Mazda Appoints Chief Marketing Officer in Upmarket Push
Mazda’s North American Operations has named Dino Bernacchi as its chief marketing officer, a position created specifically to aid the automaker in establishing itself as a premium brand.
The manufacturer has taken steps to ditch its economical heritage for nearly a year as it pushes upmarket. Model redesigns have followed a cohesive, sleek trend while the company zeroes in on a future “premium, pricey model” to secure its new identity.
Until then, image is everything for Mazda. The brand doesn’t seem interested in swapping over to a luxury-focused lineup or changing its production philosophy. While Mazda had what was arguably the most aesthetically appealing booth at the New York auto show (even if Porsche and Volvo had the better snacks), most of its vehicles still start below $25,000.
Bernacchi’s job will be to help shift the brand toward a more exclusive image, perhaps rationalizing a bump in price. According to Mazda, his duties begin with analyzing customer interactions from the “earliest discovery phase,” all the way through purchasing and ownership. Mazda will use that data to build superior brand perception, likely through marketing and not through a slew of expensive new models.
Mazda doesn’t want to rock the boat too much, but it’s noticed its demographic has grown in prosperity in recent years and its buyers now expect more. The challenge will be in making buyers believe the current product is suddenly worth paying more. Bernacchi should have no trouble with this, as he was previously employed as the marketing director for Harley-Davidson.
“As customer tastes and expectations change, and Mazda moves itself to a new, more premium, position in the industry, it is critical that Mazda be laser-focused in our approach to how we tell our proud brand story at every touchpoint in the customer’s journey with us,” Mazda North American Operations CEO Masahiro Moro said in the official announcement. “Dino’s leadership experience in doing exactly that in the past is why he is perfectly suited for this role at Mazda.”
[Image: Mazda]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Maybe Mazda should introduce an Avenir, Denali, Maybach-like sub-brand. They could call it "Amati."
So far so good for Mazda. Their dealer networks need to change but their product is getting much better than what it once was. Their natural competition is just getting more mundane by the minute.