Many people may think this is an odd thing for someone in their early 20′s to write about as I was certainly never in a car which had a bulky relic of the 80′s within it whilst being replaced by hands free and other devices in the last 20 or so years
Not as a muckle amalgamation of technology and precursor of the mobile but a more mutually beneficial partnership is now underway between the phone and the car.
This post will outline a number of links between mobile and the automotive industry I have noted over the last few of months.
BMW i-venture
I first became aware of the intent by car firms to make mobile the point of differentiation in a crowded market at many if not all price points and product categories and breaking new ground rather than reinventing the 7p’s in the showroom or on the forecourt.
With the BMW initiative i-venture which aimed to assist developers to create native app’s for an incar environment by granting them a portion of a war chest of £64 million($100 million) to those who create engaging propositions.
General Motors has also entered the fray to find a complementary use that will appeal to the netizen of the 21st century with Ford key free technology. This will add an incentive to buy a Ford for consumers who are not already driving one with their key free login removing hassle from our digital lives and is an auxiliary benefit from the primary uses of smart key-fobs which can be seen in this recent communications campaign
Ford key free technology
Audi is also starting to use mobile with their car free show room
Juxtaposing them with their recent slue of nostalgic ads backed by a sound track inspired by Hans Christian Andersen story.This two pronged approach to brand building brings together heritage and cutting edge show room experience within their communications, which will aim to bring sales across the product portfolio.
Non traditional players are also poised to influence the car market in the medium term, this takes the shape most prevalently of Google and it’s driver less car which has now been granted permission to drive on the roads of Nevada.
Update: As of 8 of August 2012 the Google car was statistically safer than the average human car driver.
The videos used are courtesy of Razorfish and Ogilvy and Mather
