Why Australians fell out of love with Holdens
Brand loyalty is a two-way street, as Gary Mortimer explains in this crossposting from The Conversation.
The jingle used to tell us we loved “football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars”.
These days we love Japanese utes and small Toyotas, Hyundais and Mazdas more.
Monday’s announcement from General Motors, Holden’s US parent, that the brand will be “retired” and local design and engineering operations cease is doubtless based on strong financial reasoning, but poor brand management is also part of it.
The numbers didn’t stack up
Sales of Holden vehicles and a shift from large sedans to small and medium sized cars and sportscars and SUVs didn’t help.
At its peak, between 2002 and 2005, Holden sold more than 170,000 vehicles a year. By 2019 it sold less than 40,000; none of them made here.
In November, it sold just 2,668 cars, down from 5,125 the previous November.
Global competition from Japan, Korea and Thailand for brands like Kia and Hyundai, added to its woes.
Internationally, Holden was only present in two small markets, Australian and New Zealand, which between them don’t even account for 1% of global sales, and require steering columns on the right hand side of car. It has made Holdens hard to internationalise.
Monday’s press release blamed “highly fragmented right-hand-drive markets”, the cost of growing the brand, and the unlikelihood of achieving a decent return on the investment if it tried.
General Motors isn’t even going to bother to sell foreign-made sedans in Australia, although it will continue to sell speciality vehicles.
Yet its brand is ingrained in Australian history.
Holden defined a brand
Brands are a combination of tangible and intangible elements. Among the tangible elements are visual design elements, like logos, colour, images and packaging, such as the Holden “Lion and Stone” and distinctive product features, such as the feel of the leather, the sound of a roaring V8 and the quality of the duco.
But that is only part of what makes a brand. Tangible elements can be easily copied and are a feature of nearly all products. The challenge is to develop and leverage intangible qualities.
These can include experiences (such as service) and feelings such as reputation, personality and values.
Nostalgia is a Holden value. Its rich history, dating back to 1856, has helped define the brand.
Many of us who grew up in the 1970s remember family car trips to the beach in a Kingswood station wagon. In the 1980s, we watched Brock, Richards and Perkins win Bathurst. Movies like Puberty Blues made the Holden Sandman panel van every young man’s dream, and every parent’s worse nightmare.
General Motors killed it
Being Australian was at the core of that identity.
General Motors took it away.
On October 20, 2017 it stopped production of all Australian-made vehicles and began importing Commodores from Germany.
Then in December last year it axed the Commodore, after 41 years.
It killed the value that was left in the brand.
We fell out of love with Holden because it fell out of love with us.
Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Thailand made utes from Japanese brands, not Japanese utes.
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Just saying….
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-gender-neutral-marketing-might-have-saved-holden-anne-miles-cpm-
I’m sorry, would you “fall out of love” with someone because they changed their citizenship from American to Australian (or vice versa)? Or was it because you matured and developed from that horny teenager that thought they were cool and lusted over anything shiny (best word I can use for what I want to say) but now want something more, something reliable, that would stand the test of time… and you realised they weren’t it? Time to settle down in the present.
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Are you serious? There’s always one… one that couldn’t even get their article posted on Mumbrella but just had to bring gender into it
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Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Holden made cars that were notorious for dying at the 150,000 km mark… but hey, they a big engine and went vroom.
With the choice consumers have these days, is it any wonder they want to spend the same money (approx $50k) on something more reliable (Japanese) or more luxurious (European).
Also, to the other comment above – gender has nothing to do with it, so stop trying to push your own agenda. Best stick with fighting the good fight against sexist adverts.
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This op-ed is inconsiderate, selfish, and wrong. Hundreds of people are losing their jobs and the angle you’ve taken is:
“I saw it coming”
“Gender neutral marketing could have been Holden’s saviour…if only they returned my calls!”
Classic ivory tower point of view – and disgusting to make this story about you.
As someone who *actually* works in automotive marketing – the market is shit for everyone. Worst year of sales since 2011 iirc.
Top selling cars are Hilux and Ranger for 4th & 3rd year in a row I think. I don’t have the data on me but can you please let me know the % of men:women buyers of those vehicles? I have my suspicions…
Holden was dealt with other blows on top of the industry conditions (offshore production & subsequent loss of identity, consumer preferences moving away from Holden’s bread and butter vehicles, inability to compete in the Ute and SUV category).
Most of automotive is suffering, Holden just bled faster than the rest of us because it had more wounds.
Maybe pick up a VFACTs report before you write to win your next gig while men and women much poorer than you lose theirs. “Gender neutral marketing” wouldn’t have saved Holden. Period.
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Hilux and Ranger because of fringe benefit tax benefits (Correct me if I am wrong?)
Random fact: Napoleon is the reason some countries drive on the right. (Logic on horse back was hold reins with left hand and sword, lance or whip, with right…)
Peace.
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