• by Karl Greenberg , March 10, 2011

Chrysler LLC's eponymous division has some heavy lifting to do this year. The division is launching a brand new 300 sedan -- the 200, which replaces the all-but-forgotten Sebring, and a brand new Town & Country minivan. While the new brand mantra is "Imported from Detroit," each nameplate will need to import its own solution to the unique challenges it faces in its respective segment.  

Olivier Francoise, the CEO and head of marketing for the Chrysler brand, and Bruce Velisek, the large car and van marketing manager, say the loyalty, awareness and positioning issues are different for each. Town & Country, a nameplate that launched the minivan segment in the '80s was the top-selling minivan last year, but the 2011 version will be shoved up-market to inhabit a realm that differentiates it from Dodge's sibling, the Caravan.

The company's branding job is to communicate that "we're a different Chrysler," Francoise said at an event in New York this week. That brand idea imbues the ad that ran in the Super Bowl starring Eminem and the new version of the wing emblem. "We have one opportunity to prove that 'Imported from Detroit' is more than a marketing campaign. At Chrysler, we believe American luxury is not luxury as a privilege."

The new Town & Country will be positioned and priced as a premium product, Velisek says, while the Caravan is more down-market. "It will be a split showroom, so Dodge takes the low-end price point, offering value as a primary target, while Town & Country competes with the premium end of the segment."

Velisek says the 300 and its higher-end version, the 300c, will compete against vehicles like Ford Taurus, Toyota's Avalon and Buick's Lacrosse as well as Hyundai Genesis and Lincoln MKS, for the growing population of Boomer and Gen X consumers. He adds that the market for large cars is growing -- as is the population of older Americans -- regardless of where gas prices go. "Our own internal industry forecast is that the large-car segment will increase by 15%."

About 75% of consumers in the large-car market are over 50 years of age, Velisek tells Marketing Daily. "It's a 'reward car,' and we see that segment growing." But he also says the company will simultaneously expand the marketing focus to other consumer cohorts, including multicultural segments and those who are into the idea of personalizing vehicles and have traditionally done so as an after-market activity with earlier versions of the 300.

"The 300 is the most customized large car in the U.S. market. It's a big trend, so we will offer limited-edition, factory-customized versions. And we will also be working with [Chrysler's after-market parts and accessories division] Mopar for dealership accessories."

Francoise says the new 300 must appeal both to a strong body of loyalists who have been waiting around for something new and to people who departed the nameplate for imports. The 200, he concedes, is starting from scratch -- as Sebring has few loyal owners. "It will be a conquest vehicle for us."

As for the brand's advertising strategy, Francoise says that like Jeep Grand Cherokee last year, which launched with an anthem spot about heritage, forthcoming ads for 300 will be all about products and features. And while he would not rule out the participation in marketing in some way, shape or form of Eminem, he said the rapper probably won't be in ads. "I don't believe in a spokesperson for the sake of a spokesperson," he says, adding that using stars can mean promoting stars more than products.