The auto business makes a good novel: it's only just predictable enough to remain interesting; the personalities are just believable enough to be compelling, and sometimes--like Malcolm Bricklin, who was notably absent this year--quixotic enough to be almost unbelievable. And if it were a fiction, 2007 could be a denouement. We had Chrysler parting from Daimler and being sold to a company with a name straight from '50s pulp fiction, Cerberus Capital. Doc Savage, anyone? This was also the first year in which a non-domestic automaker became the de facto No. 2 player in the U.S., with Toyota passing Ford in monthly sales since May. Chrysler and Ford, meanwhile, snagged top executives from Toyota this year. Chrysler LLC tapped Jim Press to be vice chairman and president, and Lexus Vice President Debra Wahl Meyer to be vice president/CMO. Jim Farley, who was Lexus general manager, left the company to become group vice president/marketing at Ford. With crude oil approaching $100 a barrel and gasoline topping $3 for much of 2007--and the credit crisis putting negative pressure on the auto market--small was big, and mpg trumped hp. Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Chevy Aveo, and Nissan Versa were among vehicles that sold strongly this year despite a softer overall market. And an even smaller vehicle is poised to enter the U.S. this coming year. Daimler AG's Smart Car launched with a $99-down reservation offer, well before the car itself arrived. This month, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said more than 30,000 downpayments were received for the car. Per consumer auto research and shopping Web site Edmunds.com, compact-car sales were up 2.4% and compact SUV sales were 5.8% this year versus 2006. U.S. market share for compact cars grew about 1% this year, from 17.5% in 2006. And market share for hybrid vehicles--led by Toyota's Prius, which for the first time made the Top 10 list of most-researched vehicles on Edmunds--increased 61.5% compared to last year. Prius sales were up 71%. Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of industry analysis, says compact vehicles were the only gainers this year. "It's most significant if you look at the landscape," he says, "because most categories posted declines, whereas compact cars--especially sub-compacts and hybrids--gained. So, although the size of the overall market declined this year by 3%, compact cars--including compact SUVs and crossovers--increased." As in recent years, Nissan, Honda and Toyota grew market share at the expense of the Big Three. Per Edmunds.com, Honda's market share grew from 9.1% to 9.7%; Nissan's saw an uptick from 6.2% to 6.7%; and Toyota's rose from 15.3% to 16.3%. The firm says Toyota's monthly sales topped Chrysler's all year. Since May, Toyota has been the No. 2 automaker in the U.S., surpassing Ford. If the buyer shift toward smaller vehicles favored Honda and Toyota this year, Toprak says it is because consumers think the two automakers are better represented than the domestics with fuel-efficient cars and trucks. "Many consumers assume Honda and Toyota product lineup comprises more efficient vehicles in every category," he says. "But if you look at domestics, you see more and more gas-efficient vehicles. It's the perception among consumers that Japanese automakers have more gas-efficient vehicles that winds up favoring them in this market." And 2007 may be the year when something happened in the U.S. automotive business that hasn't been seen since the 1940s: the startup. Tesla Motors, a Silicon Valley firm which sells a $97,000 two-seat electric car and promises a four-seater at half the price, opened an R&D center in Detroit. The company has said its 2009 Tesla Roadster is sold out via wait-list payments of $5,000. Carlsbad, Calif.-based Aptera is bowing a sub-$30,000 electric-assist, three-wheeled car it claims gets 300 mpg. General Motors also bowed a plug-in electric concept, Volt, which it plans to begin selling in 2010. "They need a dramatic vehicle like this to change the landscape, to get people interested in lineup," says Toprak. "Prius was a pioneering example of hybrid technology on a distinct-looking vehicle; it helped them capture the environmentally friendly crowd, but it also stood out. Chevy Volt is potentially in same situation." Edmunds.com said the most-researched car on its site this year was the Honda Civic, followed by its Accord and then Toyota Camry. Six of the Top 10 most-researched cars were Toyotas or Hondas. Eight of the Top 10 most-researched trucks, SUVs and minivans were Toyotas or Hondas. Domestic manufacturers' market share dropped from 55.2% in 2006 to 52.3% this year.
Losing weight and quitting smoking aren't just some of the most common resolutions Americans make every year--they are some of the most lucrative. The Nielsen Company estimates that in January, consumers will spend more than $61 million on anti-smoking aids, and more than $47 million on diet aids. The Schaumberg, Ill.-based company says anti-smoking products generated 8.7% of annual dollar sales in January last year, while nutritional diet aids generated 9.9%. And just in case you thought you were the only one ignoring the bathroom scale in December, last January's sales of diet products registered a 91% increase from the previous four-week period. But typically, resolutions are quickly forgotten. After a high of nearly $47 million in January, sales of nutritional diet aids dropped more than 14% to $40 million in February. Typically, health and fitness resolutions are the most common: myGoals.com, a goal-setting Web site, predicts that 28% of all resolutions will fall in this "lose weight, quit smoking, get to the gym more" category, compared with 27% last year. But thanks to economic worries, "we expect people to focus a lot of time and energy improving their careers and getting out of debt," the company says. It expects resolutions related to debt reduction to increase sharply as a percentage of all finance-related resolutions (to 52%, up from 26% last year). And it says resolutions related to saving money will rise, from 11% to 24% of all finance-related resolutions. Another big jump: Career-related changes, which it expects account for 21% of all New Year's resolutions--up from just 12% last year. Nielsen finds considerable geographic variation. Denver, for example, is the most enthusiastic market when it comes to giving up cigarettes, with consumers in that market buying 281% more over-the-counter anti-smoking products than would be expected for a market of its size. The next most avid are residents of Portland, Ore., Cincinnati, San Antonio, Texas, and Seattle. (Nielsen includes over-the-counter products such as anti-smoking tablets, caplets, gum, replacement filters, anti-smoking kits, smoking alternative sprays or inhalers.) When it comes to spending on weight-loss promises, Seattle comes in No. 1. Consumers there buy 69% more than would be expected for a market of its size. Portland, Ore., Cincinnati, St. Louis and Baltimore are runners-up.
Valassis plans to introduce RedPlum and retire the ShopWise name in a rebranding campaign that begins in January. The company will rely primarily on its own marketing methods, ranging from free-standing inserts and polybags to direct mail packaging. On Jan. 3, it will sweeten the deal by moving into online marketing with RedPlum.com, an interactive destination aimed at sparking consumer attention with valuable savings and special deals from Pillsbury, Cheerios and Betty Crocker. A special section from consumer electronics companies will launch in March. The site aims to provide consumers with shopping deals covering all aspects of life, says Brian Costello, GM/interactive at Valassis. "We're trying to find good deals we think you'll like, and provide marketers with another way to go out and tell consumers what's going on," he says. RedPlum.com launches next month with a $5,000 giveaway, awarded to one person in April. Consumers are required to register on the site to enter sweepstakes and contests or get free samples, but are not asked to cough up information to access advertised specials, product information and coupons. Special deals for registered members will grace the pages across the site. And, while Costello vows to keep consumer information private, he suggests checking a brand's privacy policy before entering a contest. Consumers will find site features and functions that make searching for information and deals simple and fast. It's geared toward busy women ages 28 to 48, with an average annual household income between $60,000 and $80,000. At launch, RedPlum.com will support between 40,000 and 50,000 items. Costello estimates within a few months that number will more than triple as products are added. The search function allows consumers to locate new or similar products by ZIP code, brand name, category, and more. The items are broken down by category, such as "Local Deals," which features deals on oil changes and personal services at salons. "Dining Out" lists discounts for dining out locally. "Grocery" coupons will break down into vegetarian, organic and kosher. "Home and Yard" includes furnishings, hardware, garden and appliances. The site focuses on more than coupons and discounts. The SweetFinds daily feature at launch will highlight ZipLock Streamer bags. In the "Lifestyle" category, consumers can find editorials, where staff writers compose "spiffy and short" clips on fashion and beauty. The site also serves up information about entertainment and local events. A deal between Valassis and movietickets.com lets consumers find movies at their local theaters, watch trailers and buy tickets at a dual-branded microsite. RedPlum.com, built with widgets, relies on continual data feeds from databases that populate information into subcategories. Groceries, for example, include grains and dairy. Every product, deal and offer on the site has its own URL, so consumers can share and e-mail product information from the site. For those who want to opt-in, RedPlum will offer a cell phone feature later this year, where consumers get information on the go. There are difficulties with mobile campaigns, Costello says. "The problem isn't sending information to the phone, but rather the process to teach consumers what to do with it when they get it," he says. Through RedPlum services, the site offers another way for marketers to reach 90% of all U.S. households--more than 100 million consumers per week.
When Oprah Winfrey endorsed the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, many thought the guy could become a shoe-in for the Democratic nomination. After all, this was Oprah! But a study by E-Poll Market Research, which researches celebrities and brands, finds that celebrities are not as influential in politics as they may be in selling products, fashion, entertainment and books. In fact, says E-Poll, some endorsements may actually work against the candidates. According to E-Poll's survey of 2,237 voting-age Americans, only 16% claim that the endorsement of a candidate by a celebrity they admire would positively impact their overall perception of that candidate. "The cult of personality has certainly begun creeping into people's lives," says Gerry Philpott, president/CEO of E-Poll Market Research. "However, when it comes to bread-and-butter issues such as healthcare, national security and the economy, voters turn to family, friends, civic and church leaders, and media as influencers in their voting decisions." Asked to list the celebrity endorsers who would have the strongest positive influence on their perceptions of the presidential candidates, Winfrey had the largest impact by far, mentioned by 20% of respondents, followed by George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bono and Al Gore. Democratic candidates are slightly more likely to be helped by a celebrity endorsement than Republicans, but the impact is still very minor. E-Poll's study shows that 10% of Americans would actually have a more negative perception of a candidate if backed by a celebrity endorsement--even if they liked the celebrity. Of the celebrities that might have the most negative impact for a candidate, Rosie O'Donnell leads, followed by Tom Cruise, Madonna, Jane Fonda and Donald Trump. Younger Americans ages 18 to 24 are most likely to be positively influenced by a celebrity political endorsement--26%, per the survey. Celebrities mentioned most often by this younger group include Winfrey, Jon Stewart, Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt. If candidates are looking for that narrow margin with swing voters, they shouldn't look for a celebrity cure. Independents and swing voters are the least likely to be influenced by a celebrity endorsement, the survey found, with only 13% saying they would be positively persuaded.