And on the Seventh Day

I've been watching Hyundais "Seven Days of Genesis" videos as they arrive in my mail box and just as I was trying to decide whether I liked it or not, Jane Mills a.k.a +whatjanesays tweeted "Keep it fresh and new people". 

You can watch the Genesis videos here: SEVEN DAYS OF GENESIS Don't worry, there's no Phil Collins so far, but it's only day three.

Now I'm not saying that the Genesis videos are bad. In fact, the camera action, the slo mo shots and mix of comp gen images are really well done. Even the information (which I personally prize above aesthetics) is there after a kind of awkward mid way "Genesis" brand statement. 

There's moderately emotive music, some really beautiful industrial sounds included and they've even used some areas of shooting that look like they could be Australian. That last part is a big deal because Mercedes, Audi and BMW don't seem to want to make ads for our market despite our transaction prices being up to twice that paid in other places. (please comment if you have seen some local ads from the euros)

Still, the whole thing left me kind of cold;
I wasn't anticipating day four. 
I wasn't engrossed in what was happening. 
The information was kind of redundant (muscle turns into motion? really?)
Worst of all, there were no people in it.

We know that the next car is stiffer than the last. 
We know you're making it safer than the predecessor.
We know ....what ever the third point was which I can't remember even though I only watched it 15 minutes ago (really, I'm typing this directly after watching the video)

This is not fresh. This is not new. Don't worry Hyundai. You're not on your own here. Audi have all of a sudden started using dub step in their ads...... but were beaten to the punch by Mercedes last year whom had used dub step in their cool new A Class ads....... but where also beaten to the punch by KFC who used dub step for their frozen crusher drinks..... 

At least you didn't use dub step.

So what can be done? What is fresh and new? Hyundai need to work that out as soon as possible. The Genesis is launching at the end of this year and I am very interested in the product itself. It's a very important statement to the market about what Hyundai is. 

Already they have managed to turn their perception around and battle for small car honours with their seemingly well executed i30. If 5 years ago when their best effort was the snooze worthy Sonata, you said that Hyundai would be selling mid sized wagons for $40,000+ in 2014, I would have lost a rib. 

Their products and times have changed. Brand perception for Hyundai is at an all time high, but the Genesis is the next level. Their marketing needs to make that same leap.

If this is the best they can do, they'll end up hanging out in the corner with Infiniti (sorry Infiniti, there's still time).

"Keep it fresh and new, people".

Risky Biz

Yeah so I changed the title to avoid either Scientological or commercial (same thing really) liability.....

Soon, unless you like the same boring crap as every other automaton, your favourite thing is going to be cancelled. This is not a new development. Anything remotely defined by being different, is living on borrowed time and it is because of that ominous monstrosity called risk.

Used since the dawn of litigation to not only put a value on fun, but also to quantify how much you can have, and, how much it will cost to have more, risk is the financial impact of a failed plan.

That's the business related definition anyway and that's the aspect (the dominant influence at least) currently pointing a loaded calculator at the head of your favourite product.

If you've seen those stories about Gen Y or Z or whatever being more interested in mobile technology than mobility technology, and the associated cacophony from the automotive opinion-o-sphere, then you have also seen a prime example of how obsessed modern business has become with risk.

Now, any automotive product developed with Gen Y in mind is less likely to succeed (unless it's a rectangle with round corners and we know that can't happen without a lengthy patent war). Therefore, making products for these yoofs is a riskier form of product development. Even worse, these young adults (which have barely experienced life mind you so are hardly in a position to determine what it is they actually want) could reduce demand for automobiles in the future, causing total collapse of car culture and the industry as a whole!

It really is best if everyone just invests in mobile technology and spends all their development cash on thinking of new and exciting apps......

Or, of course, you could do what happened waaaaay back in 1995. I was a mere 20 years old and didn't even want a mobile phone. What I wanted was something that scared the shit out of me, and I got it in the form of a 1988 NSR 250 motorcycle (which I ended up crashing.... often). One thing I had no interest in was Japanese sedans or 5 door hatchbacks. Then this happened:

 
I was in the back seat (sideways mind you as rear seat leg room wasn't a strong suit for the Impreza) as a friend of mine took the first WRX in Toowoomba for a test drive. The dealer, sitting in the passenger seat, offers some vague permission "it's only just arrived so feel free to make a little noise".

Two seconds later, I'm airborne over the Herries Street railway crossing.

Now the WRX was not the first vehicle of its kind. In fact another workmate had a Mazda 323 Turbo AWD but that was quite soggy and slow in comparison, and when was the last time you saw one of them or a Ford Laser TX3) on the road? Subaru had a hit on their hands which redefined their reputation beyond dependability (which came from their other segment maker the Brumby/BRAT) to a haven for enthusiasts.

Now this may sound counter-intuitive so take a deep breath, 2 bravery pills and try not to sprain your heartilage:

You do not mitigate risk by making a product that is the same but ever so slightly different to the competition. You mitigate risk by making a ground breaking product.

 What seems to be happening lately is that companies try something briefly, accept the outcome of a focus group as representative of society as a whole and decide it best to direct development funds to the current growth segment.

When it comes to growth segments in Australia and the North American market, SUVs are the strongest, which in one dimensional world says "low risk", but you know what? There will never be another ground breaking SUV (I can't remember the first or last one) and it seems that they have become as good as they can get. Where, then, is the room to improve, to become the standard bearer. SUVs are now so similar in specification, and function, and economy, and price, that every single one of them has a higher proportion of direct competitors. That makes every single one of them HIGH RISK with LOW RETURN!

Want more risk? Where do your peers go when they want to know about new cars? Since everyone likes to be perceived as a know it all these days, they head on line. And what type of car creates the most content on line? The kind of car that car lovers love.

The Subaru BRZ sold out in Australia in a single day and it didn't even get as much coverage as the Toyota FT 86. The non-turbo twins are run away hits and it's not because they copied anyone else in their segment. (are they even in a segment with anyone else?)

It was high risk from a one dimensional focus group point of view. Who would want a sports car with meagre torque and cramped accommodation and it doesn't even have a turbo!?! Everyone it seems. It was low risk to anyone who knows anything about car culture and the current state of the industry.

Now forget for the moment, development costs and consider the value of the product. What has it done for Toyota and Subaru as brands?

Toyota has recalled MILLIONS of cars over the last 3 years and Subarus last WRX was such an under-steery porpoise that it had to go back to fat camp before being allowed back out into the public.

All is forgiven because someone finally made something to rave about and it's not even very fast.

Get out of the box and build something different. It's too risky not to.

I know there will be a million risk specialists that will pick at this post because you need to specify the risk in order to attribute appropriate mitigation, but I am referring to net product risk which is a term I just made up especially for this disclaimer. 



  

Death By Focus Group

I'm guessing many of you have noticed a clear shift in automotive tastes over the years, where products no longer attempt to reflect the idealogical impressions we had of cars when we were young (unless you were born in the 90's, in which case, you are still young).

I remember when I was about 13, being stunned at the sheer speed of my mates fathers VL Commodore. When he asked me to push the overdrive button on the shifter, all he did was floor that (Nissan) 3.0 litre straight six and make a face like he was fearing for his life. The NVH completed the illusion. I also thought my 1974 HQ Kingswood was fast, but in reality, it was just my first car and therefore accelerated like the space shuttle and cornered like TRON. None the less, I still chase that same feeling of exhiliaration, these days attained by nailing gear selection and apexes through a series of favoured twisties.

Look at vehicles these days and the advertising and product seems more focussed on connectivity to electronics rather than the road. Vibrating, heated seats, Follow-me-home puddle lights and on board golf ball cleaner? A Jedi craves not these things.

How could this be? The very pastime, formerly viewed as a demonstration of adulthood, a freedom reserved only for those having achieved the state determined age requirements and skills to the satisfaction of the local assessor, has become nothing more than an opportunity to obtain a larger Smart Phone docking station.

The content of the product has shifted dramatically from the primary function. "It is what the market demands" I hear you shout. That may be true. No doubt, endless focus groups have already defined your next car for you. Social Media updates available through your GPS narrator, automatic restaurant bookings based on the smell and frequency of your personal emissions, triangulated with your current location. All the "essentials" for modern life.

Most of the input comes from people whom are as interested in cars as I am in the discography of Lady Gaga. Why? When you are building your house, do you ask the garbage man to knock up some blueprints? No longer do most people care about the functionality of their vehicle, with respect to the act of actually driving, thus, their input is inevitably detrimental to such qualities. The result is the slow decay of real cars and therefore a thinning of real car culture.

I am sure that not many people will even care about the atrophy of automotive communities (after all, cars are evil and they kill baby whales), but they should! Why? Because driving requires care and attention. Every road user that is checking their facepic status, is not watching the road, and, despite the bad wrap, [whom I believe to be] real car fans are very attentive drivers who focus more on honing their craft than impressing their buddies.

Manufacturers should take note too. The more they push features that take the focus away from driving, the less important their core expertise becomes to customers.

Do I have an answer on how to stem the tide? No. All we can do is hope that eventually all motor vehicles will become so saturated with features, that everyone has the same superfluous crap. Only then can the focus return to where it should be; on driver involvement and satisfaction.