As anyone who’s ever bought or leased a car knows, beyond
basic transportation there’s always a list of optional extras--ABS,
surround-sound, tinted windows, cruise control, coffee maker. You know, the usual.
Wait, coffee maker? Have we mixed up categories? No, you read right, coffee
makers.
Fiat, once known for the acronym Fix-It-Again-Tony, more
recently known for Jennifer Lopez ads, has announced that its 500L model will
be the first car in the world to come standard with a Lavazza espresso machine,
making its debut in Italy before buzzing across Europe.
OK, cards on the table. Our Customer Loyalty Engagement
Index covers the automotive category and we have lots of attributes, benefits,
and values (including options), so usually we can accurately predict what
percent-contribution a change to a car can make to engagement, as we did years
ago with the 4th door on the minivan.
But in this case we don’t include anything about coffee
makers, so we’re not exactly sure into which category engagement driver we
might look to see how strategically leveragable caffeinating a car brand actually
is. We can, however, comment as regards innovation, a critical category driver
when it comes to engagement and loyalty. After all Italy is known for design
and innovation and coffee. Wasn’t it at an Italian cafe that Howard Schultz got
the idea for Starbucks?
Anyway, here’s the top-7 automotive brands when it comes to
“innovation.” After 7 they’re all viewed in pretty much the same way.
- Mercedes
- BMW
- Toyota
- Ford
- Fiat
- Mini Cooper
- Jeep
As you can see, Fiat came up #5. Maybe it’s that Italian
heritage they’ve got working for them. And maybe Fiat felt that today’s drivers
needed more distractions while operating a couple tons of metal, plastic,
rubber, and glass. Or maybe drivers needed something to keep them awake while
sending text messages and reading emails.
Before anyone turns into a tempest in a demitasse, you
should know that Fiat says that the machine will only work when the vehicle is
stopped. We’re not sure about how desirable an in-car coffee machine is going
to be for Italians who like their long leisurely lunches, usually on a
sun-drenched piazza.
But Americans love innovation and eating and drinking on the
go. Keep in mind that while we didn’t invent the in-car coffee machine concept,
we did invent the drive-thru.
Someone once defined the word “forever” as the time to takes
to brew the first pot of coffee in the morning. Now, if you drive a Fiat, forever
just got a lot shorter.
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