“In late 2019 at MIC’s Communication Symposium, we shared the MIC’s vision for growing ridership – more riders, riding more,” explains Paul Vitrano, chairman of the Motorcycle Industry Council Board of Directors and senior assistant general counsel of Polaris. “We were excited to begin operationalizing the plan in early 2020, but the pandemic caused us to pause and refocus our efforts on helping powersports businesses remain open.” Now the “Come Ride With Us” campaign has been clicked back into gear and is ready to engage more riders.
“While we were navigating the coronavirus, we also were working hard to prepare for the post-pandemic environment,” adds MIC president and CEO Erik Pritchard. “Our preparation included a number of initiatives tied to each phase of the new rider journey – Inspire, Explore, Engage and Integrate – as well as bringing on new talent and supporting new-rider education initiatives. Ride With Us is purposefully being launched within the first post-coronavirus riding season, and we will be rolling out various tools and campaign elements to help grow the industry. We also will be announcing the Vice President of Market Expansion to execute the expansion strategy.”
As a part of the Ride With Us program, the MIC is also delivering new 45-minute first-ride experiences for people who have never ridden a motorcycle before. The activation was beta-tested at Comoto’s three-day Get On! Moto Fest in May. It will be rolled out at the IMS Outdoors consumer events, Overlander shows and other key events this summer.
“Our industry has needed a unifying market expansion effort targeting potential and returning riders, and the MIC is delivering it with Ride With Us,” notes Vitrano. “We urge all industry stakeholders to rally around this initiative as it rolls out to support people at every stage of their journey to becoming a lifelong rider.”
The MIC is leading a task force composed of industry-leading marketing talent to help develop the program. The task force provided direction on the brand, logo and style guide for the Ride With Us campaign and will deliver additional elements of the program, including social media content syndication and social media best practices for MIC dealer members.
“Our industry has needed a unifying market expansion effort targeting potential and returning riders, and the MIC is delivering it with Ride With Us,” concludes Vitrano. “We urge all industry stakeholders to rally around this initiative as it rolls out to support people at every stage of their journey to becoming a lifelong rider.”
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