Why Hyundai is going all-in on EV marketing as other brands soften their stance

With electric vehicle sales falling short of once-lofty sales expectations, some automakers have calibrated their marketing approaches with campaigns that tout a range of options—gas, electric or hybrid—within a single ad. Ford, for instance, is touting “the freedom of choice” in its latest Bryan Cranston-voiced campaign in which he declares in one ad that “there’s no one way to power up, as long as Ford is your starting line.” Mercedes, meantime, is pitching gas, electric and plug-in hybrid luxury SUVs in an ad telling viewers that “any choice is the perfect one.” Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs But Hyundai is going all-in on pure EV marketing with a new campaign that will get a sizeable investment spanning TV, radio, influencer marketing and social media. That includes Reddit, where Hyundai is using some of the platform’s new brand tools in an attempt to educate potential EV buyers about the benefits of going electric. Also read: What Reddit’s new ad format means for brands The campaign from Innocean USA introduces a starkly different creative approach for Hyundai, which in recent years has used the wit of brand spokesman Jason Bateman to pitch its vehicles, such as a 2022 effort in which he portrayed EVs as a high point in human evolution. While Bateman is still with the brand, he is missing from the new campaign, which instead deploys colorful visuals and fast-paced street racing scenes backed by “Ratata,” a song by Skrillex, Missy Elliott and Mr. Oizo. The campaign plugs Hyundai’s entire EV lineup, including the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kona Electric. It also introduces a revised tagline, “There’s Joy in Every Journey,” which is an evolution of “It’s Your Journey.” Angela Zepeda, chief marketing officer for Hyundai Motor America, said the goal is to separate Hyundai from other EV marketing, which in her view has leaned into more rational messaging such as touting sustainability or specific vehicle features. “We just want to talk about how exciting the technology is and how fun they are to drive,” she said. “I don’t think anyone’s really treated EVs as performance vehicles,” added Jason Sperling, chief creative officer at Innocean USA. Sluggish sales The effort comes as EV sales in the U.S. fail to live up to the hype. It’s a far cry from just a few years ago, when nearly every automaker poured billions of dollars into EV development while shelling out big marketing dollars to tout grand EV ambitions, including with Super Bowl advertising. But consumer EV adoption has slowed, with brands failing to convince large numbers of buyers to purchase often pricier EVs while overcoming fears that include so-called range anxiety—the idea of getting stuck without a charge. Although EV sales increased to 6.9% of new vehicle market share in 2023 from 5.2% the year prior, according to Edmunds, growth is expected to slow through 2024. The car shopping intelligence firm predicts an increase to just 8% market share this year, according to its recent report, which also noted price as a major deterrent. “The EV market has hit an inflection point now that the early adopter phase is coming to a close—it’s going to be an uphill battle for automakers to convert mass market consumers into EV buyers,” Jessica Caldwell, head of insights for Edmunds, stated in an email interview this week. “This doesn’t mean that the EV transition will never happen—it will probably just take more time than estimates from a few years prior when over-optimism was the prevailing sentiment.” Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs More hybrids Buyers shying away from EVs are scooping up plug-in hybrids and conventional hybrids, “as consumers tiptoe rather than race into electric transportation,” according to Automotive News. The outlet this week documented how multiple automakers, including General Motors and Ford, are putting more money into hybrid production. This explains Ford’s “Freedom of Choice” campaign from Wieden+Kennedy, which began running during the men's NCAA Final Four and has included buys on programming such as the Kentucky Derby. The effort includes new digital shopping tools that ask potential buyers to “pick a powertrain” while shopping online. The Mercedes ad, which is called “Trinit-E” and began running a couple of weeks ago, similarly presents powertrain flexibility as a plus, showing different versions of the same woman simultaneously pulling away in hybrid, EV and gas-powered GLE and EQE SUVs. Omnicom’s Mercedes-dedicated agency Team X created the ad. A leader, not a follower Zepeda said Hyundai remains “bullish on EVs,” pointing to a massive EV and battery complex under construction in Georgia by Hyundai Motor Group, which owns Hyundai, Genesis and Kia. Zepeda conceded that “there has been maybe a little waning of how quickly consumers will jump into EVs,” but added that “we'd like to be a leader in this space and not be a fast follower.” The new campaign is “our way of standing out and separating ourselves to say that, you know, Hyundai is here, we have a full [EV] portfolio. And we’re really excited about it.” The TV buy includes airings during the NBA Playoffs and what Zepeda described as a “pretty substantial buy” in the Summer Olympics. Hyundai’s media agency is Canvas. Hyundai is also planning test drive events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, New York City and Denver, where it will put Hyundai EVs up against competing vehicles. Also in the works is the placement of Hyundai EVs in a music video for “Nuclear,” a forthcoming song from Spanish singer Leroy Sanchez. Shorter ads will take on EV purchasing barriers, such as range anxiety, with one spot plugging an “up to 361-mile range” on an Ioniq 6. Reddit’s role Reddit will serve as a key EV education tool. Plans include hosting an Ask Me Anything with a yet-to-be determined Hyundai representative. The automaker has also bought carousel ads on the platform (which provide more real estate than regular ads). It will also launch a HyundaiUSA Reddit Pro account, which is a new offering from Reddit meant to give brands an organic presence on the site that can be used to engage in conversations with Reddit communities and create posts, including paid promotions. While some brands might be cautious about engaging in the sometimes rough-and-tumble conversations on Reddit, Zepeda praised the “honesty” that comes through on the platform. “We felt like it was a good place for people to talk about EVs, and let this community really do the talking about EVs and let them help educate each other.” As the industry moves beyond the early adopter EV phase, “we’re sort of into this larger majority that are interested in the technology but they have little hesitation. And that little hesitation could actually be a pretty big obstacle,” she said. “So we think the Reddit community can help us with this sentiment that's out there.”

Why Hyundai is going all-in on EV marketing as other brands soften their stance

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