And the Oscar Goes to Hyundai

By Paul Schrimpf, March 9, 2009 — You may or may not know that the Academy Awards garners a high degree of advertising revenue. It’s easy to overlook when it shares the same month with the Superbowl. In fact, some advertisers consider it the Superbowl for women. And like the celebrity red carpet arrivals, it’s fun to watch which brands “show up”.

The economic downturn was very well evident this year not only in terms of the opening performance, but also in terms of ad campaigns. I personally only recall three that stood out: JC Penny, Diet Coke, and Hyundai. The two former had new(er) spots but nothing radically unusual. While Hyundai stood-out as what a brand should be doing at this time. They are spending when no one else is, and they are sending the right messages.

First, the mere fact that they are spending and taking advantage of a captive audience is key. It’s not the Superbowl, but I and many others around the world were enjoying nachos with friends at an Oscar party. And moreover I saw 90% of the commercials aired. In the fragmenting world of advertising, marketing investments in the Superbowl and the Academy awards are no-brainers.

How Hyundai really won me over was through commercials that didn’t address a single functional product characteristic. None of them mentioned price, features, or performance. It was brand building at its finest, and it was done in three ways. First they attacked the angle of social responsibility, highlighting their production in the US and the jobs associated with that. Second they went after the individual consumer with their Assurance+ program (which in-and-of-itself is a great offer), wherein if you purchase a Hyundai and lose your income, you can return it and they’ll forgive your outstanding payments. Lastly they rounded it out with some fundamental brand building explaining how to produce the name of the Korean car manufacturer with “Hyundai. It rhymes with Sunday.” They weren’t out touting how they are building a better mouse trap (faster cars, better deals, more awards, etc…); they were communicating how they holistically understand their customers.

Hyundai is doing what every brand with leverage should be doing now. Invest in your brand when everyone else focuses on stripping-out costs. Bravo, Hyundai. Bravo.