Nowadays its common for retailers and manufacturers to offer internet exclusives. As I discovered to my frustration (and extra expense) at Christmas. My other half wanted a digital camera. Her only criteria was that it should be pink.
So I compared all the cameras on the market in my price range and put together a short list that would meet my exacting standards (pink is low down my list of must-have features). Happily all models were available in pink so I began shopping around for the best deal. It was at this point that I discovered that the pink versions were all (without exception) exclusives to individual retailers (although some were also available at Amazon) and were all more expensive.
I spoke to a chap in Jessop’s about this (before buying it on Amazon) and was surprised how many camera’s they sell purely based on colour – and no surprise here, they were all bought by women and for women. Ok, so this is nothing new but today I was staggered to find that Fiat had got in on the act.
You can now buy their snazzy new Fiat 500 in pink.
But here is the interesting part. It’s an online exclusive. You can’t see it in any showroom and can only buy it online. But it is pink and even I have to admit it looks pretty striking.
For Fiat to make this move suggests they have complete confidence in the buying habits and motivations of a sizeable chunk of the population. This practically redefines the term “pink pound” (which historically has meant something entirely different).
And its all win/win for Fiat. They are selling it for £2000 more than the standard model. Don’t have to run the risk of dead stock. And aren’t having to give trade discounts to dealers. Sadly owners are still subject to the outrageous showroom tax recently introduced that penalises anyone buying a car with high emissions (the Fiat 500 isn’t affected by this though).
So the discerning buyer can now have their car match their camera, phone, laptop and their pet Chihuahua’s doggy coat. I suspect buying a car unseen is probably the limit of colour-driven buying patterns so don’t expect Wimpy to start selling online exclusive pink houses anytime soon.
If this proves successful for Fiat its safe to say the other manufacturers will run similar trials and may well hit the forecourts even harder. But regardless of the nature of your industry, directly targeting specific groups of buyers does reap rewards (providing your campaign has been properly implemented) – if you would like to learn more about how we can help your business deliver a tightly focussed marketing strategy then give us a call on 01844 295170.
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A great looking car but I suspect that they may not sell too many, but if they do the premium will make it worthwhile. It is worth noting however that creating a different product that makes a statement is a worthwhile marketing ploy as a silver or white just would not be talked about. So remember it is often the headline product that raises your brand awareness even if the run of the mill is the one purchased in the end.
But James everything looks so great in Pink!! check out http://www.pinkstinks.co.uk – BRILLIANT
Hope all is well at the Threshing Barn
Laura (X-Rectory Laura)
I agree with Laura, look at all my shirts! However, and more interestingly from a brand pov , I encountered a similar issue around Ipods and Nintendo dsi at Christmas. My mission was for a pink Ipod and a red Nintendo. in this case there was no premium price to be paid for the colours but they were far and away the most difficult to get hold of and the quickest to go out of stock, driving many to purchase the alternative (but less popular?) colours. Brand effect is the same as David has alluded to. But here where there can be no distinction between the products other than colour and, therefore, premium price is difficult to justify, they can fuel desire, discussion, awareness and perceived points of difference by not or at least appearing not to match the demand for and increase the supply of the more popular colours over the less. Simple economic theory perfectly applied in marketing practice.
Hi Nick
This is a win, win for Fiat. As you suggest, it is only available online and will effectively be made to order. Importantly, it probably has, or will be, picked up by the automotive and female press. It therefore has huge PR value.
The ‘pink economy’ is a real problem for car manufacturers. Women buy over 50% of new cars and influence over 80% of sales but automotive comms fail to hit the mark time after time. Even if this ‘little pinky’ does not sell, potential female buyers will realise that Fiat is still thinking of them, and that is a very valuable perception.
Regards
Simon