Bill Crider’s Post

I remember the viral Volkswagen ad which shows the building process imbued with the wildest things beyond imagination. I noticed it suddenly after a long time on social media and it is amazing to observe that an ad so old could create such noise whenever people see it. The concept of the ad was to make the new “mean green” Skoda Fabia look truly mean and menacing. Here the word mean signifies lawlessness, strength, aggression, and a don’t-care attitude. The target I believe was men mostly because the features shown that the body is shaped out of bones, the wheel rims made out of Katanas(signifying great strength and durability as Katanas are known for) and all the wild elements makes the “Mean Green” Skoda Fabia actually scary and beastly. The advertisement was launched in 2010. So let’s see what that means for the consumer journey- >>> 2010 was a time of change through the automobile industry.   LEDs became a must have feature for headlights >>> Connectivity through Infotainment system became very important >>> Stylish Hatchbacks were now measured with 40mpg yardsticks instead of 30 mpg showing great power and fuel economy at the same time. >>> The rise of General Motors(GM) and Chrysler brought a lot of new, futuristic, and good-looking machines. >>> KIA took the market by storm due to its innovative design and technological savviness of the vehicle. This resulted in - >>> People willing to buy comfortable hatchbacks but with a bit of twist of power, style, and road presence. >>> Skoda always positions itself as a premium brand, so an affordable model of Skoda with more power is always welcome by the market. >>>The era of turbo in commercial vehicles also got earmarked by showing snakes on the engine which might mean agility, fast, and snappy! >>> Finally using different but very mean and powerful objects they give life to Skoda Fabia vRS in the mean green colour a truly mean monster machine. As I said, I believe it targeted men because factors of strength, meanness, and untamable attitude is what we normally socially define as masculine traits. And the comments show mostly men taking an interest in the Advert, which indicates that it was well-targeted. What do you think of this Advertisement? Comment Below! (Links below)

🚘 Marketing in the Automotive Industry Gets Electric Most #auto companies are just now starting to release their #EV lineup, so marketing dollars have increased since last year, with US ad spend including “electric” in their creative text up 80% YoY vs the broader auto cohort’s spend, up 15% YoY. As of 2023 YTD, #Volkswagen has devoted the largest portion of its budget to ads featuring EVs at 30% of spend, followed by #Lexus (25%) and #Nissan (20%) The surge in spending for Nissan, Lexus, Volkswagen comes from their recent electric vehicle offerings; including the Nissan Ariya, Lexus RZ450e, and Volkswagen ID.4. ⚡️With my move to #LA, looking to buy an EV - any #recommendations?

🚘 Marketing in the Automotive Industry Gets Electric Most #auto companies are just now starting to release their #EV lineup, so marketing dollars have increased since last year, with US ad spend including “electric” in their creative text up 80% YoY vs the broader auto cohort’s spend, up 15% YoY. As of 2023 YTD, #Volkswagen has devoted the largest portion of its budget to ads featuring EVs at 30% of spend, followed by #Lexus (25%) and #Nissan (20%) The surge in spending for Nissan, Lexus, Volkswagen comes from their recent electric vehicle offerings; including the Nissan Ariya, Lexus RZ450e, and Volkswagen ID.4. ⚡️With my move to #LA, looking to buy an EV - any #recommendations?

No two used cars have the same story. Each story must be told well to get the most out of your used car department. 📈 We must define the processes of our used car department and let the processes dictate the individual that will execute them. ✅ #cardealers #cardealerships #autohustle #dealerships #carsales #automotivemarketing #bell2bell #automotiveindustry #carsalesman #contentcreators #cardealershiplife #Branding #Marketing #strategy #automotive #upbus

Exclusive or Excessive? I promise that I don't have any gripes with Ford Motor Company or their Mustang brand (it was one of the first cars I owned and loved), but their marketing strategies have been fairly controversial as of late (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). In their latest move, customers who purchase the new $350K Mustang GTD supercar can pay extra to "block" the color they choose so others can't have it. While they have upwards of 1000 colors to choose from, is this a case of brand exclusiveness or excessiveness (or maybe both)? #marketing #brand #brandstrategy

Every legacy automotive brand is having to contend with a marketing challenge: They now sell cars that run on two different fuel types. So with the topic of "EV education" getting more attention than ever I was happy to contribute my thoughts to this latest article by Kathryn Lundstrom in ADWEEK. The experience consumers have enjoyed with cars for the last century was built on two products: Vehicles and Gasoline. Combined, these two products have offered freedom of mobility to millions of people. But on their own one is a giant metal paperweight on wheels that serves no purpose and the other is a stinky liquid that serves no purpose. This is the the consumer psychology challenge for EVs. By removing gasoline from the car experience the public can't inherently trust an EV. Not because it is an electric CAR, but because they now need to trust a new FUEL (electricity). Early EV adopters were happy to do countless hours of research and "self educate" themselves because they had an emotional motivation to switch to using electricity as fuel instead of gas (environment, new technology, etc). But average consumers do not have the same emotional motivations. Their emotional motivations for a car purchase are based on monthly payment, vehicle style, reliability, expression of image based on the brand, etc. Consumers have been conditioned to see gasoline as a built in requirement for car ownership that they don't have to think or worry about. So, switching to electricity as fuel forces them to think and because EV charging information is often complex, and they are not seeing any outbound marketing for "electricity as a fuel" in their daily lives, this creates worry. This moment for EVs has been coming for years, and it is exactly why Chargeway was created. We have to provide the public with an easier way to visualize and understand how they can trust using electricity as a fuel if we want them to trust buying a car that runs on electricity. Let's make it happen! 😊 #chargeway #electricvehicles #electriccars #electricfuel #evcharging #evcharginginfrastructure #evchargingstations #chargingstations #charginginfrastructure #communications #marketing #messaging #utilities #utilityindustry #autodealers #autodealerships #automakers

Ford Focus Brochures From The Early 2000s Are Full Of Cringe: Back when auto companies used to sell affordable small cars, they would often market them to young people. Typically, these were the buyers automakers wanted to get into these products and, in theory, move up through the brand. While brands like Scion were more successful at reaching young people, others tried too… Read more... #car #cars #awesome

Its important we have a buoyant market place so OEMs shouldn’t be scared about what they are selling and more importantly what they are marketing. The simple fact is that Legacy OEMs are still building ICE cars so let’s get back to marketing them properly. Having a mix of affordable greener petrol and diesel along with Hybrid and EV is what we need, in order to make the transition to EV more sensible and achievable. I can see more OEMs moving their timeline to much later dates ref a full transition to EV. Lets get back to basics and start marketing your petrol and diesel cars alongside your hybrid and EVs. It’s the only way and makes sense for our industry and the jobs in the sector that are at risk. Build, Advertise, Sell.

America’s top four automakers, Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor Corporation, General Motors, and Daimler Chrysler, are breaking tradition by skipping Super Bowl ads for the first time in 23 years. A major shift from previous years, where car commercials dominated the big game. Why the change? The price tag for a 30-second slot during the Super Bowl is a whopping $7 million, making it a hefty investment. Current challenges for the auto makers include high-interest rates, sluggish consumer demand, and cost-cutting measures as they continue to grapple with the uncertainty of EV investments. In contrast, foreign-owned companies like Kia and Volkswagen are seizing the opportunity, showcasing their latest EV models during Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11. #automotiveindustry #superbowl #evtransition #autonews #automotive #automakers

🚘 Navigating Industry Change: Kia's Strategy to Stay at the Forefront of the Car Industry 📣 Learn how Kia 2021 rebrand transformed them from a cheap car manufacturer to a leader in the electric mobility industry. 💡 A deep-dive into the power of positioning. Read here: https://lnkd.in/euT6XwPf