Irvine, Calif., Dec. 5—The Motorcycle Industry Council had big, exciting news for guests at the Women in Powersports networking event in Manhattan last week. Women now make up 19 percent of motorcycle owners, a new high-mark statistic from the MIC 2018 Motorcycle/ATV Owner Survey.
Simultaneously, an MIC release went out over the national newswire, making the announcement far and wide while MIC Communications staff shared the data one-on-one with key mainstream and trade/enthusiast media contacts, and also posted it on social media channels.
Women in Powersports co-hosted the evening event with Breaking Hearts & Burning Rubber at the company’s showroom and factory in New York City’s Garment District, blocks from the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, on the eve of the Progressive International Motorcycle Show. Breaking Hearts & Burning Rubber was a finalist in this year’s MIC Gas Tank Competition.
MIC Director of Communications Andria Yu unveiled the new statistic alongside board member Andy Leisner, senior vice president, managing director of Bonnier Motorcycle Group. MIC President and CEO Tim Buche and his wife, Fran, also attended the event to celebrate the news and to support Women in Powersports members.
“It was powerful to see so many women who love motorcycling and who work with motorcycles come together to encourage and applaud one another,” Yu said. “We had a great turnout, with more than 50 people from various aspects of the industry. But what was most important were the connections that were made. And the location couldn’t have been better—at a women-owned and -operated company that makes motorcycle gear and accessories for women.”
The next morning at the show, staff from Motorcycles.org, the industry’s media outreach program, met with journalists from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and WABC-7 TV, introducing them to key motorcycle industry representatives and guiding them to several highlights among the many displays.
“We did get some news coverage from the show, but the most important part of these face-to-face meetings was to further build our relationship with some of the nation’s biggest media for future opportunities,” Yu said. “We have a lot of great news that we’ll be pushing out in spring, when it’s riding season. And it’s always fun to watch journalists get wowed and excited by the new products coming out.”
Watch a video recap of the New York event here.
—Press release
