|
|
|
PREMIUM
CONTENT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FREE CONTENT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEWSLETTERS
|
|
|
|
|
|
ABOUT US
|
|
|
|
PARTNER
PROMOS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Did You Know?
Avis: We try harder. A classic
case of 'repositioning'
the market leader
In 1962 Hertz was the clear leader in the car rental
business, with Avis as one of the brands in the
following pack. The Avis 'We try harder' campaign
repositioned Hertz: creating a relative, believable,
and compelling strength for Avis. The market dominance
of Hertz became a weakness and Avis became the 'right
choice' in the minds of consumers.
The results were dramatic…
In 1962, just before the first 'We try harder'
ads launched, Avis was an unprofitable company with
11% of the car rental business in the USA. Within
a year of launching the campaign Avis was making
a profit, and by 1966 Avis had tripled its market
share to 35%.
Here are some of the ads that helped to 'reposition'
Hertz (the market leader) and create a relative,
believable, and compelling strength for Avis:
But this case is not just about the power of advertising.
It is also an interesting example of how an advertising
agency worked effectively with a client to build
the brand. There were three steps that the agency
took that made the Avis brand far more successful
than it might have been.
|
1.
|
The
agency was DDB, and it was Bill Bernbach who
recommended to Avis management that they overhaul
their customer service and upgrade their product
before drafting a single ad. His reasoning:
"It's always a mistake to make good advertising
for a bad product."
|
|
2.
|
In
preparing the advertising the agency spent 90
days learning the Avis business and spent many
hours in meetings talking to employees about
the company. This determination to understand
the Avis business led them to a simple question:
"why does anyone ever rent a car from you?"
The reply helped to make marketing history:
"We try harder because we have to." |
|
3.
|
Finally,
in order to involve employees and get their
support for the Avis brand promise, each employee
received a copy of new Avis ads in his or her
pay envelope before each campaign was launched. |
Together these three steps helped to ensure that
Avis was creating a distinctive and motivating brand
experience, through all aspects of its brand.
Ask
yourself:
|
•
|
Are we doing enough, in all aspects of our brand
offering, to distinguish ourselves from our
number-one competitor? |
|
•
|
How
can we 'reposition' our key competitor and
create a relative, believable and compelling
strength for ourselves?
|
Brand Manual
More articles
Subscribe
|
|
'How
To Build Your Total Brand'
takes you step-by-step through
the brand management process,
putting you on track to maximize
the strength of your brand
and the value of your business.
Click
here for details |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
