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Message: <blockquote data-quote="E46Fanatic" data-source="post: 107438" data-attributes="member: 81">Old but still makes me smile each time I read this.... Proton - Asia's Answer to BMW...  <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin    :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> ------Over-priced Proton’s got no clothes John Shingleton ALREADY this year, we’ve seen what, hopefully, will be the low point for automotive advertising. Proton is a Malaysian car manufacturer which has been selling cars in Australia since 1996. It has not been an easy five years for the brand. There have been a number of changes of management and strategy along the way. Sales have been difficult but this is not surprising as Australia is a tough market and Malaysia doesn’t exactly spring to mind as one of the world’s automotive engineering nations. Proton competes in the bottom sector of the market against product from Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Toyota, Holden, Mitsubishi, and Daewoo. This is a “take no prisoners” sector which is extremely price-sensitive and where margins are paper-thin or worse. In 2001, Proton only managed 1705 sales, down from 2742 in 2000. Late last year in what I’m sure Proton management saw as a visionary breakout move, they decided to position the brand away from the ‘hell’s kitchen’ at the bottom of the market and move up into the rarefied atmosphere of European brands such as VW, Audi and BMW. They initiated the process by starting the pricing of their new model, the Waja, at $27,990 and telling the motoring media at the launch which European products they saw as its competitors. The hard-bitten motoring journos could not contain their mirth. The general consensus was that the car is at least $10,000 over-priced and is mediocre even against its real competitors in the bottom sector of the market. The Sydney Morning Herald Drive section said it was the worst car they evaluated in 2001 and even by their harsh standards it was given a severe caning. None of this seems to have deterred the marketing team at Proton and their agency, Brave New World. They’ve come up with an outdoor campaign with the headline, “Why is WAJA Asia’s answer to BMW?”. The copy then answers this question with “German Safety, Lotus Engineering and Asian ingenuity”. What a ridiculous and totally unbelievable proposition! Here is a marginal Malaysian brand with a seriously overpriced and apparently mediocre product seriously suggesting that they are a competitor to one of the world’s great aspirational automotive brands, which has been producing superbly engineered and marketed cars for many years. Imagine the conversation between the Mosman house wife who wants a sparkling new BMW 318 only to hear that her husband has saved a heap of money and bought her a Proton Waja instead? Instant divorce material! The proposition doesn’t even work on another level, in that the buyer who can only afford the Waja will not believe it is a BMW competitor either. Even the buyers at the lowest price point in the car market know BMW is a great brand—they are just waiting for the day they can afford one. In many ways this is a sad campaign because it seems to show that despite all the literature, teachings and discussion on brands and brand development in recent years, there are still people out there who naively believe that if you spend money saying you are a premium brand and you price like a premium brand, then people will believe you. If only building premium brands was that easy! Sorry Proton—pull these ads, save your money and invest it in engineering and building great cars and marketing them stylishly and consistently over dozens of years. Then you’ll be ready to run this campaign. John Shingleton worked in the motor industry for 33 years in Europe and Australia. He was formerly MD of Land Rover Australia, and was also responsible for the relaunch of MG. He now advises agencies and clients on marketing issues and will write a regularcolumn for B&T Weekly onautomotive marketing.</blockquote>

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