When Templates Crush the Brand

What happened with the Cadillac and Chevrolet ads? I’m a fan of the 60-day satisfaction guarantee and applaud GM’s brilliant positioning, “May the Best Car Win.” But McCann-Erickson’s latest creative has choked GM and has left its brands in a cloud of smoke.

The cookie-cutter ads have blended Cadillac and Chevrolet leaving them indistinguishable. Change the copy, logo and image and essentially you’ve got the same ad. Consumers now have less insight into each brand, what they stand for, and fewer competitive reasons to buy. What gives?

Cadillac used to mean something. It represented success, luxury, refined American muscle, the executive class. Cadillac was The Ritz Carlton of cars. Unfortunately, McCann’s “one size fits all” template approach mixes the Chevy Malibu right into a Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon (a new model) with little sensitivity to the brand or its image. I can almost hear the creative director in the studio, “Just swap out the copy, switch the logo, and pop in a picture of the red wagon. Presto, you’ve got a Caddie CTS Sport Wagon ad. Oh, and let's change the headline with something sharp with a hint of irony. See you Monday.”

GM’s brands deserve more.

Something still didn’t feel right. So I googled Cadillac. The print ads look nothing like the Cadillac.com experience or the car itself. Every chief marketer knows continuity with the brand (and its customer) is key in building trust. With Gen X’ers in your cross hairs, I ask – why waste your spend on something that produces little bang and is in discord with other brand experiences? This may give GM and its brands pause to re-think traditional mar-com, trafficking, and overall customer brand engagement. There are better ways to invest your money to produce results — increased sales.

Every branded touchpoint matters. Consider hiring the brand police, a more accountable team to safeguard and distinguish your brands. Perhaps even initiate an account review to establish a new set of agency partners. You might get a team more sensitive to consumers, able to leverage more powerful media (digital and social media) and accelerate the distinctive value of your dynamite brands.

Only the best work should meet the market. Brand to win.

Copyright © 2011 Warren McKenna. All Rights Reserved.

A Perfect 10 – What If GM Did New Leno Show?

“I made $5 billion over the summer.” Leno rocks the crowd with his return to TV and his opening monologue. Jay confesses he turned his old cars into a gold mine with the Cash for Clunkers program. (wink) GM and the car industry could learn a lot from the reinvented Jay Leno Show.

A couple of quick thoughts on Jay’s come back and some must-do’s for car makers:

• Intergenerational Appeal. All demographics are pegged. Jay takes the stage dishing out high fives to young and older fans. The guest line up is diverse and multi-talented. He connects the mobile generation and boomers by not excluding them from the joke, yet often making them the punch line. For car makers, compel people to “want” your cars by identifying with them and delivering.

• Humor. Being funny is the currency of engagement. Dan Finnerty from the movie “Hang Over” takes his raw singing skills to the local car wash. Yes, The Dan Band flirts with customers, upsells the tire shine, and makes waiting for the car wash an experience like no other. Like Southwest Airlines, humor sells more seats.

• Social Media Tie-In. From the U.S. Open judge texting during tennis calls to viewer generated content in Jay’s segment, “Headlines,” Jay may be gray haired but he’s also on-media. +5K Facebook friends support his come back. When you’re that good, people want you back. Car makers need to leverage social media, influencers, blogs to generate conversations and sustain buzz. Dot now.

• Authenticity. Kanye West sits down with Jay for an unrehearsed chat. Reflecting on the MTV Video Music Awards, Kayne nearly falls apart offering a televised apology to Taylor Swift besting Beyoncé. Every mother in the house nearly sheds a tear. Honesty builds trust. Trust is the foundation of every brand. Yours should own up to the past. And build new belief in your brand truth.

• Celebrity Star Power. Leno pulls out all the stops in welcoming Jerry Seinfeld, as the first guest. Oprah makes a cameo appearance. But things really heat up when Kanye, Jay-Z, and Rhianna take the stage giving us their new school jam. Again, his celeb choices reflect the demographic span NBC is hoping to capture. For car makers, you need to do the same. Cast your net wide and hit the high notes.

So here’s the pitch. GM top brass make a guest appearance on the show. Be transparent about where the $50 billion is going. Demonstrate how product innovation, customer focus and quality dawn a new generation for GM. Be funny about serious car making. Obama and America’s tax payers are watching.

I’ve got Los Angeles on the other line. Don’t miss this opportunity to make your marque.

Copyright © 2011 Warren McKenna. All Rights Reserved.

Rumble in the Jungle. Electric Cars — Dot Now.

The greatest heavyweight showdown, Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman, proves that boxing, like the ultra-competitive automotive industry, is a game of survival of the fittest. Car makers and consumers, you can bet the global economy, the biggest title fight is happening right now. And it’s about to get electric.

Extraordinary product design and traditional marketing alone won’t launch or sell the new electric cars to meet manufacturer forecasts. It’s going to take a new approach. A social coup leveraging digital marketing and social media networks, to transform the industry and spark and sustain demand. Those who don’t shift their approach may become one-round brawlers or worse leave an epitaph that reads “I could have been a contender.”

Nissan recently unveiled its electric car under development, the LEAF. Geared for mass market, five attributes make it a promising puncher.

(1) Naming.
(2) Function.
(3) Fashion.
(4) Family Appeal.
(5) Global Platform.

A great car is only half the equation. The Nissan LEAF may prove to be impressive, but car attributes alone don’t make the market. Having intimate conversations with early adopters, brand loyalists, and influencers is job NOW. To be a leader in this new race, marketers should consider electrifying their strongest combination punch: “an online media marketing program wrapped in a socialized shopping environment.” Here’s how to bob and weave and best the competition:

• Start by turning the sales funnel on its side. Rather than building awareness at the broad opening for mass effect (using expensive television, print ads, and out of household media), start at the narrow end of the funnel. Target key audiences to provide advocacy for your brand and a powerful viral effect. Look for buzz agents with a tremendous online following.

• Seed these pivotal audiences with an influencer campaign. Product trial, contests, public relations events etc. wrapped in compelling messaging and a smart visual system. Hook the interest of trusted and well-followed bloggers, online video developers, and social media advocates to evangelize your message and create a windfall of social network word-of-mouth. You give, you get.

• Don’t be reckless with your influencers. The key here is to be transparent about your social networking relationships, the incentives you provide etc. Issue a “code of conduct” for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Blogs etc. then stick to it. An evangelist can become tainted if you are found “buying” their influence rather than earning it. Remember bad press travels 10 times faster than trusted news. Offer full disclosure.

• Look outside your category to grow greater influence. Electric vehicles are inherently technology-driven. Seed consumer electronics retailers, comparison sites, and leading manufacturers. Best Buy, CNET, Consumer Reports, Apple, HP. Look for others that hold captive audiences with an affinity for innovation, appliance adoption, fashion and function. Reach beyond automotive and grow your sphere. Go where your demographic reads, reviews, and purchases. Pulling them to you.

• Don’t forget the charitable tie-in. You may consider integrating a series of cause-based organizations benefiting directly from consumers purchasing your electrics. Select meaningful groups e.g. environmental stewardship, green tech startups etc. By purchasing your electric vehicle, consumers offset their carbon footprint and you donate product or sponsorship to a worthy cause. An inextricable link that associates your brand with the greater good. Demonstrate key metrics and program results. Great PR sells itself. You need a halo to be holy.

Imagine your message seen by 50,000 users with 100 trusted friends in their social network each with 100 valued friends in their network. That’s 500,000,000 or more impressions in just 3 levels deep, influenced every month leading your charge. Message delivered – key points of difference about your company, your electric offering, and your place in the world. Frequency is vital.

Car makers, don’t take a breather. Nissan is manning the lead, staging to be first to mass market toward a zero emissions society and at an affordable price. It plans to build more than 100,000 electric cars a year at its plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. Here in America, an impressive upper cut to domestic brands.

When the bell rings, be ready by leading online.

Copyright © 2011 Warren McKenna. All Rights Reserved.

If Cars Sucked—Like A Dyson

James Dyson vacuum cleaners hold the secret to the auto industry’s plight or its profits. Advertising Age, Wall Street Journal, and The Economist all agree, the plummeting auto industry has nothing (and everything) to lose. The industry’s biggest opportunity is now. It’s change or die.

James Dyson set out to solve a simple problem, a vacuum that no longer sucks. Dust clogs bags and over time, the vacuum loses suction and doesn’t pick up dirt. Tireless inventor, Dyson developed the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner. A few facts:

• With a centrifugal force 100,000 times that of gravity, the patented cyclone system promised to capture more microscopic dust than any vacuum to date.
• He risked everything to go to market. “Say goodbye to the bag” initial advertising took to consumers for the efficiency of its technology.
• Other manufacturers caught on and developed their own bagless systems.
• Dyson sued corporate giant Hoover on patent infringement and won $5 million.
• After 5 years and 5,127 prototypes, the greatest vacuum in the world emerged.

Like auto manufacturers, Dyson success is dependant upon unconventional thinking and brilliant execution. Dyson price, quality, and performance lead the category. Plus the product is sexy. Dyson designs are beautiful. Even the packaging is Apple computer-esque. Quality and product build have become the industry standard. Continuing to innovate—the new ball glides over surfaces. Total brand experience is flawless. People want the product the same way automakers wish consumers WOWed their cars. An indefatigable beacon for auto design and marketing.

Question: If James Dyson were a car, he’d be a ____________?

1) Chevy Volt 2) Third generation Toyota Prius 3) Ford Fusion Hybrid 4) Honda Insight

Car manufacturers don’t draw a blank. If bags are to gasoline, then hybrids and electrification may dominate cars’ future. What we know for certain is Dyson’s profits are proof—that ideas and innovation coupled with human-centered design and brilliant execution prevail.

And that’s no bag of hot air.
Copyright © 2011 Warren McKenna. All Rights Reserved.

Kind of Blue Makes Green for GM

Al Ries and Jack Trout were right (and wrong). The #1 immutable law of marketing is “be there first not necessarily better.” WSJ reported Apple’s 15% revenue growth for its new iPhone. The iPhone sizzles while its once unflappable cousin the iPod simmers. This reminded me of the late 90’s campaign positioning Apple with the world’s greatest “firsts.” Pioneers who bravely led where others feared. Muhammad Ali, Amelia Earhart, Einstein, Miles Davis and others. A compelling brigade. Being “better” is a snapshot of Apple’s recipe for continued success. And a curveball for Al and Jack.

With electrification of vehicles, GM blazes the trail. A proud “first” for the General in a long time. Or at least it will be when the regaled Chevy Volt arrives in 2011. But questions remain.

• Can GM instill trust and consumer confidence in its brand again?
• Will consumers buy the $30-40K priced electric?
• Will GM’s recent bankruptcy have a negative halo effect causing sales erosion?
• Or will GM resurge, reinvented and readied?

As the new GM rebuilds, it needs to keep its customers front and center, its competition near, and its promise of innovation delivered. America is watching. So is the White House.

And for Ries and Trout and their first law, the asymmetrical jazz master Miles Davis and Apple’s success add an important nuance to a once invulnerable marketing principle. GM CEO and Chief Marketer may take note. Being there first is no longer enough. Apple perennially wins due to its innovation, beauty, simplicity, and customer experience to lead the category. GM needs to adopt this strategy for the Volt and others—and better itself year-over-year. First AND better may be the new #1.

Like Miles is to jazz, GM's electrics can reinvent the brand’s “kind of blue” into consumer green. Change is good—even for the immutable.

To contact Warren McKenna, please call 773-316-5500 or email warren@wmdesigngroup.com.

Copyright © 2011 Warren McKenna. All Rights Reserved.