LexFather

Product Line Evolves Nicely, Ad Strategy Doesn't. This is about success and failure. Here's the success part: In May, Infiniti's U.S. sales were up 9.8%, thanks largely to the retooled G35, which is a corker. That would suggest the advertising from TBWA/Chiat/Day, Playa del Rey, Calif., is working just fine. Almost 11,000 cars and SUVs were delivered. Ifiniti's latest ads are not likely to narrow the gap between it and its more successful rival, Lexus. |
The failure part
Here's the failure part: Lexus was up by nearly as big a percentage, and it sold nearly 32,000 cars and SUVs. That's a 3-to-1 advantage, and it's been that way for 18 years. That would suggest Infiniti advertising is a colossal failure.

Now, to be fair, for most of this decade, advertising has been the least of the brand's problems. Nissan, the parent company, has been in dire financial straits, and the company's product decisions were abysmal. But one fact is inescapable. Lexus and Infiniti were introduced at the same time with similar products and the same concept: to take on German luxury-car makers. Lexus broke into an early lead and has never looked back.

Can the gap ever be closed? Not with the current advertising strategy, nor any of the previous 15 strategies that have since come and gone.

Not glaringly awful
Not that the current work is glaringly awful. In fact, if you have some good products to sell -- which Infiniti once again does -- the ads more than serve. The latest TV spot, for instance, is for the FX midsize SUV. It's set on a country road at night, the summer air thick with sparkling fireflies. One of the bugs alights on a headlight and gets the ride of its life. It's cute. It's pretty. The car looks great.

So what?

So the FX is a sports car in a crossover's body? So the M is fast and refined. So the G35 is a rocket. Swell. What makes them Infiniti? What is Infiniti? Don't bother trying to answer. There is no answer -- or, at least, none apparent. Not even a tagline.

The irony is that the only campaign in 18 years that successfully answered such a question is one of the most ridiculed in

The Zen of self-parody
advertising history: the infamous "rocks and trees" stuff from Hill Holliday. They overdid the zen imagery well into self-parody, and they waited far too long to show what the mysterious new luxury cars looked like, but at least they had a proposition: Luxury is defined not by cost or by prestige but by how design and workmanship satisfy your inner sense of well-being. It was to be the luxury car for well-to-do non-jackasses.

Pretty good psychology: conspicuously inconspicuous consumption. "Hey, look at me supposedly not caring if you look at me!"

But the floating leaves et al. were a fiasco, and the brand hasn't found a coherent message since. Meantime, Lexus, in its relentless pursuit of prestige, has unquestionably become the Japanese Mercedes.

The Japanese BMW
Ironically, for Infiniti, this presents an opportunity. Circumstances dictate that it must be the Japanese BMW -- which, by the way, it already pretty much is. Per corporate marketing strategy, the G35 is a direct competitor to the BMW 3-Series and the M sedans to the 5-Series. But where is the message, the one that conveys both luxury and exhilaration across all models and across all media?

It has taken three years and fortunes to get the product line in shape. How can it be that, in the same period, an advertising line has not emerged? Be not misled by sales increases tracking with luxury-car sales across the board. That is how you fail by succeeding.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Infiniti = Japanese BMW.

Lexus = Japanese Mercedes.

C'mon! We can't simplify such things. People do this too often. Marketing is supposed to change the perception of a brand, thus bringing in new customers.

Infiniti nor Lexus cannot survive and progress being "the alternative." They need to be "the leader." Lexus is a leader in innovative technology. Infiniti is a leader in...

ElitistK

iTrader: (4)

imitation.

Shawnmack

The parrell parking commercial was a genious by Lexus. People asked me can my car park itself. On the real though I know Lexus outsells Infiniti 3-1 but lately I'm seeing Lots of the new G-35 and I know for a fact the coupe is going to sell like hot cakes. As my man I work out with is going to trade his IS 350 for the G-37 thats all he has been talking about.

speedflex

I think they have valid points. I love Infiniti and they do market with more confidence nowadays but I still don't think their brand strategy is very effective. They have great product but noone has been able to clearly communicate who Infiniti IS and what it means to own one.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Another bad idea was Infiniti's marketing use of "Design."

I mean, which automaker DOESN'T focus on design? If BMW trumps all with performance, and MB trumps all with luxury, and Lexus trumps all with technology, does Infiniti trump all with Design? I don't think so...

LexFather

It really was. When it debuted, the next day at work, I think I spent 1/2 the day explaining to peers who were interested. I could not believe the interest in the car from NON car people.

Yes, people have asked me (lol) does mine do that.

I want to say just last week, a peer brought it up.

That is great marketing AND a great product.

Iceman

I almost hate to bring Acura into this, but their marketing is about as yawn-inspiring as Infiniti's. The one thing I will say is that at least Acura advertises in upscale magazines (Wine Spectator, Departures, etc.) whereas I only see Infiniti ads in mass-market publications (Time, Business Week, etc.).

Acura needs to get back to its original mission statement and tagline: the "luxury and performance division of American Honda Motor Company" and "precision crafted performance". Those words sum up models like the Legend, the NSX, and the Integra. It was around the time they went with all-alphanumeric model names that they also abandoned their brand identity in terms of marketing slogans. A shame, really...

jwong77

Totally agree, the concept of selling design in an automobile is so subjective that it probably doesn't even register with most people. I mean we've seen countless times on this forum, person A says a car looks bad, person B argues against them. And it goes on forever.

Faymester

for a fact? ... you have been to the future and have come back to enlighten us all?

i would say this is a pretty good guess ... but the truth is you do not know this for a fact


more on topic: i'd say the reason infiniti has issues is because most of the lux brands have a look ... we all know a bimmer, a benz and to a certain extent a lex when we see them ... but if you ask most people [as in non-car people] 'how do u know if it's an inifniti' they say 'g35?' ... the automatic association for the rest of the line up just isnt there

Yang1815

iTrader: (1)

Infiniti should focus on their customer service/dealership experience as well though. Marketing will get you short-term sales boost, but not long-term.

MoLexus

Nicely put. Infiniti is just now growing up after the G35 coupe. They were just like Acura six years ago with there bland styling and don't forget the G20 with its four cylinder decked out Nissan Sentra motor. Lexus has always played the game very smart sticking to luxury with practical designs, also if you noticed they always separate there Toyota engineers from there Lexus engineers thats why Acura is Acura they use to many Honda cues. Infiniti always bounced back forth in the game but never has been as consistent as they are today.

MoLexus

Seriously there dealership is pathetic for the products they offer including there customer service.

LetMeShowU

Here's Infiniti's edge and what they should focus on:

BMW-type performance with Japanese reliability/quality.
They need to emphasis luxury sport in their ads and emphasis quality over the germans. They have already proven to be able to make sporty luxury cars that people want to drive. Now they need to expand upon that and use higher quality materials and really try to work on achieving excellent reliability (It's already good, but could be better).

They need not be the "Japanese BMW", but rather a high-performance, highly reliable, high-quality luxury make. IMO, that is enough to differentiate them from the competition.

Audi & Infiniti are in the same boat at the moment from a marketing perspective. They don't have a clear enough vision to separate them from MB, BMW, & Lexus.

I still don't know why someone would buy an Audi over a BMW/MB.
AWD?

Och

iTrader: (3)

I would, based on the looks alone.