Jeep joins Toyota and BMW on a list of top auto brands that have strong emotional connections with customers.
MBLM (pronounced “emblem”) is a marketing agency that ranks domestic and international brands according to their customer awareness and engagement. They recently analyzed 6,000 consumer responses and 54,000 brand evaluations in their 2018 Brand Intimacy Reportthat covered 15 industries in the U.S., Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates. For the first time, the media and entertainment sector took the top ranking, putting the automotive industry in the number two spot.
Only two automotive companies made the overall top 10; Jeep came in fourth (and first with women), just behind BMW. That’s a huge leap from its 15th-place finish in 2017. Other top 10 finishers in the automotive industry included Honda, Harley-Davidson, Chevrolet, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, and GMC.
According to an interview with MediaPost regarding Jeep, Mario Natarelli, a managing partner of MBLM, said, “We … found that its recent marketing efforts have been focusing on powerful emotional themes at the core of its brand, leveraging nostalgia well and utilizing today’s marketing channels to build dialogue and strong bonds.”
If you look at the March sales charts for Jeep, you’ll see that its sales are up nearly 50 percent year-over-year. The brand’s year-to-date sales have increased by more than 20 percent. The new JL Wrangler is a big part of those improved figures, but there’s more to the auto maker’s success than just its vehicles. It has to engage its customers on an emotional level and tap into more than just their wallets.
Jeep has put in plenty of effort in bolstering its emotional connections with its buyers. The latest Jeep commercials, which shows bygone Jeeps and focuses on family history, is a great example of just what Natarelli was talking about. Jeep’s done such a great job of connecting with its buyers that it can be considered more than just a beloved automaker. To some, Jeep is a cult brand.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
