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Durango spots go 'bilingual'
March 28, 2004
You don't need Dr. Phil to tell you that men
and women really do speak different languages.
The language barrier has offered an endless
supply of jokes.
A man's cooking glove catches fire as he boasts
about the Dodge Durango.
It's spawned books, movies and TV shows. Trying
to bridge the gap is a staple of daytime talk
shows and countless self-help books.
How to request a credit report fromThe commercial
characters "Joe and Liz" have very
different his and her wish lists for what they
want in a new vehicle.
So different, in fact, that Dodge Durango has
built an entire ad campaign around it. No surprise:
Both their desires are met by the same vehicle
— the Dodge Durango.
Durango addresses both of their needs with
the selling point: big size, smooth ride, Hemi
power — a specially shaped part of the
engine that can provide extra zip to the vehicle.
Their characters, played by Stephen Niel and
Patricia Caldwell, are featured as regular folks
for a reason — both men and women identify
with the characters when it comes to the battle
of the sexes in choosing the next family vehicle.
David Pitera, 33, and his wife, Clare, 37,
of Minnetonka, Minn., have the 2004 Dodge Durango
on their new vehicle short list — for
different reasons.
"I really like the idea of the Hemi,"
says the father of kids ages 5 and 2. "I'm
pretty much that guy standing in front of the
grill. And she's pretty much the gal who likes
the idea of hauling around a lot of stuff, including
the kids."
Clare is sold on space and image. "I don't
want to buy anything unless it has a third seat,
and I don't want a minivan."
The couple is six months away from making their
decision.
But in Buffalo, Ed Sixt, 57, and his wife,
Sandy, 39, bought back in November.
"She likes the idea of the roominess and
that she can put anything in it short of a whole
elephant," says Sixt, whose adult kids
and 7-year-old twins can all fit comfortably
in the vehicle.
He says he likes the smooth ride but admits
that he really likes the Hemi. "I've got
to watch it. It will fly."
By Theresa Howard
The challenge is no joke, however, for marketers
with products to sell to both genders.
Some have found success by sticking with certain
universal themes. Anheuser-Busch has been able
to reach both with humor. Cialis,
the latest prescription drug for erectile dysfunction,
has had success with romance. Many financial
services and insurance companies have found
that security is a pitch that reaches men and
women alike.
Others, however, are learning that being gender
"bilingual" — going with the
differences rather than searching for common
ground — can mean marketing success.
Daimler-Chrysler's "Joe and Liz"
ads for its newly revamped Dodge Durango are
an example of ads that try speaking to men and
women each in their own way — while having
a little fun with the difference.
"The whole storyline seemingly sets up
this argument because their needs are so different,"
says Julie Roehm, Chrysler Group's director
of marketing communications. "But these
opposing views find love in the Durango."
In one ad, Joe and Liz present his and her
views on must-haves for the new vehicle they're
going to buy. She wants it to be spacious and
comfortable. He wants the big engine. They face
off over a kitchen counter by slamming down
brochures they've picked up on their vehicle
of choice. To their surprise, each slammed down
a booklet on the Durango.
In another ad, set at a backyard barbecue,
Liz tells her girlfriends that she insisted
their new vehicle be roomy and easy to drive.
Joe, standing behind the barbecue, tells a pal
that he insisted on a vehicle with a Hemi engine.
What's in the driveway? A Durango.
"It's classic consumer psychology,"
says Thomas Cline, associate professor of marketing
at St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa. "Dodge
presents the information ambiguously so men
can interpret the solutions in their way and
women can simultaneously interpret them in their
own way."
Dodge makes its selling points loosely and
with wit — hoping not to turn off men
or women. For men, the ads, by BBDO in Detroit,
address power but don't provide specific numbers
about towing capacity and torque. For women,
the ads address handling and roominess, without
spelling out spring rates or cubic feet of cargo
space.
"The ride and handling were where we had
a lot of issues for those who chose not to buy
the (previous model) Durango," Roehm says.
"The biggest rejection item, particularly
for women, was that the ride was too trucklike."
With women rebuffing the old Durango, buyers
were starting to skew heavily to males. Durango
is trying to get back to a 50-50 mix with changes
that include smoother handling. While women
now get a smoother ride, men get a "machismo"
factor with the optional Hemi engine, a design
new to the 2004 Durango but a famous part of
the company's heritage.
"From a marketing standpoint, it's been
excellent," Roehm says. "We knew it
would be exciting for 'gear heads,' but we weren't
sure if the new generation would like it."
According to results of Ad Track, USA TODAY's
weekly consumer poll, the ads were popular with
younger male consumers — but scored just
slightly better overall with men than women.
Of those familiar with the ads, 17% like the
ads "a lot," slightly below Ad Track's
average of 21% but closer to the 20% average
for auto ads. Consumers ages 18 to 24 gave the
best marks — 26% like the ads a lot. As
for a gender gap overall, it was small: 19%
of men and 16% of women like the ads "a
lot."
The ads and redesign, which includes such amenities
as heated leather seats, have helped Durango
sales take off.
Since the November launch, sales for the new
version are up 27% vs. down 2.3% for the midsize
sport-utility vehicle category, according to
Autodata, a sales tracker in Woodcliff Lake,
N.J.
Of the sales, Roehm says, "The big closer
is when the dealer shows them the starting price."
The sticker price is $2,000 to $3,000 less
than the 2003 Durango.
And despite the $1,000 to $1,600 added cost
for the optional Hemi, Dodge is selling more
equipped that way than expected.
That seems to position Durango well to survive
an expected shakeout in the increasingly crowded
category of similar SUVs, but Dodge isn't taking
the early sales burst for granted.
"We can sell the sizzle for a while, but
from there the product has to sell itself,"
Roehm says.
© Copyright 2004 USA TODAY, a division
of Gannett Co. Inc.
source:-http://www.usatoday.com/
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