Could Car Makers Learn from Hot Wheels?
Now that Mattel is officially worth more than GM, could the car manufacturers have something to glean from the toymakers?
It is no mistake that the manufacturers of toys and cars share many steps of the design process but diverge very quickly when it comes to the actual manufacturing of their product. Where they also obviously split is with the marketing.
When the toy car is designed it will usually take under six months to get it onto the shelves. A real car will take about four years to get put on to the lots. The reality is that car manufacturers have to retool their plants and go through rigorous testing for safety and efficiencies so a bulk of that four years is understandable. There are exceptions to this industry standard of fermenting a car: the design to production process of the new Buick LaCrosse which will be released in the US at a record-breaking two year mark. How did they do that? Technically the car went through the same four-year design to production process but, like a Hot Wheel, had a significant amount of its development done by extremely talented Chinese designers and engineers. By the time the LaCrosse hit the shores of the US manufacturing plant that also makes the Malibu and the Aura was ready for its new addition.GM may have made a lot of mistakes in the last years but embracing their foreign teams for products like the LaCrosse and the G-8 (Australia) is a smart move.
Mattel introduces about 300 new designs every year. Car manufacturers, obviously and understandably, introduce far less new models. When Mattel begins the marketing process for new designs they do it in series; for example, the toy cars being released for the Christmas season exclusively through Wal-Mart will be paired instead of promoted individually. When a new model of a real car is introduced its costs the manufacturer approximately $100 million per model. If that manufacturer, say like Chrysler, has multiple brands and introduces the same platform model across a couple of different brands ( Chrysler and Dodge), the marketing expenses will be $200 million. Reducing the total number of models shared by the brands is one of the ways that Chrysler has more recently been trying to save money.
It has been said that Mattel employs a professional who serves as a marketing consultant to increase the "whine factor" in its advertising so that parents will get so tired of their children whining for the latest model that they will break down and buy the under $10 toy. Car manufacturers have really stubbed their toe on this concept by supporting the tradition of the most highly desirable cars being out of reach monetarily for most consumers and keeping affordable cars boring, lacking quality and nothing to whine for. Maybe the auto manufacturers could borrow the psychiatrist to help them out.
Miss Motor Mouth
Stumble It!
It is no mistake that the manufacturers of toys and cars share many steps of the design process but diverge very quickly when it comes to the actual manufacturing of their product. Where they also obviously split is with the marketing.
When the toy car is designed it will usually take under six months to get it onto the shelves. A real car will take about four years to get put on to the lots. The reality is that car manufacturers have to retool their plants and go through rigorous testing for safety and efficiencies so a bulk of that four years is understandable. There are exceptions to this industry standard of fermenting a car: the design to production process of the new Buick LaCrosse which will be released in the US at a record-breaking two year mark. How did they do that? Technically the car went through the same four-year design to production process but, like a Hot Wheel, had a significant amount of its development done by extremely talented Chinese designers and engineers. By the time the LaCrosse hit the shores of the US manufacturing plant that also makes the Malibu and the Aura was ready for its new addition.GM may have made a lot of mistakes in the last years but embracing their foreign teams for products like the LaCrosse and the G-8 (Australia) is a smart move.
Mattel introduces about 300 new designs every year. Car manufacturers, obviously and understandably, introduce far less new models. When Mattel begins the marketing process for new designs they do it in series; for example, the toy cars being released for the Christmas season exclusively through Wal-Mart will be paired instead of promoted individually. When a new model of a real car is introduced its costs the manufacturer approximately $100 million per model. If that manufacturer, say like Chrysler, has multiple brands and introduces the same platform model across a couple of different brands ( Chrysler and Dodge), the marketing expenses will be $200 million. Reducing the total number of models shared by the brands is one of the ways that Chrysler has more recently been trying to save money.
It has been said that Mattel employs a professional who serves as a marketing consultant to increase the "whine factor" in its advertising so that parents will get so tired of their children whining for the latest model that they will break down and buy the under $10 toy. Car manufacturers have really stubbed their toe on this concept by supporting the tradition of the most highly desirable cars being out of reach monetarily for most consumers and keeping affordable cars boring, lacking quality and nothing to whine for. Maybe the auto manufacturers could borrow the psychiatrist to help them out.
Miss Motor Mouth
Labels: car manufacturers, Chrysler, GM, Hot Wheels, Mattel, MotaMouth
Stumble It!
posted by Miss Mota Mouth@ 1:41 PM 0 Comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home