Audi's general manager of marketing has bemoaned the “shockingly bad” state of the Australian retail market, but says brand activity will be the saviour in tough times.
Kevin Goult, speaking to AdNews prior to the InStyle Women of Style Awards sponsored by the German car manufacturer, didn’t shy away from admitting the last five years of retail had been a downward spiral and the motoring industry was not one that could escape.
“Retail is so ugly at the moment – it’s shockingly bad,” Goult said. “Everyone is on sale, everyone has an offer on, everywhere you look premium brands are giving something away free. Traditionally you would never see ‘prestige’ and ‘free’ as two words that go together in the automotive industry.”
The Australian automotive industry is one of the most competitive in the world with a similar number of brands vying for consumers as in the US market. Last year, 1.1 million Australians purchased new cars, but with brands being forced to create new models to keep up with competitors and new and returning brands such as Infiniti, Chery and Opel now on the scene, the competition is hotting up even further.
“In terms of comparing to other markets, the disadvantage for us is that our interest rate isn’t as good as what it is in the UK and Europe,” Goult said. “For different economic reasons they are in a very low interest rate position and they have personal contract retail activity. Ours is more an out and out ‘here is the price, here is what you will pay, here is how you will finance at 5% or whatever it is at the moment’. People are chipping away at 0.9%, which we are with the A4, for example.”
But the marketer, who has been in the role with Audi for seven months now, believes brand activity is what will keep the situation balanced and provides exciting opportunities for manufacturers with creative nous.
“Branding is a really positive opportunity and right now there is some very exciting stuff. One of those from a brand perspective for me is the Vivid Sydney Festival. We are the only automotive brand in there. We are using the brand to find new exciting things which really help us preserve Audi as a brand and find new strengths. When you see retail so ugly – and it is, it has gotten worse over the last five or so years – the brand activity is even more important. You have to come up with something really fantastic that showcases our inner personality and makes us great.”
Despite the downward retail trend and the stiff market competition, Goult was adamant that now is still a great time to be in the automotive industry, one he believes is very well suited to marketers who enjoy telling brand stories.
“For me what is exciting is embarking on this brand journey. Having a really good time talking about the strength of our brand, the great new technology and really underpinning this ugly retail environment. But it is pretty hard out there, I would suggest, for all manufacturers.”
For the full interview with Goult and why Audi is taking a punt on new models in an already crowded Australian car market, purchase this week's AdNews Magazine.
This article first appeared in the 17 May 2013 edition of AdNews, in print and on iPad. Click here to subscribe for more news, features and opinion.
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