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MARKETING: Saab stresses freedom in new ad campaign
By Diana T. Kurylko
Automotive News / May 12, 2003
Rather than blend with the rest of the European luxury brands, Saab is drawing attention to its unique, if not quirky brand features with advertising that attempts to set it apart from the competition.
A campaign with the tag line "Welcome to the state of Independence," debuted Monday, May 5, with national TV, magazine, newspaper and radio advertising.
Saab hasn't had a tag line for five years. The "Find your own road" tag line ran from late 1995 through 1997.
The Swedish automaker wouldn't disclose the cost of the campaign but admitted the spending is the highest ever for Saab Cars USA Inc.
According to Saab's advertising agency, Lowe New York, Saab will spend about $100 million on advertising this year, with most of the money funding the campaign. According to Competitive Media Reporting in New York, Saab spent $61 million on measured media in the United States last year.
Crucial time for image
The drive to build awareness comes on the heels of new products that Saab hopes will appeal to younger buyers. Saab's average buyer is 45 with an income of about $120,000.
"We know who our customers are today," Krondahl says. "We believe we can attract younger buyers with the 9-2."
Saab launched the replacement 9-3 sedan in October. The 9-3 convertible debuts in the United States this fall. Saab enters a new segment next summer with a smaller car, the four-wheel-drive 9-2, developed with Japanese partner Subaru.
A mid-sized SUV based on a GM platform or a crossover vehicle is expected in 2005-06.
Fitting an image
The independence theme reflects Saab's products and its customers, Krondahl says.
"When we develop products, we try to find unique solutions and don't follow what everyone else is doing," he says. "Our customers want that type of product."
Saab has resisted offering anything but four-cylinder, turbocharged engines. In contrast, competitor BMW AG won't sell any four-cylinder vehicles here.
While Saab styling has moved from the quirky lines of the 1970s and 1980s, the company has snubbed automotive fads and continued to offer what it calls "Scandinavian design."
To show this spirit, the tag line appears in corporate TV spots flying on a flag similar to that of a state or national flag. The announcer describes this state as "utterly free," and "where the national pastime is a game of 'What if?'
"What if all cars were turbocharged," the announcer says, and "what if innovation were the official currency?"
The turbocharged engines are played up in a commercial touting the 9-3 sedan and in a second spot showing the new 9-3 convertible.
The media mix will lean 75 percent to TV commercials, 20 percent to newspapers and the remaining 5 percent to radio, consumer print and Internet ads, says Claire Capeci, Lowe's senior vice president heading the Saab account.
The "Welcome to the state of Independence" campaign was delayed for 30 days at the urging of dealers because of the war with Iraq, says Chris Cerrina, owner of Parkfield Motors Inc. in Bergenfield, N.J., who heads Saab's dealer council.
Cerrina says dealers are thrilled with the advertising because "it shows Saab as a major player, what the Saab state of mind is and what the products can do for us.
"It's one of the most exciting campaigns we've had in a long time," Cerrina says.
Saab sold 15,852 cars in the first quarter, up from 12,575 a year earlier. April sales were 4,967, up 45 percent from 3,437 a year earlier.
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