Written by / Ma Xiaolei
Edit/Windsor
Design / Shi Yuchao
Source/Bloomberg, by Ira Boudway, Kyle Stock
Although the giants of the automotive industry have begun to manufacture electric vehicles on a large scale, people's impression of car advertising is still stuck in the era of fuel vehicles, which is obviously out of date. Automakers need to find advertising models that work for electric vehicles.
In the fall of 2021, the National Broadcasting Company aired an ad for a modern car: "Gasoline Card." It goes something like this: A father gave his daughter a fuel card as a gift, but her daughter drove a plug-in hybrid version of The Touring, and she didn't have a chance to use the card. On her father's birthday, she gave it back to him as a gift.
At present, the advertising of electric vehicles basically follows such a routine: in a sunny, neat road, few vehicles, and harmonious neighborhoods, the story is narrated in a humorous way.
Angela Zepeda, chief marketing officer at Hyundai America, said: "What I want to convey is that electric vehicles are also part of the brand, either capturing the hearts of consumers or catering to their sense of humor. ”
For the electric vehicle market, 2021 is a year of watershed significance. Modern advertising is just one of many examples. For the first time, many large car companies have promoted plug-in hybrid vehicles nationwide, which has always been the best-selling fuel vehicle.
In 2021, the number of TV ads for electric vehicles of car brands is 4 times that of the previous two years. According to marketing analytics startup EDO, companies like GM, Ford and Volkswagen spent a total of $248 million on nearly 33,000 car ads, compared to just $8,000 and $83 million in 2019.
Meanwhile, automakers are reducing their advertising budgets for traditional models from $3.8 billion in 2019 to $3.1 billion in 2021, and advertising for traditional models has fallen by more than 35,000.
Taking GM as an example, according to Deborah Wahl, the company's chief marketing officer, "The electric vehicle advertising program is divided into three stages, regularization, personalization and charisma. Electric vehicles are evolving much faster than expected. In our opinion, GM has passed the stage of normalization. ”
EDO President and CEO Kevin M. Kevin Krim said car companies are quick to start electric marketing, including supply chain disruptions.
Automakers often spread their advertising budgets across several large events: annual sales events like "December to Remember," new product launches, and brand polishing events like "Built Ford Tough."
In 2022, as the supply of internal combustion engine vehicles outstrips demand, brands will focus their marketing on the last "brand polishing" aspect. They will tell consumers that there is no need to spend money on a car that has not yet been built, but also to pay in advance, waiting for a long time, it is better to buy an electric car.
Jessica Thor, Audi's director of marketing campaign strategy, said that for Audi, change is imperative, it is about survival.
In 2022, Audi will offer more electric models than other brands and promise to discontinue fuel vehicles in 2026. "Research shows that the next car of a consumer will be an electric vehicle." "We need to try to advance the next car to the next one, and we can't let consumers think that they are stepping back." ”
To this day, there are still not many advertisements for electric vehicles, and Tesla, the leader in the electric vehicle market, is famous for not advertising. Most traditional car companies are also relatively negative about advertising for the few electric vehicles they have.
In most cases, electric vehicles are money-losing, known as "compliant cars," and they exist only to meet government emissions standards.
Advertising about electric vehicles is also limited to digital inventory, mailing, corporate mail, and other low-cost marketing methods aimed at customers who already have a clear desire to buy. For example, in states that encourage electric vehicles, early car owners receive an online advertisement and nothing more.
Hyundai Motor's Zeppeda said: "We used to be more focused on getting information around the region. A large number of postal, email and social digital advertising are used. ”
That's changing, with traditional brands putting more resources into the production of electric vehicles and attracting new buyers. Karna Crawford, Ford's director of marketing communications, said: "Our signature classic cars are electrified and our strategy is different now than before. ”
She was referring to the Mustang Mach E and F-150 Lightning, which will be available in the spring of 2022. "This means that this type of vehicle will be at the heart of our marketing strategy." According to EDO, in 2019, Ford had fewer than 100 electric vehicle ads, and in 2021, the number is close to 1500.
Zepeda believes that electric vehicles need to be continuously popularized by car manufacturers to consumers.
He said: "Consumers have learned about the technology and started shopping around. Obviously not at this stage. We need to get consumers to embrace electric vehicle technology first, and we're selling a big category of electric vehicles, convincing consumers that electric vehicles don't mean that you can't make long trips, but a pleasant technology that allows you to say goodbye to gas stations. ”
GM's Val said: "It's not about advertising, it's about launching a campaign." ”
Ford's earliest ad for the F-150 Lightening highlighted the spacious front trunk and showed the vehicle turning into a generator to power the home when the owner's home was powered out. Crawford said: "These features and features are stories that you can't tell when promoting fuel vehicles. ”
Audi said it will sell the last gasoline car in 2026, aiming to make electric cars like the RS E-Tron GT mainstream▼
Over time, if the initial advertising works, the brand's influence will be greater than the power system, ranking higher in the minds of consumers, and with more models on the market, the brand's publicity focus can return to product differentiation.
When the content of electric vehicle advertising is about lift doors, speakers and interiors, it marks the real maturity of the electric vehicle market. "What we're communicating to is that this is first and foremost an Audi," Thor said, "and at the same time it's electric." ”