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Speed Dial: 60-Second Marketing Insight Newsletter
When I first read that Infiniti had shifted its marketing strategy to play up its Japanese
heritage, I was intrigued.
The new global ad campaign promised to proudly combine the concepts of "adeyaka"
(elegance) & "shodo" (calligraphy) into a stunning celebration of distinctively Japanese
luxury & styling.
It would be a daring move, a change that could steal share from Lexus
and Acura- - and perhaps even take a few nips at the German trinity of BMW, Mercedes,
and Audi.
And why not? After all, many of the world's most successful luxury brands have an
indelible link to their country of origin and a certain nationalistic cache: Chanel. Waterford. Gucci.
Burberry. Tiffany's.
Because the automakers haven't recently played the nationalism card outside their own
countries, it could be a unique opportunity for Infiniti to celebrate the exotic cache of "the Orient."
Even though everyone knows that Mercedes is German, Volvo is Swedish, & Jaguar is British, no premium
carmaker is romancing its cultural heritage.
Not only that, but the timing could be right. While we can hypothesize that
Japanese & German car companies may not have wanted to play up their origins in certain
parts of the world after WWII, enough decades have passed that those wounds are well-healed.
So Infiniti had identified an unique opportunity, especially with the advent of the brand's
20th anniversary. To see a sampling of the brand's latest commercials, you can click here and also click here.
Infiniti's new ads are beautiful, but their understated elegance
is like ink in an ocean; adeyaka and shodo in a sumo wrestler world.
In my opinion, Infiniti came this close to a breakthrough- - and then blinked.
When we find a good idea in the weeks and months ahead, let's kick off our geisha shoes and
run as fast and as far as it will take us.
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