Mazda Case Study 1 PDF

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1 Mr. Prentice MKTG334-301 25 August 2019 Mazda Case Study 1 1. Analyze the role of integrated marketing communications in the marketing of automobiles such as the Mazda Protegé and MAZDA6. How is each IMC element used to market automobiles? a. As the Mazda Protegé and MAZDA6 differed in style and other features, they also differed in IMC efforts. The Protegé was positioned as a “hip” and “cool” car that was marketed towards young professional women (early 20s to mid 30s). On the opposite side of the spectrum, the MAZDA6 was positioned as a more mature, but still sporty, sedan that was marketed towards those in their mid 30s. Because of the different market positions/target markets between the two, IMC efforts were differed in the sense of overall promotion. For example, since the Protegé was marketed as a hip car for young women, Mazda’s marketing team made it their duty to portray every ad in a “fun” way; such as showing a group of 20 year olds going for a joyride through the city in their sleek new Mazda Protegé while listening to Nails. Another aspect of Mazda’s great IMC efforts with these two vehicles was the fact that Mazda strategically picked what mainstream networks/advertisement hubs to market their specific vehicles on. For example, the Protegé was marketed heavily on networks such as MTV and Yahoo; both of which are always used by the younger generation. As for the MAZDA6, marketing efforts were heavily portrayed on newsprint ads and college/professional sport networks - the MAZDA6 was positioned as the more mature sedan in their line, so why not market to a mature audience that is primarily dominated by men/fathers (ESPN/Newspapers)? This is why Mazda has deemed to be successful in their IMC efforts for these two vehicles.

2. Evaluate Mazda’s decision to drop the “Get In. Be Moved’ tagline for the Protegé and adopt

2 the “Zoom-Zoom” theme for its advertising. a. Obviously it turned out to be a great move for Mazda as a whole in the long run, but I do believe that “Zoom-Zoom” was clearly the better choice for their brand. As “Get In. Be Moved” was their first impactful slogan, I just do not think it fits the character/feel of the Protegé. As stated before, the Protegé was marketed heavily towards hip, young women in the early 20s to mid 30s - obviously they do not want to drive a “grandpa car”. They want something that is fast and young, “Zoom-Zoom” delivers exactly that. Mazda even took it a step further when they incorporated the voice and image of a young boy actually saying “Zoom-Zoom”. However, the image of the boy was not used in all ads, such as those for the MAZDA6; the same voice over was used though, and it still worked. Although “Get In. Be Moved” could serve as a good slogan for a more mature car like the MAZDA6 (which was positioned to an older audience), it simply does not fit for the diverse line of cars that Mazda has to offer. Quite frankly, “Get In. Be Moved” is just a boring slogan.

3. Evaluate the strategy Mazda is using to advertise the new MAZDA6 sports sedan. Do you agree with the decision to use a more mature and less playful approach for the MAZDA6? a. I absolutely agree with the decision to use a more mature approach on the MAZDA6. We have to think about the time period and the actual look of the car. Do not get me wrong, the 2019 MAZDA6 is extremely sporty and sleek; BUT, the 2003 MAZDA6 looked nowhere near as sporty as the Protogé at the time. Honestly, as that point, anyone should be able to tell that the Protogé was clearly the more youthful option in their line. This is why I believe that the more mature approach with the MAZDA6 was so successful. Mazda knew that the older audience in their target markets would not opt for a Protogé when they reach a certain age or start a family. Aside from speed and other options available for both vehicles, the MAZDA6 simply just looked older than the Protogé; I feel as though Mazda was almost obligated to market the MAZDA6 in the “older” manner that they did. The use of football networks to advertise the MAZDA6 seems to be huge component in the success of the advertisement efforts. Most “mature” individuals are usually spending their Sundays and Mondays unwinding and watching football with their families. This served as

3 simply a perfect time to advertise a “more mature” vehicle to a mass of “more mature” individuals.

4. What recommendations would you make to Mazda regarding its integrated marketing communications strategy as the company moves forward? a. As stated in the case study, the issue at hand for Mazda is whether the slogan “ZoomZoom” will continue to resonate and compete alongside other major vehicle manufacturers. I personally believe Mazda did a great job with the marketing efforts that were described in the case study. But, if there were any recommendations that I would give to Mazda, they would have to be to stay in mainstream media for advisement (movies, social media, etc.) and to possibly think of new slogans in the case of needing a new one. Mainstream media is imperative for any business to gain the traction that they desire because in this day in age, everything is on the internet and blasted out to the masses in seconds. The purpose of a slogan is to create brand awareness that could potentially create brand loyalty, everyone knows “ZoomZoom”; but just like “Get in. Be moved”, it can get old and be replaced....