Chevy Branding Blanks Out
By Robert FaragoNovember 5, 2009
As you can see from this screen cap of Chevrolet’s website, the brand’s American Revolution is no more. The ridiculous catchphrase—applied as it was to Korean, Canadian and Mexican imports—has been replaced with . . . nothing. Niente. Nada. The big goose egg. Oh sure, there’s the “May the Best Car Win” tag line lurking beneath the fold, but that’s equally ridiculous. The best car is winning—in the only metric that means anything (sales), and it doesn’t have a bow tie on its snout. Yes, yes, it suits the suits. Just ask the guys and gals who attend GM’s death-by-PowerPoint marketing meetings, where execs who don’t mind the perception gap face . . . nothing. Niente. Nada. (Fritz will get around to the cultural change thing eventually.) Anyway, what’s next?
Posted in Branding | News Blog | 41 comments 
Chrysler: Refresh And Market Like Crazy
By Edward NiedermeyerNovember 5, 2009
Are you seeing a pattern here? Although Olivier Francois is in charge of the most damaged brand in the Chrysler Group (and yes, that’s saying a lot), at least he’s been here before with Fiat’s problem brand Lancia. So it’s no surprise that Francois’s branding video for Chrysler is remarkably similar to a Lancia ad: it projects a kind of sophisticated sexyness, with lots of celebrities, architecture and passionate-sounding classical music. The only real difference is the copy that goes on and on about the good old days when Americans arrived in style. And unlike Ralph Gilles’ Dodge presentation, Francois’ vision of Chrysler’s brand actually works. But vision is only a tiny part of the battle for the Chrysler brand, and the rest is execution. On that front, things aren’t looking quite so good
Posted in Branding | Marketing | News Blog | 12 comments
Dodge Versus Ram Case Study: Nitro
By Edward NiedermeyerNovember 4, 2009
The problem with branding exercises like Chrysler’s decision to split Ram from Dodge, is that they tend towards abstraction. Luckily, the back-from-the-dead Nitro is a good case study for how this split will play out. You might think that based on its aggressive styling and upright stance that it would make sense as a Ram-branded vehicle. But you’d be wrong. It will actually be positioned as a youth-market vehicle, within the Dodge brand. Hit the jump for an official concept of the Nitro’s possible repackaging.
(more…)
Posted in Branding | Marketing | News Blog | 31 comments
Hi, My Name Is: Ram
By Edward NiedermeyerNovember 4, 2009
Ram is brand. According to the new Ram CEO Frank Diaz, the Ram was “overshadowing” Dodge’s non-truck products… never mind that Dodge’s truck-cued car styling made that phenomenon unavoidable. There’s not much to say about the new Ram brand, except that it will include pickups, heavy-duty trucks and commercial vehicles (read: no SUVs), marketed with the usual John Wayne, hard-working, never quit attitude. Think of any truck ad you’ve ever seen, and you’ll understand everything there is to know about Ram’s branding.
(more…)
Posted in Branding | Marketing | News Blog | 28 comments
Dodge Marketing Explained. Sort Of.
By Edward NiedermeyerNovember 4, 2009
This is the interior of the Dodge Caliber that’s currently on sale in the US market. Not particularly attractive, is it?
(more…)
Posted in Branding | Marketing | News Blog | 38 comments
Dodge: Refresh and Market Like Hell
By Edward NiedermeyerNovember 4, 2009
Dodge brand boss Ralph Gilles has made his presentation on the future of the Ram-head brand. First up: it’s not the Ram-head brand anymore. Beginning next year, Dodge will be represented by the word “Dodge” in black with red accents. According to Gilles, the de-Ramification of Dodge was due to the fact that trucks were dominating brand perceptions. “Mojo” seems to be Dodge’s new buzzword du jour, along with the tagline cool × fun=Dodge. In addition, Dodge will be getting away from the “base, mid, high” trim level ladder to a “lifestyle-based” trim level system. In the future, Dodges will be available in the following trims: “sweet and simple,” “fun and practical,” “uptown luxury,” “thrill seeker,” and “cool extroverted.”
Posted in Branding | Marketing | News Blog | 45 comments
Toyota to Kill Mid-Cycle Refreshes
By Robert FaragoNovember 2, 2009
Automotive News [AN, sub] reckons it’s got the inside line on Toyota’s “new U.S. plan.” They’re so chuffed with the scoop that their article presents the bulleted battle plan in both the body text and a little gray box. And here it is: “Review and possibly trim the lineup of full-frame trucks; Skip midcycle vehicle enhancements to focus on bigger launches; Introduce more hybrids to North America; Give U.S. engineers a bigger voice in r&d.” AN reckons the headline is the potential truck trimming and hybrid adding bit. Which is certainly important news for a company with a “tattered image” (Toyota, apparently, not the American zombies clinging to profits via pickups, who’ve yet to produce a single large-volume hybrid vehicle). But what of ToMoCo leaving existing vehicles as is for longer?
Posted in Branding | Future Vehicles | News Blog | Sales | 63 comments
Ford CEO Alan Mulally Taunts the UAW; Lincoln Kuga?
By Robert FaragoNovember 2, 2009
By last Friday, it was clear that the United Auto Workers rank and file found their new, no-strike contract rank, and filed their objections during voting. In other words, the union’s members rejected the deal. Which left Ford CEO Alan Mulally’s rep seriously dinged. After all, Big Al’s been talking-up Ford’s return to profitability ever since he banked that first $25 million paycheck. The union vote against the strike was a vote for Big Al’s plan. If he’d kept his mouth shut or, better yet, constantly warned against looming collapse, the UAW might have made the ultimate concession. But then investors wouldn’t have dumped more money into Ford and the Ford family members signing Mulally’s big ass paychecks would have been seriously spooked. Big Al can’t win from losing, as the Brits would say.
Posted in Branding | News Blog | Union News | 19 comments
Scion Takes Over For Saturn As Canada’s Struggling Niche Brand Of Choice
By Cammy CorriganOctober 30, 2009
Ever since GM announced that Saturn would be winding down, there’s been a niche-brand-like hole in the Canadian car market. And rather than learning from GM’s struggles, Toyota’s jumping right in to repeat them. The Star reports that ToMoCo have announced that Scion is going to Canada. Toyota will start off with 45 dealerships in urban settings (makes sense for an urban marque, I suppose); 20 in Toronto, 18 in Montreal and 7 in Vancouver. It’ll start off as a “store within a store” format. “The next generation of young car buyers is carving its own unique social and cultural experiences and Scion dealers will be part of their lifestyle,” Larry Hutchinson, Scion’s director in Canada, said. By slathering sensible cars which appeal to empty-nester boomers with youth-oriented marketing? Yeah, that’s been working well so far…
Posted in Branding | Canada | News Blog | 23 comments
Alfa Romeo SUV: Meet The New Chrysler Aspen
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 28, 2009
Chrysler’s product and business plan is leaking like a neglected radiator, leading up to next week’s announcement. The latest tidbit: an Alfa-badged version of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Alfa Romeo has been hunting after an SUV platform for some time, because as Luca DiMeo put it back in ‘08,
We need an S.U.V. for America. Not everyone in the company agrees, but this would be the only practical Alfa Romeo and we will be able to design the sportiest, sexiest and most exciting S.U.V. in the world.
It’s important to note though, that this quote predates the revelation that the Alfa SUV would be a Grand Cherokee reskin, effectively replacing the unlovable Chrysler Aspen as ChryCo’s luxury ute.
Posted in Branding | Future Vehicles | News Blog | 16 comments
POWERED