Marketing Campaign: Piaggio's Vespa Scooters

Marketing Campaign: Piaggio’s Vespa Scooters Presented by Jaclyn Susan Mosher Chrisanne Sikora Jia Liu Vidya Gopalan Natalia Musatova

History, Marketing Now, Competitors, Market Trends

Audience

Media

Other Marketing

Divided into 2 target markets Young people Retirees Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Structure of Presentation

Part One History Marketing Now Competitors Market Trends

History of the Vespa

Parent company Piaggio (Genoa, Italy)

First appeared in 1946; by 1951, 100,000 sold

Not sold in US from 1980-2000

Made famous in films ( Roman Holiday , right)

Meaning: the ecological, economic, and personal satisfaction one achieves after buying a Vespa scooter. Vespanomics promotes embracing motor scooters as an alternative form of transportation to reduce oil consumption, pollution and traffic congestion.

Additional meanings: 1. A feeling of total exhilaration; consistent with riding a stylish, high performance Vespa. 2. The incomparable level of satisfaction that can only come from helping the environment while also saving a boatload of money on gas.

Origin : A union of the words Vespa and economics. Related words: Vespanomic, adj , vespanomically, adv

= ? Play video What is Vespanomics?

Brand Extension and Promotional Events

Vespa clothing line (top left)

Vintage posters – for sale and used in new campaigns

Models on Vespa – create a scene

Vespa on the Red Carpet

Competition

Brand Name (Vespa) vs. Price (Yamaha, Honda)

Two “knock-off” competitors:

Yamaha Vino (left) and Honda Metropolitan (right)

Similar campaigns: “Euro style,” urban, “fun”

Part Two Audience

Audience

Geography:

Urban/Suburban settings across the country

Coastal Cities as well as interior regions

Behavior/Psychographics:

Commuters looking for fun alternative to cars

Attracted by lower fuel costs and flexible parking options

Easier to maneuver in city

Demographics divided into two distinct age groups

Younger consumers (20+ years old)

College kids, young professionals

Older professionals, Baby Boomers, enthusiasts

Approximately half of Vespa consumers are women

Audience (cont.)

Young Consumers (20-35 years old)

Attracted by:

Low up-front cost (when compared to cars)

Low fuel costs

High customizability of Vespa

— no two are exactly alike

Vespas in Love

Older consumers (45+ years old)

Attracted by:

Low fuel costs

“ fun” alternative means of commute

Way to reclaim lost youth

Enthusiasts who enjoy weekend rides as a hobby

People who enjoy fixing/restoring old vehicles

I feel as young as him

Women

Attracted by high level of customizability

Vespas less intimidating than most motorcycles

Part Three Media

Marketing in the Past

2002: $340,400

Media Used: Magazine, Sports TV, National Sports Radio

2006

Media Used: Co-op Advertising, Foreign, Special Events Marketing

2007

Vespanomics: Go Green Challenge Campaign

Vespanomics Video Contest Measurement Date Range: 8/13-12/05 Total Videos: 7 Subscribers: 28 Total Views:7,639 Total Comments:90

Targeting Younger Market

Segment

College students and urban professionals (Boston)

Objective

Arouse brand awareness among younger generation

Promote two Models: LX 50 and LX150

Positioning

3F (Fun, Fashion, and Freedom)

“ It’s just fun. ” I love the style elements It gives me a sense of freedom Why do they love Vespa?

What is 3F?

Fun

Ride your buddy Solo adventure, group ride, or Vespa rally

Freedom

Out of congestion and close to Mother Nature Less worry about money (gas & insurance), time, parking, and global warming

Fashion

Vespa design

Vespa customization

Media Mix

Outdoor media On vehicle advertisements

Print media Magazines and Brochures

Radio

Electronic media Social networking sites

Content Communities

Screensavers and wall papers

On Vehicle Advertisements

A relatively inexpensive medium with high frequency and reach

MBTA subway system

598,200 passenger trips each weekday

Most of the riders are commuting concerned young consumers

A relatively longer riding time

Print Media: Magazines Fashion Feel the wind in your soul patch. Just the thing for your freedom. Never have to help your friends move again. Source: Print ads by McClain Finlon.

Improper Bostonian

Circulation: 85,000

Readership: 420,500

Young trendsetters

A d Size: ½ Page Horizontal Spread

Print Media: Brochures Your Guide to the Road Educational Brochure Your Guide to the Road Content Licensing Maintenance Parking Safety concerns Vespa customization DIY tips Vespa local and national clubs info Distribution T stations Shopping districts Adapted small flyers attached to T ads

Radio Boston’s #1 hit music station Target group : women 18-34

Reach more female consumers and rescue frustrated drivers in the traffic

Chosen Programs

Matty in the Morning

Romeo

Chosen Spot Duration: 15 second

Electronic Media

No.6 most trafficked site in the U.S

Mostly college students and young professionals

306,307 members in Boston alone

253 groups about Vespa globally

Free business page : two-way communication and viral effects

Popular photo sharing site

Very active online communities

252 groups about Vespa

Thousands of photos tagged as Vespa

Screensavers and wall papers

Low cost, dynamic

The Photo Contest

Build up a Vespa Contest Group

Identify enthusiasts

Send out messages

Develop application

Vespa Cartoon photo customization

News feed viral distribution

Cartoon style photos from Facebook

Real photographing artwork from Flickr

Produced based on top 100 winners

Downloading links posted on both sites

Screensavers and wall papers Vespa Micro site

Rewards

Top 1000: A free T shirt (designed by Vespa)

Top 100: A free T shirt (printed with their own photos)

Top 2: A free Vespa LX 150

They become Vespa’s moving ads.

Marketing Time Frame and Budget Slightly Heavy Slow down Heavy December New Year Early March

Market: Boston

Seniors rank number 3, among the top

10 markets for number of retirees.

Seniors make up a nearly third of the Boston population

newspapers advertisement prompted the seniors for a store visit

Media

Newspaper

Online Newspaper

Magazine

Targeting Older Market

Newspaper Scarborough Research

Boston Globe (Audit Bureau of Circulation)

Metro Boston

Different Sections and Features

General

Arts and Entertainment

Travel

Education

Retail

General Rates

Ads must measure 3 columns by 10.5 inches

This special position is ideal for high end goods: apparel, travel, automotive and technology.

Advertisers reserving space on this page will pay a 15% premium on their existing rate

Metro reaches nearly 250,000 people daily, mainly the commuter riders Metro Boston

Boston.Com

Reaches 4.4 million visitors

Contextual targeting matches the audience

Different Sections

News

Business

Sports

Online Advertising

Beltway

The Beltway is one of four ads appearing above the fold on Boston.com's homepage as well as in their main Sports page

Pixels: 170x65

Max. File Size: 4K max

Animation: Static

Rich Media: No

Third Party: No

Location: Boston.com homepage; Sports homepage

Half-page Ad

The Half-Page Ad, as its name suggests, takes up half of article pages.

Pixels: 336x850

Max. File Size: 60K

Animation: Up to 30 seconds

Rich Media: Yes

Third Party: Yes

Location: Article pages

Notes: Expandable ads can expand up to 504x800

Ad Specification

E-magazine- Environment Friendly Magazine

E-reader Survey

Female readers: 64%, Male: 36%

Age group from 40-44 and 50-54

48% of the e-readers who currently own or intend to buy environment friendly products

74% of e readers included fuel efficiency as a factor in purchasing a vehicle

30% of e readers are presently considering the purchase of a new vehicle

Magazine

Part Four Other Marketing

I Product placement in movies and shows II Cause-related sponsorship III Sales promotions and events Other Marketing Strategies

A number of celebrities and filmmakers are seen on Vespas (e.g. Jerry Seinfeld, Robert De Niro, Kirsten Dunst, Andy Dick, and Lenny Kravitz). Vespas are showing up in the movies and television shows (e.g. Diane Lane's in "Under the Tuscan Sun" and Hilary Duff in "The Lizzie McGuire Movie."

Two "Ugly Betty" cast members, Ana Ortiz and Michael Urie at the Environmental Media Association Awards, held on 10/24/07, showing their love for Vespas! Hayden Panettiere modeling a Vespa GTS:

Vespa's Go Green Challenge