performance brand sales

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has stated that the Dodge needs to have SRT because Dodge is a performance brand. SRT has been folded into Dodge, but the new Viper will have the SRT badge.

Viper is technically and legally a Dodge due to ID numbers. SRT became a brand in 2011. Did you notice?

Just because Chrysler put the SRT brand onto the Viper, sales should have took off. But they didn't. In 2013 Viper sales were not stellar. Only 591 were sold that year! Granted, the Viper isn't for the general car buying public, but when put it into the performance car mix, Viper didn't rise to the top. Putting the SRT badge onto the Viper didn't drive sales. Sales through April 2014 was 255. Dealers were charges $25,000 to sell the Viper.

Performance brand, performance fee. What about performance sales?

Let's go back to my question. Did you notice that SRT became a brand in 2011? Frankly, I didn't. Perhaps a brand extension, but its own brand, no. Why? Well, no advertising foundation, except through the dealerships. An internal brand then. Is this satisfactory? I think not.

The Viper aside, Dodge has put the SRT badge onto the Charger and the Challenger. I see these two car models as brands themselves! That's just me. If the SRT badge is a brand, could Chrysler recreate it as an umbrella with the Charger and Challenger underneath it?

Should dealerships exhibit new signage? Should a new ad campaign for SRT be launched? These are questions only Chrysler can answer. I say yes, if they want to create new brand awareness.

Does your business have a performance brand or do you wish to create one? If you wish to create one, allow for promotion of that brand. When you do promote, have products in mind that will have the badge. These products need to speak for themselves. That's where visual content marketing comes in. 

An Automotive News post was a source for this story.