Digital Marketing at Hyundai: My Interview with Steve Shannon

Steve Shannon is a car-guy, plain and simple.  He’s the VP of Marketing at Hyundai Motor America, a role he’s held for the past year.  Before that, he was Executive Director of Marketing at Cadillac, General Manager of Saab, General Manager of Buick, Executive Director of Marketing Services for GM Europe, and a Marketing Director at Saturn.  Want to know more about his brainpower and his business chops?  How about Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard University undergrad, and Columbia University Business School.  Enough said.

I am constantly told that his people love working for him, and I can say for a fact that his agency partners love working with him.  He is bright, fair, energetic, visionary, and just a flat out great guy.

He’s also sitting on top of one of the hottest car brands in the country.  Hyundai has an ever-growing portfolio of vehicles, stretching from the $12.5k Accent to the $59k Equus.  While the 13 vehicles fill out price ranges in between, there are 5 vehicles under $20k.  Hyundai has risen from a problem brand long ago, to a decade long ascent behind their 10-year warranty guarantee.  Their designs are catchy, and their sales results have been astounding, setting new records in 2010 and 2011, including a 20% increase last year, according to Automotive News.

Shannon had a great interview in AdAge toward the end of 2011 highlighting why Hyundai is a brand that connects to consumers both emotionally and rationally.

Click below to hear my interview with Steve, as we explore all things Hyundai.

The link to the podcast can be found here.   You can listen to it directly or download it to listen at your convenience.  And let me know what you think.

Thanks.