Reaching hearts and minds is a very difficult thing for advertisers. Methods of delivery are always changing, audiences have different ideas about what's important or what is actually interesting about different products, and in general inspiring brand loyalty is going to be a challenge for anyone trying to move product. I'm right in the middle of the demographic that most advertisers are aiming for, and I'm definitely not prone to being especially loyal with my dollars. So how does a company impress me? While I won't say that my next car will come from them, Chevrolet has managed to find a way to impress me with their marketing.
I should note that this is all for a car that definitely won't be in my driveway next time I decide to drop all my money on a new model. In fact, it's the way they've handled the launch of the Corvette that has me impressed. I won't be driving that model in reality, it is a bit beyond my budget sadly, but there's a reason I threw the word reality in there. It's in the virtual space where the company is trying new things and being very smart about how it handles a new sports car.
The company has been teasing the launch of the new model for a long time, it's always an event when a new Corvette arrives in dealerships, and the company has had a months-long buildup to the big launch of the new car. It was actually revealed this week, though it's been in my living room for about a month already.
That's what I mean by their clever launch method. Before they car was actually unveiled, they released a downloadable version for the game Gran Turismo 5, available for free for anyone who wanted it. This model was the prototype, and as such was covered in virtual lumpy plastic so you couldn't quite tell what it looked like. So, you could drive the new Corvette, albeit in a game, and that was a good way to get people interested in the new product and start speculating about what the one in showrooms would be.
So, now that the car is finally released, they're following through and giving the software version of the final model to anyone with the game, for free, with no virtual plastic. Since selling fake cars for a few dollars a pop is a popular pastime among game developers, just giving away a free version of a highly anticipated model is a great way to endear yourself to fans, and get people to have a positive association with the brand. They're giving people more content for their game at no extra charge.
It's an advertisement, as much for the brand as for the model itself. While it's certain that some people will be looking to the game to see a detailed model of a car they want to buy one day, most of this market is people like me, who can't afford the Corvette. But we can afford other Chevrolet products, and this is the kind of thing that gives people an overall positive impression of the brand and what they sell.
It's also something that all automobile manufacturers need to take notice of, and start to replicate for their own big, important launches. If you can get people to have a positive impression of your brand and the way it operates, it's going to be much easier to convince people to drop a great deal of money on one of your products. I don't know if my next car will be a Chevrolet, but I think more highly of them.
