Did you watch the Oscars last weekend? I didn't. Out of the 80 TV channels I've got, none was showing from the Oscars. But I always have Twitter :), so I followed the Oscars on Twitter.
And one thing I noticed is that the Hyundai commercial really got people talking, and most people loved them.
And their marketing is brilliant. They really get it!
It's a recession and it isn't easy for the car makers. In January sales dropped 37% in the US (which is pretty good compared to 88% here in Iceland). The American producers are leading the drop with 55% (Chrysler), 49% (GM) and 40% (Ford). But Hyundai didn't drop. They increased their sales 14%!
How comes? Why is Hyundai growing while everyone else is losing?
They are playing their cards according to the situation. These are uncertain times. People don't know how the economy will develop. More people are going to lose their jobs, and no one is safe. At times like that, people hesitate to make big commitments, like buying a new car. So to overcome that, Hyundai started their Assurance program, which you may have read about in my ebook on recession marketing. If you lose your job or income, you can just return your car. They've improved their offer even more, offering to pay for you up to three months if you can find another job within that time.
But it's Korean! Shouldn't people be buying American now?
People want to support their own. To keep the jobs in the US. Which means people should rather buy American cars than imported. They should buy "The North American Car of the Year 2009", shouldn't they? Guess what, that's a Hyundai Genesis. Not only that, but their factories are in Alabama and California. And Jeff Bridges does the voice over on the commercials. How American does it have to be?
They are living the American dream. Came to the US with "an empty brand" and are now beating all the competition.
So, not everyone is buying it. But nobody is expecting 100% market share. According to Twitter that night, the majority is loving Hyundai for what they're doing, and how they are presenting it.
Hyundai is obviously going after the opportunities the recession is offering them. They've got cheap but reliable cars with very low failure rate. They were already offering 10 years warranty, the best on the market. Now they've added Assurance and it really works, so they're increasing their advertising. They ran some ads during Super Bowl and again during the Oscars, and they had loads of them. According to Edmunds.com, they saw an increase of 27% for Hyundai the following day, so we might be seeing even more impressive sales numbers for Hyundai for February.
I've been a car enthusiast for as long as I remember and in my mind, Hyundai has stood for cheap, crappy cars. But I have to admit, they keep showing me numbers that contradict my prejudices. They really mean business and they're doing a great job. This is a brand to watch.
Hjörtur
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Hyundai or any of their agencies or partners and am not getting any payments or benefits for writing this.
ps. If you want to learn more about marketing in a recession, you can download my ebook "The Marketer's Magic Chest - Marketing tips, tricks and tools to unlock the chains of recession" for free!
And one thing I noticed is that the Hyundai commercial really got people talking, and most people loved them.
And their marketing is brilliant. They really get it!
It's a recession and it isn't easy for the car makers. In January sales dropped 37% in the US (which is pretty good compared to 88% here in Iceland). The American producers are leading the drop with 55% (Chrysler), 49% (GM) and 40% (Ford). But Hyundai didn't drop. They increased their sales 14%!
How comes? Why is Hyundai growing while everyone else is losing?
They are playing their cards according to the situation. These are uncertain times. People don't know how the economy will develop. More people are going to lose their jobs, and no one is safe. At times like that, people hesitate to make big commitments, like buying a new car. So to overcome that, Hyundai started their Assurance program, which you may have read about in my ebook on recession marketing. If you lose your job or income, you can just return your car. They've improved their offer even more, offering to pay for you up to three months if you can find another job within that time.
But it's Korean! Shouldn't people be buying American now?
People want to support their own. To keep the jobs in the US. Which means people should rather buy American cars than imported. They should buy "The North American Car of the Year 2009", shouldn't they? Guess what, that's a Hyundai Genesis. Not only that, but their factories are in Alabama and California. And Jeff Bridges does the voice over on the commercials. How American does it have to be?
They are living the American dream. Came to the US with "an empty brand" and are now beating all the competition.
So, not everyone is buying it. But nobody is expecting 100% market share. According to Twitter that night, the majority is loving Hyundai for what they're doing, and how they are presenting it.
Hyundai is obviously going after the opportunities the recession is offering them. They've got cheap but reliable cars with very low failure rate. They were already offering 10 years warranty, the best on the market. Now they've added Assurance and it really works, so they're increasing their advertising. They ran some ads during Super Bowl and again during the Oscars, and they had loads of them. According to Edmunds.com, they saw an increase of 27% for Hyundai the following day, so we might be seeing even more impressive sales numbers for Hyundai for February.
I've been a car enthusiast for as long as I remember and in my mind, Hyundai has stood for cheap, crappy cars. But I have to admit, they keep showing me numbers that contradict my prejudices. They really mean business and they're doing a great job. This is a brand to watch.
Hjörtur
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Hyundai or any of their agencies or partners and am not getting any payments or benefits for writing this.
ps. If you want to learn more about marketing in a recession, you can download my ebook "The Marketer's Magic Chest - Marketing tips, tricks and tools to unlock the chains of recession" for free!
Congratulations! You have so much useful information, write more.
Posted by: RamonGustav | August 23, 2010 at 05:55 PM
I think you are not quite right and you should still studying the matter.
Posted by: Buy_Viagra | September 15, 2010 at 11:27 PM