Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/719034
4 • September 6, 2016 • Powersports Business NEWS www.PowersportsBusiness.com www.powersportsbusiness.com Editorial and Sales: 763.383.4400 Subscriber Service: 847.763.9565 EDITOR IN CHIEF: Dave McMahon 763/383-4411 (dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness.com) MANAGING EDITOR: Liz Keener 763/383-4413 (lkeener@powersportsbusiness.com) ASSISTANT EDITOR: Kate Swanson 763/383-4412 (kswanson@powersportsbusiness.com) DIGITAL MARKETING COORDINATOR: Shauna Spencer MANAGING ART DIRECTOR: Dodi Vessels ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR: Nicole Siewert PRODUCTION ARTIST: Kelsey Houle PRODUCTION MANAGER: Angela Schmieg PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: Cherri Perschmann NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Allison Gruhn 763/383-4467 (agruhn@powersportsbusiness.com) NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER Mark Rosacker 763/383-4433 (mrosacker@powersportsbusiness.com) NATIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE Michael Kula 763/383-4440 (mkula@powersportsbusiness.com) CEO: Marion Minor SR. VICE PRESIDENT/FINANCE & OPERATIONS: Gerald Winkel SR. VICE PRESIDENT/MARKET DEVELOPMENT: Joanne Juda-Prainito GROUP PUBLISHER/MOTORCYCLE, POWERSPORTS: David J. Voll SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER: Bernadette Wohlman CONTRIBUTORS: COLUMNISTS: Paula Crosbie, Steve Jones, Tom Walworth, Scott Stropkai CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Billy Bartels DEALER ADVISORY BOARD: Hooksett Kawasaki-Polaris, Jim Whalley; Hacker's Yamaha & Honda, Rick Hacker; Honda/Polaris of Lubbock, Morris Baker; All Action Water Sports, Ray Leps POWERSPORTS BUSINESS (ISSN #1522-7944) is published 15 times per year – monthly except twice in May and December, the Market Data Book in September – by EPG Media/Specialty Information Media, 10405 6th Avenue North, Suite 210 Minneapolis, MN 55441. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN and additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Free to qualified members of the motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile and personal watercraft industries. Annual subscription rate is $56 per year for U.S residents, $76 for Canadian residents and $96 for residents in other countries. All paid subscriptions must be paid in advance and in U.S. funds only. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Powersports Business, P.O. Box 2123, Skokie, IL 60076-7823. CUSTOMER SERVICE: Visit www.PowersportsBusiness.com, email customerservice@epgmediallc.com, call (763) 383-4491, fax (763) -383-4497 or write to Powersports Business, PO Box 2123, Skokie, IL 60076-7823. CANADIAN RETURN ADDRESS: EPG Media & Specialty Information, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, Ontario N9A 6J3. Publication Sales Agreement #40012332. EDITORIAL: All manuscripts, materials, photographs and artwork submitted are at mailer's risk and must include self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage for return. Send editorial materials to EPG Media/Specialty Information Media, 10405 6th Avenue North, Suite 210 Minneapolis, MN 55441, 763/383-4400. No responsibility will be assumed for unsolicited materials. Powersports Business is a registered trademark of EPG Media & Specialty Information. Copyright 2016 by EPG Media & Specialty Information. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited unless expressly authorized by publisher. REPRINTS: For more information on e-prints or reprints from Powersports Business, contact Robin Cooper, 763/383-4400 ext. 4491. Printed in U.S.A. Music, mayhem and eyeballs at the Lost Highway Festival BY BILLY BARTELS CONTRIBUTING WRITER "Sponsor a music festival? What's the expected ROI on this investment? No idea? How did you get into my office? Why do you have face tattoos?!" While basic (or advanced) business acu- men is needed to hang your shingle in the motorcycle business these days, there is no business in the nation that needs an X-factor quite like motorcycles. Synergy is the name of the game. And excitement. And hustle. The Lost Highway Festival is a curi- ous beast. Unlike most motorcycle shows, the rock (and country, punk, etc.) bands aren't the guys from the local watering hole to make some noise while people look at motorcycles. Unlike most big concerts, the motorcycle display isn't some corporate semi with all of one brand's new models. Lost Highway is like a one-night sleepover. The music and the motorcycles are co-equal partners in this one-day festival, and the acts are all over the map. Just a decade ago, this sort of hybrid team- up would be unthinkable. If it were a music festival, there would maybe be a single cor- porate motorcycle industry sponsor, and all of the acts would be somewhat in the same genre. Nowadays, however (with the rise of digital music distribution), touring is the biggest moneymaker for a musical artist and getting more people in front of the stage is the key. Lost Highway was a creation of modern data analytics. Concert promoter John Oakes looked at the biggest festivals with the lowest promotional costs, and they had one thing in common: motorcycles. Motorcyclists and motorcycle businesses are passionate promoters and like to have events to go to. Whether it's the local char- ity ride or a big rally (or a motorcycle-driven music festival), motorcyclists like to be a part of something bigger than themselves and their close friends. Luckily for Oakes, one of his close friends is Brandon Quaid of Quaid Harley-Davidson in Loma Linda, California. Oakes told Quaid of his plan for a concert with a motorcycle component, and Quaid was on board immediately. "Luckily for us, Glen Helen (site of San Manuel Amphitheater) is in our (H-D-defined territory)," Quaid enthused. "Otherwise I'd have had to say, 'Good luck with that!'" That was 2015. The whole event was put together, hurriedly, in a couple of months, but everybody saw the potential. This year, everybody had most of a year to prepare, and they knew how to do it right. Quaid enlisted Kraus Motor Company to build a giveaway bike (that Quaid H-D supplied) and Baggers Magazine to partner with them for promotion. This started a prodigious chain of cross-promotion and shared opportunities. Kraus signed on to build the giveaway bike, but the partnership didn't stop there. Kraus' fingerprints were all over Lost High- way. The company had a display to show its line of performance parts, including its signa- ture front ends, and sell T-shirts, while just across the way, those same front ends were getting hammered on by the Unknown Indus- tries stunt crew. A few of the Unknown riders sport Kraus forks, but Logan, the "Wheelie Pig," actually had his stunt bike built by the company. On a day that Unknown wasn't performing, Logan might have also taken part in Super Hooligan racing on another of his Kraus creations. Meanwhile, Baggers Magazine (of which I was the founding editor) provided a ton of promotion in the magazine, including a cover featuring the giveaway bike. At the event itself, Baggers hosted a bike show (along with sister publications Street Chopper and Hot Bike), which itself was a draw for those focused on custom bikes, or the builders of custom bikes that wanted to compete. Another draw was Roland Sands Designs Super Hooligan races. It looked to be a draw for gearhead and concertgoer alike. Said Roland Sands, "I want to get out of the motor- cycle industry and touch the 98 precent or so percent that don't ride. That's where the impact is. ... San Manuel (Lost Highway) is a perfect example of how it can go down." The racers were paid only with a ticket to the show, thanks to sponsorship from Indian Motorcycle. That said, it was an extremely low-budget way to either get into the concerts or promote your fledgling brand. There were three classes: Super Hooligan (bikes over 750cc), Run What Ya Brung and Vintage. If you played your cards right, you could bring a bike that qualified all three (as we saw at least one competitor with an old Ironhead Sportster do so). Super Hooligan is in the style of a small short track oval race, but is run on whatever surface is available: dirt, asphalt, concrete or (in the case of Lost Highway) grass. "The Costa Mesa Speedway guys helped us dial in the track and ran the show," Sands said. "(There were bikes from) Indian, H-D, Ducati, Yamaha, BMW, Triumph." The track was a draw with the fans all afternoon, even in the 110-plus-degree heat, even when dust and powdered grass covered faces. The heat was a challenge this year for the event. The date was locked to Brantley Gilbert's tour schedule, but since the rising country star is such a draw, it had to be in late July. (Organizers say it may end up later in the year in 2017.) From millennial country acts like Gilbert and Justin Moore to Gen X alternative bands like Social Distortion and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and even 1970s rockers Foghat, the bands were there to entertain. Collecting crossover people and cross-promoting products was the name of the game on both the music and motorcycle side of the show. Vendors noted that foot traffic was slow due to the heat, and "Who wants to walk around with motorcycle parts in 110 degrees?" asked Sacha Kraus. It was more a T-shirt and eyeballs crowd for most. Reaching new people and having a good time was what the whole thing came down to. While most were hunting for shade and saving their energy, it was over 20,000 people doing so, in an event area designed for many more. Sound like something you'd like to do in your corner of the nation? Good. John Oakes' company SGE Worldwide would like to make this a tour with four or more stops. Super Hooligan racing is in expansion mode as well, led by Roland Sands Designs. PSB Billy Bartels is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer. Hooligans unite! Quaid Harley-Davidson in Loma Linda, Calif., helped develop the Lost Highway Festival. Roland Sands Designs Super Hooligan races were run during the event.