Jeep's Marketing Manager: It's the Real SUVs Versus the Pretenders

Look at 39em nowamp160 Jeep sales in 2018 were up 17 percent and nearly a million units were soldamp160 The company39s new pickup truck the Gladiator hits dealerships in May and June and will undoubtedly make 2019 a better year for the companyamp160 So the job of Scott Tallon pictured above Head of Jeep Product Marketing for the past three years would seem to consist of taking victory lapsamp160 But when I sat down with him in New York at the Gladiator press eventamp160he said that is not the caseThe primacy of SUVs has changed everything but Tallon points out that quotother brands are pouring into the marketplacequotamp160 Every automaker is selling SUVs even supercar manufacturers that until recently laughed at them and Tallon counts 24 new nameplates that have gone on sale in less than three yearsamp160 quotIt39s very crowdedquot he saidamp160 quotSo how do we differentiate Jeep from the herdquotJeep has concluded that its history as the original 4X4 gives it bragging rights and its continued dedication to SUVs that actually can go off the road is something to celebrateamp160 Hence quotSUV Letters Earnedquot Jeep39s new television spotamp160 Tallon showed it to me on his smartphonequotSUV these letters used to mean somethingquot the ad says as a Jeep bursts through the letters on screen followed by brief almost subliminal footage of the World War II vehicle parachuting into the battle and offroad imagery of people all ecstatically happy and Jeeps splashing through streams across deserts and up mountainsamp160 quotSomewhere along the wayquot the script continues quotSUVs became pretenders not pioneersquotamp160 The visual shifts to a toy SUVamp160 quotBut you never forgot the difference and neither did weamp160 There are many SUVs but there is only one legendquotTallon said that as buyers went for carbased and smaller crossovers the SUV name started to have bad connotations that the vehicle would be big heavy and Spartanamp160 quotWe want people to know that we39re bestinclass in every area we compete and that our vehicles are allweather allterrain and very functionalquot he notedThe Gladiator Rubicon on stage had a big quotTrail Ratedquot decal and Tallon said that Jeep takes the designation seriouslyamp160 quotIt means your vehicle can make it through snow sand and around a downed treequot he explainedamp160 quotIt39s a true 4X4 and a clear delineationquotquotTrail Ratedquot is not via a third party but an internal designationamp160 Tallon was quick to point out however that the power to award the title is owned by engineering and not marketingamp160 quotNot every Jeep gets to be Trail Ratedquot he said though all the Wranglers wear the badgeamp160 quotTrailhawkquot is related but that39s a trim level that indicates the vehicle in question is fully equipped to go offroad with featuresamp160such as tow hooks special wheels and allterrain tiresTallon likes both broadcast and cable TV and said the former is best for quotgoing bigquot and the latter for strategic targetingamp160 He said the trick is getting the balance right with advertising on themamp160 He doesn39t much like radioamp160 quotIt39s a tough mediumquot he assertedamp160 quotThe Jeep has an emotional appeal and people need to see itquotamp160 Radio sometimes works in the summer he added when people take their boom boxes to the beach or when storm alerts go up having a 4X4 can make people feel more secureDigitalamp160 quotIt39s seemingly infinitequot Tallon said and that means finding the right place for advertising can be difficultamp160 quotIt39s hard to cut through the clutteramp160 There39s no question it can be a great way to reach consumers especially in the Millennial generationquotamp160 Tallon is also a big believer in maximizing the company39s presence on social mediaWhat about traditional advertising venues such as magazines including Car and Driver Road and Track and Motor Trendamp160 quotThey39re still hugely relevantquot Tallon saidamp160 quotThe buff books have enthusiastic audiences and they39re advocates for the brandquotamp160 But in practice that means the auto brands are very glad to cooperate in arranging cars for test drives and cover stories but are less likely to take out doubletruck ads at least as much as they used to doamp160 The biggest advertiser in car magazines today is WeatherTech the floor mat peopleThe average Jeep owner is 53 which isn39t great if you have those Millennials in your sightsamp160 The image of the kegtoting college student may be true for Wrangler but Grand Cherokee buyers are olderamp160 quotOur average is in line with the industryquot Tallon saidamp160 quotBuyers of the Renegade a small crossover starting at 22025 are very young and 80 percent of them are new to the brandamp160 We39ve been able to double our number of Millennial buyersamp160 If we can get them when they39re young they39ll go on to vehicles like the Grand Cherokee laterquotSo there are still new markets to conquer and Jeep can39t rest on its record salesClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Jeep's Marketing Manager: It's the Real SUVs Versus the Pretenders

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Jim Motavalli

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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Jeep's Marketing Manager: It's the Real SUVs Versus the Pretenders

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Jim Motavalli

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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