Only the Logo Changes...
Nick Bennett
European Brand Marketing Section Manager - Motorcycles at Honda Motor Europe Ltd
There is much said about the automotive market right now, and the challenges that we face.
To start with, the government is over-involved in policy decisions that will congest the next two decades. Wether this is around drive-trains or combating pollution in cities, this is giving unnecessary shelf-life to vehicles. The potential fear this puts in consumers is measurable (Diesel anyone?!) and as a collective group of OEM's, the market is working hard to bring new qualities, technology and sustainable transport to the forefront.
What is diminishing on a more grand scale is the sense of identity and brand. For a long period of time, many have argued (Tesla aside) that we have become a box on wheels industry. Badges are now redundant. And though reputations live-on, even they have a shelf-life with the generation that passes through.
At times it is hard to argue with this. Have we become like Hollywood? The rebooted version of the rebooted Spiderman is once again about to be 'rebooted' under the umbrella of 'All-new'.
But who is to blame and who will change this?
It's quite common that I get a cold-call and email approach every day. I don't mind this (at times) and you do your best to be open minded about what may be shown. We at Honda have a philosophy that encourages this mindset of open thinking. Having been the agency side of the fence, i'd like to think I try to be fair and open as new business roles are tough and demanding.
That said, what I have started to see so common, is the sense of 'That'll do'. Simply telling/showing me what you have done for competitor X and competitor Y and how you will do the same for me is of little interest. It is making an inference on so many levels, that we'd want to be the same? 'Assumption' is becoming as habitual as 'Can you Just?' within marketing.
It needs to stop for creativity and uniqueness to step up and allow for celebration once again. This laziness only reinforces the stigma of box on wheels.
The new-hire who joined last week with only 2 weeks experience can have as valid an idea as the Creative Director of 17 years. If honest, they could offer more. They don't have the 8 Core ideas that they have had since 1995 still jotted down, waiting for the next pitch opportunity where they can remove the logo at the centre of the idea's and simply erase and replace with another one.
Automotive marketing should be a spectrum for fun, a space for new and interesting marketing ideas and creative execution. It used to be a benchmark that other industries would follow and be the envy of. Sadly, it feels like that light is fading. The ideas have resorted to nothing more than an Instagram filter placed on top of the image of a car....
All is not lost yet, as shown at Goodwood Festival of Speed. There is still a place for creativity. A place for being bold and standing out and the Honda stand at FOS demonstrates this perfectly. Built around the concept of a race-track theme with minimal retail product on the stand, it has identity, it is bold and though some commented about wanting to see the new Jazz - that is not what this is about. A local dealer or our website can provide you with that, this is more about brand building and standing out. These are ideas and creativity that have come from a blank piece of crisp white paper.
So here's my challenge to those agencies who want my attention and time that requires me to persuade procurement to add another agency to the roster... show me something unique and show me something that will move us forward. And whatever you do - don't just assume or show me the same thing you did (or pitched) to someone else where 'Only the Logo changes'.
Marketing leader with excellent knowledge and experience of strategy, creative, media and measurement.
6 年Nice article Nick. From the below excellent piece by Richard Shotton: https://www.marketingweek.com/2018/07/05/richard-shotton-distinctiveness/ There’s a tendency to overestimate people’s interest in our brands. Perhaps because we’re so interested in the minutiae of our brands, we assume others share that enthusiasm. Psychologists call this the ‘false consensus effect’, the finding that we overestimate the prevalence of our own behaviours and views. This overestimation of the level of interest manifests itself in ads being created that take being noticed for granted – copy that fixates on the second-step problem of perfecting its message rather than the first-step problem of grabbing people’s attention. That assumption is misplaced. Data from Lumen shows that only 9% of digital ads are looked at for more than a second. So, what should you do? First, prioritise being noticed above other goals. If you fail there, everything else is academic. Second, apply the findings of von Restorff, who 80 years ago discovered that the best way to be noticed is to be distinctive. Despite this finding being well established in psychology, much advertising slavishly abides by category conventions. That mimicry comes at a cost. According to Vic Polkinghorne, founder of creative agency Sell! Sell!: “What might seem like a safe choice in the confines of a boardroom will most likely be a waste of money when it’s out in the real world. Advertising that feels safe or familiar is actually quite risky – there’s no ‘safety in numbers’ when it comes to advertising. If someone else is doing something similar to what you’re doing, or looks or sounds like you, you’re both in trouble.”