Josh Kadis is a freelancer and marketing consultant specializing in copywriting, web content, and WordPress production for the bicycle industry.
Posted on 20. Apr, 2009 by Josh in Client News, Personal | No Comments
After two days of chitchat and handshakes, I returned to my roots with a long, hot Sea Otter Saturday covering the pro men’s and women’s road circuit races and dual slalom. It was a good day; thanks to Wendy Booher for giving me the nod. Some photos…
Posted on 18. Apr, 2009 by Josh in Bike industry, Client News | No Comments
I work a lot with the good folks at Zipp but I don’t always get a chance to see the products up close, let alone ride them. Yesterday was an exception.
Zipp introduced a new version of the 303 wheelset to the assembled media at Sea Otter, with technical background from engineer Michael Hall and racing stories from marketing manager Andy Paskins. As you can see, the new 303 has a wider new shape that yields all sorts of benefits – strength, stiffness, comfort, and aerodynamics. After writing lots of copy and interviewing Thor Hushovd about the new releases, it was great to take them out for a spin with Andy, Michael, SRAM’s Michael Zellmann, and Road Bike Action’s Zap Espinoza.
Posted on 16. Apr, 2009 by Josh in Bike Racing, Bike industry | 3 Comments
The “Celebration of Sport” soldiers on, even claiming increases for both exhibitor and athlete attendance from 2008. Despite the pros’ gripes about low prize money and everybody’s gripes about high entry fees, Sea Otter has a great business model – at least by cycling standards – with three stable revenue streams: athlete entry fees, exhibitor fees, and sponsorship. What continues to drive the first two is that Sea Otter remains a good, old-fashioned mountain bike festival with a fantastic cross-country course. And of the sponsor 12 logos on my media credential, SRAM, Thule, Sierra Nevada, Fox Shox, Clif Bar, and Specialized have been sponsors here for as long as I can remember.
Posted on 07. Apr, 2009 by Josh in Bike industry, New Media, Trends | 7 Comments
The bicycle isn’t something about which we have a common cultural understanding in the same way that many of us instinctively understand cars or baseball or that you’re not supposed to eat ice cream for breakfast. Beyond simply learning how to ride as a kid, cyclists rely on sharing individual experiences with each other. That’s why social media has been so significant in both professional cycling and the more utilitarian uses of bicycles.
Posted on 03. Apr, 2009 by Josh in Bike Racing, Client News, Personal | No Comments
Packing up my office at the Allied Box Factory last week unearthed a trove of marketing collaterals from the 2005 and 2006 Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada teams: six-pack carriers, media kits, team cards, and more. Despite our meager budget, this stuff came out nicely and I think it compares favorably to most of what’s been generated by much bigger teams since then. The six-pack carriers never made it onto shelves, unfortunately.