????對(duì)于當(dāng)紅女星珍妮弗?洛佩茲來(lái)說(shuō)，出演菲亞特（Fiat）的這款廣告可算不上她最風(fēng)光的時(shí)刻,。這名42歲的流行歌星最近出演了菲亞特500轎車(chē)的廣告,，該廣告在今年九月初的《周一橄欖球之夜》（Monday Night Football）節(jié)目上首次與觀眾見(jiàn)面。雖然她的舞步還不錯(cuò),，但是人們對(duì)這支在線(xiàn)廣告的反應(yīng)卻稱(chēng)不上熱情,。一位Youtube網(wǎng)友冷淡地回復(fù)道：“我不相信像她這樣的富人會(huì)開(kāi)這種車(chē)?！?/p>
????菲亞特期待的可不是這種反應(yīng),。該公司于今年年初推出了這款緊湊小車(chē)，而且還計(jì)劃將推出更多車(chē)型,。但隨著種種現(xiàn)實(shí)問(wèn)題的出現(xiàn),，菲亞特的高期望也漸漸落空，尤其是這款小車(chē)面臨著品牌混亂和目標(biāo)顧客定位不明的問(wèn)題。現(xiàn)在就說(shuō)菲亞特500是款失敗車(chē)型可能還為時(shí)過(guò)早,，不過(guò)慘淡的開(kāi)局卻給CEO西爾吉奧?馬基奧尼擴(kuò)張美國(guó)市場(chǎng)的計(jì)劃蒙上了一層陰影,。
????克萊斯勒（Chrysler LLC，已被菲亞特控股）已經(jīng)開(kāi)始銷(xiāo)售菲亞特500,，只是銷(xiāo)量緩慢,，整個(gè)10月只售出了大約15,000臺(tái)。馬基奧尼在2004年收購(gòu)了麻煩重重的克萊斯勒,，然后迅速讓它起死回生,，成為汽車(chē)業(yè)最經(jīng)典的成功故事之一。過(guò)去的三年里,，他已經(jīng)全盤(pán)控制了克萊斯勒,，計(jì)劃使兩個(gè)品牌結(jié)盟，包括重返美國(guó)市場(chǎng),。
????克萊斯勒本來(lái)預(yù)計(jì)菲亞特500第一年的銷(xiāo)量可以達(dá)到50,000臺(tái),，但現(xiàn)在這個(gè)目標(biāo)已經(jīng)無(wú)法完成了，這在某種程度上是由于124家經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商的鋪貨速度慢于預(yù)期,，再就是由于顧客識(shí)知度較低,。了解菲亞特這個(gè)品牌的美國(guó)人很少，只有少數(shù)人還記得二三十年前菲亞特的幾款車(chē)型,，比如菲亞特124,，這款轎車(chē)由于質(zhì)量和可靠性太差，不得不撤出美國(guó)市場(chǎng),。
????菲亞特500售價(jià)15,000美元,。汽車(chē)網(wǎng)站Edmunds.com的高級(jí)編輯米歇爾?克瑞布斯認(rèn)為， 微型車(chē)這一類(lèi)別在美國(guó)的銷(xiāo)量一向很小,，所以菲亞特500對(duì)消費(fèi)者的吸引力也十分有限,。另外她還認(rèn)為，鑒于公司邀請(qǐng)了珍妮弗?洛佩茲來(lái)代言菲亞特500,，因此這款小車(chē)可能主要對(duì)女性比較有吸引力,，而對(duì)男性的吸引力可能較差。
????汽車(chē)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)者們總是愛(ài)拿菲亞特500的發(fā)布與寶馬Mini品牌的成功發(fā)布進(jìn)行比較,。寶馬Mini是2001年推出的,，在美國(guó)大約有90個(gè)經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商，年銷(xiāo)量達(dá)50,000臺(tái)左右,。寶馬Mini的成功堪稱(chēng)是一個(gè)教科書(shū)式的經(jīng)典營(yíng)銷(xiāo)案例,，它告訴我們?nèi)绾问褂玫统杀镜摹㈧`活的營(yíng)銷(xiāo)策略來(lái)取得成功——比如把一輛寶馬Mini綁在一輛林肯領(lǐng)航者（Lincoln Navigator）的車(chē)頂上,，然后開(kāi)著它繞著市中心游街,。
????菲亞特還計(jì)劃在11月16日在洛杉磯推出一款外形更炫,、功率輸出更高的阿巴斯（Abarth）版的菲亞特500，此舉或許能夠刺激銷(xiāo)量,。汽車(chē)網(wǎng)站TrueCar的高級(jí)編輯齊因坦?塔拉提認(rèn)為,，這款阿巴斯版的菲亞特500“將吸引喜歡更大功率的顧客，而且可以與寶馬的Mini Cooper S形成競(jìng)爭(zhēng),?！?/p>
????盡管現(xiàn)在就說(shuō)菲亞特陷入了麻煩還為時(shí)過(guò)早，不過(guò)克萊斯勒仍會(huì)小心觀察,，以確保在一個(gè)緩慢的開(kāi)局后,，菲亞特500的銷(xiāo)量能夠持續(xù)增加?？巳R斯特缺乏一個(gè)真正的豪華車(chē)品牌,，現(xiàn)在它正打算增加更多的菲亞特車(chē)型，最終將菲亞特的阿爾法?羅密歐（Alfa Romeo）豪華運(yùn)動(dòng)轎車(chē)引入美國(guó)市場(chǎng),。但如果美國(guó)經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商們不滿(mǎn)意，那么這一切美好愿望都是鏡花水月——除非菲亞特500積累了足夠的銷(xiāo)量,，讓他們覺(jué)得值得掏錢(qián)對(duì)自家的汽車(chē)展廳進(jìn)行一番換血,。
????譯者：樸成奎 |
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????It wasn't J.Lo's finest moment. The 42-year-old pop singer starred in an ad for Fiat's 500, first aired during Monday Night Football earlier this September. While her dance moves were fine, response to the ad online was less than enthusiastic. One Youtube commenter wrote dryly, "I can't believe a rich person like her would drive a car like this."
????That's not exactly the kind of response Fiat was looking for. The company introduced its feisty little compact earlier this year, the first in a planned wave of new vehicles. But high hopes are giving way to real-world problems, especially in the wake of brand confusion and disparate opinions about the car's target customer. It may be too early to call the 500 a flop, but a lackluster start has cast a shadow over CEO Sergio Marchionne's grand plans to expand in the U.S.
????Chrysler LLC, which is controlled by Fiat SpA, has gotten off to a slow start selling the 500, selling only about 15,000 units through October. Marchionne took over the troubled automaker in 2004 and quickly turned it into one of the auto industry's brightest success stories. Over the past three years, he's taken control of Chrysler, mapping a grand alliance between the brands, including a return to the U.S.
????The automaker has had to skin back on a first-year forecast of 50,000 sales in North America due, in part, to a slower-than-expected rollout of 124 dealerships or "studios," as the automaker calls them. Low consumer awareness hasn't helped either. Few Americans know much about Fiat except for those who remember its models from two or three decades ago like the Fiat 124 that were hounded from the U.S. market due to poor quality and reliability.
????Michelle Krebs, a senior editor for automotive website Edmunds.com, predicted the car, which starts at about $15,000, will have "limited appeal" because of the small number of "tiny" cars like the 500 sold in the U.S. She also wonders if the car's appeal to women, implied by the J.Lo commercial, may make it less so to men.
????Among automotive marketers the introduction of 500 is being measured against BMW's successful launch of the Mini brand. Mini, which was introduced in 2001, is selling about 50,000 units a year in the U.S. from some 90 dealerships. It has become a textbook example of how to succeed with low-budget, guerrilla marketing tactics -- like strapping a Mini on the roof of a Lincoln Navigator and driving it around urban centers.
????Fiat plans to introduce a glitzier, higher-output Abarth version of the 500 in Los Angeles on Nov. 16, which could goose sales. It "will attract customers looking for more power, and can compete with customers looking at the Mini Cooper S," said Chintan Talati, a senior editor for TrueCar, an automotive website.
????While it's too soon to regard Fiat as troubled, Chrysler will be watching carefully to make sure sales performance continues to gain strength after the slow start. Chrysler lacks a true luxury franchise and aims to add more Fiat models and eventually to bring the Alfa Romeo sport luxury franchise to the U.S. as well. Neither of those will happen unless U.S. dealers are satisfied that there is enough sales volume to justify investment in their studios. |
