Repositioning of the Protegé
One of the first challenges Doner undertook was to develop a campaign to completely reposition Mazda’s subcompact Protegé model for the 1999 model year. The Protegé had been positioned as a car that was a step up from a compact sedan but retained compact attributes such as fuel efficiency and price. The dual market for the Protegé included entry level young buyers and older, empty nesters who wanted a smallersecond car. However, the new advertising strategy for the Protegé called for positioning it as a cool, fun and hip to drive vehicle for young, individualistic females. The ads targeted young professional women in their early 20s to mid 30s and promoted euro-chic styling, room for friends, value, reliability, and cool
features of the car.