Case Study I bought a Jeep

Transcription

1 Case Study I bought a Jeep LEGENDS SERIES Inside one of the most effective automotive campaigns in Australian marketing driving the brand out of niche territory and coining a household catchphrase. EXTENDED VERSION WITH MORE INSIGHT AND IMAGERY November 2015

2 Published by Marketing. Content bearing this logo is premium content created for members of Marketing Advantage, the new membership connecting marketers to premium resources, by Australia s premier marketing publication. Visit Case study authored by ADAM FERRIER and MAGDALINA TRIANTAFYLLIDIS, CUMMINS & PARTNERS. Many thanks to Cummins & Partners and Jeep. Publisher PAUL LIDGERWOOD Editor PETER ROPER peter.roper@niche.com.au Assistant editor MICHELLE HERBISON michelle.herbison@niche.com.au Sub editor MADELEINE SWAIN Production manager SONIA SALERA sonia.salera@niche.com.au Design & Digital pre-press MONIQUE BLAIR Advertising enquiries LUKE HATTY luke.hatty@niche.com.au Subscription enquiries Tel: subscriptions@niche.com.au Marketing is a publication of Niche Media Pty Ltd ABN Dorcas Street, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 Tel Fax Chairman NICHOLAS DOWER Managing director PAUL LIDGERWOOD Commercial director JOANNE DAVIES Content director CHRIS RENNIE Financial controller SONIA JURISTA Printing C&C PRINTING CO. LTD Marketing ISSN Niche Media Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, internet, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publishers accept no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions or resultant consequences including any loss or damage arising from reliance on information in this publication. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily endorsed by the editor, publisher or Niche Media Pty Ltd. Niche Media Privacy Policy This issue of Marketing may contain offers, competitions, surveys, subscription offers and premiums that, if you choose to participate, require you to provide information about yourself. If you provide information about yourself to NICHE MEDIA, NICHE MEDIA will use the information to provide you with the products or services you have requested (such as subscriptions). We may also provide this information to contractors who provide the products and services on our behalf (such as mail houses and suppliers of subscriber premiums and promotional prizes). We do not sell your information to third parties under any circumstances, however the suppliers of some of these products and services may retain the information we provide for future activities of their own, including direct marketing. NICHE MEDIA will also retain your information and use it to inform you of other NICHE MEDIA promotions and publications from time to time. If you would like to know what information NICHE MEDIA holds about you please contact The Privacy Officer, NICHE MEDIA PTY LTD, 142 Dorcas Street SOUTH MELBOURNE VIC Product code: MKACS0005

3 Jeep is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC. 3 CASE STUDY I BOUGHT A JEEE Jeep s growth journey Campaign: I Bought a Jeep Client: Jeep Agency: Cummins & Partners BACKGROUND Jeep had always been a niche brand in Australia that was lacking relevance for most Australians and, in this cutthroat, highly competitive Australian car market, it had been fighting to hold ground, let alone grow market share. Between 1999 and 2009, Jeep sales remained flat, averaging 4600 unit sales per year, with little deviation. Interestingly, at the same time, the SUV segment in Australia was growing at an average of more than nine percent from Jeep, however, was not profiting from this growth. Its cars were perceived as 4WD American army vehicles an image not very attractive for the footy mums of Australia. They didn t want to drive a US army vehicle; they wanted something that fitted their needs and lifestyles. In fact, vehicles from the US have never succeeded in Australia, with Hummer trying in vain to crack the SUV market with only 12 Hummers registered as sold in November of 2009.

4 4 CASE STUDY Therefore, in 2011, Jeep embarked on a new strategic journey to achieve growth. It stopped referring to the US origins of the car, and instead spoke directly to its can do attitude, and the Don t Hold Back brand platform was developed. This original campaign, commencing in January 2011, prompted a moderate change in fortune for the brand. In a market driven by discounts and special offers, however, the brand platform was only part of the resurrection. A strong and memorable actionorientated campaign was needed. inside OBJECTIVES With a strong brand platform in place, Jeep set highly aggressive sales metrics in place for the actionbased component of the campaign: bullet points Objective 1. Increase sales from 8648 units in 2011 to 12,000 units in This represented an increase of 39 percent. Jeep felt such an ambitious percentage lift was attainable due to the strong foundation already laid by the Don t Hold Back brand campaign. Objective 2. Drive active consideration of Jeep. Active consideration is measured by website inquiries which we wanted to increase by 50 percent in 2012 Objective 3. Make Jeep relevant to SUV, sedan and wagon buyers. At that point in time, Jeep was only relevant to 4WD enthusiasts. This would be measured by social media engagement with the broader Australian population. STRATEGY We knew the new brand message and campaign Don t Hold Back resonated with the Australian consumer as vehicle sales increased in 2011 from 5975 to However, we also knew that something was still holding us, and the consumer, back. Buying a Jeep was still considered an extraordinary purchase and certainly not as socially acceptable as buying any other SUV. We conducted qualitative research with current Jeep owners, and found one of the most interesting insights was that other people were always incredulous when the Jeep owner told them they had purchased a Jeep. They would often respond with words to the effect of, You bought a what? We needed to increase the social acceptance of purchasing a Jeep, by demonstrating social proof. We wanted people to feel good about buying a Jeep; we wanted it to be ordinary yet aspirational. Often a brand s strength will lie in its DAD BOUGHT A JEEP Jeep.com.au $ * 49,000 DRIVE AWAY weakness. As a result, we decided to dramatise these reactions of people hearing someone had bought a Jeep and turning the reactions into a positive. EXECUTION We dramatised the incredulous approval people receive when they tell others that they have bought a Jeep. I bought a Jeep. You bought a Jeep? The idea was brought to life in a range of executions, all with the aim of normalising buying a Jeep that is putting it in an Australian everyday context. Each one enacted a different I bought a Jeep situation from a schoolyard, to a child s birthday party, to a golf course. This was to

5 5 CASE STUDY truly reflect Jeep being a mainstream brand for mainstream Australia. All executions signed off with interchangeable Jeep models and their recommended retail price. RESULTS Objective 1. Increase sales from 8648 units in 2011 to 18,014 units in 2012, an increase of 108 percent. By the end of 2014, Jeep had sold 30,408 units, proving the longevity achieved by this campaign, giving an increase of sales of 252 percent from the original figure in I bought a Jeep delivered the most significant uplift of Jeep in Australia ever. The long-term flat yearly sales pattern was completely and dramatically shattered, moving from approximately 4600 sales per year for the previous decade, to 18,014 in 2012, 22,170 in 2013, and over 30,000 sales in This sales growth is even more remarkable when you consider that the auto market was only growing at 12.7 percent. The brand platform campaign ( Don t Hold Back ) had a relatively small impact, until we built the retail message on top of it. From 2010 to 2011 sales increased from 5975 to 8648, an increase of 45 percent. Only once the I bought a Jeep idea was executed did Jeep show phenomenal sales growth. In its first year, the 2012 sales objective was 3352 additional units. We achieved 9366 additional units, over delivering on the target by almost 180 percent. This exceptional growth was continued in 2013 with an additional 4000 vehicles sold and an overall target growth of 85 percent in two years. Objective 2: Drive active consideration. Increase web traffic by at least 50 percent. The increased consideration for Jeep due to the campaign was also reflected in the website traffic. Website visitors to increased by 400 percent between January 2011 and November Not only did more people visit jeep.com.au in the case period, more visitors arrived at jeep.com.au from organic search, meaning more people were actively searching for Jeep than they ever had before. In addition to generally higher traffic, I bought a Jeep also increased conversion. Objective 3: Brand relevance. Encourage a talkability shift from 4WD enthusiasts to general population. Web traffic didn t just increase for the brand; people started to search the exact phrase, I bought a Jeep. I bought a Jeep has quickly entered the Australian vernacular. In the case period, the phrase I bought a Jeep was mentioned over 3600 times in blogs and on Twitter alone. Over 9300 spoof/parody videos were uploaded onto YouTube, some of them clocking up to over 55,000 views. And while the campaign has now been running for over two years, there is no sign of the conversation slowing down. Its cultural relevance and talkability actually continued to grow in In 2013, social mentions stayed above 200 every month, in some months even going up to over 600. Recently, AFL star Buddy Franklyn crashed his girlfriend s car a Jeep. Many of the news headlines were not Buddy in crash ; they were I crashed a Jeep. The brand is truly embedded into Australian culture. Over the first three years of the campaign, both the SUV segment and the total auto segment experienced growth. However, Jeep significantly outgrew the market and its competitors in the campaign period. Jeep outperformed both the total market growth and the category growth by more than four times, with the total Australian automotive market growing by 12.7 percent, and the SUV segment by 36.6 percent in 2011 to 2013.

6 Jeep is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC. Jeep is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC. Jeep is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC. 6 CASE STUDY I BOUGHT A JEEE FRANK BOUGHT A JEEP I BOUGHT A JEEP. THEY MUST HAVE BOUGHT A JEEP. JEEP COMPASS SPORT Posters

7 @Fiat is a registered trademark of Fiat Group Marketing and Corporate Communication S.P.A. 7 CASE STUDY GUESS WHO BOUGHT A JEEP? Posters

8 8 CASE STUDY I BOUGHT A JEEP 2011 JEEP WRANGLER SPORT $ 34,000 DRIVE AWAY *Includes premium paint shown. Prices for a limited time. See your Jeep Dealer for details. SHE BOUGHT A JEEP JEEP PATRIOT SPORT $ 25,000 DRIVE AWAY *Includes premium paint shown. Prices for a limited time. See your Jeep Dealer for details. Print DPS Print cover wrap

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