Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - (Page 24) 24 • JULY 21, 2008 Lexus revamps ‘Taste’ marketing extravaganzas Mark Rechtin mrechtin@crain.com Change of ‘Taste’ Lexus is taking a new approach with its nearly 10-year-old “Taste of Lexus” marketing roadshow. Before: 14-city tour featured the entire model lineup at lavish $1 million events that drew thousands. Now: Up to 37 smaller, guerrilla marketing events that focus on specific vehicle types. tour grew to 14 cities and was imitated by many luxury brands. Now, rather than whistle-stops featuring the entire model lineup, Lexus is holding more — and smaller — events with specific products aimed at a targeted crowd. LOS ANGELES — Lexus has overhauled its annual “Taste of Lexus” national roadshow, once the last word in relationship marketing for luxuryvehicle brands. Brand executives decided they weren’t getting enough bang for their buck. Lexus expects to get better results by hosting fewer customers at events that are more frequent, better focused — and less lavish. In 1999, Toyota’s luxury brand began throwing shindigs for invited prospects at racetracks and airfields. The events combined closed-course test drives with musical talent and trendy, catered food from celebrity chefs. The eight-stop tours cost about $1 million per city and drew about 2,000 customers at each event. The In its new approach to event marketing, Lexus is targeting consumers interested in a particular attribute — such as performance, the emphasis of this recent event. About 6,000 enthusiasts test drove the IS, IS-F, GS and GS hybrid sedans. tour was recently completed. About 6,000 hard-core enthusiasts drove IS, IS-F, GS and GS hybrid sedans. “There still has to be an experience, a story they couldn’t get anyplace else,” Bolain says. “The performance guys are enthusiasts. Put them on a track, and they are happy. But for luxury, that’s where we bring our partners to life — the hotels, the ‘hybrid living’ designers, things like that.” prowess of the vehicles in snow. Some performance and luxury events have been held at high-end fitness clubs. Lexus also is handling the invitations more efficiently. The old routine involved mailing expensive invitations on glossy paper. With a 10 percent response rate, that was a lot of wasted paper and postage. Now Lexus places targeted invitations through Lexus owner club Internet sites. Banner advertising is placed on third-party automotive and lifestyle Web sites, as well as on fan sites for competing luxury brands. “People are self-selecting right from the beginning,” Bolain says. “This is much more interactive and more economical. We’re doing a better job of focusing these events.” c Plainer brownies Need Salespeople, Tech’s, Managers & Other Employees? The Auto Industry’s #1 Recruiting, Training & Marketing Company Salespeople~BDC~Detailer~Porter~Technician Body Tech~Service Advisor~Service Manager Parts Counter~Parts Manager~Sales Manager Finance Manager~Office Staff~GSM~GM 800-421-4550 www.clickhereforadvice.com Brian C. Hall, President & CEO “The destination was becoming more important than the cars,” says Brian Bolain, Lexus national manager of interactive and automotive events. “The brownies were outweighing the driving experience.” This year, Lexus is holding separate events that emphasize performance, luxury or all-wheel-drive capability, Bolain says. And although there is food and music, the tour is more about the driving. The new tour has up to 37 stops. Still, Lexus spends less money putting Brian Bolain says of the “Taste of Lexus” roadshow: “The brownies were outweighing the driving experience.” them on, Bolain says. “We still want people to come and eat, but do we need to create a shopping mall to get them to drive a car?” Lexus data show that the most frequently driven car at “Taste” events was the SC 430 coupe, which also is the lineup’s slowest-selling vehicle. “People came to drive the car they weren’t going to buy,” Bolain says. The performance edition of the new Specific targets Lexus also drew lessons from another Toyota brand: Scion. Rather than make customers come to an event, Lexus is going to the people. For the all-wheel-drive portion of the tour, Lexus will conduct guerrilla events at ski resorts to show the Fisker turns to Finnish firm to make first hybrids Andrew Grossman agrossman@crain.com Fisker Automotive Inc., a hybridcar startup, has hired the Finnish company that builds cars for Porsche AG to build its first production vehicle. Fisker said it will manufacture later models of the plug-in hybrid Karma sedan in the United States. Valmet Automotive, of Uusikaupunki, Finland, now builds some models of the Porsche Boxster and Cayman. Fisker, of suburban Los Angeles, says the first models will be ready in the fourth quarter of 2009. The company has said it planned to sign 40 U.S. dealers by the time the Karma launches. The four-seater is expected to have a base price of $80,000. “We are thrilled to have found the ideal manufacturing partner in Valmet Automotive,” Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker said in a statement. “Valmet offers us the quality and speed necessary to meet our production goals, and given that more than half of Fisker Automotive’s sales are expected to be outside of North America, Valmet represents an ideal international foothold. “We do have a strategic plan to utilize an American manufacturing site for future models of the Fisker Karma.” c Suzuki hires new auto ad agency American Suzuki Motor Corp. has hired Siltanen & Partners as the advertising agency for its automotive division. Siltanen takes over from Dentsu Next, which will continue to represent Suzuki’s motorcycle and all-terrain-vehicle divisions. In April, Suzuki hired Siltanen, of Marina del Rey, Calif., to relaunch the Grand Vitara SUV and launch a truck. Siltanen has done work for Nissan, Infiniti and Hyundai. Dentsu Next has represented Suzuki since 2000. — Andrew Grossman Looking for a cure for … I Improving your customer retention? I Growing your customer pay business? I Increasing your bottom line profits? Get a free diagnosis of your dealership at l us Cal ’ll f 39 You -829… ! tter l be 00 ee 1 0 -80 www.mightycure.com The Automotive Dealership Specialists http://www.clickhereforadvice.com http://www.clickhereforadvice.com http://www.umcycles.com http://www.umcycles.com http://www.mightycure.com http://www.mightycure.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - July 21, 2008 Automotive News - July 21, 2008 Gray sky, not blue; store values wilt Sour Chery: Bricklin suit claims corruption Germans in U.S. eye VW work S.C. warranty insurer faces shutdown LaNeve: Make do with less marketing money Tesla CAFE: 244 mpg Lincoln's big crossover Schaeffler goes shopping: Can supplier land Continental? Dealers cut, shift their ad spending Truck for the times? Oklahoma pickup gets 37 mpg For Chrysler sensations, glory days are gone Kuzak: Redone Fords must have best fuel economy The Fisher brothers: Quite a body of work Kazamai concept: Mazda's design heard round the world 3 years later, Mitsubishi, UAW resume contract talks Big-pickup production will plunge Nason's NHTSA: More rules, fewer penalties A vote for the Volt Hyundai: Genesis gives brand a new beginning in luxury GM may survive; to thrive, it needs hot products GM just bought some time Green can be cool; it's up to the maker Why don't we drive diesels in the U.S.? Hooray! Joint effort stops airbag deaths All-Stars: Look beyond top brass Leno was right about U.S. cars Toyota recalls Siennas, disputes safety issue This time, the industry embraces connectivity Telematics connects with consumers Telematics gets no respect — the word, that is Tapping mapping for an extra eye on the road Drivers can check CO2 'tire print' Pay As You Drive insurance tracks cars to trim costs Subscribers, sponsors may fund telematics services Big-truck sales fall 14% in June Continental plant to make brakes Lear to shut Mo. seating plant Modine shifts production to Ky. Linamar buys Visteon plant Picture this Lexus revamps 'Taste' marketing extravaganzas Suzuki hires new auto ad agency Fisker turns to Finnish firm to make first hybrids American Suzuki gets new president Canada sales slip 5.6% in June Dealers A big fuel saver: Easy-rolling tires (but watch braking) MPG now! Automakers race to boost efficiency Products — not entire brands — likely to be ditched Pared ad budget is back on the chopping block GM goal: Big small-car profits Congress mulls arbitration bill 2009 Mazda6 price: $19,220 Copart files antitrust suit Denton's out, Leuliette's in as Dura CEO June output falls 13.8% Dodge Challenger: Not quite a sellout Magazine is raided in Renault espionage case Ya gotta believe: Dealers buy GM stock States of the auto industry Will the big guns pull the trigger? Lear a year later: Icahn's offer in hindsight Midcourse correction in Toyota's global sales outlook Chattanooga: A good site better Automotive News - July 21, 2008 Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - (Page Intro) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Gray sky, not blue; store values wilt (Page 1) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Gray sky, not blue; store values wilt (Page 2) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Lincoln's big crossover (Page 3) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Truck for the times? Oklahoma pickup gets 37 mpg (Page 4) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Truck for the times? Oklahoma pickup gets 37 mpg (Page 5) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - 3 years later, Mitsubishi, UAW resume contract talks (Page 6) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - 3 years later, Mitsubishi, UAW resume contract talks (Page 7) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - A vote for the Volt (Page 8) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - A vote for the Volt (Page 9) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Hyundai: Genesis gives brand a new beginning in luxury (Page 10) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Hyundai: Genesis gives brand a new beginning in luxury (Page 11) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Why don't we drive diesels in the U.S.? (Page 12) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Why don't we drive diesels in the U.S.? (Page 13) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Leno was right about U.S. cars (Page 14) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Leno was right about U.S. cars (Page 15) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Toyota recalls Siennas, disputes safety issue (Page 16) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Toyota recalls Siennas, disputes safety issue (Page GM1) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Toyota recalls Siennas, disputes safety issue (Page GM2) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Telematics connects with consumers (Page 17) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Telematics connects with consumers (Page 18) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Telematics gets no respect — the word, that is (Page 19) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Tapping mapping for an extra eye on the road (Page 20) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Pay As You Drive insurance tracks cars to trim costs (Page 20A) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Pay As You Drive insurance tracks cars to trim costs (Page 20B) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Pay As You Drive insurance tracks cars to trim costs (Page 20C) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Subscribers, sponsors may fund telematics services (Page 20D) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Subscribers, sponsors may fund telematics services (Page 21) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Linamar buys Visteon plant (Page 22) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Picture this (Page 23) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Fisker turns to Finnish firm to make first hybrids (Page 24) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 25) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 26) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 27) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 28) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 29) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 30) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Canada sales slip 5.6% in June (Page 31) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Dealers (Page 32) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - MPG now! Automakers race to boost efficiency (Page 33) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - GM goal: Big small-car profits (Page 34) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Denton's out, Leuliette's in as Dura CEO (Page 35) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Denton's out, Leuliette's in as Dura CEO (Page 36) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - June output falls 13.8% (Page 37) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Chattanooga: A good site better (Page 38) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Chattanooga: A good site better (Page 39) Automotive News - July 21, 2008 - Chattanooga: A good site better (Page 40)
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