Turning a critic into a champion: Why Skoda might win me over yet.
One of my prominent childhood memories is when, as a stubborn and mortified 8 year old, I refused to get in a taxi with my family which had come to take us home after a Christmas party..because it was a Skoda. “I’m not getting in that!” I said exasperatedly. “Please mum, can’t we ask for another one, what if somebody sees me?” (I honestly wasn’t as horrendous as I sound!)
Needless to say, my parents were having none of it and we got home, in the Skoda.
The reason for my dismay, was that back in the late 80s, early nineties, both Skoda and Lada had the reputation as the ultimate in cringe worthy car brands, the butt of many playground taunts and jokes.
That scenario is nearly 30 years old. And to this day I’ve always said I’d never buy a Skoda.
Reputations don’t die overnight. The emotional connections and connotations we place on brands is to a large extent out of a business’ control. All they can do, to the best of their ability is segment the market, target the right sectors and position the brand to address the needs and desires of those identified markets, and then hopefully create a brand reputation on values that resonates with what they set out to achieve.
Granted, an 8 year old was never the target market for Skoda but as a grown woman, who has gradually moved into their desired market of a 30+ busy, working mum, I was still unable to shake off that childhood memory. Until Paloma Faith.
Skoda has carved out a reputation in creating brilliant ad campaigns over recent years. The infamous Skoda Fabia advert which saw the whole car created out of cake back in 2007, won nearly every award going and really made people sit up and take note of this quirky Czech car brand.
Their carefully crafted, clever campaigns have subconsciously chipped away at my view of the brand over the years. And their latest ad campaign, created again by Fallon, for the Skoda Karoq, under their ‘Driven by Something Different’ brand platform could be my light bulb moment.
The inspired collaboration with the alternative, brilliant singer, and (quite importantly for their target market) new mum, Paloma Faith, resonates perfectly with me. The styling and lyrics of the specially commissioned re-recording of the 1969 hit ‘Make Your Own Kind of Music’ fits seamlessly with the idea around the Skoda Karoq being the family SUV that can not only deliver on style and quality but offers that something a little bit different and ideal if you don’t want to be one of those boring car minions.
I’m a big fan of Paloma, and if Skoda is good enough for Ms Faith, then I’m starting to think it could be good enough for me. Skoda you might make a purchaser out of me yet!
However, teaming up with a celebrity is often a precarious decision by brands. When the two parties are a strong fit, with aligned values and everyone playing ball, it can result in great synergies – and ultimately lead to increased brand awareness and sales (see potential above as a prime example!) But it can go wrong. Very wrong. People are fallible, and none more so than the celebrity who can be riding high one minute and then experience an almighty fall from grace..or their bike the next, a la Sir Bradley Wiggins.
Skoda teamed up with the Olympic star in early 2017 following his winning spree in Rio and the European track championships, on a three-year deal. The ads promoting the Skoda Kodiaq embodied the usual high-quality style and finesse expected of a Skoda campaign by Fallon. As the car is filmed navigating around the Welsh mountains, little did Skoda know just around the corner would be the shit storm that would insinuate Wiggins had taken banned substances during his professional career with team Sky. In fairness, it’s unlikely teaming up with Wiggins will have dented Skoda’s sales. The drug scandal broke a while after the initial ad campaign launch and he’s not been used by the brand since. But it just goes to show not every partnership is going to have a happy ending, and celebrity collaboration should always come with a big warning notice.
For any business, deciding on your marketing strategy and tactics to use is a pivotal point of whether your business will grow and develop or fail to attract the clients and sales you need to survive. Knowing what direction to take your creative campaigns in, which communication channels to focus on and which partnerships to develop, all must be carefully considered in order to connect with the correct target market at the right time.
Skoda have played the long game with me, and it might pay off yet but not every business is in a position to wait 30 years for a sale. Make your marketing count and consistently perform, before your clients have the chance to become a critic that can’t easily be changed to the champion you really want.
To find out why brands are so much more than just a logo, check out our blog here.
Paloma Faith and Skoda partnership is singing from the same hymn sheet.