Nikolas Venios from the Ideas Agency has shared some great insights on the Infinite Machine P1 scooter and its innovative marketing strategy:
“I love the look of the Infinite Machine P1 scooter. It looks mega. The startup was founded by two brothers, Joseph Cohen and Eddie Cohen. They’re building 10,000 units priced at $10K each and recently completed a $9m round of funding from a number of VCs including Nico Rosberg‘s, Rosberg Ventures.
When I first saw the P1, it reminded me of Sinclair’s C5 from back in the day. Sinclair made the mistake of describing his invention as an electric car to make it sound familiar and increase market acceptance. However, when the C5 was launched, it was a million miles away from a car, and as a result, no one took it seriously.
Funny side-story. A friend used to restore Sinclair C5s but supercharge them by adding more powerful batteries. He was driving home from work in one of his supercharged C5s and went into the back of a stationary car at the lights. The C5 was so low to the ground that the driver of the vehicle he lightly pranged couldn’t see him in the rear-view mirror, and everyone went on with their evening. So, avoiding having to engage with insurance companies was a fringe benefit of ownership that Sinclair forgot to mention in his marketing.
Anyway, back to the importance of how you describe your new products/services. Infinite Machine’s founders don’t even use the word ‘scooter’ in their marketing — instead, they call it a “radical new personal electric vehicle” and, in some places, a “non-car”. They understand that they are selling to peacocks (people who want to stand out in a crowd) so they want their vehicle to sound anything but familiar.
Some legends in the advertising industry have told me that when launching something new, you shouldn’t try to build wide walls that lots of people can stand on; you should build high, thin walls and push the majority of people off them. In other words, don’t try to appeal to everyone; appeal to a few, and you’ll create more value in the long-term.
You may say that $10K is expensive for an electric scooter, but the vehicle is not the only thing you are buying. You are buying difference, and what value can you place on that?”
