Lacquer and leather - even for old iron
Auto Marketing: A campaign for Chrysler's new Crossfire sports coupe, created by the advertising agency Matter & Partner, does more than just get your adrenaline pumping.
Car marketing A campaign for Chrysler's new Crossfire sports coupé from the advertising agency Matter & Partner not only gets the adrenaline pumping, but in 1998, the year of the merger, Chrysler's Swiss-born former vice-chairman, Robert A. Lutz, described the third-largest US car manufacturer as "the hottest car company". However, the "Spirit of America", which stands for the value of the product and the brand, is finding it increasingly difficult to gain a foothold even among Swiss car enthusiasts, despite the super manager's own praise.The dwindling interest of Swiss drivers in the car brand is also reflected in the sales figures: the sales curve is pointing steeply downwards. According to the Association of Swiss Automobile Importers (VSAI), 5349 new Chrysler Group vehicles were registered in 2001, but last year the figure was only 3605 or 32.6 percent lower. In the first three quarters of the current year, once again fewer new cars rolled out of Chrysler garages (-18.3%). This result is well below the overall decline in the Swiss car market (-9.1%). According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, the US brand's market share has thus shrunk from 1.4 to 0.7 percent since the merger with Daimler-Benz in 1998.
On the other hand, and this reads like a paradox, Chrysler is one of the eight most popular brands among German-speaking Swiss motorists. Thanks to new diesel engines, Chrysler has been able to increase its potential in Europe and defend its sales brand, even though Japanese competitors have introduced increasingly successful models in Chrysler's typical product categories such as vans, pick-ups and off-road vehicles. Clau-dia Meyer, Head of Marketing Communications Chrysler Jeep at DaimlerChrysler Schweiz AG, attributes the performance paradoxes to the orientation of the research, which is carried out from the company headquarters in Detroit for the five largest European markets. And Switzerland is not one of them. In addition, the model range is also reflected in the target audience, which values individuality. As Chrysler is predominantly a supplier of niche products in Europe, this does not allow for a large market penetration in the first place.
All that remains is to renew the model range in order to regain market share and boost sales. However, with its brand repositioning - from mainstream to premium brand - Chrysler is approaching existing and new customer groups rather cautiously. Moreover, advertising expenditure shrank from over CHF 8.5 million in 2000 to CHF 3.7 million last year. The PT Cruiser, which was launched in Switzerland as a volume model, also failed to boost sales due to the limited number of engine variants, something that should now be improved with the introduction of the GT Turbo version.
Against brand dilution
The forthcoming launch of the Chrysler Crossfire sports coupé is unlikely to improve the situation on a quantitative level, as the number of units is limited. The model is much more likely to improve the quality of the Chrysler image. Thanks to its design, the Karmann body and the proven V6 Mercedes-Benz engine, the Crossfire is well placed to counteract the creeping dilution of the "Spirit of America". Among other things, Chrysler's innovative spirit as an image component has gone almost unnoticed by the public, even though the car manufacturer has one of the highest conversion rates of concept cars into series models. The strategy of repositioning itself as a desirable brand with the sports coupé therefore seems very promising. After all, this is a vehicle type that has relatively low brand loyalty and appeals more to the emotions than to reason.
Matter & Partner's advertising communication supports this strategy with a bold print and poster campaign for the Crossfire. Actually a simple task, according to Daniel Matter and CD Philipp Skrabal: This car is an advertiser's dream. "You don't have to talk it up." That's why they had the two copywriters and concept developers Lukas Schmid and Michael Kathe write headlines to accompany the images that speak to the heart of the target group ("If the paintwork turns you on, you'll also enjoy the leather"). Despite the growing number of older consumers who really enjoy sports cars like this one, they stuck to the dry humor that is rarely found in car advertising.
The Crossfire is decidedly smart, which is likely to appeal to the 50+ generation.
Luca Aloisi
On the other hand, and this reads like a paradox, Chrysler is one of the eight most popular brands among German-speaking Swiss motorists. Thanks to new diesel engines, Chrysler has been able to increase its potential in Europe and defend its sales brand, even though Japanese competitors have introduced increasingly successful models in Chrysler's typical product categories such as vans, pick-ups and off-road vehicles. Clau-dia Meyer, Head of Marketing Communications Chrysler Jeep at DaimlerChrysler Schweiz AG, attributes the performance paradoxes to the orientation of the research, which is carried out from the company headquarters in Detroit for the five largest European markets. And Switzerland is not one of them. In addition, the model range is also reflected in the target audience, which values individuality. As Chrysler is predominantly a supplier of niche products in Europe, this does not allow for a large market penetration in the first place.
All that remains is to renew the model range in order to regain market share and boost sales. However, with its brand repositioning - from mainstream to premium brand - Chrysler is approaching existing and new customer groups rather cautiously. Moreover, advertising expenditure shrank from over CHF 8.5 million in 2000 to CHF 3.7 million last year. The PT Cruiser, which was launched in Switzerland as a volume model, also failed to boost sales due to the limited number of engine variants, something that should now be improved with the introduction of the GT Turbo version.
Against brand dilution
The forthcoming launch of the Chrysler Crossfire sports coupé is unlikely to improve the situation on a quantitative level, as the number of units is limited. The model is much more likely to improve the quality of the Chrysler image. Thanks to its design, the Karmann body and the proven V6 Mercedes-Benz engine, the Crossfire is well placed to counteract the creeping dilution of the "Spirit of America". Among other things, Chrysler's innovative spirit as an image component has gone almost unnoticed by the public, even though the car manufacturer has one of the highest conversion rates of concept cars into series models. The strategy of repositioning itself as a desirable brand with the sports coupé therefore seems very promising. After all, this is a vehicle type that has relatively low brand loyalty and appeals more to the emotions than to reason.
Matter & Partner's advertising communication supports this strategy with a bold print and poster campaign for the Crossfire. Actually a simple task, according to Daniel Matter and CD Philipp Skrabal: This car is an advertiser's dream. "You don't have to talk it up." That's why they had the two copywriters and concept developers Lukas Schmid and Michael Kathe write headlines to accompany the images that speak to the heart of the target group ("If the paintwork turns you on, you'll also enjoy the leather"). Despite the growing number of older consumers who really enjoy sports cars like this one, they stuck to the dry humor that is rarely found in car advertising.
The Crossfire is decidedly smart, which is likely to appeal to the 50+ generation.
Luca Aloisi
