RAMA Board Member, Bill Ward, Quoted in NY Times

The announcement in the NY Times a week ago that Chrysler L.L.C. has hired Deborah Wahl Meyer, from Toyota, as its new vice president and chief marketing officer, to start Aug. 28th, carried some local attention.

Dr. Bill Ward (they called him William J.), professor of marketing at Alfred University, and our own VP of Collegiate Relations here at RAMA, was quoted, saying, "To win customers back, Ms. Meyer must show that the company is different, not only from its previous incarnation but also from its American competitors."

Dr. Ward went on to mention that Chrysler was among "a lot" of U.S. brands that had become "kind of generic." His advice was to reconnect with cutsomers, and "establish...differentiation between themselves and their competition."

The online article shows a cute image of three kids in car seats, each one representing a different make of car. Ostensibly to prove Chrysler is forward thinking, I guess. Ready for your kids... in 15 years.

Glad to see Alfred represented by Dr. Ward, and to discover a RAMA board member doing what he does best: Sharing marketing advice.

Comments

[D-D Flannery]

Prof. Ward, first of all, I must congratulate you for obtaining a quote in the NY Times. As a publicist, I can appreciate how this is quite an accomplishment.

You mentioned a great point in your quote that Chrysler must further differentiate themselves as they have slipped into the "generic" (or, as I like to say the "mediocre") category. I'd be interested in hearing more from you on what Chrysler needs to do in order to reposition themselves. What steps do you envision Chrysler taking in effort to be perceived as providing greater value to the customers and possibly competing with high luxury vehicles in the marketplace?