All MOA
Thank you for your service to the MOA. My name is Middletown Mike and I am a member of club 280 "MARS" I was also a member and officer of the previous Delaware BMW club TSST, my member ID is 35164. I want to repost to you a quick blurb I wrote on our clubs (MARS) Facebook page. I was encouraged to do so by other members. I will also post it on the Forums. I have no biased agenda when it comes to the MOA. I enjoy being a member and I have the same outlook and goal to see the club flourish and grow. I have seen some good changes over the years and I hope for more as we look forward. I don't want to Bla Bla about myself or my riding resume, but for perspective. I am a lifelong rider and MC owner, having participated in every type of MC event except for trials riding.
I want to share this with you and others in the MOA because I think it necessary to reformulate the rally selection criteria to grow the organization, increase participation of existing members and add new members of a younger generation. The younger generation growth is the MOAs greatest challenge. How can we do it, how is it going to happen? We need to come to the realization that we cannot do it in the current format of the international rally structure. Our current structure pleases the older membership. Yep its true. Young people are not interested in our events, so they do not attend. Most families won't be interested. Dad might be interested but mom is interested in something to entertain the children and teenagers. So dad will refocus on other destinations for entertainment.
My club posting reads as follows:
Back Home from the MOA International Rally. The rally was not my final stop on my Wild West II tour, but it was on my way home. I camped with the MARS club camping site and enjoyed the camaraderie that we share as "Martian" Members. During my Wild West tour I posted some of my adventure on our site but I have not completed the details on all my travels during the adventure. I need to finish the story. I thought it proper as a long time MOA Member to make constructive criticism on our international event to fellow riders.
My overall opinion of the rally is that the venue was great but the location was terrible, from a motorcyclist perspective. So it brings me to think about the rally like this: Why do we ride? Well we ride for the joy of riding, the experience itself. So how do we fulfill that, do we ride to the city for a joyful experience, no lets ride to twin cities! Place the twin city ride far from the East coast and far from the west coast so that most members won't attend! How smart is this idea, well we actually have committees that came up with this selection. Yes I am being sarcastic on how we select a rally site and the criteria for that selection.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the rally, my generation and hobby history places me in the group that like BMW rallies. I love motorcycles, riding to destinations and associate with others who do the same. However the MOA is in turmoil over membership numbers and it should be. Simply put, there is reason for concern; the next generation is not in "MY" mold. The MOA is losing old members, is in a search for younger members.
So ask yourself why is this happening? It?s not an MOA exclusive issue, it's a MC industry common problem. Riders are getting older, younger riders are not riding what we rode, they are not adventurers, they are scooter urban professionals, not traditional bikers.
Hmmm, makes me think, lets figure this out. How can we turn this around? Let's look at some basic issues and possible ideology to see if there is a solution for this trend. What is the main event of the MOA? It's the International Rally. Does the MOA get it right on selecting there rally site? For the answer to that million dollar question you need to look at human nature. Just Sayin, here's how it actually works. The most successful MC rallies are always located in one spot one place. Why is that the case? Well its human nature, planning, habit. The human likes to be habitual. It's a proven fact, no doubt. Prove it! Americade and Sturgis, there is the proof. Even some local rallies show good attendance with just basic advertising. How do they do it? Good riding locations and proper amenities at the site. Therefore an International event which is properly promoted, appeals to the masses, is accessible, with great riding locations should grow like the other two success stories, right? Well were not growing our attendance, hmmmmm.
Back to the 2014 rally, being a long term MOA member, I ask myself today; where is the MOA going and what do we want it to be as members? Ok, being a very minimal MOA participant and volunteer at he rally I noted a bothersome problem with the MOA. I was a greeter at the rally gate "registration". During my service as the "Hello, how was your trip, welcome to the MOA Rally guy, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I learned that we did not have a day pass policy. So I asked why not have a day pass through several different channels. I was informed it was for security reasons. The reason I inquired about it was because several different people and groups came to the gate on my shift to see if they could pay for a day pass. Sadly I had to explain we did not have a day pass policy and if they wished to attend, they would need to pay the event fee. Everyone I greeted who asked for the day pass left in frustration, that was my worst experience at the rally. To see BMW fans and members turned away at the gate, when all they wanted to do was show their spouse, their sons, daughter, sister or brother our main event of the year. Just pushed away at the gate. Why? The reasoning was that this policy was for a security concern! Security? Security risk from MOA members who were in town for a day, or don't camp or from bikers who wanted to see what it was all about, to learn about the MOA. Hmmm, if you laid down 80 bucks and looked like a shady character you were instantly a welcome guest. A card carrying MOA member who just wanted to visit the vendors or bring his family to show them our main event or a Dad and his family who wanted to show his family what it is all about are security risks, hmmm, were building our membership right?
If the MOA is serious about building membership, wishes to attract new members, locking people out of your main event is not the way to accomplish that goal. If you want to increase membership, open your heart and open the gate. Put our rally in display. Invite local non BMW club leadership to tour our rally by invitation. Use the golf carts to provide them a guided tour. Make them feel welcome. But definitely don't look them out.
Rally sites
The system of dividing up the country into 4 areas to move the rally around is an ideal thought to be fair to all locations of our main membership. In practice, it is never going to be fair. Most motorcyclists are either on the eastern portion or western portions of the USA. Most motorcyclists are in California. We should realize that we need to have one location or two locations and we should negotiate a long term agreement on those sites. Perhaps it would be best to have one on the eastern side and one on the western side of the USA and alternate the years of attendance. Central USA is not a good typographical region for motorcycling and is not an attractive destination.
What about the rally format? Does it attract a wide range of interested MC fans? Is there a category of motorcyclists we are not attracting but we want to bring them in? I say yes that there is one particular group of BMW motorcyclists or motorcyclists we want to reach out to but we are not seeing at our rallies. Let's be honest about it, we don't want parts of Sturgis at our rallies. However we want to see more families at our rallies. Bring the next generation into our fold. How can we accomplish this? It's very simple. Dad wants to do some MC event but mom and the kids do not. So the MC event is off the list, unless the event includes family fun or access to family fun! Say near a major theme park with a discounted group ticketing plan or other venue. We don't need to turn the rally site itself into a circus but we can provide access to events that will attract families / youth to our main event and start building relationships with the next generation of motorcyclists and BMW riders. More RV space is needed for more families. A family camping section. A family price plan, not to exceed, let's say $140 for a family of 4 or $160 for 6. Advertise the event in family camping circulars.
All of these ideas will spur interest in the MOA outside our traditional market reach and that is where new members will come from. Fun for all is the way to build interest. We had 5300 attendees at the rally which is about 10% of our membership. That is pretty bad, which defines a pretty bad job of selling or creating a rally everyone wants to attend? We need to do a better job, redefine how we run our most premier event and remember, get the message out, bring the family here is what we have for the whole family.
Open our hearts and Open our gate!
Then the word will spread; Come Join the MOA Today, were having fun.
Feel free to share my ideas.
Middletown Mike
&
Blue Beemer
Thank you for your service to the MOA. My name is Middletown Mike and I am a member of club 280 "MARS" I was also a member and officer of the previous Delaware BMW club TSST, my member ID is 35164. I want to repost to you a quick blurb I wrote on our clubs (MARS) Facebook page. I was encouraged to do so by other members. I will also post it on the Forums. I have no biased agenda when it comes to the MOA. I enjoy being a member and I have the same outlook and goal to see the club flourish and grow. I have seen some good changes over the years and I hope for more as we look forward. I don't want to Bla Bla about myself or my riding resume, but for perspective. I am a lifelong rider and MC owner, having participated in every type of MC event except for trials riding.
I want to share this with you and others in the MOA because I think it necessary to reformulate the rally selection criteria to grow the organization, increase participation of existing members and add new members of a younger generation. The younger generation growth is the MOAs greatest challenge. How can we do it, how is it going to happen? We need to come to the realization that we cannot do it in the current format of the international rally structure. Our current structure pleases the older membership. Yep its true. Young people are not interested in our events, so they do not attend. Most families won't be interested. Dad might be interested but mom is interested in something to entertain the children and teenagers. So dad will refocus on other destinations for entertainment.
My club posting reads as follows:
Back Home from the MOA International Rally. The rally was not my final stop on my Wild West II tour, but it was on my way home. I camped with the MARS club camping site and enjoyed the camaraderie that we share as "Martian" Members. During my Wild West tour I posted some of my adventure on our site but I have not completed the details on all my travels during the adventure. I need to finish the story. I thought it proper as a long time MOA Member to make constructive criticism on our international event to fellow riders.
My overall opinion of the rally is that the venue was great but the location was terrible, from a motorcyclist perspective. So it brings me to think about the rally like this: Why do we ride? Well we ride for the joy of riding, the experience itself. So how do we fulfill that, do we ride to the city for a joyful experience, no lets ride to twin cities! Place the twin city ride far from the East coast and far from the west coast so that most members won't attend! How smart is this idea, well we actually have committees that came up with this selection. Yes I am being sarcastic on how we select a rally site and the criteria for that selection.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the rally, my generation and hobby history places me in the group that like BMW rallies. I love motorcycles, riding to destinations and associate with others who do the same. However the MOA is in turmoil over membership numbers and it should be. Simply put, there is reason for concern; the next generation is not in "MY" mold. The MOA is losing old members, is in a search for younger members.
So ask yourself why is this happening? It?s not an MOA exclusive issue, it's a MC industry common problem. Riders are getting older, younger riders are not riding what we rode, they are not adventurers, they are scooter urban professionals, not traditional bikers.
Hmmm, makes me think, lets figure this out. How can we turn this around? Let's look at some basic issues and possible ideology to see if there is a solution for this trend. What is the main event of the MOA? It's the International Rally. Does the MOA get it right on selecting there rally site? For the answer to that million dollar question you need to look at human nature. Just Sayin, here's how it actually works. The most successful MC rallies are always located in one spot one place. Why is that the case? Well its human nature, planning, habit. The human likes to be habitual. It's a proven fact, no doubt. Prove it! Americade and Sturgis, there is the proof. Even some local rallies show good attendance with just basic advertising. How do they do it? Good riding locations and proper amenities at the site. Therefore an International event which is properly promoted, appeals to the masses, is accessible, with great riding locations should grow like the other two success stories, right? Well were not growing our attendance, hmmmmm.
Back to the 2014 rally, being a long term MOA member, I ask myself today; where is the MOA going and what do we want it to be as members? Ok, being a very minimal MOA participant and volunteer at he rally I noted a bothersome problem with the MOA. I was a greeter at the rally gate "registration". During my service as the "Hello, how was your trip, welcome to the MOA Rally guy, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I learned that we did not have a day pass policy. So I asked why not have a day pass through several different channels. I was informed it was for security reasons. The reason I inquired about it was because several different people and groups came to the gate on my shift to see if they could pay for a day pass. Sadly I had to explain we did not have a day pass policy and if they wished to attend, they would need to pay the event fee. Everyone I greeted who asked for the day pass left in frustration, that was my worst experience at the rally. To see BMW fans and members turned away at the gate, when all they wanted to do was show their spouse, their sons, daughter, sister or brother our main event of the year. Just pushed away at the gate. Why? The reasoning was that this policy was for a security concern! Security? Security risk from MOA members who were in town for a day, or don't camp or from bikers who wanted to see what it was all about, to learn about the MOA. Hmmm, if you laid down 80 bucks and looked like a shady character you were instantly a welcome guest. A card carrying MOA member who just wanted to visit the vendors or bring his family to show them our main event or a Dad and his family who wanted to show his family what it is all about are security risks, hmmm, were building our membership right?
If the MOA is serious about building membership, wishes to attract new members, locking people out of your main event is not the way to accomplish that goal. If you want to increase membership, open your heart and open the gate. Put our rally in display. Invite local non BMW club leadership to tour our rally by invitation. Use the golf carts to provide them a guided tour. Make them feel welcome. But definitely don't look them out.
Rally sites
The system of dividing up the country into 4 areas to move the rally around is an ideal thought to be fair to all locations of our main membership. In practice, it is never going to be fair. Most motorcyclists are either on the eastern portion or western portions of the USA. Most motorcyclists are in California. We should realize that we need to have one location or two locations and we should negotiate a long term agreement on those sites. Perhaps it would be best to have one on the eastern side and one on the western side of the USA and alternate the years of attendance. Central USA is not a good typographical region for motorcycling and is not an attractive destination.
What about the rally format? Does it attract a wide range of interested MC fans? Is there a category of motorcyclists we are not attracting but we want to bring them in? I say yes that there is one particular group of BMW motorcyclists or motorcyclists we want to reach out to but we are not seeing at our rallies. Let's be honest about it, we don't want parts of Sturgis at our rallies. However we want to see more families at our rallies. Bring the next generation into our fold. How can we accomplish this? It's very simple. Dad wants to do some MC event but mom and the kids do not. So the MC event is off the list, unless the event includes family fun or access to family fun! Say near a major theme park with a discounted group ticketing plan or other venue. We don't need to turn the rally site itself into a circus but we can provide access to events that will attract families / youth to our main event and start building relationships with the next generation of motorcyclists and BMW riders. More RV space is needed for more families. A family camping section. A family price plan, not to exceed, let's say $140 for a family of 4 or $160 for 6. Advertise the event in family camping circulars.
All of these ideas will spur interest in the MOA outside our traditional market reach and that is where new members will come from. Fun for all is the way to build interest. We had 5300 attendees at the rally which is about 10% of our membership. That is pretty bad, which defines a pretty bad job of selling or creating a rally everyone wants to attend? We need to do a better job, redefine how we run our most premier event and remember, get the message out, bring the family here is what we have for the whole family.
Open our hearts and Open our gate!
Then the word will spread; Come Join the MOA Today, were having fun.
Feel free to share my ideas.
Middletown Mike
&
Blue Beemer
.
