Marketers look to take more risks

Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
January 24 , 2005

DETROIT -- Automakers must take greater marketing risks if they expect to create "big buzz" in a cluttered media environment, marketing experts agree.

A panel of marketing and advertising executives told the Automotive News World Congress that consumers have more opportunities than ever to filter out automakers' media messages. Devices such as the TiVo personal video recorder allow them to skip the TV commercials that remain automakers' primary advertising device.

The industry will have to become more daring in communicating with consumers, even at the risk of failure, the panelists said.

"We're not paid to watch events unfold in the market," said Roger Adams, General Motors' executive director of North American vehicle brand marketing and advertising. "We're paid to drive sales.

"Buzz can create advocacy for the brand and perpetuate conversations for a product," Adams said. "Favorable buzz shapes people's perceptions much more effectively than almost anything else we can do as marketers."

Marketers must be prepared to challenge orthodoxy, Adams said. He cited an ad for the retro-styled Chevrolet SSR that showed children getting their mouths washed out with soap after they expressed too much enthusiasm about the vehicle. Some people hated the ad, Adams said.

"We thought it was a harmless ad that was just a little bit edgy," Adams said. "That's the point: You don't start buzz and you don't build advocacy by boring people."

New media mix

Julie Roehm, the Chrysler group's director of marketing communications, said automakers have plenty of opportunities to make their brands exciting. The challenge is to find the right mix of traditional and non-traditional advertising venues.

Like other automakers, the Chrysler group is shifting part of its spending from network TV and print media to event and interactive marketing.

Mini has launched vehicles successfully in the United States without using traditional marketing tools, said Kerri Martin, marketing communications manager of Mini USA. The company pretended traditional media did not exist when it came to this country in 2002, she added.

"Big ideas don't have to cost much," Martin said.

She described how Mini had mounted one of its cars on an SUV and drove it to various cities. The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today and Automotive News all covered the stunt, she said.

Mini often infuses its offbeat marketing with humor, Martin said. It put a Mini in a mall court and told passers-by they could ride it - for $16,850 in quarters.

Mini's U.S. sales increased from 24,590 vehicles in 2002 to 36,032 in 2004.

Shelly Lazarus, CEO of the ad agency Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide, said TV remains the most powerful way for automakers to reach large masses of people. Ford Motor Co. is among the agency's clients.

But Lazarus agreed that automakers must adjust their relative use of TV advertising with risk-taking nontraditional branding efforts.

Internet movies

Lazarus cited the series of short films, made by prominent directors, which BMW placed on the Internet four years ago. The movies developed a cult following, she said.

She also mentioned a series of Internet short films, called "Meet the Lucky Ones," which Lincoln Mercury launched late last year. That campaign has generated 33,000 sales leads, Lazarus said.

"Active participation in a message is a marvelous thing and a remarkable thing to have as a way to reach consumers," she said.

As another example of nontraditional marketing, Adams said that Chevrolet used cellular telephone technology to broadcast the unveiling of the Corvette Z06 at the Detroit auto show this month.

Even bad buzz can be good, Adams said. A Corvette commercial last year portrayed a young boy taking a wild fantasy ride in the car. GM pulled the ad in the United States after a safety advocacy group complained it promoted risky and illegal behavior.

But that action created more buzz. The New York Times editorialized that the spot's critics should "get a life," Adams said.

Pontiac created marketing buzz last year when it gave away 276 new Pontiac G6 sedans on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Adams said that some of the recipients complained they had to pay taxes on the "free" cars.

Visitors to the Pontiac Web site continue to seek information about the G6 as a result of the promotion, Adams said. Internet search engines provide 700 links to the event, he added.

"That's direct and extended buzz," he said.

The panelists also emphasized the continuing importance of public and media relations along with paid advertising. Lazarus joked that if she could control the press, she'd never spend another ad dollar.

Automakers should not try to use news media as advertising tools, the panelists agreed. But when objective third parties add to the buzz about vehicles, it's a marketing blessing, they agreed.