Nick D. Saporito
The musings of a car-crazed marketing manager.
Category Archives: Automotive
Chevrolet: Let The Bow Tie Go Freestyle
A few months ago I met a Chevrolet Sonic on the highway. The owner had replaced the centerpiece of the iconic gold bow tie with a body colored insert; in this case, the bow tie is now orange. Since that sighting I’ve mentally taken note of just how common it has become for Chevy buyers to customize their bow ties, leading me to believe Chevy should embrace this from a marketing perspective by letting the bow tie go freestyle.
Here in truck country I’ve specifically noticed dozens of Silverado’s with custom bow ties; most of them end up being black, however I’ve also seen red ones and even one camo bow tie. In the case of most, the added custom touch actually looks pretty good, especially the black bow ties. This trend also seems to be prevalent amongst Camaro owners, which is not terribly shocking considering the rate at which Camaro owners modify their vehicles.
Granted, my evidence here is anecdotal, however there are some macro-level trends in the market and amongst consumers that also support the idea of the brand embracing their owners’ idea. Firstly, bow ties are making a comeback in men’s fashion. As someone who dresses in business attire on a daily basis, I continually find a host of bow ties in stores, from black ones to ones with outright crazy patterns. It is sort of a hipster trend that has trickled down to the mainstream, and one that Chevy could fall in line with on a subliminal level.
Secondly, the illustrious Generation Y (my generation). Studies show Gen Y likes custom, unique attributes in products. We are the generation of individualism, and what is more individualistic than a custom design for the front of your car? Chevrolet is apparently already aware of Gen Y’s tastes for uniqueness, because they are already offering graphics packages and other custom pieces for their small cars, the Sonic and Spark.
Most importantly, the gold bow tie has a stigma attached to it. In fact, I recall reading at some point that the gold bow tie does NOT clinic well with consumers, which would likely explain why I have noticed more and more Chevy owners covering the gold with the hue of their choice. Gold is a stodgy color and from a visual perspective, it sort of clashes with some exterior colors, like bright red and orange.
There’s also the loyalty element to allowing owners to do this. By customizing their Chevy, they’re making it a little more personal to them – special. From an emotional level, it’s connecting the buyer to their product further, and if Chevy ran the customizing process…it would be another added touch-point between the brand and their customers. Every OEM is making great vehicles today, it’s the OEM that can connect with buyers on a higher level that will ultimately gain buyer loyalty. Baseball, apple pie, and Chevrolet….America is about individualism, so how fitting that Chevy do this?
As a marketing guy who obsesses over branding consistency, it’s ironic I’m suggesting this. In the case of Chevrolet, it isn’t the gold color that is iconic to buyers, it is the bow tie shape itself. In fact, Chevrolet itself has not consistently used gold as the centerpiece of their bow tie. As recent as in the last decade the brand was still using blue on car models. People are not identifying Chevrolet from gold, they are identifying the brand because of the logo shape.
I’m not saying the entire brand should re-brand. For consistency purposes Chevrolet should absolutely maintain status quo on the corporate level with collateral and advertising. I also think they should continue putting gold bow ties on their vehicles. What I’m suggesting is offer buyers the option to have a cover plate for their bow tie, and let them have fun with it.
Once a Chevy owner buys a new product, they can go online and design their bow tie free of charge through Chevrolet’s “My BowTie” service. It is then sent to the owner’s home and easy to attach to the bow tie found on their grille. In the box with the custom bow tie could be an insert sheet encouraging them to Instagram a pic of their custom bow tie with the hashtag #mybowtie or something similar. The sharing generation (Gen Y) would likely publish a photo of their art work on their social networks, that’s almost a given. Then the owner gets a piece of their personality on their vehicle, and Chevy gets word of mouth online.
The “My BowTie” service could also sell additional custom prints for buyers that want to switch beyond the one free unit. They could even offer high end units made out of real alloys or carbon fiber for the more discerning Chevy owner.
There’s likely a lot more that would have to go into this concept, but I have been thinking about it a lot lately. Today alone I saw six different Chevy’s with custom bow ties on the front…the owners are doing it, might as well embrace it.
By the way, I’d want a greyscale camo bow tie on my black Camaro ZL1.
From Forum to Pioneer
Undoubtedly the accomplishment I’m most proud of resides at the web URL www.GMInsideNews.com. I first found that site back in 2003, while suffering boredom in my seventh grade English class and instantly became hooked by what it was. GMI was different than the other car websites I frequented; it had different information and allowed people–including me–to talk on the site. My 12 year old self was utterly amused at the prospects at the time. Little did I know that the discovery of a website would reroute the course of my personal life and end up being a pillar in my professional life.
From that day in April 2003, I remained affixed to GMI, visiting the site at least a few times a week. By June I had decided I was ready to take it to the next level and begged to become a moderator on the forum. Clearly I have been mesmerized by authority since a young age (scary, I know), so getting a title and different colored username was enamoring to me at the time and served as high octane fuel for my motivation to help out on the site.
As time went on I became more involved on the site, eventually realizing that what we had with GMI was special. GMI was more than a discussion forum and the whole team had this collective vision and dream for what it come eventually become. This ended up really being the first time in my life that I rallied behind something because I truly believed in it. The vision and the team that formed it were on a path for great things and I was convinced we were going to accomplish it come Hell or high water.
As the Fall of 2007 approached the site’s owner was forced to step away from the site, leaving a mild power vacuum in his demise. Perhaps to the dismay of some of my colleagues at the time, I sort of just jumped into the captain’s seat and started running the site. For me it wasn’t a power trip; I was so intent on carrying out the vision for the site that nothing else mattered at the time and the power vac was not about to suck the wind out of our sail.
A few months later the owner sold the site, with the new owners asking me to continue running the site as a contract employee. At the time I was a 17 year old attempting to wrap up high school, so accepting (another) job was not high on my priority list. However at the time we had made great strides in the “vision” and I kept thinking in my head, “With more resources we can finally make this work..” After finding out that the purchaser of the site was ran by a guy who started the company at 16, I realized that at 17, I was if not anything…a bit late to the game. I accepted.
When I took over the site it had virtually no positive relationship with the company it followed so closely (GM). In fact, the only relation GM had with the site was negative; in the form of them shunning the site and the former owner adding fuel to their fire. The entire situation was a case of a large corporation not knowing how to handle “new media” and site management that was convinced they did not have to have a relationship with the company to thrive.
I was not convinced the hate-hate relationship between the site and GM was conducive for either organization. By fall 2009 most of GM communications had turned over to personnel that were open to new media, so I began driving them nuts with inquiries and olive branches to work together. After some backdoor correspondence with the c-suite (hey, we are GMinsidenews), our request for discussion was granted. So at 19 I had a conference call with 4-5 director level employees of a Fortune 20 firm about starting over the relationship they had with GMI. And from that point on, it’s grown into a relationship with uncharted waters.
As time has progressed, the relationship between GM and GMI has become pioneering. The entire relationship started out with GM extending some of the perks of being a media outlet, but has since evolved to be far more meaningful than just that.
Today GMI has a solid relationship with it’s following company in three countries, spanning two continents. Arguably the most conductive relationship has been between GMI’s Australian staff members and GM Holden. The relationship has brought GMI’s global audience some of the most extensive coverage of Holden in the industry. In fact, no mainstream automotive media outlet in the U.S. has staff on the ground in Australia, yet GMI does and Holden allows them to cover the company like local media. This combination has brought U.S. readers interested in Holden (of which there are many on GMI) unmatched coverage during Holden’s most interesting periods. Holden also participates on the forum periodically.
Here in North America the relationship is much the same, just on a bigger scale. While we’re treated like mainstream automotive media now, we’ve also notched out further intricacies with GM in North America. For example, the president of GM North America (Mark Reuss) personally participates on the forum; even interacting with users and answering their questions. In fact, Reuss will tell you he’s on the site regularly and can even recall a few usernames that, um, standout for their candid feedback. Much to my surprise, our readers really treat him just as any other member…which is really the beauty of the site.
After nine years on the site, I think the vision the team and I had for it was finally carried out. Our readers are well educated on the subject we cover, we still break a boatload of inside information (sorry, GM) and now our “formal” relationship with the company is right where it should be. Today the site has entered into the status of “how can we advance from here?” Organically expanding the scope and breadth of the site will never be finished, only optimized and evolved.
I certainly cannot take all of the credit for the relationship that’s been chiseled out with the site. Without the global team and expanding audience of GMI, it never would have happened. GM deserves a large amount of credit as well for allowing our relationship to get to this point. As an OEM they have really been the first (to my knowledge) to let an enthusiast site get this close. I have often heard the saying, “Your best customers are on forums” – without a doubt true in automotive, and it appears GM has been the first OEM to fully realize and appreciate this.
For the record, my honesty for calling a spade a spade is well documented. GM legitimately deserves a lot of credit for what’s been accomplished here or I would clearly say otherwise 🙂
Buick’s Marketing Miss With Regal GS
My black Regal GS tester near an old downtown building in Joplin, Mo.
Ed. Note: This will be one of few automotive posts on here. It is very rant in nature…what can I say, I’m passionate about some stuff.
In case you haven’t figured it out by now, GM’s Buick brand has been on a rebound in recent years. Ever since the launch of the successful Enclave in 2007, the brand has fairly consistently had one good product after another. One such product has been the Regal GS sedan, a niche sport sedan that is–if nothing else–successful at giving all preconceived notions of Buick as an old-people brand the middle finger. Despite the fact that the GS screams anti-Buick stigma, the brand has thus far failed at capitalizing on it, particularly with Gen Y.
Let me start by saying I am not here to debate the Regal GS in terms of mechanical status or technical merit – I have another website for that. This entire post is about the image and marketing of the car.
Based on Opel Insignia OPC (ascetically, anyway), the Regal GS sports vertical “fangs” on the front clip, integrated dual exhaust out back and absolutely gorgeous forged 20-inch polished wheels. To top the car’s image off, the first impression is formed around a shocking growl from the exhaust and brakes that say “Brembo” on them. Collectively, Buick isn’t the first auto marquee one thinks of when the car drives up. Oh, did I mention it also has a six-speed manual?
Granted, the GS has been hotly debated because of its turbo four-cylinder power and front-wheel drive configuration, but for image purposes…no one cares outside of car junkies like myself. The indisputable fact is that this car’s image is defying brand perceptions at the highest possible levels.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have two Regal GS testers in the last six months. The first was a black-on-black manual tester, and the one I have right now is a stunning red automatic version. During my stint with both cars, head’s have constantly been caught turning to see what just drove by and bystanders asking questions is just the norm with it.
Once I tell them that it’s a “BUICK Regal” my reply is typically met with this puzzled, WTF? face. For the select few that I’ve granted rides in my GS testers, the look usually ends up turning into a grin…particularly when the H/K sound system is deemed bump-worthy and the flat-bottom steering wheel is acknowledged. It should be noted that my testers are typically driven around a college campus, not a retirement home.
Then the other day I was standing in the university parking lot. As always I was scanning the vehicles to see if there was anything remotely exciting (yellow Aveo’s and Grand Am’s only go so far), and to my surprise this time there was! Resting in one of the parking slots was a black, loaded Regal GS. In the STUDENT parking lot. I was absolutely stunned.
As fate would have it, the next day I figured out that the owner of said GS actually sat next to me in one of my classes. She (yes, a female) was a 21 year old college student driving a brand new Buick.
As often the case, the revolution of this caused my analytical mind to go into overdrive. Then, the following week (this week) I get my second GS tester and gauge overwhelmingly positive responses to it from my peers. The combination led me to this…
Thus far Buick has failed to capitalize on the Regal GS’s image defying ability. Yes, they advertise the car as a sports sedan, but the commercial with a middle aged couple fetching groceries (while good), is not doing the car justice.
Buick must start putting this car in front of Gen Y. I realize that my generation, as a whole, does not have the purchasing parity to support the Regal GS, but that isn’t the point. Buick lost a generation of buyers (my parents). The brand has a chance thanks to my generation’s open mindedness to brand names, but we must be influenced early. The GS in front of 20-30 year olds is the perfect way to pave a long-term path to success for the brand with Gen Y.
Once my generation is graduated from college and achieves their first “real” job, they are going to want to reward themselves. In many cases, that’s going to be a premium car. They likely won’t be able to afford the cool Cadillac’s, but they probably could manage a $36,000 Regal GS. Most of Gen Y has watched our parent’s generation struggle and now we have struggled through the 2007-today economic conditions…Gen Y will be more than ready to reward themselves once the time is right to do so.
Need I also mention Gen Y’s influence on our parents. As someone who witnessed the Facebook revolution while working for an ISP, I saw first-hand how grandparents and parents were adopting Facebook in droves…because the grandkids/kids were on there. When Gen Y finds it “cool” the older generations seem to be following suit. If Gen Y start’s positive word-of-mouth about Buick, perhaps the “lost generation” will warm back up to the brand.
What’s more interesting is that almost every GM brand has–at some point–tried to leverage an unprofitable “niche” product to use for image improvement. We saw it with the Pontiac Solstice, Chevrolet SSR, Saturn Sky…the list goes on. In almost every case the image improvement was never meaningful enough to justify the insanely unprofitable product. Ironically, the GS is (I assume) profitable and is a better image changer for Buick just because, on the bandwidth of old vs. new Buick…the GS is beyond the scale. The car literally squashes every bad perception of the brand. On the other hand, the Solstice still had a crappy interior like all Pontiacs and the SSR was just useless.
Despite my antics, Buick does deserve some credit. The brand has lowered its average buyer age and almost half of its sales are to non-GM owners; both excellent numbers and no small feat. In fact my main hang up is really about the GS in particular because they keep using that same timid marketing that the rest of the brand gets. The “your kind of luxury” branding is nice, but it does not appeal to me or likely anyone else in my generation. Unfortunately I fear Cadillac is likely to blame for this…they don’t want Buick stepping on their “edgy” image. To Cadillac I say this…move up-market where you belong.
NOTE: Part II of this will include my ideas of changing the GS marketing.
Nick D. Saporito 