When discussing Mazda North America’s new marketing and retail approach, it does not take long for Chief Marketing Officer Brad Audet to mention a couple of Japanese phrases—jinba ittai, which translates to “horse and rider as one,”  and omotenashi, which means “your happiness is my happiness.” The terms have long been part of the Japanese automaker’s lexicon but the concepts took an especially critical role in guiding Mazda’s new messaging strategy.

A key plank in that approach is a new U.S. campaign from the Japanese automaker called “Move and Be Moved” that, according to Mazda, seeks to connect the “joy of driving to the joy of living.” 

The creative approach puts as much emphasis on human achievement as vehicle capabilities. The first spot, which comes from WPP’s VML, features WNBA star Nika Mühl, biologist and professional surfer Cliff Kapono and Helio Meza, a racecar driver who competes in the MX-5 Cup Series. The ad shows them engaging in ther passions while telling viewers that “we craft cars for those who choose to do more than simply move.”

The goal, according to Audet, is to stand out in what he described as a “competitive marketplace where cars are becoming largely commoditized.”

“Everyone’s got great safety, everyone’s got good features, good craftsmanship, good performance,” he added. So Mazda examined “our reason for being—and if you go all the way back to the formation of the company, it really comes down to how, as a company, we benefit society, and more importantly, I think how we benefit humans.”

Human-centric marketing has long been a buzzword in the marketing community. But as Audet describes it, Mazda has a legacy that gives it a right to use such messaging. He points to its jinba ittai philosophy, which guides the automaker’s design and engineering approach that seeks to create intuitive connections between cars and drivers, as described on a website that articulates Mazda’s Japanese terminology.

“That sense of connection, and that idea of really designing and building for the benefit of the human, is super important,” Audet said. “Our fundamental truth as a brand is that we are more human centric than most, and I think we can say it authentically, despite the fact that others may be saying that they are human centric as well.”

The initial ad, called “Choose to Be Moved,” will debut tonight during “Thursday Night Football” on Amazon Prime, with Mazda committed to running ads during the weekly game in coming weeks as well, according to Audet. The media buy will extend to linear TV focused on sports programming including “Monday Night Football” on ABC/ESPN as well as ESPN’s college football coverage.

Also read: Amazon’s ‘TNF adds more than 50 new advertisers

The investment continues an uptick in ad spending for the automaker, which has sought to portray a more premium positioning. It spent $132 million on measured media in the U.S. in the first two quarters of 2024, approaching the $147 million it spent in all of 2023, according to Vivvix, including paid social data from Pathmatics. 

Audet said this year’s spending is the “highest amount of marketing spend that we've ever had,” adding that “we’re going to invest what it takes for us to be competitive.” 

Mazda has enjoyed robust demand—it sold 283,611 vehicles in the year’s first eight months, up 16% from the same period in 2023, according to Automotive News. Mazda’s U.S. vehicle market share through June increased by 0.2 percentage points to 2.6% year over year, Automotive News reported. But its profitability has been hurt by spending on sales incentives.  

The new campaign, Audet said, is a “way to create more demand for the brand and less reliance on incentives.” It will include influencer marketing, starting with social media videos featuring the three people in the first ad. 

Also read: Kenvue launches global influencer agency review

Mazda will also bolster its community-building efforts, Audet said, suggesting programs will be revealed later this year. Some of the efforts will involve dealers, with one example being a program in Oklahoma that supports local teachers.

Mazda dealers have also poured money into upgrades as part of a program called Retail Evolution that involves open-concept floor plans. Audet said 380 of Mazda’s 548 U.S. dealers are committed to the program, representing more than 85% of its sales. The open-floor layout and other upgrades are meant to promote more transparency and customer satisfaction, which Audet says feeds into its omotenashi philosophy.

“It’s about being selfless,” he said. “Now we’re bringing it more together with what I would say is an attitudinal mindset that brings the physical store together with the ambition of the brand in terms of how we treat people.”