Ok so I'm not some super genius merketing whiz, but I kind of have my fingers in a lot of different things and am right at the age that Camaro really needs to appeal to in order to stay strong in terms of the enthusiast market. Looks and driving comfort will sell the V-6 versions, but the reputation of the car is a different beast...

So...brain farts that I've had while looking at the success of other cars and the things that led up to that success.

The first, and maybe most important, thing that I think those in charge of marketing the Camaro should look at is videogames and movies. They've already got the movies thing down pat, Transformers was amazing and you couldn't ask for a better Camaro advertisement. Videogames....well, they could do a bit in terms of work here.

Games might seem a little strange in terms of where to focus marketing for some of you older guys, but for people my age, it's literally the reason why the WRX and EVO were brought to the United States. The guys in charge of those cars have even SAID so. Gran Turismo, with it's massive roster of cars and the little diddly of history for each one, popularized those two competing vehicles immensely, as well as the Nissan Skyline. The average age for a gamer is now in the early 30's, with the tech becoming more and more advanced and well executed. Games like Forza Motorsport 2 and the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 have huge potential for vehicles.

I know that the Camaro Concept was already put in a Need for Speed game, and it was quite cool. But the games that seem to attract the hardcore driving enthusiasts are a lot more "simulation" than anything Need for Speed has ever done. Forza and GT are both hardcore driving simulators...and it's no accident that they're largely responsible for the popularity of the WRX and EVO, which are the equivalent of the Mustang and Camaro back in the 60's and 70's. They're the "new musclecar", the popular thing to tune with the younger tuner crowd.

Making sure that more camaros (all generations) are included in some of these sim-type games is great marketing and gives people a chance to "test drive" the car and really get into it. With the popularity of online gaming, it establishes a community...this board for example could all go out and get Forza 2 and make a Camaro Clan. Tune our respective cars to competitive levels, and go out and race online with each other and organize tournament ladders with other drivers. Stuff like this really really interests the younger (upper 20's to lower 30's) set that will be so important to making Camaro a longterm success, and it advertises to people unable to purchase their own cars and gets them excited about "having" their favorite muscle car before they really can. And it's basically free. It could be publisized in chevy newsletters, with weblinks, etc. The games already let you watch online races without participating...it's essentially already a sport. And I really think it'd draw in a lot of people. Currently the hottest driving sim on the market is Forza 2...and it only has a first-gen Z28, a first-gen SS, and a 4th-gen SS. Organizing with the game makers (the way Nissan recently did, the game recently got an online update enabling a bunch of new 2007 nissan cars, for a special organized tournament) to release the 2nd, 3rd, and concept (or production) 5th gen in a patch, to go along with an official Camaro tournament could be a really huge deal...and it wouldn't be limited to just this game, since Gran Turismo, the other main sim game, is going to have the same kind of online structure. I think it'd be very cool and very good marketing.

And it leads into my other thing. Racing. Camaro NEEDS to have a racing heritage again. Apart from getting to drive digital versions of them, the other reason for the WRX and EVO's massive popularity explosion was because they are race cars, not very far removed at all from the rally cars which are based on them. Rally racing isn't very popular in the states but the amount of american traffic to rally sites online has exploded the last few years.

There needs to be a production based, non-ultra-high performance series for the Camaro to run in. Not like the JGTC or Le-Mans stuff, where the race car is quite far removed from the real thing. I mean like having a muscle car class in Grand-Am racing. The Mustang is already very successful there, and it's very much production based, competing against Porsche's and RX-8's. Camaro needs to be competing in THAT crowd, at that level. It needs to still look almost exactly like what you can buy in the store, and it needs to be in a series against the Mustang and upcoming Challenger. Regardless of who ends up winning the races, it'll draw much needed attention and establish the brand loyalty that car makers covet so much. It'd be nice to have some special race editions of the car that are a bit more stripped, with some custom bodywork and some weightloss stuff implimented, much the way the Z06 is done. A 50 thousand dollar camaro that's 200 pounds lighter than the standard one and has some high-tech stuff, or maybe a rear-seat delete and some carbon fiber (think Mustang Cobra R in terms of exclusivity) would really tie into the racing heritage well, instead of "specials" that are basically just decal and interior package upgrades, or stiffer suspensions.

Apart from that, the car looks great and will likely be explosive in terms of sales, especially at first. I just think a lot more can be done in terms of making it a cultural thing instead of just a car, like what's happened to the WRX and EVO.

 

90% of people who I ask why they like Skylines say because of movies and videogames.
Interesting since most Skylines were never sold here. But many, many, dream of importing them. It's a thread that starts up form some newbie every few months.

To add on to your idea for simulation production models...

Ask Polyphony(GT5) or Forza's makers to make a demo with their physics, and a few of chevy's cars. Vettes, Camaro, Cobalt, Solstice, some of the "cooler" vehicles, hell even throw in a truck or two! Plus, what might be able to be done(if server power is there) is have it online too. And not just there, but connect it to the "Build Your Chevy" so you can test what a new Onyx Black Cobalt drives like compared to a new Yellow Cobalt Sport, espicially in the acceleration departments.

The demo could basically take the car you build and put it in the game.
Throw in some ads here and there, and you got a money-making advertisement.

 

I don't think there will be a lack of games the Camaro will be in so that is a non problem. This will take care of it's self.

As for racing there has been a lot of debate. The problem with rally is the Camaro is a large RWD car not really suited for rally.

I do see a place for the Camaro in road racing series that race at high profile tracks at Daytona, Le Mans, Sebring, Watkins Glen, etc. I do think is important to put this car in series that are production base and not some wacked out Funny car that really has nothing to to with the stock car.

I Also find it needed for the Camaro to be competitive against not just Mustangs and Challangers but Also BMW, Nissans, Porsche and the like. If you can beat the local marks as well respected performance marks from overseas it will turn the Camaro into more than just a Muscle car retro relic. The new car is going to ber capable of starting stopping and out handling many more expensive Sports sedans and coupes so let kick there butts too and earn a rep that can be respected word wide.

The Z28 will pack all the power you need and I am sure at some point GM may offer a limited racing bases version like Ford does for privateteer racers in the SCCA etc. Or a SPO like SCCA option like the Solstice on the lower power and priced SS. This would be something almost anyone could afford to race or autocross. Even a V6 would be great with 300 HP and better handling with better balance for the autocross.

I know some would like the trans am series to be used but it ain't what it used to be and is very low peofile. a better choice would be the Speed Channel series. They get a lot of air and race some of the best cars in the world.

 

Yes. It can really really provide some additional "material" to make the Camaro more than a car.

I'll get a little more in-depth as to what Nissan has done with Forza 2 (published by Microsoft). The game has already sold millions of copies, includes 300+ vehicles, has an incredibly active online community of modders, painters (the game allows you to decorate cars with thousands of layers of decals....somebody actually used the in-game decal applicator to put the mona lisa on their car and it LOOKS perfect. All without the use of a mouse, paintbrush, or anything like that.) and car enthusiasts. The game is so simulation accurate that several race teams are using it to get familiar with the tracks they race in real life (the game includes most of the worlds most popular race tracks, all painstakingly recreated down to the type and friction level of pavement).

Nissan organized with Microsoft to create a special online Nissan race series, where anyone owning the game can qualify by using a nissan vehicle that they tuned and raced, setting quick laps. Once you qualify, you're entered in the tournament, which has a regular ladder and points progression system just like in real life. You race online against real people, using real Nissan vehicles. At the end, the top ranking drivers win real prizes, including special edition Nissan vehicles. It's open to anybody with an Xbox Live account.

To commemorate the tournament, several 2007 model year nissan vehicles were made available online for download to the game. A 2007 Nissan Altima, the 2007 350z, and the 2007 Sentra SE-R. Once you get the cars (it cost me nothing) you can paint, modify, engine swap, tune and race any of them any time you want, in the single player or online portions of the game. There was already a 2003 350z in the game...and comparing the 2007 version with it there are several upgrades and enhancements that make the 2007 version almost 2 seconds a lap faster, and feel much different (I have the official force feedback racing wheel, designed in cooperation with several real life race teams for use in training...and it feels like you're driving a real car. It's insanely accurate)

So the tournament is ongoing now....great publicity for Nissan, allows them to get the latest version of their cars into the game where people all over the world can race them using a physics engine that's so close to real life that real race car drivers use the game.

The same could, and should, be done for Chevrolet. The Z06 Corvette is already in the game, along with the Cobalt SS, and other GM vehicles like the new GTO and Solstice. A "GM celebration tournament" could be organized with the game makers (I'm sure they'd love the extra publicity and sales that would generate for the game), and include a few cars....an IROC-Z would be nice (the original Z28 and SS are already in the game), as well as the GXP version of the Solstice, the re-shocked Z06, Blue Devil, Concept Camaro, etc. Organize a special tournament, with real life prizes. It's the next best thing to real life racing.

The really wonderful thing about it, and something I take advantage of almost every night, is the way the game has Forza Motorsport TV. Because everything is online with a broadband connection, anyone can view any race without participating. Instead of watching TV lately, I've been going online with the game and tuning in online to watch high-level Endurance Races in the game. You just choose the race you wish to watch, the game loads, and you get to view the entire race, as it happens, in real time. The game features full damage, pit stops, tire and fuel consumption....the whole shebang. So I'll sit down and eat and watch some really amazing races, with incredibly lifelike graphics, from any point of view I want (you can switch the camera to follow any driver, set it to view from a spectator mode, use behind the car views of any car, etc) and watch the race play out. It's just like watching a real race on TV, up to and including being able to save the entire replay and watch, rewind, pause, and rewatch any part of the race from any angle I want. It's SO fun to watch one of these races, the drivers are all incredibly good, and they go for 40+ minutes at a time, racing wheel to wheel, just like real life. Since they are subject to real damage, it's played like a real race, drivers are careful not to crash or exceed the limits of their car and go off the track, they have passing and pit stratagies, and if somebody DOES screw up, bodywork goes flying, smoke is everywhere, the entire field of cars has to slow down to try and get around the accident, and the drivers have to try and limp their cars back to the pits for repairs. You can EASILY damage your car bad enough to end the race with a minor mistake or just a little bit of contact with one of the other racers...and you can have a headset hooked up and listen to what everyone is saying as they race. It's just insanely fun to take part in.

GM should be taking part in this....sponsering official tournaments with gamers, real prizes, and special-release vehicles like the upcoming Camaro. The amount of publicity it would generate in this community would be huge. And the community that plays Forza is on average, 30 years old. There's millions of us, and we all know the game is so accurate to real life that what we experience with the car in the game is pretty much exactly what we can expect performance wise in the real world. It's ownership BEFORE ownership, and it really gets people into it.

They even have an auction house. The game keeps track of the history of each car you use, so a particularly successful driver can go and sell their car (for game money) on auction, within the game, getting a high price for the history the car has, just like in real life. Or, if you're an artist, you can buy a car in the game, decorate it with your own special design, and sell it online for much more than you bought it for (and you can lock the design so whoever buys it can't ruin your work).

Opportunities like this would really serve to increase the longing for this car. If (and I'm sure it would) performs well in the game, people are going to want a real one that much more, and it's a much much much less expensive way to get races, race series, and drivers up and running than doing it in real life....while enjoying tons of publicity and providing a playground for your most important customers: The younger enthusiasts who keep the cars reputation and competitive nature alive for the long run.

I'm going to take some pictures and link them to this thread, to show some of the other members here what I'm talking about. Cuz honestly, the game's online race viewing features are so robust and interesting and provide the same level of excitement that a real race does that even if you aren't a gamer at all, it'd almost be worth it to go buy an Xbox 360 (or a PS3, as the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 will have the same online features as Forza 2) and hook it up to your HD tv and watch real time races any time of the day. The only thing missing is the commentary that's on TV, and shots of the crowd. Of course, it's nothing compared with actaully GOING to a race (and Camaro needs to be competing in Grand-Am), but damn is it fun and rewarding. And if gaming IS your thing....you can train and compete yourself!

 

Before they could run in Trans Am, they'd have to resurrect the series. As far as I know the last two races were not really series events, but basically GT-1 class SCCA events at Heartland Park in 2006. Before that the series basically died at the end of 2004 and it was on life support then.

Speed World Challenge would be a good series to be in, although GM already has a lot going into the Caddys there and would likely not want to get into a cross brand competition between GM makes.

I think they'd do good by targeting a factory effort at the GT2 class in ALMS and the GT class in Grand Am. While they have a strong factory effort in ALMS already, it's in the GT1 class, so there wouldn't be competition between the Camaro and C6R. Since the tech rules for ALMS GT2 and Grand Am GT are so close a single build could likely be modified to work for either series with little effort. Plus it would just be sweet to watch a Camaro whip on a bunch of Porches and Ferraris.



As far as the gaming thing goes... I agree that the more presence the better, especially in the games that are more sim oriented as those are the ones that can show off the driving characteristics of a car if done right. Granted driving a car on the TV or PC is no comparison to driving one in the real world, I do think you can win some customers with a car done right for these games/sims.

 

I don't know if GM will do the game or not, but boxerperson has me hooked on checking out the Forza game. Thanks for the info.

 

I know you guys realize that most GM commercials are lame. Their entire marketing staff needs to be canned. Most new models hardly ever receive the proper media exposure they deserve.

It would be great if every GM product was wonderfully marketed, sadly they aren't. The top execs at GM would be wise to put pressure on to produce results or terminate current advertising and marketing personnel.

They need to start showing positive results today. The future will then take care of itself.

 

I dont think you have to worry bout the Camaro appearing in Forza or Gran Turismo. Hell Forza 2 has a 4th gen SS in it simply because its the most recent Camaro. By the time Forza 3 and GT6 come around, the new Camaro will definitely be in it, probably along with some racing version of it if theres one running.

I also wouldnt be surprised to see a downloadable 5th gen for Forza 2 on Xbox Live when it comes out. They have tons of downloadable cars for Project Gotham 3 on Live that didnt come with the game and I would imagine Forza 2 is gonna get the same support.

Anyways Camaro, Corvette, and Mustang usually dont need to be asked to be in racing games. They're always in them usually because of their histories and followings and more than likely the people making the games either own one or have owned one.