DRIVING THE FUTURE ALONGSIDE THE PRESENT
GM’s Molly Peck on the nature of progress in business.
One of the questions I get asked frequently is: How do I face the challenge of communicating sedans and pick-ups as well as electric vehicles (EVs) or even driverless vehicles? What’s interesting is that I wouldn’t say it’s a challenge. It’s diverse and requires focus, for sure, but more than anything it is exciting. Let me explain.
Technology is changing the way we live. From our access to information and how we share it to occupations and our modes of transportation.
Let’s take, for example, how we communicate. Only a few years ago, if I wanted to go to the dentist I’d have to call them up and ensure I wrote the appointment down in my calendar, otherwise it was forgotten. Now, we message. The appointment goes into my phone calendar, linked to my calendar at home, and I never miss an appointment.
Even the process of a phone call has changed. I rarely speak on the phone. In fact, the person I call most often is my own mom – she’s 84 – and it’s when I’m driving home and I speak to her through the Bluetooth connection with my car.
The way technology has changed how we live is drastic, but the way it occurred was seamless, wasn’t it? One year at a time, with key updates – from the introduction of shared calendars to the ability to find your family or friends’ locations at any time.
It’s actually no different from the way transportation is changing, and how we speak about it.
When you hear ‘future mobility’, does your mind automatically go to chrome autonomous cars zipping around a busy city?
Clearly, we don’t have those just yet, but as we look to the future and where the automotive industry is growing, we know that in the next decade or so autonomous vehicles (AVs) will become more normal.
Maybe we can only imagine one vision of it now, based on the films or concepts we’ve seen, and so it seems far away. Yet, right now we already have the technologies that are paving the way for us to get there.
Much like our phones today, step-by-step the blending of mechanical and technological innovation has made our vehicles more ‘smart’ than ever. We put sensors on our cars that can alert you if someone is in your blind spot, or help activate the brakes if there is a sudden stop in front of you. Today, it’s more unexpected for a car not to have a reverse camera, than to have one. All of these technologies are precursors to a fully autonomous vehicle. Each piece not only has been built on the knowledge of its past versions, but also means that the vehicles in our lineup today participate in the responsibility of driving, alongside the person behind the wheel. This is the journey we’re on, and that’s where it actually can be very exciting to communicate. For example, a key building block of AVs is our current EVs on the road. For Chevrolet, our second-generation Bolt EV is helping us learn more every day, from extending range to more than 500km on a single charge to enhancing battery life with its regenerative powertrain. To truly know about an EV and its capabilities, there is no substitution for experiencing it. That’s why we developed a phased campaign through experiential and direct marketing, which included partnering with sustainablyminded communities, such as Ripe Market, to give those audiences the chance to get up- close and personal with all its fun and innovative technology, and creating the longest digital banner, at 520km, to bring the Bolt EV’s range to everyone’s fingertips. As marketers we already know our time with our consumers is precious. Attention spans are shorter than ever, and experience is king. We have to be selective and focused, and make sure that we are offering something of value to our audience; something that can get them to stop and notice. That might be as simple as an engaging visual on Instagram. So, I wouldn’t say it’s a challenge to communicate the future of our industry with our current vehicles. They’re really not separate entities, but complementary parts of a wider picture. There is a whole world that goes into what will actually be the “future of mobility”. It’s not a leap ahead, it’s a puzzle piece General Motors and other manufacturers are building, one technology at a time. And that is incredibly exciting to talk about.
“Attention spans are shorter than ever, and experience is king. We have to be selective and focused, and make sure that we are offering something of value to our audience; something that can get them to stop and notice.”