Sky- Blogging is what it is. Steve is our hero, part of our soul. And he looks so sexy in an orange CalTrans prisoner jumpsuit.

I exchange emails with Stevil from time to time- the dude rocks- and we were both kind of lamenting the “haters” out there- the people who seem to get all pissed off at you for selling products people want, as opposed to toiling away in the obscurity that they feel benefits their unique coolness. When do you think it became a crime to sell stuff that people actually want? Why is it so evil to tailor a product to a group of people based on style or functionality? Sure, some “scene kids” will buy a Sanchez (or any fixed gear, including my own) and then hang it up after they realize it isn’t quite like riding a beach cruiser. But… many people are buying the bikes, I presume, because they like them- whether they can ride them or not. I mean, why should that be seen as bad? (Oh, and I told Stevil he could tell the little whiners that I said to shut the hell up until they can do a better job.)

Tim- I don’t give any of this much thought. Zero in fact.

We’re on a mission….fish or cut bait.

Sky- Now that everyone in the world with a computer has a voice and an opinion, you gotta take the fruits and nuts with the seeds and stems.

Swobo is one of those brands, like Surly (or even Bianchi for that matter) with a huge cult following of very rabid fans. The blog and the website both play to that- how much thought goes into what those folks will think of your products, versus developing products you personally think are cool or worthy? As somebody who runs a brand with a similar cult following, I know how hard it can be to satisfy those expectations. Does it ever feel like a burden? Sky, you had that in spades with Bianchi and to a possibly lesser extent now (but I don’t know if that’s true), how does that temper or impact what you do- if at all?

Tim- I’m not even sure that it’s what we think is “cool or worthy”. It’s a good question though… it’s broken down into percentages. Some things we make because we think there is demand, some things we make because we think are cool, and some things we make because we just woke up that day thinking it would be funny to bring this “thing” to market.

We have no problem making things that may in fact be viewed as “un-cool”. We’re not in the “cool” business….we’re too busy trying to tell a story.

Sky- Everyone was watching us, to see what the bikes would be. There were a lot of expectations, but at the same time a tremendous amount of support from people in the industry. I knew that if we designed bikes that were true to the vision of Swobo, we would hit the target for some people and others we would lose. That’s always the case. If you have to tell people you are cool, you aren’t. I wanted to do bikes that were like none out there, respecting the Swobo esthetic and culture. The challenge of imagining what a Swobo bike line was, considering all the Swobo fans expectations’ meant that we had to have total conviction in the design decisions. As a product manager, it is the ultimate dream assignment – to have a blank sheet of paper – and the total support of your partners, who would be Rob Roskopp and Tim, to whom I bow in their general direction.

I know you must be getting some crap from some of the “old school” guys because you now have non-wool garments in the line. What are you thoughts on that? Does it matter to you? I mean, I still get people sending me emails that border on death threats for abandoning lugs and custom builds. I have people tell me I should go to hell for spec’ing bikes with anything other than Campy parts. I mean, at what point do you simply tell the “old school” crowd to simply shut up and quit whining?

Tim- I don’t give the product specific arguments any thought. We’re not a Merino company…it’s a product we started with 15+ years ago to differentiate ourselves with little (to none) marketing dollars.

I don’t tell our old school guys to ever shut up. They’re the reason I decided to do it all over again, and I owe a lot to all those people. They kept the brand alive when I wasn’t able to.

I still have a pair of blue and a pair of black wool Swobo socks from around 1996-or so. Both are now shrunken and threadbare from years of use. I don’t think I’ve put either on in a couple years, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to throw them away. I love them too damned much! I have a sock drawer full of hundreds of socks, but the Swobo socks are still in there. That has to mean something to you about the durability of the brand and how people relate to it. I mean, I work in the industry and have for about 25 years, and there are very few items like those socks (and my Ibis Handjob bottle opener) that I cling to with love. Swobo is that kind of brand to many people. Why do you think that is? And, when are you going to recreate the sock so I can get some new ones finally?

Tim- The Swobo brand is unique. It’s rare that a name can dissapear for 5 years, then come back stronger than it was when it was originally operating. Why? Because we represent an idea within bike culture, and not STUFF within bike culture. There’s a huge difference there that would take awhile to explain….so I’ll leave it at that. Our strategic advantage is that the bike industry (culturally) is fixated on stuff…and not ideas.

Socks are on the way.

What would either of you do if you weren’t doing this Swobo thing, or in the bike industry at all? Is there anything you haven’t done, either in the bike biz, or some other, that you would still like to try?

Tim- I’d be a shepherd.

Sky- I’d get an AARP card and a 19 foot Bambi Airstream.

What are your future plans? Where do you want to see Swobo go? Is it going to become a bigger bike line than a clothing line? Are there other bike categories on the horizon? Sanchez fixed gear tandem with disk brakes and aero bars maybe? Just thinking outside the box here…

Tim- Future plans are on a need to know basis. I can tell you that what we’ve learned in version 2.0, is that in order to accomplish our goals, we don’t have to play by the traditional bike industry rules. All we have to do is get our ideas to people….in the best, most efficient way possible.

Bigger Swobo bike line than clothing line? Who cares…as long as the messages are being communicated about who we are, and what we’re doing….we don’t care about the medium.

Again…..that’s traditional stuff thinking. Not idea thinking.

Sky- Specifically, we will be adding more bikes, yes. We don’t see a need for more road racing or mountain bikes, though. We like the idea of pushing the bike line forward without derailleurs. We love internal hubs.

So there you have it! Straight from the sources! Thanks again to both Tim and Sky for humoring me long enough to answer my questions and get them back. I sincerely appreciate it.

It is no wonder that SWOBO is continuing to grow and increase the reach of it's powerful and vocal cult of followers. With the popularity of the clothing brand, apparent success of the bikes and growing readership of the blog, it is certain that SWOBO has a place at the table set for quite some time.

Tim Jackson

Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

(PS- Sorry for the weird formatting...)

Bikes Belong to Launch new tradeshow?

2007-06-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

The fine folks at Bikes Belong, the cycling industry advocacy group and trade organization, has announced that they are in the planning stages of developing a new tradeshow to rival and compete with the hallowed Interbike. Sound familiar? We've covered this kind of news a few times here already.

Eurobike tried to launch what was dubbed Eurobike-Portland back in October of '06. That ended up getting shelved and then Eurobike teamed up with Sea Otter to create what was being billed as the greatest outdoor cycling event and consumer expo ever known to mankind... but it wasn't so much...

The thing that is most intriguing about this, is that Bikes Belong actually knows the US marketplace pretty darned well, seeing as to how they are the main trade organization in the US. As such, they have a pretty good idea of what the industry wants and needs, as well as an inside line to the major thought leaders in the industry. Bikes Belong has also been a major partner of Interbike over the years and their banner ad on the Interbike website was still visible at the time this post was being written.

According to news I've gotten, "yeah, it’s pretty exciting stuff! And at this point, the sky’s the limit.... right now it’s just a lot of ideas (really, really good ideas :) And either way, the industry will win." If anybody has the clout and credibility to pull off creating a show to rival Interbike, Bikes Belong is the one group I can think of who can. Thing is, as has proven so far to be the case, Interbike is the established incumbent with a long history of great tradeshows. As we have learned in politics, even an unpopular incumbent has an advantage over a new challenger. If this new show is to come into existence, it'll have its work cut out... just to survive the first few editions, let alone grow to a large enough critical mass to really make a significant impact on Interbike.

As was mentioned in previous discussions about Eurobike-Portland, the idea of a competing tradeshow is pretty great, but reality is gonna be hard. Show exhibitors are stretched thin to attend the shows that already exist on the calendar and adding overlapping or identical dates will hurt both shows. If you add a totally new date on the calendar, when is it? Before Eurobike? In between Eurobike and Expo Cycle in Canada, which is just before Interbike? After Expo Cycle? After Interbike? Is it a Springtime show like Taipei? Where does it fit on the calendar? I'm sure I don't know. It poses a very big task and not one I'm sure I could figure out.

This news, just like with Eurobike's attempted invasion, is big news that merits lots of discussion and contemplation from within the industry. Do we want or need a new show? Maybe, if it's a better show. But what is a "better show"? Less expensive? Better location? No Teamsters to deal with? All things to consider.

I honestly wish Bikes Belong the best with this and I hope to be talking to them more about this, so stay tuned for more (hopefully). I love Interbike, as I've said before, so Bikes Belong (or anybody for that matter) has their work cut out for them if they are going to truly compete with Interbike. Can it be done though? Absolutely it can, so this will prove to be interesting. Bikes Belong has been listening to the conversation for a long time so they know what frustrations retailers and manufacturers have with Interbike.

I, for one, will be watching this story very closely and strongly encourage your comments because I know that folks from Bikes Belong will be reading this. Your comments could be influential... so speak up!

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

The Conversation Age

2007-05-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

(Cross posted on Masiguy)

I have been such a terrible flake/ procrastinator over the past several weeks (ok, months). All of the work and travel and life... blah, blah, blah...

In all of my blogging setbacks, I have been forgetting to express my pride, joy and sincere amazement regarding my involvement in the e-book Conversation Age. This e-book is a project conceived by two astounding bloggers, both of whom I have immense respect for- seriously: Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton. Anyway, here's the gist of the project: you get 100 bloggers to write 100 chapters on the topic of conversation in the new digital/ modern word. Each blogger writes a one page (400 word) chapter and then the book is offered for sale online. Judging by the long list of writers (some of the very brightest minds in marketing/ blogging), it is going to be a stellar book... even with my contribution. Here's the kicker- the book is dedicated to the memory of Sandra Kerley, mother of our dear friend Christina Kerley (better known by all as CK) and the proceeds go to Variety The Children's Charity. This is such an amazing project- it combines the gracious act of remembering a wonderful woman and supporting our friend with a beautiful charity... and you get a great book written by some of the best experts on marketing/ blogging (and also me). It's a project that I am more than just a little proud to be a part of and more than just a little flattered to have been asked to take part in.

Anyway, keep your eyes open for more information about the book and where you can go to purchase it- I will post updates as soon as the project is completed. But for now, just check out the author list:

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Mindblob (Luc)
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Bob Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Mitch Joel
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Krishna De
Kris Hoet
Kofl Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Pollinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman

Damn! I am SO outclassed by this group... it ain't even funny!

Also, while I am here and talking about giving and sharing; please, if you can, help us continue to honor Sandra Kerley by donating to Habitat for Humanity in her name. Please follow this link to a donation site (I'm not smart enough to figure out how to have the great icon and link that all the other smart bloggers involved with this have created). This is a great way to continue the great legacy of a wonderful woman, as well as show support to our dear friend CK.

I am really looking forward to seeing this book and I hope you are too.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Follow-up to my DC follow-up; a word from Bikes Belong

2007-04-30T23:15:00.000-07:00

I have a bit of follow-up dialog to my previous post about my trip to DC and my call to advocacy in the cycling industry.

I recently had a great conversation with Scott Bowen from Bikes Belong, regarding their role in bicycle advocacy for the cycling industry. We spoke face to face during the Sea Otter race and then followed up with some emails as well. Since you folks don't get to read my emails on a daily basis, I thought I'd share the great conversation we had (with Scott's approval of course).

Here is the conversation, in chronological order...

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Hey Tim,

It was good to see you in Monterey and thanks for the great NBS feedback. I will make sure your points get passed along to the League.

When we talked, I mentioned that someone forwarded me your blog. Again, it is supper motivating and I’m grateful that you took the time to make such a convincing argument. Without a doubt, those who read it will be moved.

There was a comment at the end about Bikes Belong that I wanted to ask you about. You said, “the industry needs to work closely together and form a coalition or trade group that lobbies for change as well”. I’m a little embarrassed because it’s my job to communicate our mission and our accomplishments, and what you said we need is precisely what Bikes Belong is. We are a coalition of bicycle manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers devoted to getting more people on bikes more often. What you participated in (federal lobbying) is only part of what we do. Our work can be broken down into four main components:

Federal policy and funding (how we got the $4.5 billion for bicycle infrastructure)
National leadership (Safe Routes to School National Partnership, Bicycle Friendly Communities, the National Complete Streets Coalition, and key strategic partnerships with groups like Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AARP, and the PTA)
A $1.2 million community grants program that helps build new bike paths, lanes, and trails across the nation and leverages the federal money we secured
Promotion – sharing the great benefits of bicycling for health and fitness, recreation, community, environment, and so much more with national media like CNBC, The USA Today, and countless others

There is so much more, but that’s it in a nutshell. Take a look at our 2006 Annual Report and our 2007 Plan to see more (they’re both attached) {removed- Ed}. With so many good things happening at Bikes Belong, sometimes we don’t get it all out.

Maybe I misunderstood, but either way, I’ll take the chance to share some of our goods :)

See you soon,

Scott Bowen
Membership Development Director
Bikes Belong Coalition

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Scott,

Dude, it was great talking with you and I look forward to doing it again. I really appreciate you taking the time to put this all together and share with me- sincerely. In fact, I'd like, with your permission of course, to run this as an update to my post. I think many people lose sight of what Bikes Belong is all about and the work you folks do.

To my point though, more specifically, my thoughts were aimed at a more unified effort from the industry to promote cycling to the unwashed masses out of the mainstream cycling avenues. I think a group built out of manufacturers trying to get more folks to see cycling as a cool thing to do, is something we need more of. If it duplicates some of Bikes Belong's efforts, then that is ok. It just seems to me that we need to see more non-endemic promotion of cycling in publications like Time, Men's Health, Good Housekeeping, etc. Something that is less associated with the phenomenal lobbying efforts that Bikes Belong does and more geared to gaining new consumers. I think if it comes from the people who make the goods in cycling, it might help. Again, this may fall right in to the work already being done by Bikes Belong, but think of how cool it would be to see "Cycling is Cool" ads in major magazines. With the combined monies of several manufacturers, it might be possible to pull off.

Let me know your thoughts and if you wouldn't mind if I posted your comments on the blog.

It was great to see you and thanks again for sharing all of this information with me.
Tim Jackson
Masi Brand Manager

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Tim,

This feedback is so great and I’m really grateful. Advocacy typically comes second to business priorities. We need to reframe advocacy as a business priority. But whatever the circumstances are, honest and open feedback on what the industry should be using its collective strength to accomplish can be hard to come by.

And man, we have a lot to talk about. But I’ll try to be brief and we can talk more the next time we see each other.

Before we could do anything as an industry and use our theoretical leverage, we had to unify. Since it’s creation seven years ago, Bikes Belong has found more success bringing the industry together than any other group. That was step 1.

Once we had that collective strength, the board prioritized and went after the “low hanging fruit”. That would be federal funding. Bicycling has so many advantages that resonate with our nation. We invested, we fought, and we won. Step 2.

We have developed major national partners (Robert Wood Johnson, AARP, PTA, etc.) to reach new audiences and find new revenue sources. Step 3.

The grants were designed to give back to communities, to support creative and effective local efforts, and to leverage and focus the federal funds we secured. Step 4.

Alright, now to your point – promotion. Bikes Belong is tasked by the industry to promote bicycling. The attached booklet {removed- Ed} was created to do just that to diverse, non-bicycling audiences. We have distributed over 25,000 copies and been an important tool. But our board has been pushing us for the “Got Milk” campaign for the bike industry. Late last year, we started working with Crispin Porter + Bogusky (VW, Miller Light, Burger King). They created over a hundred creative boards for us.

We have to be realistic with national promotion. As a $6 billion industry, we are not the dairy industry or the RV industry, but no one can deny we have enormous potential!

We have to keep all these balls in the air to be effective. Most importantly, we have to keep the industry united and focused. You and Jill taking the time to come to DC, keeping Haro informed, that’s what we need. We are grateful. Your blog rocks and we appreciate your comments. I think we (the industry) are headed in the right direction.

Sorry, this is way to long.

See ya soon,

Scott

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Scott,

Again, my friend, thank you for this great information. I am going to take your two emails and combine that information into one post. I think your comments are great and really do a great job on spotlighting efforts... and they educated me to what has been getting done.

I really believe in the work of Bikes Belong and am looking forward to Haro being involved again. I am also hoping to be able to stand in DC again next year and the years following. I think the work is that important. I am also trying to find ways to get involved locally- that's a direct byproduct of being in DC.

Thank you Scott- I look forward to getting together and talking again soon.

Tim

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Hey Tim,

One of advocacy’s problems is that we can be long-winded :)

I’m working on it, but it’s a lot to talk about.

Thanks a ton,

sb

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And that is the entire conversation folks (minus the attachments).

This does, in my mind, go a long way towards helping to educate me and probably others in the industry to exactly what it is that Bikes Belong does on our behalves. It's pretty cool, really.

Thank you Scott for your excellent feedback and for allowing me to use this information this way. I think it is great for people to see the very, very human side of Bikes Belong.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser
(PS- Sorry for the weird formatting issues... the cut-and-paste process gets weird with emails.)

Sea Otter '07- What gives Eurobike?

2007-04-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

Sea Otter finished up this past Sunday. As usual, there was crazy weather to contend with and all kinds of cool racing and bike nerdery going on. It was exactly what Sea Otter always has been and always will be.

The big difference this year is that Sea Otter teamed up with the fine folks from Eurobike (Messe-Friedrichshafen) to create what was being billed as the largest outdoor cycling festival and "tradeshow" in the US. In keeping with this incredible new relationship and enhancement of the event, exhibitor space rates went through the roof, as did race entry fees and other associated costs of providing a worldclass event/ exhibit.

Thing is... it wasn't any busier, it wasn't any better, it wasn't any different than years past (except for the increase in cost). Disclaimer- this was my first time attending the event, so these observations/ comparisons are based off of feedback I received from other exhibitors at the event. If this was supposed to be a premiere cycling event, in terms of being an exhibit/ festival/ tradeshow... it was a flop. As an actual race, it was superb as always. The racers and the people who come to hang out and gawk at the event, really make it what it is- a celebration of cycling (even if that celebration takes place in the rain and tornado-like winds).

I know that the race organizers and Eurobike had very little time to pull this together, after making their announcement of joining forces just a few months ago (the end of November). It would seem that once Eurobike realized their proposed "Eurobike-Portland" wasn't going to work and that they were receiving so much negative press, they simply decided to shrink their ambitions for a year and start off a little smaller. Well... can't say it worked. Many people doubted whether or not they would have enough time to create what they were claiming they would. It seems those folks were at least marginally correct. Don't get me wrong, I'd call the event a success, but it wasn't what it was billed to be and certainly didn't merit the incredible cost hikes.

Here's another point that may seem like I am just trying to pick a fight; where were the folks from either Sea Otter or Eurobike during the event? During the entire event, neither I nor Jill Hamilton (our Haro MTB Brand Manager and my partner in crime at Sea Otter) saw hide nor hair of anybody from the event. Many of us in the industry complain about costs and other issues associated with Interbike, but at least every year at Interbike I get a visit (or several) from somebody from the show organization thanking me for my business and checking in to see how things are going. It might seem like nothing, but it does make an impression- a little humanity goes a long way. Nobody disputes that the Eurobike shows are great. They are widely regarded as well run, well attended and well respected by exhibitors, retailers and consumer attendees. It's a strong brand with a lot of potential. When they announced they were coming to the US, many people thought it was a great thing- including myself (though I argued with the date).

It seems that Eurobike has made a series of strange steps all along the way and it really begs the question of whether or not they are serious about coming to the US or if they even understand the US market. The way they handled the announcement and then the disappearing act they did, were both missteps. Then that was followed up with an overall strangeness in how they dealt with Sea Otter, on down to the lack of any known follow-up with US exhibitors at the event. It just doesn't make them look like they know what they are doing or that they really have the desire to chase the US market. Was Sea Otter just a way to save face after all of the negative press they received over Eurobike-Portland? Nobody appears to know.

One other point that needs to be mentioned; kudos to the folks at Interbike! Not only did they handle the original announcement about Eurobike-Portland well, but they attended Sea Otter and met with exhibitors. I met with Rich Kelly and a few other folks from Interbike during Otter and they didn't even mention Interbike once. It really did feel like they were simply there to see things for themselves and to say hello to friends. Gripe all we want about Interbike, this little touch was not unnoticed by me and surely wasn't unnoticed by many other folks as well. Good job folks!

So, what's your take on this all? Exhibitors- Did anybody from Eurobike/ Sea Otter come talk to you? Did the event have more traffic than ever, to match the cost of attending? Am I making too much of nothing? Please share your thoughts...

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

A call to advocacy

2007-03-29T05:19:00.000-07:00

If you haven't watched it yet, here's Trek president, John Burk, giving a presentation calling for advocacy in the bike industry. It's the best 23 minutes you'll spend today.

That's the most inspiring thing I've seen in a long time and I feel it's the beginning of something grand.

It's hard to tell if my perspective is just skewed due to the fact that I watch the bike industry so much anyway, but it seems like we are on a verge of a renaissance here in the US. The overall "green" feeling growing across the country. Higher gas prices forcing people to look towards other means of transportation. And now, one of the biggest movers in the industry calling for an move towards bicycle advocacy.

For me, the part in the video that stood out the most is when John Burke confessed to not being interested in advocacy ten years ago and consistently turned away people asking for help. That kind of honesty is refreshing.

From there, the points about growing the number of people on bikes just a few percentage points will make the industry boom struck me as something I never had considered... but should have!

So here's my questions... What can I do? And what can you do?

We can give money to advocacy groups... but what else?

How do we start getting involved in my community? Where do we start? Should we be burning up the phones calling our local politicians? Or is there something else?

I'd love to start compiling a list of resources for people that want to get involved in their community to get more people on bikes. If you have some information, links, tips, ideas, etc etc. Leave them in the comments to get us going.

DC follow up and a call to the Cycling Industry; (UPDATED)

2007-03-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned about a week ago, I recently attended the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC with my Haro-family coworker Jill Hamilton.

Jill and I attended this very important lobbying junket as guests of Bikes Belong, the fine folks who work tirelessly to make sure that the cycling industry gets a voice at the legislative table. Along with the League of American Bicyclists, these two organizations work to put together the National Bike Summit.

This year's Summit drew around 450 attendees. People from all walks of the bicycle advocacy spectrum- industry, retailers, bike clubs, city, regional, state and national advocacy groups... you name it. Some were there to support Safe Routes to School, some were there to lobby for more trail access, others were there to get bicycle commuters the same sort of tax break/ incentives that other folks get for commuting by bus or carpool and then there were folks (like me) who were focused on the Complete Streets initiative. It was a very diverse group and all of us joined together for the greater good of cycling, in the broader sense. Altruistic as it sounds, it is the truth and I was very proud to be a part of it.

I don't know how it is possible to go to DC and not feel inspired by the sight of our country's legislative power in action. It was actually awe inspiring and this is coming from one of the least political people you'll ever meet. I still came away from DC with a new sense of energy and desire to work towards greater cycling advocacy issues.

You will hear me talk more about advocacy here and at that other place where I talk my fool head off. Advocacy is going to become a bigger focus for me, so I hope you'll put up with it. Here's the thing; too few cycling industry companies participate in advocacy and only a handful of folks showed up to the Summit. John Burke from Trek was there, Chris Fortune from Saris Group was there, Ariadne Scott from Specialized was there (along with a couple other folks) and Don Palermini from Bell Sports was there. There were others who were there and I apologize for missing your names, those folks are the ones I remember off the top of my head. Needless to say, industry folks were outnumbered quite a bit by the other non-industry folks. The non-industry folks do a fantastic job of making our lives easier, but it is time that we- as a whole- stepped up and added more to the efforts. Since I know that I get quite a few industry folks reading this site, I am putting out the challenge and invitation to be a bigger and more vocal part of the advocacy process. I am going to keep asking for more folks to become involved and I will be working on local and regional things that I can help with as well.

Think of it very selfishly, all you industry wankers (which I am one of); without the efforts of bicycle advocates, we will one day be without an industry to work in. Without safe streets for folks to ride on, they will not ride. Without safe routes to school, kids won't need bikes to get to school. Without trail access, our dirt-loving mountain bike friends will have nowhere to ride and no need for a new mountain bike. It's a very simple equation really. We have to work together, putting aside petty brand squabbles, to help provide a future for our industry. Let's face it, race geeks alone are not going to support an entire industry.

So here is my challenge and my invitation to my fellow members of the cycling industry; stand up and be heard! Lend your voice to the chorus. Contact your local Congressman or Senator and let them know the things that are important to you (and not just about cycling). Don't just let "somebody else" do the work for you- roll up your sleeves and get a little dirt under your nails. Here's one more immutable truth; when it comes to DC, money talks. If the industry stands united and says "we need this", then we're much more likely to see some results. Think a bicycle commuter tax break doesn't apply to you? Think again... those commuters by a lot of product, from bikes, to tires, to fenders, to lights, to new helmets, etc. If they have a monetary incentive to ride their bikes, and not just the "think green" incentive, more folks will get out and ride. Add safer roads to ride on into the equation and that potential pool of money-spending commuters gets even bigger.

Please join me in trying to make a brighter future for our much beloved industry.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

(Short UPDATE; I realize that the mandate for Bikes Belong is to lobby for the cycling industry and they do a great job. Tim Blumenthal, the Director of Bikes Belong, is the former Director of IMBA and has a history of getting things done. Things are getting done with Bikes Belong as well, but my point is that the industry needs to work closely together and form a coalition or trade group that lobbies for change as well. We need to be able to put aside differences and work closely to further protect our industry and its interests.)

Heading to the National Bike Summit.

2007-03-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

This coming week, I will be in Washington DC attending the National Bike Summit, along with my coworker Jill Hamilton (the Haro MTB Brand Manager... and one time contributor here... who might come back... no pressure...). Jill and I will be attending the summit as "sponsored guests" of Bikes Belong, serving as representatives of the cycling industry. With no sense of false modesty or "build up", I am extremely excited about this and very honored to be going. I, along with many, many other people (way more qualified for the task than I) will be going to help further the causes of bicycle advocacy in the US. If you've read my posts or comments here and elsewhere, you might already know how I feel about the need for greater cycling-friendly infrastructure in this country. The industry needs the infrastructure to survive, but cycling as a whole needs it as well.

Anyway, here's the deal; you got something you want said to the folks in DC who hold the purse strings? Then let me know and I will do my best to carry your ideas all the way to the folks who might actually be able to do something about it. I promise nothing other than the fact that I will do my best to express your comments and/ or concerns. Most people know that I am pretty darned passionate about cycling and this industry. I'm pretty sure there will be more than one occasion when I get told politely to shut the hell up... as if I can. But I want to carry your ideas as well. Sorry for the short notice on this, since I leave first thing in the morning Tuesday, but get me your comments here or directly to my email (tjackson at masibikes dot com). I will be in DC until Friday, so you have a few days to get to me before I get to them.

I'm looking forward to raising my hand and my voice to try and improve the state of cycling in this country. I will have great company while I'm there too, so you are in good hands.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

What do women really want?

2007-03-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

Graham at Go Clipless asks us to play brand manager dressups for a day in an effort to answer the unanswerable. Exactly what do women really want?

If the clothes are conservatively designed, there are women that will want them to be sexier. If the colors are too dark, they may be seen as too masculine. If the choices are the same as for men, they will not be seen as special. A conundrum to be sure.

So what would you do? Play cycling product manager for a day. What's your strategy to approach this market, whether you are male or female?

This is good timing because I had an interesting and wide ranging conversation yesterday with a wonderful 50's + woman about this exact topic, and about what influences her bicycle buying choices.

I think I know what women want.................!?!?

She and other women I talk to on a regular basis about this do not want pinks and baby blues, however most of them are roadies and that's where I'll focus this conversation.

The specific conversation was about a Sarah Ulmer Brand full carbon Ultegra WSD machine that was accented with pink, white and silver, the bike was an out of the box fit, but there was no way she could get around the pink. I suggested we blacken it up (seat, tape, post stem) in an effort to de-emphasize the pink even though there wasn't a lot of it. No way.

The feedback I'm getting is that the reference points of this kind of female cyclist are the men they ride with in the bunch, they are absolutely influenced by them simply because they are almost always in the minority and as such want what the guys are having. They don't want to stand out as girly, they just want to fit in and be one of the boys.

This is not an isolated conversation, and as a result, my conclusion is that this particular market want the same bikes, the same clothing and the same accessories in the same colours as the men, just cut and designed for women.

So, as brand manager for a day, I'd like to design every womens high end product to look just like what the men are using.

((I'll take my brand manager salary in a dirty brown paper bag of $100's - just hang around the phone booth at the corner of Main and Central and wait for the phone to ring.))

Update: Smithers has a nice thread going on this, with comments from actual women (gasp!) like Mrs Smithers.

Trust me I'm a doctor

2007-02-28T01:56:00.000-08:00

Go Fast Pops has a post up on a recent Descente ad seen in a few places, and yes, they are speaking frankly.

The text in the Cyclingnews banner ad (right hand side) is pretty pointed as well.

Interestingly my day to day retailing experience when discussing saddles and shorts is exactly like Dr Frank Speak - you can only tackle the issue of wedding tackle head on. Even more interesting is that many of my most frank conversations have been initiated by female customers, the men need a bit more prodding............so to speak.

I'm comfortable with this ad if only because the saddle/short/comfort thing for a newbie or recreational rider is one of their biggest concerns when thinking about spending some hard earned on a new machine, so I think a bucket load of openness is needed in order to bring a little peace of mind and lead people in the right direction.

An ad like this only makes my job easier as far as opening this conversation is concerned, and is similar to a good PSA.

However some folks might think Descente has gone one frankly too far. Have they?

Taiwan Redux...

2007-02-12T19:47:00.000-08:00

As mentioned previously, I recently spent about 10 days in Taiwan. During those 10 days, I visited with many companies- new, old and potential vendor partners of mine. During the 5 weekdays we had there, we met with about 26 companies. For the math-impaired... that's a lot of people, factories and products.

(Masi carbon frames fresh out of production and awaiting paint.)

Taiwan was a fantastic experience for me professionally. I learned a lot about the biggest provider of products to the world cycling industry. China may beat out Taiwan on total units produced, but dollar volume still remains with Taiwan, as the production of high-end products is still largely in Taiwan (though China is getting better at it all the time).

(Beautiful steel rear triangle assemblies being brazed... not mine... yet....)

Taiwan continues to have a bad and totally unfair reputation. Taiwan is frequently abused as being a supplier of sub-par products at insanely cheap prices. Not to bash on the cycling manufacturers in other countries, but this reputation is totally unfounded. Yes, as is the case with any country, you can find some really bad products coming from Taiwan. However, there are US vendors you couldn't PAY me to work with. Same for some vendors from other countries with rich and storied reputations. Not to flog a dead horse, since this is a comment I frequently make; quality is totally independent of geography. A good supplier is a good supplier, regardless of their location. Taiwan continues to provide quality products to the industry at great prices, which has been one of the biggest reasons for the industry's rebound over the past several years. The sheer volume of products coming from Taiwan and the number of companies working with Taiwan is one of the reasons for the lower cost of goods- the economy of scale helps to make things cheaper.

What Taiwan really needs is a good PR campaign to reach out to the consumers of cycling products across the globe. A concerted effort to reach out to the folks who ultimately purchase and ride the products is one way to "win the battle of hearts and minds". Most consumers do not care at all where the products they purchase are produced. They just want a good product at a good price (maybe in a great color). It's an oversimplification, I know, but price is a major element of most purchases made.

Now, I am not trying to discount the ever-growing industry of small artisan builders that are springing up all over the place. There will hopefully always be a growing demand for custom made frames. I've always maintained that the heart and soul of our beloved industry is the small builder- the guys (and gals) who spend hours brazing tubes together, filing lugs, mitering tubes, setting up jigs and meticulously checking each and every measurement along the way. I always wanted to be a frame builder- I dreamed of being an apprentice with Richard Sachs, or working with Dave Moulton, or Bill Holland, or even Masi California... but it never happened. I have never lifted a torch or filed a set of lugs or learned to fillet braze, but I still have a lot of love for those who do. (By the way, you have to check out this builder in Austin, TX- thanks to my friend Bernie at Panther City Bicycles for turning me on to this guy's work... it's amazing.)

It is just my personal belief that the Taiwan cycling industry gets an unfair reputation. They produce some of the best products in the world for some of the biggest names in the industry, though usually under somebody else's name and yet people constantly turn up their noses to "Made in Taiwan" stickers on bikes. I think that is totally wrong and not just because I happen to sell and represent a brand that is now produced in Taiwan, rather than in its Italian birthplace. So, if anybody from the Taiwan cycling industry is reading this post (and I know that you do), I'd love to see you reach out to consumers more and spread the word about how wonderful your industry and products are. Heck, drop me a line and I'll happily help on my side of the globe. And consumers, the next time you look at a new bike or buy a new bike, don't peel that "Made in Taiwan" sticker off your bike in disgust. Instead, be thankful the bike is made in Taiwan because, believe me, it could be made somewhere else where the quality of the product isn't as important. Be proud. And for those folks with the money and time on their hands, support your local frame builders. Believe me, if I had the money, I'd probably have a couple hundred bikes by different builders by now. We are blessed to have such a rich and diverse group of builders in the US.

Ultimately, find and buy the bike that makes you happy when you ride it- happy because you got a great deal, happy because you had it made specifically for you, happy because it makes you smile when you throw a leg over it and hit the road... whatever it is. Ride what you love and love what you ride... I do.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Tangerine dreams

2007-01-30T03:05:00.000-08:00

Colour. Apart from price it's the one question or objection that always comes up on the sales floor - for low to mid priced bikes it's usually a choice of two, at the high end, one. Most of the time when I'm asked what other colours that blue dream bike on the floor comes in I usually make a joke of it and say "blue, blue and blue".

My customer then usually responds with a wisecrack about Henry Ford, Model-T's and the bicycle industry (yep, most of my customers are quick witted smartarses even though some of them appear to hide it really well).

I always take these kinds of questions home with me, and always with a big what if? This time it's - "what if bicycles were available in an unlimited selection of colours?"

The Long Tail, Chris Anderson's exploration of new economics, culture and commerce ('How Endless Choice is Creating Unlimited Demand') provides a few examples (c13/p203) of companies that are using this economy of choice to grow their business, and it was on the topic of colour that one resonated with me. KitchenAid.

But between 2001 and 2003, KitchenAid built a system to offer all of it's colours - typically more than fifty between it's different models - online. If you shop for mixers on Amazon or KitchenAid.com, you can now pick any of those colours from a drop down menu. These include the regular staples along with bolder colours that are Web-only: pistachio, tangerine, cranberry, grape, crystal blue, sienna, lemon and others.

He goes on to note that when presented with this 'unlimited' choice, customers didn't stop at the selection available in retail outlets, they went on to explore and purchase just about every other colour on offer as well. Anderson finished the KitchenAid example with this:

But until KitchenAid had an online channel that allowed customers to pick from it's full range of products, it had no way of knowing that there was latent consumer demand that it hadn't previously tapped.

Of course neither do we, but I reckon we can make a pretty informed guess. The industry has dealt with a host of possible customer objections, saddles are a good example, now an area where just about every shape of backside appears to be catered for and where every permutation sells, but still it seems we have not dealt properly with that most emotional of questions. Colour.

So? What if? Is it doable? Would it grow sales? Will this much colour choice drive everyone crazy?

Who should we be targeting?

2007-01-26T06:53:00.000-08:00

Warning: This is a very mountain bike slanted post.

For any industry to grow you have to get people that aren't using your products or services to start using them.

A very obvious observation I know, however my question for this post is who we should be targeting to sell more mountain bikes to?

Two potential groups immediately come to mind...

First, the casual riders. Those people we all see on the $150 department bikes either on the paved trails or easy singletrack. Often without a helmet and wearing some sort of denim.

Second, the non-bike sports enthusiasts. Your long distance runners, kayakers, hikers/climbers, etc. The people that are already doing "adventure sports" but just haven't thrown a leg over a mountain bike yet.

My first thought was to go after the first group. They already own a bike so maybe getting them to upgrade and get more involved would be a logical next step. Then the devil's advocate in my brain kicks in and asks the questions... "Haven't these people already shown what they think a bike is worth?" and "In general, do these people look like they are into pushing themselves to more dangerous and/or harder stuff?"

That's when I thought of the second group. These people already push themselves into taking on harder sports and many of them understand spending big money on gear to get the stuff that will work long term and take a beating. To me marketing mountain bikes to these people would be a great way to get more people to jump into our sport.

I recently took a trip to the local book store and spent some time flipping through different adventure sports magazines. The general Outside magazine along with hiker, kayaker, runner, etc specific rags and none of them had much, if any, advertising for mountain bikes. So it seems that most of the bike companies are spending their cash in areas that current mountain bikers already exist. In other words, everyone is fighting for a share of the same marketplace.

Am I missing something? Shouldn't some money be spent on getting more people into the sport... especially those people already with an inclination towards adventure sports? What's your thoughts?

Tim Grahl
Quasi-Koolaid Dispenser

Taiwan- the center of the cycling universe; I'm leaving on a jet plane...

2007-01-17T22:37:00.000-08:00

Friday morning, bright and early, I begin the long series of flights from San Diego to Taiwan. Yep, my first trip to the defacto center of the cycling universe.

The overwhelming majority of cycling products are now produced in Taiwan, especially bicycles/ frames. This isn't a bad thing either. The product quality is as good as anywhere else in the world (I promise you) and they have tons of experience in manufacturing and R&D of cycling products. No, it isn't Italy or even the USofA, but the products work, are reliable and cost much less.

Taiwan and their manufacturing costs, even more than China, are to be thanked for the growth of the cycling market in this country and many others. Why? Consumers demand more and more for their money these days- regardless of the strength of the economy. Taiwan has helped to fuel that growth more than any other single factor. Think I'm wrong? Prove me wrong. Seriously- what other single factor has helped to spur growth so much, more than less expensive products? Lance? Nope. Lance helped sales, but price is always king.

So this trip will be educational for me in many ways and I am very excited about it. I can't wait to see some of those wacky products that will never see the light of day and then those gems that I hope will make their way onto my bikes because they are simply too good to pass up. I know I will be grinning from ear to ear on many occasions.

If you have something specific you want to see or know about, let me know. I will be trying to post from Taiwan, as time allows. I am sure there will be plenty to see and talk about.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

2007 Bloggies blog awards;

2007-01-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

Our little slice of heaven here has been nominated for a 2007 Bloggie Award by Carlton Reid, editor/ founder of BikeBiz and podcasting virtuoso.

Here's the problem though; voting ends on Wednesday January 10th... so I have precious little time to beg each and every reader of this blog to go vote for us! Any category, I really don't care... maybe even every category. Maybe Carlton will tell us what category he nominated us in, but my guess is Best Group Blog.

So, if you're a fan (or simply want to get me to like you) go vote for us! Yes, I know it's a shameless plea, but I am a shameless man...

Thank you for your votes and thanks to Carlton for nominating us- it's an honor just to get nominated.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Time for a Revolution!

2007-01-04T23:20:00.000-08:00

King Karl's post from the other day got me thinking as I followed the comment thread;

Al posted at 7:02 PM
I think that for commuting to be the next be thing, it will need a combination of things: 1) tax breaks/incentives for people to ride to work and/or employers to promote/support bike commuters 2) local communtities to support/promote the bike commuting - especially in smaller towns and the midwest and finally (and not necessarily my favorite but it has worked for hybrids) celebrities getting behind the movement.

To which I replied-

Tim Jackson- Masi Guy posted at 8:13 PM
Al- good points. However, the main thing we need more than anything else?

Ready? Million dollar answer to all the problems right here;

We need more/ better bike paths. No matter of incentives will bring people out of the cars just to do battle with other people still sitting in their cars. If they feel that they are in danger, they won't ride. Most cities have little to no infrastructure to support cycling as a form of transportation.'

look at Portland, arguably the most bike friendly city in the US and they still have major concerns due to bike-friendly infrastructure. Just go to BikePortland.Org and read some of the threads there. Best bike city in the US and they still recognize a need for better bike paths, etc. And that's in Portland. Go to any other city and it is exponentially worse.

IB Rich Kelly got the thought rolling here- we need to support the folks who advocate for the cycling community and we need to get involved locally to improve conditions for average commuters or it will never, ever hit that critical mass that we need to really make a long lasting impact and effect change.

This is great stuff for another post...

And here we are...

I know that our new contributor Phil Gomes will have lots of ideas about all of this and he chimed in on the comments already. Phil's been behind this kind of thing for some time now. I have some thoughts about all of this as well... of course, or I wouldn't be here right now.

Here in the US, as in many countries, there simply isn't the infrastructure in place to support average folks becoming commuters. It just doesn't exist consistently on a city, county, state, regional or national level. Some places do a fine job of working with the cycling community and provide safe routes and lanes/ paths for cyclists, but they are exceptions and not the norm at all. We have to work to support a dramatic shift in thinking about bicycle commuting not just for the consumers who will be riding the bikes, but also for the folks who control the money that can provide the needed infrastructure.

The future health of the cycling industry is very closely pinned to bicycle commuting becoming a viable means for people to get back and forth to home, work and school. The way we live is so different now though and people are living farther and farther away from where they work. We have to help these folks by either providing safe routes for them or by having public/ mass transportation set up that accommodates bicyclists with bike racks and lockers. Roads are congested with cars these days, in most places it seems, and few new cyclists feel comfortable jumping into traffic. Sure, those of us who have been riding for years might not have a problem with it and might even wonder why there is such a fuss about cars, but we are not the future consumers and the key holders of the industry's future- it's the folks who don't already ride or don't think of commuting by bicycle. We have to help create a better riding environment for them.

Every time gas prices jump, some folks within the industry jump up and down and proclaim that the promised boom is now here... and then that boom turns in to a short spike (if anything) and fades away. Sustainable growth in the bike industry is not dependent on gas prices alone. Until US gas prices hit $10.00 per gallon, people are not going to get out of their cars and put their lives at risk to ride a bike to work, the store or school. It is false hope to believe that gas alone can save us.

So, before we start proclaiming that product innovation or gas prices are going to bring the "boom" we all desperately want to see in this wonderful business, we need to donate time and/ or money to our favorite bicycle advocacy group/s- whether it happens to be IMBA, Bikes Belong, your local bike-friendly congressperson or the radicals at Critical Mass.

The future of our industry is in their hands; are you/ we giving them the tools they need to win the fight for us?

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

2007 - The Year of the Bicycle?

2007-01-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

As we say bye-bye to the stale ol’ 2006 and welcome in the shiny, new-car smelling 2007 I wonder if this will be the year of the bicycle. For so many years I have patiently waited for it, but have never seen it.

I feel that 2006 was pretty good for the bike industry. The mainstream press has given more time to bicycles and the bike related products but as gas prices stabilize and winter sets in I wonder if people are going to ride to work less and think about bikes less.

My curiosity has been trying to figure out what the next big thing for the bike industry is. In the late 70’s it was road bikes (thanks Breaking Away) and in the mid 90’s mountain bikes were everywhere. Remember the days when you could make any mountain bike part out of 3D violet anodized aluminum and it would sell like crazy? What is the next trend that will bring that to the bike industry?

I have had the lucky fortune of having worked in both the ski and bike industries and it seems that we are both looking for the same thing. The bike industry has not had a big industry trend since the mountain bike (Razor scooters don’t count) and the ski industry has not seen a large-scale surge since the advent of the snowboard. They have tried to make a push with snow-blades, tele-boards and my favorite non-sport-sport, Nordic Walking. Even with a bit of mainstream press in the NY Times, Nordic Walking is failing miserably in the US. Americans just don’t feel that they should have to buy $50.00 poles to go for a walk.

Fixed geared bikes are gaining in popularity but yearly sales estimates are only about 8,000 units in the US.
Cyclocross? Possibly. If you are serious you have to buy two bikes.
Big-hit bikes? Not likely.
Singlespeed-29er-full suspension with 3.4” tires and disk brakes on the front only? Doubt it!

So, as an industry, what are we doing to bring the next big thing to the market? Is 2007 going to be the year of the bicycle?

End of 2006, here comes 2007!

2006-12-31T08:30:00.000-08:00

I was going to try and go through all the posts and the comments here and try to put together a Best Of for the site and this post, but I admit that I'm too lazy and I couldn't get my act together and compile my favorites. Maybe next year I'll get things moving earlier and involve my other contributors as well. But I ain't promising anything...

2006 has been a wonderful year for me and this site. It's been a little more than a year since the first post here. I had big dreams and modest intentions for this blog; a forum for the cycling industry to come and talk about marketing in the industry, the good and not so good marketing and the various ideas behind it. I also very selfishly wanted to get a chance to collaborate with the folks you see listed on the right side of this site. I consider each of the current contributors friends and will be able to say the same about the new contributors coming on board (more on that in a moment). I can't say that the site has gone exactly as I hoped because the posting hasn't been as often as I hoped- each of us have "day jobs" and other projects were are already working on, so this one has been a side project in our ever-shrinking "free time". However, I am thrilled that readership has stayed strong and many of you have been involved in suggestions for posts and adding to the dialog with your comments. I firmly believe that each of the posts that I or the other contributors put up here are merely the conversation starting point and not the end of the conversation- your input is what really excites me... so thank you!

2007 will hopefully see many great things continue to happen in the cycling industry and the sport itself. Hopefully drug scandals will become a thing of the past (though not likely). Hopefully the market will continue to grow and we'll all get to make a little money. Most importantly to me personally- I hope that we as an industry will continue to talk more to each other and share ideas and work together to grow our industry. By working together, we can accomplish much more than if we fight each other. That's my big, altruistic dream. Oh yeah and that this site becomes a major hub in that unity! That'd be cool.

As I've said recently here, I do plan to get back to more regular posting and to getting back into the core of what this site is about; marketing bicycles or marketing that uses bicycles. With that said, that means I'll be focusing more on advertisements that I like or don't like (including my own again) and discussing what I believe are good marketing strategies and techniques. I don't pretend to have the answers, but I do have ideas and opinions I believe in sharing for discussion with you all. That said, I do still see this site as continuing to evolve as something of a news aggregator, where the writers here continue to dissect and analyze the happenings in the industry and sport. It's just our nature since we are so passionate about all this silliness.

Lastly, but very importantly... the new guys. Our first two new members (whose info will appear in the contributors section very soon) are ready to start playing with the rest of the Krew here and will be bringing some great insights and views on our beloved industry and sport. These two guys bring some great experiences and viewpoints that I am very confident will help to greatly boost the quality of the content here. These two guys will hopefully be joined by a few more aces still hidden up my sleeve, but without further delay...

Meet Phil Gomes; Phil is the author of Spinopsys in Australia. Phil also writes for a political blog there and has contributed to cycling magazines there as well. Phil is also deep in the trenches at a retailer in Sydney. He's got a pretty cool perspective on things and is also a great guy. I had the great pleasure of meeting Phil when I was in Australia in April and I can firmly establish that he is a passionate blogger and cycling nutjob just like me. In his own words, here's Phil's "bio"...

Like many in the bicycle industry, Phil has worked in a number of areas, from retail to distribution and points in between. He's served as a bad mechanic and a good retail manager, unloaded containers, picked and packed orders, worked inside sales and outside as a road warrior, more recently he can be found on the floor at Woolys Wheels, one of Australia's finest bicycle retailers.

Phil also blogs about cycling at Spinopsys.com. wears glasses, has an ironic tattoo sports two earrings, hates driving and likes long walks on the beach under moonlight with that special someone...............Jeebus I'm really bad at this.........It's hard pimping myself......are we dating yet?

I think that covers it all pretty nicely!

Next up is Jeff Rowe; Jeff is a friend of mine here in San Diego, but to dispel any thoughts of cronyism, he's also a damned good writer and journalistic sleuth... and the buyer for a major retailer here. I've known Jeff for a few years and met him through a mutual friend. As I got to know him I realized that we are kindred spirits with very similar leanings in many areas. Jeff is a startlingly funny guy and also has a gigantic heart. I am very confident he will add great commentary here and I am really looking forward to his posts. Jeff is also a reluctant blogger, so he'll have some interesting things to offer and an unique perspective (similar to Donna who was not a big fan of blogging in the beginning). Here's a little background on Jeff as well...

SDSU Journalism/Advertising BA in 1987.

London Bike Messenger 1987 - 1998

Dublin Bike Messenger 1998 - 2002

Retailer 2002 to Present - Currently Buyer at B&L Bike and Sports in San Diego.

Though Jeff offered up a neat and tidy bio here, I can assure you that he can string together some great words and commentary... and he's not one for pulling punches, so this should be pretty darned entertaining. Plus, with all that messenger experience in London and Dublin, I'm sure he's got some great stories to tell and Donna has already requested one about how the industry's marketing approach to messenger-types does or doesn't work. (So there's your first assignment Jeff!)

I hope that all of you will help me welcome Phil and Jeff to the Krew and I know that they will both prove to be great additions to the family. I also want to thank them both for accepting the invite to come play here; thank you guys.

Again, thank you to all of you readers, new and old, who have joined in the conversation. I sincerely thank each and every one of you for coming here and reading what is being said. I look forward to being here in 2007 doing great things and watching what unfolds.

Thank you all for your support and readership.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Book Club?

2006-12-30T21:03:00.000-08:00

You read that right... Book Club.

I am happy to be a member of the Marketing Profs Daily Fix Book Club (brought to you by CK). This book club reads and then discusses great marketing books. The first book to be covered is the new book by Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell called Citizen Marketers- When People are the Message.

So far I'm only about 3 or 4 chapters into the book and I can really and truly say that it is worth reading. Hell, goofy as it may sound, I was hooked by the end of the introduction. Ben and Jackie do a great job with their writing and with turning their research into compelling stories that solidify their ideas. As a writer myself, I know how hard that is to do. I'm not gonna give anything away here, so you'll just have to wait for the group discussion to take place over at the Daily Fix.

Why am I talking about a book on a bicycle industry marketing site? Well, because it is a marketing book and it has some very important things in it that apply to marketing in the bicycle industry. Bike companies should read this book! Social media is taking the world by storm right now, I mean... social media and the people who create the content made the cover of TIME as Person of the Year. That means that many people who ride bicycles or might one day soon are using social media at an ever increasing rate. The cycling industry absolutely has to get out of the dark ages and go out and reach these people, these consumers, these passionate users.
Bike Companies; go out and buy this book! I'm not going to tell you again...

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Z-Listers Unite!

2006-12-21T21:08:00.000-08:00

My good friend (and fellow 'Bama boy) Mack Collier started a fantastic blog meme listing great and little known (in some cases) blogs. The list is largely marketing-type blogs, so I am posting the list here so that everybody can get to know these great blogs. I know many of them, but there are many more that I had never seen before and it will take me a while to get to know them.

So, without delay, here's the list for your review and discovery. The point is to take the list and post it on your own blog and add your own favorites. However, for me, all my favorite marketing blogs are already on the list. If I think of anybody new to add, I will;

Creative Think
Soloride
Movie Marketing Madness
Blog Till You Drop!
Get Shouty!
One Reader at a Time
Critical Fluff
The New PR
Own Your Brand!
OTOInsights
bizandbuzz
Work, in Plain English
Buzz Canuck
New Millenium PR
Pardon My French
Troy Worman's Blog
The Instigator Blog
AENDirect
Diva Marketing
Marketing Hipster
The Marketing Minute
Funny Business
The Frager Factor
Mindblob
Open The Dialogue
Word Sell
Note to CMO:
That's Great Marketing!
Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim
Pow! Right Between The Eyes! Andy Nulman’s Blog About Surprise
Billions With Zero Knowledge
Working at Home on the Internet
MapleLeaf 2.0
darrenbarefoot.com
Two Hat Marketing
The Engaging Brand
The Branding Blog
CrapHammer
Drew's Marketing Minute
Golden Practices
Viaspire
Tell Ten Friends
Flooring the Consumer
Kinetic Ideas
Unconventional Thinking
Buzzoodle
Conversation Agent
The Copywriting Maven
Hee-Haw Marketing
Scott Burkett's Pothole on the Infobahn
Multi-Cult Classics
Logic + Emotion
Branding & Marketing
Popcorn n Roses
On Influence & Automation
Bullshitobserver
Servant of Chaos
converstations
eSoup
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
John Wagner
Nick Rice
CKs Blog
Design Sojourn
Frozen Puck
The Sartorialist
Small Surfaces
Africa Unchained
Perspective
gDiapers
Marketing Nirvana
Bob Sutton
¡Hola! Oi! Hi!
Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!
Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together
Community Guy
Social Media on the fly
Jeremy Latham’s Blog
SMogger Social Media Blog
Masey.com

Special thanks to Mack for getting this started and for adding so much to the conversation.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Holiday Cards - what's your take?

2006-12-19T03:58:00.000-08:00

As Tim mentioned, I've joined The Spokesmen podcast. It's a great collaboration of bike industry related folks talking about everything under the sun bike related. Although I said "um" about, oh, a million times, it was a great conversation and I look forward to doing another one come January (minus the 'ums').

The draw for me with this group of people isn't only the podcast, but the conversations that we have between podcasts. Sure, we talk about the subjects for the next podcast, but we also have started to form friendships with those that we didn't know prior and strengthen relationships of those we already knew. The podcast is an 'excuse' for us to have conversations offline.

One of the conversations that started this week is timely - holiday cards. Personally, I love 'em. They are my favorite part of the holiday season. Although I am conscious of the environment and how we can best help preserve it (I recycle, turn off lights in rooms I'm not in etc. etc), I will always send holiday cards - yes, the old fashioned ones that are written out and mailed.

The discussion started offline is whether or not holiday cards are a thing of the past or not. For example, a few years ago Shimano stopped sending cards and used the money they would have used for cards as a donation to a charity. I don't know if they still do that, but that is a good idea - then everyone can feel as though they have given back in some way without even moving from their desk! Shimano did all the 'work' for them.

Now, I don't know if they sent holiday cards, too, or not, but Specialized used their website to send a big 'happy holidays' to everyone, customers, associates and just, simply the curious, with their online holiday greeting - The Nutcracker Suite played on all bike parts. It's pretty amazing.

What do I do? I send holiday cards with personalized notes to everyone. This year the notes weren't long - some simply said "Happy Holidays" and my signature because we didn't get them in (printer error and snafu!) until last Thursday and they needed to go out. I needed to write out over 150 in one day. So, a short greeting, but personalized nonetheless. I wouldn't have it any other way. I like doing it and, I think, most people like getting them.

What is your thought? I've heard from one of my fellow Spokesmen that holiday cards are ok, if they are personalized, not just sent randomly with either just the company name printed and no signature or the bunch of signatures and no personalization. You know, you've all got them sitting in your office - you open the card and there is the pre-printed greeting and the 10 signatures of the people you work with at the company. But, is your name written in at the top corner of the card? Probably not. I'm ok with that - I think it is nice to be thought about at all - but some people would rather it be more personalized.

Now, do I remember the cards that are personalized a little more than the group of signatures - absolutely. But do I fault those that don't - with the time limitations we all have these days, no way. However, I do agree that the completely pre-printed cards with no signatures are lacking a little bit. Hey, if I can get out over 150 in one day/night, with envelopes handwritten, too (in green ink, of course!), you can sign your name over and over on some cards. Think of it as your one day to be a rock star, giving your autograph to everyone around the world!

So, what is your thought on the whole Holiday Card issue? Send 'em traditionally? Use new media to send your greeting? Don't send 'em at all? Let us know. 'tis the season, after all.

And with that, because I can't possibly know all of YOU as well as Time Magazine does.....I'll use this venue to wish each of our readers a happy, healthy holiday season and a new year filled with great riding days (and the time to go out and enjoy them!).

Happy Holidays one and all!

Spokesmen/ Spokespeople Podcast;

2006-12-18T21:33:00.000-08:00

I usually post a link to the Spokesmen podcast on my other blog, but since the Spokesmen now contains myself, Tim Grahl (sadly absent for the last podcast) and now Donna Tocci I felt it relevant to post the link to the most recent episode here... besides I needed to post something here and I'm staring at a bad case of writer's block at the moment. It's pretty cool to me that three of us are all contributors here and members of the Spokesmen/ Spokespeople show... makes me pretty proud of what we've accomplished here. Maybe a Kool-Aid Krew podcast is on the horizon?

Actually, the Spokesmen is a project I've only been working on for a few episodes now (episodes 6-9). Tim has been working on it for longer than I have and Donna just joined as of the last episode. However, the project is the brainchild of David Bernstein of The FredCast and also has Carlton Reid of BikeBiz (among other things). There are other contributors who participate as well but David and Carlton have been on the show from the very first episode and are the glue that holds it together.

If you've never listened to an episode before, I strongly encourage you to give it a try. All the Kool Kids are doing it...

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser
(PS- more real, fresh content coming soon, along with more interviews.)

Congratulations Chris Lesser!

2006-12-06T22:30:00.000-08:00

Our very own Chris Lesser has just landed a job with BIKE Magazine as new Associate Editor/ Gear Editor.

Here's the scoop- via BRaIN;

Former BRAIN Staffer Chris Lesser Joins Bike Magazine DECEMBER 06, 2006 -- DANA POINT, CA (BRAIN)--Bike magazine named Chris Lesser its new associate editor/gear editor. Lesser's main duties at the magazine will include overseeing its gear coverage and working with in-house and freelance product testers, all the while staying on top of product trends.

“Bike’s editorial tone and focus has always appealed to me and I'm looking forward to helping put out what I think is the best magazine in the industry," Lesser said.

Lesser brings with him several years of experience in the bike industry. Most recently, he worked as an associate editor at Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, where he covered new product as well as the latest industry news. Prior to BRAIN, Lesser worked as a mechanic in a number of shops, including North Star Cyclery and Earl's Cyclery and Fitness—both in Burlington, Vermont—and Cutting Edge, a multi-sport specialty shop in Berlin, Connecticut.

Lesser graduated from the University of Vermont in 2002 with a bachelor’s in political science. In addition to his time at BRAIN, his journalism experience includes a stint at the Columbia Journalism Review, a publication of Columbia University's graduate school of journalism based in New York City. He also has worked as a freelancer for several publications.

Lesser will handle all new product submissions, as well as long-term gear reviews. He can be reached by phone at (949) 661-5185, or by email at chris.lesser@primedia.com.

I've known Chris for about two years now and have had on and off contact with him and was supremely happy when he reluctantly agreed to join us here at the Krew. Due to his "real" job, Chris will likely be posting very infrequently, but I promised to keep his seat warm for him. I consider Chris a friend as much as an indsutry wanker and am really happy for his new role and I know that he will do it exceptionally well. Makes me wish I made products he could test...

Lesser; I'm proud of you and very happy for you. Now stop slackin' and start postin'!

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

My Addiction

2006-11-28T15:03:00.000-08:00

We need to start BA – Bike-a-holics Anonymous

Hi. I’m Karl and I am a bike-a-holic!
There, I said it!

Finally, it is out in the open. Phew, it feels good to get that off my chest. The good thing is that I know I am not the only one out there with this problem. This year was the first time I actually got to walk around the Interbike show for 2 ½ days. In my prior years I was hand-cuffed to my booth with a line of people three deep trying to work some kind of deal or score something for free.

This year was not a good year for my addiction. Ever since I got home from the show all I could think about was a few super cool bikes and how I needed to find some way to get them. I even wondered if theVW commercial technique would work. You know, the one where the guys licksthe car-door-handle and stands there proudly with his arms folded as if he is saying, “This is mine”.

I am a bit of a simplistic bike person. I like single-speeds, hardtails, steel and anything with S&S. That is why I had Michael at Spot build me a steel single-speed with S&S. It is one of the most beautiful creations ever.

2007 seems like a great vintage for bikes. Some things that jumped out to me are the new line of super inexpensive SE Single-speeds (with names like Draft,Lager and Stout), Masi’s new Speciale Fixed (drool) and cross bike (nice job Tim), that one-off Indy Fab 1986 lookin’ bmx bike, any of the Felt cruisers, and anything from Salsa or Van Dessel.

Those are my favorites of 2007, what are some of yours?

Eurobike bait-and-switch

2006-11-28T04:28:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or did this whole Euro-portland thing seem sketchy? I'm starting to wonder if their plan all along was to announce doing the show just to gauge the reaction from both Interbike and the bike industry at large.

Knowing a bit about what goes into putting on large events (I used to work for a company that put on 10 - 15 conferences a year), the idea that they could put together an Interbike type show in 11 months was pretty ludicrous. Now we see that they are partnering with Sea Otter and forgoing the September show. I think this (or something similar) was their plan all along.

It makes sense from a shady-business point of view... announce the show then sit back and keep their eyes on cycling news wires and blogs to catch the reaction. All of the feedback we gave here and other places allow them to plan their real moves.

It'll be interesting to see their future decisions. Will they stick with Sea Otter? Maybe do a show on the East Coast instead? Or actually have the gumption to do a September show in the West as direct competition?

Either way I'm gonna remember these latest moves by the Eurobike crew. They are either a) incredibly dimwitted in thinking doing another show in September in Portland was a good idea and then retracted it after the blowback or b) trying to be very shrewd in getting information by getting everybody all riled up.

My guess is 'b' and it definitely puts a bad taste in my mouth for future stuff they try to do.

What do you think? Were they serious with the original release or just testing the waters? And what's your view of them now?

Tim Grahl
Quasi Kool-Aid Dispenser

Eurobike Portland Dead?

2006-11-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

Well, the perceived inevitable has been confirmed today that Eurobike is at least temporarily pulling the plug on their proposed new US tradeshow in Portland.

Many of us in the industry have felt this was the likely outcome due to the silence and damned near disappearance of Eurobike after their initial announcement of the new-show-to-be. At face value, this would seem to indicate that Sea Otter will be one hell of a race and expo next year.

I still believe that Portland is a fantastic city for such a tradeshow, in one format or another (industry only or industry and consumer), but maintain that having that show during the same month as so many other events is not going to actually help the industry. If helping the growth of the industry is truly what Eurobike is seeking, then maybe they simply read enough of the concerns being voiced and decided to yield to trying to perfect the scheduling. Maybe...

Many of us complain in one way or another about Interbike and Las Vegas, but truth be told, it ends up serving us (the industry) really well. We get a great location for the Dirt Demo, we get a big Expo venue and tons of supporting infrastructure. Yes, the Teamsters and the Sands Convention Center can leave a bad taste in your mouth. The casinos and massive doses of cigarette smoke are really pretty gross. The city is not exactly bike friendly and riding each day can be a lot like pointing a loaded gun to your head. Still, all of those things considered, the show goes off each year and we all get to celebrate what our industry is all about; great products, great people and great fun. Would I prefer the show to be somewhere else? Yeah, probably I would, but even if the show stays where it is and stays how it is, I'm going to keep going and celebrating the industry I love so much. Let's face it, Anaheim sucked and we were pretty happy to get out of there. Hell, I live just two hours from Anaheim and I prefer Las Vegas. Would somewhere in Colorado be cool? Hell yes! But when and where? Weather can get ugly quick and where would you have the Expo? I honestly don't know the answers to that one. How about a rotating show location? That might be cool, but then you can't get good contracts for the expo hall. They like multi-year deals, so one year deals would mean higher costs and make it harder to get the venue when you rotate back through.

There are so many things to consider, outside of our emotional favorites. The business of a major tradeshow is very complicated. I welcome what Eurobike says they want to do and I believe more than one major tradeshow can exist here. We'll see if it gets worked out for 2008 I guess.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

My rant on web stats

2006-11-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

Since I sell advertising on the Crooked Cog sites I’m inevitably going to be asked for my web stats. Here’s my problem with that… they are all crap!

Just so you know the background I’m coming from... I have a degree in computer science (programming) and have been doing nothing but building/maintaining websites and web applications since I graduated. I have a good bit of experience in measuring sites and have dealt with dozens and dozens of sites in many different capacities.

Here’s the dirty secret very few people will tell you that are “in the know”… nobody really has a clue how many people are coming to their site. Sure you can get software that tracks that sort of thing and there are literally hundreds of different products out there that can be used, and they all GIVE DIFFERENT NUMBERS. And we aren’t talking small differences, we are talking differences of hundreds of percentage.

Two popular statistics programs that I use are Google Analytics (used to be called Urchin Stats) and Webalizer. The difference in their October numbers for www.TwentyNineInches.com is exactly 525.69% (Webalizer being the higher one).

WTF?

Exactly!

If the math is a little to much for you, it’s like the difference between getting paid $30,000 a year and $157,707 a year. I don’t know about you, but that would probably change my standard of living a bit.

So a 525.69% difference between two very popular web stats software packages. You’re probably wondering how this can be and there’s a whole lot of technical stuff that goes into it. Tracking the differences between google bots hitting your site for their search engine and a real person visiting. And the differences between one person only getting counted as one visit even if he visits every day, or getting counted as a new visit every 30 mins. Those are just a couple of examples. My gut feeling is that Google Analytics (the lower numbers) is closer to the truth.

But here’s my moral conundrum… when Marketing Guy from Company A asks for my web stats, I know he’s comparing it to the stats of other websites to see if my prices are to high. Marketing Guy obviously can’t tell me what numbers are coming from what sites, and my guess is that he doesn’t even know to ask what web stats software he is using. So what numbers do I give? The bloated numbers from Webalizer or the closer-to-the-truth lower numbers? I feel like I should give him the number I believe to be more on target, however he will, through no fault of his own, ignorantly compare those numbers to the stats from another website, stats that could very well be pulled from something like Webalizer.

So what do I do at this point? Seriously… I’m open for suggestions. Recently I’ve been trying to focus on the impact of my sites, but if I dodge the web stats question it’s gonna sound shady. Then at that point what do I tell him? Both numbers and try to give him an explanation? Not exactly something I want to be explaining on the phone when I’m trying to sell advertising.

I’m at a loss at this point, but I can tell you that web stats are crap and nobody should be divvying up their marketing budget based solely on these numbers.

reposted at www.crookedcog.com

Happy Birthday Kool-Aid Krew!

2006-11-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

It was a year ago today that I put the first post of this blog together. A simple little announcement that a new, mouthy kid was on the block to spout off about the bicycle industry and marketing related to cycling. In the space of this past year, the site has had ups and downs and lots of great dialogs- even if the posting has been very sporadic.

When I first started this project, it was just me, but I had the idea of a group blog from the very beginning because I felt it would have greater credibility to the industry itself if it was made of more than just my one opinion. I have no shortage of opinions, but I believe a diverse array of voices will better serve the industry I love so much. From the beginning, this project was targeted at the industry itself, but with an open forum that would be available to the general public. It was my belief then, and still is now, that this type of discussion and dialog will help to draw more people in to what we as an industry are thinking and doing- hopefully growing more interest and further growth for the business of cycling.

I am very proud of what has happened here so far and I am very excited about what I hope will be the future of this site. Things will only get better from here on out. A few of the early contributors have left due to busy schedules and a desire to focus on their core work. However, in their absence, some new voices will be joining us. I'm very excited to say that the dialog and conversation here will continue to expand and enlighten. All of the people whose names have been and are still on the right hand side of this blog are great people who I am very happy to get to collaborate with on this project. Though I started this thing and have given myself the koolest title, each of these folks are as important to the success of this site as I am. It is truly a group thing.

In the past we've had some great interviews and that will happen again. I will be searching for some great conversations and have a few lined up already, so be prepared. If you have suggestions and contacts, please feel free to submit them to me (tjackson at masibikes dot com). Though this site was not intended to serve as a news source, since I feel there are others who do that far better than us, news will continue to creep into the posts here. Analysis of the big stories in the industry will continue to evolve here and hopefully more discussion from other members of the industry. We have a great readership of folks within the cycling industry and I am going to continue to beg and plead for those readers to comment and add to the dialog here- your voice is what makes this worthwhile.

As an industry, we've managed to survive another year almost- doping scandals, tradeshow buzz, etc, etc. Too many things to even begin to try and list in depth, but in the end our tiny little voice continues to cry out. We may be a small industry in the grander sense of things, but I feel that we represent some of the greatest and brightest folks around. I am very passionate about what I get to do for a living. I love my job, I love my industry and I love the sport and lifestyle of cycling. I've stayed in this business for the better part of 25 years now. It's really the only thing I actually know anything about. It has kept me in its grip because of the people I have met along the way- many of those people are readers of this site or hopefully will be one day.

Bicycle sales in the US continue to do their usual rollercoaster ride with some categories up, some down and the overall market currently up a little under 10% year to date. I personally believe that the industry as a whole should continue to grow (and I really hope I'm right), so we'll continue to be less and less marginalized as we represent more dollars and more people continue to view cycling as a legitimate part of life, rather than just expensive toys.

So I hope you'll continue to stop by and take a look at what is happening over here. We're going to keep doing our thing and hopefully continue to improve on it as well. The site will get some updating, new contributors will be added, little tweaks will be happening. But most importantly, we're going to keep trying to further develop a place for the bicycle industry and the outside world to get a chance to talk to each other.

For the entire Krew here- thank you for making this one year mark possible. We'll try to make it to two with your help.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Happy Birthday to us!

2006-11-20T04:26:00.000-08:00

So, it was 1 year ago today that Tim Jackson started the Krew and posted the first post to get the party started. Since then, it's been a wonderful, crazy ride. We've been thrilled and humbled with the response to the site and appreciate that you keep coming back for more even when life gets in the way and we don't post as often as we'd like to or should.

Thanks to Tim for keeping the site going when some of us slackers can't! You are truly the Chief Dispenser!

Thanks to all of you readers for coming back whenever we post something new and jumping into a conversation with us.

We look forward to year 2 and will do our very best to post more meaningful posts more frequently. Now....where's the cake??

Thanks for stopping by.

Eurobike Portland AWOL?

2006-11-17T22:17:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Maus over at Bike Portland has an excellent post up right now about the incredible disappearing act done by the folks over at Eurobike Portland.

Jon brings up excellent points about the fact that the folks at Eurobike have not managed to put forth any additional information or answer calls and/ or emails seeking more information.

So far, nobody knows when, where or even if the event is going to be held. From the folks in the industry I have spoken to, there are many doubts that the event will be taking place. So far, the near consensus seems to be that Eurobike either got ahead of themselves and released information before they were actually ready to, or, the more commonly held belief, they were simply floating the idea to see what the response would be and if they actually could or should attempt the show.

Industry folks who read this site- you know who you are- I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this. At the moment, nothing exists but an announcement and lots of speculation. What's the deal?

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

More Masi ads

2006-11-17T22:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I shared the Masi magazine ads and the reasoning behind them. At least two ads have managed to escape the scrutiny of this audience... so without further delay;

This was the highlight of our season of ads. The perfect alignment of photo, design, rider, race, conditions... everything you need to create that one ad that you are really proud of. Scott Goguen of the Canadian pro Masi-Adobe team won the infamous Harris-Roubaix race in British Columbia during insane weather conditions. The team rode perfectly to deliver him to the line for the perfect victory and the genesis of the perfect ad. Paul Deschantes took the perfect photograph and our very own Rick Ortiz (who created all of these ads) gave the picture the perfect treatment. After a few days of laboring over the copy for the ad, Rick popped the text into a rough draft of the ad and we all fell in love with it.

I don't know what we'll have to do to beat this ad. It was simply perfect and was one of the very best ads I saw all year- regardless of the company.

This ad was to celebrate the season we had with Abercrombie & Fitch/ Inferno and team rider Mark Hekman. At the time the ad was done, Mark was the top Elite Amateur in the the US in the criterium race standings, with what was an unbeatable lead in the points standings... until he crashed on a training ride and broke his arm and missed the last several races, losing the title after all.

Though it was a major disappointment to lose the #1 spot, Mark and the team were fantastic to work with and we will be working with them again in 2007. The team has been strengthened, so we should have even more to talk about in our advertising for the coming season. In light of all of the drug scandals in cycling this year, many companies are rethinking their support of racing. For me and Masi, the scandals don't really matter that much since our team isn't racing in Europe and the US domestic pro scene is considered to be far cleaner than Europe. The relationship with the team and how seamlessly they support our marketing efforts, is a natural fit still. So as the ad says, "here's to an even better '07".

This one is pretty easy to understand; new cyclocross bike = new ad for the current winter magazine. The text is simple and points to the pride we have in this bike. I confess to being very biased and totally unobjective, but the bike really is great riding and great looking. That's what we're trying to say here with some simple text. (The missing photo credit in the ad should point to Kevin Conners, who is actually one of our sales people as well as one of our photographers. He shot all of the action/ lifestyle pictures used in the new Masi catalog.)
I've mentioned before that I always struggle with the copy for our ads. I have such a tendency to come up with several paragraphs of copy for a simple ad... except for on those days when I just want to run the picture of the bike and no copy at all. I really can't seem to find that middle ground without going through a couple days of painful headbanging. You can always tell when the ad deadlines are coming up because my forehead is red from banging my head against my desk!

The thing all of these ads share is a desire to keep the look very simple and similar. From the first ad a year ago up to the current ad, the ads have evolved around a simple design element of "black space". Specialized has been very effective with this theme as well in their magazine ads over the past few years. The plan is to keep up with this theme for the time being... but when something amazing strikes, we'll jump on that.

So there you go. You're now up to date on the ads this year. Stay tuned as we keep plugging away and as always, your feedback on the ads above is welcome.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Marketing and blogs.

2006-11-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

One of my best new friends is the inimitable CK (Christina Kerley). CK is one of the smartest, savviest and most sincere marketing people I have yet to meet. She's in great company with folks I "know" like Toby, Mack, Ann, Lewis, David, Paul and several others.

A few months back, she posed a question to her fellow marketers/ marketing professionals (and then me) about the one single thing of greatest value they receive from blogging. She asked this question of a group of really passionate and intelligent people (and also me) and waited patiently for their replies to roll in and then waited for the right time to spring this on them (and me).

This chart should be a cornerstone for anybody thinking of blogging for business (and anybody thinking of blogging for personal benefit too). As so many other people who are much smarter than me have already pointed out, this chart helps to point out and illustrate that not all marketers are soulless fiends out to empty your wallets. It also shines a light on the amazing humanity present in these fine folks that I get to call "peers"- even if I don't deserve to.

So I hope you'll take a minute or two to take a look at this great collage and see just how cool marketing and marketers can be. We have a lot to be proud of.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Portland Eurobike Newsflash!

2006-11-09T15:48:00.000-08:00

I just got off the phone a moment ago with Jennifer Nolfi from the Portland Development Commission. I met Jennifer and a few other folks involved with Portland's attempts to actively court the cycling industry to move their businesses to the Portland area. They have done a great job of embracing the strength of their city's support for cycling and are working to bring more members of our industry to Portland- to join companies like Chris King who made the move years ago.

Anyway, Jennifer called me to make a point of clarification about the recent announcement of the Portland Eurobike show. There have been news items linking "Portland officials" to the announcement. Jennifer wanted to make it clear that she and the PDC group were in no way involved. Her concern stems over the fact that she and other representatives of the Portland city and business commission were graciously introduced to many members of the cycling industry during Interbike and allowed to be a part of the great energy of the show. She wanted to make it clear that she and the others were not there on a mission to try and court the industry for the newly announced Portland tradeshow. She and the others were there specifically to try to sway companies to permanently move their businesses to Portland, not visit for a week for a tradeshow.

According to Jennifer, she and the others knew nothing of the plans that were cooking. A Portland tourism group was involved, but not Jennifer and the PDC.

Thank you Jennifer for making that clarification. I, for one, had not made the connection to her and her group, but I could see how some would or could. I had a wonderful time talking to her during the show in Vegas and look forward to talking to her agin some time. She sent a kick ass care package with information about business incentives in Portland... that just happened to include a fantasmic dark chocolate candy bar made in Portland by a local company. Very smart marketing indeed...

Thanks again to Jennifer for helping to set the record straight about the recent developments that have garnered so much attention.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Ibis Cycles Relaunches Website

2006-11-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

With all the EuroPortland news this week some other bike industry news got glossed over a little bit. It's understandable since EuroPortland is big, big news. But something else that caught my eye was the relaunch of the Ibis Cycles website.

I'm not a big bike geek, as I've mentioned before, and I'll never pretend that I am. However, I do know a little bit about marketing - at least I like to think that I do. My opinion? I like the site. A lot. Seriously, anything that has Popeye on it is ok with me.

The site shows that not only is this a bike company, and seemingly a good one, but a fun company. The site shows all of their products and is very functional showing styles, sizing information, clear, crisp photos and answers most of the questions you'd ask about a bike.

It also uses some fun images for sections; dollar bills for 'buy' and a hammer for 'tech' to name a couple. This shows this company knows that when you are out on your bike you are having more fun than you are when you are on your computer or at work. They are selling a lifestyle, not just an object. It shows on the site. They aren't trying to hit you over the head with 'we know bikes because we ride constantly and all our friends ride and it's all about riding, riding, riding'. They know their product and they know the lifestyle you want and they show that on this new site.

There is also a section for "Chuck Spew", a 'not blog' (that really is a blog) from founder Scot Nichol. The name alone makes me chuckle. It's a good place to learn what is going on at a bike company and illustrates what the company is doing and where the people go with some nice photography.

Can you tell that I like this site? I like the feeling I get when I'm there. I don't need to be a bike geek to enjoy the site and learn from it. That's a good thing. They have pulled me in. I want to know more - isn't that the goal of a website? To get someone who is a potential customer to poke around the site without being intimidated by all the techie stuff? You want to give that person a good feeling and eventually leave the site with a feeling of a lifestyle that is obtainable.

Mission accomplished, Ibis.

Oh, so where's Popeye? Go on over to the site and find him yourself - it's a fun place to be.

Just my thoughts on this Sunday evening in New England.

Thank you DirtRag!

2006-11-03T22:39:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take a quick moment to thank my new friend Michael Browne at DirtRag for mentioning this site in his Brain Fart web article. In his article, he lists this sleepy little site in his Top 5 Blogs to read. Thanks man!

More importantly, I wanted to give Michael and DirtRag support for considering beginning a blog for DirtRag. It may or may not happen, but it is obviously something that I would fully support. If you have an opinion, cruise on over to the DirtRag site and drop Michael a little note expressing your thoughts.

And Michael, if you read this- thanks again... and start blogging!

Tim Jackson
Cheif Kool-Aid Dispenser

Eurobike Portland vs Interbike; Part Two

2006-11-01T23:22:00.000-08:00

Because this topic merits further open discussion and because I didn't want my incredible insights and commentary getting buried in the comments (or allowing Donna to steal all the glory), I am writing this additional post about the recent developments regarding the soon to be Eurobike Portland.

This has been pretty much the biggest news in the bike industry in quite some time now. You can read about it more here, here, here, here, here and here- among other places. Each of these give some pretty great coverage to the issue and the comments that follow some of these posts are really pretty cool. Lots of great discussion going on over this topic.

Here is my take on the whole thing and I encourage other industry folks to chime in with an opinion- please! If not here, then somewhere- Interbike Times is a great place to go say something;

First, I really do have to give Donna a tip of the cycling cap for her post because she covers a lot of great questions/ considerations.

I personally love Portland and I've never even been there. One of the highlights of Interbike for me this year was meeting with representatives from the Portland Development Commission. Chris DiStefano from Chris King brought them by to talk to me about their plans to actively court the cycling industry to move to Portland. I was floored by their generosity and energy. If I could move Masi to Portland, I certainly would. Portland rocks. However, a personal love for the city can not cloud the business decisions we all have to make. Eurobike Portland, from what we know so far, is just scheduled at the wrong time. As Donna points out, with the creation of this show, I would potentially be traveling to Canada for their show, Portland for their show and then Vegas for the "big" show (no Eurobike for me as I can not currently sell into Europe due to a trademark dispute). Now, some folks would have to decide if they were going to patronize all four shows or carve it down to 1, 2 or 3. This schedule conflict is not created by the city of Portland and it's cycling community (quite possibly the very best in the US), so the city and PDC should not be held responsible for this issue.

Vegas and Interbike, for all of the issues many people have with it, is still the premier show on the calendar. Eurobike is sooner in the year, so it serves as the global launch for many new widgets, but Interbike is still pretty widely considered the Belle of the ball. Yes, it costs us all way too damned much to attend each year. Yes, the Union workers we deal with are frequently less than stellar. The past two years my parent company, Haro Bicycles, has had bikes stolen out of the booths during the night while the booths were being "watched" by security. BUT... the show is still the biggest and bestest show in the country and has beaten away all other contenders for the title over the past 25 years- that means something. Vegas, warts and all, still houses an immense infrastructure to handle an event the size of Interbike. There is a reason that Las Vegas is the tradeshow capitol of the US (if not the world)- rooms, restaurants, transportation, entertainment. It's all there. Yes, it all smells like cigarette smoke and riding your bike on the streets of Las Vegas is like playing with a loaded gun. BUT... then there is Dirt Demo, which has become more important to many exhibitors than the expo itself. Demo has become huge and has replaced the energy that was once so strong on the floor of the expo. We all know that the expo has almost nothing to do with "business" anymore and almost nobody actually writes orders for product while at the show. Now, the expo is for thanking our customers for their support, seeing friends and networking. For a small brand like mine, the expo is still important- even though I don't write orders either- because I need to get the bikes under the noses of as many potential customers as possible. Is Vegas perfect? Not by a long shot, but in 25 years, Interbike has become the defacto "must do" event of the year for the bulk of the industry. Trek, Specialized, Giant and a few other folks do their own regional shows long before Vegas and have all but stopped coming to the show (though Trek was absent in 2005 they had a presence at Demo this year, but still no tradeshow booth during the expo) and many of their retailers who are very deeply invested in them have also stopped coming to the show because there is nothing "new" for them to look at (Hello... come see Masi then!)

As a manufacturer, I can't imagine traveling to 4 tradeshows in the month of September and my wife would kill me if I did. David Roth brought up an interesting point in his comments on Donna's post about some companies already doing this in Europe and then traveling here. The thing to keep in mind in those situations is that most (maybe not all) of those companies are actually working with regional/ national distributors and not actually carrying the entire expense or the burden of staffing and attending the shows. The distributor for that country or region usually pays for the booth space and mans it with their own staff. Some representatives from the "home office" might visit and help to present the line/s, but the ultimate burden usually rests on the shoulders of the distributor. For small guys like me, I'd get slaughtered if I tried. Fortunately for me, my distributor in Canada (Norco) handles their show (BTAC) and all I do is show up and look pretty with the bikes. Same thing for Australia (PacBrands)- the distributor handles this all for me and I just bring my funny American accent.

Speaking of Australia... as Phil points out in his post, Australia's cycling market is under-served by it's tradeshow and could certainly use the help of Eurobike or some other source (though I have offered my services for this, my phone has not been ringing). Markets like the Australian one face unique challenges that really need to be addressed by the industry, globally. If more vendors/ suppliers/ manufacturers and exhibit promoters do not help the market out, it will only shrink. As a global cycling community, we need to be searching for ways to grow markets like Australia. It'll never be the biggest market in the world, dollar-wise, but it can certainly perform better with our help.

Overall, I invite the possibility of another major tradeshow in the US, but I'd like to see a better date on the calendar and, as much as I love Portland, something on the East coast would serve the overall US market better- rather than another show on the West coast.

So now back to the banter. What are your thoughts? Please don't be bashful- chime in. (Raleigh Reed, I'm talking to you my friend. Nice new catalog by the way...)

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Eurobike in Portland, Oregon?

2006-10-30T16:08:00.000-08:00

One of the first things I saw this morning was a story on Bike Europe's website titled, "Eurobike Gets Sister Bike Tradeshow in US". Excuse me? As far as I know this isn't an April Fool's Day joke because later in the day Bicycle Retailer & Industry News broke even more of the story, "Eurobike Makes Move to U.S. Market To Challenge Interbike."

So, this show is to shake up the trade show scene a little bit and compete with Interbike, right? I'm all for healthy competition. However, they are saying the show will be in a to-be-determined set of dates in September. Seriously? Potential exhibitors have at least three shows that month already. Eurobike (largest bike tradeshow in Europe), Cycle Expo (Canada), and Interbike. I know that the point may be to shut down Interbike, but let's be realistic, it isn't going to happen in a year or two or even five. What happens in the mean time?

Manufacturers/exhibitors
Do you do four shows? That's a strain on personnel, not to mention finances. C'mon, we all have budgets. It's more travel costs. Hotel costs. Food costs. Shipping costs. Booth space costs. Schwag costs. Time out of the office. More marketing dollars (graphics, catalogs). More booth building costs (space configurations may be different in each location). And the personnel - you can only be in so many places at once and only be away from home so long before you get miserable and aren't that good at your job. Even our fabulous Masiguy would get a little tired of all the arm flailing if he had to do 4 major shows in a month, right?

Dealers
Will dealers go to both? Because, let's face it, unless there is some killer incentive, dealers need to go to Interbike to see the manufacturers. Not all will go to Portland in the first year or two or maybe ever. Dealers are, for the most part, small operations. Will US dealers be able to be short staffed twice in the month? Will they be able to afford it? I don't see that happening. So they will have to choose. Could it be that they'd have to choose between seeing some manufacturers over others as some prefer EuroPortland* and some prefer Interbike? Who is that benefitting?
*EuroPortland is my made-up name for the show until it has one of its own.

Location #1
Portland, Oregon. Been there once and remember it to be a fantastic, lovely city that I'd enjoy going back to anytime. Great alternative city, lifestyle-wise, to Vegas for the bicycle industry. However, as much as some of us complain about it (ok, I do....I don't enjoy being dehydrated from the second I step off the plane...and all the smoke in the casinos -gasp!), really...how many of us spend much time outside? Would we spend time outside in Portland? It's a trade show....most of the time is inside (except dirt demo) on the show floow and then at restaurants or events.

Can Portland handle an event the size of Interbike? Because that is the goal, right (get as big as Interbike)? At least that is my assumption, which could be wrong. Portland is a small city. Can we all get dinner reservations? Strange thing to think about, but I'm a very food focused person and when you have customers that you'd like to take out, it's kind of nice to be able to feed them before midnight. Vegas - sure you run into some snags, but for the most part you can find great places to eat on the spot. My personal favorite is the Grand Lux. Why? Location. Location. And warm cookies to go(need I say more?). But, I digress....

Location #2
Why the western part of the country, again? Why not more eastern this time to be different? You'd think Eurobike would try to lure European companies to this show with the same management and all. Yet, they put it on the West Coast - as far away as you can be from Europe and be in the US(ok, Hawaii would be further and Alaska...but you get my point). Besides, didn't Interbike originally have an East Coast version in Philly? If you want to gain some kudos with the US crowd go East Coast. Interbike is already way over there in the West. I've heard many people over the years lament that they miss the Philly show. They might be more than willing to go to an East Coast show, too.

These are, clearly, just my ramblings and first thoughts about the EuroPortland. As I said, I'm all for healthy competition, but I think they are going to have an uphill battle. Then again, it will make the rewards all the more sweet, right?

I am interested to hear more about this event as details are released. I'll bet Jonathan Maus at Bike Portland will be all over this story (he's already started). It seems as if the organizers haven't been in touch with him yet, but if they are smart they will be before long! He'd be a huge asset to anything they are putting in place.

I'd like to hear from some manufacturers and some dealers out there. What do you think? Would you go to both? Would you only go to one? How would you decide which one you'd go to?

Just my ramblings after way too long....thanks for stopping by.

Why are we a bunch of knuckle dragging morons? (UPDATED)

2006-10-09T22:09:00.000-07:00

Like that title? I thought it rolled off the tongue pretty well.

So Interbike is over now. It's been a little less than two weeks now since the bell rang on Friday and the show for 2006 was over. I have mixed emotions about the close of the show because I really do enjoy the show and having the rare chance to talk to as many potential customers as possible. The show is a thing of beauty to me, so I look forward to it each year and hate to see it go... even though it nearly kills me each year.

I've talked about this to some extent before and I find myself compelled to ask the question again; why do we, as an industry, rely so much on half-naked women to sell bicycles? Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of women. I like them a lot. I think they are great. I'm as much a "guy" as the next guy, so a really beautiful woman is a great thing (you know what I mean honey). It just makes me wonder, is anybody paying attention to the fact that women make up the fastest growing segment of the market?

I know I'm not alone in this view, but I really feel like it is time that the cyclling industry grows up and gets out of the "boobs sell bikes" mentality. Seriously, haven't we grown up any in the last 10-15 years? We keep talking about trying to attract more women into the sport and the industry itself and yet we continue to use scantilly clad women to sell bikes- or as is more accurate in the relation to Interbike, we use half-nude women to attract guys into our booths in hopes they will either order more product from us or at least remember our products after they leave our booth. Isn't that what great product and/ or a great catalog is supposed to do?

If the cycling industry really wants to grow and be seen in a more professional light, it is time that it starts acting like it. I'm sure I'll catch a bit of flack for this viewpoint, but it honestly embarasses me to see so much cleavage at the show each year. Yeah, yeah, I know... then don't look. And I don't... as much as possible.

Tell me; am I just an idiot thinking like this all alone or has anybody else been wondering when the industry as a whole will finally say "enough is enough"?

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

UPDATED;
10/11/06- Hey, bike industry... there are some great comments posted here already. I admit that they come from contributors here and a friend, but they are great comments just the same. Great dialog going on- come be a part of it. I know you read the site- folks at Raleigh USA, Pacific Cycle, Specialized, VNU, Kettler International and even somebody from Trek have all been here in the past two days.

I promise nobody here will bite and if they do, their comments will be removed. There is nothing and nobody to fear. Come join the dialog to create a better bicycling industry for all of us.

Interbike is almost here!

2006-09-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

So I have been promising more content here for months and months now. I know that I am a broken record on the topic actually. However, in light of all that has been happening with tradeshows, national sales meetings and all that other stuff... well, you'll have to forgive me for being such a slacker. Still, more content is coming soon- especially after the show next week. I will have lots of things to talk about coming out of the show- good, bad and "otherwise". As the opening comment in the header of this site says, I'll be a target of my own analysis as well. I have already made a few mistakes that will bite me in the ass, so it should make for a good read for you.

Anyway, this is all I have for the moment. But please do stay tuned. More will come and things will go back to a more semi-regular format around here.

Thanks!

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Been too long...

2006-09-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

Folks we're all still alive and will be creating fresh content, especially as the tradeshow season is now underway with Eurobike in Germany just wrapping up. Tradeshows are a prime source of marketing and this year's should be interesting with all of the doping scandals that have plagued the sport this year. How many companies are going to distance themselves from their former stars? How many fallen heroes will venture to Las Vegas to meet the public and the press? Lots of good questions there. I know that I am one person who will be anxiously waiting to see what fallout, if any, there is to all of the bad news to come out of this summer's racing. Will the industry finally find a way to romance recreational or utilitarian cycling? Will our pursuit of racing heroes diminish as we try to find a way to keep selling bikes? Hmm... good questions.

Not that this has anything specifically to do with cyclilng, but it is marketing. Paul at Hee-Haw Marketing has a great post with a great video that is very compelling- you really can't stop watching it. On top of it, Paul has a great commentary that is spot-on. I won't give it away here because I want you to go visit Paul. He tells it all better than I do anyway.

So, I know this is a short post that is somewhat "light", but things are out of control as the show season is upon us and I am still unearthing from the two weeks of vacation. More meaningful content will be coming soon... I promise.

Again, thank you to all the readers who continue to come here looking for new posts or re-reading older posts. It is truly flattering that so many of you still wander over to see what is happening in this dusty little corner of the blogosphere.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Blogosphere buzz...

2006-07-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

I know, it hasn't been long enough since the last post. Get over it.

A lot has been happening in the cycling world over the past several weeks. Lots of good stuff too. Two recent happenings though just have to get a bit more dialog going.

1) Interbike Times is a great new blog all about the great event that is Interbike. I love Interbike and have been a junky for many years now. The guys at Interbike Times- Rich Kelly, Chip Smith and Russell Page- have been working to put together a nice community supporting the industry's largest tradeshow.

This week, partly in response to comments from Tim Grahl and yours truly, Rich Kelly has posed the question on organizing a bike industry blogger hook-up during the show. If you're in the industry and will be attending Interbike this year, I strongly encourage you to go to the blog and give Rich and the guys your feedback. Heck, even if you won't be attending, I hope you'll visit the blog and give it a read and post a comment or two. Help me welcome the guys to the bikeosphere.

2) After listening to me preach about blogging for way too long now, as well as listening to one of their own employees talk about it, my very good friends over at SockGuy have launched a blog this week. SockGuy makes the best, most comfortable socks on the planet. No fooling, I almost never wear a pair of socks that isn't made by SockGuy. I'm going to a wedding on Sunday and you can bet that I will be wearing my SockGuy socks. Will it be the "Bitch" socks or the "Dopers Suck" socks? We'll have to see what my mood is on Sunday I guess, since I have a sock for nearly every mood.

Aside from the link love here, the significance of this is that another new industry blog has popped up on the scene. To me, this is great news. It is no secret to anybody who will stand still long enough for me to get going that I am a blogging advocate. Social/ interactive marketing is something that I really believe in. Each new bike-related blog that shows up makes me smile. The more we engage people in creating community (just for you Mack), the better off we'll all be collectively. The cycling industry has a lot of room for continued growth, especially in light of the high price of gas these days. By creating a stronger, more vibrant community of cycling enthusiasts, the better off we'll all be.

Anyway, I hope you'll all take a moment to visit these news blogs and give them both a big welcome... it's good for all of us.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Dopers Suck.

2006-07-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

Dopers really do suck. This year's Tour de France has been hit severely by doping scandals and rider expulsions. Sponsors have pulled out of teams and for a moment it looked like the world of road cycling was about to come to an abrupt demise. Doom hung in the air like bad BO in a dank locker room.

In 1998, the Tour was rocked by the infamous Festina Affair. The road market at that time took a pretty solid hit. At that time though, the US market was still maturing into a road revival of sorts, so the hit was smaller here than it was for Europe. Still, it was noticeable. 1999 saw the first of Lance's seven Tour wins though and the US market started to climb again and the European market began to turn back around a couple years later as the media circus around Lance drew more and more attention to the sport.

This year's scandal has some bad things working with it to make things a little spooky again; Lance is retired so the US market is less interested (even with Floyd now in the lead of the Tour, as of today), the scandal impacts several teams and not just one and the road market is beginning to slow down on its own. All of these could combine for a "perfect storm" and really knock road sales back on their butt. Hopefully not...

Here is the good side of the story; in regards to the US market, the rise of other American riders has lessened the negative impact of Lance's departure (although Trek still seems to be marketing themselves as Lance's bike, as opposed to the rest of the team's), the market is still growing though slower than previous years, the Tour is still very exciting this year and is full of constant drama and the fans seem to be excited. Maybe, just maybe, the sport and the industry will survive.

Drug scandals rock all sports pretty badly from time to time. The whole Barry Bonds and Marion Jones BALCO drug scandal shook both baseball and track & field pretty good, but both have rebounded. Cycling is no different really. If anything, cycling gets a much worse reputation than it deserves- not that it isn't rife with doping problems. Cycling needs to clean up before it loses the fans and the sponsors both. The fans are becoming somewhat desensitized to the frequent doping allegations. That numbness might be one of the things to save the sport, as more and more fans seem to be simply accepting that incredible physical accomplishments seem to always come with strings attached.

Krew member Donna Tocci had some great thoughts about all of this and the far-reaching impacts. It is a big spider web and it reaches a lot of seemingly unrelated people. Drugs are like that- in sport as in life in general. The key for the cycling industry is to come clean and face the issue head on with honesty and transparency. By keeping the sponsors and fans happy that a solution is being sought, the sport might just keep both parties interested. For us marketers, it's going to mean spending a little less time focusing all our energies on one particular rider, but on the team instead- if involved in team sponsorships. If not, it's time to focus on the joy of cycling and less on racing. As this all plays out and things get even uglier, many sponsors are going to want to distance themselves from the stickinesss.

It should be an interesting summer as those of us in the industry watch to see what happens next.

So what is your take? Hell in a handbasket, or just a tempest in a tea cup?

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Chris King is smarter than you and me.

2006-06-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

Chris King, the component maker, is smarter than you and me and a lot of other folks.

Not only has King Cycle Group quietly built a reputation for creating innovative and lust-worthy parts since the first headsets in 1976, but King has also been very successful in building a very, very loyal group of happy customers who have become evangelists for the brand. This cult will spend hours telling you how smooth the bearings are, how precise the freehub mechanism is or how sturdy the hub shells are. Give them the chance and they will talk to you for days. King is unapolagetic about the fact that their parts cost more than most. They back it up with the fact that the parts are so reliable and nearly infinitely rebuildable. Amazing products actually.

It isn't the parts that makes them so smart though. King has a reputation for giving their followers what they want- great product and a reason to love and support those products. That is the magic.

This week, my inbox had an email in it from Chris (The CD) DiStefano. Chris used to be the official voice of Shimano, another parts maker (some would say THE parts maker since they control the bulk of the world market for bicycle parts). Now Chris plies his trade for King Cycle Group. Chris sent me an email about the fact that they will be hosting daily viewings of Tour de France race action all the way through the event. This is the third year that King has done this and is likely not going to be the last. Not only are they hosting the daily coverage review in a local Portland favorite brew pub, but they are taking donations for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and matching those donations "dollar for dollar up to $3,000". How cool is that? Combining a great way to give a little something back to the local cycling community and King fanatics with raising funds for a great cause. Pure genius!

This is precisely the kind of community building that helps King remain as strong as they are in the market. It isn't just about the incredible products they make or the very "green" way they run their business. They make smart choices when it comes to building a reason for the loyal followers to remain loyal. They have a very cult-like following and they reach out to that cult and do good things.

Here's the lesson in all of this; marketing isn't all about why your product is better than your competitor's product (because they likely have an equally solid reason for why it isn't), but it is very much about building community. A community of loyal fans who will go out and support your product and get other people to do the same. Give them a reason, whether altruistic or otherwise, to support the product and then embrace them for doing it. Sounds like common sense maybe, but it isn't always so easy to understand or execute.

The folks at King are doing a great job of it though and deserve to get a little recognition for it.

Kudos King!

Tim Jackson'
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

(Editor's note; it should be pointed out that Chris DiStefano is a friend of mine. He isn't paying me to speak highly of King or even asking me to do so. In fact, he hasn't even sent me that set of red road hubs I have lusted after for the past 10-12 years. Now that I think about it, he hasn't done a darned thing for me at all... and now I'm starting to reevaluate that whole "friend" thing.)

Shameless self-promotion and thanks.

2006-06-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

I was trying to add some new outbound links to the site tonight and realized that I also owe some serious thanks to some of the folks who've been added to the link section on the right. I hope you will check them all out and see why they are recommended reading, in my opinion.

You can start with some of the following reading... nice segue, don't you think?
Michael Wagner is one of the best writers I have encountered recently. He can take a small story from day to day life and turn it into a fantastic parable on Brand Ownership. I highly recommend giving his site a read.

Toby Bloomberg, the Diva of Marketing, is the bomb. I don't know how else to put it. She has also become a great blogging friend and has been very generous to yours truly.

The Blog Business Summit is a great read. The team of bloggers there is pretty amazing and the posts there range from Marketing to Technology to both. I frequently find myself nodding my head in agreement or writing notes when I read their posts. It's great stuff...

I've mentioned the Media Orchard before here. Many times actually. The Kool-Aid Krew has been lucky enough to be selected as a Pick of the Orchard more than once. Each time was a real honor too. Hands down, this site is one of the funniest sites you could hope to ever read about Marketing. I laugh my ass off on a regular basis.

The Marketing Profs Daily Fix Blog is one of my new favorites, and not just because I got a nice write-up there either. Ann Handley has assembled a team of bloggers that reads like a virtual Who's-Who of the Marketing consulting elite. This is a braintrust of serious talent. Both Toby and Michael are contributors to the site, which is how I learned about it, but the other authors there are pretty darned amazing too. I hope you'll give them a read.

Lastly, my old blogging buddy Jonathan Maus has done an amazing job of "building community" with his Bike Portland blog. It is an amazing resource for cyclists of all kinds in Portland. Jon is a pretty amazing guy and his site is pretty amazing too. Give it a read; if you live in Portland, this should be required by city law...

Anyway, I hope that you'll give these fine folks all a read and discover why I find them all so fascinating. More updates to the links will be coming over the next few weeks.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Latest Masi magazine ad.

2006-06-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

Since we are already on the topic of good magazine ads, I thought I would share the latest Masi ad, as seen in the current issue of ROAD magazine.

I don't know about you, but I really love this ad. Just to clarify- I still love my domestic team (Abercrombie & Fitch/ Inferno), but this photo was just too good to pass up. The rider is on the team we sponsor in Canada (Masi-Adobe), via our distributor there- Norco. The rider is Scott Goguen and the photo was taken by Greg Descantes- an amazingly good photo at that.

I have to give the bulk of the credit for this amazing ad to Rick Ortiz. Rick is one of our Graphic Gods at work. He and I worked on this ad for a long time to get it where we wanted it and I am really happy with the final product. In previous discussions about Masi ads, I've mentioned the difficulty in coming up with something that you really feel good about, when trying to create an ad. This one is a homerun though. I love this ad and I am excited that Rick and I are working together to create the next Masi catalog as well. This ad is a sign of good things to come...

Tim Jackson/ Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Rocky Mountain Bicycles: Mission Accomplished

2006-05-31T15:08:00.000-07:00

As you all know by now, I'm not the bike geek of the group. Tim's mentioned before that I bring a unique perspective to the Krew because, well, I'm not a cyclist. I ride my bicycle. Sometimes. I'm what you would call a recreational rider. Plain and simple. It's why I actually like to look through Bicycling Magazine every month. It is written for folks like me. Velonews is for the true cyclists who love racing and love to follow the sport (ok, I read that, too...).

What does all of this fascinating personal tidbit mean? It means that I pay attention to the ads in Bicycling - ah-ha...this does have to do with marketing and not just my pitiful recreational riding!

Got the new Bicycling today and found an ad that is perfect in its simplicity. It reminded me that sometimes simple is better. As marketers we want our collateral pieces to say it all. Ads should give our full message and then some, right? After all we pay a lot of money for creative and then the ad buy - it should just sell our product right from the page, right? I mean...Right?! So we contort ourselves to be original and stand out in the crowd and jam it all in to one 8x10 page or one tri-fold brochure. Well, frankly, sometimes it gets cluttered and too much.

Then there are the ads that use the pro cyclists. Sure, they can be very simple - a pro crossing the line first in a stage of the latest tour using X product. Great...except that Suzi Recreational Cyclist (me and thousands like me) isn't going to be entering any races and she'll think it's too above her level (maybe she's right).

How do you get to everyone? Suzi Recreational and someone who is serious about riding, be that road or mountain bike? Easy. Find something simple and universal to hit upon in your ad or message. Yes, I know, easier said than done! But Rocky Mountain Bicycles has done just that in their latest ad, in my humble opinion.

The full-page ad is simply a picture of a hand - palm to the camera/viewer. Where there are life lines and such there are three bike tire treads. Two lines of copy at the bottom left corner simply say:

Hand-crafted bikes since 1981.
It's our life.

Wow. That says it all to me. This is a company with passion. Passion for cycling. Passion for the product they manufacture. It's not just a place that makes bikes for a living - this is a way of life for this company. It doesn't hurt that their website is www.bikes.com either. Passion.

See? Packed a lot of message into one photo and two little lines. Ok, I don't know if that is what they were trying to convey or not, but it's good messaging even if this is slightly off what they had in mind. I have a great feeling about this company from their ad and, actually, went and checked out their website because I wanted to know more...yup, me...Suzi Recreational. They got me to go to their site because of their ad - mission accomplished. Ok, the full mission is to get the reader to buy the bike and I'm not going to do that because I don't need a new bike, but it doesn't mean that someone else who went to the site isn't going to go to their local shop and try a Rocky Mountain Bicycle.

Bravo to the Rocky Mountain Bicycle marketing team!

Tim Trivia

2006-05-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

You all know Tim as the Chief Dispenser (CD) here at the Krew's site and some of you know him as Masiguy. However....
- did you know that Masiguy is originally from Alabama?
- did you know that Tim has worked on a shrimp boat?
- did you know that CD once worked in a hat shop?

How do I know all this? Read it in Tim Jackson's Blogger Story. Check it out and learn more about our favorite Dispenser.

Truth and fiction in advertising. (Alternate title; Calling all fact checkers.)

2006-05-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

My buddy Chris Lesser will approve of this following rant...

Before I get going here, let me just say that I really like the people and the company that is FSA (Full Speed Ahead). I think they make great products and all of the people that I have had the pleasure of working with have been great to deal with. So in advance, I want to make it clear that I am not attacking FSA...

I just received the July '06 issue of ROAD magazine this week (what's with getting "July" in May anyway?). In the magazine is a good ad from the folks at FSA showing Fabian Cancellara, winner of this year's Paris-Roubaix. For those who are not familiar with the event, it is decidedly one of the most grueling one-day events on the calendar and consists of brutal sections of road that are paved with centuries old cobblestones- many believed to have been laid by the Romans. These roads, though they do not comprise the bulk of the event, are the toughest single day of competition that a professional cyclist and their bike will see. This is the proverbial "crucible" for equipment. Due to this, many teams run special products designed to handle the severe punishment of the harsh conditions. Conversely, this event can vault a product to a reputation of being utterly dependable or raise serious questions.

Anway, on to the ad...

Great photo of Fabian kissing his winner's cobblestone. An epic image that will remain etched in many people's minds for many years. It was a great race this year with plenty of drama and controversy- everything the race is famous for. Now, the ad showcases a product and though it does not explicitly say that this is the same product used by Fabian, it certainly alludes to it.

Just one page before this ad, in a two page spread, is a shot of Fabian racing along on his way to victory in the event.

If you look closely at the photo, you'll notice that Fabian is not riding the cranks shown in the FSA ad. I'm not sure if he is riding another FSA non-carbon product instead (which would be the smart choice) or if it is a product from another company (like Shimano).

Now, it isn't a crime to advertise an item that isn't used by your sponsored athlete, but it hurts your credibility, which is my whole point here. FSA makes a very credible product, but the ad suggests something different than reality and, in my opinion, hurts the credibility of the brand. Again, I really like FSA, but this just misses the mark to me. In this new era of transparency, this ad muddies the waters and makes FSA look dishonest. I am pretty sure that is far from what they intended. Seeing as to how FSA makes other products that were actually used on Fabian's winning bike, it would have made sense to either highlight those items or just simply create a "win ad" (where you congratulate your sponsored athlete, while showcasing your involvement with their success).

For FSA, I understand the desire to showcase the success of their sponsored athlete. I would just prefer to have seen the ad reflect reality a bit better, rather than create a possibility for pundits (like me) to question their motives instead of feeling really happy for their success via their sponsorship.

Tim Jackson; Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

(4/25- I received a pretty severe reaming over this post. So let me just reitereate a point made in the beginning of this whole thing; I am in no way attacking FSA. I personally use FSA products and have spec'd them on Masi bikes as well. FSA is a great company with great products. I certainly expect that I will continue to do business with them, unless I get fired for my opinions or FSA refuses to do business with me any longer. The point was with the potentially misleading tone of the magazine ad. It is quite true that many riders/ teams use equipment that is not from the sponsor it is purported to be from and that many riders/ teams ride frames not made by the company whose name is shown on the frame. There's that Merckx guy who rode a Masi with a different name on it, for example...

My apologies for any hint of hypocrisy.)

Blog-Humbug

2006-05-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

I hereby proclaim myself the Scrooge of the Kool-Aid Krew. I'm not yet ready to roll over concede that blogs are the best thing since sliced bread and I've got a few semi-recent articles to blather about.

All the hoopla about blogs has always reminded me of a scene from the 1967 classic "The Graduate," when a businessman sidles up to a young Dustin Hoffman at his welcome home party with some sage advice.

Businessman: "I want to say one word to you. Just one word."
Hoffman: "Yes, sir."
Businessman: "Are you listening?"
Hoffman: "Yes, I am."
Businessman: "Plastics."

I'm not saying blogs are a fad, they're not. Neither were plastics, which of course are so ubiquitous these days that to hype them now is just silly. Maybe in a few years when we look back on all this trumpeting about the revolutionary power of blogs it will all sound a little like the "plastics" proclomation.

I've talked with Kool-Aid Krew Chief Jackson about this before—early on in this blog's history the ratio of actual posts to posts about posts about the site was pretty uneven. Kudos overdose, the echo chamber effect, navel gazing or even "masturbatory,"—call it what you like, all the back patting leaves little energy for wading through the blogosphere. (People want content, damn it.)

Now that this blog is getting on its feet a little more it's nice to see fewer self-congratulatory posts and more meat-and-potatoes marketing discussion (which I know little about other than dealing with the constant barrage of press releases/marketing spiels/story pitches that came across my desk when I was working full time for BR&IN).

All that said I've come across a few articles I've been meaning to post something about, RE: "Power of blogging... again," and again, and again...

The first is from The New York Times: Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in P.R. Campaign. It starts:

"Brian Pickrell, a blogger, recently posted a note on his Web site attacking state legislation that would force Wal-Mart Stores to spend more on employee health insurance. "All across the country, newspaper editorial boards — no great friends of business — are ripping the bills," he wrote.

It was the kind of pro-Wal-Mart comment the giant retailer might write itself. And, in fact, it did.

Several sentences in Mr. Pickrell's Jan. 20 posting — and others from different days — are identical to those written by an employee at one of Wal-Mart's public relations firms and distributed by e-mail to bloggers..."

The article goes on to paint a pretty ugly picture of blogging gone bad.

Of course, the bike industry is small potatoes in comparison—far less insidious potatoes at that. Indeed, on this site the posting of others' press releases whole-hog, is overt and deliberate, not surreptitiously.

But, the Wal-Mart example shows how PR people have gotten their collective hand in the blogosphere. No, it's not the kumbaiya, lets-all-get-along, bikes-are-great warm and fuzzy feeling you get from what little of the bike industry has entered blogosphere, but it's all the same end game: spinning in favor of your company.

The Wal-Mart example is an extreme one, a bookend to the trend of the PR industry using blogs to communicate (read: advertize) a message. On the other end of that PR/blogger spectrum you have the honest, open types like Tim Jackson and Donna Tocci who really just want to engage their customers and put a face to a (brand) name, as it were.

But all the while the blog tidal wave this very blog is purporting to be riding might not be as big or as real as we all thought it was, after all.

At least, William Powers, a media writer for the National Journal, thinks so. In a recent article he compares blogs to Bode Miller, says blogs are "flat lining" and points to the fact that "[t]he suits—corporate and PR types—are muscling into the blogosphere."

Now I know of no one in the industry outside probably some honchos in Taiwan who actually wear a "suit" to work, but bear with me for comparison's sake.

Love them or hate them, blogs are still the "next big thing" in communication—if sometimes nauseatingly so. Indeed, the National Journal's Powers notes that "the end of the hype-fueled blog mania might be the best thing that could happen to blogs, because it had created such absurd expectations."

Power's also weighs in on the Old Media v. New Media debate:

Media serve three major functions: 1) convenience (organization of news and information in user-friendly formats); 2) truth-telling (digging up important stories and holding powerful people accountable); and 3) pleasure (the sheer fun of reading, listening, or watching). Newspapers thrived for as long as they did because they were good at all three. And they've declined as they've lost their competitive edge in these same areas, especially convenience and pleasure.

Though blogs are young, they've already proven adept at all three functions. Many are convenient harvesters and organizers. Some are fearless truth-tellers. And the best are a total pleasure to follow. If they're doing all this now, imagine what they'll be like in 10 years.

So he's not all gloom and doom. Despite his harangues, Powers has positive and refreshingly realistic expectations about the future of blogs. Meanwhile The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jonathan Last concedes some of blogs' virtues, but also points out what he calls their "pernicious effects."

"[Blogs] elevate analysis over news-gathering; they value speed over judiciousness; and they encourage the practice of journalism to turn in on itself, to tend ever more toward navel-gazing."

New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald, in a in a speech in March at Marquette University, also touched on the blogger/journalist dichotomy (a speech that sparked a torrent of discussion in—what else—the blogosphere). He said, in part:

"When I'm talking about the difference between facts and truth, facts and knowledge, it's the difference between a journalist and a blogger. A journalist is dealing in facts. Bloggers deal in their own truths, which may or may not be based on facts."

Not that journalism and blogging are mutually exclusive. Certainly there are armies of journalists that blog. I concede that companies that blog, and blog well, are creating some of the more exciting marketing opportunities out there, as long as they stay transparent. And whether you're blogging as a journalist, as a marketing person or blurring the line between both, the pitfalls can be the same—blurred "truths" and on overvaluing of speed and opinion over research and objectivity. But if you can meet Powers' three criteria for succesful media: convenience, truth telling and pleasure—and of course if you can meet all three while maintaining credibility, then the upside can be phenomenal.

All apologies for the long, wandering (and navel-gazing) post, if you've gotten this far.

*"Blog-Humbug" borrowed from Jonathan Last, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Yes, we're still alive...

2006-05-05T20:56:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year, for many of us in the bike industry, when it is very hard to keep your head above water. It feels like you are just barely staying afloat some days (for some of us that is the feeling nearly every day). Maybe you are a Brand Manager, scrambling feverishly to complete your product line, finish graphics, work on a catalog, figure out budget planning for next year and still find time in the schedule to travel and sell. Maybe you are trying to cover the racing scene. Maybe you have lots of travel and seminars to attend, presentations to make and people to talk to. Or, maybe, you have a new child and are reveling in parenthood and are missing a little sleep. Right now, for many of us, this is about at "bad" as it gets. (For the record, none of us are complaining because we know we've got it good.)

With that said, please don't give up on the Krew. We're here. We still have ideas. We still want to talk and share and keep the dialog going. On behalf of my fellow contributors, I'd like to assure you that we haven't gone anywhere. On top of that, some big things are on the horizon that you will not want to miss. You just have to trust me when I say that things are going to just get better around here.

So please bare with us as we all struggle with deadlines and hectic schedules. We'll be back bigger, badder and better than ever.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

How not to keep a sponsor or get a new one.

2006-05-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

I admit, up front, that this post is probably a bit more personal bias than it is marketing related. Bare with me on this and wait until the end to pass judgement... even though this is sure to stir a bit of discussion.

Wear your damn helmet Jackass! Ok, I said it. I got it off my chest... I feel marginally better now. As mentioned above, hear me out...

I am alive today because I wear a helmet. I didn't always and I will occasionally ride from my office, two blocks to the deli to pick up my lunch without a helmet on, but outside of that I wear a helmet every single time I get on a bicycle. Sure, maybe I'd gain style points and Euro-wannabe steet cred' if I trained without a helmet on. With a wife and two children though, I'm not just riding for myself anymore. Every action I make effects other people who rely on me to come home each day. That's a pretty strong motivator for me. Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, my "public life" makes me something of an example to a few people who happen to pay attention to what I do or say. Believe it or not, that means something to me. Yeah, yeah... I know the lame argument of freedom and comfort, but that is the lamest BS I've ever heard. How cool or free are you going to be when you are in a hospital bed with a tube in your mouth doing the breathing for you while your friends and family stand around wiping the drool off of your face? In my humble opinion, not too darned cool. Hey, I'll happily stay a nerd with zero style if it keeps me alive long enough to watch my kids grow old. (I had a teammate once, on a really powerful team, who would turn around and ride a different direction if anybody showed up without a helmet for a training ride because he didn't want to be the one to have to call somebody's wife and tell her that her husband was dead or injured because he was too cool to wear a helmet.)

I'm done with the preaching part of all of this and will now step down off my high horse and off of the soap box. I'm not saying I won't be there again, but I'm done for the moment. Long enough to get to the point anyway.

I won't name names, but there is a local club here in San Diego that has a pretty good elite race team. This elite team has done really well this year too. Won some nice races against some pro teams even. They should be proud of themselves and I know that they are. This team is supported, in part, by the club of probably more than 300 members. This club works very hard to promote the sport of cycling and to develop junior riders who will one day move up to become great pro riders or elite amateurs. They are an ambitious club and they have done a lot in San Diego over the years. With all that said, their elite team has done a great job of insuring that I won't be sponsoring them. I might be willing to work out something with the director of the junior program, but the elite team is out of the question.

Why is this? Well, as you might have guessed by the opening paragraphs, it's because they don't wear helmets. The entire elite team isn't guilty and they all have to wear helmets during races, since those are the rules, but I almost daily see members of the team out on training rides without helmets on. On a personal level I see this as total idiocy, but as a manufacturer in the industry (and this is the whole point of this diatribe) I see this as very poor potential representation for my brand. These guys are supposed to be representing their sponsors and their team, but they are doing a crappy job of it. I don't honestly know if they have an official team helmet sponsor, but if they do and I was that helmet sponsor I'd be really pissed. If these morons want to look cool, fine, do it out of the team gear. If you're going to be making an ass of yourelf, at least do the team and the sponsors the favor of wearing clothing that doesn't tie you to them. Guilt by association, as the saying goes.

Honestly, I don't want to have anything to do with the team for this reason. It proves to me that they do not honor their sponsors or the values of the club. Remember, this club is developing junior riders too. Whether the guys on the elite team want to admit it or not, the junior kids are watching them and what they do and some of them even look up to the guys on the elite team and want to be like them. (I do not support athletes serving as role models and think it is ridiculous for people to expect them to be "perfect".) I don't like it any more than the elite riders do, but that is what happens.

If I provided the team with frames and then saw the guys racing on another brand, I'd be pissed off and would be having a serious talk with the team director. If I were a helmet sponsor for a team, even a Pro Tour team riding the Tour de France, and the riders were always being photographed without my helmet on, I'd be pissed off and pulling my money out of the program. Maybe I'm alone, or nearly alone, in this particular belief. Maybe not. It is something I feel strongly about though and is something that teams should consider when sending me their sponsorship requests.

Bottom line, for teams looking to gain new sponsors or keep existing sponsors, the name of the game is "be a good ambassador". Look good. Act smart. Be thankful.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser
(In all fairness, this critique applies to the wonderful Pro/ Elite team that I currently sponsor. Wear your helmets if you want to keep your sponsorship... I won't be at the next training camp if a helmet rule isn't enforced.)

10 Questions with Bob Roll and Jessi Pacetti

2006-04-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

I hear that some of you really liked the interview with Bob Roll and Jessi Pacetti. Good to know. Seems like I've been hearing about those two more and more lately. For example, rumor has it that BobkeInk is about to start working with one of the cycling pros that is seriously hot right now...stay tuned...

Until then, here is the rapid-fire round with Bob and Jessi that I promised. Just short questions and answers. Enjoy.

1. What do you do that isn't industry related to unwind?
BR: Skiing mostly. Hiking.
JP: I take a sculpt class three times a week, do some personal art, hang with my kids.

2. What is your favorite place in the world?
BR: The French Pyrennes
JP: My soft comfy bed or Target.

3. Talking on the phone or via email?
BR: Phone
JP: Email

4. Text messaging or email?
BR: Text
JP: Either

5. What question do you get the most? (Bob, this time of year I'll bet I can guess....)
BR: Who is going to win the Tour de France?
JP: How did you get your job? You can find the answer on Missing Saddle

6. Johnny Cash or Jonny Lang?
BR: Johnny Cash all the way.
JP: Donna, that question is so unfair and you know it. I love them both. You are being such a meanie.

7. New York City or Las Vegas?
BR: New York City. That’s where we should have Interbike.
JP: New York City hands down any day. Vegas gives me a bit of anxiety.

8. Hey, Bob....Harley or KTM?
Tie

9. Carbon or Steel?
BR: Carbon
JP: I just got a kick ass carbon road bike. . . .

10. And for Bob, from Tim....What was more fun, Roubaix or Flanders?
Roubaix

Bob Roll Interview - BobkeInk, websites, podcasts & just who is Jessi?

2006-04-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

As Tim mentioned when we started this venture I don't have a hardcore cycling background. I really didn't start following cycling until about 6 or 7 years ago. So, my only point of reference for Bob Roll is what he's done during Le Tour coverage on OLN, which is fantastic and the main reason I watch Le Tour coverage each July evening on television after I've listened to it live on my computer at work.

A few years ago I wanted to get in touch with Bob to talk about a promotion for Interbike. I asked a mutual acquaintance if he had Bob's agent's number. He didn't, but gave me Bob's email and said he thought it would be ok if I sent him an email directly. So I did. I nicely asked for his agent's contact info. I didn't get an email back. Days went by. Maybe a week or two even. Then one day, I picked up the phone and heard, "This is Bob Roll." Well allrighty then. We've worked together ever since and it's been fantastic. Yes, he's the fun guy you see on the television commercials and the witty commentator but he's also a devoted dad and just all around nice guy.

Recently, Bob's launched a website, started a company and partnered with a firebrand, Jessi Pacetti. What's going on here?! Curiousity got the best of me as a marketing person so I asked for an interview to learn more about the marketing of Bob Roll. Jessi and Bob politely indulged my request (even though they thought I was crazy with the amount of questions!). What follows is an email interview with both of them - yes, email - you try to get Bob in one spot for more than 10 minutes this time of year!

This isn't the cycling interview that you may have seen many times over with Bob. This is, I hope, a little different, especially since this is a bicycle industry marketing blog! Ok, Tim asked me to put in a few cycling related questions because he just couldn't help himself, but most of this will be related to the marketing of a celebrity.

Before we start, I must thank Bob and Jessi profusely for all of their time. You guys rock!
Now sit back with a cup of tea and enjoy the interview with these two dynamic people.

Bob, let’s start with an easy question set. How long have you been doing Le Tour on television? How did that come about?
Since 2001, though I didn’t do 2002, so this will be number five. The original executive producer was Rick Lacivita and he read some of the stories I wrote when I was racing and asked me during the last year of bike racing if I was interested in doing TV. That was 1999 and OLN covered the World Mountain Bike Championships that year and asked me to be a commentator. It worked out well and I found I enjoyed it and the rest as they say is history.

Was there an audition?
My first job was 18 hours of live TV. Straight into the deep end. I think that was audition enough.

I would think that the OLN gig gave you a visibility to an audience that didn't know you before (the folks like me!) when you were racing. Did you see a dramatic increase in requests for appearances right from the get-go?
It took awhile, I would say as my television role has grown, especially starting in 2004, when I had my own show – it’s been an avalanche since then.

Did book sales radically increase?
They did actually. The first book I wrote, which is now sold out, gets amazing prices on eBay because it’s out of print.

Your your athletic achievements were numerous, but truly you have an incredible gift of captivating an audience with stories and cycling facts. When you retired from racing did you have the idea to market yourself as a personality/celebrity?
No. I had the idea to work in the Durango Lumber Mill. I had filled out an application and was hired. Television saved me from that. I still don’t feel like a marketable commodity, but it seems as if the requests are more numerous than I could handle. The speaking engagements are a fun way to connect with the people who watch me cover the cycling races.

I know from experience that you do fabulous talks in front of cycling enthusiasts like the one you just did at Century Cycles in Ohio for Kryptonite (shameless plug!), but what are some of the fun events you have done?
The fun comes when people are excited and the crowd is energetic. It’s easy to feed off of that. I always meet some great people on the road.

Ones that have meant something to you personally?
The Lance Armstrong Foundation rides and Livestrong rides have meant a lot on a personal – not so much personal – on a personally significant level. Every talk is unique and every group of people is unique and the people have a lot of fun.

And, of course, what wouldn't you do or is there a type of event that you really just don't want to do. No naming companies, just generalities.
There’s no cycling related event that I don’t enjoy. Things are easier now.

How do you prepare for 'An Evening with Bob Roll'? Do you wing it or have notes or a general flow of thoughts before you step into the spotlight?
I have a general flow of thoughts that I organize in my mind in the days before the talk. I don’t like to repeat myself even though some of the stories are in the general consciousness of cycling. I don’t like to repeat myself. Did I already say that?

Although you don't show it, do you get nervous before getting in front of a group of people?
It’s not a nervousness that I recognize, but my senses are definitely more alert. I used to get really nervous – not to the point that I couldn’t sleep the night before. I just wanted people to laugh at my stories and if not, I hope they were educational.

Ok, because it was so talked about last year, I have to ask about the trainer commercial. What kind of impact did that have on things?
For Kinetic it was great. They had so many people go to their website during the Tour that it crashed their server. That makes me feel good because the sponsor got a good response. For me personally, it’s kind of uncomfortable having my naked body across the TV screens of America, but everyone who saw it laughed their keister off. That’s all good.

Did you get asked to do all kinds of wacky things after that?
Not really. That was about the limit. I was in San Antonio this last weekend and got to do “monkey bike races.” That was fun. There was a silent auction and the winners had the chance to race me on the little bikes and if I won, they had to pay double. Good money for the charities which feels good.
(Note: I believe Britton Bicycle Shop was involved in Bob's trip to San Antonio)

Do you think that the trainer commercial helped or hurt your celebrity?
I think it helped. It Americanized the sport and brought a more outrageous American feel to a 150 year old European sport that can be quite stogy at times.

And, because everyone wants to know, I'm sure....how many takes to get that done (without busting up laughing).
It took all day because we couldn’t stop laughing. On the other hand it was odd . . . .

If someone is interested in having you come to their event now they can go to your website and put in a request there, but how did you get leads for events in the past?
That was sort of random. They came in all kinds of different ways. One organization knew someone who worked in Gatorade promotions and Gatorade called OLN. Mostly people just used word of mouth to find me which wasn’t very effective.

Would you connect with folks at the events you were already doing?
Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes a representative of an organization would see me at an event and book me for something else.

Before you and Jessi started to work together how did you keep your schedule straight?
My schedule was a disaster and I’m sure I missed out on a lot of opportunities, but now things have become a lot more manageable schedule-wise. Mostly because I only know about a third of what’s to come.

Every time I'd call you to talk dates, you'd rattle off your schedule for 2 months out. Do you use a big wall calendar or day planner or just keep it in your head?
A desk sized monthly calendar with really big squares.

I was always impressed with how you could rattle off your schedule and you'd been doing all of this for years by yourself, why take on a partner now?
Because the profile of the Tour de France has become unmanageable for one person and I was running myself into the ground fielding all the requests. I was uncomfortable during negotiations. Be real, I’m a bike racer.

And now....enter Miss Jessi.....

Bob, give us one word to describe Jessi.
Dynamic.

Jessi, besides being a cycling fan and bonding with Bob right from the get-go, what is in your background that helps with what you are doing now?
Honestly everything and nothing. I was a waitress, a bartender, an outdoor retail manager and most recently worked in the office of a construction company. I think the people skills came mostly from rationalizing with drunk people (I don’t recommend it) and the retail management gig. I learned a lot about contracts and business from the construction company. I’m not the gal to chain to a desk, so this deal with Bob was what I really needed to keep my juices flowing and be excited about my day to day. I am really lucky to have this gig – it’s amazing how great it feels to have your skills used and exercised on a daily basis.

Who is Jessi???
I’m a crazy ex-party girl who married a cycling fan and has two awesome little gals at home now. I refuse to drive a mini van and fall into the stereotypical preschool mom thing. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that - it just ain’t my bag) I’m also quietly pursuing my art career on the side. Very quietly.

Tell me a little bit about your cow project and how that got started. Are you an artist by love or trade?
I checked a few years back and I was a year away from graduating from college with a degree in Art Education so I guess you could call it a love of the trade. I’ve always been creative and artistic. About a year ago I was working my butt off to put together my art portfolio and the Cow Parade open call came out in Wisconsin. My mom found the call in the newspaper and was really adamant about me submitting an idea. I mean, REALLY adamant. God bless her. The woman knows me. Instantly I had the idea to decoupage her with Wisconsin maps. I have done a lot of decoupage in the past, but nothing like this. It took over 30 hours and 49 Wisconsin Highway Maps. More than 300 applicants were submitted and they picked just under 70 to actually make a life size cow. It has really been a great experience. The best part is that Bob would tell me not to work for days at a time so I could finish her. I had a great support system in my husband, Bob, my folks and some close friends. That meant a lot.

I know your husband rides, but do you ride, too?
Not professionally. The first time Billy Biker Boy (my husband) took me cycling we had been dating for a few months. We live in Wisconsin and started dating in the winter, hence the delay. He took me on this ride that was about 4 ½ hours long – huge hills, long highway stretches, questionable areas of town. We were nowhere close to home and I had to bartend in less than an hour. Billy had to call his buddy to come get us because I had to get to work. We got into our buddy’s car and Billy rubbed my shoulders and was like “good job today – you’re really a trooper.” I responded with a long line of explicit words inappropriate for this website. I do like cycling and have been on the trainer for the last few months AND got my first road bike for my birthday. (Thanks Bill!) I am anxious to get out there this year.

Jessi, give us one word to describe Bob.
Prismatic.

Bob and Jessi - just what is BobkeInk?
JP: That’s our company. It started with just me and Bob to organize his schedule with the goal to expand eventually. To what, we weren’t sure at the time. We have talked about a lot of really cool things, but I think we need to pare it down to a few and be good at them. Where we’re at right now is a real stepping stone to the huge ideas we have lurking in our crazy heads.
BR: That is the parent company of http://www.bobroll.com/, my three books, my schedule. It’s just the name for the bank to cover everything we’re doing. We are looking to add additional cyclists to the BobkeInk family.

It's a play on words that I think is great, by the way. It makes me assume that there is more writing to be done...another book perhaps???
JP:We are pretty smart, aren’t we? The writing thing is up to Bob. I could write a book . . . not sure anyone would want to read it.
BR: I have three books in my mind in addition to two children’s books. When I get time I’ll get them written. Maybe have Jessi illustrate the children’s books.
JP: Sweet.

Jessi's based in Wisconsin and Bob's based in Colorado. What are the challenges and advantages of that working situation for you both?
BR: The obvious challenge is that I can’t yell at Jessi when I need to. (laughs) The distance involved sometimes hinders our communication and traveling schedules. The obvious advantage is that I can get a nap by simply turning off the phone.
JP: Challenges? Bob has many skills. Current technology isn’t a primary part of his skill set. Advantages? I get to hit preschool duty and kids’ doctors appointments without feeling guilty. I can work at night and screw around all day. I’m not chained to a desk. . . . I have windows and can go outside, take a class at the gym, or do my art whenever I want. I love the freedom. I also know I will have a least one enlightening “Bob Says” conversation every day.

How are you marketing the company? Through traditional media (press releases, interviews with publications etc) or through electronic media or a combination?
BR: A combination of all those plus being able to mention the website during speaking engagements and tv appearances. We are also networking through other cycling sites and companies.
JP: It also helps that we’ve made some great contacts at the stores and events we’ve been to. It feels good to call a week or so after an appearance and find the shop still benefiting from Bob’s visit. Good PR never hurts. I can name at LEAST 3 people from every store I’ve visited with Bob and we keep it personal. I think that goes a long way. This last weekend I even acquired an adopted family in San Antonio. I’ve always wanted siblings! (Here’s a shout out to the Harris Crew!)

The website launched a few weeks ago. How is that going; is traffic good?
BR: Traffic is fantastic and universally positive so far.
JP: We have gotten great traffic. We had some technical difficulties in there, but I think we’re good to go now. Blog-ke entries based on the emails we’ve gotten from the site hits are our main priority right now. A lot of the questions center around a few recurring themes so we’re going to tackle those first.

How do you like being a blogger, Bob? Are there any plans to turn that into a true blog where people can leave comments to specific posts?
BR: Well, not being a true blogger and having a blogging assistant, you’ll have to run that by her.
JP: Bob, did you know what any of that meant?
BR: Actually, no.
JP: I’m looking into that this week. Stay posted. I think being able to respond to blog entries will really spark some great conversation on the site. It will happen very soon.

I see that there is a section for merchandise. What's that all about and what is the time frame for that?
BR: We want it up and running in time for the Tour DAY France!
JP: I’m currently designing some really great apparel that will be 100% Bobke Approved. We’re crafting some smartass tshirts, hats, a hoodie, socks, maybe a toddler tee and there are a few other surprise items in the works. I have revisited some classic Bobke art and phrasing from back in the day to incorporate with new designs. So far things are looking really fun. I’m working with a great printhouse and am really excited about this part of our journey. We want to have it all up and running in time for the tour rush. My goal is to keep it simple because I will be running it out of my garage on my own – at least to start with.

Are there any other plans to add other functionalities to the website? Podcasts from events or Le Tour? Video at all?
BR: Eventually as the technology evolves I would enjoy commentating on the big bike races without worry of political correctness.
JP: Bob, you didn’t answer the question.
BR: I didn’t? Podcasts? Absolutely. That’s what I’m talking about. I think it would be fun to record one of my speaking engagements and put it up.
JP: I think we can swing that. I’ll put it on my to do list. . . . .

I would think that the nature of marketing a personality/celebrity is such that a personal connection is paramount. Bob sells himself. How are you going to balance that now? Bob can't be everywhere so I understand Jessi dealing with logistics of events and appearances (and there are many!) but will Bob still be accessible to those people who need a little more personal connection before booking him?
JP: Bob typically calls each place I book him to get a vibe and check in. I think that’s a rarity. I would be surprised if Terry Bradshaw did that.
BR: (laughs) Also, the bike confraternity is such that personal contact is essential for a successful visit.

What do each of you see for BobkeInk in 5 years?
BR: That’s a good question. I would like it to be a resource for all cyclists including the highest end of racing, grass roots participation, trail advocacy and commuting. Maybe some touring excursions.
JP: You’ve got some broad goals there, partner. Better get those job applications out! I see us having 4 or 5 current racers and be the proud organizers of BobkeFest in Durango Colorado. THE BEST BIKE FESTIVAL IN ALL THE LAND. We talked about that a long time ago. . . . maybe it’s time to resurrect that one. . . (Jessi drifts off, gears churning) Outside of those realistically achievable short term goals, there are some REALLY big things we’re discussing the possibilities of doing. I shoot pretty high and get there step by step. I take one thing at a time. We definitely have some remarkably exciting opportunities we’re looking into. Things I never thought I would do, but am really looking forward to their conception.

Bob, traveling as much as you do gets exhausting, I know. Do you see yourself keeping up this pace for years or will there be some time in the future where you just say "Uncle" and stop or limit your appearances to only a few each year?
I’ve been at it for two decades and feel pretty good. I have gypsy blood.

Note: 10 rapid-fire questions & answers coming soon.

Olde School Marketing- Part 2

2006-04-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Australia now and still processing the events of the trip. To say the least, it was a busy time- though incredibly enjoyable.

Like I mentioned just before I left for Oz, for as much of a major proponent I am for blogging, the good ole face-to-face Brand Evangelism is still my favorite. To me, there is no way to beat the power of speaking to a group of people or an individual person. For as effective as my blog has been in connecting people to the brand and displaying my passion for the brand, I know I am far more persuasive in person.

When thinking of a marketing plan or strategy, it is important to continue to incorporate the human element in those plans. What worked well for me in Australia was that many of the retailers I met with were already very familiar with me, thanks to the blog. Several of them were regular readers and already felt they had developed a relationship with me before I ever set foot in the country. Obviously, that is a huge selling point for the blog and how beneficial it has been. However, those dealers weren't beating down the doors of our distributor begging for Masi bikes.

Meeting the dealers, shaking their hands and then presenting the bikes, the company and our passion for our bikes (my passion for my bikes) was the missing piece that resulted in orders for bikes. I'm not saying that I am a phenomenal salesperson because I don't believe that to be true. What I am saying is that the mere presence of the Masi Brand Manager, talking about the the bikes, was what did the job. Truthfully, it could have been "any $5.00 an hour monkey" (direct quote from an old employer of mine) with a decent speaking ability... but don't tell my bosses that. Sure, I'm mighty passionate about what I do and really do love my job and therefore might be better at talking about my job than a lot of people might be, but passionate people are not hard to find. At least, people who look and sound passionate are not hard to find. Let's face it, a good spokesperson doesn't have to actually care about the product/ service if they are good at just conveying the message. It is always better if they are, but do you really think that all of those spokespeople you see/ hear really care? This might all sound very cynical, which isn't my point here, but the truth of the matter is that a face-to-face presentation can be highly effective.

I'm convinced that my blog laid the groundwork for a good sales trip in Australia and I am never going to stop blogging, even if my career path changes, but I will also always utilize a handshake and good conversation. If you've ever seen me in Las Vegas during Interbike, holding court with a bunch of retailers in my booth, you'll understand why.

For those of you who haven't seen me in action, the above picture gives you a little idea of what I'm trying to say here. I get a little animated... Donna, Jill, Tim and Chris have all seen me in my booth and know what I'm talking about. Brian Gillin, the National Sales Manager for the PacBrands cycling division, said that in all of the years he's been in the cycling industry he'd never met somebody so passionate about a bicycle. I obviously consider that a huge compliment (thanks Brian), but that could be said about you and your product/ service/ shop, etc. Shouldn't you be out there proving that point?

So, please read my blog and then come see me in Vegas. I promise I'll do what I can to get you to really understand just how passionate I am about my job, my bikes and my company.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

Congratulations Bike Portland!

2006-04-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Bike Portland! It was a year ago yesterday that Bike Portland was 'born'. In that time Jonathan has posted well over 700 informative posts for the cyclists of that great city. He's made in-roads with city and police officials and really created a place for cyclists to congregate and share information. It's a wonderful resource. If you haven't checked it out before, please do, even if you don't live in Portland - there is something for everyone there.

Congrats, Jonathan, keep up the great work!

Did you make the leap...

2006-04-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

Referring to Donna's post about the cryptic website, www.willyoumaketheleap.com, that was advertised in Velonews about a month ago. Upon further research people discovered that the web address belonged to SRAM and speculation started. The consensus seemed to be that it was for the new road groups that SRAM was poised to introduce. If you went to the site then there was a little red frog that asked you to check back after the 7th of April for more info.

Just a little while ago I came across some news on Cycling News about the new SRAM road groups, which reminded me about the whole www.willyoumaketheleap.com site. So has anyone checked it out? I did and I liked the site but was a little disappointed.

When I first went to the site I had to upgrade my Macromedia Flash Player to version 8, which was just recently released, in order to even see anything. This made the process of me viewing their new products and marketing materials even harder. I had to download the player, install it, and restart my browser. Not difficult but still caused to me have to work for 5 minutes to get to the site. I think they should have made it compatible with older versions of the player because people are sometimes slow to update to the latest software. Strike one SRAM.

Once I finally got the player updated, installed, and restarted my browser I get to view the site. My first thoughts are it looks nice. The navigation is good and the look of the site is very clean, it has a modern style, and definitely showcases the product well. The images are quite large and allow the viewer to get a good look at the shifters, brakes and other parts with out too much effort. The copy is leaning more towards high-tech with the descriptions of materials and technologies used in the design and production of the various items. Hit for SRAM.

Finally the big gripe that I have with the site is that it was done in Flash. Yes, Flash allows designers to do really cool things and gives ultimate control over the presentation of the site, more like an interactive printed piece. But like I mentioned at the beginning it required me to download a new/updated plug-in before I could view it. Also, since it is done in Flash I cannot bookmark a specific page; I can only bookmark the site. An actual example of the shortcoming of a Flash site is what I found while browsing through the site, a possible mistake in the Technologies section. So, since I can't provide a link to the page I will have to describe it to you. In the Features section, under the Materials section the text is the same as the text under the Exact Actuation section in the Tech section (see picture below). I am guessing this is just an oversight and am not trying to bring it to light to fault SRAM for the mistake, because we all make them, but this is to point out the flaw in using Flash and its lack of bookmarking. Since I can't link to that specific page I had to use two sentences to describe how to get there to see it. Using Flash elements is good but making the whole site in Flash and not being able to bookmark specific content is bad. Strike two SRAM.

Overall, I think that SRAM has done a great job with their marketing and controlling the release of information about the road group to build interest. This has definitely worked for me and I am eager to check it out and give it a test ride sometime. So SRAM keep it up but please redo the website so that I do not have to navigate through the entire site every time I want to drool over your new shifters.

just my 2 cents

chris
iheartbikes

Park Tool Promotion

2006-04-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

As anyone in the cycling industry knows, it is difficult to come up with an all inclusive promotion for dealers. After all, how do you create a fair initiative for multi-store locations, big stores and smaller stores? It's not easy.

Recently, I read over on Bicycle Retailer & Industry News' site that Park Tool has created an International Distinguished Service Award. Basically, a customer nominates his or her favorite shop by writing a letter to Park Tool about the great service he or she got. Ah-ha! It's all about the service, not sales volume. Bravo, guys!

On Park's site they say, "This award is designed to recognize bike shops that provide excellent repairs and a service experience that is above and beyond the call of duty."

Obviously, being a tool company, this is a perfect tie-in for them.

A winner will be chosen by Park Tool each quarter. Yes, it's a little subjective, but they can't pick a shop that wasn't nominated, right? If your letter is picked, the shop will be recognized on the Park Tool site and you will get a PZT-1 Pizza Cutter. From the quarterly winners one winner will be picked for the year. I'm assuming they get a grand poo-bah prize or something. I'm sure it will be funky and cool. Oh yea, that pizza cutter....I have one in my kitchen. It's kinda fun.

Yes, there does seem to be a rule for this contest. I couldn't have said it any better if I tried so here is the verbiage straight from Park Tool's site:
There is a special place in hell for shops that submit their own names. If caught, we will expose this fraudulent behavior in as embarrassing a way as possible.

HA! If you know the Park Tool guys at all, you know they mean this. You have been warned.

Now, go on and write a letter to nominate your favorite shop, if they've earned it.

"King" Karl to leave the industry

2006-03-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

When Tim started this collaboration he asked if I had anyone in mind that I'd like to invite. Karl Wiedemann from Pedro's was the first person I thought of and, luckily he took us up on the invitation to become a Krew member. I call him "King Karl" because he's just so darn good at what he does! Every time I turn around I see Pedro's stuff in magazines, on the web, at trade shows - everywhere! All of that is a result of Karl's hard work.

I've, personally, been lucky enough to work with Karl on a few projects and have enjoyed every minute. He's also one of the best people in the industry to bounce ideas around with; we've done it often and, usually, I come out the wiser. You don't find that everywhere, in any industry.

But, after "9 years and 3 months..." at Pedro's, Karl has decided that he needs a little change. And change it will be - he's moving to a retail giant! He'll be working at Decathlon USA as their Marketing and Business Development Manager. Big, fancy title, huh? Which probably means there is a lot of work associated with it. But, if anyone is up to the challenge it's King Karl.

The bummer about the whole thing is that he'll be out of the bicycle industry where he's been a voice above the crowd. He will certainly be missed. Somehow, I don't think that Karl will leave the love of cycling that is in his heart, though. He is a guy that rides every day at lunch - you don't do that just because you work in the industry (take it from someone who doesn't ride at lunch!), you do it because you are a cyclist at heart.

All the best in your new adventure, my friend.

Olde School Marketing.

2006-03-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

(Before I go any further here; I know it's a Friday night and I'm blogging. Keep it to yourself!)

With all of the technology that exists today, with blogs and websites, podcasts, vidcasts, etc I find it refreshing that there is still a small place in the world left for the good old handshake and face to face conversation. I know that I spend a lot of time here talking about the power of blogging and new/ different marketing techniques, but I still feel much more comfortable looking somebody in the eye and sharing my personal passion for what I do and the sport (cycling) that fills me with so much pride and joy.

In just a few days, I will be climbing onto an airplane, towing my bike case with me, and flying to Australia. Not for a vacation (not officially anyway), but to assist our new distributor there with the launch of Masi in their market. With all of the technology that exists in this world today, I still believe the most effective sales tool at the disposal of a saleperson/ marketer is a smile and a handshake (in my head I can see Donna mouthing the words "I told you so"...).

Once I get to Australia, I will be traveling to meet with retailers, educate the salesforce, meet some consumers, conduct a few magazine interviews and ride my bike with other cyclists. Even the most dynamic website in the world can't do all of that. I could blog until my fingers bled and not accomplish all of that. NOTHING compares to having the chance to either A) talk about the things you are passionate about or B) listen to somebody talk about the things they are passionate about. Yeah, I know, some passionate people are nuts. But I'm not talking about the nuts.

Similar to my trip to Texas last month to work with a retailer and attend their sale, where I got to meet new Masi owners and soon-to-be Masi owners, this trip affords me the chance to speak directly to "my customers" and convince them that I am sincere in my passion for what I do. I don't know about you, but I listen a lot more to people who can convince me of their passion.

In a few days I hope to be blogging from Down Under. I promise I'll test the whole toilet-water-swirling-the-other-way theory. I might even see if I can find a barbie to toss some shrimp onto. But I can absolutely promise that I will be doing my absolute best to talk to as many people as I can, on and off the bike.

Tim Jackson
Chief Kool-Aid Dispenser

New Advertising: Gamble or Genius?

2006-03-20T15:34:00.000-08:00

I just got a look at the March 13, Velonews today. Yes, I know I'm behind.

On the inside front cover is a two page advertising spread, which can't be cheap. Maybe you've seen it. It's two plain white pages with only two things on them. Bottom left of the first page is a red frog; top right corner says, simply, www.willyoumaketheleap.com

Ok, you are thinking that it's cool because it sends people to a website. Yes. I think so, too. However, the ad is banking on your being extremely curious - and the fact that you are reading the magazine near a computer or will move to a computer nearly immediately so you don't forget. It's a gamble, in my book.

What if you aren't at your computer? What if you are past that page by the time you walk from the mailbox to the house, or get off the can or out of bed or wherever you read your magazines? Are you curious enough to remember this little frog after supper and putting the kids to bed?

Say you do remember. You go to the site and you see the same red frog move across the page and then two paragraphs of teaser text (which I'd put for you here, except it keeps telling me that I need the program to run program, which I have! Ugh, Technology...). The short of it is this: there is going to be another choice on April 7th.

Great! I love new choices! Where do I put in my email address to get a reminder to come back on April 7th to find out what my new choice is? Ah-ha. There isn't a spot. Do you need to remember this date? All by yourself? With everything else going on in the world? April 7th? Not a chance, at least not with me, no matter what my good intentions are right now. I am sure 'they' are smarter than me and they will run another ad before that time to remind us feeble minded folks. That is, whomever 'they' is.

I don't mind teasers, kind of like them, actually. I really, really enjoyed the movie teaser for The Ransom. Cool movie that drew you in, gave you a laugh and an aire of mystery. Personally, I would have liked a place on the frog's site to add my email address so I could be in on the cool announcement - because I am curious.

Now, I must mention that two guys in my office really liked this concept at least one said that he would be back to the site on April 7th. I have my doubts....but we'll see. Maybe it is a male/female thing?

And, because I am, admittedly, impatient - anyone want to tell me who the company is that is running these ads? Because, as much as I think I would have done something different, they did something right because I'm here typing away about them. It's all about the buzz, right?

But this is just my opinion. Do you think this is a gamble? Or a big win? Or something in between? Are you curious enough to remember to go back in a couple of weeks?

Big Day For The Chief

2006-03-18T07:48:00.000-08:00

If you missed it yesterday, the Krew's Chief Dispenser is having a birthday today! That's right, the guy who makes us all look good by posting great conversation starters is turning another year older today.

Please join me in wishing Tim a very happy birthday and a wonderful, healthy year ahead.

Happy Birthday, my friend.