RIP Joe Isuzu, branding legend
In the 90s I had the most fortunate experience of working directly for a creative genius who was most notably known for coming up with Joe Isuzu. He was one of my mentors. (The creative guy, not Joe.
) Joe Isuzu was acknowledged industry-wide as being one of the best campaigns of the 20th century, and will forever be one of my favorites. To boot, it’s effectiveness as a campaign really helped build the SUV market and position Isuzu as a leader. In the words of Advertising Age, “Thanks to that heavily supported effort, which solidified its reputation for dependable, well-priced vehicles, the Japanese automaker hit its peak in 1986, when it sold 127,630 cars and trucks. Had Isuzu pushed that many vehicles last year in the U.S., it would have outsold Infiniti, Volvo, Suzuki, Audi, Hummer, Land Rover, Mini, Porsche and Saab.”
Last week Izusu announced it would exit the U.S. market next January. It’s sad to see the demise of such a great brand (one that practically built the ever-popular SUV category!) because it didn’t keep in-tune with the marketplace and customer needs. “The cause of its death: failure to innovate, misjudgment of the market and woeful under-spending on marketing.... Isuzu made product missteps out of sync with the marketplace and failed to differentiate the brand as competitors flooded into the SUV segment it once popularized....”
There’s a lot to be learned here – staying in tune with customers is vital. Differentiating is critical. Are you doing this with your marketing?
Article in the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-isuzu31jan31,1,4825872.story?ctrack=2&cset=true
Article from AdAge: http://adage.com/article?article_id=124822
I agree, even most or our truck parts are for Isuzu Brands too.
Posted by suv and truck repair part on 02/28 at 07:38 PM
awesome!
Posted by on 04/13 at 05:55 AM
Thank you for this article!
Posted by on 11/11 at 10:05 AM
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The Isuzu brand was one of the strongest in the world. Let’s not forget that it lives on in the commercial truck market, where Isuzu dominates...selling over 3/4 of the medium-duty trucks in the U.S.
Posted by on 02/16 at 05:10 PM