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last year and the vast, vast majority of those were to people who couldn't tell you the 0-60 time, the horsepower rating or what torque is. But they sure as hell know what the lease payment is!
And of course the magazine articles show performance statistics. They are performance magazines! But their circulation is tiny compared to the general interest publications. You are deluding yourself if you think the majority of the sport sedan buying public cares about the numbers. They care about how the car looks, how it makes them look and how it drives. That is why 85+% of "sport sedan" sales are made with automatic transmissions.
And your assertion that the marketing people are lazy for not "working around the lawyers" is foolish. How many marketing people do you think work at Saab? Seven. That's it. Nine if you count the website and database guys. That includes the people who manage the advertising, direct mail, promotional events, brochures, auto shows, online advertising, e-mail marketing, site development, point of sale displays and database management. The point is that to get things done in a timely fashion you have to pick your battles. And delaying advertising for weeks or months to be able to justify advertising performance claims doesn't make sense when the majority of your customers don't see the performance claims as important. Saab has the lowest awareness and consideration in the segement so Saab's marketing needs to make people aware of Saab's products and intrigue them enough to consider buying the car. The online advertising has been doing this very successfully for several years. We'll have to wait and see if the general advertising with State of Independence is successful at this but the initial reaction is very positive. (By the way, show me a BMW ad with performance statistics in it. Just one.)
And your rude comment about "Zarella land of hyped up resumes and faked MBA's" is unnecessary.(By the way "Zarella-land" and "hyped-up" should be hyphenated.)Zarella was a fraud and was exposed as one. But to unfairly accuse people of the same deceptive behavior with no knowledge is over the line. What the hell does finding the oil filter have to do with knowing how to market a sport sedan? While I love driving a stick when the roads curve and the traffic is light, what that has to do with marketing cars? I'll put my performance credentials up against just about anyone, but I don't know that they make me better at marketing sport sedans.
What's your beef? Is it that Saab's not speaking just to you? The reality is that Saab has to grow to survive and that means talking to a wider audience. I'll bet that Saab's sales increase substantially this year and the marketing will play a positive role in that growth.
posted by 12.65.4...
, Thu, 22 May 2003 12:59:57
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