Motormouth: Taylor Swift as car brand ambassador - will it work?

If Taylor Swift endorses the Suzuki Swift, will sales of the hatchback explode, or it won’t make a difference and the highway don’t care?

Her Swifties fan base across Asia, which probably includes random hatchback drivers, might not even notice the car she appears in or with, especially if it’s not fancy, not quirky, and not Taylor-made for the superstar.

However, if her management team ever cuts a major deal with a car manufacturer which has marketing money to burn, the vehicular product placement will be noticeable and sometimes in your face, whether or not you’re a Swiftie who worships Tay Tay.

The vehicles in question will have “carmeo” roles in her new music videos, appear as props or backdrops on stage during her live performances, and provide point-to-point transport for her entourage when on tour. 

If the deal also covers branding, the subsequent merchandise will have the car company’s logo and slogan somewhere. 

It’s unlikely that the buyers/wearers will see the logo/slogan and then decide to try or buy the car, but at least they are a bit more aware of the automobile make vying for their short attention against much greater distractions such as social media, mobile games and lifestyle apps galore. The most attention-grabbing distraction, of course, would be Taylor Swift’s hits and clips. 

Teenagers who love Tay Tay, including the overaged/underemployed type, are not the target market for the buying/driving of any new car.

But these teens could drive a car brand’s engagement online and possibly influence the adults in their digital native world (parents, relatives, older friends who earn their keep). 

Taylor Swift also has fans in their thirties and forties, I'm sure, but their car purchase decisions don't depend on the songs she sang/wrote. Unless her creative output has some magical effect on her car-buying fans that I don't know about.

What I do know is that Britney Spears once fronted an advertising campaign for the first-gen Toyota Vios in Southeast Asia. 

She certainly helped to raise the profile of the budget saloon across the region, even though the pop princess never graced a Vios launch event or showed the Thai-made car in any of her American-made albums or music videos.

Baby one more time for the 2002 Toyota Vios, Britney.

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