Influx Insights Tag Feed: automotive

saab to launch a clothing line

Influx Insights — 2008-04-02T16:51:35Z

It’s interesting how brands are starting to embrace the broader lifestyle concept surrounding the environment.

One tactic to broaden the idea is to partner with other like-minded companies to generate a halo effect.

Saab, a company not necessarily known for its green credentials, but is now keen to push them, has just embarked on a new program.

Saab is moving into the clothing business with the launch a new “Pure BioPower EcoClothing” collection.

The goal is to push Saab’s BioPower technology.

To do this, the Swedish automotive giant has partnered with Reflective Circle for the clothing that will include a range of dresses, t-shorts, blouses made from certified organic cotton, other clothing lines will be introduced over the course of the year.

The line will be available online at Saab Expressions.

The idea of partnering and combining to add impact is interesting in this case.

Traditionally, brands have partnered with companies of equal size and weight and in areas where there is obvious synergy.

In the case of the environment, smaller companies that are focused on the ethical side can bring a considerable halo to the larger firm.

The challenge for these small companies is to protect their integrity because they will have many critics who don’t support the idea of partnership with companies who don’t have ethical and environmental considerations at the center of their corporate mission.

Idea from Claes Foxerus

Posted by Ed Cotton

green at the la auto show

Influx Insights — 2007-11-22T02:02:38Z

At last week's LA Auto Show, "Green' was the dominant message, it was almost a case of being too much.

Green slogans plastered everywhere, big press conferences where 68mpg fuel cell cars were being launched (but only 3 units would be available and there are no refuelling stations) and then there was the Escalade Hybrid.

Enough..

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Posted by Ed Cotton

auto safety

Influx Insights — 2007-06-12T06:05:17Z

A Formula One car is one of the most advanced pieces of automotive technology out there, it also appears to be one of the safest. BMW's Robert Kubica was travelling at around 200mph in yesterday's Canadian Grand Prix, when he hit a concrete side barrier, sending him airborne and bouncing off other barriers and down the track for a good 100 meters.

Kubica walked away from this horrific accident with light concussion and a sprained ankle, he could drive in next Sunday's US Grand Prix.

Perhaps some of this advanced safety learning from Formula One will one day make its way into conventional autos.

Posted by Ed Cotton

saab's new brand video

Influx Insights — 2007-05-28T01:50:53Z

GM’s relationship with Saab has always been an uneasy one. Influx thought things were moving in the right direction with establishment of the Saab Brand Center and the stunning Aero X concept (which won 2006 concept car of the year).

With these two new initiatives,we assumed Saab had discovered a core idea that it could center itself around and build from.

However, we stumbled across a recent brand video, that turns out to be more confusing than it is revealing.

does your brand have a product hero?

Influx Insights — 2007-05-25T02:16:04Z

Audi is trying to make some noise; it has finally realized that being understated in the US only gets you ignored. To help generate buzz, the company is hoping a new model can help drag people towards the brand. The product is the R8 sports car, only 200 or so of these $130k+ monsters will be available in this country, but they are hoping its presence will be enough to drag people into dealerships.

The car is impressive enough as this European ad shows and adds a nice footnote for a company who's had its fair share of racing success, on rally circuits and most recently, with its diesel engined TDI sports cars at Le Mans.

The new model is designed to prove that Audi has the engineering clout and innovation to compete with the best, especially Porsche. It's a great example of how brands can use product development as a marketing tool to benefit brand image.

It's certainly not without enormous risk and significant levels of investment, but we've heard the UK has already sold out of its allocation.

tesla's new stores inspired by restaurants and apple

Influx Insights — 2007-05-03T13:23:22Z

Tesla, the electric car darling, is determined to re-engineer not just the concept and workings of the car, but also the buying experience.

They openly admit to modeling their new dealerships on Apple and Starbucks and good restaurants where you can see the chef working.

Here’s what they plan to do:

-    The overall concept is Tesla dealerships as VIP Lounges
-    The service area will be front and center, not out the back. Since the technology is clean, visitors will be able to see the techs working on the cars
-    Techs are company shareholders and are assigned by name to customers
-    Install comfortable lounge areas, with free Wi-Fi, coffee, snacks and flat screens
-    No salespeople, just assistants to help with information and assist the purchase, rather than “sell” it

Tesla's stores will open in Los Angeles and Bay Area stores in the fourth quarter, followed by New York, Chicago, and Miami in the first quarter of 2008.

However, the designers have yet to be chosen and the company is open to suggestions and ideas from customers and prospects.

There’s nothing extremely radical in this "brief". Most luxury dealerships are already doing most of this, the big difference is putting the tech/service center and the technicians front and center, this will create a new type of experience. Hopefully, the design companies pitching this project will come up with ideas that stretch the "brief" a little bit.

Something obvious Tesla has to do is to make sure these dealerships are the “greenest” they can possibly be, their customers will expect nothing less.

Via Autoblog

dissecting the commute

Influx Insights — 2007-06-14T18:06:20Z

The New Yorker reports on "the daily commute", showing that it's taking up more and more of our time and turning some of us into unhappy loners.

"Roughly one out of every six American workers commutes more than forty-five minutes, each way. People travel between counties the way they used to travel between neighborhoods. The number of commuters who travel ninety minutes or more each way—known to the Census Bureau as “extreme commuters”—has reached 3.5 million, almost double the number in 1990. They’re the fastest-growing category, the vanguard in a land of stagnant wages, low interest rates, and ever-radiating sprawl. They’re the talk-radio listeners, billboard glimpsers, gas guzzlers, and swing voters, and they don’t—can’t—watch the evening news. Some take on long commutes by choice, and some out of necessity, although the difference between one and the other can be hard to discern. A commute is a distillation of a life’s main ingredients, a product of fundamental values and choices. And time is the vital currency: how much of it you spend—and how you spend it—reveals a great deal about how much you think it is worth."

the $1.7 million car

Influx Insights — 2007-04-19T00:14:57Z

If you were fortunate enough to have $1.7 million in spare change and the skills of a race car driver, Ferrari would have sold you an FFX (race ready Enzo) sadly the program is now sold out.

The car comes complete with its own pit crew and 6 races over a 2 year period. The FFXs were out in force at last week's Ferrari Challenge event at Infineon Raceway in Napa, California.

It's an amazing example of the ultimate in luxury brand experiences.

is ferrari over-extending its brand?

Influx Insights — 2007-06-14T18:03:10Z

Ferrari used to be an elusive brand; the only time you used to see it was in car magazine reviews, on television winning Formula One championships and if you were lucky, you might a glimpse of a red one zooming down a city street.

In the last couple of years, Ferrari seems desperate to stick its brand name as many places as possible, the inevitable culmination of these decisions is opening up retail stores, the latest in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

It’s reported the store will sell Ferrari clothing, accessories, shoes, toys and key chains.

Perhaps even the laptop?

Ferrari seems to be heading down the familiar path taken by a number of luxury brands.

1.    Financial management as the company orders increased revenue generation.

2.    Executives appear reluctant to devalue core product lines by making cheaper versions and instead opt for licensing deals.

3.    Licensing deals require no investment and are money in return for the use of the brand name.

4.    Financial management gets hooked on “licensing crack” and orders more.

5.    Several years later, researchers in the brand’s marketing team find tracking studies that show significant declines in the brand’s premium and exclusivity image perceptions.

6.    New management arrives at the company and is concerned about the brand’s fall demanding that all unnecessary licensing deals and stopped and order the brand to retrench.

While it might be premature and unfair to label Ferrari as another casualty of over licensing, the brand must seemingly have good reasons to do this, brand development activities contributed 23% of annual revenues in 2006.

Gucci made the mistake of over-expanding through extensive licensing in the early 80s and almost killed their brand.This happened because most of the licenses were too closely related to their core fashion product and the knock-on devaluation effect was faster.

Ferrari likely feels its brand expansion is controlled and in categories that have very little connection to the brand’s core product, luxury sports cars.

In addition, there’s a lot of financial pressure to cash in on the brand’s massive fan base, many can only dream of owning the real thing, but a key chain is well within reach.

However, when does it stop and what selection criteria is used to decide what licenses are right for Ferrari brand and what’s not?