Jared Stern's Blog

So far in Comm 296 we have talked a lot about the importance of the macro-environment, especially the social influences on both consumers and marketers. Even more specific we have talked about the trend of environmental friendliness or being more “green,” and how it influential it is. Although we, as North American’s, are moving in right direction I feel as though we are followers to other countries across the world. It appears that hybrid and electronic technology has not advanced far enough to over take gas powered cars and other parts of the world, such as Europe, have a remedy to solve this for the time being: clean diesel.

Throughout the last 2 decades, diesel powered car purchases have been steadily increasing across Europe. In 1990, only about 10% of cars bought were diesel variants. However, in August 2010 diesel sales had surpassed that of both hybrid and petrol engined vehicles combined in the UK, with 50.6% of the market. Conversely, in America for 2011, there are only about 13 cars offering a diesel variant and they are mostly from VW and Mercedes-Benz (European car manufacturers). So what about these cars do we as North American’s not find appealing? I’ve read that there is no market for them here. So why do marketers feel they cannot be as successful here as they are across Europe?

Is it that they are more expensive to run? No, not only do diesels get a better gas mileage, diesel itself is less expensive than petrol.To prove my point, a Volkswagen Touareg TDI – a two-tonne SUV – gets better gas mileage that a gas engined BMW 335i – a small family sedan (VW 28 mpg vs BMW 26 mpg). Are they not popular because they are more harmful to the enviroment? With the invention of “clean diesel” engines,they are no more harmful to the environment, and because they are more efficient they do not burn as much fuel. It must be because of the reputation that diesel’s are slow. One look at the Audi R10 race car (pictured below) and that reputation will be destroyed. The Audi R10, is diesel powered monster that has won the famous 24 hours of Le mans 5 times since 2000. Much of the information learned and technology invented through this program has been transferred into diesel engines in road going cars.These engines produced significantly more torque than gas and electric powered engines, which means that they are no slouch.

Although, electric and hybrid technology is the way of the future, clean diesel’s are remedy to prolong the development of more efficient technologies while not harming mother nature. For my next post, I will do more research as to why marketers and companies believe that these alternatives are not competitive/or will not sell in the North American market.

Unrelated: Shout out to my friend Justin L. Segal and his foundation Spread the Love Project. Please check it out, get involved he’s doing an amazing thing. Also, check his creation The Lake Boys.

It’s interesting to me the varying levels of advertising and marketing needed when it comes to the car industry. How many car ads do you see throughout the day? I probably don’t count, as I spend most of my days on websites such as Car and Driver, Road and Track, Top Gear etc… But what about the average person, whether it be TV, magazines or bill boards? How many Kia ads do you see compared to Mercedes-Benz? It seems to me that the least expensive cars have the highest number of ads. This probably comes from the consumer, the company and the competition.

How many Ferrari commercials have you seen in your life time? I can honestly say I can count them all on one hand. It’s a brand and a product that basically sells itself. There are only a handful of companies that compete with Ferrari, and a very small customer base of the super rich. Because of this, Ferrari can spends millions of dollars building theme parks in Abu Dhabi, instead of advertising campaigns.

At the other end of the spectrum, the entry level, competition is fierce, there is a huge customer base and generally larger companies. An inch gained in marketing and advertising, is a mile gained in sales. In today’s society, a car is much more than just a mode of transportation it becomes a statement. It has to be cool or enviromentally friendly or tuneable and so on. The marketing divisions need to create campaigns that touch on these and make their car appealing to the consumer. The more it’s aired, the deeper the message is sent. But bad marketing can ruin a car’s or even a companies reputation. It’s a thin line that marketers must walk. Here’s one of my favorite car ads.

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