The 2012 Mazda3 with SKYACTIV technology
Mazda is launching a North American-wide advertising campaign designed to position the brand as one that makes vehicles for people who have gasoline in their veins.
"We believe if it's not worth driving, it's not worth building. We build Mazdas," says one TV spot being launched this week in the U.S. A similar campaign will be launched in Canada next week.
Mazda Canada president Don Romano, who is also the chief marketing officer for Mazda North America, said in a statement that the campaign seeks to underscore the idea that "we don't build cars for everyone; we build cars for people who care about what they drive." Mazda is all about a driver-focused approach to designing and building vehicles, in other words.
This does not mean Mazda's "zoom zoom" tag line is going away. A voice whispers the phrase at the end of the TV spots.
The new advertising is the product of Team Mazda, the new advertising group created in October after a long search for a new agency ended last summer.
Mazda in both Canada and the U.S. certainly needs to juice interest in the brand.
Through March, Mazda's sales in Canada were down nearly 21 per cent. In the U.S. sales were up 15 per cent, in an overall market up 20 per cent. Mazda's market share in Canada was down to 4.3 per cent in Canada through March, off from 5.1 per cent in all of 2010.
Mazda is positioning itself as the car company for "people who care about what they drive." The new campaign will push that message everywhere - from network television to social networks.
As it rolls out, expect Mazda to do more to explain its Skyactiv technology designed to improve vehicle efficiency. The first of the Skyactive-equipped vehicles will roll out later this year with the arrival of new gasoline engines. With Skyactiv, by 2015, Mazda's fleet-wide fuel economy will have improved 30 per cent over 2008 levels.
Then after 2015, the second generation of Skyactiv will arrive.
"By 2015 almost all Mazda vehicles will use Sky technology," said Seita Kanai, head of research and development in Automotive News. "This will make cars 23 per cent more efficient.
"Then, between 2016 and 2020, we roll out second generation Skyactiv which will reduce emissions by the same amount again."
Skyactiv is not only about engine technology, however. It also involves reducing vehicle weight and improving transmission efficiency.
"We have reduced weight by 100 kg with generation one and will do the same again with generation two," he said.
Mazda believes its approach to refining existing power trains - including affordable diesels - makes more sense in the short term than moving into hybrids. The big advantage of Mazda's approach is that it is applied to all models in the range so it is technology from which all customers benefit.
"It is affordable but our yardstick is not just emissions and fuel economy but 'zoom-zoom' - our cars must be fun to drive," Kanai said. "Many customers will sympathize with that."
That is exactly the story Mazda's new advertising is aiming to tell.