LuckyStriker
Bachelor Dog
A bunch of journalists – including yours truly – were invited to the Motorrad Days event in Clarens.
I was very excited during the run-up. From what I understood it was going to be youthful reimagining of the brand.
I expected to see a horde of old school café racers, indie girls with Polaroid cameras, guys in plaid shirts and meticulously groomed beards, and loads of craft beer stands. I even spray-painted my helmet so that it would look a little more ‘ironic’ and ‘random’. I already have the beard and the Vans shoes and could probably pass as a hipster granddaddy.
BMW asked me if I would like the use of an R nineT during the event. “Absolutely!” I exclaimed. Perfect!
When I got to O.R. Tambo airport the PR people were equally excited. I noticed that I was the only journalist taking possession of a bike.
The other journos on my flight were squeezed into cars and driven down to the event. WTF guys?
When I got to Clarens I immediately noticed something was amiss. Where were the young people? Instead it was the usual suspects you find at these BMW events.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not disrespecting the BMW owners who were there – I just expected the kids to come, not their parents.
Noticeable were the omies with their boeppies taking pictures with their iPads. Not cool, sir. Not cool.
To be fair, there were a couple of cool kids skulking about but they seemed a little bored.
So apparently the ticket prices were a bit steep and there were not enough activities to justify the cost. Fair enough, I guess cheap for one is expensive to some. As a result many festival goers hung out outside the square in the free zone, not spending money on the event.
Obviously I didn’t pay a cent either since my press pass got me wherever I wanted to go – even backstage.
I found it surprising that the VIP hospitality tent required cash. Not only did you pay to get in but a single glass of pinotage set you back R45. Fuck me! Way too expensive for a journalist, trust me.
The bands did their best but they were trying to entertain the wrong audience. I saw more foot-tapping during the breaks when classic rock recordings were piped through the PAs. I actually also enjoyed that.
The only band that had a respectable turnout was Die Heuwel Fantasties, but they dropped the F-bomb so often that even I cringed a little. The Afrikaans tannies with their tidy hairstyles visibly shrunk whenever lead singer Pierre Greeff shouted “Fokken awesome, my bra! Jissis, maar dis lekker hier”
I had to laugh.
The cool kids I mentioned earlier clearly enjoyed the Friday evening but I didn’t see many of them return the following night to support Ard Matthews and Mean Mr Mustard. I don’t blame them, those acts are so 2010. Plus it rained a little, which was a bummer.
Sunday back in Jo’burg the Public Relations people looked a little worn out and far less excited than they were before the event. They asked me what I thought of the weekend and I skillfully volleyed the question back to them. They gave the same noncommittal meaningless answer I was prepared to give them. They did say that next year’s event was going to be lots better and that they were learning as they go. I believe them, I actually do.
My advice to them is to perhaps invite their traditional customers and host a festival that suits an older demographic. Either that or make a greater effort to get these elusive youngsters to attend. They can start by actually getting young people involved in the planning and having activities that younger people like at a location that younger people would want to go to.
As for the R nineT: What a great little bike. I’m already penning a favourable review in which I encourage young adults to go buy one, because this is what I truly believe.
I’ll try to paint the festival in a fair light. I also know that someone on this forum will copy this post and send it off to someone at BMW. And BMW will be disappointed that I’m not promoting the event more favourably.
Fortunately they are a reasonable people that actually care about feedback from their customers - which I actually am. They are not out to milk you dry as some KTM and Kawasaki owners would like us to believe ;D . They are a profitable corporate entity and I’m sure they’ll forgive me for criticizing them and invite me back next year…
I hope
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are mine alone and not a reflection on the publication I write for.
Now for some pics:
I was very excited during the run-up. From what I understood it was going to be youthful reimagining of the brand.
I expected to see a horde of old school café racers, indie girls with Polaroid cameras, guys in plaid shirts and meticulously groomed beards, and loads of craft beer stands. I even spray-painted my helmet so that it would look a little more ‘ironic’ and ‘random’. I already have the beard and the Vans shoes and could probably pass as a hipster granddaddy.
BMW asked me if I would like the use of an R nineT during the event. “Absolutely!” I exclaimed. Perfect!
When I got to O.R. Tambo airport the PR people were equally excited. I noticed that I was the only journalist taking possession of a bike.
The other journos on my flight were squeezed into cars and driven down to the event. WTF guys?
When I got to Clarens I immediately noticed something was amiss. Where were the young people? Instead it was the usual suspects you find at these BMW events.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not disrespecting the BMW owners who were there – I just expected the kids to come, not their parents.
Noticeable were the omies with their boeppies taking pictures with their iPads. Not cool, sir. Not cool.
To be fair, there were a couple of cool kids skulking about but they seemed a little bored.
So apparently the ticket prices were a bit steep and there were not enough activities to justify the cost. Fair enough, I guess cheap for one is expensive to some. As a result many festival goers hung out outside the square in the free zone, not spending money on the event.
Obviously I didn’t pay a cent either since my press pass got me wherever I wanted to go – even backstage.
I found it surprising that the VIP hospitality tent required cash. Not only did you pay to get in but a single glass of pinotage set you back R45. Fuck me! Way too expensive for a journalist, trust me.
The bands did their best but they were trying to entertain the wrong audience. I saw more foot-tapping during the breaks when classic rock recordings were piped through the PAs. I actually also enjoyed that.
The only band that had a respectable turnout was Die Heuwel Fantasties, but they dropped the F-bomb so often that even I cringed a little. The Afrikaans tannies with their tidy hairstyles visibly shrunk whenever lead singer Pierre Greeff shouted “Fokken awesome, my bra! Jissis, maar dis lekker hier”
I had to laugh.
The cool kids I mentioned earlier clearly enjoyed the Friday evening but I didn’t see many of them return the following night to support Ard Matthews and Mean Mr Mustard. I don’t blame them, those acts are so 2010. Plus it rained a little, which was a bummer.
Sunday back in Jo’burg the Public Relations people looked a little worn out and far less excited than they were before the event. They asked me what I thought of the weekend and I skillfully volleyed the question back to them. They gave the same noncommittal meaningless answer I was prepared to give them. They did say that next year’s event was going to be lots better and that they were learning as they go. I believe them, I actually do.
My advice to them is to perhaps invite their traditional customers and host a festival that suits an older demographic. Either that or make a greater effort to get these elusive youngsters to attend. They can start by actually getting young people involved in the planning and having activities that younger people like at a location that younger people would want to go to.
As for the R nineT: What a great little bike. I’m already penning a favourable review in which I encourage young adults to go buy one, because this is what I truly believe.
I’ll try to paint the festival in a fair light. I also know that someone on this forum will copy this post and send it off to someone at BMW. And BMW will be disappointed that I’m not promoting the event more favourably.
Fortunately they are a reasonable people that actually care about feedback from their customers - which I actually am. They are not out to milk you dry as some KTM and Kawasaki owners would like us to believe ;D . They are a profitable corporate entity and I’m sure they’ll forgive me for criticizing them and invite me back next year…
I hope
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are mine alone and not a reflection on the publication I write for.
Now for some pics:
eepwall:
