I recently conducted an analysis for a car manufacturer, who was trying to market four new vehicles at once.  The goal of this campaign was quite lofty: the car manufacturer wanted to increase awareness of these four new cars as well as to increase intent to buy the models.

This type of online campaign is known as an “Umbrella Branding” marketing strategy.  The key to these types of campaigns (according to Millward Brown’s March 2008 POV) is to have a consistent and clear brand identity across the various components. With Umbrella campaigns, when many models or brands are being advertised, research illustrates that only a few brands benefit and others get ignored.

This was the case with this campaign: while the creatives were synergistic and had a similar look and feel, not only to each other, but to offline advertising as well, some models received more attention than others.  In this case, a luxury sedan and a minivan were more memorable and favorable than either the SUV or the coupe being advertised.

Additionally, this campaign differed from their past advertising in that it focused on multiple vehicles, which accordingly had different targets, different demographic variables, and different psychographic compositions.  By trying to appeal to so many groups, this campaign did not resonate with their main target as well as past campaigns have, which were centered on only one type of vehicle.

Umbrella campaigns are similar to co-branded campaigns in that they often cause the viewer confusion.  Often times at Dynamic Logic, we see that co-branding or Umbrella campaigns can have a negative effect; in this case, the creatives did not cause respondents to react in a negative way, but at the same time, the campaign did fall short of achieving all of its goals.  With these types of campaigns, it is necessary for each car model to have its own moment of clarity, its own moment to shine.

It will be interesting to see how this car manufacturer decides to advertise their new suite of products.  Will they continue to have ads that have a barrage of vehicles, or will they only feature one model at a time?  I guess we will have to wait and see!

When not conducting research, I enjoy photography, traveling, and spending time with my new puppy.

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My name is Lauren Mendelson and I’m involved in research, working out of the New York City office.

I recently analyzed a study for a car manufacturer, who was trying to expand their image. Traditionally, this manufacturer’s cars were marketed as budget friendly, reliable vehicles. However this new model was positioned as being upscale, luxurious and elite. The brand was not trying to change their image, but rather expand the way in which they were perceived. The manufacturer decided that for this campaign, their target market was affluent respondents.

Then the campaign closed, and I analyzed the results by income. When looking at the target affluent group, I found that they did not react in a positive manner as the manufacturer had predicted. Instead, this group showed no statistical movement at all. What is interesting is that low income respondents responded very positively and increased their persuasion metrics, including intent to buy this new expensive model.

What should this marketer do? Do they change the way they present this new automobile in future advertisements to ensure that the affluent target is positively impacted? Or do they keep their advertising the same, and try to appeal to the lower to mid-range income bracket, that they had previously overlooked when originally designing their marketing strategy?

I’m not sure what direction the marketing team will choose, but it is an interesting dilemma. Historically, it is easier for an elite brand to expand their image for the “everyday” person, than vice versa. For example, now Vera Wang designs for Kohls, and both Roberto Cavalli and Stella McCartney have designed for H&M – all examples of high-end brands that went mainstream. However, it is much more difficult for a low-end brand to successfully appeal to an affluent consumer. If McDonalds were to come out with pricey gourmet meals, it is highly unlikely that affluent people will leave the tried and true such as Wolfgang Puck or Jean George, to venture over to Mickey Dee’s for the same meal.

This car manufacturer faces a similar problem as the hypothetical McDonalds example. Only time will tell which marketing direction they will choose and I eagerly await the results!

When not conducting research, I enjoy traveling, photography, and spending time with my dog. I am getting a new puppy in a few weeks and I can’t wait!