31 Jul 2009

Al Ries

Comenta na AdAge sobre a GM

Me dou o direito de tornar público também aqui o último comentário do Al Ries na Advertising Age. Está aberto para todo mundo lá, mas sei que em breve eles retiram do ar e deixam em 'estoque' somente para assinantes. Para não corrermos esse risco, eternizo aqui - assumo o risco eu! Divirtam-se.

For similar reasons, Rolex continues to make mechanical watches even though quartz watches would be cheaper and more accurate. Brand is more important than product.

Many left-brain management types are also confused about the role and function of advertising itself. Their assumption is that advertising is communications.

Hence Bob Lutz's approach: "We're going to have design have a powerful influence on public relations and advertising, and vice versa. It's really going to be, for the first time, an integrated communications approach.

"We're going to go from being very defensive and risk-adverse in communications," he said, and become "much bolder in getting our story out."

Bob, you have no story.

Advertising is not communications. Advertising is positioning. What position is Chevrolet trying to occupy? Or Buick? Or Cadillac? Or GMC?

An effective marketing program isolates a singular position and then tries to occupy that position in the prospect's mind with advertising that reinforces its singular position.

"Think small" isolated the small-car position for Volkswagen and then filled that position with brilliant advertising that spelled out of the advantages of owning a small car. Some sample headlines:

"It makes your house look bigger."

"Live below your means."

"And if you run out of gas, it's easy to push."

As soon as Volkswagen moved into larger, more expensive vehicles, the marketing rationale for the program fell apart, along with Volkswagen sales. (The advertising looked the same, sounded the same, but didn't work the same.)

What singular position can Chevrolet possibly own?

As design czar, in charge of global product development for General Motors, it was part of Bob Lutz's job to answer that question and then to make sure the vehicles sold in Chevrolet showrooms reinforced that position. But he needed a chief marketing officer to force him to make that decision.

It's time for a new era in marketing. Strangely enough, I think the timing is right for such a new era to begin. Things have to hit rock bottom before a revolution can occur.

The golden age of advertising was the 1960s, precisely because advertising in the decade of the 1950s was so dreadful. "See the USA in your Chevrolet" was a typical example.

Marketing in the first decade of the 21st century is equally bad. Instead of visiting the USA in your Chevrolet, the marketing program wound up with "An American revolution."

Bob, your problem is marketing, not advertising. I don't care how good your cars are. I don't care that Buick is the most dependable vehicle made in America. It doesn't matter. You have no story.

"It will be Buick's task to take on Lexus," said Mr. Lutz. That's wishful thinking at best. Last year, according to J.D. Power, only 1% of Lexus buyers considered Buick.

Nor did Tiger Woods do much for the brand. In the eight years of the Tiger, Buick sales fell from 404,612 in the year 2000 to 137,197 last year, a decline of 66%. (Why didn't the marketing people at Buick ask the obvious question: Is the owner of a $20 million yacht likely to drive a $30,000 Buick?)

Hopefully I'll get a chance to meet Bob Lutz some day. Maybe he'll let me fly his Czech-built L39 Albatros.

I'm not a jet pilot, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express recently.

Al Ries is chairman of Ries & Ries, an Atlanta-based marketing strategy firm that he runs with his daughter and partner Laura. Their website is www.ries.com.