Wheels Australia — June 2017

TheInsider

PEDDLING INFLUENCE

Manufacturers want coverage more than ever,

but they’re less keen on the sort of scrutiny that

willslottheirproductsintoahierarchyofrivals.

You know, the exact thing that magazines like

this one do. Why let grubby journos drive a car

if there’sachancetheymightnotthinkit’sthe

best thing ever? It’s not like there’s a shortage

of alternatives...

Enter the ‘influencer’ – those web-based

personalities with substantial followings, who

can often be co-opted into delivering the sort

of hagiographic guff that the marketing

department might reckon was a bit OTT. Car

makers – especially those trying to flog top-end

product – are taking them increasingly seriously,

often dispatching them on the same launches as

old-fashioned media, sometimes even giving them

earlier or better access.

Smelling vinegar? This isn’t just

• some influencers are indeed pro

leveraging their prominence to pr

content. Chris Harris, the former m

who segued his self-funded YouTu

a gig presenting Top G ear T V in th

the best example. Harris was bann

back in 2011 for criticising the bra

win every comparo at any cost, so

no yes man.

But others are nothing more tha

with followings. Like, for example

real name Tim Burton, a well-spok

chap who started out filming othe

supercars before starting his own

‘Shmeemobiles’, including a McLa

His exploits have earned his YouT

a million followers, but you’ll wat

for any insight beyond the fact he

love everything.

Real supercar buyers definitely

blinkers. Gain access to some of the care

guarded forums where McLaren or Ferr

owners compare notes and you’ll find a full

and often forthright discussion of faults and

foibles – views that are often in stark contrast to

the official line. But influencers don’t dig dirt,

their place at the table is based on the strict

understandingthattheywilldeliverthesortof

criticism-free content that manufacturers crave.

AsaseniorPRforaluxurybrandrecentlyput

it,“thequestionfromtheboardmemberis

never‘whyhaven’tIseenitinMagazineX?’,but

‘whyhaven’tmykidsseenitonInstagram?’”

Theambitionisbuzzorhyperatherthan

critical analysis, with influencers and low-

grade celebrities co-opted to help deliver it,

oftenthroughthesortofpoststhatarebigon

#livingthedreamtypehashtags.Whilethefull

WE ALL KNOW THAT CRITICISM CAN BE HARD TO TAKE, ESPECIALLY IN

THIS AGE OF ‘GENERATION SNOWFLAKE’. BUT IT’S NOT JUST ANGST-RIDDE

MILLENNIALS LOOKING TO ‘SAFE SPACE’ THEMSELVES AWAY FROM HARD

TRUTHS – THE CAR INDUSTRY IS ALSO GETTING INCREASINGLY ADEPT AT

SWERVING UNWANTED ANALYSIS.

The ambition is buzz or hype rather than critical

analysis, with ‘infl uencers’ co-opted to deliver it

best example of a car that’s

been created to harvest

online buzz, to the extent that

potential buyers have had their

social media following assessed

before being allowed to buy

one. The offi cial logic is that,

as a halo product, the GT has

to refl ect some much-needed

glory on the rest of the Ford

range. A more cynical take is

that, as a car being sold with

a substantial price premium

over some very distinguished

rivals and packing a reworked

Ecoboost V6 where most

supercars have two, four or six

more cylinders, it needs all the

hype it can get.

tsour grapes

perjournos,

oduce unique

magazine journo

bechannelinto

eUKisprobably

ned byFerrari

andfor tryingto

he’s certainly

n fanboys

,Shmee150,

ken English

rpeople’s

collection of

aren 675LT.

ube channel

chitinva

seems to

don’t wear

reckoning will come, journos are persistent

buggers andwe’llusuallyget to wrangleboth

drives andproper comparos eventually.Butit’s

worth remembering that hype can be bought, as

well as earned.

“I LOVE IT;

FO’ REAL!”

efully

ar

N

Eco-hype boosted V 6

e or sproa y e

30 wheelsmag.com.au