*This article is reposted from the autocarweekly official account.
Author: Du Debiao
Being good at attracting women is important, not only because it may decrease the proportion of single people, but also because it can bring a wave of sales.
In March, sales of the Great Wall Ora series reached 13,000, an increase of 1,038% year-on-year. In the market of around 100,000 yuan, entry-level products are generally struggling, while Ora has taken the lead in achieving wealth in sales. But what is worth paying more attention to than the data is the proportion. In the car buying system usually dominated by men, Ora’s female users account for more than half.
This is a product that is very good at attracting women.
In the past, inviting a woman to endorse a product was considered to carry a narrow positioning risk. Now, Ora has directly injected female DNA, which cannot but be said to be the Great Wall’s interpretation of the car buying group. For example, cat mods, cat suctions, lion mods, leopard mods, tiger mods, and other feline animals are stars on Bilibili. In Oleg’s park, you can often hear male and female viewers shouting “blood tank is empty” together in the barrage.
Therefore, the concept of “female culture” is no longer applicable, and it is gradually approaching mainstream culture. A friendly gesture that stops short may not produce any chemical reaction. For example, celebrity endorsements, image endorsements, neutral styles can coexist peacefully, but the ceiling is just polite smiles, as for sparks, sorry, you are not her type.
Unless it is a certain incarnation, such as Ora’s meow family, this might be enough. So you see, when it comes to attracting women or older ladies, price is secondary. You do not need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to show off your luxury. What is important is whether the other party is interested in your language system and spiritual communication. Regardless of black cats, white cats or good cats, they sound like a replica of Lancome’s Little Black Bottle or Olay’s Jade Orchid Oil. As a straight man, I also know a thing or two about this. Therefore, it should not be difficult for female users to accept.
However, if Ora, which has already rooted in female DNA, only uses naming to bring a smile, it seems to be wasting this marketing decision with a risk factor. From the styling (delicacy lies in the fact that the black cat, white cat and good cat use three different designs), naming (acquainted with rice, Léon Blue, cream green), these links and memory points, to the compact body design (revolutionarily breaking the iron law of bigger is better), as well as the interior design (such as storage space for high heels), a three-dimensional operation not only ensures the success rate in attracting women, but also boosts sales step by step, proving that this is a brand product that understands women.
Once Pandora’s Box is opened, as far as cars and people are concerned, the world of women is so vast, just like slogan colors can be divided into dozens of different shades. Although my knowledge is limited to tomato red, ox blood red, and period blood color, there are endless other classifications, and I’m sure there can still be diligent exploration.
Not only the names, even the positioning can be further discussed. For example, are women really completely uninterested in performance, and does the styling have to be cute instead of going for a retro look? Even among cat owners, there are those who prefer big or small cats, short hair or long hair. The Great Wall of female psychology experts has already been built but there are still more attempts being made.
It has been reported that during the Shanghai Auto Show, Great Wall Motors will unveil two new models, one of which is officially called the “Time Machine” and has been previewed by military sister-in-law Zhang Xinyu. She mentioned that the product follows a streamlined style with a rounded shape and a princess vibe. From a third-party perspective, without any male chauvinism, since it is a new product category, it needs to differentiate itself from the previous models in terms of styling. There are girls who are obsessed with Captain America and there are those who like to snuggle at home watching Crayon Shin-chan. Creating a family with different styles but able to satisfy the tastes of different women is the ultimate goal.
In fact, the classic design of the sloping back style can be seen on this new model, which is one of the signs of the retro style. Over a decade ago, when I was young and strong with thick hair, I often saw Chrysler’s PT Cruiser strolling along the Fifth Avenue near the Bird’s Nest, feeling very unique. Although the shape is similar to that of the Beetle, the atmosphere has its own urban style, indicating that retro style can also be divided into many factions. Later, I found out that this car was also the first love of many colleagues, but no similar design was used in subsequent products, so they had to make up for the regret on other sloping back cars.
Now with the Euler series taking the female-oriented route and reviving the retro trend, I believe it is not only a great boon for women users who are extremely sensitive to styling design, especially streamlined beauty, but also stimulates the nostalgia of veteran drivers who have witnessed the ups and downs of the auto market for many years. When some people saw this new model, they mentioned thinking of Roman Holiday. Senior movie and car enthusiasts could not only recall the bicycles and Honda motorcycles from that movie but also imagine the old Fiat 500.
Therefore, adopting a retro design itself is a major highlight of this car model, and nostalgia is a commonality across genders. Moreover, with the previous series of Black Cat, Good Cat, and White Cat having achieved clear distinctions in design, I believe they will have their own exclusive interpretation on this brand new model.
If there is retro, there must be future. Compared to the yet-to-be-revealed design and lineup of the “Time Machine,” another new car is already named Lightning Cat. In fact, for Great Wall, which is “changeable” in marketing, this “opposite side” could have been thought of a long time ago. This car is the first supercar product released by Great Wall. In line with the tradition of being impressive without making any sound, it is believed that this car will not disappoint people in terms of performance.
Of course, “not disappointing” does not refer to the male perspective. If Great Wall can closely follow the needs of some female users from styling to design in products for users costing around 100,000 yuan, why can’t it be more transparent on the specifications of “supercars” that are said to cost around 200,000 yuan?
Lightning Cat adopts the concept of supercar design with ultra-low wind resistance, and is equipped with frameless doors and electric tail wings. From the exposed part of the camera on the spy photos, it can be seen that this model may be equipped with industry-leading intelligent driving technology, mainly focusing on power performance and intelligent driving. It may become a “trump card” against Tesla or the recently launched Xpeng P7. Currently, this car is significantly different from the previous members of the Ora family. Therefore, it can be seen that Great Wall, which is focused on female users and is almost a female confidant nowadays, has not closed the door to male users.
I think Great Wall is not looking for common ground between the two sexes, but rather the decision-making power of female users when buying a car is increasing, and performance is not exclusively for men. Ora’s perspective still starts from women, but whether it is the culture of raising cats, aesthetic styling, or so-called female culture, they are all approaching the mainstream. When reflected in automobiles, they can also attract some male users at the same time. For example, the original intention of Lightning Cat seems to be to attract women who are used to sitting in the co-driver’s seat to drive. This is very similar to the fact that Tank 300 caters to both men and women, and male users can easily find their opponent to be the Model 3.
Anyway, the Ora series still has an added value, which is to tell men how to pick up girls. For example, let’s take a look back at the sales volume of the Ora series in March, 13,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 1038%, and achieved brilliant results throughout the third quarter.
If you present a fact like this to her, the atmosphere will be very stiff, but if you phrase it differently: Half of these users are actually female, then you two are likely to open up a space for discussion and she may even give you some insights.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.