Blog Post 6

           

Happy 100th Birthday to America's Muscle Car

           The Dodge Challenger is coming up on its 100^th anniversary and Dodge has come out with two distinct commercials to promote the new 2015 model of the car. Both commercials end with the slogan “Their spirit lives on”. Both commercials are showing the years of transformation the car has had throughout the years. The first commercial shows the two brothers, Horace Dodge and Francis Dodge at a type of Gatsby party. This was the American Dream, to start off their career making only a bike to creating a very iconic muscle car that has been desired for generations. This type of nostalgia is aimed to target the older segmentation of the market for the cars. Using nostalgia is a great way of getting the older generations attention. This technique is also in a way two-fold. In one way it is targeting the older generation but in another it is targeting the younger generation as well.

They are not limiting themselves to marketing only to the older generation, they are using multiple segmentation basis. Dodge is not limiting their customer base to one age demographic; however, they are marketing almost exclusively to males. The market for muscle cars is almost all in the male demographic. They are marketing to the older segmentation; Grandfathers and older men who now have the money they did not have earlier in their life to afford such a car. They are also marketing to the segment of young males; ones perceived to be bachelors who have jobs and can also afford a down payment on a car. The Dodge Challenger is a sleek and sexy car. It is definitely a car that a male who just entered the work force and would afford would desire to have.

Furthermore, Dodge is segmenting the consumers by their loyalty to the brand. On the company’s website, they use slogans such as “ Your grandfather wanted one. Your father wanted one. Now you want one” and “American Muscle Car Grows Stronger”. They are targeting the working class males who have worked their way up the ladder in order to get to where they are today. These slogans are not attempting targeted to the rich businessmen necessarily. They are associating the car with the classic story of the American Dream. In the first commercial, they explain how the brothers first started off with selling a bike and now they live the lavish life style of the rich; a rags to riches story. The Dodge Challenger is an icon of the hard work and dedication it takes to afford one of these cars.

Dodge is also using brand loyalty as a way of marketing to their consumers. By using grandfathers and fathers, they are marketing to the generation that just entered the work force. If their grandfathers and fathers wanted a Dodge Challenger, then they should too. Why? For no reason other than they can afford it and it is THE American Muscle car. They have a competitive advantage over other companies because they are more affordable but still is a top of the line, sleek muscle car that has been driven from generation to generation.

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            Dodge has also done their research on which television series their target market would likely watch. Dodge sponsors the final season of the insanely popular TV series, Sons of Anarchy. Sons of Anarchy is about a motorcycle gang who runs guns and sells drugs. (It is a great TV series, highly recommended and its on Netflix). This kind of show is more popular among the male viewers because of the violent content and overall masculine stereotype surrounding the show. Naturally, this show would be a perfect platform to promote the Dodge Challenger. Immediately following a cut in the show for a commercial break, Dodge presents two of its commercials for The Challenger. This is perfect timing, it is before people can jump off the couch to grab a snack or refill their drink and it is not lost in the mix of commercials that are showed during the break. If you do stick around during commercial breaks, the Dodge Challenger presents an "SOA Moment"where they re-visit a fan favorite moment from a previous season. Furthermore, during last week's episode of Sons of Anarchy, Jax was running from the cops and he stole a car, not just any car, he stole a Dodge Challenger and he got away. The picture, is Jax successfully getting away in the Challenger. If you missed the commercials, the scene in the actual show itself and the SOA moment, DON'T YOU WORRY!! Dodge also sponsors the "Anarchy Afterword", the live talk show with the actors about that night's episode. The Dodge Challenger has become the Sons of Anarchy car.


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