Our Work - Case Studies

SAAB is a ‘challenger brand’ in the premium car sector, competing against the likes of Audi, BMW and Volvo. With a smaller model line-up than its competitors, and lower marketing budgets, we needed to differentiate the brand through communication. We were very clear about who we had to speak to and how we would speak to them. SAAB appeals to confident buyers who do not want to parade a car as a status symbol. They are inquisitive, knowledgeable, opinionated, and importantly, there is no gender bias. Through segmentation analysis, we identified these people as ‘Progressive Self-assured Individuals’.
Most car advertisers use traditional pulses of activity aimed at upmarket (male-biased) audiences. We use a ‘recency’, or continuous presence, strategy to engage our gender-neutral audience.
SAAB is an active advertiser every week of the year. We use media options that many car advertisers ignore. In TV, we actively seek more controversial programmes. E.g. network premiers of ‘9/11’, ‘Super-size Me’ and challenging documentaries like ‘His Big White Self’ and ‘Gay Muslims’. Our magazine use too is ‘non-standard’. SAAB does not advertise in women’s or men’s magazines. Instead, it uses more ‘off the wall’ environments like ‘Private Eye’ and ‘Wallpaper’, coupled with thought provoking titles like ‘New Scientist’ and ‘National Geographic’. To these we add vertical trade and professional magazines in areas like finance, management, creative and media.
Since introducing our new media strategy in 2004 SAAB has almost doubled its sales to the point where the UK now accounts for 33% of all SAAB sold worldwide.

Sales Index
2003	2004	2005	2006 est
100	138	188	221

Source: SAAB