Third Gear

The other day I was checking out one of my classmate’s blog, the post Isn’t Audi Going Overboard came to my attention. It talks about Audi’s “weird” strategies of turning its head directly against other luxury premium brands such as BMW, Lexus and Mercedes. The author expresses his opinion about Audi’s behaviour in its recent “unethical” commercials.

Below is a sample commercial:

In my personal opinion, Audi did not actually take a dangerous step towards the ethics issue, but rather making an unwise decision in its competition. Its attempt of lowering other brand images will eventually backfire once the competitors get angry – and they surely will do – if the campaigns become overly wide-spread. Competition means improvement, not the creation of feud and grudge among players.

So I would rather call it “unwise” than “unethical”.

Advertising through mass media might just be a cliche. Let’s now take some good look at some other clever ways of campaign runnings.

Video Game – ever imagined a car manufacturer coming up with a pc game? Take a look at Volvo The Game – not just a look – a hand in the game, and feel it. If the game gets enough players, the car company will draw more than enough attentions to its own. Without a share in the EA game series Need for Speed, Volvo creates own game and distribute online for free downloads.

Product Placement – Aston Martin in James Bond? That’s not just it. In the recent Angelina Julie’s film The Salt, Chevrolet is clearly a featured vehicle. One more example, in Twilight, what does Edward drive? A Volvo.

Sponsorship – Toyota Center is the home court of the NBA Houston Rockets. This is a perfect example of how car manufacturers find ways to disseminate their names.

By-products – Check this out in Yousuf Ali’s blog – $7500 Lamborghini? Don’t panic on the title itself – it is a Lambo bike. But whatsoever, anyone thinks that Lamborghini is making money off its bicycle products? The answer is no. By introducing by-products to the market, it by no means is a bad way to promote oneself. In fact, this case is far from being rare. You can purchase a BMW T-shirt, Volvo Wallet and a GM lamp – at premium pricing. Clearly, the manufacturers are not professional in these areas,  and they do not intend to make any direct profit. But think about the length of time consumers spend on checking those things out – I would take a look if somebody tells me that he has a Mercedes computer mouse!

How do different car manufacturers compete against their direct competitors? Given the fact that doing business always means the exposure to cut-throat competition, it’s mostly the direct competition that is cutting the throat. Now, two players in the race market, Subaru and Mitsubishi, are striving for the posession of the market share for lower-end sports cars. Both are Japanese, both are veterans in the heavy industry, and both are known for manufacturing high performance vehicles. Take a look at Mitsubishi Evo vs. Subaru Impreza.

Mistubishi Evo – What it has over Subaru is its appealing look. Fewer people are indeed fans of the look of a Subaru. The decent and featured appearance of Evo, together with its superb curve handling, Evo identifies itself as a classic sports utility of history.

Subaru Impreza – Subaru is fast! That’s all I can say. Also, don’t forget that there is the engine, the Subaru Boxer, one of the greatest inventions ever.

As snow spans over Canada and the temperature plunges way below zero, there is a good reason for choosing a car that is tailored for winter driving – safety.

AskMen.com has come up with a list of top 10 cars for winter drive. Take a brief look and you will learn that some of the previously rare models now become the king of the roads.

Some important features for a winter car? See below –

1. All Wheel Drive: Clearly the essential part of a winter vehicle. Without it, a car can hardly move forward. Many off-road vehicles, as well as Audi and Volvo models, are well equipped with all wheel drivce. Thus they become the most popular cars in the harsh weather.

2. Tranction Control System (TCS): as a a secondary function of the anti-lock braking system, even though TCS increases braking distance on loose surfaces such as snow, it boosts up vehicle control.

Fancy commercials on TV, on web and on newspapers are no doubt important channels of communication with potential buyers. But as manufacturers, dumping big dollars into marketing campaigns without putting themselves in the buyers’ shoes could not be any sillier.

What would a consumer look for before buying a vehicle? Unilateral commercials? Car reviews, in fact.

There are hundreds of car review channels. TV programs, magazines, Youtube Channel, Facebook page, newspaper columns… You name it. Here are some sample effective reviews around the globe, some of which are with vast visibilities:

Top Gear (BBC) – One of the most top-rated TV programs off all time. BBC is never stingy in its investments in making premium footages that promise to blow audience away. Jeremy Clarkson, its host, becomes a well recognized celebrity because of the popularity of the Top Gear series. Far beyond simple car reviews, Top Gear imports a sizeble element in entertainment and stimulation. A great number of scenes are guaranteed to be never seen before. Jeremy and his colleagues never bother saving their criticism against drawbacks of on any vehicles they spotted. Certainly, they never save their ethusiastism and affection if the car is genuinely worth compliment.

Cars.com – One of the largest websites for cars trading, reivewing and commenting. Vast number of their model review videos have been uploaded to Youtube and have generated hundreds of thousands of views. With concise comments and professional demonstrations, viewers obtain very clear idea about the big picture of particular models from different brands.

Kelly Blue Book -The largest automotive vehicle valuation company in the US. Its Youtube videos are placed on top of list and are one of the most popular sources for car reviews. In their comprehensive reviews of various models, the clear and succinct demonstration by a proficient narrator helps viewers can readily learn the good and bad about a vehicle, as well as having clear comparison among different options. Moreover, it presents remarkably precise pricing information.

Motor Trend – A very popular American automobile megazine. It rates the latest models and provide very clear comparison and contrasts towards different models against their competitor products. For example, Audi Q5 against Volvo xc60, Mercedes S600 against BMW 760Li. Very steadfast in their own standpoints. The megazine also explain car models in much detail.

So what should manufacturers do? Keep an eye on reviews, especially on the reviews against themselves – no doubt the best source for finding flaws on their model. Don’t expect everyone to accomplish this. In one review towards Lincoln MKZ by Cars.com, Mike Hanley explicitly stated that the lower-class appearance of the parking break does not integrate well with the luxurious cabin at all. But Lincoln’s reaction? None. I believe that quite a number of buyers have turned to other options simply because of this. On another occasion, Jeremy blamed Volkswagen Touareg’s unstable suspension. But it seems that unstability has been a chronic disease in the family of Touaregs.

It’s indeed time for some manufacturers to wake up and refrain from unilaterally focusing on creating fancy ads.

Re-envisioned, re-designed, re-released. This is all about Volvo’s great new model, the S60.

Activated with power, momentum and stylish design, and still with the safety features from the heritage Volvo has left, S60 thoroughly refreshes people’s mind. Frankly, not everything has to be German – cars are no exceptions.

Once geared up with the 3.0 Liter, 6-Cylinder Engine that throws out 300horse power, it becomes the most dynamic model Volvo has ever built.  But this isn’t it – Volvo is determined to create something that ultimately integrates comfort, sportiness and safety. It is the first vehicle in the market that implements Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake. When the car is running under 30 mile/hour, it will send a warning to the driver and automatically come to a full stop if a pedestrian stumbles into the traffic, avoiding a collision eventually. Volvo says that 70% of the traffic accidents around the world take place under 30 mile/hour, so perhaps majority of such incidents will be avoided if everyone drives a Volvo – ideally.

Segmentation/Positioning analysis of S60

Apparently, Volvo intends to overhaul its image with this brand new model. Years ago, Volvo entered the market with its competitive safety package and has then attracted a certain number of buyers concerned with security of vehicles – these buyers are the target market. However, its somewhat outdated appearance and slack in power in previous models, plus the enhancement of safety features from its rivals, Volvo’s market share plunged. With the advent of the S60, we can clearly witness the ambition of this veteran manufacturer – restoring the pie. The S60 model targets the segment of young buyers who are fond of sportiness but without sacrificing comfort and safety features (in contrast to cars like Subaru WRX STI or Mitsubishi Evo, which seems to only focus on momentum). The positioning? A luxurious, fashionable, naughty car.

Welcome to Third Gear. Here you will explore the world of car manufacturers’ marketing strategies. Enjoy!