Aiming for cool with car marketing
In gear. Traditionally dull and middle of the road, car marketing is coming out from the under the hood and showing what it can do with some cool creative, according to brand-e trend intelligence.
However, a category that’s capable of coming up with something ‘new’ like Renault TV shows it still has many miles to travel. “Renault TV offers test drives of its latest models, leafings through the brand archives, behind-the-scenes footage from Renault events, profiles of passionate Renault enthusiasts, and brand innovations explained ‘in a logical manner’,” says the report.
“And that’s entertainment, is it? It’s off the radar as far as we’re concerned.”
And brand-e trend intelligence takes a swipe at car makers’ desire to show that they are at the leading edge of new tech – which explains the dalliance with augmented reality. In fact, BMW’s and Citroen’s naff AR campaigns come in for a pasting.
So, what’s cool and comes out of Carville, then?
“Mini launched its Openness mobile application as part of the Stay Open campaign for its new convertible,” the report says. “The app offers offbeat guides to UK cities, encouraging consumers to try out new things. All they have to do is set their ‘openness levels’ to get access to experiences such as driving off to a Mexican wrestling match, dressing by lucky dip, or eating a zebra steak. (Question: does one ask for it well-done)?
“What do we make of that?” brand-e asks. “A breath of fresh-air thinking.”
The analysts say there will be more breakouts in 2010, “much of it online and on mobile. And we will praise the perpetrators for it. But please try as many different angles as you can.”
More on car marketing, pop-up branding, brand do-gooding and ad agencies going on a riff in brand-e trend intelligence: dec-09 right here
