[selzini]

I can understand why Infiniti doesn't want to push the advertising for the Q50, but Lexus has a ton of ads during the U.S. Open. In particular, they have a couple about the new IS, and the ads say "Coming in July." I would expect Infiniti to start the advertising very soon. Starting in 1989, when both of them started up, Lexus has been killing Infiniti with much better advertising. For those who are too young to remember this, in 1989, Lexus pushed their cars, and Infiniti's ads never even showed the cars, just talked about how wonderful they'd be.

 

[SimpsonTide985]

I see Infiniti ads all the time, but most of them are promoting their Limited Engagement events on their current lineup.

There's still plenty of time to hype up the Q50. In the meantime, they need to focus on moving out their 2013 vehicles with good incentives, including the current G, EX, and M.

 

[cvipgo]

Infiniti won't advertise till the Q50 hits the dealer's showrooms.
All-New 2014 Infiniti Q50 Photos & 360s | Infiniti USA

 

[afrosheen]

I can understand why Infiniti doesn't want to push the advertising for the Q50, but Lexus has a ton of ads during the U.S. Open. In particular, they have a couple about the new IS, and the ads say "Coming in July." I would expect Infiniti to start the advertising very soon. Starting in 1989, when both of them started up, Lexus has been killing Infiniti with much better advertising. For those who are too young to remember this, in 1989, Lexus pushed their cars, and Infiniti's ads never even showed the cars, just talked about how wonderful they'd be.

Yeah, you'd think if Infiniti is trying to go head to head with the IS350 they'd be on the ball for a July release. Maybe they will surprise us.

I remember during the auto show back in March (oh how I miss that weather), Lexus straight up announced they were releasing the 2014 IS350 in July. I went back to the Infiniti Q50 ladies and asked them for a date. "Summer 2014". Well, that's pretty vague, could be June, July or August. Half of June is gone so we're looking at July at the earliest, meanwhile the Q50 is still touring dealerships and nobody has a demo yet.

It's not doom or gloom, it's just weird timing. Has the Q50 hit the home market (Japan) yet? Or is it going to bow here first since it sells the most in the US?

 

[brianch]

I posted asking about this as well. I'd like to see some Q50 promotions.

Most people I talk to have no idea what the Q50 is but people are chatting about the new IS350 because the ads are everywhere.

 

[Rickards]

Just about everyone who knows I'm buying the Q50 initially thought I'm either getting the QX56 or the old flagship Q45, and not a single one of them were aware that Infiniti is changing their naming convention. A lot do ask if I'm considering the new IS, and like everyone is saying, the ads are everywhere, and they chose the right billboards up here to attract the most attention.

Hopefully, they have a good marketing strategy in place for when they're ready to advertise.

 

[StonedCL]

We where told the Infiniti is going to push the Q50 HEAVY in the next month. They already had 2 page spreads in the new motertrend and car and driver.. They insured us that it will be everywhere in a few weeks. The best way to advertise this car is to get a 6 month pull ahead and put a $2000 loyalty cash on it and start it off with a great lease program and get all the G37x drivers that stuck with the same car there last 2-3 leases into a Q50 for a great price and get the car out there. Once people start seeing the car on the road then they will come. If this car pulled up behind me I would defiantly let them pass me just to see what kind of car it was and then run to the dealer. The front of this car looks MEAN!!... Infiniti please start is out with a great lease promotion and get them out on the road then slowly raise the MF and lower the residual..

 

[jkay]

We where told the Infiniti is going to push the Q50 HEAVY in the next month. They already had 2 page spreads in the new motertrend and car and driver.. They insured us that it will be everywhere in a few weeks. The best way to advertise this car is to get a 6 month pull ahead and put a $2000 loyalty cash on it and start it off with a great lease program and get all the G37x drivers that stuck with the same car there last 2-3 leases into a Q50 for a great price and get the car out there. Once people start seeing the car on the road then they will come. If this car pulled up behind me I would defiantly let them pass me just to see what kind of car it was and then run to the dealer. The front of this car looks MEAN!!... Infiniti please start is out with a great lease promotion and get them out on the road then slowly raise the MF and lower the residual..

Amen!!!!

 

[selzini]

Once people start seeing the car on the road then they will come. If this car pulled up behind me I would defiantly let them pass me just to see what kind of car it was and then run to the dealer.

This made me chuckle. I think I had the first GCoupe in Florida - I picked it up before the official November 1st sale start. I was stopped at a light and the guy in the car in the left turn lane next to me kept staring. When the light turned green, I took off, and when I looked in the rearview mirror, he was still sitting there, even though he had the green arrow. I kept watching him, and it took him a while before he turned. That's what a new car like this will do. Dealers should know that the best thing for them, in the long run, is to do everything possible to get the new car on the road, so as many people as possible get to see it. I can't tell you how many people stopped me in parking lots the first six months I had the coupe(parked WAY AWAY from other cars ). I hope Stoned is right about the heavy advertising(and he's not just "stoned.")

 

[Travey3]

Q50H ad's and their product

I agree with you. I have been reading this blog for several months and waiting for the new cars to be made public. I have been waiting to buy a car since last year when I saw the trunk room on the M35H. It's like some top rate government project - no wait! the cat has already been let out of the bag on that secret too!

So what is the big deal with Infiniti and their marketing strategies? They take the car to dealers at a launch parties around town (they don't bring the Hybrid) and it is only there for a couple of hours. If your goal is frustration you have succeeded. If the MPG's are the same, tell me so I can buy a car, period.

I have read everything there is to read on the Q50's and I want the gas and trunk room of the Hybrid model. If Infiniti wants my money, show me a product that I can buy, just don't show me a pictures and ask me to reserve it without test driving a car.

I am very well informed on a car that really does not exist... Telsa cars are looking better and better!

 

[SimpsonTide985]

Infiniti's business model doesn't to be exactly like Lexus'. In fact, I think Lexus was almost forced to push the IS as aggressive as they have been. The new IS is such a oddball new car, that Lexus almost had no choice to hype it up the way that it has in order to create interest. I don't think the Q50 will need to do much in order to get people interested.

 

[afrosheen]

Tesla costs 90k. Get one if you can afford it. I've seen 3 around town already.

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[chicagokevo]

I agree that Infiniti doesn't have to emulate Lexus' ad strategies, but the undeniable fact is Infiniti does need to do ALL that it can to attract interest from the consumer market (not just North America, either). Infiniti only has a 7.8% US share in the luxury auto segment; by comparison, Lexus has twice as much.

Obviously, Lexus is doing a much better job of driving brand awareness than Infiniti has done. Nissan Pres. Carlos Ghosn said at the NY Auto Show earlier this yr: "Ten percent market share is a basic milestone. Nissan and Infiniti, we are at 8 percent. I think we have 2 percent market share to go, very fast.” One need not be in the Infiniti "situation room" to know that there are clearly more Lexus, BMW, and even Cadillac campaigns than those that exist for Infiniti. The moral of the story here is that these cars don't sell themselves. For a premium brand on a quest to expand its customer base, at the very least it requires creative (and heavy) marketing execution on their part, along with clear value proposition. The latter is evident for anyone who actually test drives & decides to purchase an Infiniti (as I have myself for the first time last year; the fact that I even considered an Infiniti was purely by chance). Now, I love Infiniti; but it's pretty telling when many of my fellow twenty-something yr old friends barely even know a thing about them. There's nothing wrong with taking a page from Lexus, Acura, or MB's book when it comes to marketing the brand; after all, they're the class leaders. The status quo simply ain't working. Time to start pushing the brand.

 

[Gandhi]

That chart is also from May 2012, a point in time when the JX had yet to be released (a big seller since), and the G37 was old and competing against new 3 series and Cadillac ATS that had just been released.

 

[SimpsonTide985]

Tesla costs 90k. Get one if you can afford it. I've seen 3 around town already.

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

lol, that was a pretty random thing to say.

 

[NissLover]

Guys calm down... they are sure to push this car in a big way. Its too important for them not to. I remember when the JX was released the reviews for it came out really late compared to what I was used to and I was wondering where they were, but it seems Infiniti is taking a new approach with the press touching their cars until the car is actually on sale. The JX has def been a success for Infiniti and was pushed heavily marketing wise once the car was released. Theres a method to the madness, just gotta wait it out.

 

[GtoQ]

I agree with you. I have been reading this blog for several months and waiting for the new cars to be made public. I have been waiting to buy a car since last year when I saw the trunk room on the M35H. It's like some top rate government project - no wait! the cat has already been let out of the bag on that secret too!

So what is the big deal with Infiniti and their marketing strategies? They take the car to dealers at a launch parties around town (they don't bring the Hybrid) and it is only there for a couple of hours. If your goal is frustration you have succeeded. If the MPG's are the same, tell me so I can buy a car, period.

I have read everything there is to read on the Q50's and I want the gas and trunk room of the Hybrid model. If Infiniti wants my money, show me a product that I can buy, just don't show me a pictures and ask me to reserve it without test driving a car.

I am very well informed on a car that really does not exist... Telsa cars are looking better and better!

lol, that was a pretty random thing to say.

He was referring to the Troll above ... Lmao...

 

[afrosheen]

I am very well informed on a car that really does not exist... Telsa cars are looking better and better!

Tesla costs 90k. Get one if you can afford it. I've seen 3 around town already.

Replying to the 1 post troll, got buried on page 2.

@Gandhi: I went to that goodcarbadcar site and all I saw was charts from Canada. Where did you get this one?

 

[boone]

I agree that Infiniti doesn't have to emulate Lexus' ad strategies, but the undeniable fact is Infiniti does need to do ALL that it can to attract interest from the consumer market (not just North America, either). Infiniti only has a 7.8% US share in the luxury auto segment; by comparison, Lexus has twice as much.

I truly despise broad statistics like this. Does anyone have access or know of a chart that does a comparison of the luxury brands by vehicle type? That would be a great deal more interesting to see. That way we can stack the G37, M37, etc. up against their competition.

 

[chicagokevo]

That chart is also from May 2012, a point in time when the JX had yet to be released (a big seller since), and the G37 was old and competing against new 3 series and Cadillac ATS that had just been released.

I considered that when I uploaded this graphic. In terms of auto market share, the YOY change is negligible in most cases; we're not gonna fiddle over slight differences in 2012-13. That quote from Carlos Ghosn, Nissan President, is from this year's NY Auto Show (March 2013, I believe). So, whether it's 7.8% or 8% (as iterated by Ghosn), the facts remain--Infiniti needs to do more to gain market share; to their credit (and recent change of leadership), I believe they will do just that.