Marketing, or Public Relations, isn’t a new thing. It’s an ever-evolving process that follows.. well, you. It maybe even creates your persona.
Back in the 1950s, marketing was mostly just advertising. A company made a car, took a bunch of photos, paid some models to display the American Dream with the car, and sent the new vehicle on a sort of show circuit. Today, we see this is rather quaint. Your grandma, back in the day, posing with a car for Kodacolor photographs seems pretty tame comparatively.
Funny enough, that hasn’t changed. What the marketers of the 1950s were beginning to understand was that “lifestyle” was as important as “needs.” Today, it’s probably more important. Most marketing now is aimed towards the same kind of dreamy perfection that was blatantly presented in the 1950s, but now it’s a little more.. shall we say “grainy.”
Manufacturing has come a long way since the middle of the 20th century. Back then, one car with a handful of colors and maybe two engine options was the norm. Being able to create sub-models with various use cases was costly and often just impossible. So marketing aimed to create a vehicle that fit broad segments of the population: Commuters, weekend travelers, the working class, the upper class, and so forth. There was a lot more one size fits all going on.
Today, with improvements to just about every technology, things are a little looser. Manufacturers can aim for much more specific consumer groups. Now the lifestyles of the 1950s have evolved into subgroups that may or may not have official names. I have names for these groups that probably aren’t what’s actually used in the board rooms of carmakers around the world, but they’re certainly close to what is colloquially used at the water cooler and the macha smoothie bar. Or whatever corporate middle managers hang around in the office today. Does it involve avocado toast? I might be dating myself.
Anyway, the number of target markets today is markedly larger than it was in the 1950s. These markets include some that are openly discussed and some that are more of a known, but not talked about group because.. well, politics and social taboos.
For example, we know that certain vehicles are aimed towards certain groups that are individuated by sexual orientation or projection. These are grouped into broad-ish categories like “young male” or “LGBTQ+” or “upmarket women.” But if you look closely at the vehicles and various trim models being offered in those broad segments, you’ll see sub-categories clearly visible. Categories I would call “Bro Culture,” “Tech Bro,” “Dom,” “Submissive,” “I’m Still Sexy At 40,” “Penis Enhancement,” and so on. We all know these subgroups exist and we all know that they’re being specifically marketed to. Inside and outside of automotive.
Another broad group are the “Active Lifestyle” types. This group was probably the first major subgroup of people to be marketed towards beyond the broad “American Dream” and “I Need To Feel Cool” groups of the mid-century. This group is now broken into smaller groups depending on activities of choices. You have the general “Granola” types that basically comprise the northern half of Colorado and a large segment of people in Connecticut. Then you have the wannabes of that group that never actually do any outdoor activities, but want to look like they do while parked at Whole Foods. Then there’s the Trader Joe’s subset that just wants a vehicle that matches their floppy knit beanies. And, of course, the “Herbalists,” the “X Gamers,” the “I Also Ski In the Summer”ses, and so on.
That doesn’t even get into the other half of the “Actives” with their jacked up rigs, oversized tires, and Pavement Princess realities.
The point is, if you can think of a personal identity, there’s a vehicle to match it now. That’s how honed down marketing has gotten and how “individualized” our society has become. At the core of all advertising and marketing is an appeal to tribalism. It’s pretty basic. The question is whether you identify with that tribe because it fits you or do you identify because you’ve been told that’s your tribe?
Which might be a question that’s a little too philosophical for this Stack.
This article was originally published on the AaronOnAutos Substack.
