It Ain’t Over For The EV
How to "do marketing" for the electric vehicle
A year ago it seemed like nothing could stop the push to electric vehicles. Massive government rebates, incentives both financial and cultural, an arms race with China, South Korea, and Europe over who would own the category, and general excitement over the novelty of the blossoming category. But the incentives have all but stopped, the newness has worn off, and the US seems to have given up on trying to win this battle on technology, instead relying on tariffs and outright bans to squash competition.
But if you’ve owned an EV, you know that it’s nearly impossible to go back, and it’s unlikely the tide will ever fully return to combustion engines. Here’s my thinking of why.
How Did I Get Here?
The first work I ever created in advertising was a series of ecards for MINI Cooper, a tiny car coming to disrupt the big US SUV market. A few years later I worked on Hyundai, launching their luxury badge, Genesis, despite a perception at the time that they were a bargain brand.
I’ve always rooted for, and in many cases worked for, the underdog in a category. After lending my words to half a dozen car accounts, I noticed that no matter the vehicle’s unique benefits, most car companies talked about just three features: horsepower, miles per gallon, supple leather. While a lot of this is simply poor imagination on the part of marketers, another part of it is the physical limitations of what an internal combustion engine vehicle can be.
Which is why I was hopeful when a little company called Tesla jammed a monster electric motor into a Lotus frame and promised to break the rules. The first Tesla turned like a cement truck, but it was hard not to get excited by the potential. The Tesla product was an ad for the entire EV category: frivolous power in a sleek Apple-esque candy coating, and incidentally, it was green. The ultimate underdog story. Since then they’ve done pretty ok for themselves (valued at more than all of the other major car companies, combined) even if they’ve hit some cultural speedbumps as of late.
“But Tesla Didn’t Do Any Marketing”
Tesla’s marketing playbook over the years has been impressive, they even said they “don’t do any marketing” and people who fall for marketing love that. They physically launched a Tesla Roadster into space (quick back of napkin math puts the cost of this well over $30 million, more than the annual ad budget the year I worked on MINI), they set up stunning showroom spaces in major markets (prime real estate and plenty of signage inside and out), and yes, it’d be foolish to underestimate the organic reach and content of Elon Musk, who let’s not forget bought a $44B megaphone for that organic reach. But yes, they don’t do typical car commercials, and that’s commendable.
You can’t cheat off of a different test.
Unfortunately, Tesla’s marketing playbook doesn’t apply to the rest of the category. Also unfortunately, the old car marketing playbook also doesn’t apply to EVs. While there are lots of new electric vehicles coming out, they will never again be THE new electric vehicle. Tesla was the first(ish), so their car alone was pressworthy. A new EV, even a [better/faster/cheaper/prettier] one isn’t a story all on its own anymore. Other EV car brands need to advertise to stand out, but how they do it can evolve along with the cars. Because of their strong brand halo and leader advantage, most people still assume Tesla’s hold the title for speed, autonomous driving, and range. They don’t hold the title in any of those anymore.
For marketers who do admit to doing marketing.
The EV product is one of the most exciting categories of any product, period. Without the engine, you also have all sorts of new configurations and opportunities for differentiation available to you. The “frunk” (front trunk) being one of dozens of examples. There is so much to talk about, all with real consumer benefits, and so much that people don’t already know. It is a goldmine for strategy and creative. So why aren’t we blown away every day by a new EV ad? Perhaps because while we’ve changed the architecture of the vehicles we have yet to change the architecture of how we talk about cars, we’re still stuck in a land of horsepower and supple leather. Here are some thoughts:
Won’t someone please think of the children?
You might be thinking I’m going to talk about how an electric car can save the planet and secure the futures of the next generation. Nope. This is about a way more selfish reason to buy an EV that brands should communicate today. The best selling category across all consumer vehicles is the family-friendly crossover (CUV), commanding 45% of the market. That’s about 10x the size of the entire EV market (including Tesla) last year. This CUV segment is ideal for families, and generally marketed as such. But did you know an EV is a great family car? And for many of the reasons families love the CUV category. As well as for some reasons that are completely unique to EVs.
Go after this massive audience with family messaging (cargo room, legroom/car seat room, ease of ownership, comfort) and you might have a hit on your hands. But, leave the “bright green future” part out of it. It’s old news and unlikely to be the main motivating factor for many people. Let’s go into some of these.
Until the rules of physics change, no gas car can do this.
Families need space, which is why so many opt for a crossover even if they prefer a smaller vehicle. And with an EV you get the best of both worlds with more internal space compared to the external footprint, because you don't have a combustion engine, transmission, etc. All of which means more legroom and cargo room without technically having a bigger car. EVs tend to beat their gas engine counterparts in space across the board. Sometimes they’re as roomy as vehicles in a larger class. What family wouldn’t want that? This is selling point #1.
From “buy now” to “hey just drive it around the block if you want.”
EVs drive much much smoother, because there’s nothing chugging and rumbling in the front of the car. I’ve heard multiple people use the same phrase when they go back to driving a combustion engine vehicle: “it feels like a tractor.” Driving an electric is what sold me. If I were running an EV car account I’d try and find every creative way possible to get people to sit in one, from free Uber rides to shuttles at events, or even chauffeuring people to their cars in big parking lots on rainy days. Whatever, just get them in it. They’ll feel the difference immediately, and more importantly, afterwards.
Don’t trust the mechanic if they say something’s wrong with the engine.
Fewer parts that could need repair. No oil changes. Pretty much nothing under the hood. Simpler design means fewer chances for manufacturing screw-ups, so you can massively cut down on the mechanic visits with an electric vehicle. That sounds like a perfect selling point, or at least a strong supporting point.
A whole constellation of tiny stars.
It’s winter. It’s freezing outside, and not that much warmer in the garage. Or it’s summer, and you don’t want to be covered in sweat before you even pull out of the driveway. So, you turn on your car in the closed garage to get the air going. This is where you think “Wait! You can’t do that! It’s dangerous!” But with an EV, you can!
It’s a small bonus, but there are tons of these tiny little benefits that add up and give your brain a fun tingle of novelty. EV engineers are always thinking of new ones too, like in some you never have to turn the car on, it’s just on as soon as you sit, because there’s no engine to start.
It might be tough to sell a car based on one itty-bitty feature, but it certainly tells a story of a new way these cars are being thought about from the wheels up. If nothing else, it’s not been said a million times.
You don’t need a charging station.
There’s a lot of “my next one will be electric” talk from people, and part of it has to do with the commitment of installing a charging station at home, or waiting for more infrastructure of stations around the country. But honestly, you don’t have to have a charging station. If you lease an electric car with a standard 10,000 miles/year, you're most likely just fine plugging it into a regular old outlet overnight to charge, no need to install a station. The VW ID.4 for example charges 2-3 miles per hour on a regular outlet. To get to 10,000 miles/year you only need 27 miles per day of charge. If you’re parked at home at least 12 hours per day, as most people are, that’s 24-36 miles of charge. No rewiring necessary. Maybe an extension cord. So maybe in ads show somebody just plugging it into an outlet, not into the most complicated and advanced looking charging station.
On rare occasions, during an especially busy week, you may need to visit a fast charging station. But the downtown of any major city has tons of charging stations, and most of the rest of the city does too, as do many apartment complexes. In fact, there are over 43,000 charging stations across the US, and many more coming at a furious pace. It’s a marketing problem, a lack of signage and awareness. Type "EV Station" into Google maps. I’ll bet there's one within 5 minutes of you. Likely within 1. A geo-targeted ad could show potential customers how many are around them right now.
Plus, nobody has a gas station at home. It should be marketed as a benefit to be able to charge at your house, not an obstacle. If you own an EV you never have to go to a gas station ever again. It doesn’t take time to charge, it saves time.
But what about all of those road trips?
How often do people go on multi-day road trips outside of car commercials? It’s a bit of an old trope in advertising that the road trip is making a comeback. But, let’s diffuse it anyway. Let’s say you’re going on a road trip across the country. It’s no longer going to be: drive until empty, fill up while grabbing some beef jerky, keep going. You’ll need to stop for at least 30 minutes at a fast charging station (of which there are plenty of along interstate highways) likely every 3-6 hours depending on the vehicle and other factors. Not great if you’re regularly cruising across the country, but if you have kids, it’s probably pretty similar to what you’re already doing. Tell that more modern story in your communications.
What if you didn’t mention horsepower?
Still, the most common talking point I’ve seen across all EVs, and all cars before that, is horsepower. But, ask an average consumer what a “good number” is for horsepower and they likely couldn’t tell you. Maybe mention this number somewhere in the bottom of an ad, but for the average person, even 200HP is more than they’ll need or ever think about. 1000HP+ is impressive as a big number, but might actually be turning off a chunk of potential customers who are considering safety and feel too much power might actually hurt more than help. So the first step to standing out as different? Stop saying what everyone else is saying.
So it’s not just Tesla?
Tesla has a market, but there are now so many electric vehicles out there, tailored to all sorts of people and needs. Trucks, SUVs, CUVs, sedans, sports cars, and more are coming.
There are new competitors popping up, but don’t write off the old school brands either if they’re willing to embrace a new approach to marketing as much as a new approach to vehicles.
Let’s size up the competition.
Ford has shown they’re serious about the category, and they have a very long history of innovation and risk taking. Don't forget that Detroit was the technology capital of the country before Silicon Valley was, and that Tesla started just 4 years after Ford was at its absolute stock market peak. There’s still a story there. I would mine their innovative history to push the future. They already are tapping this vein with the vintage styled Ford F100 Eluminator electric concept they posted on Twitter.
GM has made massive investments and commitments to the category, promising to go all-electric by 2035 at one point, though obviously political incentives have changed. They were however one of the first big car companies to hop into electric with the Chevy Volt. As much as any brand can claim “heritage” in the category, GM can. Past and present actions are more telling than something people might feel is reactionary or rushed.
Volkswagen Group (which includes Audi and Porsche) are making some amazing EVs across the badges. VW’s ID.4 was named World Car of the Year, but has not gotten the same foothold in the minds of US consumers. What does the rest of the world know that we don’t, and how can it be best conveyed? VW has done best when they’ve embraced being surprising, a little quirky and a little playful. They’re fun to look at, fun to drive, fun to be around. That’s a perfect match for a surprising category. This is an opportunity for “Think Small” and “Lemon” style of surprising and advertising all over again.
Hyundai has some solid EVs and just announced they’re shifting all of their engineers to work on EVs, but they have yet to define how their electric car personality is going to be different. Korea has been very influential in US culture the past few years, so there’s no reason their car brands can’t play a role in culture in the same way.
Add the newcomers: Lucid, who’s seeking to rival the high-end Teslas in both speed and prestige, and was just named Car of the Year by MotorTrend in their rookie year; Rivian, who’s looking to take on trucks from Ford and Tesla, and a seeming new start-up every month. Each has a unique story to tell, because unlike combustion engine vehicles, there are a lot fewer and a lot smaller mandatory parts so you can assemble them in many new ways.
All of these brands need to figure out how to unlock the 90+% of people who aren’t already buying EVs. It’s not going to happen overnight, and maybe the road has slowed, but the electric future is coming. The only question is: Who’s going to be holding the keys?