Here’s the thing about “consideration.” It’s a great marketing metric if your audience is not shopping. If they are shopping, it’s not nearly as important as “preference.” The gap between consideration and preference can be a broad one indeed. Brand building that accelerates the move from one to the other is what earns marketers and their agents the big bucks. But not every seller of goods moves the dial up the ladder; some actually move it backwards. If a consumer once preferred brand X, but now prefers brand Y, that’s a customer relationship management (CRM) problem.
Kia Motors, #8 in car sales in the US, has been brand building with vigor for about 4 or 5 years now. Though far behind in overall sales, they led the pack with +54% sales jump in April. Kia has done this by building preference. Market factors have contributed certainly: price and car size have earned them a seat at the table. But David & Goliath, a very smart Los Angeles ad shop is building something for Kia. Kia’s reputation in the market, not dissimilar from that of Hyundai a couple of years ago and Samsung a couple of decades ago, was that or a Korean company with questionable quality. Close to Japan, but not close. Considered but not preferred.
D&G has used advertising to target the younger side of the car buying market – an impressionable target – in a fun tongue-in-cheek, unexpected way. And it’s clearly working. Their use of music, entertainment and parody allows them to stand out and showcase the nicely designed cars. David & Goliath is making the brand hip. And when a car brand is seen as relevant and hip, it accelerates towards preference. The Kia story and D&G’s role will be a fun one to watch. Peaceful.