No I’m not talking about Harry Beckwith’s classic on how to sell and market services that deal with no actual products. I’m referring to Hyundai’s new ad campaign, Think About It, which doesn’t show consumers any of their vehicles until you go to the website thinkaboutit.com, and even then you have to dig through all their videos to catch a few glimpses of selected models.
You can view the spots on the HyundaiUSA’s Youtube Channel. (The Youtube user name of the user and the fact that they joined just a few days ago to post all these spots makes me wonder if Hyundai is trying to do hoping something viral will happen with these videos. But that’s only speculation at this point.)
So here’s the question:
Is it necessary to show a product in order to sell it?
I think in this case the answer is most definitely YES! Cars are one of the most emotional and sensual purchases that people make. Emotional logic leads consumers to choose a car that will be safe for their family, or fits them deep down inside and conjures up questions like “Does this look like a car I would drive?” or “What does this car say about me and who I am?”
How can we make that connection without seeing the car? And better yet, if we make that connection, what product or model do we pin it on?
I guess Hyundai is going to leave it up to the local Hyundai dealers to fill in the blanks for consumers. Boy, nothing will tug at the heart strings of human emotion and builds up the Hyundai brand like the words, “BUY BUY BUY, No Money Down!”
Hi Chris,
I’ve seen these spots and thought they were memorable. Not, as you point out, in terms of getting me to buy a car, but in making me think differently about the brand itself. I suspect that is the goal of the campaign.
Doug
Chris,
Great thought. I have not seen these spots, so I cannot comment on them specifically. However, I think most definitely someone needs to be able “see” the product. But in the strict sense (probably not as you intended it), the most important idea is that we “see” the product in our mind’s eye. And probably more important for marketers, that we also see ourselves in our mind’s eye experiencing the product and relating how it fits in with our worldview. For most though, this starts with seeing the product with our natural eyes first.
Thanks for the post!
Doug,
Great point.
I applaud Hyundai for taking a new and creative approach to connecting with their market. I find their messages to be an interesting combination of being short and to the point but at the same time very deep in meaning. They are memorable because they did get me thinking…… about a lot of things actually, but I think this is where the campaign runs into trouble.
If we asked Hyundai, they would most likely say that the campaign was meant to build up the Hyundai brand. The problem with this strategy is that they haven’t picked what they want to stick in the consumers mind. They have picked multiple ideas that they want consumers to think of when they hear the words Hyundai.
4 out of the 7 spots tell consumers to think “safety” when they hear Hyundai and if the ads stopped there, I wouldn’t be questioning the logic of these spots. There are 2 spots telling consumers that Hyundai is an “intelligent decision, not one based on ego.” Then there is 1 lone spot telling you how Hyundai’s are foreign cars that are “not so foreign” because most of it’s cars are made in America.
Bill,
You can find all of these spots here if you would like to watch them. They are 15 seconds each so it won’t take you too long.
You make a stellar point. As marketers we need to worry about creating that gut level image of the product, and sometimes this means showing the actual products and sometimes it doesn’t.
I think it really just depends on the product as to whether or not the product needs to be seen in physical ad communications. Some brands are so well known, that it would be silly to think that we had to show the product in order to create that image in the consumers minds. It is already there.
Chris,
I’ve now seen the ads and I see your point. What is a Hyundai? It does not stand for anything specific in the consumers mind. I could see these ads making a little more sense coming from Volvo and touting safety. Volvo would not necessarily need to show the typical car crash test or show any car for that matter. They could simply tell a story of safety in some other way and create an emotional connection.