Automotive News Canada - December 2017 - 17

* D E C E M B E R 2 017

Infiniti picks up
the QX pace
The redesigned 2019 QX50 midsize utility vehicle
is slated for sale next spring. ( P H O T O : I N F I N I T I )
Vancouver-area dealer Ian Speckman and sons Joel, left, and Luke, use a staff of 10 to shoot
TV ads on a Sportsnet broadcast set. ( P H O T O : M A P L E - R I D G E - C H R Y S L E R - J E E P - D O D G E )

The shtick that sticks
B.C. dealer uses
the Sporstnet set
to grab attention
I'm a family guy,
and spread the word and I've got three boys,
that 'we're closer
two of whom are now in the
than you think'
By PERRY LEFKO

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

AFTER YEARS OF USING
radio to promote his brand
and his business, Ian
Speckman has found a unique
approach to make people
across British Columbia aware
of his Maple Ridge ChryslerJeep-Dodge dealership.
For the past year and a half,
Speckman and his sons Luke
and Joel have appeared as
faux sportscasters in a studio
used by the Sportsnet TV network, and doing shtick to promote the dealership and the
family brand.
The commercials are shown
on regional broadcasts of the
Vancouver Canucks games
and on local Global TV newscasts. A 15-second spot was
also shown locally on a simulcast of the final game of the
2017 World Series and during
the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The commercial spots have
made Speckman and his sons
quasi-celebrities in the province.
"It gets a little embarrassing," he said. "I will go to a
hockey game and someone will
say, 'Why aren't you at work
selling Dodges?'"
The TV commercials are a
product of media marketing
Speckman began in 2008 with
"unconventional" radio commercials featuring a back-andforth conversation with his
former partner.
"They were loud and in
your face, and they worked
really well," Speckman said.
"We captivated that for about
five or six years. And then
other dealers started [doing
it], and I started having a hard

commercials with me. So
people know they are not
just buying from some big
car company but a family
and real people.
IAN SPECKMAN

Vancouver-area dealer
time hearing the difference.
So, I thought this pie isn't the
venue I really want to use anymore."
To be proactive and a leader in the Vancouver marketplace, he decided to film a TV
commercial, loosely based on
himself and which morphed
into an animated character.
While in the broadcast studio, Speckman was shown the
Sportsnet set. He thought it
would be fitting to do a commercial in that setting, and
was given the go-ahead.
"If you're going to be on
TV [advertising], where do
you want to be?" he said. "You
want to be on the news or
you want to be on sports. We
tried to get ourselves into
live TV.

FAMILY AFFAIR
"We don't promote price
per se. What we really market
is who we are. We try to be a
little bit fun and funny. I'm a
family guy, and I've got three
boys, two of whom are now in
the commercials with me. So,
people know they are not just
buying from some big car company but a family and real people.
"To this day, I will write
the whole car deal up. I'll do a
walkaround with a customer.
I'm in the showroom, actively

selling cars. We get involved
and market ourselves very
strongly about the pleasure of
buying here."
Speckman said the commercials are costly to produce, employing 10 professional technical people. He works
with his radio representative
to script the commercials.
"So much of it has to fit to
the individual," he said. "We
find that's pretty important;
that it's got to be something I
would say or my sons would
say. I have a fairly distinctive
voice. It has to fit me."
Speckman and his sons
learn lines and project them
like actors. The commercials
are shot using five to six camera angles and are spliced
together. He said each commercial costs between $3,500$5,000 and the ads are shot
three at a time.
Some customers come to
the showroom having seen
Speckman and his sons in the
commercials and want to meet
them.
"I'm the face of the dealership is what it really comes
down to. I'm someone they can
identify to what Maple Ridge
Chrysler is, but we don't like
to use the word famous."

NETWORK FILLERS
"We've kind of become like
the Sportsnet [guys] because
we use their desk. The idea
of using the Sportsnet desk is
to grab [viewers'] attention.
The network uses us as fillers
because we just fit so nice into
what they already do and how
they look. We're just a natural
[fit]."
The commercials use the
words "we're closer than you
think."
"That tag line has really
separated us," Speckman said.
"That's what people have been
saying to me for years. 'Hey,
Ian, you're closer than you
think.'"
Speckman also has a shelf
business called Closer Than
You Think. - ANC

Updated QX80,
redesigned QX50
aimed at growing
segment
By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

INFINITI HAS GIVEN THE
QX80 full-size utility vehicle
a sharper look for the 2018
model year as the brand seeks
to gain ground in a segment
where it lags most major competitors.
The 2018 QX80, unveiled
at the Dubai auto show in
November, has a host of
design changes that, while
far from revolutionary, give
it a sharper look. The changes include a revised front end
with a wider grille, thinner
headlights and a tweaked interior with larger infotainment
screens and new upholstery
choices.
Infiniti sees continued
growth in the full-size utility segment in 2018, where it
competes with the Cadillac
Escalade, Land Rover Range
Rover, Lexus LX and Lincoln
Navigator. Aside from the
Navigator, QX80 sales have
trailed competitors in 2017,
and it is the only model of
the five to have experienced
a decline in annual sales
through November, falling
15 per cent year-over-year,
despite a strong November.
The QX80 refresh is one of
two utility vehicles Infiniti
unveiled in November, the
other being the redesigned
midsize 2019 QX50, featuring
a new look and a new vari-

able-compression four-cylinder engine. Infiniti Canada
Managing Director Adam
Paterson told Automotive
News Canada ahead of the
unveilings that the redesigns
could prove to be important
for the brand as it looks to
gain market share in the luxury segment.
"These will do fantastic
things for us as far as building excitement around the
brand."
Infiniti sales were up 5.6
per cent in Canada on the
year through November.
Pricing in Canada was not
available as of press time.
The QX80 is expected to hit
Canadian showrooms in early
2018 and the QX50 will arrive
by spring. - ANC

Infiniti Canada Managing
Director Adam Paterson says
the redesigned QX80 and
QX50 utility vehicles will add
"excitement" to the brand.
(PHOTO: INFINITI)

The Infiniti QX80 full-size utility vehicle sports a wider grille
and thinner headlights. ( P H O T O : I N F I N I T I )

http://www.mapleridgechrysler.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - December 2017