Jeep Wrangler marketers keep the hammer down
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Three vehicles - the Kia Soul, Chevrolet Cruze and Jeep Wrangler - are among America's 25 hottest brands that "sizzle from strong sales, big buzz, savvy marketing," according to Advertising Age. Among other products on the magazine's list are Warby Parker eyewear, Malt-O-Meal cereal, Arizona Tea and Chegg, which rents college textbooks. Advertising Age, like Automotive News, is published by Crain Communications Inc.
As the saying goes, there's only one Jeep. And the brand has done well lately, with overall sales up an astounding 44 percent this year through November, to 375,772 units.
But when it comes to models, the star is the Wrangler, the best-selling Jeep vehicle in the United States this year, with 111,045 units moved through November.
And Wrangler isn't letting up on the gas. In a branding coup, it paired with the arrival of this season's most-anticipated video game, Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 -- which fits neatly with Jeep's military resume. Jeep is introducing a real-world, limited-edition model tied to the game, in which Wrangler appears virtually.
The videos for "The Toughest Vehicle in the World ... Any World" campaign -- which also integrates billboard and print ads -- were created by GlobalHue in Detroit.
The promotion is the sequel to last year's Jeep/Call of Duty partnership. The marketing, which Advertising Age estimates cost about $10 million, wraps in an online sweepstakes contest on Facebook and TV spots that incorporate live action and game footage.
Jeep maintains a high profile at Chrysler, with media spending totaling $265.3 million last year, up 71 percent from 2009, according to Advertising Age research.
