Re: Makin' Whoopie

[ScharfR@aol.com]

In a message dated 97-10-22 02:19:45 EDT, e6941tb@ix.netcom.com writes:

<< Or the brilliant Saab's slogan: *Find your own road!* What a precise 
 targeting of their market segment, mostly comprised of independent-thinking 
 intellectuals. >>

Or, to put it another way, what a miserably unsuccessful advertising
campaign.  Sometimes it just isn't good enough to target your own navel.
 Sure, Saab seems to know their own customers, but their numbers are
ever-dwindling.  When it came to attracting _new_ customers, the "Find your
own road" campaign fell on its belly, resoundingly.  The campaign has been
dumped after a two-year run, during which time Saab's sales in the U.S. have
stalled, then slumped despite serious "trunk money" to prop up the weak
volume.  At the same time the market segment in which they compete is growing
handsomely.

What's wrong with this picture?  The same customers who liked the cars Saab
used to build now have many more choices in a crowded market.  Yet the cars
Saab now builds are less individualistic than before and less reliable than
their toughest competitors.   There's more to building Saab-ness into a GM
platform than putting the ignition lock back on the floor.