5 Ways Ducati is Like Apple
I’ve noticed something lately. More and more of the folks I know who own Ducatis also tend to have a similar deeply committed financial relationship with products from Apple. Why? Because Ducati is in many ways just like Apple. Let me give you 5 of them after the jump.
1. Ducati has Stellar Brand Awareness
Ducati is a minor player numerically in the motorcycle market just as Apple is in the computer one but that doesn’t stop the brands being almost household names. Almost any soccer mom in an SUV has heard of Ducati (even if she thinks Harley is cooler). And the guys at the office probably think of Ducati as the Ferrari of motorcycles, all dripping in Italian charm and style. In the same way, everyone knows about Apple even if its computer market share is in the single digits.
This larger than life pervasiveness where brand awareness far outstrips actual penetration and use is no doubt the result of superlative marketing from both companies but it also comes as a result of having. Ducati is helped by its investments in racing which has helped cement its performance image and just like Apple, Ducati is an aspirational brand for motorcyclists.
2. You Pay a Premium
A base model Ducati 1198 costs $16,495, $3,000 more than a Yamaha R1, but you don’t want just the base model do you? One definition of Brand Equity is how much more you can charge for an otherwise similar product due to the fact that it has brand ‘X’ stamped on the side. There is no doubt that Ducati, like Apple, command premium prices for their products and for the most part their customers aren’t concerned, because for them, there is real value in having Ducati (or Apple) etched prominently on the side.
3. Ducati has Fanboys and Haters
The debate over Windows versus Mac has raged for years and shows no signs of abating. There are some who queue up time and time again to buy anything Apple offers for sale and then those who wouldn’t be seen dead with an iPhone and don’t know why anyone would buy an iPad.
The same is true with Ducati. The template for a Ducati rider is either someone who enjoys a sense of Italian style and design flair coupled with torquey V-twin performance honed on the racetrack or a soy latte sipping poseur with chicken strips on their tire who wouldn’t know an apex from an Amex.
You know which side you’re on!
4. Brave Enough to Expand outside its Core
Apple dropped the ‘Computer’ from the company name once it became clear that they were no longer just a company who made towers, all in ones and laptops. Apple has been able to step outside of its core to move into new, adjacent segments such as MP3 players, smart phones, home media solutions and now even try its hand at creating a whole device category with the iPad.
In a similar way, Ducati has shrugged off its hard core sportsbike only focus to also produce machines such as the Monster and after that tremendous success the Hypermotard. Now the new Multistrada 1200 is aimed at redefining what a multipurpose motorcycle is.
5. Ducati is Cool
Seen a movie lately? Did it have an Apple laptop in it? How about a Ducati? Chances are it did because Apple and Ducati are hot items to include on any set. Why, because they’re cool. Apple doesn’t pay for product placement but nevertheless the new, as yet unlaunched iPad, featured prominently in the content of the great comedy Modern Family.
In Terminator Salvation, Ducati Moto Terminators wreak havoc whereas a Streetfghter and Desmosedici RR feature in the upcoming Wall Street 2. For Tron Legacy it will be a Ducati Sportclassic.
Both Ducati and Apple are cool. The products are cool looking but it is more than just being brainwashed by pretty design. Using an Apple is simply a superior experience for a minority of people and the same goes for riding and owning a Ducati. I count myself as one of the minority.
I’ll let Steve Jobs have the last word.
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
link: Steve Jobs Quotes
What do you think? Chime in with your views in the comments section below.
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Shame that the Ducati download software for the 1198 S can’t be loaded on an Apple then !!!
Oh so right. Although Apple aren’t the only brand you could say Ducati shares these attributes with. Evoking exclusivity, passion, ans a ‘dare to be different’ ethos is part of the attraction, as well as making damn sexy products of course.
I’d suggest ‘expanding outside it’s core’ has been a fairly painful exercise for Ducati especially when considering the bikes themselves. (The other products are cool ‘add ons’ in any case).
Going to a four cylinder race bike meant leaving behind a lot of tradition and the trellis frame is likely to go the same way over time. These decisions would be carefully measured and considered in many a meeting before they’d be given the green light.
Brand awareness is bolstered by the commitment Ducati has to its loyal following and effectively builds its brand from the inside out. Don’t change Ducati…we love you!
#2 is a bit unfinished. Compare the 1198 to an R1 (of which I’m an owner). 1198′s simply have more features. If you’re looking at the fact that they’re both sport bikes, both corner well and both are fast, then sure, the comparison makes sense. I’m also more interested in an OS than the hardware (I have a dell 10v hackintosh sitting next to my Mac Pro). I don’t care about the logo, I just want what works, the first time all the time.
(coulda just left out #2….)