Chevrolet Drops the Marketing Baton
I’ve never been a very fast runner. My brother got the ‘quick’ genes in the family.
Back in our prime, he was ‘speed’ and I was ‘distance’.
When we’d train side-by-side during those hot summer months for high school or college soccer, I knew it was inevitable that he would beat me at the sprints. The 2-3 mile runs, however, were my forte.
One of the best examples of speed and teamwork is the 4×100 relay. When the Summer Olympics come around every 4 years, we marvel at the speed and collaboration that’s required to win the event.
Each sprinter grinds his way through 100 meters and adroitly passes the baton to his teammate; this continues until the 4th runner crosses the finish line.
But what happens if someone drops the baton? What happens if someone ‘misses’ his/her assignment?
The rest of the team fails.
Chevrolet has dropped the baton.
Being a media/marketing ‘geek’, I look into things. I research things that most people would just browse by without a thought.
The other day I was in my car listening to some talk radio when a few commercials graced the airwaves. My radio habits are leaning more towards talk and away from music these days. I guess I have to feed my hungry mind.
The following Chevy radio caused me to raise up in my seat.
It did everything well:
- Personal touch: The next-door quality of Patrick and Peggy drew me into the spot. I wasn’t driven to switch the channel.
- Benefits over features: Safety, high quality, good mileage. Who wouldn’t want a car with these boxes checked?
- Call to action: Go visit Chevy.com for more of Patrick and Peggy’s story.
I took that last bait and visited Chevy.com for ‘the rest of the story’.
My search turned out to be a waste of time.
Front page of Chevy.com: No mention of Patrick and Peggy’s story.
Read our stories ‘section’: This could be the place. Nope. These aren’t stories; these are press releases. Patrick and Peggy? There’s no sign of them.
Site search: Searches for Patrick and Peggy return the dreaded ‘No results found’.
Vanity URL: This is a stretch, but how about www.chevy.com/peggy? Maybe this is where ‘more of the story’ is found. Page not found.
Let me be clear.
I am very bullish on American automakers. As a proud owner of an American car, I want to see them succeed. Some may see this as an ‘extraneous’ detail, but I see it as a critical missing link.
I look forward to future Chevy campaigns where all details of an extremely personal, and potentially impactful, story are met as busy consumers move from one medium (radio) to another (the Web).
It’s a very important baton that you are holding, Chevy (our attention). Let’s treasure it as if there’s no tomorrow. If you do, you’ll cross the finish line and win the hearts and minds of car buyers everywhere.
Until next time,
Dan Naden