UK Motor Industry News

Vauxhall has extended its deal with The Football Association (FA) for a further four years as England football team lead sponsor, with the car marque claiming its sponsorship has delivered ‘extraordinary’ levels of brand awareness.

The deal is thought to be worth around £6m a year. The deal covers all 24 of England football squads and is wider than the previous agreement, as the General Motors-owned car marque will become the official presenting partner of England’s football content on FATV, the FA’s online broadcast channel.

Unlike before, Vauxhall will also involve itself with helping improve interaction with England fans. The new deal will run up to July 2018 which includes the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia. In the new sponsorship period, tournaments include Euro 2016 and various England men’s, women’s youth and disability team competitions.

The brand’s Chairman and Managing Director Duncan Aldred, said: “Our current sponsorship of the England teams has delivered extraordinary new levels of brand awareness”. Vauxhall has enjoyed a strong start to 2013, with new car registrations up by nearly 17% year-on-year over the first four months of the year, according to SMMT figures.

Sponsorship can generate substantial publicity for a relatively small investment. It’s like using the strength, funds and audiences of two organisations to develop your product and build your brand awareness. For example; if you sponsor a local football team by buying the team’s kit on which you print your branding. You will gain the visual brand awareness and build a feel-good factor thanks to the association with the local team. You may also find networking opportunities at matches. The team sponsorship may have cost £300, but a direct-marketing campaign of the team’s borough would cost closer to £3,000.

Try: If you want to find a sponsorship opportunity; who is your target audience? Expand from customers to whom you already sell, to who you want to start selling to or who you want to start engaging better with.

More marketing advice on our marketing blog

Jaguar is poised to kick off the next phase of its F-Type campaign with multiple digital and TV executions, including plans for dual-screening activity, as the brand seeks to boost its appeal to younger audiences.

TV elements of the campaign, dubbed Your Turn, are set to launch on 20 May when a teaser ad will debut before the full TV ad is set to air on May 25 on TV. The full TV spots are poised to air in the UK during ITV’s screening of the UEFA Champion’s League final when viewing figures are expected to reach 11 million. Further cinema versions of the ads are also set to launch on 25 May, along with print, outdoor and further digital activity.

The F-Type, Jaguar’s first two-seater vehicle launch since the 1960s, will also have a strong digital digital emphasis. It is thought TV slots that are compatible with mobile app Shazam that will let viewers engage with further branded content are also on the media plan.

Meanwhile, the brand has also overhauled its digital presence by initially overhauling its UK website using HTML5 code – widely known as ‘responsive design’ – to accommodate the emergence of mobile devices. A full global roll out of the responsive design website is planned later in the year.

The reason for the step-change in Jaguars digital strategy is clearly to accommodate the changing media consumption habits, especially of younger audiences. Understanding the entry point for customers into a brand is more unpredictable than it used to be, and this in turn leads to different organisational behaviour for how brands look to target, engage with and serve content to their customers. Digitally speaking, it’s paramount to create a ‘networked brand’ in order to help service this unpredictable behaviour. Even though the idea of responsive design isn’t new to the digital world – it’s been used for news type content for a while, it’s fairly new to big brands.

The launch of the F-Type will involve targeting younger audiences than Jaguar has done previously. http://vimeo.com/66054449

Try: Could you engage with your customers more effectively by looking at your differing audiences and their characteristics?

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Audi has developed its own branded augmented reality (AR) platform and hopes to turn all its vehicles and brand assets into AR triggers to provide consumers access to additional content and information whenever they encounter the brand.

Initially the technology allows people to use the bespoke Audi Vision iOS app alongside Audi’s brochures to watch video content but the ultimate aim is to develop its capability to allow people to use it whenever they see an Audi to access videos and information in real time. The images in Audi’s brochure will trigger the image recognition app and play content on a mobile device. It will also roll out across Audi’s print and outdoor advertising, POS, dealership materials and events.

Hugh Fletcher, Audi National Digital Manager, says: “When you buy a car you can hear the roar of the engine, you feel the leather, but sometimes our advertising doesn’t get that across. The interesting thing about the automotive marketing world is that we market a dynamic product but it’s often presented in a stationary formulaic format. If you think about brochures, we’re showing really exciting cars in quite a non-dynamic format and some really fantastic technology but we’re explaining it in static copy. There’s a lot that can be done to bring our cars and technology to life through content.” As a premium brand Audi are looking at really top end marketing.

More than 90% of consumers listen to their friends and the people they trust when they are making a purchase decision. That is why every encounter of a customer with your store, brand or product is critical. Every time someone asks about your brand or product or a competitor’s product, a customer’s answer will be based on that one encounter. Your brand and marketing are key business assets you should always be keeping an eye on and investing in. Check that your brand is up to date and that it truly represents your business.

Try: It’s always good to reflect on your brand. Are there ways in which you could rejuvenate your existing brand with a fresh new approach?

More marketing advice on our marketing blog

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes unveiled the @McLarenF1 Twitter handle during the Spanish Grand Prix at the weekend but failed to make it onto the podium.

The new handle, which was promoted on the front wing endplate of the MP4-2s driven by Jenson Button and Sergio Perez, replaces the previous @TheFifthDriver in an effort to make it easier for McLaren’s global fan base to identify and engage with the team on Twitter. Unfortunately for the McLaren team, Jenson Button being its highest placed driver, finished eighth yesterday.

The change is in response to the team’s strong growth of social media followers over the past 12 months. The number of followers on Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Facebook page has increased by 40% to over 700,000 in the past year, and its Twitter following has reached almost 350,000, a growth of 80%.

Martin Whitmarsh, the Principal of the McLaren Team, said: “Our fans are at the heart of our digital strategy. We’ve strived hard to develop world-leading digital platforms that our fans can enjoy, while creating compellingly insightful content that draws them in and makes them feel like part of a team.” The team’s digital engagement strategy has also included re-launching its official website at the start of the 2013 season and rebranding its second-screen viewing experience to McLaren LIVE.

Twitter is a ‘micro-blogging’ platform and a useful place to find out what your target audiences are thinking about right now and can be used as a tool to monitor the industry. Even if you rarely Tweet yourself, you can use various search tools to locate mentions of your brand name or review the hot trends. The ReTweet option (re-pasting someone else’s Tweet, adding RT, the post’s owner name and their original message) allows you to highlight something you believe is of wider interest to the community and gets you noticed as someone on trend.

Try: Could you invest more time in your social media platforms to boost your brands online reputation?

More marketing advice on our marketing blog

Audi supports the launch of the new Star Trek film with a viral ad that pitches the new Spock actor Zachary Quinto against the original actor Leonard Nimoy. The ad showcases Audi’s latest car model while poking fun at rival brand Mercedes.

‘Zachary Quinto vs. Leonard Nimoy: The Challenge’. We see the two go head to head in a very tech-heavy game of chess. The duo, soon tired of their chess game, instead make a bet; the last one to the country club for a round of golf has to buy lunch. Cue a mild race, with each Spock setting off in their preferred mode of transportation. Old Spock opts for a Mercedes-Benz CLS550 while New Spock prefers the Audi S7.

No prizes as to guessing who might win then….

Quinto wins by having more trunk space, the use of Google Maps in the car’s navigation system. Nimoy, however, gets the final say with the Vulcan nerve pinch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WPkByAkAdZs

If out-selling your competitors in 2013 is your goal, then it is important to consider all factors that may influence and effect how successful you are.

Look at your existing customers; if a competitor stepped in, would you retain the business at the same price, or would you have to price match to keep it?

The quality of your prospecting will be one of the biggest factors in how successful you are. There will be certain specific criteria that make certain prospects more ideal for you than others. One of the best ways to get ahead of the competition is to win some of their customers from them. Look at companies you know are customers of your main competitors and then create a call plan for getting in to see them. The more deals you have in your pipeline, the more you can afford to lose. Purely by increasing your activity, you increase your chances of success.

Try: Could you focus your sales approaches to give them a better chance of success?

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Audi is using its latest UK ad campaign, featuring its first ‘heroine’ in 20 years, to push the message that the brand offers drivers both ‘style’ and ‘substance’.

The Volkswagen-owned car marque is promoting its SQ5 TDI model with a TV and cinema ad, by BBH, showing the graceful demise of a central female character. The woman is shown walking through the rain in stylish clothes and with fashionable accessories. However, as she walks her stiletto heel breaks, then the strap of her bag snaps, and finally her skirt tears at the seam. As she kneels on the ground, a voiceover states, “Style or substance? We believe you can have both”. The ad ends with the line, “Engineered beautiful”.

Style is important to us all, but a beautiful design is one that works incredibly well too – it’s not ‘form over function’. The new SQ5, along with the rest of the Q range, blends stylish good looks with the premium manufacturing one expects from Audi.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goc3giF2-oE

Over time, a strong brand can become established and serve to sell your message and benefits for you. As long as the new products and services you introduce are at least up to the standard of your existing offerings, it becomes a great deal easier to launch new branded lines. The brand is your ambassador, attracting customers and reassuring them. At the same time, it will help to bring in a flow of potential new customers. What your brand stood for in the past may just be that, so have a look at what your competition offers, how they operate and what they do, as well as wider influences and trends.

Try: If you are clear about what you stand for and what makes your brand unique, are you clearly communicating it to customers?

More marketing advice on our marketing blog

The seven figure year-long deal follows the end of the Toyota AYGO’s long running sponsorship of Channel 4’s T4, which ceased production in December.

Toyota’s Aygo will feature all Vevo’s platforms across desktop and mobile and will sponsor the ‘What’s Hot Weekend’ roundup of its most popular videos and music premieres. The car marque’s #YNOT campaign hopes to capture the imaginations of a young, adventurous audience and that the use of the hashtag will drive social media conversations.

With the growth of music and entertainment consumption online, Vevo’s position as the number one UK music video destination makes it an ideal partner forToyota. A big selling point is Vevo’s steadily growing mobile audience – crucial in its ability to target the hard to reach youth market. Last year Vevo outlined ambitions to become a recognised consumer facing brand in the region.

As a nation, we’ve gone mobile. Your online audience is no longer sat at their PCs or laptops. Now one of the biggest growth areas in online business is the mobile customer and you have to ensure that your business is set up to cater for this growing marketplace. Mobile devices may impact on your business greatly so it is becoming increasingly important that marketing strategies are adjusted to make the most of this and to reach new audiences. Mobile devices have smaller screens than your average PC or laptop, which means traditional style websites may not transfer successfully. If your site has a simple, clean and fresh-looking layout, with intelligent use of content and navigation, chances are it will look really good on a mobile screen.

Try:  Make sure your mobile website as attractive as your main online site and include special offers!

More marketing advice on our marketing blog

For the third consecutive year, Citroën is headline sponsor of the Brighton Fringe, the largest arts festival in England. (4^th May – 2^nd June).

The festival, which is designed to stimulate, educate and entertain, takes place over four weeks with a variety of established and amateur performers from a range of genres to excite crowds. Citroën continues to ‘lovingly sponsor’ the Fringe with a variety of creative performances and additional festival activities.

This year, Citroën has teamed up with Everything Acrobatic to bring an exciting and unique 360-degree trampoline act to Brighton Fringe. Everything Acrobatic will put on five separate performances throughout the day, which will incorporate an array of stunts and skilled performances set to music. Everything Acrobatic’s trampoline wall act was developed at the end of 2012, following the success of a similar routine they provided for the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games.

In previous years, Citroën has hosted some truly impressive acts including Maverick Slacklines, a group specialising in the growing sport of slacklining and in 2012 performers from Xpogo flew in from the USA especially for Brighton Fringe to show off their extreme pogo skills.

Julian Caddy, Managing Director of Brighton Fringe, said; “Every year Citroën has continued to support Brighton Fringe and always brings a creative twist with the sponsorship. We’re getting bigger and better each year and Citroën continues to drive momentum and awareness. We look forward to working with the team yet again.”

Sponsorship happens because the event or organisation being sponsored can provide an audience, which helps sponsors reach their objectives. Sponsorship is not simply about someone helping to find an opportunity or great idea. You need to look at sponsorship as a product you are selling. Sponsorship is not simply about asking for funding because you have a great idea. When done properly, it can not only fund your activities, but will also create a meaningful relationship between your organisation, your sponsors and your audience.

Try: Tailored sponsorship proposals are important when you are looking to generate funding. Is this something your company could benefit from?

More marketing advice on our marketing blog

Hyundai’s recent ‘offensive’ video campaign, which made light of suicide and was dramatically pulled from the web last week after sparking an online backlash, should reiterate the very simple ground rules brands must abide by when making content designed to go viral.

The ad depicted a man taping a hose pipe to the exhaust of his car in a suicide attempt, only to survive thanks to the clean emissions technology in the Hyundai iX35 car. An open letter to Hyundai via a blog called Copybot, immediately led a heated backlash against the brand on social media. Hyundai pulled the ad and released a press statement the same day, publishing an additional statement alongside an apology from Innocean (the company who designed the ad) the following day.

The nature of a viral campaign is that it is something different that makes you sit up and take notice. It might be something that’s really genuinely funny, quirky or interesting that will capture people’s imaginations. Its clear Hyundai’s suicide campaign didn’t tick any of these boxes and the ad has had the undesirable effect of causing a widespread consumer offence.

It is important that when it comes to social media that brands think about what they would want to know as a consumer.  When creating advertisements it is important to create something your audience would be comfortable with sharing. Whether it’s a YouTube video with lots of views or a photo that is tweeted and retweeted; if your promotional material becomes popular (or goes ‘viral’) it can give your public profile a huge boost.

Try: Could your company improve its social media strategy through the use of carefully thought out images or videos?

More marketing advice on our marketing blog

Shell is taking steps to reinforce its premium positioning with the introduction of a new super premium fuel developed with Ferrari and the roll out of added value services at forecourts as the supermarkets slash pump prices.

Shell, which was named most valuable British brand on this year’s Brand Finance Top 50 list, has developed its latest high-tech fuel Shell V-Power Nitro+ in partnership with the sports car brand and is introducing it to its 1,100 forecourts this month. The brand will launch a radio advertising campaign to promote the new fuel as well as promoting it through its 3 million strong Drivers Club loyalty scheme to encourage trial. A PR campaign is being fronted by F1 TV presenter Jake Humphrey.

As part of its efforts to enhance its premium positioning, Shell is rolling out trained forecourt attendants to more of its stores in the UK as it offers a ‘halo’ effect for the perception of the brand. Being seen as premium is really important for Shell – most of their customers go to them because of their premium fuel – it’s their differentiator.

People like to know what they’re buying into. It could be quality, innovation, value, luxury or expertise for example. It is important for a brand to incorporate an appropriate combination of these to position themselves where they need to be. A brand promise and positioning forms the core of everything and it drives many different business decisions and activities including your marketing. It should reflect your brand truthfully and help to differentiate you from your competition. A well positioned brand will eventually become familiar to customers, as well as something that customers are willing to spend their money on. That’s good brand positioning.

Try: How could you position your brand more effectively?

More marketing advice on our marketing blog