Acura’s New Approach
April 6th, 2013“Things are different now…” These are the words of Acura’s creative partner at Grip, Bob Goulart who is partly responsible for Acura’s promotional strategy. Acura is using its newest promotional campaign to advertise a knew model but more importantly to further showcase a company-wide philosophical reinvention. Acura says that they want to revert from their image of being a rational brand and more of an emotional brand; they want to establish a clear-cut connection that synergizes “mankind and machine”. Throughout Acura’s history, it was never perceived as a highly emotional brand, but recently Acura feels that to kickstart their promotion, appealing to the emotions of consumers is definitely required.
Succeeding in the automobile industry is said to be one of the most difficult things to accomplish. Having just a nice car isn’t enough anymore, and being that the market for cars is so diverse, car companies can’t just connect with customers on a tangible basis. The commercial that Acura launches emphasizes the connection between the car and the driver, unifying them into one while capturing its beautifully designed and engineered vehicle into a 90-second clip.
The commercial is indeed intriguing and I feel it does a great job at recognizing a good balance of both the customers’ functional and psychological needs. Not only does the commercial portray Acura as a visually stunning car with very modern technological features, but it never takes the focus away from the driver. Building a relationship with the customers is a crucial part towards a brand’s success and it seems that Acura is finally picking up on the trend. Look for Acura to continue to revolve their marketing strategy in a more emotional and customer orientated manner as it continues to employ its current strategy.