Mitsubishi Launches New Ad Theme To Leverage Its Recent Sales Momentum

Mitsubishi Launches New Ad Theme To Leverage Its Recent Sales Momentum

By Michelle Krebs January 23, 2008

By Dale Buss

Mitsubishi Motors America has hatched a new advertising theme under the slogan, “It’s go time!” hoping that the new campaign will boost its already-accelerating sales performance and help distinguish it from the rest of the second-tier import brands in the U.S. market.

“Mitsubishi has some terrific momentum in the sales area, so we’re looking for a new campaign and theme line that could capitalize on that momentum,” Jim Lesser, chief of the Mitsubishi account at ad agency BBDO West, told AutoObserver.

Mitsubishi’s 2007 sales in the United States were up 8.8% over 2006, an uncommon success story in an overall down market. 

The first spot in the campaign, which broke recently, shows three versions of the Lancer line racing across a desert landscape: Lancer, Lancer Evolution and Lancer Rally. “Three machines plus one soul equals ‘It’s go time,’” the announcer intones.

The Outlander SUV is the focus of a second TV commercial, showing it traversing various landscapes with young drivers behind the wheel. “Hop in: It’s go time!” is the voiceover.

Breaking Feb. 1 will be a third spot, this one depicting two young women out on the town, driving through the city in a 2009 Galant Sport edition. The car hits showrooms later this month.

“We wanted to capture something about the lifestyle of Mitsubishi consumers – people who like to drive through life,’ who pack a lot into every day,” said Lesser, who is executive vice president and executive creative director of BBDO West, with offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. “So ‘It’s go time’ fits perfectly.”

Also, Lesser said, Mitsubishi wanted to establish a marketing theme that could be referenced internally. “We wanted it to be a rallying cry for the organization and the dealer body,” he said. “It’s like what you would say before a big game.” At the same time, however, he emphasized that “It’s go time!” would emphasize vehicle models and not the overall brand.

And while Mitsubishi spends nearly all of its advertising budget on TV, Lesser said that the company would be little affected by the continuing TV writers’ strike, which has left networks and cable channels with cupboards bare of new episodes of popular dramas and comedies. Mitsubishi long has focused on live sports events for its TV ads, he said.

MITSUBISHI'S SALES ROLLER COASTER
Model	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	Diff from 2006	2007 Avg TCI
Diamante	14,352	9,174	4,379	149
Eclipse	57,046	30,784	15,123	17,402	27,447	21,646	(5,801)	$1,772
Eclipse Spyder	14,994	8,091	4,238	7,085	5,556	5,646	90	$1,056
Endeavor		32,054	22,433	20,994	14,017	11,886	(2,131)	$4,003
Galant	97,343	68,610	43,491	33,976	27,673	26,491	(1,182)	$2,945
Lancer	69,007	41,120	34,730	24,318	17,583	25,548	7,965	$959
Lancer Evolution		4,346	6,314	3,531	5,584	5,828	244	$149
Lancer Sportback			662				0
Mirage	6,919	170					0
Montero	13,263	8,839	5,181	2,778	1,610	401	(1,209)	$2,027
Montero Sport	60,840	20,306	6,954	464			0
Outlander	11,245	34,088	18,104	11,848	11,493	23,285	11,792	$1,668
Raider				1,104	7,595	8,262	667	$5,342
TOTAL	345,009	257,582	161,609	123,649	118,558	128,993	10,435

Source: Edmunds.com

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.