Avis: We try harder. A classic case of 'repositioning' the market leader
In 1962 Hertz was the clear leader in the car rental business, with Avis as one of the brands in the following pack. The Avis 'We try harder' campaign repositioned Hertz: creating a relative, believable, and compelling strength for Avis. The market dominance of Hertz became a weakness and Avis became the 'right choice' in the minds of consumers.
The results were dramatic…
In 1962, just before the first 'We try harder' ads launched, Avis was an unprofitable company with 11% of the car rental business in the USA. Within a year of launching the campaign Avis was making a profit, and by 1966 Avis had tripled its market share to 35%.
But this case is not just about the power of advertising. It is also an interesting example of how an advertising agency worked effectively with a client to build the brand. There were three steps that the agency took that made the Avis brand far more successful than it might have been.
- The agency was DDB, and it was Bill Bernbach who recommended to Avis management that they overhaul their customer service and upgrade their product before drafting a single ad. His reasoning: "It's always a mistake to make good advertising for a bad product."
- In preparing the advertising the agency spent 90 days learning the Avis business and spent many hours in meetings talking to employees about the company. This determination to understand the Avis business led them to a simple question: "why does anyone ever rent a car from you?" The reply helped to make marketing history: "We try harder because we have to."
- Finally, in order to involve employees and get their support for the Avis brand promise, each employee received a copy of new Avis ads in his or her pay envelope before each campaign was launched.
Together these three steps helped to ensure that Avis was creating a distinctive and motivating brand experience, through all aspects of its brand.
Ask yourself:
- Are we doing enough, in all aspects of our brand offering, to distinguish ourselves from our number-one competitor?
- How can we 'reposition' our key competitor and create a relative, believable and compelling strength for ourselves?
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