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Originally Posted by RickFLM4
I get that, but don't think it helps to compare the car to premium luxury brands in the way they do. Are they trying to market it as a well sorted value proposition to those in the market for a $20K - $30K car or are they trying to be something they are not? They should be doing the former and there are better points to sell than the fact some people in the focus group supposedly couldn't tell it was a Chevy. Did they not recognize it because it is nice and the rest of their lineup and brand is crap? Is that the message they are spending millions on advertising?
Interesting how no one thought it was a Cadillac. I guess Chevy doesn't put Caddy in the same league as the others named in the commercial. Or, maybe the whole thing was just contrived. I didn't read fine print on the screen but wouldn't be surprised if the "focus group" is actually fictional.
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Chevy would not want you to compare it to a Caddy, that is product cannibalism.
Its about mass market appeal. Most of the country associates BMW with luxury, and being expensive, its an aspirational purchase. They do not know the MSRPS, they just know "BMW". Now other places like NYC and Cali, the BMW is as common as a Corolla. But in terms of big picture, to hear someone mention this Malibu is anything BMW like perks up the ears of the broader public.
I had to take classes in Automotive Marketing and Automotive Design Theory to get my degree. We had to study and write papers on focus groups of design/marketing success and failures over the past 25 years.