geko29

This is just silly. The big three spend close to a billion dollars every year advertising their trucks--Ford spent $119 million on last year just on F-150 ads during NFL games--do you actually think they would continue to waste hundreds of millions of dollars every year, if it didn't move the needle? If you ran a business and you could instantly add a quarter of a billion dollars to your net revenue just by eliminating these "ineffective" ads, wouldn't you do so?

mmarshall

With all due respect, you just disproved your own argument. Domestic trucks don't need big advertising budgets...they sell in huge numbers simply out of buyer-habit/loyalty or discussion in forums.

LexBob2

I wouldn't want to be the guy to go in front of the board at GM, Ford or FCA and recommend not advertising our trucks because they'll sell themselves. No need to worry about the other brands.

mmarshall

If there's actually a good reason to advertise, like major engineering changes to the trucks (the recent conversion of the F-150 to aluminum body panels for efficiency, and the new suspension/sound insulation on the Ram 1500s for comfort, are good examples), then fine. But my point was that these trucks probably don't need routine ads every year. And, consider this......it is (already) the high sales-numbers of these trucks, and the noted high profit-margin on each them, that provides the money in the first place for these ads. After a certain point, a lot of advertising is simply putting the cart before the horse.

And I would generally not use Ford or GM, after what we've seen in the last 18 months to two years, as examples of sound management. One notable exception, to that of course, is what Ford has done with Lincoln, which has been excellent and is clearly turning the brand around.

Toys4RJill

You are quite the maverick with some of your ideas. I like it! Very bold! Not sure if you are right though. I do remember you once saying that there was not enough advertising for the Buick LaCrosse and other large sedans. Advertising is essential for success.

mmarshall

Thanks, but, though the text itself comes from me and my views and from what I've seen, credit for the image doesn't....that's from Google.


The Lacrosse, recently, simply did not sell in the numbers that full-size pickups do...although it was once a fairly popular sedan. Its predecessors. (Lucerne, Park Avenue, LeSabre, Electra, etc.....) were all very popular with retired persons, who bought them simply out of habit, repeat-ownership, and a long history of enjoying Buick ride-comfort. I know people, today, who are still hanging on to (somewhat faded and rusted-out) Buicks from the 1980s and 90s, simply because the industry doesn't produce them with the size, weight, and pillow-soft suspensions/tires anymore that they did years ago. You can advertise to them all you want, but they know what kind of vehicle they like, and you either build what they want or you don't.

geko29

You make absolutely no sense. If they don't need big advertising budgets, why do each of them spend hundreds of millions on advertising every single year? According to you, that's pure profit that they're simply squandering. Their shareholders should be pissed....except they aren't, because advertising is effective.

LexBob2

This graphic has a big flaw. If you sell (trucks in this case) to your loyal, habitual repeat customers, you don't grow - You stagnate. The worst case scenario is that your brand declines as those loyal habitual repeat customers no longer buy your trucks due to a wide variety of reasons where they no longer want or need a truck-Your truck. Then your brand is in decline. How do you reverse or prevent the decline? Through attracting new buyers from competitive brands/models. How do you create this awareness and interest? Advertising and marketing.

mmarshall

With pickups, the market tends to perpetuate itself...like Father, like Son, like Grandson, etc.....family markets. That's why the F-Series and Silverado have done so well, so long. With the recent growing success of the Ram, other factors are also at work, such as the fact that it now works and provides comfort. But it wasn't necessarily company-advertising that got the word on that out.....it was reviews, word-of-mouth, and moments in forums.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

its obvious Ram cared about the product instead of numbers first and foremost, success happens after that. Contrast, that with GM's decision with the interior that it was "good enough" to compete. While completely ignoring what Ram had planned

mmarshall

Actually, IMO, GM's interior is good enough to compete. Where the Ram beats the Silverado, however, is in ride quality.....less so over the GMC Sierra (particularly the Denali), which has more emphasis on comfort than the Silverado.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

"good enough" is a pretty crappy business strategy in a highly competitive market. And its obvious good enough didnt cut it when they lost #2 spot they held forever. Does a good enough mindset win new market share?

Toys4RJill

Here you go Source

GM has to do better in the interior.

mmarshall

I'm not knocking your source.....every auto review or comparison has a right to come up with their own conclusions. I also come up with mine.

Toys4RJill

They are good for the job site, or the contractors etc. Not the upper $50K market.