Irvine-based Kawasaki Motors Corp. U.S.A. is betting on Internet marketing as an inexpensive way to try to drive business amid a slowdown in motorcycle sales.
The maker of motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, part of Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., is looking to banner and other online advertising to drive people to its Web site, which was revamped in recent years.
Kawasaki’s site now features racing videos and results, alongside photos and details about the company’s motorcycles, quads, jet skis and other products.
The goal is to follow the lead of “Apple.com or Nike.com in how we utilize our Web site,” said Bruce Stjernstrom, director of marketing for Kawasaki in Irvine.
Kawasaki continues to advertise in motorcycle magazines, according to Stjernstrom. But in some cases, the company is following magazines as they scale back print publications and focus more on the Web.
Kawasaki has about 10% of the U.S. market for motorcycles, according to webWorld International LLC’s webBikeWorld, an industry Web site.
The company competes with bigger players such as Harley-Davidson Inc. and fellow Japanese makers Honda Motor Co., Suzuki Motor Corp., which has its U.S. base in Brea, and Yamaha Motor Co., with operations in Cypress.
Kawasaki is the fourth-largest Japanese motorcycle maker and No. 5 overall.
Sales Slip
All of the companies are dealing with a downturn as U.S. motorcycle sales fell 7% in 2008 from a year earlier, according to the Irvine-based Motorcycle Industry Council.
Motorcycles are faring better than autos, which saw sales fall about 20% last year.
Kawasaki and others got a boost last summer as high gas prices drove interest in motorcycles and scooters as primary sources of transportation, rather than just for fun.
Sales since have slowed with the larger economic downturn and pullback in spending by consumers.
“It’s definitely been slower,” Stjernstrom said.
Yamaha, the No. 3 maker after Honda and Harley, recently posted its first quarterly loss in 26 years for the three months through December.
The downturn puts pressure on Kawasaki’s marketing, which largely is what it does in Irvine.
“We have a lot of new things in the works, but without revealing too much it’s easy to say we are going to be very aggressive in 2009,” Stjernstrom said.
Much of what Kawasaki is doing is online.
“The Internet is always on and always selling,” he said.
The company has been working to make the Web the center of its marketing as it sees more of its buyers go online to research bikes.
“We’re building a sense of community around the brand and pre-selling customers so they arrive at the dealerships more informed and more brand conscious,” Stjernstrom said.
The Internet also is more important to Kawasaki as print magazines cut back or shut down publications to focus on the Web.
Kawasaki’s own site gets about 2 million visitors a month, according to Stjernstrom. More than half are newcomers, he said
The company has added more video to show visitors motorcycles and ATVs. In some, Kawasaki team riders walk viewers through an overview of the company’s bikes.
“There are many things you can do with video that provides information that they need but in a setting that is entertaining,” Stjernstrom said.
Nearly 80% of Kawasaki dealers have their own Web sites, Stjernstrom said.
The company offers dealers software to enhance their sites, he said.
Last year, Kawasaki started an ad planning Web site that allows dealers to download banner ads and videos for their sites.
Sponsoring Races
Most of Kawasaki’s other marketing is focused on motorcycle races.
“We look at racing as a very important part of our brand and something both our dealers and customers expect from us,” Stjernstrom said.
For the past three years, Kawasaki has worked with Corona-based Hansen Natural Corp.’s Monster Beverage Co. Their names appear together on rider uniforms, with Monster picking up some costs of backing riders.
“Monster is a good fit for us,” Stjernstrom said.
Kawasaki and others appear to be getting more selective in their race sponsorships. It withdrew from the American Superbike series in favor of the Ohio-based American Motorcyclist Association’s 600cc class in January.
The move wasn’t financial, according to Stjernstrom.
“It was more of a directional thing,” he said.
Kawasaki replaced Honda as a backer of the American Motorcyclist Association race. Honda withdrew last month.
“There has been some budget paring from some companies and for some teams this year,” Stjernstrom said. “Overall, the industry is strong. If the economy was a little better we definitely would be a whole lot happier.”
