What advice to Maserati for brand positioning?

[mowlas]

Have never been a fan of Wall Street Journal and this review of the GranCabrio certainly does not help. The journo makes very silly remarks about Maserati's current brand perception. However, curious as to what we might advise on how to maintain core values of the marque and which personalities to associate it with?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...2538656964.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_6

 

[Parisien]

By the right honourable Dan Neil.........theres a name for the rear of the sportsmaserati pink thong..........


Canvas top...???........caveat of Ms Lohan...being an owner......the marque can't be tainted by the goings on of the misguided and tedious....!!!???

He tries to paint an oil painting of this car using the brushes you'd use to paint a partition fence of a row of surburban semiis.......not the fine detailed brushes used to add slivers of light to the faces of angels......

This writer is menace to all Maseratisti....a bludgeoner.......a subsistence writer of trite alarmist pap, failing to grasp the finer points, the fabulous history of the marque by a wide margin. he sullies its image by bringing up those terribly difficult periods of the 70 and 80s, rather than celebrating its rising from the ashes like and automotive phoenix.......to shine brighter than ever.

I think this guy needs to be added to the sportsmaserati list of the ugly deniers of the brilliance of Maserati.


P

 

[Easyplan66]

anyone who calls the gt exhaust annoyingly loud is not fit to write an article like that.
he should be put in a home.

 

[Andyk]

One word ****.....

 

[Easyplan66]

well said Andy.... I assume you mean silly man!

 

[Phil H]

He tries to paint an oil painting of this car using the brushes you'd use to paint a partition fence of a row of surburban semiis.......not the fine detailed brushes used to add slivers of light to the faces of angels......


P

Parisien, I hereby nominate thee for the Sports Maserati Forum Maestro of Metaphors award.

PH

 

[Andyk]

well said Andy.... I assume you mean silly man!

Yes very silly man.....****..

 

[dem maser]

very clever p i like it my man

 

[Parisien]

Parisien, I hereby nominate thee for the Sports Maserati Forum Maestro of Metaphors award.

PH

gee....Phil H....where have you been all my life.........

P


PS Is that a good thing or.................................

PPSS Whats a Maestro............never keen on those BL cars..........

PPPSSS..............................................Metaphor..........................was he one of those Egyptian gods?

 

[Emtee]

He tries to paint an oil painting of this car using the brushes you'd use to paint a partition fence of a row of surburban semiis.......not the fine detailed brushes used to add slivers of light to the faces of angels.....P

P, that is possibly the most beautiful string of words I've heard outside poetry, only made more beautiful-er by the fact you're describing a Maserati!

 

[Parisien]

E......am blushing this end....honestly.......................


P

 

[Emtee]

E......am blushing this end....honestly.......................


P

Credit where credit's due P.

So... not disagreeing with your critique of his description of the GC at all, I can find some commonality in his thoughts on Maserati's unfortunate rise in 'pop-ularity'.

Maserati used to be the marque of royalty and the expression of reserved European elegance.

I don't like the associations that are being made with popular culture, and particularly the 'celebrity' element. I know it's difficult as the celebrity culture is so all-pervasive, but it cannot lead to anything good.

 

[Parisien]

Unfortunately its the time we live in....history.....the Maserati story...the GP wins....the difficult times....the wonderful cars made over 90 odd years mean nothing to a large number of people who might buy them....sign of the times....pity.


P

 

[mowlas]

Unfortunately its the time we live in....history.....the Maserati story...the GP wins....the difficult times....the wonderful cars made over 90 odd years mean nothing to a large number of people who might buy them....sign of the times....pity.
P

Perhaps the saviour of the brand will not be celebrities but ordinary folk like us and forums like these. A guy motioned to me today to roll my windows down at the lights. "What is that?". A Maserati I replied. He smiled, gave a thumbs up and drove off. The mystery, the admiration and the decent folk that drive these cars are what makes the marque in my humble opinion.

My advice to Maserati? Keep folks like us happy and the brand will see enduring strength.

 

[Emtee]

Shak, I'm absolutely certain that whichever marketing company has the Maserati 'gig' will check the forums, I know I would and there aren't that many out there after all!

You're absolutely right of course, we pin our flag to the Maserati mast because we have an emotional connection with the marque and what we believe it stands for, which for me is a quiet presence. Sort of like hearing a piece of music, whatever the genre, and not needing to know what it is, but just knowing it sends tingles down your spine.

Does Maserati need celebrity endorsement? - No.
Does Maserati need endorsement? - Yes.

So... I feel a list coming on.

People that deserve to drive a Maserati under their endorsement?............

I'll throw my two-penneth in and continue the musical motif and suggest Valery Gergiev.

 

[mowlas]

So... I feel a list coming on.

People that deserve to drive a Maserati under their endorsement?............

I'll throw my two-penneth in and continue the musical motif and suggest Valery Gergiev.

Great suggestion and exactly the right kind of person the brand should become associated with. In that vein, I would suggest Christopher Nolan, Director of thoughtful films like the recent Inception, Insomnia or Batman Begins!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Nolan

 

[nfm]

This is the dilemma that comes with success. Burberry, Barbour, Bentley (footballers), Ferrari (now a theme park for goodness sake!) for example, have all become overexposed and as Maserati succeeds (as we all hope) that "rarely seen" cachet will slip away.

Not sure it can be avoided really but agree more thoughtful product placement could help - aggressive upward pricing may also help but that then locks us out of the next models.........

 

[mowlas]

- aggressive upward pricing may also help but that then locks us out of the next models.........

The pricing certainly needs to reflect exclusivity but overly high costs won't, for example, help with groups like footballers. I also think the second hand market is an equally important source of revenue and part of the sustainability equation for their dealer networks. Many of us who fall into that bracket are instrumental in shoring up the re-sales values and secondary revenue streams.

 

[Parisien]

The pricing certainly needs to reflect exclusivity but overly high costs won't, for example, help with groups like footballers. I also think the second hand market is an equally important source of revenue and part of the sustainability equation for their dealer networks. Many of us who fall into that bracket are instrumental in shoring up the re-sales values and secondary revenue streams.

Absolutely, for a significant number of buyers ( private mostly), re-sale interest or too low re-sales not good....BUT for the other people buying them, I wonder how truly important it is....mega wealthy or through a company, not so concerned with re-sale?

Do we have an idea of company buying versus private?

P