ADVERTISING
By GINA CHON
Wall Steet Journal
May 9, 2006; Page B1

[/FONT]When Honda Motor Co. launched its boxy Element sport-utility vehicle in December 2002, the company targeted young men -- but it unexpectedly attracted a lot of middle-age women as well. Honda was surprised. Now, as it gears up to launch a new subcompact vehicle called the Fit, the Japanese auto maker is going for another generational twofer.
This time, Honda is deliberately targeting two age groups at once. Some ads for the Fit are appearing in youth-oriented niche publications like Filter music magazine; others have been placed in Time magazine and similar titles with an older readership. Television commercials for the Fit feature cartoon characters such as a "speedy demon" monster. The cartoons appeal to the young but evoke 1970s comic books, says David Smith, creative director for RPA, Honda's ad agency.

"We want to appeal to the Gen Y buyer, but we also wanted to let empty-nesters know that the car is available," says Thomas Peyton, senior manager of national advertising for Honda.
Honda is one of several car makers that are taking a multigenerational approach, as it responds to a fundamental shift in the demographics of U.S. consumers. Baby boomers, roughly defined as people born between 1946 and 1964, have long dominated the American market and still number 78 million people.
But car makers also need to focus on the 63 million Americans roughly between 14 and 24 years of age, and commonly known among marketers as Generation Y. In 2010, Gen Yers will be purchasing one out of every four vehicles.

Fortunately, the divide between the two generations' interests isn't that great, says Cheryl Catton, marketing director for General Motors Corp's. Chevrolet cars, who notes that many boomers have a youthful attitude and are using the Internet, wireless devices and video-on-demand services just like Gen Yers. On the other hand, young people are increasingly sophisticated consumers who don't want to be talked down to. The two population sets overlap to a degree in terms of their wants, needs and outlook on life -- allowing marketers to create campaigns that appeal to both. For the Chevy Aveo coming out this summer, Chevy is putting together a nontraditional campaign focused on viral marketing, but Ms. Catton says that will also appeal to boomers.
"Everybody wants to stay young, including boomers," she says. "There are blurred lines."
Generation X (the roughly 50 million people born between 1965 and 1981) isn't getting the same attention, basically because their numbers are smaller than the generations before and after it.
Still, finding the right balance in creating vehicles and advertising strategies that appeal to both boomers and Gen Yers has proved challenging. Fairly often, car makers get caught off guard when a vehicle aimed at one generation finds fans in another.

GM's Buick brand, for example, was surprised when DUB magazine, a publication aimed at young urbanites, called earlier this year to ask for a few Buick Lucernes to customize. The average age of the Buick buyer is 65, old enough to be grandparents to many DUB readers. DUB pimped out its Lucernes by adding DVD players, tinting the windows and replacing the aluminum rims with 22-inch chrome wheels. The DUB edition of the Lucerne will be shown off in 16 cities during a DUB tour this year.
Buick had targeted an older audience for the Lucerne and teamed up with Martha Stewart to launch the vehicle. On her talk show, Ms. Stewart has given away a Lucerne to an audience member. Now, Buick is rethinking its approach.
"We're pretty excited that the Lucerne is having this kind of reach," says Buick spokesman Dave Darovitz. "We're still seeing how this is going to play out because we didn't know this was going to happen."

The Lucerne's surprise adoption by DUB reflects another generational quirk: Boomers and Gen Yers don't recognize boundaries between age groups.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s Scion brand was geared toward a Gen Y buyer and it has been successful in attracting that age group. But the median age of a Scion tC buyer is 49, according to Tustin, Calif.-based AutoPacific. The boxy Scion xB, promoted as a car for urban trendsetters, has found success with people in their 50s and 60s who like the car's low floor height because it's easy to step into.
DaimlerChrysler AG's new Dodge Caliber is aimed at a 25- to 35-year-old consumer, but dealers report that customers older than 50 also are checking it out.
"There have been a wide range of people looking at the car, mainly because they like the mileage on the Caliber," says Danny Lyttle, a salesman at Swift Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Davis, Calif. "That appeals to all ages."
At Toyota, Jim Farley, head of Toyota brand marketing, says the company defined the challenge facing its new subcompact, the Yaris, as attracting a younger buyer who may not have been interested in Toyota, without alienating boomers who are the Japanese auto maker's mainstay customers. "That brought us to a simple message: Focus on the product," Mr. Farley says.
One commercial for the car shows a mallet coming out of a Yaris to hit a piggy bank, which has the universally appealing message of affordability. The digitally made ads look like a cross between a Pixar cartoon and the Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" programs. The ads, which began on April 24, are appearing during popular shows like "Prison Break" and "Lost."
Nissan Motor Co. also has a new entry in the subcompact field, the Versa, which will come out this summer. Joe Samfilippo, a model line marketing manager, says Nissan plans to launch a broad campaign in mediums that target a wide range of audiences. Nissan is targeting Gen Yers who are first-time buyers and boomers who want to downsize their vehicle. Television will be a big part of the launch and the company is looking for shows with a wide audience that can hit Gen Yers and boomers at the same time.

It's not just the entry-level segment where car makers are targeting two generations at once. Volvo, Ford Motor Co.'s Swedish luxury brand, has long been the mainstay vehicle for baby boomers who relied on Volvo's reputation for safety. But at the Detroit auto show in January, Volvo showed a sporty, compact C30 concept car loaded with 10 speakers and a 260-horsepower engine. Volvo executives bragged that the car could hit a speed of 60 miles per hour in under six seconds.
To reach younger buyers, Volvo has put together a team of people in their 20s and 30s who will help come up with a marketing campaign for the C30. The new campaign will build on Volvo's approach to launching last year's S40, which used a voice-over by rapper LL Cool J in a television commercial that looked like a music video.
"We are always going to stay true to our core values, including safety," says Hans Krondahl, executive vice president of Volvo's marketing in North America. "But safety doesn't have to be boring. It can be exciting."

 

I see more young so far

 

Yeah. ...damn 10 charcter thing...

 

All ages seem to be interested in the Fit. This shows in the "how old are you?" thread - especially when you take into consideration that the web in general has more younger "surfers".

 

The problem is it's almost always older people in charge of all the management and marketing decisions regarding cars. When marketing towards young people they always use the term "hip," which is immediately the point at which I realize that they don't understand Gen Y. The easy solution is to hire intelligent young people and listen to them.

 

"hip" ? whats that?

 

...connected to the tight bone?

 

Something that old people need to get replaced.


Probably not too long till my turn.

 

but seeing how all the power lies in those in a much older age bracket than what they are shooting for, I doubt the opinions would be taken too seriously.

 

Anything practical will appeal to baby boomers and with the Fits sportiness to boot it makes it moreso.

 

Updated Honda website with link to Car & Driver article:
http://automobiles.honda.com/models/...Name=Fit&Num=0

And did you see the Fit commercial where, after an SUV swallows other cars, the Fit runs up behind the SUV and gulps it? This article says the SUV's days are numbered:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech...5/15cars_2.htm

 

haha yeah i had an older guy talk to me about my fit. He asked if the gas mileage was good, space, was it fun, did i like it, etc. etc......here come the 50yr olds in the fits like the xb's....lol

 

You know what? A lot of us O. O. G.'s (Official Old Guys) have been into cars all our lives. A car like the Fit...yeah, we look at it for reliability and good mileage and all that, but there are a lot of us who would like to have a Fit or an Xb with a turbocharger or a supercharger on it, so at least we could have some fun and still get decent mileage. We do like the styling of these little cars, and I kinda think these cars will be the norm in the future, not SUV's or bigger cars. I read an article in the paper today that said that gas prices in the US are kept artificially low, and that we should be paying $5-6 per gallon as the rest of the world is. If that's the case, you'll be seeing a bunch of people in Fits and what have you.

 

The Japanese plant will include Fit production. Doesn't say what they're building in Canada and the U.S. plants.

http://world.honda.com/news/2006/c060517MidYearCEOSpeech/
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http://world.honda.com/news/2006/c060517NewAutomobilePlant/
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didnt mean any harm but if it came out wrong my apologies, hell if you guys want fits go for it more power to the o.o.g's with killer fits!

 

More info on Honda plant in U.S. -- maybe building Fits.

http://www.caranddriver.com/dailyaut...ars-in-us.html

 

No offense taken! I finally saw my first Fit this morning, a white Sport and, naturally, the driver was an OOG. HA What was kind of amusing about that was that about an hour before I saw the Fit, I saw an Xa, and the guy driving it had gray hair, beard and a pony tail. I just thought that it fit in (no pun intended...ok, pun intended) with the threads on how old people are who post here, and also this thread. I guess you never lose your interest in cars. I hope that when you get to be an OOG, that you're still driving around in something cool, whatever that will be in the future. Maybe it will be the Honda Fit Flight - it'll have wings on it and you can drive it or fly it.