Garret Ohm Named Natl Auto Mktg Examiner

I'm proud to announce that after applying for the role of National Automotive Marketing Examiner for Examiner.com several weeks ago, I was recently given the green light to start writing. The column will focus on trends in automotive marketing in the United States and sometimes even around the world. I was motivated to write this column because if there's two industries I absolutely love they are automotive and marketing.

But more importantly, I think there's tons to write about right now. The big players are struggling to stay afloat, there's a constant debate over the future of vehicle technology, and all the while the new kids on the block (Tesla, Fisker, Coda, Aptera) jockey for position as the future of the automobile. The result is some pretty interesting marketing that's taking place. I wanted to share the first article I wrote about one of the darling startups of the automotive industry, Tesla Motors. You can read the full article HERE. I'd love your comments and thoughts, and please do add my page to your Google Reader or bookmarks! 

Why Did Tesla Tweet, Then Stop?

Of the many brands that I’ve engaged with on Twitter, Tesla Motors comes to mind as the one brand that has really used Twitter as a tool to catapult itself from relative obscurity into the limelight. As an auto enthusiast wholly enthralled with the industry's move toward clean technology, I had heard of Tesla before Twitter but didn’t really have any real familiarity with the brand until I started following @TeslaMotors. They used the account often to discuss the company's advancements, interact with the early-adopting public, and build excitement for their upcoming products. They even gave public updates of their Roadster deliveries, invigorating investors and making gear heads like me want one even more. They built quite a lot of momentum with the account and did so pretty quickly, building their list of followers to well over 9,000 people, many of which were, by default, exactly the type of people Tesla was hoping to reach — technology savvy, early-adopting entrepreneurs.

Unfortunately, a very peculiar thing happened late last Fall. With the tweet “Chris Paine gets his Roadster!" @TeslaMotors went silent. For some strange reason that tweet started a drought of nearly six months—a period that included the high-profile unveiling of their highly anticipated Model S sedan. At a time when you’d expect they’d be working hard to court investors and encourage buyers to put down their $5,000 deposits for a Model S (and fund future production), they said nothing.

I'm happy to report that in the last few weeks, Tesla has resumed Tweeting, although not engaging on the level it once was, with recent tweets touting mainly news releases or blog posts. It really makes me curious as to what happened to @TeslaMotors during the “dark” period? Why did they seemingly give up on an outlet that has the potential to reach so many potential investors, buyers and brand ambassadors? I suppose folks at Tesla are the only ones that know the real answer (and they’re welcome to answer here).

If you have any ideas or theories, please feel free to leave a comment here!

by Garret Ohm

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