HOT HATCH DRIVER INSIGHTSBY DAN PANKRAZ

Dan Pankraz

Youth Planning Specialist, DDB Sydney

Danpankraz.wordpress.com

I RECENTLY SPENT SOME TIME LOOKING INTO THE

‘HOT HATCH’ TRIBES.

THESE LITTLE POCKET ROCKETS ARE TYPICALLY DRIVEN BY GEN Y’ERS SO I WANTED TO TAKE A LOOK INTO THE

DRIVER MINDSET, WHAT THESE CARS REPRESENT AND HOW THEY’RE

MARKETED.

HERE’S WHAT I FOUND.

WHEN IT COMES TO SMALL POCKET ROCKETS

IT’S ALL ABOUT BELONGING TO A TRIBE

HOWEVER SOME CARS ARE MORE ‘TRIBAL’ THAN

OTHERS

A SPECTRUM OF ‘FOLLOWING’ FOR CERTAIN BRANDS

ACTIVE TRIBES

NO TRIBE

Exotics

Alfa

-CULT BRANDS LIKE SUBARY WRX, STI AND COOPER S HAVE

ACTIVE TRIBAL FOLLOWING WITH MASSIVE ONLINE COMMUNITIES

HOT HATCH TRIBES IN AUSTRALIA

TRIBAL(Active Belonging)

INDIVIDUAL(Passive Owners)

EVERYDAYPERFORMANCE

RAWPERFORMANCE

FUNFASHIONISTA

Exotics

VXR XR5

C30 T5

FAST TRACK

Alfa

-BOY RACER

POCKETROCKET RETRO

RACERS

CULTURED CHIC

-TECH IMPORT

PASSIONISTA PERFORMANCEAFFICIANADO

SO WHO BELONGS TO THESE TRIBES?

SUBARU WRX ‘BOY RACER’ TRIBE

OWNER TYPECompetitive, Poser, Car Nut, Showy, Techies

CAR SAYS“I want the real deal..it’s powerful, respected and intimidates.. I’ve got street cred and I like that people check out my wheels and know what it can do”

CAR MAKES ME FEELPowerful, Aggressive, Masculine, Knowledgeable

Fabio, 33

MINI COOPER ‘FUN FASHIONISTA’ TRIBE

OWNER TYPEFashionista, Playful, Colourful, Queen Bee, Creative Class

CAR SAYS“I’m all about having fun and looking good 24/7....I’m in a rush, get out of my way”

CAR MAKES ME FEELStylish, Classy, Vibrant, Personalised, Cute

Anita, 30

JOHN COOPER WORKS ‘RETRO RACING’ TRIBE

OWNER TYPEFashionista, Design with a sense of history, Quality, Appreciates Uniqueness, Loves motor racing heritage

CAR SAYS“I’m stylish with an appreciation of old school motoring, I don’t mind embarrassing bigger more powerful cars”

CAR MAKES ME FEELStylish, Trendy, Retro cool, One step ahead

Adam, 34

GOLF GTI ‘FAST TRACK’ TRIBE

OWNER TYPESporty, Forever Young, Fast Life, Connected, Competitive

CAR SAYS“I’m on my way up and love driving hard, but I’m no poser or rev head..it’s not how fast I go, but how I go fast ..”

CAR MAKES ME FEELUnderstatedly Cool, Dynamic, Alive

Flo, 26

GOLF R32‘PERFORMANCE AFFICIANADO’

TRIBEOWNER TYPE

Professional, Super ambitious, One pay rise away from an M3, Enemy of ordinary

CAR SAYS“I’m a wolf in sheep’s clothing, catch me if you can”

CAR MAKES ME FEELSuccessful, Dynamic, Agile, Adventurous

Chris, 30

CIVIC TYPE R ‘TECH IMPORT’ TRIBE

OWNER TYPEAsian with a love of fast cars, street racing, tech/gadget enthusiast, little guy syndrome

CAR SAYS“I’m a little dangerous and want something with racing tech and unique design..a feisty import, just like me”

CAR MAKES ME FEELNaughty, Futuristic, Unique, TechyJet, 25

THE FOLLOWING CARS DON’T HAVE

‘TRIBAL FOLLOWING’ PER SE, BUT ATTRACT A CERTAIN

DRIVER TYPE

VOLVO C30 T5‘CULTURED CHIC’

OWNER TYPECultured, Understated, Educated, Minimalist, Passive

CAR SAYS“I hate the status quo, want a small car that’s unique , just like me...I appreciate minimalist design, less is more”

CAR MAKES ME FEELCultured, sophisticated, environmental, ethical

Bel, 31

MAZDA MPS ‘A LITTLE BIT SPORTY’

OWNER TYPEConservative, Covert, Mainstream, Follower, Want the best of Zoom Zoom

CAR SAYS“I want a weapon, but I don’t want everyone to know about it...it’s undercover like me”.

CAR MAKES ME FEELSporty, Satisfied, Smart, Confident

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Simon, 32

ALFA ROMEO MIO‘PASSIONISTA’

OWNER TYPEPassionate Italian, Image is everything, Obsessed by visual appeal, Loud

CAR SAYS“It’s sexy, I’m the one you should be looking at, but don’t look under my bonnet”

CAR MAKES ME FEELSexy, Extroverted, Distinctive

Marco, 27

SEMIOTIC CODES OF HOT HATCH ADVERTISING

IN TERMS OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION, ALL HOT HATCHES ARE MARKETED AS

‘CREATURES OF THE NIGHT’

THEY’RE PORTRAYED AS SERIOUS, AGGRESSIVE, MASCULINE, PRIMAL, MENACING AND BROODING.

ALL THE LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY DEPICTS ‘TRANSFORMATION’ - THE VEHICLE HELPING

BRING OUT YOUR DEVILISH SIDE TO PLAY..

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