In this series, we ask top industry execs and marketers across the country about their biggest fears and concerns. What is giving top marketers fitful sleeps? This week, we caught up with Christine Smith, director of marketing for Hyundai Canada. 

Smith is responsible for leading the marketing strategy and execution for the Hyundai brand in Canada, reporting to the automaker’s president and CEO.

What’s keeping you up at night?

So many things – what day is it? I’m going to give you a bit of a two-pronged answer. One is just really the amount of disruption our industry is facing. It’s on a number of fronts. One is the move toward electrification and how fast or how slow will that happen? Is it a slow transition to hybrid, plug-in hybrid product development versus full EVs? Or do more people move directly to full EVs? Don’t believe the headlines…We are seeing good movement toward EVs industry-wide, and as well as here at Hyundai, so the move is still afoot.

Also, the threat of new entrants. This has not been a business that’s had a ton of new entrants over the course of history all the time, but it has been disrupted time and time again by new entrants, and that includes us 40 years ago. We saw it with Tesla and we see it now with the Chinese manufacturers, and what that’s going to mean for our business. That really means we need to need to focus on our business, our connection to our customers, our service, our overall customer experience and how do we do that. That’s obviously a bigger issue than just marketing, but we are certainly a big piece of that puzzle.

In addition to the EV sea change, how do you foresee vehicle ownership trends in the market especially with a high-cost environment, and perhaps younger demos turning to ride share or transit?

I don’t know that the answer is totally clear, to be honest. We are still seeing good growth in the industry in terms of new vehicle purchases. But you’re right, vehicles have gotten more expensive, as has life these days, and so I think that affordability and providing affordable options is going to become key.

But I do think in Canada, because of our geography especially … vehicle ownership will still be something that Canadians do. I just don’t know that ride sharing has found its firm footing. What we’re still seeing is that people are still buying cars. How that evolves as things get more expensive, do we see more people, especially starting out, (opting for) used solutions or certified pre-owned or smaller, more affordable options? Canada’s gone through a real shift from more small cars into SUVs, and could we see smaller SUVs coming back into the market to help with the affordability question? I think that could be a piece of the puzzle, but I do think we are a driving society here in Canada.

Hyundai is the fourth-best-selling vehicle brand in Canada, according to recent numbers. How important is it to do Canadian-specific marketing, and how important is that to your success?

Very. I think there’s are a couple of aspects I’d attribute our success to. I think first and foremost is our product line, and I think we hit a solid place that’s well-suited to the Canadian public in terms of what they need and what they are looking for. That’s a mix of internal combustion, hybrid, as well as battery EVs, and at different places in the country, those markets are at differing levels of development.

The pace with which we update our products is also a key contributor to our success. Our product line is always fresh, so that’s a big piece of it.

I think from a marketing standpoint, most of our stuff is local, to be honest, and we do lean on global resources when there’s an opportunity. But our message is specific to the Canadian market, and I think that that really stands out and I think it breaks through, which is really what we need to do in marketing. We need to get attention and get people to pay attention and put us on their consideration list. We see that Canadian-specific and Quebec-specific work is really critical to seeing those metrics move meaningfully.

How is Connor Bedard and the NHL overall helping to move the needle?

It’s helping in a few ways. Our hockey partnership overall is one of the ways that we connect with Canadians through shared passions. We’ve been able to work very effectively with our league partners at the NHL, but also with the PWHL, an up-and-coming league, to really put our mark on hockey. Players are now really wanting to work with us… That tells us we are doing something right.

One of the things about hockey that is so Canadian is our mark on the game at a North American and global level. No matter where you are in Canada, these are our hometown heroes, whether it’s Gretzky, Crosby, McDavid and now Connor Bedard is that next-generational talent, and we all feel kinship and a sense of pride with him. That’s why I think a partnership with Bedard, who is a player so front and centre in the league, but someone who Canadians look to and say “he’s ours,” works. Even though he plays south of the border, he’s a Canadian hockey star and brings recognizability to our hockey work that really stands out.

Do you have a challenger mindset, and when will that change in terms of trying to eclipse leaders like Ford and Toyota?

I think we have a challenger mindset, but it’s changed in terms of how we think about it. When we first came to market, and for a long time thereafter, how we were challenging was on value and cost and that we were an affordable option. The way we define value today and what we offer is different from discounts and deals, which was effective for the time. Now, in the number four position and second in import and brands behind us as we move up… We need to still want to challenge and not lose that hunger and drive and don’t want to get complacent. The way we challenge is different and we need to think a bit more across the brand experience because that’s how we are going to challenge.

Can we make breakthrough hard-hitting advertising and go after competitors? Absolutely. But we also need to think about every single customer touchpoint, and how are we providing exceptional experience, be it a service reminder, service experience, purchase, be it a series of emails and routines before a car is delivered. How do we make sure every single touchpoint is top of the pack? That’s what drives us.