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Sponsorship Proposal MOTOINITIATIVE January, 2010
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MOTO INITATIVE THE IDEA
Four guys. A motorcycle trip from Alaska to Argentina. A cultural adventure. A digital media strategy.
On August 1, 2010, Dashiell, Wheeler, Damian, and Jonny will ship out from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to kick off over 20 thousand miles of web-casted Pan-Americanism via motorcycle. After crossing Alaska, the route will primarily trace the western coast of the Americas before traversing South America from Lima, Peru to Florianopolis, Brazil, and proceeding south to the final stop in Ushuaia, Argentina. Every mile will be photographed, blogged, tweeted, and filmed. Highlights and lowlights will be broadcast daily from www.MotoInitiative.com. The Moto Initiative experience is designed to recapture the American adventure spirit. Our ability to complete and document the trip will show that new adventures and life-long goals can still be achieved through determination, hard work and ingenuity. With varying educational and professional backgrounds, we share a common interest in international travel, a commitment to making this trip happen and a combined lack of motorcycling experience. We've already begun acquiring training, licenses, and starter bikes. We're learning motorcycle maintenance; tuning our Spanish; lining up courses in first aid, off-road motorcycling and wilderness survival; and speccing bikes and gear. Our personalities and commitment to pulling off the trip will form the core of the story initiated on MotoInitiative.com and expanded by the community developed there. The design and content of the new-media website tracking the adventure is driven by the participants' desire to develop a community of enthusiasts who share common interests and ideas in an online forum. The content will be the footage and comments from the trip, but the site will be defined by the spontaneous and authentic conversations of the online community at large. Moto Initiative will benefit from the ongoing engagement, easy organization and participation in the development of a story defined and formed by its own community. From this interaction of the riders with a larger community, interests will be identified, expounded upon and grown into additional content. Observations and insights will be shared as a volunteer collective is formed, comprised of creative individuals simply seeking fun, adventure, interaction and an outlet of exchange. A culture will be born of these traits, and affiliation with that culture is the driver of supportive participation by you as a sponsor. The sincere efforts of our passionate group, the broad appeal of an exciting adventure and new media sources utilized to develop and share this story motivates and enables this undertaking. Submitted To: BMW of North America, LLC Attn: Marketing Department P.O. Box 1227 Westwood, NJ 07675 Phone: (201) 307-4000
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Submitted by: Moto Initiative 139 Norfolk Street New York, NY 10002 Phone: (917) 664-0670 Email: Dash@motoinitiative.com
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MOTO INITATIVE THE ADVENTURE
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MOTO INITATIVE WEBSITE
Blog posts, tweets, photos and videos from the development and execution of the trip will form the core of a community engaged in cultural exploration. Community dialogue will grow from our original content, developing new topics and expanding the scope of the discussion. Similar trips have been done, and some have been documented online, but none have achieved the polished interface, sustained traffic and active networked community that motoinitiative.com plans to deliver. As four young travel enthusiasts with relevant and diverse experiences, we appeal to sought-after demographics within and beyond communities inspired by adventure travel. Our existing networks, both professional and personal, are representative of these same populations.
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MOTO INITATIVE THE OPPORTUNITY SPONSORSHIP CONCEPT The marketing opportunity offered through affiliation and underwriting of the Moto Initiative project is provided by the passion of our group, the broad appeal of our exciting adventure which will attract and build a diverse global community, and the new media sources we intend to leverage in collaboration with our own robust digital platform to share our story. As enthusiasts of the Moto Initiative concept foremost, we bring to our work a passion that would be difficult to sincerely achieve in an otherwise purely professional pursuit. We will be sharing our personal perspectives, enveloping ourselves in every element of the adventure and conducting interactions, which will facilitate the development of our community. New media technologies make it possible to host this community; enabling the interaction of a geographically dispersed, yet cohesive connected network that can share common interests and collectively develop an engaging experience. From a commercial perspective, this community will represent a substantial niche market. However, the population won't view themselves as a "market", but as a network with complementary interests and a drive to share them with like-minded people. NEW MEDIA OFFERING Our dedication to new media is driven by the desire to interact with a community sharing common interests and ideas, identifiable by the spontaneous and authentic feel of the conversation. Most companies have some form of web presence and many are involved in new media. However, what is often lacking from this presence is the authentic interaction that social media offers, authenticity that drives dedication to many of the extensively utilized online platforms. New media is not a new place to broadcast traditional media content, but a place to foster interactions of the most sincere form; unsolicited communities, voluntarily bound by common interests and connections. Once developed, new media platforms are predisposed to viral content because of the number of participants and the ease of access. What Moto Initiative offers is a well produced and intricately designed site, hosting an engaged community that accommodates this viral potential in a controlled and clean form, with the association of an underwriting brand. TRADITIONAL MEDIA V. NEW MEDIA Compared to the traditional variety, new media has the benefits of ongoing engagement, easy customization, organized markets and committed audiences seeking entertainment and information in the form of real interactions with other proactive participants. In traditional media, advertisers have a very limited time frame in which to reach and influence the audience. With digital media that time frame has the potential to grow exponentially. In social media, with an engaged and enthusiastic audience, that time frame can be infinite. With a new media based interactive platform, the medium is owned, customizable, continually changing and exists as long as the owner chooses. This far outshines the traditional media model of renting an audience from a media source and abiding by their terms, format and timing. The internet has put markets in control, but they are still reachable and still listening, just differently. In fact, if properly approached, they are more accessible then ever. They are less structured and controlled, but more powerful and permanent. Underwriting a community of interest also offers a substantial advantage over search advertising, which simply leads consumers to products they already know they want. Associating with a community of engaged enthusiasts offers a powerful tool for exposing products to an audience that didn't know they wanted them. This approach establishes the associated sponsor as an advocate for the market's interests.
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MOTO INITATIVE PARTICIPANT APPEAL There are many aspects of the Moto Initiative adventure that could individually and/or collectively appeal to participants. Foremost is the desire to be connected to an authentic community engaged in the development of a story around our shared interests and efforts. The participants in Moto Initiative will be drawn in by the adventure, by their interest in motorcycling, travel, culture, technology, photography and film, or by any other aspect of the concept that initially appeals. From within the story the conversations will organically drift, covering these and many new topics, to as granular a level as one cares to observe and drawing in more participants along the way. The subjectivity apparent in these stories establishes the participants as being real, foremost fulfilling their desire to be involved. This authenticity is recognized by all and makes it a comfortable place to communicate. The interaction in these communities is based on trust, any attempt to unduly influence the conversation could be construed as a violation and will alienate members. The result is a uniquely involved story defined as much by the authentic character of the message as the content. This story is based on experiences presented creatively, which encourages imagination and engagement. UNDERWRITING & SPONSORSHIP BENEFITS The value of a sponsorship arrangement is achieved through access to and affiliation with a uniquely formulated market interacting as a freely associated community. The collective knowledge of this crowd and the development of a fun, creative story establishes a valuable culture with many insights to be taken away. Aligning a brand with the power of that movement allows the brand to enjoy affiliation with its traits. Sponsorship of the Moto Initiative project may initially seem limiting based on the requirement of presenting an authentic voice absent of traditional advertising rhetoric. However, a company that understands this requirement is able to access a focused market of individuals that are emotionally involved, offering extensive opportunities for insight and exposure. The inherent instinct of curiosity will drive online and on-route viewers to consider purchasing the quality products employed in completing or supporting the Moto Initiative adventure. Market research achieved through input from the community will be more telling than inferences from their respective demographic stereotypes. The conversations amongst customers hosted by web-based companies, e.g. Amazon, drive sales because people trust the wisdom of the crowd and enjoy the conversation therein; an effect leveraged in our model. This is more effective than messaging and pushing products based on over-generalized and inaccurate demographic information. These are real individuals opining amongst peers of myriad mutual interests and informative differences. Tapping into these micro-markets of targeted customer groupings will provide significant exposure to truly customized products, services or messages and allow sponsoring companies to take away very specific market intelligence. The company will be inextricably linked with the community it underwrites, reflecting on the perception of corporate culture. A fun, creative, interactive, volunteer community of enthusiasts will draw like-minded people into the culture of the company supporting it and positively affect those already there. Additionally, the extensive real time content being created offers many opportunities for press coverage of the company and places to link to company web pages. The unsolicited customers that are reached through social platforms can become ambassadors for the company because they've developed a personal attachment through their interaction.
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MOTO INITATIVE SPONSORSHIP TYPES There are a broad range of sponsorship and marketing opportunities that could provide value to the sponsoring company, while enhancing the Moto Initiative experience for all participants. We will consider the following highlevel marketing models individually or packaged together, as well as any additional marketing content ideas. Our goal is to fund Moto Initiative, while facilitating the successful interaction between sponsors and the Moto Initiative community. Products, services and brand logos in both Moto Initiative site content and along the trip route • Brand logos will appear on all motorcycles, equipment and clothing. • Products, services and brand will appear in Moto Initiative image, video, and written content, as well as the physical presence along the route. • Riders will actively interact with individuals and groups encountered promoting products and services. Sponsor Benefits • “Caravan Affect” - Four identically branded bikes and riders traveling together will magnify the impact exponentially. • The performance capabilities of your products and services will be demonstrated to the entire online community and to consumers in 17 countries in North, Central and South American markets. • Extremely effective passive presentation of products, services and brand. • Dedicated use of available retail outlets for required products along the route. Products and services demonstrated and employed to deliver content • Performance capabilities will be demonstrated and presented. • Integrating the use of products and services in the field to deliver digital content online. • Cross-branding capabilities to deliver content, while performing their intended services. Sponsor Benefits • Expanding the range of consumers who are exposed to and ultimately use your products and services. • Expanding brand identity. Traditional and New Media website advertising • Opportunity for full site, integrated branding campaign. • Standard advertising forms such as Banners, Badges, Direct Links, Branded Widgets and Branded Feeds. Sponsor Benefits • Connection to a community of micro-targeted participants. • Targeted marketing based on location and demographic of audiences encountered along the route. • Community members can become brand ambassadors for trusted products and services. • Association with sophisticated new media technologies and community networking tools. Content for traditional advertising campaigns • Moto Initiative content used in development of a new campaign. • Integration of Moto Initiative content into existing campaigns. Sponsor Benefits • Present products, services and brand in the real life environment to which they are aimed. • Connect products and brands to an appealing adventure trip. • Expand the online connection to the traditional advertising space.
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MOTO INITATIVE THE TEAM Collectively having visited all continents save Antarctica and 50+ countries, our love for the many rewarding experiences of travel, our friendships, and our diverse professional backgrounds have driven us to conceive, pursue, and complete the Moto Initiative adventure. DAMIAN BOYD-BOFFA LOCATION New York, NY BIRTHDAY May 1, 1983 HOMETOWN Worcester, VT EDUCATION Finance, International Business EXPERIENCE New media, Marketing Damian lives in New York City and works with a design firm specializing in attracting exposure for events, exhibitions, and interactive storefronts. Interests in marketing, media, and design have shaped and inspired past and present work experiences. WHEELER BOYD-BOFFA LOCATION Boston, MA BIRTHDAY February 3, 1981 HOMETOWN Worcester, VT EDUCATION Mechanical Engineering EXPERIENCE Clean energy, Engineering consulting Wheeler lives in Boston and works for a clean-tech energy firm with a deep interest smart grid technologies and applications. Growing up with in rural Vermont, Wheeler developed an appreciation for the outdoors, travel and mechanics; specifically bikes, motorcycles and cars. JONATHAN DOOLAN LOCATION New York, NY BIRTHDAY June 27, 1984 HOMETOWN Wyckoff, NJ EDUCATION Economics, International Affairs EXPERIENCE Asset Management
Jonathan lives in New York City working for an asset management consulting firm. Jonny has developed deep passion for travel and cultural understanding, having spent six months aboard a 180 foot Barquentine sailing vessel studying insular cultures of the Caribbean and South Pacific, like those of the Pitcairnese and native Easter Islanders. Jonathan grew up between Northern New Jersey and Eastern France DASHIELL FLYNN LOCATION New York, NY BIRTHDAY April 16, 1977 HOMETOWN Worcester, VT EDUCATION Economics, Finance, International Development EXPERIENCE Management Consulting, Strategy, Government Dashiell lives in New York City and is a trained development economist focused on emerging markets and international development. His wide-ranging professional experience has enforced the concept that global events have to be understood in the local context. Relocating frequently, traveling has been one of the few constants in his life, having lived on three continents and traveled to five.
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