Features 9 May 2017

Industry Insight: Suzuki Australia's Lewis Croft

National marketing manager on running two-wheel media launches.

Words: Matthew Shields

Have you ever wondered what is involved in a media launch for a new motorcycle? While it may appear to be little more than a new bike ridden in an exotic location, there is a lot more that goes on behind the scenes. CycleOnline.com.au spoke to Suzuki Australia’s marketing manager Lewis Croft – who has experience running domestic and international events – about what it takes to make a press launch happen.

Image: Alex Gobert (Foremost Media).

You’ve run a few bike launches locally and most recently the international media launch for the new Suzuki GSX-R1000R at Phillip Island earlier this year. They wouldn’t get much bigger than that, would they?

We have been planning this launch for about a year. Suzuki was potentially looking at other locations around the world but with the start of production and the required time to plan the launch Phillip Island was selected because it ticked a lot of the boxes in terms of weather and venue. We tied it in there just before the winter MotoGP test as well. The international launch was the first four days, then there was the Oceania group and then our dealers. The following day the MotoGP team was there and we got to involve our dealers with the team and MotoGP riders Alex Rinns and Andrea Iannone got to sample the new GSX-R too. Yeah, it was big!

How do you do a practice run for something as big as it was?

We went to the GSX-S1000 world launch in Spain with you guys last year to get a feel for how things are meant to run and we had to learn from that. Domestically I have done quite a few local launches – most recently the new SV650 and V-Strom – and when running them we try to ensure they are safe, comfortable and make sure we respect the media for what they do and their time. We could go all week with a launch and play golf and eat crayfish, but we understand the media have a job to do and we want to give them the best product and service and the best in the terms of information to convey to the readers.

When it comes to planning, what is involved in running a world launch?

As the main point of contact here in Australia I went to Japan to meet with one of the project managers. We had some dialogue and I organised the actions, budgets and activities for everything that happened in Australia. The local knowledge and expertise is invaluable here. Suzuki Japan pretty much organised the bikes and the staff and who was coming. They also had the relationship with Bridgestone – the tyre supplier for the launch and OEM fitment on the new bike – to make that happen.

How hard was it to get the day to run perfectly?

With the GSX-R1000R launch the planning took a long time. The pre-test took place on the fifth of January, learning the tyres, working out how much fuel the bike uses, how to move the fuel, changes wheels, tyres. They are simple things, but you have to get them right before you get started. Domestic events require a pre-run to make sure everything will run well on the day.

Source: Supplied.

There a lot of little things that the public don’t get to see that are part of the whole event. How important is that to the overall scheme of things?

It’s very important to every event. The USB sticks, menus, flags, banners, uniforms – even stickers on the ground in the pits at the GSX-R launch. With the pit carpet we took the time to go out and get the right colour to match the bikes. Designing the garages we had to think about how to make them look. There was no colour scheme and we wanted the stripe on the walls to match the bike – the same silver and yellow – replicated trough the whole garage. Even the Ecstar clocks on the pit walls were specially made. We arranged FXD Workwear, local guys, to make a special style of pants that would suit both the mechanics and the management. It mightn’t sound like much, but this is pretty involved in itself. Wherever you go there’s something to remind you where and what you are riding. Even the menus were special – a sit down for the internationals and a more relaxed, BBQ-style for the Aussies and Kiwis.

What numbers stand out for you in regards to the running of the GSX-R launch in particular?

In total there were 13 Suzuki Australia and New Zealand technical staff and a total of 18 engineering and management staff from Suzuki as well as four Bridgestone staff. We went through 300 sets of tyres, 3000 litres of fuel, 18 hours of alcohol service and 18 hours of dinners plus lunches, morning and afternoon tea. In total there were 45 international media, 12 from Australia and New Zealand and 36 dealers on the back of all that. We also invited all Suzuki staff to come and ride the new bike. We had one guy that rides a Inazuma and jumps on a rides the new GSX-R1000R at Phillip Island! Our intention was to get everyone familiar with the new product we are selling.

How do you judge the success of an event like this?

There is a product evaluation we do on the event with all participants. We talk to all the media about it, but at the end of the day the true wash-up is what comes out on the internet or in print. There’s a lot of influential media and so far, so good for the new GSX-R. The event and the bike has been well accepted, a vast improvement.

What’s next?

The Suzuki factory announced nine new models for 2017, eight of which are coming to Australia. We will be doing product launches for GSX250R, four new V-Stroms and the GSX-S750. Two exciting new areas of the market we are going into are with the GSX-R125 and GSX-S125 as well as some other off-road and ATV areas. There’s plenty of organisation there. Also, our aim for the GSX-R1000 is to do a local road launch because everyone has ridden the GSX-R1000R on the track. We need to give the media the opportunity to report on the new machine’s road bike manners because the majority of people that buy them will only ride on Australian roads.

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