Is it possible for a minivan to be considered cool? I would wager against such a feat. After all, the very reason for owning a minivan–that would be children–represents a settling down and a maturation process that are generally thought of as anything but cool. This hasn’t stopped auto makers from trying to change the reputation of these people movers, though. Here’s Nick Bunkley of The New York Times:
In marketing campaigns featuring heavy-metal theme songs, rapping parents, secret agents in cat masks, pyrotechnics and even Godzilla, minivan makers are trying to recast the much-ridiculed mom-mobile as something that parents can be proud — or at least unashamed — of driving.
Toyota led the effort early last spring with a campaign for its Sienna model that features a self-indulgent couple rapping about rolling through the cul-de-sacs with their posse of kids in their “Swagger Wagon.”
“The stories we heard were, ‘I just don’t want to be seen in a minivan. I don’t like being the soccer-mom joke or feeling like I’ve given up all trace of my identity to be a parent,’ ” said Richard Bame, Toyota’s national marketing manager for trucks and minivans.
[snip]
Having spent recent years making minivans more child-friendly through amenities like dual-screen entertainment systems and reconfigurable seating, the automakers are now focused on making them more appealing to adults, especially men, who have shied away from the vehicles and their connotations. Nearly every minivan sold in the United States has been redesigned in 2010 to offer flashier looks, more advanced technology and a sportier ride.
There’s an interesting balance at play here: the automakers needs to maintain the kid-friendly amenities that have been the calling card of minivans since their introduction. This means remote sliding doors, entertainments systems, lots of luggage space, and good gas mileage. On the other hand, kids don’t buy cars. Parents do. And the advertising reflects that, with several new campaigns aimed at convincing those parents that minivans don’t have to mean the end of cool. This approach has proven successful, claims Bunkley, with minivan sales up across the board.
The key point here is that even as Toyota and Honda have shifted the focus of their advertising efforts to the parents who buy cars, the minivans themselves remain as kid-friendly as ever. When you seek out new markets don’t alienate your existing customers, even if they’re as different as kids and parents.
How are you balancing the need to appeal to new markets while maintaining the strengths that appeal to your existing base?
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