[doug]

A small bit of news:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324469304578145182032787440.html

Fisker Automotive Inc,. a struggling maker of pricey electric cars, has hired Joel Ewanick, General Motors Co.'s former chief marketer, as its looks to finance and build its second model.

...

Mr. Ewanick's position appears to be on a contract basis and replaces Richard Beattie, who the company said has retired after serving with Fisker for a year.

"As we seek to appoint a long-term successor, there is no one better than Joel, with his wealth of motor industry experience and knowledge to guide us through this interim period. I am delighted to welcome him to the Fisker team," Mr. Posawatz said in a statement.
...

Is Richard Beattie (the guy who's leaving) the one responsible for the "This Isn't Easy" ad campaign?

 

[Fabulist]

It's always nice to see more adults coming on board, and BTW, you can tell from the description of the company as "a struggling maker of pricey electric cars" where the WSJ comes down on Fisker.

Not sure if Beattie was the father of the "This is Hard!" campaign. If so, he deserved to be fired long time ago.

 

[scottf200]

Jay's slant:

http://insideevs.com/fisker-adds-another-ex-gm-employee-as-joel-ewanick-becomes-marketing-boss/

Three weeks ago we exclusively reported that Fisker Automotive had plans for a third platform to take on General Motors ( http://insideevs.com/exclusive-fisk...car-to-take-on-chevrolet-volt-general-motors/ ) and the Chevrolet Volt/Cadillac ELR, and how this new information seemed to make sense of the curious hiring of the Volt’s Line Chief Tony Posawatz as Fisker CEO earlier this year.

Now it appears Fisker wants GM’s highest profile marketer in their stable too, as the company has hired former General Motor’s marketing boss Joel Ewanick as interim head of global sales.
<snip>
Mr. Ewanick had been best known as the person most responsible for the dramatic turnaround of Hyundai, that is until ...
<snip>
Can the slogan “Fisker Runs Deep” be that far off?

 

[doug]

It's always nice to see more adults coming on board, and BTW, you can tell from the description of the company as "a struggling maker of pricey electric cars" where the WSJ comes down on Fisker.

Yes, good to see them growing up. Industry veterans coming on board can be seen as votes of confidence. This was actually the the most neutral article of the four I saw on this. The others had titles like "Fired" or "Ousted" GM exec...

Not sure if Beattie was the father of the "This is Hard!" campaign. If so, he deserved to be fired long time ago.

Agree with you there.

 

[pythagoras]

Reading the profiles of Mr. Ewanick scares me a bit -- he may be accustomed to the kind of gargantuan marketing budgets that Fisker doesn't have and could quickly blow a wad on a misfiring campaign. But maybe he'll be creative enough to set Fisker's image on a small budget.

 

[plugitin]

We need ENERGY and PASSION behind Sales and Marketing! We need Silicon Valley / Start-up DNA types. I met an investor in Atlanta at an event in the summer. He was the one that inspired me to familiarize and get behind the wheel of the Fisker Karma. He had a crowd around him like he was a modern day Preston Tucker meets Steve Jobs!
He told the story and shared the vision better than anyone including Fisker himself.