Can 12-Volt Summit Save Car Stereo?
It’s got the A-list car stereo guys, but will the 12-Volt Summit, to be held in Dallas in two weeks, be a success?
Acumen, the event organizer, has done a great job attracting the top car stereo movers and shakers, including names such as Larry Rougas of Pioneer, which launched the event; Chad Vogelsong of JVC; Tom Malone of Audiovox; Steve Witt of Alpine; Keith Lehmann of Kenwood; Mike Simmons, who was just promoted to president of Directed Electronics; and Adam Thomas of Clarion.
But will it be a success? Acumen also handpicked an impressive mix of speaker/educators, including Rebel Industries, the marketer that steered Toyota away from traditional advertising to launch the Scion with a campaign that included niche tactics aimed at the youth market.
My glass is always half full, so I say yes, it will be successful, and we’ll get a campaign as great as the Happy Cow ads by the California Dairy Association, (see story to be posted July 7 and in the TWICE issue of the same date). But maybe there is more we can do in preparation. I’m inviting any suggestions here to pass along to Acumen.
My own suggestion is this: As a component of the campaign the industry might launch, I’m all for guerilla marketing on college campuses. When I was a freshman (decades ago), they passed out a free home stereo magazine with a list of specs on every amplifier, turntable, receiver and speaker on the market (they didn’t have subwoofers then). I studied it and bought a home system a year later. After graduation, I saw a want ad to work at a stereo magazine, and the rest is history. Well, the point is, there are still idiots in college for whom a good car stereo demo would alter their lives. So let’s not forget those idiots.
Some stats to back that up come from SurveyU:
- 40 percent of Gen Y (18- to 24-year-olds) are currently students.
- Each student has about $327 a month in disposable income, or a collective $71.4 billion.
In an interview with YPulse, Dan Coates, co-founder of SurveyU, said that though we’re on the “brink of a recession, colleges are a growing market.” And we’re in an economy that is causing 71 percent of consumers to say they will forgo electronics purchases, according to Harris Interactive.
Also in the next TWICE print issue and online, we talk about Mr. Youth’s successful college campus “ambassador” program that hired college students and gave them each $500 to $1,000 budgets to promote Windows Live Messenger.
Then again, the industry may decide to target a completely different market segment.
The big questions remain: Whatever demographic we target, who is going to pay for this campaign? Aren’t budgets already squeezed? A couple of well-placed ads on TV and cable can easily cost $15 million. Will all the A-list suppliers at the Dallas fest stop returning phone calls when the bill comes due?
gary woodward commented:
First of all get rid of the 12volt sales organizations that just
sell product. The disatisfaction of a customer (who may be lost
forever) due to poor or no installation capabilities is a growing
concern in my market area. Every day product looking for installs
washes up to my store that the manufacturers have flooded the
market with. I am sure any of you can look around and see at least
a dozen firms that you have sold product to (as a factory or a rep
firm) that has not a clue on how to install-properly or profitably.
Change the program from "got milk?" to "got installers?"
gary woodward commented:
Paul Pirro commented:
Paul Pirro commented:
The Summit was a great place to re think the position of Car Audio
and the Mobile Electronics industry. As with other industries Car
Audio has been on a downward spiral and I hate to say it but
everyone simply got comfortable riding the wave. I do not think any
one "miracle idea" or creative marketing is going to save Car Audio
or any industry. Hard work, willing to take risk with innovation,
and of course re-investing into awareness will help. This downward
cycle has simply eliminated many companies from the oversaturated
market whether it is a manufacture, distributor, chain store, or
independent dealer. It is true that today's generation listens to
poor audio formats through cheap hardware sources such as "ear
buds" but there will always be a purist to sell a product to. While
at the Summit they had great speakers discussing how different
companies/industries moved past their struggling times. Their
campaigns are not necessarily the way we will fix ours; it was
simply to open our eyes. Personally I came home with a newly
inspired attitude to be creative, inventive, and succeed!
William Napolotino commented:
William Napolotino commented:
Better dust off the resumes, folks! Much as everyone would like to
think that a promotional campaign will bring the industry back to
its feet, the cold, hard reality says it's a new world out there
and the playing field has shifted dramatically. It just ain't gonna
happen. Comparisons to the success of the "Got Milk?" and
"California's Happy Cows" campaigns are crazy. Both of those cost
hundreds of millions of dollars! It isn't likely that the 12-volt
industry is going to come up with that kind of cash anytime soon.
Manville Smith commented:
The fact that kids are accustomed to listening to poor quality
earbuds and computer speakers makes it even easier for us to
deliver a compelling high-fidelity demo. When the bar is low, it's
easier to jump over. High-fidelity is not dead, we just have to
re-energize it.
Manville Smith commented:
Morey Gottesman commented:
I would agree BUT most of today's kids could care what a decent car
stereo sounds like. these are kids who listen to most of their
music through EARBUDS ...and it's compressed music at that. i doubt
that giving them the specs will help get them enthusiastic - but it
was a noble thought!
Morey Gottesman commented:
Keith Lehmann commented:
Keith Lehmann commented:
Great viewpoint, Amy. The creation of heightened awareness for the
mobile electronics industry will probably take the form of multiple
programs including guerilla tactics as well as broadbased
advertising through traditional channels. How to pay for this
campaign is a task best left for our post-summit activity. Our
first task is to identify the best means for reaching our customer.
We encourage dealers to attend the summit and bring their best
ideas as well as their open minds. Everyone should check out the
Website at www.12voltsummit.com and get involved today.
