Why all car adverts are the same - Kirsten Stagg, Skoda

Now, a topic in this episode very close to my heart. Why are car ads all so bad? I spoke with Kirsten Stagg from Skoda, who's the UK Marketing Director and has made some pretty good ads herself. In fact, Skoda are responsible for the best ad on the System1 database. We also talk a lot about the move to electric vehicles, the biggest revolution since the combustion engine. How do we get more people into electric vehicles over from petrol? And what are the car industry doing to save the planet? So, no shortage of big questions in this episode.

What we covered in this episode:

• Jon explains his failure to get a job in automotive marketing
• How Kirsten got a job in the automotive industry despite not owning a car
• How you actually pronounce Skoda and why they changed the use of it
• Why VW changed their approach to brand building based on how people choose cars
• Kirsten’s favourite VW advert of all time
• Jon puts Kirsten on the spot about why all car ads look the same
• Local insights vs global execution
• The thinking behind ‘it’s a Skoda. Honest’
• Why the Skoda cake advert is the best in the category
• A ‘driver’s best friend’ and how Skoda inverted the relationship between car and dog
• The biggest disruption in the automotive industry since the combustion engine was invented
• Jon explains how he ended up meeting the director of HR at Daimler Benz who turned him down
• How Mercedes have already made their last V8 engine
• The role of concept cars in gauging potential customer interest
• The barriers to EV adoption and how to overcome them
• Kirsten gives the pitch for making the switch to an EV
• How the EV is changing people’s brand perception and encouraging switching
• Why very long-standing agency relationships have helped ensure strong creative work
• Top tips for getting the best creative work from your agency
• Why you should work with Directors who have low egos
• The best ads Jon ever made were with up-and-coming Directors