PJ Lehrer is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU, teaching Consumer Behavior and Strategic Planning For Marketers.
Prof Lehrer's blog is syndicated by Newstex/ACI information Group.
Prior to moving into academia, PJ spent 20+ years working in advertising, primarily at large multi-national agencies, including McCann-Erickson and Grey on premier pieces of business such as AT&T, L’Oreal and Kraft/GF. One of the highlights of her career was orchestrating the global launch of Lucent Technologies, which garnered a Silver Effie and a Grand AME award.
Her latest book: "That's Not Why You Bought The Rolex." is now available on barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com
After a year of declining sales,
Volkswagen is taking a variety of steps to get the brand back on the acceleration
track. Strategically, they have decided
to focus on the fact that they have more cars on the road with 100,000 miles or
more than any other brand. (Greenberg, 2014)
It's an interesting strategy, but
will it get them on the consideration list for Gen Y?
Greenberg, K. (2014, January
29) VW's Brand Strategy Hones In On
Product. mediapost.com. Retrieved
January 31, 2014, from
In a few weeks a new version of the Volkswagen Beetle will be launched with great fanfare.Since the announcement of the impending launch was made back in April, much of the discussion surrounding the car has been about the fact that the 1998 version had a reputation as a girls' car, and that conventional wisdom says that girls' cars don’t sell. (Forbes, 2011)
Excuse me?According to women-drivers.com, women buy more than half of new cars in the US, and influence 80% of all car purchases. (M2W, 2011) A study done by R.L. Polk & Co. in March showed that over the past four years the number of women buying cars has steadily increased and car purchases by African-American, Asian and Hispanic women are up 4.7% versus year ago.(Tokic, 2011).
Not to mention the fact that I have long suspected that the reason Cadillac was the only car to show sales increases during the recession was due to their brilliant female-focused ad.
As we sort through the current economic crisis all media is subject to evaluation and possible elimination. One of the most difficult things to measure properly is the value of a long term sponsorship.
After over a decade of participation, L’Oreal decided this year to end its sponsorship of the Academy Awards, which had previously been one of the pillars of its communications plan. (“L’Oreal, Other Sponsors Leave the 2009 Oscars Stranded”, 2009)
On the flip side, last week VW announced that it had renewed and expanded its sponsorship agreement with Major League Soccer. The 4 year pact includes in-stadium signage during national broadcasts, presence at MLS special events and player appearances, and sponsorship of grass roots initiatives like MLS Futbolito!, a four-on-four traveling tournament for amateur players.
They will continue as presenting sponsor of the D.C. United franchise, with front jersey logo placement, and will increase their soccer media buys with ESPN, Fox Soccer Channel and Univision. Terms of the deal were not announced. (Crupi, 2009)
What do you think? Do you notice the signs in the stadium and the logos on the jerseys when you watch sports on television? What about in person? Who do you think is the primary audience for soccer in the US? Do you think the sponsorship will give VW significant leverage with them? Or do you think they would have been better off spending the money elsewhere?
