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Bryan,
yes, I do insist that Volvo's marketing efforts are LACKLUSTER at best! You may like the old types of ads but they were appealing (and don't take this personally) to a LIMITED audience. Volvo has expanded, demographically, beyond that. When I started working where I am now, it was always the "typical Volvo buyer" and that breed sustained us. But it was limited. AFter 1998, things started to change (and the 850 was responsible for that). That "typical Volvo" buyer is not who is sustaining us anymore. As a result, our clientele has become younger, more aggressive and (unfortunately) more transient. The positives are that we have a more youthful "typical" customer, well to do, more open to new ideas but the negative is that he/she will not be as loyal as the OLD "typical Volvo customer"...So, the old "deep intelligence"-style ads are no good. Volvo needs more DYNAMIC, flashier and "noisier" ads to cater to its current (and upcoming) clientele. Volvo is not longer a niche car, so to speak. Once you sell more than 70,000 cars a year you stop being a niche car. And once you cros over the 150,000 to 200,000 units/yr. mark then your "responsibilities" change dramatically. And that is where Volvo is headed. Yes, the wagon ad is very nice but that is a drop of water in the middle of the desert. The overwhelming majority of the ads are boring and uninspired. Look at the Volvo displays at various Autoshows...they find great spots in the exhbition halls but do not take advantage of them, even at the NAIAS, through exciting video displays, Inflatable Curtain deployment demos, etc.
At Volvo, we had so many different new models since 1993. Guess how many FLASHY intros we have had...TWO. One for the 850 and one for the S80. What happened when the C70 was introduced? That car was so exciting and Volvo just let it go down the path of destruction with its unjust pricing and lackluster marketing. What happened when the S70AWD got introduced? That led to the demise of that car within two short years while the XC (which was marketed fairly well but relied primarily on Volvo loyalty) flourished. How about when the new V70 was introduced? Nada, zilch! What about when the S40 was introduced? If it were not for its unique nature, its sales would have been worse. What about the S60? Apart from the crazy and boneheaded (in my opinion) idea of promoting such a neat car entirely on the Internet (AOL) for over 3 months, nothing happened. Look how Audi advertised when they introduced the A4. Look at the now infamous Mercedes ads ("Oh Lord, won't you give me a Mercedes-Benz"), the constant barrage of BMW 3-series ads, the relentless promotion of the New Beettle...I can go on and on. We have had WAY too many stealth launnches which is a shame.
I did not mention the "old Guard" at Volvo merely as an entirely negative factor. But why is it "bad karma"? I did not mention Assar Gabrielsson who was one of the Volvo great founders. It is hard for one to believe that certain people in a company's hierarchy (or even below that), apart from its founders, are part of its karma...But they were very conservative in everything that hd to do with the company and foremost with the design, development and promotion of its products. Today, you have to be aggressive, quick thinking and in constant development of new ideas...or you are DEAD!
Volvo's products are still very unique, IMO. They may not have the boxiness that distinguished them in the past but they are still very unique. And with the reform of the XC line in the coming years, they will become even more unique.
As far as the CTS, I will not argue with you since a car's design will appeal to some and will turn off the rest. But although Volvo can afford to alienate its ever-shrinking older base, Cadillac cannot afford to do the same. And that is where they are headed with such radical moves as the CTS, Escalade, etc.
See? I am not 100% pro-Volvo! ;)
Yannis
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2001 V70 T-5M, Classic Red/Graphite Lthr., Sunroof, Cold Weather, Dolby Surr. Sound, Rear Spoiler, 17' 'Tethys' alloys
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