Marketing a Mutt

Lauren Jay

Chevrolet Volt Marketing Strategy

The Chevy Volt was introduced in 2010 as a plug-in hybrid, and was met with much intrigue and optimism. However, since its introduction, it has consistently failed to reach projected goals set by GM, and is not expected to pay off for at least five years. Using G-STIC Marketing and the 5-C Framework, I have created a marketing strategy that I believe could allow Chevy Volt to be successful.

Targeted Customers: Volt’s advertising agency, Goodby, explains that their targeted customer is not the environmentally conscious individual that many other hybrid/electric cars like the Nissan Leaf are targeting. Instead, the company is vying for the attention of those who wish to be at the forefront of modern, technological advancements. These consumers tend to be moderately interested in ecology, but are most interested in cutting-edge technology (Ransom 2011).

Company: As the domestic and global economy slowly improve, General Motors (GM) holds hope that they will soon see sustained growth and profitability after several recent years of financial instability. GM has invested significantly in the Chevy Volt with the expectation that the electric/hybrid car’s success will considerably improve the overall health of the firm. (Tuttle, 2013).

Collaborators: The Chevy Volt was largely put into motion by the government-bail out of GM and its tax-reduction support. The government reportedly gave GM a $105 million grant to GM to help it produce the battery packs for the Volt as well as a $151 million grant to Volt’s collaborators, LG Chem, to produce the Volt’s battery cells. In addition, the government’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project was created “to incentivize the adoption of Electric Vehicles like the Volt, the Federal Government as well as many state governments have put programs in place to subsidize the high cost of an electric car like the Volt,” (Wang 2013). Another collaborator of the Chevy Volt is the advertising agency,...