Barack Obama and Mitt Romney aren't the only ones who want the votes of women this fall: Chevrolet is also pursuing women for the new Malibu, and so the brand has enlisted designer Isaac Mizrahi to get some fashion-forward attention for a vehicle that hasn't been known for being on the cutting edge of couture.
Mizrahi has designed a preppy collection (in patriotic colors of red, white and blue) of Chevy Malibu-inspired clothing, Malibu Style. It's exclusively being sold on the LivingSocial deals website, with its six pieces ranging from a bright blue totebag to an oversized watch, at prices ranging from $78 to $298.
The New York-based Mizrahi has colllaborated in the past with the likes of Target and QVC, but this collaboration aims at getting women to take a closer look at a nameplate that otherwise might not get their attention.
"There's a 50-50 male-female mix in this segment," Jon Hahn, marketing manager for Impala, told brandchannel, "so this is an important promotion for us." The limited-edition fashion collection expands on the Malibu's branded entertainment web series starring Mizrahi that debuted on YouTube in August.
GM needs the new Malibu to be a hit with both sexes, of course. The Malibu, introduced in 2008, was one of the first vehicles to establish a new generation of well-designed, appealing, high-quality vehicles from the automaker, a string that essentially has continued despite its bankruptcy and resuscitation. But the 2013 Malibu is competing against refreshed versions of Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Hyundai Sonata and, soon, Ford Fusion.
The video campaign that kicked off the Mizrahi collaboration took the designer to to four cities and meetings with fashionistas, whose input he used to arrive at ideas about which features of the car might be most adaptable to a clothing statement. The Chevy Malibu Style app on Facebook lets fans use an editing tool to create their own Malibu-inspired fashion collages. Time Inc. also gets into the act, with its In Style and People magazines running print ads for the fashion collection.
"This really was a collaboration, a Chevy spokesperson told Marketing Daily. "And it was a great opportunity for us to reach style-conscious women; it's a natural fit for Malibu."
Below, watch the first video wtih Mizrahi that kicked off the Malibu Style project and tell us — will making the Malibu not only more fashionable but wearable get more women drivers?
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