Marketing

When it comes to brand loyalty, a recent study shows mainstream brand Ford and luxury brand Tesla are the most successful. S&P Global Mobility released its quarterly loyalty insights in a webinar titled “Loyalty viewed from a broad perspective” Tuesday. Loyalty is measured by the number of households that return to the vehicle market and

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The redesigned Mitsubishi Outlander and its about-to-arrive plug-in hybrid variant are more than an infusion of new blood into an anemic product lineup of just four nameplates for the Japanese automaker. The midsize crossovers are billed as a launch pad to propel Mitsubishi beyond its low six-digit annual volumes and bargain-brand

Subaru has the best reputation among U.S. mass-market auto brands, according to the 2022 Automotive Reputation Report. On the luxury side, Lexus earned the top spot, according to Reputation, a customer feedback company that helps businesses improve customer experience. Subaru took the top spot this year after finishing second to Nissan in 2021. Lexus also rose

Dinosaurs abound at this year’s Detroit auto show. No, this isn’t the start of a joke about local automakers living in the past or President Joe Biden’s visit last week. Dozens of lifelike dinosaur replicas are scattered around the convention hall as part of an attraction organizers are calling Dinosaur and Off-Road Vehicle Encounter. There’s

The supplier International Automotive Components Group used the Detroit auto show as a chance to highlight its products — not at a booth, but on a gown worn by one of its top executives. IAC Group said a team of its designers and seamstresses created the bespoke gown for Iwona Niec Villaire, its chief administrative

More than 1,000 Ford Mustangs from every era were on hand for last week’s reveal of the seventh-generation pony car. Ford Motor Co. summoned Mustang owners from around the U.S. to Detroit to take part in the event. Some came from as far as Tacoma, Wash., with cars joining the procession along a nine-state, cross-country

DETROIT — Chevrolet will begin its first big mainstream marketing push for its new generation of electric vehicles Sunday with a spate of ads airing during NFL football. The ads, focusing on the Equinox EV, Silverado EV and Blazer EV, which are due to arrive at dealerships in 2023, will stress the theme “built for

DETROIT — Chevrolet will begin its first big mainstream marketing push for its new generation of electric vehicles Sunday with a spate of ads airing during NFL football. The ads, focusing on the Equinox EV, Silverado EV and Blazer EV, which are due to arrive at dealerships in 2023, will stress the theme “built for

General Motors said it will be the first brand marketer to integrate with NBCUnified, the first-party data and identity platform of NBCUniversal’s network of TV, streaming and digital properties. The integration will allow for privacy-compliant, anonymized matching of GM’s first-party database and custom audiences of car buyers at various stages in the decision-making process with

Volvo Cars’ bestselling XC60 crossover has a problem: Its customer base is the oldest of any Volvo model. To introduce the midsize crossover to younger buyers, the Swedish automaker collaborated with YouTuber Andrew Huang. The Canadian content creator produced a video that is a soundtrack of vehicle sounds — clicking seat belts, blinking headlights, shutting

DETROIT — The 2022 Detroit auto show, which returns this week after a 44-month hiatus, won’t be the media-centric news extravaganza of years past. Only about 10 new vehicles are slated to be unveiled, fewer than half the usual number of journalists are registered to attend, and many major automakers are skipping it altogether. And

Ringless voicemails, a phone call method that deposits a message directly into a consumer’s voicemail box without the typical ring sound, has been a way some dealerships and other companies have skirted restrictions surrounding automated marketing calls. The technology’s legality has been in dispute for over a half decade. While the Federal Communications Commission and

Volvo Cars’ bestselling XC60 crossover has a problem — it has the oldest customer body of any Volvo model. XC60 customers are 55 years old, or about five years older than the Volvo brand’s average. To introduce the midsize crossover to younger buyers, the Swedish automaker has collaborated with YouTuber Andrew Huang. The Canadian content

Private equity firm One Planet Group has completed its acquisition of dealership marketing company AutoWeb Inc., which no longer will be publicly traded. Walnut Creek, Calif.-based One Planet Group said Wednesday that AutoWeb — a provider of consumer leads to auto dealerships — will operate as a standalone business within One Planet’s portfolio. “I am

Honda Motor Co. is plugging its range of products — from motorcycles to jets — in a major new campaign that points to its future, including investments in electric vehicles and a longer-term vision for reusable space rockets and avatar robots. A new “Forever Determined” ad, which comes from agency-of-record RPA, is the second spot

DETROIT — Dodge believes there’s an opening in the compact crossover segment that it can speed through with its upcoming Hornet, even if the muscle car brand seems out of step with someone who buys a Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V. Dodge is sticking with the performance-driven messaging that has been its bread and butter

The world’s largest rubber duck and Fred Flintstone’s car will be coming to Detroit next month for the revival of the city’s auto show. Other attractions lined up for the show, which has been on hiatus since 2019, include life-size dinosaurs, monster trucks and jet suit demonstrations over the Detroit River. The giant duck —

To transform into an electric vehicle-only brand by early next decade, Volvo Cars must first address a significant customer pain point. The Swedish automaker knows that American EV drivers want access to reliable, fast and convenient public charging — and also want to do more than sit in the car for the 30 minutes or

Jaguar’s metamorphosis into an ultraluxury brand is underway. The change starts with creating a more upscale perception of the iconic British luxury brand in consumers’ minds. The undertaking began Aug. 8 with a new marketing campaign that features ads and videos for upscale magazines. The lifestyle ads aim to position Jaguar as the pinnacle of

When the U.S. Open begins on Aug. 29, the grand slam tennis tournament will have a new automotive sponsor. Cadillac has inked a multiyear deal with the U.S. Tennis Association, with plans to use the New York City event to plug its electric vehicle ambitions, including its Lyriq EV model. The General Motors brand replaces

Late-night comedian and Ford F-150 owner Jimmy Fallon surprised employees who make the F-150 Lightning pickup during a stop in Detroit this month. Fallon joined Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley at a track to test drive the battery-powered pickup and at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center to see it being built and pose for

Here’s a chance to buy a pair of McLarens for under $500. But instead of four wheels, these McLarens ride on a three-piece segmented midsole. The supercar maker has partnered with APL, a high-performance athletic footwear brand, to create a line of shoes called HySpeed. The companies say they used McLaren’s design language and lightweighting

Conventional wisdom holds that it’s a scary time to be in the automotive aftermarket business. The implied message is that you need to transform your business now, or you’ll have missed the runaway EV bonanza forever. But, in reality, the aftermarket industry is on solid ground. It can afford to take its time to make

Sonic Automotive Inc.’s fast-growing used vehicle unit EchoPark Automotive has named VaynerMedia as its first agency of record, following a pitch process that began in March. EchoPark, which launched in 2014, said now that it has firmly established its infrastructure and expanded its footprint, the goal is to invest in marketing to build the brand

I saw a news release some months ago about a franchised dealership group that created a brand for a digital sales tool it was rolling out for used vehicles. What interested me was the fact that the retailer, Titus-Will Automotive Group, didn’t use its established brand name to go to market with its new online

After working to develop digital retailing at Ford Motor Co., longtime automaker executive Matt VanDyke is now looking to accelerate online sales throughout the broader auto industry. In June, VanDyke left Ford after 14 years, primarily in marketing roles, to become president of Shift Digital. VanDyke, who was CEO of the FordDirect joint venture with

Van Horn Automotive Group has had a digital retailing presence since before the pandemic began in 2020, with the goal of selling vehicles to consumers entirely online. The group, with 19 dealerships in Wisconsin and Iowa, initially drew on its established brand name and called its offering Van Horn Direct. But the process turned out

Dealership marketing company AutoWeb Inc., after this spring revealing doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern, said Monday it has agreed to be acquired by One Planet Group, a self-described hybrid technology firm led by one of AutoWeb’s founders. One Planet Group will pay AutoWeb shareholders 39 cents per share, according to

To push its new supercharged, off-road F-150 Raptor R, Ford is using a rabid wolf, rattlesnakes, a scorpion, bats and a monster. Those creatures star in a video for the pickup that is meant to look more like a trailer for a horror movie than a truck ad. The two-minute film, called “Scary Fast,” comes

A Chevrolet Silverado is hauling a tiny house with a big porch across six cities this fall in a search for new stories. The 2022 heavy-duty pickup will tow the house across the South for the Moth’s first pop-up porch tour, sponsored by General Motors, as the storytelling nonprofit celebrates its 25th anniversary. During the