13/02: Putting fun back in car buying
The web is perfect for ‘considered purchases’, such as buying a car, getting a loan choosing a college, or finding a russian bride :-)
I was asked to visit my dear old friends at Fiat in Turin, Italy. Few know that Fiat actually owns Ferrari. I was introduced to Fiat while helping my dear friend, the late Enzo Ferrari, negotiate the sale of Ferrari to Fiat. Enzo wanted to make sure that the Ferrari brand would live on with the new owners, and he asked me to help negotiate the terms as they related to marketing.
Fiat wanted to know what was the landscape for car marketing on the web. We are often asked by companies to give them a ‘lay of the land’ to understand what it will take to offer a best in class web solution. Here are two great sites that I shared with them.
Problem Playground - Honda-UK This is a cool site that promotes all that is Honda and their efforts to produce hybrids and zero emissions cars cars. While having a very ‘Ben and Jerry’ earthy and fun feel, the site lets people explore the cars and Honda’s advances. Despite being plenty of fun, the site drives to request a brochure or schedule a test drive. I’m definitely interested in the FCX, their Fuel Cell car!
Mazda took a different approach to sell their cars. Their site: ‘The Drive’ attempts to sell the emotion of driving their Miata and RX-8 through video. You get to pick the car and select from fun locations like the Pacific Coast Highway. The site then puts together a video that puts you in the drivers seat while cruising on these fun roads. You can pick the music on the radio and see it from different angles. It encourages you to turn on a desk fan to simulate that ‘wind in your hair’ feeling.
After a great meeting, Fiat’s CEO, Sergio Marchionne, let me drive his car to lunch. The car was Ferrari’s new 430 Scuderia. After ten minutes on some great country roads, I fell in love. After he shared with me the $500,000 price tag, I handed him back the keys.
I was asked to visit my dear old friends at Fiat in Turin, Italy. Few know that Fiat actually owns Ferrari. I was introduced to Fiat while helping my dear friend, the late Enzo Ferrari, negotiate the sale of Ferrari to Fiat. Enzo wanted to make sure that the Ferrari brand would live on with the new owners, and he asked me to help negotiate the terms as they related to marketing.
Fiat wanted to know what was the landscape for car marketing on the web. We are often asked by companies to give them a ‘lay of the land’ to understand what it will take to offer a best in class web solution. Here are two great sites that I shared with them.
Mazda took a different approach to sell their cars. Their site: ‘The Drive’ attempts to sell the emotion of driving their Miata and RX-8 through video. You get to pick the car and select from fun locations like the Pacific Coast Highway. The site then puts together a video that puts you in the drivers seat while cruising on these fun roads. You can pick the music on the radio and see it from different angles. It encourages you to turn on a desk fan to simulate that ‘wind in your hair’ feeling.
After a great meeting, Fiat’s CEO, Sergio Marchionne, let me drive his car to lunch. The car was Ferrari’s new 430 Scuderia. After ten minutes on some great country roads, I fell in love. After he shared with me the $500,000 price tag, I handed him back the keys.
