Why VW Has So Much Riding on the 2011 Jetta Launch

Volkswagen’s first product launch with ad agency Deutsch/LA for the 2011 Jetta has one major takeaway: This Volkswagen is not as expensive as you thought. Indeed, value takes a front seat ahead of brand personality and will be a key message for Jetta.The first of three TV ads that will roll out in the next eight weeks starting Oct. 5 features the car at an auto show, under klieg lights, with a German-accented executive announcing a $15,995 starting price. All the engineers and designers on hand look on in horror at the low price, even storming the dais to rifle the speech to see if there is a mistake. Jetta’s tagline: “The All New Jetta. Great. For the Price of Good.” In a second ad, a hospital orderly who sees a billboard for the new Jetta takes on a series of second jobs, including clown, golf driving, range worker, dog walker and pedicab driver to pay for it only to find out he could have afforded it on his base pay.The ads address a major problem dogging the brand: People think VWs cost too much. Hence the Jetta’s starting price. A 2011 Jetta in “S” trim will set you back just $15,995. Compare that to the 2010 model, which starts at $17,735, and the Civic and Corolla, which clock in at $15,655 and $15,450, respectively.That starting price is a bit of red herring. VW, according to industry sources, may build only a few thousand of the S models that start below $16,000. Most of the transactions will be at $17,735 and above, rising above $25,000 for a fully equipped TDI diesel. But the low starting price, which VW officials say could be as much as 12 percent of volume, was designed for its surprise value, as well as to show up on Internet buying sites at the low starting price against its rivals. “It’s a gimmick to attract eyeballs, but the Jetta even priced around $18,000 is a great value story,” said Los Angeles-based marketing consultant Dennis Keene. At an event in San Francisco for automotive media, VW did not even have any S models to drive.The Jetta launch is a turning point for Volkswagen. “We're going big,” said Volkswagen of America marketing chief Tim Ellis. “This is the beginning of a very big growth period for us.” Ellis says it is the biggest budget for a product launch in 10 years, though he didn't divulge actual numbers. The campaign will be seen in major prime-time entertainment as well as the Major League Baseball playoffs and the World Series, plus the NFL. VW has already bought two spots on the Super Bowl for Jetta.One more TV ad that will break in the coming weeks focuses entirely on the Jetta’s safety record and technology, showing a slow-motion air bag deployment. An extensive digital media plan will tout the Jetta’s safety features and starting price compared against Mazda, Honda and Toyota. Outdoor ads are running in the 11 biggest media markets, and a social media campaign will kick off on Facebook in the coming weeks as well. “I don’t think we have ever done such aggressive comparative advertising before,” said Ellis.There’s a reason for that. VW has set an audacious—and many say foolhardy—goal, dictated by its German parent, of reaching 800,000 sales a year in North America by 2018. The company managed 175,000 VWs sold through the first half of the year. Chief Operating Officer Mark Barnes agrees the goal is aggressive, but reasons that it isn’t out of reach: “If you look at the portfolio of product we have coming, especially the Jetta and the new midsized sedan, you are talking upwards of 300,000 sales from just those two products.”

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Why VW Has So Much Riding on the 2011 Jetta Launch

David Kiley

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David Kiley