Ducati ?Audi want to close all independant ducati clubs

[jerryz]

many European and UK Ducati forums and clubs  are being told by Ducati that they are no longer affiliated and must comply by Ducati corporate rules or close ,, of course its not stricly legal all the clubs have to do is declare independance and stop using any Ducati trademarks  and they can carry on ,,, it is causing a lot of ill feeling to Ducati and Audi and is not really enforcable  in law .

stupid corpoarte types killing the golden goosw ......

[Privateer]

what are the corporate rules?

[Triple J]

Who cares. The DOC program is a friggin' mess (I'm the ex-president of the Seattle DOC). They already don't let you use any Ducati trademarks at all, except for the Desmo Owners Club logo. You can't even use a likeness of any of the bikes, or the desmo valve train. Plus, for the last 3-4 years Ducati has been hit or miss on sending out the DOC packets...some years you get them, some years you don't, which the general membership of course doesn't understand. The DOC program is a joke.

[Greg]

Who cares. The DOC program is a friggin' mess (I'm the ex-president of the Seattle DOC). They already don't let you use any Ducati trademarks at all, except for the Desmo Owners Club logo. You can't even use a likeness of any of the bikes, or the desmo valve train.

WTF? These people are advertising the Ducati brand, helping bring in more customers.

[DesmoTull]

I blame lawyers.  they ruin everything.

[1.21GW]

I think it actually is antiquated brand managers basing their strategy on the old-school idea that you can micromanage your brand.  Thus, you get to make it mean what you want.  You also get every dollar associated with the brand (theoretically).  But today, with social media, brands can take on a life of their own.

Brands like Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Apple, Lulu Lemon, even Saab (a personal favorite...RIP), have loyal followers that are in fact part of the brand.  If you start to marginalize them, they begin to leave and all that is left is the product.  Not really a problem when you have great products (e.g. Apple, although competition is catching up) but when you don't (e.g. Saab) you have no selling point.

Look at all the car companies trying to create an identity for their badges, many of which try to inject the idea of "passion".  Millions upon millions of marketing dollars spent trying to get what Ducati already has associated with its brand.  Seems stupid for Audi/Duc to marginalize the loyalists who are in fact major propagators of the "passionate" part of the brand.  Even if they make a few dollars selling their own coffee mugs or using the logo to promote their club.

DMF has made my ducati experience infinitely better, and although the implications of the OP do not suggest it would be impacted, the idea that similar enthusiast group become blocked or run by the company or whatever is a fearful image.

[SpikeC]

 BMW motorcycles have done the same thing. It appears to be the new standard procedure.

[Triple J]

As an example, here is the DesmoNorthwest DOC logo that we adopted while I was president. For a while we had a site where you could get mugs/shirts/etc. with the DOC logo on it...until Ducati shut it down due to copyright infringement.  F'ing stupid IMO, and we really thought this logo would comply with their requirements. Of course, if the guy in Italy responsible for these matters ever returned emails we might have known. That's the other problem with the DOC program...ZERO communication. 

I guess we should have use the likeness of a Gixxer in our DOC logo!  

[DPP]

I know of a few DOC clubs that have decided not to renew their affiliation to the DOC program. However I kind of agree with Ducati not allowing the use of name/shapes etc. They have standard advertising industry guidelines (yes, I've read them) and actually are not that strict (no stricter than other corporations). They have a brand and they're protecting it. Funny thing is that they've tried but failed to patent the word Desmo. Even funnier they got into troubles themselves years back with the DOC as it stands for Denominazione Origine Controllata in official italian wines classification and is a TM.

[Dry Martini]

BMW has been at this for a few years now. Harley protects their brand bit at least they license it and make money from it. If only BMW Audi/Ducati would learn from them.

[muskrat]

I understand the brand image needs to be the same across all markets, what gets me is the local clubs being bounced and no interest by the motherland.  If they said I had to pay royalty fees to keep the local club is create something else just similar to piss them off.   

[TitanMonsterS4R]

Understanding that Ducati has a brand to protect they also have something very valuable that others have already referenced, social equity in their brand.  I've worked on a few campaigns for big European auto companies that want what Ducati has, passionate owners who operate as brand ambassadors.  Subaru and BMW are great examples of how the corporate brands have allowed the local groups to thrive and flourish with a little corporate oversight.  

If I worked in their corporate communications department, I'd figure out a way to allow local groups to keep their independence but give them some guidelines as how their site must look and feel (i.e.: color pallete, site template, etc).  Find a way to communicate with all the major groups about changes and impact to get avoid speculation/rumors.  If they really wanted to do it right.  Hire a couple of social folks to join, manage and communicate with Ducati enthusiasts.  

But then again I know the communication issues Ducati has currently, so that might be asking too much....

[Curmudgeon]

But then again I know the communication issues Ducati has currently, so that might be asking too much...

Small company, few English speakers. Minimal DNA staff.

Not sure what you've learned from your BMW car club experience. On the bike side, the "corporate image" N*zis have ruled for 20+ years and killed off many mom and pops and alienated many long-time owners.

And you wouldn't even believe what BMW did with the Mini (Not MINI) aftermarket in the U.K. which made it damned difficult for a while to find where the parts and service support had gone for the Rover Mini, even though BMW had no real interest in it. BMW threatened everybody BUT the BMIHT with lawsuits. You couldn't even say the word "mini".

Audi may be following this same misguided path, and IMO, Audi/VW is even less intelligent than the Bavarians.

Watch what they do with signage and dealer names and square footage requirements next...

[Uncle Mofo]

They are already forcing some dealers to remodel.  (Ducati boutique stores like Indy Ducati)
And the DOC affiliation process it's a real pain in the ass this year.

[Triple J]

Ducati Seattle is remodeling as well. Not sure if it's forced or not.