Marketing Lessons from Easyriders
Avoid Making the Same Mistakes
Here are several marketing lessons learned from the fall of Easyriders and their magazines, Rodeos, and Shows.
Overview of Easyriders
Next is a quick overview of Paisano Publications, the owner of Easyriders, and their assets. Joe Teresi and others started Paisano in 1970.
The first venture was Easyriders’ Magazine. Then, additional magazines and other ventures started. Decades later, the Rodeos and Motorcycle Shows started.
Decline of Events & Magazines
After the rally boom in the mid-to-late 2000s, the number of attendees at many motorcycle events gradually declined. This also happened with Easyriders events. And they started canceling some of the Rodeos and Bike Shows down the road.
As you’ve seen, many printed publications started seeing their magazine sales decline during this period. And this happened with Easyriders Magazine.
Easyriders’ Bad Marketing Decision
Then something strange started happening. Easyriders started replacing the people who had been the guiding forces behind Easyriders for a long time. This brought more challenges to the company.
For instance, they replaced experienced marketing staff with former admin assistants. And these people were missing the basics of motorcycle marketing.
They were lost in marketing, event production, and biker world knowledge. Easyriders’s decision to cut out some of its marketing experts might have cut some expenses, but it also hurt its revenue and, more importantly, its brand.
As you might have read in our article “Why You Don’t Cut Marketing,” marketing is a big part of creating, maintaining, and growing revenue. And marketing is the fuel for your business. Without it, you’re not going anywhere.
*Lesson – Marketing is key to your company’s survival. And inexperienced marketers can and will hurt your company.
Eventually, some of Easyriders other magazines stopped being published, and the Teresi Dyno Drags stopped showing up at rallies hosted by non-Easyriders.
Company Sale Announcement
Then, in 2018, it was announced that Easyriders Magazine, the Rodeos and Shows, and Paisano’s remaining assets (some magazines, rights to David Mann’s art, etc.) were for sale.
Cancellation of Events
Next, the 2019/2020 Easyriders Motorcycle Shows were canceled. In 2019, the 2020 Rodeo dates were not announced. Then, in late 2019, the iconic Magazine stopped being published, the site was turned off, the domain was up for auction, and their social media pages became silent.
*Lesson – If you run a business, never give a lot of money or services upfront to a company that is clearly declining.
New Owner of Easyriders
Eventually, we found out that Teresi had found a buyer. It was a trendy apparel brand owner from Melrose/Beverly Hills.
This new guy fired the longtime editor-in-chief chief, Dave Nichols, and Michael Lichter, the company’s infamous photographer. This was shocking since the company was now stripped of its talent.
The new owner’s goals were terrible and not the soul of Easyriders:
- Make the events more “inclusive” and focus on yuppies and hipsters.
- The Magazine was to become the GQ for bikers, be sold in boutique stores, etc.
- The art of the infamous David Mann would be printed on socks and underwear.
*Lesson – You must know the industry and your audience. Maybe you have the skills and some luck to make a company successful, but that does not mean you can jump into any industry and make a company successful.
Next, since no magazine was in production, subscribers wanted their money refunded. However, as social media clearly showed, there were few responses to questions, complaints, and requests. Excellent customer service is key to a successful company, which further hurt the Easyriders’ brand.
The new owner did not refund the subscribers’ money. Instead, he gave them different offers of subscriptions or his new apparel. But that didn’t matter; people wanted their money back, not some items they had zero interest in.
Subscribers are always a loyal part of any company’s following. But no refunds damaged the brand even more.
*Lesson – Long or lifetime subscriptions do have a lower total price. But companies go away, and so does the money you pay.
Next, the new owner did not pay many of Easyriders’ vendors. This and little or no communication with them killed many connections.
*Lesson – Get enough money upfront to be okay if the company refuses or can’t pay you for your services.
Now, I understand wanting to retire and liquidate assets. After 50 years, Teresi was selling something he had invested so much time, effort, passion, and love into. But what he sold to a yuppie hipster with the above goals damaged the Easyriders brand people knew and loved.
Next, in 2021, Teresi owns Easyriders again. However, the company had huge issues for the years before he repurchased it. And while the new yuppie hipster owned the company, he trashed the brand, screwed over loyal subscribers and attendees at the events, and burned or damaged business bridges.
*Lesson – It’s hard to go back; once substantial damage is done to your brand, it’s nearly impossible to get close to where you were.
Yes, I see one Rodeo in Bloomville, OH, but no Motorcycle Show dates. And the Magazine is available for sale again.
But for many, the damage has been done to the brand, and subsequently, the company is done in their minds. Unfortunately, what was once one of the most popular biker brands is damaged, and many people have lost interest in it.
Finally, learning about motorcycle rallies helps you better understand bikers and their history and gives you insight into marketing.
