"Chevy Runs Deep"was launched in 2010 and only lasted a few years. Though switching tag-lines is nothing new for the General Motor's brand. Past tag-lines include "See the USA in Your Chevrolet," "Heartbeat of America,", and "An American Revolution". The question is will this new tag-line have more sticking power?
My guess is no. My guess is Chevy will be searching for a new tag-line in another few years and they could have better spent the few million dollars they invested on this re-launch effort on something else that better built the brand.
It's not that I don't like the tag-line from a creative standpoint. And, I'm confident all the consumer research GM surely did prior to rolling out the new tag-line showed positive consumer sentiment. After all, "Find New Roads" is very likable. Its optimistic and it points towards the future not the past. It grabs hold of the current America sentiment for wanting something new, something better. The problem is that being popular with consumers in testing, doesn't necessarily make it a successful tag-line.
So what makes a successful tag-line? There are four elements that have to be true:
- It has to be unique
- It has to be ownable (by connecting to the brand heritage or underlining equity)
- It has to brings to life a consumer benefit (ideally a high order benefit than just the product performance)
- It has to have the potential to tug at the consumer heartstrings or make an emotional connection
To me the biggest problem with the new Chevy tag-line is it doesn't resonate as an unique, ownable benefit that only Chevy can deliver on. What about find new roads distinctly connects with the Chevy brand? For me, the line fails to connect with the brand heritage and brand equity. While it is clever, I struggle with the brand linkage to Chevy and that makes the tag-line feel empty and somewhat soulless to me.
Aspirational for sure. A great internal compass to guide the future development. Just not a great fit from a consumer branding standpoint.
