WINTER, 1994
The classic tale is Edsel. Ford created it to fill the hole in their product line between Ford and Mercury. Unfortunately, it was not a hole in the market...there wasn't much demand for a new mid-priced car in the late 50's when Edsel was launched.
THE LESSON FOR RADIO: It isn't a "hole" unless there is an audience for it!
But there are other lessons we in radio can learn from more recent automotive successes and failures...
Subaru specialized in rugged four-wheel drive vehicles well before they became fashionable. Remember the Brat? It was one of the first 4WD utility vehicles, targeted to a younger market. Subaru carved out a small but profitable niche...by the late 1980's, it accounted for half of the 4WD cars sold in the U.S.
But instead of capitalizing on this edge, "higher aspirations" kicked in. Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru, was covetous of the mass-market success of Honda's Accord. Unlike Fuji, Honda is a "young upstart" in Japan...it has only been in business since World War II and didn't sell its first car until 1963. Yet the Accord has been a top-seller. So, Fuji decided to build its "own" Accord.
Enter the Subaru Legacy in 1989. It was Subaru's attempt to build a car free of the unique qualities that made Subarus... well, Subarus! It looked like an Accord. Its interior was laid out in a logical, ergonomic Accord- like way. Legacy was the slickest, most "mainstream" car Subaru had ever made.
Too bad for Subaru, but a "slicker," more mainstream Subaru still wasn't up to the standards of Honda's Accord (or Toyota's Camry or Mazda's 626).
Make no mistake...the Legacy is a good car! With four-wheel drive, it is a unique four-door sedan. But Subaru didn't emphasize the Legacy's available four-wheel drive...instead, it targeted Accord head-on.
The result? Legacy fell into the "cracks" of the market -- too slick and mainstream for Subaru lovers, not slick enough to challenge Accord and the other mass-market Japanese sedans. Legacys piled up outside of Fuji's factory in Lafayette, Indiana and the company ended up losing millions, eventually turning to Nissan for financial and operational support.
Even so, Subaru repeated the mistakes of Legacy last year with an even bigger fiasco -- the subcompact Impreza. Impreza was expected to sell at least 5,000 units a month. Yet, in a surging auto market, its actual volume turned out be be half of that!
With Impreza's failure and Legacy's continuing soft sales, Subaru has finally gotten the message. Its new President recently said: "We are not a mass marketer, and it's time we refocus."
THE LESSON FOR RADIO: (1) Understand your strengths and super- serve your niche. (2) Do not challenge a competitor unless he is vulnerable or you can serve his target better. (3) Never confuse aspirations with Marketing Strategy.
Not long ago, Oldsmobile was one of America's strongest brands. In the mid-70's and even early 80's, Olds' Cutlass was the best selling car in America. And the Cutlass wasn't an "old man's car" either...it was truly mass appeal, owned by lots of twentysomethings on their way up.
But more recently, the news has been different. Oldsmobile has slid so far that there have rumors of the brand's demise altogether. GM denies it, but this year, it is bringing out an Oldsmobile -- the upscale Aurora -- without the Olds name on it!
What changed? Did Olds suddenly become a bad car? No. Did the division make mistakes? Oh Yes! For one thing, they put the Cutlass label on all kinds of cars, diluting its image...like the "Cutlass Ciera" -- a mundane four-door sedan.
But the biggest change wasn't the car...it was the market...
If any car ever defined the "middle of the road," it was Oldsmobile, right between two less expensive GM cars -- Chevy and Pontiac -- and the two more expensive ones -- Buick and Cadillac.
At one time, "middle of the road" meant major sales. But today, the middle of the road is a good place to get run over! As Chrysler marketer Laurel Cutler said: "Today, there is no market for cars that everyone likes a little...only a market for cars that some people like a lot." That thinking led to Chrysler's LH cars and new Ram pickup... vehicles that have made Chrysler the hottest car company today.
Back to Oldsmobile. In response to research that showed it perceived as an older-targeted, middle-of-the-road automobile in the late 1980's, Oldsmobile decided to change its image. Oldsmobile wanted a younger, more performance-oriented, more "expressive" positioning. Thus was born the "Not Your Father's Oldsmobile" campaign.
The campaign featured some very clever spots...remember Ringo and his daughter? But the campaign was a major flop, not reaching the "new generation of Olds" and probably alienating some of the older ones.
Why? Because the spots weren't "creative" enough? No. Because the entire concept behind "Not Your Father's Oldsmobile" was hopelessly flawed. It is a conceit of marketers and ad agencies that they think they can turn around an entrenched image rooted in decades of consumer experience with a cute spot or two. They can't!
THE LESSON FOR RADIO: (1) Images die hard, if at all. Changing listeners' minds is always difficult, often impossible. That's why stations change call letters. (2) "Middle-of- the-road" is the toughest positioning to communicate in today's society.
One automotive brand that did succeed in establishing a new image was Pontiac. But it happened back in the 1960's.
In the 50's, Pontiac cars were a lot like Oldsmobiles are perceived today...bland, boring, middle-of-the-road. There were actually rumors that the division might close down entirely.
But in the early 60's, Pontiac G.M. Bunkie Knudsen and his Chief Engineer John Z. DeLorean saved Pontiac with a series of aggressive moves. First, they launched the "Wide Track" approach -- spreading the wheels apart for better handling and a better "look" as well.
Then, Pontiac launched a series of hot, youth-oriented cars. Most notably, they stuffed a 389 cubic inch, six-barrel carburetor engine into the compact Lemans to create the original "muscle car" and dream machine for Boomer males -- the legendary G.T.O.
As a result of these moves, Pontiac become the hottest automotive brand of the 60's. There were other hot cars (like Ford's Mustang). But more than any other brand, Pontiac consistently stood for youth, performance and exciting cars.
Why did this dramatic image change work for Pontiac? First, because Pontiac didn't really change its image. Research in the early 60's showed it had NO clear-cut image...not good, but at least Pontiac didn't have to overcome entrenched perceptions either.
Secondly, Pontiac succeeded because it charged into a new, untapped area -- stylish, hot performing cars for a big, new generation seeking a break from their "old man's sedans." Success quickly begets competition, and by the late 60's the market was glutted with hot cars -- Chargers, Road Runners, 4-4-2's etc. But Pontiac was a car brand the Baby Boomers could identify with and call their own.
Not that all Pontiac buyers were Boomers...far from it! An adage in the auto business is: "You can sell a young man's car to an older man, but you can never sell an old man's car to a younger man." Most of the buyers of Pontiac Catalina, Grand Prix and Bonneville were well over 30.
THE LESSON FOR RADIO: (1) Tap into a new, untapped or poorly- served audience for a quick, direct route to success. (2) Consumers like to "think young," even when they're not. Pepsi launched its youth-oriented "Pepsi Generation" ad campaignin the 60's and it's growth coincided with Pontiac's. In radio, note the growth of "Young Country" today.
Pontiac's muscle turned to flab in the 70's. The high price of gas and strict emissions controls choked off performance cars like the G.T.O. Soon, Pontiac lost sight of its youth-oriented performance image altogether. By the early 80's, a Pontiac looked just like a Chevy, Oldsmobile or Buick. Like them, its sales were way off.
But Pontiac was the first GM division to turn it around. It determined that its performance image wasn't dead, just dormant. In the depths of their minds, car buyers still wanted to think of Pontiac as youthful and exciting...the image just needed reviving.
Pontiac's "We Build Excitement" campaign sparked the revival. Introduced in 1983, it continues in modified form to this day. Pontiac reclaimed its niche and sales momentum as a result. In the mid-80's, Pontiac was the only G.M. division to boost its market share.
Why did it work? Because the campaign didn't try to change car buyers' minds and create a new image. Instead, it tapped into something that was already in car buyers minds.
THE LESSON FOR RADIO: (1) The fact that old images die hard isn't always negative. Accept what is in listeners' minds (if the positioning is viable). Use those perceptions to your advantage. (2) Always focus your message.
Cars. Colas. CHRs. Whatever the marketing battle, the principles are all the same...
Know your positioning; know your competitors'; know the target market. Be ambitious, but realistic in developing your strategy... remember that "wishing won't make it so." Focus on targeting consumers you can actually get, and super- serve them!