The Homa Files

Excerpted from Adweek, “Vespa Touts Scooters for Americans” by Eleftheria Parpis, Nov 24, 2008

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Convincing Americans to ditch their SUVs for scooters seems an impossible marketing task, but what about getting consumers to augment their gas-guzzlers with a snazzy new Vespa for short trips? That is a much more realistic goal for Vespa USA, which recently launched a Web site that positions the iconic brand as fun and functional.

The site…offers product info, reviews and tools to post and plot favorite routes and calculate fuel savings. The objective is to convince more Americans to consider scooters as alternative transportation.

So far, Americans have heard few stories about ways to cut down on carbon emissions: either downsizing vehicles or switching to electric hybrids…”If you combine the usage of a car or SUV with a motor scooter–which millions of Europeans do every day–then you can achieve the same results.”

The venue offers a “Vespa vs. Auto MPG” tool where consumers can compare the scooters’ mileage to the performance of cars. Users can then determine how many miles per gallon they would save by combining Vespa travel with trips in vehicles they already own…

While Vespa…has seen an increase in sales since gas prices began rising, the challenge is to convince consumers that Vespas offer serious riding options, not just trips around the neighborhood…the site’s Google map-based “Community Rides” tool allows scooter owners to share, rate and comment on riding routes.

“Hopefully, over time, people will…realize these are not toys and that people really do use this as a transportation vehicle”…

Edit by SAC

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The new Vespa website introduces the term “Vespanomics”, which refers to the ecological and economic benefits that Vespa provides riders with the additional promise of “total exhilaration” that comes from riding a “stylish, high performance Vespa.” In the past Vespa has emphasized the brand’s the style and lifestyle more than its practicality and efficiency.  Online and at dealerships, Vespa sells everything a rider needs to live the brand from scooter accessories, to clothing and beach towels to mini-notepads and lanyards.  Vespanomics is the tool Vespa needs to bring new users to the brand and to extend the brand lifestyle to include eco-concern.

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Full Article:
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/esearch/e3i550533f2636cdbd1a765ce9cdcca1936

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This entry was posted on November 28, 2008 at 6:37 am and is filed under Autos - Travel, Environment - Green, Oil & Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.