DriveTribe will show that you can buy disruption in an industry
We love Top Gear at Burbbble. That is to say, we loved Top Gear at Burbbble. Watching any other attempt at the same genre was a bit like watching the 4th quarter of a preseason NFL game. You can tell the people participating are really trying, but it's still really terrible to watch.
If there was a Mount Rushmore for petrolheads, it would deservedly have Clarkson, May and Hammond’s mugs on it. They are the best. Now that I’ve constructed that monument, let me throw some C4 at the mountain. The Daily Mail reported recently that Clarkson has been struggling intensely with the naming process for their new motoring show.
"When I first signed up with Amazon Prime to make a new motoring show I knew all sorts of problems lay ahead. There was one problem, however, that I hadn't even considered. And it has turned out to be the biggest of the lot: Choosing a name." - Jeremy Clarkson
Upon reading this, I started to think that all those episodes of #ProperTopGear where Clarkson and May pitch really bad ideas to advertising agencies and councils wasn’t acting. Yes Jeremy, you will struggle to name a motoring show if the box you are currently confined in includes uninspired suggestions such as “Autonation”. Maybe after similes and hyperbole there exists a void in the threesome’s creative chest of spanners?
DriveTribe will serve as a one-stop-shop location for the conversations us enthusiasts are already having on other websites.
Evidence of this void became more apparent as Variety reported a new motoring site would be launched this fall and financed in part by celebrity-trio Hamayson. The new website will be called DriveTribe and I’m guessing that Clarkson’s anxiety regarding their new show’s name will only be amplified by the awful branding of their new website. DriveTribe will serve as a one-stop-shop location for the conversations us enthusiasts are already having on other websites. For example, technical discussions can be found on any number of marque or model related forums. Videos are shared on youtube, Facebook, Vine, and many many other media sharing sites. Comedy can be found on twitter and serious reviews / news already have all the existing magazines and blogs. In the Variety exclusive, Hammond said: “There’s no grand-scale online motoring community where people can meet and share video, comments, information and opinion. DriveTribe will change that And then some.” I’m guessing the trio has never heard of Car Throttle or possibly think that all the Car Throttle concept needs is millions of dollars and a crappier name.
I don’t want to be labeled. I don’t consider myself part of a tribe nor do I want to be stereotyped as such.
Maybe the dynamite I’m throwing at Petrolhead Rushmore is a little harsh. After all, we use and enjoy products/services that have bad names every day. Craigslist comes to mind. Who the hell is Craig?! Starbucks. What does that even mean? Some sort of space currency? However, the concept behind the name presents an issue for the generation of users Hamayson hope to attract. I don’t want to be labeled. I don’t consider myself part of a tribe nor do I want to be stereotyped as such. Sure, I like air cooled VW buses at the beach…who doesn’t? Is that all I want to talk about? No. I can hear the DriveTribe investors saying “It is not a label or stereotype, it is just a another name for a group or community”. Fine, if I will be able to add many different “tribes” and get updates from all the different tribe contributors and tribe chiefs… how is this really different than all the other automotive related feeds that I check every day?
Is it possible these guys are getting a little out of touch? It’s a bit like saying, “So the MG owners club meets in a parking lot every Saturday…I know! Let’s use this internet thing to let them talk to each other every day!” No, they could not have been so daft to think the internet needs another comment form. Maybe they’ve been watching too much Game of Thrones? Is a tribe like a house? Will we be able to battle other tribes on DriveTribe for the petrolhead throne?? Shoot, I was wrong, it’s a brilliant idea. I will proudly fight for House Maserati.
