Q&A Market or Die:
Branding and Social Media is a Must for Any Company
Chad Vogelsong, JVC Mobile Entertainment general manager of marketing, has been a staple at the company, but that doesn’t mean he has stood still. He’s been the driving force behind creating an identity for a product category that is easily lost among the the behemoth home audio, video portable and professional audio offerings by the manufacturing giant. Like the rest of the industry, Vogelsong has had to deal with budget cuts and heavier scrutiny on marketing expenses and activities. And yet, JVC has continued to maintain and even grow its “Rock Star” image. ME spoke with Vogelsong about his methods and strategy, and how retailers should think about their marketing practices.
ME: Why did you choose the rock genre to build JVC’s brand? Vogelsong: In building the JVC brand, we wanted to stand
apart from the image and lifestyles created by the other 12-volt brands and rock music just seemed to be the edgy, decadent, in- your-face lifestyle image the brand needed to stand out amongst its peers. If you own a JVC car stereo, we want you to feel as if you’re the rock star, and keeping the focus on this genre of music has allowed us to be credible to the bands and the rock fans. Too many times, a brand changes its marketing strategy be- fore it can really get a credible foothold with the people that it is trying to relate to and communicate with—in our case rock music fanatics; people who live for music and listen to it every- where they go, including in their cars. These fans are loyal and appreciate the fact that there are brands out there that support the music they love and allow for the bands to keep making music and touring. At the end of the day, if they didn’t write and record music, we couldn’t make stereos that allow the fan to play back the music. There is an inherent relationship between music and technology and we have cultivated this “rock fanatic” relationship for over 10 years. Most consumers assume that your car stereo will work with
iPod, iPhone, Bluetooth, apps, etc., and it’s our job as a manu- facturer to make sure that their assumptions are correct, but the one thing we cannot forget and what made this industry thrive is lifestyle – why do you buy a car stereo? For some it is conve- nience, for others it is for love of music.
ME: What was the first band you worked with and how did this come about? Vogelsong: JVC has been involved with music for years: the
International JVC Jazz Festival, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Bonnie Rait, Eric Clapton, Bruce Hornsby. But it was 1999 when JVC Mo- bile decided to invest in a younger rock audience with the release of a new in-car amplifier line called “DOHC,” when we enlisted
18 Mobile Electronics June| July 2011
Megadeth, a heavy rock band, to promote the launch with mul- tiple print advertising campaigns, editorial, on-site promotions on their national tour, booth signings at CES with a special invite-only acoustic performance by the band, and a NYC Times Square bill- board. This was the first time Megadeth or JVC Mobile products were featured on our NYC billboard promoting not only the prod- ucts, but also the lifestyle of the brand.
ME: Marketing companies and departments go through a tri- al and error period, gauging results and refining their approach to get the maximum impact. What was some of the trial and er- ror you went through in creating your brand image? What didn’t work, and how did you fix it? Vogelsong: Fortunately for us, I cannot say we had a lot of things that “did not work” in the past 13 years, since we started this lifestyle type of marketing, but we have made modifications over the years to stay relevant to the fanatics, as we never want to seem like we are a big company purchasing the artist to help pro- mote our products, The challenge has always been to keep it very “grassroots” in nature. That way, the synergy between the artist, their music and our brand always stays true to all fans, including the bands’ fans and the music / technology lovers. Although we have primarily stayed in the rock genre and have worked with tons of bands on tons of promotions over the years, some ultimately work better than others for numerous reasons – for this type of relationship to work it has to be a true partnership, which means whoever you’re working with must want and need to work with you as much as you want or need to work with them.
ME: You’ve become known for being able to control costs in
your marketing efforts. What has been your most successful campaign from a cost vs. benefit point of view? Vogelsong: I feel that every year we, “JVC,” outdo ourselves when it comes to exposure and creating new and different cutting-
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68