Sell the "sizzle" (was: SCIENCE FRIDAY on NPR)

["BillDube@killacycle.com" <BillDube@killacycle.com>]

>Of course the topic of discussion will be about the release of the Segway
>product. I hope I spelled Dean's name correctly. Apologies if not.

         There is an old adage in marketing, "Don't sell the steak, sell 
the sizzle." Dean Kamen has done exactly this with EVs. While the engineers 
have been working hard to make EVs more practical, Kamen has made them more 
fashionable. The $8,000 Segway performs the identical function as a $200 
electric scooter, but people are eager to buy the Segway. The Segway is 
actually LESS practical (because of cost and complexity) than the $200 
scooter, but it is more fashionable.

         People would like to believe that they select a vehicle based on 
practical needs, but they don't. They buy a vehicle that they think will 
fulfill their emotional needs. The automakers know this and gear their 
marketing towards this. They know that only a tiny fraction of people buy a 
car that fits their actual transportation needs. The rest buy cars in an 
attempt to create an image.

         In a nutshell, we must think more about making EVs that are more 
marketable, and a little less about making EVs that are more practical. If 
no one buys them, EVs won't do a thing about pollution. Let's work on the 
"sizzle", just like Kamen has done.




    _ /|        Bill "Wisenheimer" Dube'
   \'o.O'     <billdube@Mega-Cycle.com>
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