Ducati's Quest To Build A Winning Brand

‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ is an old adage touted by NASCAR teams, and the motovation for domestic auto manufacturers to invest millions in the sport. That saying also applies to motosports, particularly in the MotoGP. But for Ducati Motor Holding SpA, the stakes are even higher.

The Italian motorcycle manufacturer has a reputation for sleek, high performance sport bikes, stereotypically cloaked in a flashy, high gloss Ducati Red, and yet its factory team hasn’t won a championship since 2007. Ducati Corse needs a win not only to back up its rep, but also to grab more marketshare and justify its products sales prices. After all, if the bikes aren’t the best and the fastest on the track, why should buyers pay a premium for the European brand?

Ducati NA reported 54,809 deliveries in 2015--up from 45,100 in 2014--marking its best year ever. Whether or not the sales bump can directly be tied to team performance would require the kind of numbers and charts that this writer isn’t privy too. However, it's noted that Ducati Corse has been on an uphill trajectory since the manufacturer was acquired by Audi in 2012. Acquisition by German brand brought more technology and engineering prowess to the team, says press manager Julian Thomas, and its streamlined processes improved communication with the factory. Audi's deep pockets have also bolstering its marketing.

The U.S. is Ducati's single biggest market, and the Austin MotoGP is a major channel through witch it targets buyers. Since the Championship resumed races the U.S. in 2005 after a 10-year hiatus, Ducati has always staked out real estate at courses to promote its team and brand, and each year its presence has grown. The Ducati Island at the 2016 Austin MotoGP at the Circuit of the America’s track in Austin, TX is the largest branding effort the manufacturer has made in the U.S. Of course, everything is bigger in Texas.

The island rests behind turn 12 of the track and covers a 80,000 sq. ft. area. Its footprint could almost swallow the entire “Fan Zone” area across the track where other manufactures display their products. Inside this grass pentagram of space flanked by red tent, Ducati brand "experiences" are in high gear. The new Scrambler and its sibling, the Sixty2, is on display in all color variations. Next to it is a small loop track made out of hay bales for toddlers to do laps on miniature Ducati motorized bikes, some even with training wheels to introduce the youngest family members to the sport. Under a tent, mechanics take apart and then reassemble a white Superbike 959 Panigale and red Monster 1200 S to show onlookers how their bi-wheeled sausage is made.

To the right of the main entrance is a full retail store teeming with Ducati-logoed everything in the team’s signature red and black colors--a marketing exercise that the company insists is a loss for them, or at best a break even. A fashion show later in the day shows off their latest motorcycling gear and branded lifestyle apparel, and one fellow attendee points out that Ducati is one of the few motorcycle companies that sells a branded bikini. Could Honda or Yamaha pull off a similar marketing move? Not likely. Women may put on a yellow “Rossi 46” two-piece, but if Movistar Yamaha racer Valentino Rossi jumps teams, he takes his fan base with him. Perhaps this is why there are no Yamaha bikinis (Yamaha sells branded men’s board shorts, but no female swim attire).

In the center of the island is exclusive parking for Ducati owners who purchased the three-day Ducati Ticket Package for $215. The number of bikes grow through out the day and the sheer number of them form a sea of red carbon fiber and glittering chrome. Pass holders who fail to arrive on bikes that bear the namesake’s logo have to park in the general parking lots like the rest of the punters. With 80,000 other fans attendance, it’s a good strategy to hitch a ride to the race on a Ducati.

In addition to seating in the Ducati fan bleachers, the package also opens the doors to the paddocks where teams have their garage and hospitality suites. During qualifying rounds, a swarm of people--mostly men clad in yellow and black—crowd around a gate. That’s clearly Rossi’s garage, and his superfans angle for any glimpse of the rider, breaking out in Olé chants every time the door opens.

The crowd is considerably lighter outside of the Ducati entrance, although the team’s Umbrella Girls vacuum-sealed into red pleather pants attract their fair share of attention with men snapping selfies between the long-tressed models.

The all-but-confirmed rumor is that Ducati so badly wants a title that its spending approximately $38 million per year (including sponsorship) on a two-year contract with three-time championship winner Jorge Lorenzo, who is currently on the Moviestar Yamaha MotoGP Team. News that he has already signed a contract with Ducati floods the motorsport news outlet right before the race. Will this be money well-spent? The prevailing opinion is, yes - Ducati Corse needs to prove its bikes can surpass Yamaha and Honda given the right pilot.

And yet, would winning a championship translate directly to increased sales?

Like most things, it's more complicated than that. Studies have shown that championship titles lift a brand’s image, but it’s not just the trophy that woos buyers. Just as important as seeing their favorite rider on the podium is a hopefully enjoyable weekend full of race activities. The bike displays, paddock access, the bikini-clad models in the fashion show, a private lounge area for pass holders – it’s not just about the bike, it’s about the Ducati experience.

Two-thirds of enthusiasts who attended a race and later purchased a vehicle had visited an onsite display sponsored by their purchased brand, according to a study by motorsports analysis firm Foresight Research. This means that the more time a potential customer spends in Ducati Island, the more favorable impression they will have with the brand and the more likely they will purchase a product made by the motorcycle manufacturer. Another benefit is the marketing reverberation that extends long past Sunday.

After the race, fans go home and talk excitedly with friends about their favorite team, delivering that word of mouth marketing that companies covet. And if Ducati later converts this fan into a buyer, that new Ducati xDiavel parked in the driveway may even tempt neighbors to add it to their short list when the time comes for them to purchase a new cruiser. This chain reaction is what justifies the tens of millions spent on a winning pilot and the 80,000 sq. ft. marketing machine that is Ducati Island.

It’s also one of the biggest opportunities to reach the U.S. market.

MotoGP has trimmed the roster to just one race in North America, down from three two years ago. With only one shot to make an impression, a lot is riding on the team’s performance. Ducati has its branding squared away, now the factory team has to win a championship once again to grow and protect it.