Jeep sings a happy tune after ‘Songland' show partnership

FCA's global marketing chief, Olivier Francois, says he understands that "product is king" but would like to think advertising was a big reason Jeep had a hot month.

Jeep got a prime-time spotlight in August on NBC's "Songland," a songwriting competition series, with contestants vying to have their song used in a Jeep commercial. While the show is about music, the "Songland" partnership also was a way to highlight the brand's youthful, free-spirited values. The word "Jeep" was mentioned 34 times during the 41-minute episode that prominently featured the Wrangler.

Going into the sixth "Summer of Jeep" ad push, Francois said he had concerns about how effective a campaign could be with a lineup that was largely the same as last year other than the new Gladiator pickup.

The brand ended up building its summer campaign, which launched in July, around Avengers star Jeremy Renner, who played Hawkeye in the film series. Renner, also a singer and songwriter, debuted music in several Jeep spots touting the Wrangler, Grand Cherokee and Compass. Francois said Renner's story of being an actor exploring new avenues and trying something different with music fit well with Jeep.

"Marketing is one piece of the puzzle, obviously. I'm not saying that the campaign and marketing is everything, but every element of the arsenal had to be better than last year, and the cast was the same," Francois told Automotive News last week. "I think that this is a confirmation that the approach is good."

Christian Meunier, who was named Jeep's global president in May, said in an internal memo that the Gladiator is "bringing more consumers into our showrooms. With Jeep soon to enter new segments and offer even more advanced technologies, we see nearly limitless potential."