Copywriting with more drive

At Craft we’re expert drivers of automotive brands. It’s become a speciality for us, and we’ve been trusted to create copywriting with more drive by manufacturers including VW, Jaguar Land Rover and Škoda.

So what makes great automotive copy? Hop inside and we’ll take you on a journey.

Personality

The first thing we do is look at the brand itself. What is its voice? Its heritage? What do people expect from it? How can we surprise them? After all, not all automotive brands are the same, and their differences play a huge part in why people choose them. The reliability of Volkswagen, the sportiness of Audi, the practicality of SEAT. Anything we write for any of these brands has to sit alongside decades of other communications and a personality carefully established over time. We spend a lot of time reading and absorbing information, so that we can write for each brand authentically and engagingly.

Drive

The next thing is to understand the job our copywriting needs to achieve. Are we selling hard and pushing people towards a sale? Or are we merely informing and building rapport? For example, the work we produced for Škoda’s SUV range was very much in the former category. We were introducing the cars and their features in order to drive sales. Whereas for VW vans, our task was more about driving long term engagement and community building. Each task is different and each automotive client’s goals distinct.

Detail

We ask a lot of questions. like, a lot of questions. It’s crucial to be able to write about the details of the different vehicles in any range with authority and passion. After all, Škoda’s customers need to understand all the features of the SUV range, but also feel excited by them. Each car in the range is aimed at a different type of driver with different needs. And of course, each model can be customised to individual needs. It’s our job to turn those configurations and technical nuances into copy that moves people to action. Whether it’s for drivers, passengers, or even dogs. Hence we were there to explain a range of accessories designed and dedicated to making man’s best friend as comfortable as possible in a Land Rover.

Affinity

We also need to really know and understand the different audiences for each brand. To be aware of what motivates them and how they relate to their vehicle. After all, not everyone is a petrolhead. Our Audi project was very much about understanding the customer. We took a deep dive into all of Audi’s recent consumer research documentation and data and emerged with a new persona that linked to the refreshed tone of voice for the brand. This ensured we were able to avoid writing generic automotive copy and instead create language that was distinctly ‘Audi’. Meanwhile, our work for SEAT Motability was an exercise in understanding another kind of audience. The scheme helps people with a wide range of disabilities own their own car. In some cases they may not even drive it. So our role was to convey information in a way that was clear and simple. While at the same time, it was crucial that we struck a respectful tone that was helpful, and never condescending.

Driving lessons

We love working on automotive brands and, as you can see, no two are ever the same. We’ve learnt a lot from our involvement with famous manufacturers that we’ve found has applied to many other completely unrelated areas. An appreciation of hard-won brand equity, the nuances of different but related audiences, the need to be 100% on top of the detail.

Whether you’re in the automotive sector or any other, why not see how our crack team of writers could help you? Get in touch today.