Use insight to try something fresh

If you are not one of the 2.7 million that have had the pleasure to see the new Fiat 500 ad on youtube – you are truly missing a fantastic piece of marketing that appeals wholly and completely to women. The fact that the car is almost incidental to the rap is perhaps a good context for how to sell a car to a woman.

After all, showing empathy with the bigger picture of a mother’s role within a family is a far more effective way of getting a woman’s attention than an ad purely focused on a car and how great it is.

The story goes that when the Directors (male) at Fiat, were first shown the video they freaked out and did not feel that it would work. One of the Directors had the foresight to take it home and show it to his wife who fell about laughing and thought it was fantastic. The rest is history.

The inspiration for the ad came from the insight gained from a number of female focus groups.

It is an act of faith to trust a process and allow your customers to guide you in finding a new way forward even if it is a path few or no-one has travelled before or one that you don’t necessarily believe in. However, sometimes there is more risk of staying still and doing nothing AND you potentially miss out on a new experience.

Congratulations Fiat! Maybe this will start to be the end of dull, boring car ads. After all over 70% of car decisions in this country are made by women.