Article at a glance:

Revving up auto branding

US car companies spend upward of $40 billion a year on marketing—more than any other US industry. Yet the combined market share of the Big Three continues to slide. Why? The authors of this piece place the blame on a loss of brand identity. As cars become more alike, carmakers have often made price the main reason for choosing one brand over another—the classic trap of a commoditizing industry and the destroyer of healthy profit margins.

The take-away

What to do? Car companies must abandon their emphasis on rebates and incentives and instead put their marketing budgets behind the holistic management of every consumer touch point, from product design through after-sales service.