Re-evaluating Marketing
for the Chevy Volt
by Rob Youngs, Deepak Ghosh, Grant Mulligan, Jade Zhang, Pamela Jao
Roadmap

What is Volt?

Brand Identity Issues

Inconsistent Messaging

Marketing Improvements

Potential Long-term Strategies
What is the Volt?

Extended range hybrid

Better than
competition

Yet, appears to be
underselling
Problem: Sales Below Targets

Sales are consistently well below already conservative projections

Initially hoping to 'leapfrog' the Prius

In 2011, they projected sales of 60,000, sold 7,621 units

Sales are declining; down 19% last year to 19,000

Getting overtaken by the Nissan Leaf

Despite being highly ranked by customers; only EV with range extender
Problem: Lack of Brand Image

Toyota Prius: First Mover HEV (Harmony Ad) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QMz8d0yriU

Nissan Leaf: Innovation that excites (What if Ad) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFrvxjjrdVo

BMW i3/Tesla: Performance, futuristic ( Newfangled idea ad)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1jwWwJ-Mxc

What is Chevy Volt? Extended range electric vehicle
Analysis of Volt’s Recent Commercial

Lack of consistency - Who are they targeting?


Unclear value proposition : Performance vs. Savings vs. Feature






2016 find new roads https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKBW90bMbHQ
2016
2014
2014
2015
2012
driving on ice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28R0z2dgreM
how it works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0yeM_G4L90
dog lick ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIHdU4bSNDc
fuel economy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl6sW5ZHmpM
gas station https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3iEQ9TIMhs
Online Ads only:

Norwicki: “Generally speaking, the category isn’t advertised on TV. You go where the target
customer for your vehicle is. And oftentimes people that are drawn to specific categories of
cars, alternative-fuel vehicles in particular — those people do not view TV. They are online.
They’re in social media. But they are not typical TV watchers. So just because you don’t see
us on TV doesn’t mean we’re not advertising online and in social media.
Tension with Parent Brand?

Chevy alone makes up
12.5% of U.S. automarket

Silverado

Gas guzzler

Dems vs. GOP

1st Time Buyers?

More Silverado's sold in a
day than Volt's last month

Sold in 2/3 of dealerships
Solution: Building Community of Evangelists

CMO reorienting strategy to be more regionally focused on densely populated
areas and creating EV evangelist community


harkening back to days of Saturn community (i.e. road rallies, meetups, car-club
events), using real owners in ads
We advocate for doing this with Volt

Capitalizing on social media opportunity with evangelist community

ex. Ford Fiesta 'missions', Nissan Leaf


650 mn YouTube views

40.2 mn Twitter impressions

765,000 Flickr views

300 mn media impressions

56% brand awareness
MPG competitions
Proposal 1: Marry with Parent Brand


Chevy Volt = Power and Performance

More horsepower than BMWi3

Faster 0-60 than Prius or Leaf

Power your daily life with 100% American Energy
Surfer Ad

Old school American power and ingenuity

Independence and no range anxiety

Recharges batteries going downhill- recapture energy
Proposal 2: Create Independent Brand

2013 Consumer Reports Car Brand Perception Ranks:

PERFORMANCE


QUALITY, VALUE


5th behind Toyota, Honda, Ford, and Hyundai
DESIGN, STYLE


3rd behind only Ferrari and BMW
5th behind Cadillac, BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes Benz
SAFETY, TECHNOLOGY/INNOVATION, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY/GREEN

Didn't make the list

Toyota, Smart, Tesla, Honda ranked highest
Proposal 2: Create Independent Brand

Parent Brand has Halo Effect on Child Brands

Chevrolet:

STRENGTHS



Performance, Design/Style
WEAKNESSES

Technology/Innovation, Green, Quality/Value

Negatively affects Volt's "Environmentally Friendly", "Green", "Technologically Advanced"
positioning in terms of credibility, authenticity
Chevrolet's Brand Perception hurts Volt's Brand Positioning
Proposal 2: Create Independent Brand

Strategy:


Create, Cultivate Brand independent of "Chevrolet"

Toyota's Reliability/Dependability positioning does not help Scion's Hip/Trendy positioning

Marriott's Higher Economy/Mid-Luxury positioning does not help Ritz-Carlton's Ultra/High
End Luxury positioning
Start with Volt's strengths


Position "Cutting Edge Technology", "Car of the Future": Conquer niche market, then
gradually grow into mainstream
Cultivate loyal community, embrace "futuristic green" culture, create powerful
brand ambassadors, leverage network effects through social media channels to
align with "futuristic", "modern", "trendy" attributes and appeal to "next gen"
consumers
Conclusion

Volt is cool, innovative; very happy owners

But, not selling enough; unclear brand messaging

Needs better long-term brand/marketing strategy

Two potential long-term strategies to simplify brand positioning and messaging:

Marry parent and product brands OR

Create new innovative brand