Over this past weekend I was reading S3 magazine. I think this was actually one of the first times that I actually sat down and read this particular magazine cover to cover and it was quite enjoyable. I did get to one part that irked me a good bit, Skunk2's new ad for their Billet Vtec Solenoid. The ad's text goes into a tangent on how Skunk2's products continue to get knocked off, copied, etc, etc. Blasting these so called "copycat" companies and trying to set Skunk2 up on a pedestal. In the past I thought this was good marketing for them but after sitting down, seeing the ad and actually thinking about it I see them as a bunch of crybabies. Instead of developing and promoting their product line to just flat out be superior they spend their time on what everyone else is doing around them. Constantly looking at their competitors product lines and nitpicking on what they feel is "theirs." Give me a break. Skunk2 is a show car company now; they make show cars parts that are overpriced for that matter. Give me a marketing campaign to show me why your product is the best, why your R&D sets you apart from the rest. Not how you claim to of developed a product and others copy you, that is just lazy and uncreative. Who cares what your competitors are doing. If you are so high and mighty then it doesn't matter what they are doing. I used to have a lot of respect for Skunk2 that as I think about it was based on their successful drag racing team. That is why I felt Skunk2 had a leg up on their competitors, they actually raced, tested their parts, figured out what worked, what didn't and brought the best possible product to market. Now all they do is take their existing product line, anodized it black or coat it wrinkle red and call it Pro Series. Blah, I know the powers that be at Skunk2 are better than that, show the industry you are better than that and quit complaining about "copycat" companies and prove that you are the best.
And not that this really has anything to do with your poorly thought out marketing campaign but you want to hear another reason why Skunk2 is irritated by their competition? Because their competition has a great dealer network that actually allows companies other than themselves to make money. This will allow those competitors to grow exponentially over Skunk2. I hate selling Skunk2 products. I have hated selling Skunk2 products for quite a few years now. Not necessarily because the product is bad or hard to sell but because their dealer network and pricing structure royally sucks. Ask anyone that sells it. Address that major issue, tell us why you are the best and not why everyone else is a "copycat" and bring back the racing passion.
Lastly, speaking of "copycats" your Alpha Series Cast throttle bodies that you have released as your new hotness, those are the same parts that other companies have been selling for years now. Your competitors still sell them cheaper. Your Valve Cover Hardware and Rear Lower Control Arm Washers, welcome to last year. Smaller, specialized companies have been selling items like that for years.
Pot, meet Kettle.