• Automotive News, Monday, November 1, 2010 10:53 AM

Jean Halliday sits down with John Abel, who was named director of Mazda's U.S. marketing in June and is leading efforts to retain Mazda's fun-to-drive image but move the brand upscale. His responsibilities include all marketing in the U.S -- creative development, media, strategy, production budgets and customer relationship management -- as well as with integrating with Canada and Mexico.

WPP Group of London's Team Mazda is the new agency for the automaker. It will have five regional outposts with a regional account director, media person and a third person for support. "Before we had more focus on national TV," Abel says. "Now we'll give the regions more flexibility in how they distribute the [media] weight."

Abel knows that consumers' lack of familiarity with the brand is a challenge. "We need to drive more product knowledge," he says. "When people know the Mazda story, they buy into it further."

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