The rise and glory of the Jeep car brand is also due to the fact that they never, not once, said to buy a Jeep!
I would like to state right at the beginning: I am biased. Two years ago, I became a marketing employee at a Jeep dealership, and I quickly noticed that this luxury car brand does not bore me with traditional marketing messages. The Jeep = lifestyle swept me off my feet, and that's how I became a unique Renegade owner.
To present the unique marketing communication, it is worth mentioning a little history as well.
From war icon to luxury car
The originally American Jeep models are barely 80 years old and are the world's oldest SUV brand. The very first member of the family, the Willys, served military purposes in World War II, and its popularity has soared ever since, creating the demand for everyday models. One thing surely connects the great predecessors and their successors: the distinctive grille, which has since become a trademark.
In Hungary, we are talking about a relatively new car brand; the importer arrived in our country in 2012. As a result, its appearance on the roads is still met with wide-eyed amazement. At home, the brand is still often confused with the „dzip” category, which includes all SUVs. Jeep Hungary's task is nothing less than to build a cohesive and loyal community. To this end, they deploy everything, but not in the usual way...
But why is it necessary to redesign the classic sales model at all?
The answer is simple and short: we overdid it. Every advertising space around us has become saturated, and we receive a flood of advertisements indiscriminately. People are fed up with unsolicited content, and this is generating more and more negative feelings. More and more people are installing ad-blocking programs against intrusive ads, causing the advertising industry to lose billions in revenue each year.
But this is not the end; this relationship at a low point can also be repaired! It is the advertising agencies' task to reach not only the buyer's wallet but also their heart with advertisements. It needs to be taken more seriously. the opportunity for native advertising, and value-creating yet financially advantageous solutions must be applied.
So it falls, gets up, adjusts the crown, and redesigns!
Sell the lifestyle!
This sentence has surely been heard in numerous sales training sessions. There is nothing special about it; it is a completely average, clichéd bull***t. But Jeep didn't just talk about it; they showed how to do it! They have almost elevated advertising videos to a master level, in which there is no mention of the car, no USP, no deep manipulation. But there is a „haha” and an „aha” experience!
The advertising agency recognized that building an image makes it easier to familiarize consumers with the brand. It would be pointless to bombard customers with classic car equipment offers, as the name Jeep still sounds unfamiliar to many.
Jeep – Lonely Boy – my personal favorite
In 2019, the Leo Burnett Turin advertising agency once again came up with a Jeep advertisement that can hardly be called traditional:
…how many times have you glanced at the time slider below the video? Did you notice it lasted 1 minute and 13 seconds?
…did you understand the message?
Let's take a closer look at why this became a truly creative advertisement:
- It doesn't unnecessarily bore.: Smart dog with car keys. Cute, plus a dramatically singing little boy. In exchange for our attention, it entertains us, and we forgive the „time theft.”.
- Original: Uniquely connects the product's USP with a funny story. The story is particularly cute as the little boy wants to sabotage his way into school, knowing that with this car, he has no other chance.
- Subtle yet understandable message: Understanding it does not require deeper knowledge. If someone still finds the message unclear, they receive a little help at the end: „Not every parent has a Jeep.”
- Image building: The goal is not sales; there is no offer in the video. The message is more important than the product itself, and it shares this with the consumer without stating or saying: a Jeep always takes you anywhere.
- Limited product appearances: A Wrangler is guaranteed to attract attention, no matter where it goes. However, in this video, the car does not play a central role. It is visible for only a few seconds, and in a subdued gray color. It doesn't want to take the viewer's attention away for even a minute, yet it captures it every time it appears.
- Well-defined target audience: We see a relatively young man in the role of the father, and a family scene. Although the Wrangler is born for off-road, that doesn't mean it can't be a family car. More and more affluent families are choosing rural life, and sometimes an SUV is essential for their work.
- More than an advertisement: The video is still viewable on YouTube today, and it can be relevant for sharing every winter. A true „timeless classic” that can naturally endure. It also aired as a television spot, in a shortened version. But we encountered it significantly less on the channels, probably because the target audience for luxury cars is not TV viewers.
Slowly but surely…
One of the brand's huge advantages is also its disadvantage: it had to start from scratch just 9 years ago. The Jeep representation in Hungary does everything to truly create a community. The Jeep Owners Club Hungary has been operating for several years, and they organize high-quality events with the support of the importer. Four-star accommodation, and during the day, pure off-road adventure… if possible, with as much mud as possible… a wonderful combination!
In social media, we can meet domestic representatives who authentically and without frills represent the Jeep brand. If you want to watch truly original influencer videos, don't miss Kovács Patrícia's presentation of the reading the manual, or the video about environmental protection! Alongside Patrícia, the frontman of Halott Pénz, Dávid Marsalkó and the Jeep Compass also actively participated in the reopening!
Currently Gabi Tóth and Gábor Krausz are also worthy ambassadors of the brand, forming a perfect pair with their own Jeep car.
Love from work
So that's why I can't be impartial. I talked about Jeep models so much as a marketing assistant that I not only believed it but also experienced what it’s like to be a Jeep owner and see your own hood! I bid farewell with one of the most beautiful sights for me, as a proud owner of the orange Renegade.
p.s.: I swear I don't get a commission! 🙂
