• by Karl Greenberg , July 2, 2009

Piaggio U.S.A, which sells Vespa and Piaggio scooters and Aprilia sport bikes in the U.S., is running several programs this summer aimed at getting some buzz going about scooters.

First up, this weekend, Vespa sponsors Amerivespa, a yearly gathering of Vespa aficionados. The de facto Sturgis of scooters event takes place in Los Gatos, Calif.

Kevin Andrews, brand manager for Vespa USA, says the yearly event has grown each year, and this year is by far the largest. "It started with a very small group of riders. This year they are expecting over 500 scooters over the 4th of July weekend," he says. He says that while the confab is organized by an independent club, Piaggio U.S.A and dealers support the event financially and dealers promote it with coop advertising.

At the event, Vespa does demo rides, maintenance classes, and repair classes, which Andrews says is a big draw for people who show up with vintage Vespas. "We hold repair clinics and they just eat it up," he says.

Piaggio has also launched a program that lets consumers buy a Vespa or Piaggio as if they were leasing it. The program is a kind of extended test ride with the message that "while most test-rides last a few minutes, ours lasts a year." The sibling scooter brands are offering a "12-Month Test Ride" in which dealers will buy back new Vespas or Piaggios after a year, although obviously not at MSRP.

Andrews says the promotion -- the first of its kind -- is for fence-sitters. "We believe there are a lot of customers out there who are kind of interested in scooters but don't know if they are 100% interested in committing to signing up for three-year financing," he says. "We liken it to a lease deal."

Vespa is promoting the program online, through dealer group advertising and via POP posters and window clings, per Andrews.

Vespa has been marketing under a "Vespanomics" message centered on the fuel savings, which was a big sell last year. Andrews says this year the message is more about cost-to-own benefits versus a car. He says there is about a $500 difference per month between a car and a Vespa based on AAA statistics. "They say an automobile costs about $750 a month to own, while a scooter is maybe $250 per month. Could you get by with one car and scooter instead of two cars? We're saying in this economy it makes sense."

The New York-based company has also begun a PR effort featuring New York-based photographer Clay Enos, who will take a 4,500 "Local Time Vespa Tour" on a Vespa GTS 300 Super. Enos will try to document local personalities that shape a community's character.