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Volt Marketing- Your input requested.

13K views 41 replies 28 participants last post by  voldar 
#1 ·
I am really tired of reading here and elsewhere on the web that one of the reasons that the Volt is not selling as well as it should is that it's advertising/marketing is not effective.

I am no advertising executive, but I do have to explain to others- sometimes simply and quickly and in language that they will understand- when asked about my Volt.

So I am interested in how members of this forum would pitch the Volt- simply and quickly and in language that average will understand.

I am sure that some of the other threads here have such ideas, but I want to try and gather them in one place.

If you like what someone else writes, just post and quote and your favorite(s) from this or any other thread.

I want to see what the brain trust here thinks about the best marketing tact(s).

Thanks for playing.

Mark
 
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#2 ·
Here's a starter:

What makes the Volt different than other electric cars?

The Volt can make it's own electricity.
 
#3 ·
I liked the happy Volt owner series and think they should have continued with them.

Otherwise simply focus on the car's many great attributes: fun to drive with great pickup from a stoplight. Solid construction, quiet, smooth, lots of (hatchback) cargo space. 5 star safety rating, awards a yard long, one of the highest owner satisfaction ratings for any car. Perfect for daily commutes, but good for long trips as well. Oh yeah, you can fill it up in your garage while you sleep and the gasoline backup means you'll never be stranded when the battery is empty.







 
#4 ·
Thanks for the input from one of our esteemed Mods.

I liked those ads too, but I am looking for new stuff- some simpler messages, like:
Fill it up in your garage while you sleep.
Perhaps adding, Go anywhere a gas-only car can go. ?

All of the points mentioned in Steverino's post are good and relevant- especially as bullet points that flesh-out impact words.

Please add your small sets of words that explain and have impact- that resonate with people and get their attention....
 
#5 ·
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn_L05WLc94 Start at around 7:50. To summarize:

People who drive 150 to 200 cars a year love the Volt. In terms of refinement there are three levels. Walking. Volt. $100,000 car. Those are your choices. To match the refinement you get from a Volt you have to buy a Tesla or Rolls Royce. But the difference is that the Volt is cheap.

Should give them plenty to work with.
 
#19 ·
Really nice clip at 7:50- thanks! (Even though overall the vid is more about the ELR- which is overpriced, agreed).

What would be the short and sweet message here?
 
#6 · (Edited)
Commercial with multiple real volt owners (not actors)

"I'm (insert name)"
Graphic pops up showing city, state, and daily commute
"And I'm getting (insert lifetime mileage) miles per gallon in my volt"

Squeeze 4 or 5 in each commercial and have a number of different ones

And they should end with Ari C who should have an insane number
 
#32 ·
LOL! I like it. It would certainly stir-up some controversy!

Thanks for playing.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Do an ad extolling the virtue of being able to drive the car when or where others can't. Liks showing the Volt driving by huge traffic jams . car after car after car after car....all on the shoulder. And the end of the commercial, the Volt drives right by the source of the jam and the statement becomes obvious- all the other cars are waiting to fill up at a gas station. Lines so long that nobody is going enywhere any time soon. Except the smiling volt driver. And you don't need many words to reinforce the point. Chevy Volt- Go when others can't.

You could do the same thing without the car in the pic. A guy shows up at the office. Only the boss is there. Big place, real quiet. a clock shows up in the shot. 9 am. Coffee pot is still full. Phones are ringing..... No one there. The boss looks at the guy and asks, " What are you doing here?" in a perplexed, frustrated boss kind of voice. The guy looks totally confused and says, Well, it is Thursday Morning, Riggghhhhtttt?????" The boss asks, How did you get here? The guy says, I drove my car. Boss: How did you do that? I've got 100 employees that are all out there that waiting to get gas... Picture pans to a window and outside is a line of cars a mile long at a gas station. Guy: I've got a Volt. Picture pans from the gast atation to the huge parking lot with one car in it. A Volt plugged in. And the guy goes to his desk leaving the boss to chew on that. Fade to a script (in Volt font??) "Impress your boss- get to work every day." But that one would be far too Honda or Toyota-like for Chevy to use....

Yeah, I know- gas shortages are a thing of the 70's. Probably too passe. So modify the theme, but use the basic idea.

Everyone shouting at the boss that they need a raise cause gas is so expensive. One guy sitting qietly in the corner. The boss goes to him and asks why he doesn't want a raise like everone else. Guy says gas isn't a problem for him.... It wouldn't take long or very many words to make the point. Reminds me of the old EF Hutton ads- Major commotion, then one guy starts to say something and everything stops dead. Everybody listens. The dramatic shift in volume and activity is an attention getter in an ad. And you made your point before they guy even says anything.

Sell the basic advantages. You aren't going to sell the car on price, even though we know there are pretty good deals to be had. And I'm not sure GM really wants to advertise that they are discounting such a vaunted car so heavily. Be short, be succinct, use a little wry humor, and make the volt look like a smart choice.

But be be careful with what you ask for here. Go ahead, advertise the car heavily. Drive up demand. you will drive up the price. Those deals that we love will start disappearing. Double edged sword....

But in the end, I'm not sure GM has it in mind to really mass market the Volt. Clearly the car serves several masters at Gm. If they did want to go big volume with it, thye would have already done a lot more. And they don't need you or me to think this up their slogan. But I'll still go be a technical advisor when the shoot one of the above spots.
 
#14 ·
... Chevy Volt- Go when others can't.
Nice concept.

Some of the ads would have to be held until the next gas crisis, I agree.

I don't really care if the GM people are interested or not.

I might do some of my own.

Thanks for playing.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Highlight the real world miles driven per every gallon burned.

I've come to think that GM has decided to let the Volt stand on its own, to let it sell itself. Not that they are abandoning it, but to let the market come to it rather than GM investing in marketing dollars to pull buyers in. Given their total lack of effort which unfortunately is also found at the dealer level, sales numbers are actually more impressive than they seem.

Assuming the profit margin on Gen 1 Volt is scant, GM doesn't see any advantage to spend $$ pushing a low profit product hard towards the 200k sales point where the federal tax credit will expire. This also explains why they are not doing anything with the highly touted Spark EV.

Meanwhile, they are keeping their powder dry, keeping a close watch on market trends, and getting ready for a major assault on the market with the Gen 2 Volt.
 
#10 ·
How about an ad where they play the theme from 'Cheers' and tell us 'Gas Stations...where NOBODY knows your name'.

Oops. They already did one of those but ended it with the Cruze Diesel. Darn.
 
#11 ·
I've had folks tell me my VIDEO is better than most Chevy Ads!

(Click below)
 
#39 ·
Your video could be a commercial..........up to when you ask for an accurate MPG display. I agree with you regarding how the display should function. It just wouldn't be part of a VOLT commercial, IMO.
 
#12 · (Edited)
We could start with a driver unplugging his charger, saying to the camera, "With a Chevy Volt, I can fill up at home!" Then driving and talking about the smooth, quiet ride. "I get the convenience of an electric vehicle without the range anxiety." An animation showing what happens when the battery runs out. "I can go over 300 miles on a tankful." Finally the driver gets out at the beach, pats the car and says, "Love my Volt!" As they head to the shore, a voice over comes on: "There's a reason Volt owners are the happiest drivers on Earth. Find out why at your local Chevrolet dealer."
 
#17 ·
#13 ·
Here's an idea that was discussed on this week's Autoline After Hours. The suggestion is each dealer offer $500 to any licensed driver. The specifics is a coupon good for $50 of service every 6 months until the $500 credit is used up. The offer is made to any licensed driver regardless of car they drive and while their car is in for service the person would be required to test drive a car. The thinking is on average every forth drive results in a sale, and the actual cost to the dealer is about half the face value of the coupon.

If Chevy dealers did this and had people drive the Volt I bet a lot of these folks would end up buying it.
 
#16 · (Edited)
coupon good for $50 of service every 6 months until the $500 credit is used up. The offer is made to any licensed driver regardless of car they drive and while their car is in for service the person would be required to test drive a... /QUOTE]

Volt- nice idea- what is the snappy line that goes with this: Take the quietest test ride of your life in a Volt and get $500 of free service
 
#15 · (Edited)
I like this idea- thanks. larry4pyro

Need a snappy line to explain it- is this it?: Test drive a Volt and get $500 of free service
 
#18 · (Edited)
#21 ·
I have been in the advertising business for nearly 50 years - the last 20 with my own agency. The campaigns that GM has chosen over the past few years were, I believe well done and on the right track. TV is expensive and in order to be effective with it, one must dominate -- a strategy that very few are willing to fund, especially for a product that is only one of many from the same company.

At this point I would recommend that GM provide Volts for drivers ed classes, allowing a few months at a time for various schools to interest young drivers, dispel their misconceptions and grow their experiences among the younger demographics. Shooting video of those first experiences would be easy to translate to social media as well as network television. Then keep those TV spots short (10 sec) and frequent.

I believe, without doing any research (which I usually don't recommend), that this story should be told from the ground up. It's very expensive to change a negative thought process in an adult, but much more cost efficient to impress a mind that has little or no preconception of an automobile, yet is forward thinking, positive and looking for the next technology breakthrough.

It takes time - even with the right concept. Most of my days are spent convincing clients to hang in there.

Love the Volt!
 
#40 ·
VERY INTERESTING!
 
#22 · (Edited)
Answer the number one question that people ask of Volt owners, "what happens when the battery runs out?".... keep the answer simple, "the engine comes on, and you keep driving".... do not say the average Volt driver gets 900 miles per tank without saying the tank is only 9.3 gallons.... that is ridiculously stupid... instead say the average Volt driver gets about 120 miles per gallon of purchased gas.... if they used a real advanced marketing company, a great thing to say would be the Volt gets about 40 miles per dollar and the Prius gets 13....

MrEnergyCzar
 
#23 ·
The Volt is a terrific engineering achievement, but it's just too complicated to market effectively. Is it an electric car? yes and no What's the electric range? 38 miles- sounds low Does it run on gas? yes, sometimes. Does it get better gas mileage than a Prius? no What sets this car apart in one phrase? I hate to say it, but being a Chevy is still a negative for most early adopters.

Leaf - all electric eco car. For the more holy than a Prius crowd.
Tesla - all electric uber car from famed innovator. Something to set you apart from all the Mercedes and BMW people. No compromise electric.
BMW i3 - all electric sporty coupe by BMW.
Volt - Hated by Fox news, sort of electric, sort of gas (not leading at either), but for smart people who can see past all that it's a terrific all around car. hmm, why is this car hard to market?

The marketing is so challenging because it seems engineering led the development of this car, not product people. There's no easy way to differentiate or even describe what they've built, even if it is a great car.
 
#30 ·
No, the marketing is challenging because they obviously still have marketing people stuck in the 30-second-TV-spot mentality. That may be fine for ICEVs where it's 30 seconds of image-related bull**** to try and convince people that their boring box is better than somebody else's boring box, but if you need to explain stuff about the car, then make each 30 seconds part of a bigger picture. Each 30 seconds just needs to make it clear that:
(1) It's the Chevrolet Volt
(2) It's better than a regular car or competitor in some way
(3) There's a very obvious, easy URL to find out more about the car (in more 30s spots).
All they've done is to say "visit the gas station less" in a couple of different ways. There's so much more to say and to learn.
 
#24 ·
How about just market the Volt as a fun, sexy, reliable, good looking car to drive. And oh ya it's electric too. A drive by the beach or mountains, fast, curves and all might do it.
Just enough to peak interest and maybe get them to the dealer. (Then have to eliminate the bad dealers too I guess)
 
#26 ·
The term you meant is "pique interest" Google it!
 
#25 ·
My wife does not like to buy gas and feels unsafe with the kids in the car this is a real fear of many.

My add would be a woman driving at night in the rain and glancing at the kids in the back seat sleeping then glancing at the dash showing the 250+ mpg that 80% of us see driveing past a gas station showing people looking cold wet and in the wind with a few unsavory looking types driveing past all that pushing the homelink button pulling into the garage all the lights come on pushing the button again to close the door .
She then opens the car plugs in wakes the kids in the warm safe garage and says something about not buying gas for the last 8 months.


Tom
 
#27 · (Edited)
Scene from the fast and furious. Volt out accelerates a number of Japanese imports and at the finish like women ogle over your car

Rear doors open, your kids jump in and say hi dad waking you from a daydream
You pull out of the school parking lot and pull up to a light next to a number of Racer boys in Japanese compacts.
Light is red
Kid in the back seat says "take em dad"
Push the drive button
Dash switches to sport mode
Light turns green
Volt takes off from the line out accelerating the Japanese compacts
Announcer chimes in with a message about incredible foot pounds of torque
 
#28 · (Edited)
Theyre you go! Tom's got it. Sell the things that the Volt has going for it that people just don't get. No gas lines, no filling up in bad situations.... You could do the same with two guys talking about when the last time they has a brake job done. Or an oil change.... Little things to many people, I know. But those little things become big in the eyes of some. And success for most advertising is based on repeat messages, not a one time see it and go out and buy it. So do all of those concepts in a series of ads.

Chevy Volt- Go where other cars can't - past the gas station. Aviod long lines, high prices, bad weather, potentially dangerous situations... Freedom!

Chevy Volt- Go when other cars can't- no gas, no problem. Freedom

Maybe that takes up back to the days of old Baseball, Apple Pie and Chevrolet? design the add campaign aound the overriding theme of Freedom in America. Your right to be free from...
 
#29 ·
Comparison:

All-Electric car: (Leaf) = too much range anxiety... No, more like Range Panic.

Hybrid car: (Prius) = Slow, noisy, cheap, and sometimes even ugly.

Gasoline car: = Noisy, jerky shifting, smelly, waiting in line at gas pump every week.

Volt: = Can run on either Electric OR gas, whenever you need each. (The ONLY Dual Fuel car with NO compromises)
 
#33 ·
I am really tired ...
So I am interested in how members of this forum would pitch the Volt- simply and quickly and in language that average will understand.

I ...Mark
I have written here before, and I apologize to regulars for repeating here:

the most effective advertisements are feel good ads. They separately the buyers buying decision from their logical self so that they feel good about buying the product. The best marketing gets into potential buyer's heads and leads them to perceive the brand or the product has having value to them beyond any transportation value.


Ads for cars must be fun and exciting and full of happy smiling faces of whatever type of person the viewing demographic wants itself to be... (not what it is) I would do the same with the Volt's media money if I were managing how to spend it...
 
#34 · (Edited)
I think an ad that shows the boring waste of time and routine of pumping gas, where you show people in lock step pumping day after day after day after day. Then at the end have a Volt drive by with the driver shaking his head at the scene. Then just tag the ad with - Get your head of your gas - get a Volt already.
 
#35 ·
I think a spin on being 'green' would work. Take the eco friendly spin and turn it into a money friendly spin. People saying, I'm green because now I have more green in my wallet!

I also think the Smoking tire video is one of the best. Things like... this doesn't drive like a camry, it drives like a Rolls Royce. And plain language explaining that it truly is cheap to drive at an average X dollars per charge.
 
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