HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA MARKETING VP JOEL EWANICK NAMED BRANDWEEK 2009 "GRAND MARKETER OF THE YEAR"

Honoring individuals who embrace both value and values, as well as unabashed creativity in marketing their companies, Brandweek, one of the leading marketing and advertising magazines in the nation, today announced that Joel Ewanick, vice president of Marketing for Hyundai Motor America, earned the esteemed acknowledgement of Grand Marketer of the Year for 2009. The award recognizes Hyundais innovative and creative marketing tactics that distinguish it from the other 11 Brandweek Marketers of the Year.

If making the sale were that easy, wed have 1,200 marketers of the year instead of just 12. Marketing is hard, especially today, said Brandweek Editor-in-Chief Todd Wasserman. The Brandweek Marketers of the Year consistently make new rules and then break them, reinventing the best way to connect with consumers and make a product resonate.

I am thrilled to receive this recognition on behalf of Hyundai and our marketing team, said Joel Ewanick, vice president, Marketing, Hyundai Motor America. Hyundai takes great pride in listening to its customers and developing programs and marketing concepts that directly address their needs, as seen with Hyundai Assurance, Gas Lock and the acceleration of Cash for Clunkers. The Grand Marketer of the Year award is a very special honor for Hyundai and is a true indication that our marketing and advertising efforts are paying off.

In early 2009, Hyundai Motor America introduced a program designed to break down the barriers that new car buyers encounter in an unpredictable economy. With the simple words, if you lose your job, you can give the car back, Hyundai Assurance quickly became the talk of not just the automotive industry, but others, as it spawned many copy-cat programs in the airline, retail and real estate industries. Hyundai Assurance immediately resonated with car buyers and helped Hyundai grow market share from 3.0 percent in 2008 to 4.4 percent through August. Hyundai continued the marketing and car buying momentum with the Assurance Gas Lock offer, which guaranteed a years worth of gas at $1.49/gallon on select Hyundai models. A third game-changing marketing tactic was the acceleration of the government Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), where Hyundais early roll-out of the program, combined with a high-quality, price-competitive and fuel-efficient vehicle lineup, positioned it perfectly ahead of the competition. These marketing efforts communicated the consistent message that Hyundai is listening to the needs of the public and, combined with a strong product lineup and a responsive dealer network, delivered Hyundais largest sales month in history in August 2009.

Hyundai advertising made a splash in 2009 with opportunistic ad placements at high-profile, mainstream events. Hyundai expanded its Super Bowl advertising with a total of five placements during the pre- and in-game show, for added total exposure during the nations most-watched sporting event. Ads featured the 2009 North American Car of the Year, Genesis, Hyundai Assurance program and all-new Genesis Coupe. Building on Super Bowl advertising momentum, Hyundai launched its first national advertising campaign on Oscar night with eight total spots airing on ABCs telecast of the 81st Annual Academy Awards.

2009 marks the 18th year that Brandweek has honored top marketers with the Marketer of the Year award.

Brandweeks Marketer of the Year Awards are presented to an outstanding list of marketers selected by a panel of Brandweek editors. The editors select winners based on their own research and broad perspective across all industries. All candidates are scored by merit and marketplace efforts that not only speak for themselves in terms of brand performance and sales, but can be traced back to individuals. The editors consider a campaigns creativity, risk and business results. Video interviews with winning marketers can be found at www.brandweek.com/moy.

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