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Viva Voce

It has been a while since I flipped through a copy of Car magazine. It once had biblical significance to me when I worked on car accounts. I admire it for the investment in photography and writing that would leave one desperately wanting to expand one's carbon footprint - though such a thing did not exist at the time. I have the same regard for Top Gear on television. It's all in the production values, son. (Actually it's more than that…both Top Gear and Car have something crucial. Their own voice. For better or worse Jeremy Clarkson says what's on his mind. Agree with him like a devotee in a cult of just laugh out loud at his ranting, doesn't matter. He's Clarkson and it entertains).

On the topic of finding a voice I was reading with interest the article in the August 07 edition featuring the new Fiat 500 (which I blogged about when it was still but a glimmer in Fiat's eye - Bambina returns.) AN excellent section called "An Education from the Mini Blueprint."

1. Make it feel Italian
2. Crack your home market
3.…Then crack America
4. Prepare for success
5. Make it classless and cool
6. Make each one unique
7. Don't be shy with the pricing
8. let them tick the boxes
9. Not perfect? Don't worry
10. Don't talk about the old one too much

This is an excellent primer for anyone considering developing a product (whether it is a revival or entirely new). Further proof that, sometimes it pays to look outside the convention venues when looking for marketing inspiration.

I'd be very happy with a new Bambina. Maybe the Abarth model. I once owned a 130TC Abarth and it was a sensation. I'd have a another in a flash - if they weren't all simply piles of iron oxide now.

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