Fiat: The Model of a Modern Major Marketer - Matt Kearney

Launching a car is like launching a newspaperMy relationship with Fiat is recent It began in June at an AWNY lunch when I introduced the keynote speaker Laura Soave who is launching the Fiat 500 in North AmericaAt the time I was struck by the similarity of Laura39s job and mine OK she39s in the car industry I39m in the news industry but here are the similarities we39re both working for iconic brands that have been hugely successful in Europe and are now going to market in the US with top quality modern versions of a classic product In my case it39s the Daily Mail39s global success story the MailOnline In her case it39s the Fiat 500Europeans are getting fatter tooLaura spoke lucidly and fluidly about her mission and how she was going about it We39ve all sat through some hard to follow speeches of late where speakers try to speak to the latest in social media using the latest vocabulary without a full understanding So this was a refreshing change She spoke about the cute and trendy Fiat 500 design and how it had been adapted for the US market bigger cup holders and wider seats amp8230amp8230 don39t sweat it Europeans are getting fatter too She talked about the mission for the distribution network had been to make made the visit to the showroom a pleasurable experience she dubbed the new showrooms quotstudiosquot she talked about they39d decided to focus on thirty or so markets amp8211 some of them surprisingly quottruck countryquot for a fashionable car And she talked about pricing advertising and promotionWhat39s modern about thatSo she talked about the 4 Ps The title of the blog says quotModern Marketerquot What39s modern about thatWell here39s the thing Fiat39s one of the world39s great car companies I was in Rome last month and Fiats were everywhere of course and the north of England this month and less obviously Fiats were everywhere too with a full range of cars evident You don39t see them here though Fiat wants to change that and they can39t just be launching the 500 they39re reintroducing Fiat to the USThe payoffAn American of a certain age thinks of Fiat as an unreliable throw back of the 70s So to overcome this old bias Fiat are to reenter the US market using an eyecatching and chic design and under the leadership of someone young chic and of Italian extraction who personifies the brand They39re encouraging early adopters chic trendy opinion leaders to buy and showcase their product The word will spread Thanks to the Fiat 500 everyone under 60 will associate Fiat with very positive thoughts And thanks to twitter Facebook Google it will spread fastAnd Laura Soave never had to mention social media in her speech She39s that modern she just takes it in her stridePost ScriptAfter I spoke at the AWNY lunch Fiat offered me a Fiat 500 to test drive one weekend I drove it around Southampton Westhampton and Quogue last week and loved it I39ve never known people wave smile at me or offer quotthumbs upquot signs or photograph me just because of the car I was driving before I39ve never written about a car in a blog before The blog you39ve just read See what I mean Very modern marketing Fiat very modernamp8230amp8230Matthew Kearney has been working in the media in London and New York in TV cinema and in online for nearly 20 years He joined the Daily Mail39s leading news site MailOnline last year Matthew can be reached at matthewjkearneygmailcomRead all Matthew39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Matthew KearneyCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Fiat: The Model of a Modern Major Marketer - Matt Kearney

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