The auto industry has been one of the hardest hit categories. But while the CEOs of the Detroit Three were in Washington begging for money, the guys in the marketing department of Hyundai were dreaming up a whole new way for a brand to deliver consumer benefit.
Imagine an automaker that acknowledges consumers' current state of fear with something more than another sale or brand-a-thon. But then who could imagine one of the Detroit Three going so far as to create a marketing program that solves a consumer's potential problem before it happens?
That is exactly what Hyundai does with its new Assurance Program. Launched in a series of commercials the weekend of Jan. 3, the spots feature actor Jeff Bridges' calm, caring, and intelligent voice promising that Hyundai will allow you to return any car you purchase in the next year if there is "involuntary loss of employment."
More clearly: If you buy or lease a Hyundai and you lose your job, you can bring it back.
Too good to be true? Check out the small print. It looks pretty good. Assurance is available to consumers regardless of age, health, or employment history. And it covers up to $7,500 in negative equity, which should be sufficient for the first year of a lease.
Hyundai's Assurance Program is a demonstrable consumer benefit. Some might argue it's a tactic, but as a program, it out-flanks the competition, while positively growing brand perception even with non-buyers. No doubt it also delights many consumers, but that probably wasn't the word used in the brief, if there even was one. Assurance is Hyundai's way of placing a bet, instead of a debt on the American consumer.
This is a new type of marketing, going beyond a lower price to an engagement with the consumers' plight. This is true consumer benefit marketing at a level almost unimaginable before October 2008.
Now, thanks to an economic crisis, there is a whole new definition of consumer benefit, one that requires a marketer to step way out of any box we've seen before.
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