What do car buyers really want? Mazda Motors Corp. is trying new ways of finding out.
Japan’s No. 5 automaker has started using consumer snoops – employees who live in Tokyo’s fashionable Akasaka district, where they carefully observe shoppers’ behaviour and troll nightclubs and parties for the latest trends, then report back to headquarters.
“Brand strategy is so important, it’s not about age or sex, but value,” said Mazda Director Masazumi Wakayama, who’s also the general manager of marketing. “We’ve got to get more of our products out there and to talk about our brand.”
Mazda, in which Ford Motor Co. raised its stake to 33.4 percent in April 1996, has been working with the world’s second- largest automaker amid industry-wide consolidation to cut costs and increase global market share.
In October, Mazda will unveil its Tribute compact sport-utility vehicle, the equivalent of Ford’s Escape, the companies’ first joint product. The carmakers are also considering using each other’s plants to build vehicles.
“When automakers make their cars at the same plant, it’s important that they differentiate their brands,” said Shu Nung Lee, a senior auto analyst at Lehman Brothers Japan Inc., who rates the Mazda’s stock “buy.” “The companies’ plant utilisation would go up, but the flipside of that is that they risk making the same car, even if they have different brands.”
Mazda will meet press to talk about its “new marketing challenge” on Aug. 24.
Mazda isn’t targeting customers of a specific age or sex, said Wakayama. Instead, it’s aiming for all prospective customers that appreciate the company’s “stylish, insightful and spirited” cars, he said. “But I must add that being part of the Ford group defines our brand as well.” Reuters