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01-14-2015, 01:28 PM
The Evolution of Auto Show ‘Booth Babes’
Today’s Product Specialists Can Get $1,000 a Day to Show Off Cars, Gather Customer Intelligence
At any auto show you’ll see lots of cars, and standing next to them: attractive women and men. Increasingly, auto makers are relying on them to gather valuable feedback from consumers.
By JOHN D. STOLL And
ANNE STEELE
Jan. 14, 2015 12:38 p.m. ET6 COMMENTS (http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-evolution-of-auto-show-booth-babes-1421257095#livefyre-comment)
DETROIT—The rebirth of the U.S. auto industry has been accompanied by a trend that the millions of people who visit car shows each year are bound to notice: The auto-show model has made a roaring comeback.
After several lean years, some car companies have doubled their use of so-called product specialists. These aspiring fashion models or actors earn as much as $1,000 a day for staffing the companies’ displays and answering questions about their vehicles while looking better than almost anyone else around. For a single show, their services can cost an auto maker hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In recent years, the job, which has long required a detailed knowledge of vehicle specs and pricing, has expanded to include market research. Hedy Popson, a onetime show model who runs a talent agency, said auto companies are interested in their models extracting as much information from show visitors as they give out.
“What are consumers saying?” said Ms. Popson, referring to one of the many questions car makers ask her company, Productions Plus. “Are they interested in the economy anymore? Do they want brighter colors? What do they think of the aesthetics, the style, the design?”
“The minute the consumer leaves, the product specialist is downloading all that , either on an iPad, an iPhone, by text, because that is their job,” said Ms. Popson, who oversees 300 or more models at a big show like the North American International Auto Show, which kicked off here this week.
Some product specialists write daily briefs. Others compile a comprehensive report at the end of a show, which can run as long as two weeks.
The renewed demand for models stems from several factors. Auto makers are willing to dress the predominantly female hires more provocatively than was customary during the industry’s downturn and bankruptcies, said Ms. Popson. This year, with auto sales at near-decade highs and a glow overhanging Detroit, car companies see value in sex appeal. They are “saying ‘it’s time to have fun again,’ ” Ms. Popson added.
Not only can attractive people sell cars, they can squeeze a lot out of conversations, said Joe Gallant, Nissan Motor (http://quotes.wsj.com/7201.TO)Co. ’s auto-show and exhibits head. “Young women representing a brand at an auto show are much more approachable—I use the word accessible,” he said.
From Car Show Models to Product Specialists (http://online.wsj.com/articles/photos-from-car-show-models-to-product-specialists-1421255758)
Once called ‘booth babes,’ product specialists at auto shows have evolved into trained spokespeople for car brands
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GK433_SHOWMO_P_20150113120017.jpg
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Car-show models have evolved from their traditional role decades ago. An experimental car called the Futura by the Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford at the Chicago Auto Show in ...
A 1963 Detroit Auto Show model on a 1964 Plymouth Barracuda. Show models became popular around the 1950s, but only around the mid ’80s were they asked to become a lot more knowledgeable about the products.
A Mazda car at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 1994. In the past, specialists would read from a script on a turntable.
Product specialist Nick D'Agostino at the South Florida International Auto Show in Miami Beach in 2011. Specialists typically undergo training for a range of three to five days, according to Jeff MacLean at event agency Gail & Rice.
Toyota product specialist Laura Voss chats with Terri Raith during the State Fair of Texas in Dallas in 2012. How product specialists engage with consumers can be likened to the workers at Apple stores, said Christopher Murphy, senior vice president and general manager at marketing agency George P. Johnson. Specialists need to engage consumers for lead generation, he said.
Cathleen Hennon discusses Lexus SUVs with Ramin Kazemi last year at the Indy Auto Show. Over the past few years, increased access to information online has pushed the need for product specialists to know specific features like smartphone compatibility.
A model stands next to the new Alfa Romeo 4C during the preview at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this year. [I]J
Men also play a part. Ken Paul Smith, a Nissan product specialist for 19 years, says he remembers getting a lot of negative feedback several years ago on a feature in the trunk of the Infiniti sedan. Show models, including Mr. Smith, scrambled to get the comments to Nissan executives, and the auto maker ordered a design change.
On Tuesday in Detroit, Maria Fotiu, a Productions Plus model, got her marching orders. Wearing an off-brand gray-leather jacket and hound’s-tooth patterned cropped pants, she gathered feedback on General Motors (http://quotes.wsj.com/GM)Co. ’s redesigned 2016 Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid vehicle unveiled this week.
Before the Detroit show ends in late January, the 28-year-old Ms. Fotiu will see hundreds of thousands of visitors come by the Chevy display area. And she plans to use her iPad to jot down loads of comments about the Volt. “I’m very curious to hear what they’re going to tell us now,” she said.
Ms. Fotiu has a lot riding on the Volt’s success. While not an engineer or car designer, she has been appearing alongside the Volt since 2011 at shows all over the country. Over two years, she collected comments on its seating, radio controls and climate systems. Those comments played a role in GM’s redesign efforts.
“We got a lot of feedback because this was when the technology was brand new,” she recalled. “And [consumers] really picked it apart for us. We sent all that information back to GM, and that’s why when this next generation [of the Volt] came out, it changed a lot, based on what they said.”
While Detroit, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles host the nation’s biggest auto shows, they are among a handful of the hundreds held across the globe each year. Even small venues can provide important insights.
On New Year’s Eve, Chicago-based model and actress Cathleen Hennon was working the Indy Auto Show in Indianapolis, hoping to glean useful information from the clutch of visitors braving 16-degree temperatures to attend. Ms. Hennon, in a formfitting black jumpsuit designed by La Petite Robe and necklace and earrings by Givenchy, hit pay dirt within minutes of starting her shift.
Ramin Kazemi, a 44-year-old from Carmel, Ind., and his 2-year-old son stopped by the stand for Toyota Motor (http://quotes.wsj.com/7203.TO)Corp. ’s Lexus luxury brand. Mr. Kazemi, who drove a BMW (http://quotes.wsj.com/BMW.XE)X5, planned to look for something new in a year. Potentially interested in a Lexus RX sport-utility vehicle, Mr. Kazemi had a question about the bigger GX model, which has a tailgate that opens from the side: “Will they ever make a door that goes up in the back?”
Ms. Hennon, who had heard the question before, explained that the current configuration—while not ideal for loading gear into the vehicle—was necessary because of the GX’s design.
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GL036_SHOWMO_P_20150114124759.jpgENLARGE
Auto show model Amy Long talked about the Jeep Renegade at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. JOHN D. STOLL/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Nearby, Michelle Loya, wearing a red Armani jersey faux wrap dress, worked on an iPad screen jammed with remarks she had heard about Toyota models. The Prius hybrid needed a power lift gate, according to one visitor. Another urged Toyota to make heated cloth seats an option on all vehicles.
“The Camry XSE rims are just plain ugly,” one visitor told her. Another suggested that Toyota should come up with a better option to its current wheels, which were “a deal breaker.”
Based on her several years of experience, Ms. Loya said, she believes the Japanese auto maker will take action. A few years ago, when a new version of the best-selling Camry sedan came out, it didn’t have the HomeLink garage-opening system standard on some competing makes. After getting negative feedback, including complaints from the show floor, Toyota added the system.
Today’s Product Specialists Can Get $1,000 a Day to Show Off Cars, Gather Customer Intelligence
At any auto show you’ll see lots of cars, and standing next to them: attractive women and men. Increasingly, auto makers are relying on them to gather valuable feedback from consumers.
By JOHN D. STOLL And
ANNE STEELE
Jan. 14, 2015 12:38 p.m. ET6 COMMENTS (http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-evolution-of-auto-show-booth-babes-1421257095#livefyre-comment)
DETROIT—The rebirth of the U.S. auto industry has been accompanied by a trend that the millions of people who visit car shows each year are bound to notice: The auto-show model has made a roaring comeback.
After several lean years, some car companies have doubled their use of so-called product specialists. These aspiring fashion models or actors earn as much as $1,000 a day for staffing the companies’ displays and answering questions about their vehicles while looking better than almost anyone else around. For a single show, their services can cost an auto maker hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In recent years, the job, which has long required a detailed knowledge of vehicle specs and pricing, has expanded to include market research. Hedy Popson, a onetime show model who runs a talent agency, said auto companies are interested in their models extracting as much information from show visitors as they give out.
“What are consumers saying?” said Ms. Popson, referring to one of the many questions car makers ask her company, Productions Plus. “Are they interested in the economy anymore? Do they want brighter colors? What do they think of the aesthetics, the style, the design?”
“The minute the consumer leaves, the product specialist is downloading all that , either on an iPad, an iPhone, by text, because that is their job,” said Ms. Popson, who oversees 300 or more models at a big show like the North American International Auto Show, which kicked off here this week.
Some product specialists write daily briefs. Others compile a comprehensive report at the end of a show, which can run as long as two weeks.
The renewed demand for models stems from several factors. Auto makers are willing to dress the predominantly female hires more provocatively than was customary during the industry’s downturn and bankruptcies, said Ms. Popson. This year, with auto sales at near-decade highs and a glow overhanging Detroit, car companies see value in sex appeal. They are “saying ‘it’s time to have fun again,’ ” Ms. Popson added.
Not only can attractive people sell cars, they can squeeze a lot out of conversations, said Joe Gallant, Nissan Motor (http://quotes.wsj.com/7201.TO)Co. ’s auto-show and exhibits head. “Young women representing a brand at an auto show are much more approachable—I use the word accessible,” he said.
From Car Show Models to Product Specialists (http://online.wsj.com/articles/photos-from-car-show-models-to-product-specialists-1421255758)
Once called ‘booth babes,’ product specialists at auto shows have evolved into trained spokespeople for car brands
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GK433_SHOWMO_P_20150113120017.jpg
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GK431_SHOWMO_P_20150113120001.jpg
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GK432_SHOWMO_M_20150113120001.jpg
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GK427_SHOWMO_P_20150113120001.jpg
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GK429_SHOWMO_P_20150113120001.jpg
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GK428_SHOWMO_P_20150113120001.jpg
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GK430_SHOWMO_P_20150113120001.jpg
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GK433_SHOWMO_P_20150113120017.jpg
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GK431_SHOWMO_P_20150113120001.jpg
Car-show models have evolved from their traditional role decades ago. An experimental car called the Futura by the Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford at the Chicago Auto Show in ...
A 1963 Detroit Auto Show model on a 1964 Plymouth Barracuda. Show models became popular around the 1950s, but only around the mid ’80s were they asked to become a lot more knowledgeable about the products.
A Mazda car at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 1994. In the past, specialists would read from a script on a turntable.
Product specialist Nick D'Agostino at the South Florida International Auto Show in Miami Beach in 2011. Specialists typically undergo training for a range of three to five days, according to Jeff MacLean at event agency Gail & Rice.
Toyota product specialist Laura Voss chats with Terri Raith during the State Fair of Texas in Dallas in 2012. How product specialists engage with consumers can be likened to the workers at Apple stores, said Christopher Murphy, senior vice president and general manager at marketing agency George P. Johnson. Specialists need to engage consumers for lead generation, he said.
Cathleen Hennon discusses Lexus SUVs with Ramin Kazemi last year at the Indy Auto Show. Over the past few years, increased access to information online has pushed the need for product specialists to know specific features like smartphone compatibility.
A model stands next to the new Alfa Romeo 4C during the preview at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this year. [I]J
Men also play a part. Ken Paul Smith, a Nissan product specialist for 19 years, says he remembers getting a lot of negative feedback several years ago on a feature in the trunk of the Infiniti sedan. Show models, including Mr. Smith, scrambled to get the comments to Nissan executives, and the auto maker ordered a design change.
On Tuesday in Detroit, Maria Fotiu, a Productions Plus model, got her marching orders. Wearing an off-brand gray-leather jacket and hound’s-tooth patterned cropped pants, she gathered feedback on General Motors (http://quotes.wsj.com/GM)Co. ’s redesigned 2016 Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid vehicle unveiled this week.
Before the Detroit show ends in late January, the 28-year-old Ms. Fotiu will see hundreds of thousands of visitors come by the Chevy display area. And she plans to use her iPad to jot down loads of comments about the Volt. “I’m very curious to hear what they’re going to tell us now,” she said.
Ms. Fotiu has a lot riding on the Volt’s success. While not an engineer or car designer, she has been appearing alongside the Volt since 2011 at shows all over the country. Over two years, she collected comments on its seating, radio controls and climate systems. Those comments played a role in GM’s redesign efforts.
“We got a lot of feedback because this was when the technology was brand new,” she recalled. “And [consumers] really picked it apart for us. We sent all that information back to GM, and that’s why when this next generation [of the Volt] came out, it changed a lot, based on what they said.”
While Detroit, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles host the nation’s biggest auto shows, they are among a handful of the hundreds held across the globe each year. Even small venues can provide important insights.
On New Year’s Eve, Chicago-based model and actress Cathleen Hennon was working the Indy Auto Show in Indianapolis, hoping to glean useful information from the clutch of visitors braving 16-degree temperatures to attend. Ms. Hennon, in a formfitting black jumpsuit designed by La Petite Robe and necklace and earrings by Givenchy, hit pay dirt within minutes of starting her shift.
Ramin Kazemi, a 44-year-old from Carmel, Ind., and his 2-year-old son stopped by the stand for Toyota Motor (http://quotes.wsj.com/7203.TO)Corp. ’s Lexus luxury brand. Mr. Kazemi, who drove a BMW (http://quotes.wsj.com/BMW.XE)X5, planned to look for something new in a year. Potentially interested in a Lexus RX sport-utility vehicle, Mr. Kazemi had a question about the bigger GX model, which has a tailgate that opens from the side: “Will they ever make a door that goes up in the back?”
Ms. Hennon, who had heard the question before, explained that the current configuration—while not ideal for loading gear into the vehicle—was necessary because of the GX’s design.
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-GL036_SHOWMO_P_20150114124759.jpgENLARGE
Auto show model Amy Long talked about the Jeep Renegade at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. JOHN D. STOLL/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Nearby, Michelle Loya, wearing a red Armani jersey faux wrap dress, worked on an iPad screen jammed with remarks she had heard about Toyota models. The Prius hybrid needed a power lift gate, according to one visitor. Another urged Toyota to make heated cloth seats an option on all vehicles.
“The Camry XSE rims are just plain ugly,” one visitor told her. Another suggested that Toyota should come up with a better option to its current wheels, which were “a deal breaker.”
Based on her several years of experience, Ms. Loya said, she believes the Japanese auto maker will take action. A few years ago, when a new version of the best-selling Camry sedan came out, it didn’t have the HomeLink garage-opening system standard on some competing makes. After getting negative feedback, including complaints from the show floor, Toyota added the system.