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Automotive Industry

Brand Power 2000 - Brief Article

Automotive Industries, Jan, 2000 by Ken Gross

Today's auto industry is pushing the brand envelope in what seem to be contradictory directions.

General Motors is losing market share faster than you can say "Ron Zarrella." DaimlerChrysler has finally killed Plymouth and continues to overprotect Mercedes from post-merger brand dilution. Ford, as it aims to overtake GM, is gobbling new brands like a ravenous Pac-Man, while it tries to sort out their distinctions as fast as possible.

At Volkswagen Group, how far can platform sharing go before it begins to blur the precious individuality of each model? And does anyone believe VW can successfully market ultra-premium brands like Bentley, Bugatti, and Lamborghini side by side?

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Never has the auto business been more interesting, more convoluted -- and more in flux. And it's all about the power of brands. For the last 12 years, my analysis and opinions on marketing issues have appeared in Automotive Industries, most often under the headline "Strictly Business." Recently, Editor-in-Chief Marge Sorge and Executive Editor Lindsay Brooke asked me to re-tool the monthly column for the new millennium. I'm delighted to be back and focused on branding, because that's exactly what the industry's doing.

And it's not just the automakers that are heating up their branding irons. As A/has reported, supplier branding is becoming a means to make new vehicles more distinctive in the marketplace. Are you ready for window stickers that announce "Seating by Lear," or "Ride by TRW?" It's not far-fetched. For that matter, neither is the idea of one automaker's reputation enhancing the appeal of another's vehicles. I wouldn't be surprised if a "Powered by Honda" badge would pull brandsavvy shoppers into a few non-Honda showrooms. But the wrong liasons could end up disasters.

Fresh retailing schemes like the Internet, AutoNation and a profusion of revitalized "company stores" will sorely test the power of individual brands. Ford's Jac Nasser insist that "marketing is the theme and the brand is the focus." His ringmaster of luxobrands, Wolfgang Reitzle, echoes, "We will never stretch our brand values further than they can go." If the Jaguar S-Type, Lincoln LS and the forthcoming Thunderbird are examples, Ford may have the right idea. I'll believe it, however, when they make a success of Mercury.

Brand heritage is often the key to a brand's future. But companies must be careful. Do Briggs Cunningham's Cadillac-powered entries at LeMans 50 years ago give Cadillac license to return to racing today? Will its customers believe it -- or even care?

Experts argue that it's not the brand, it's the product. Sorry, but many great products bit the dust because they weren't marketed properly. Today's industry is pushing the brand envelope in what seem to be contradictory directions. BMW, known for its nimble roadhandlers, now markets a sport-utility. Porsche plans to do the same. Mercedes' little A-Class stretches brand credibility; so would any Jeep without serious off-roadability. Few brands, no matter how venerable or prestigious, can take such risks and survive long term.

Having worked years ago as a classic brand manager for a major soap and toiletries company, I can sympathize with Zarrella's brigade of fast food, soap and salty-snack-bred brand managers. But cars aren't package goods. Nobody buys magazines called Aisle and Shopping Cart, or Refrigerator Trend. Few, if any, consumer products inspire as much passion as the automobile.

I believe fundamentally that great cars and trucks drive this business. They don't always have to be the quickest or sportiest models, but they must be clearly defined, realistically presented and fundamentally reflective of that little badge on their hood or grille. The car business is constantly challenged to change and improve vehicles that become an indispensible part of our lives. I'll tackle the branding and marketing of those vehicles right here, every month. Join me for the ride, and let me know what you think.

Veteran AI marketing columnist Ken Gross is director of the Petersen Auto Museum in Los Angeles. A former brand manager of a global consumer goods company, Ken has written extensively about automobiles for three decades.

Automotive Industry

Brand Power 2000 - Brief Article

Automotive Industries, Jan, 2000 by Ken Gross

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