The document discusses different "hot hatch" car tribes and the types of drivers that belong to each tribe. It identifies several tribes for specific car models like the Subaru WRX ("boy racer" tribe), Mini Cooper ("fun fashionista" tribe), and Golf GTI ("fast track" tribe). Each tribe is associated with a driver type and characteristics about what the car says and how it makes the driver feel. The document also discusses how hot hatches are generally marketed as "creatures of the night" to portray them as serious, aggressive, and help bring out a driver's devilish side.

1. HOT HATCH DRIVER INSIGHTS BY DAN PANKRAZ

2. Dan Pankraz Youth Planning Specialist, DDB Sydney Danpankraz.wordpress.com

3. I RECENTLY SPENT SOME TIME LOOKING INTO THE ‘HOT HATCH’ TRIBES. THESE LITTLE POCKET ROCKETS ARE TYPICALLY DRIVEN BY GEN Y’ERS SO I WANTED TO TAKE A LOOK INTO THE DRIVER MINDSET, WHAT THESE CARS REPRESENT AND HOW THEY’RE MARKETED. HERE’S WHAT I FOUND.

4. WHEN IT COMES TO SMALL POCKET ROCKETSIT’S ALL ABOUT BELONGING TO A TRIBE

5. HOWEVER SOME CARS ARE MORE ‘TRIBAL’ THAN OTHERS

6. A SPECTRUM OF ‘FOLLOWING’ FOR CERTAIN BRANDS Exotics Alfa ACTIVE TRIBES NO TRIBE - CULT BRANDS LIKE SUBARY WRX, STI AND COOPER S HAVE ACTIVE TRIBAL FOLLOWING WITH MASSIVE ONLINE COMMUNITIES

7. HOT HATCH TRIBES IN AUSTRALIA C30 T5 EVERYDAY PERFORMANCE CULTURED CHIC FAST TRACK VXR XR5 Exotics FUN FASHIONISTA POCKET ROCKET RETRO RACERS Alfa TRIBAL (Active Belonging) INDIVIDUAL (Passive Owners) PASSIONISTA PERFORMANCE AFFICIANADO -TECH IMPORT -BOY RACER RAW PERFORMANCE

8. SO WHO BELONGS TO THESE TRIBES?

9. SUBARU WRX ‘BOY RACER’ TRIBE OWNER TYPE Competitive, Poser, Car Nut, Showy, Techies CAR SAYS “I want the real deal..it’s powerful, respected and intimidates.. I’ve got street cred and I like that people check out my wheels and know what it can do” CAR MAKES ME FEEL Powerful, Aggressive, Masculine, Knowledgeable Fabio, 33

10. MINI COOPER ‘FUN FASHIONISTA’ TRIBE OWNER TYPE Fashionista, Playful, Colourful, Queen Bee, Creative Class CAR SAYS “I’m all about having fun and looking good 24/7....I’m in a rush, get out of my way” CAR MAKES ME FEEL Stylish, Classy, Vibrant, Personalised, Cute Anita, 30

11. JOHN COOPER WORKS ‘RETRO RACING’ TRIBE OWNER TYPE Fashionista, Design with a sense of history, Quality, Appreciates Uniqueness, Loves motor racing heritage CAR SAYS “I’m stylish with an appreciation of old school motoring, I don’t mind embarrassing bigger more powerful cars” CAR MAKES ME FEEL Stylish, Trendy, Retro cool, One step ahead Adam, 34

12. GOLF GTI ‘FAST TRACK’ TRIBE OWNER TYPE Sporty, Forever Young, Fast Life, Connected, Competitive CAR SAYS “I’m on my way up and love driving hard, but I’m no poser or rev head..it’s not how fast I go, but how I go fast ..” CAR MAKES ME FEEL Understatedly Cool, Dynamic, Alive Flo, 26

13. GOLF R32‘PERFORMANCE AFFICIANADO’ TRIBE OWNER TYPE Professional, Super ambitious, One pay rise away from an M3, Enemy of ordinary CAR SAYS “I’m a wolf in sheep’s clothing, catch me if you can” CAR MAKES ME FEEL Successful, Dynamic, Agile, Adventurous Chris, 30

14. CIVIC TYPE R ‘TECH IMPORT’ TRIBE OWNER TYPE Asian with a love of fast cars, street racing, tech/gadget enthusiast, little guy syndrome CAR SAYS “I’m a little dangerous and want something with racing tech and unique design..a feisty import, just like me” CAR MAKES ME FEEL Naughty, Futuristic, Unique, Techy Jet, 25

15. THE FOLLOWING CARS DON’T HAVE ‘TRIBAL FOLLOWING’ PER SE, BUT ATTRACT A CERTAIN DRIVER TYPE

16. VOLVO C30 T5‘CULTURED CHIC’ OWNER TYPE Cultured, Understated, Educated, Minimalist, Passive CAR SAYS “I hate the status quo, want a small car that’s unique , just like me...I appreciate minimalist design, less is more” CAR MAKES ME FEEL Cultured, sophisticated, environmental, ethical Bel, 31

17. MAZDA MPS ‘A LITTLE BIT SPORTY’ ="null"> OWNER TYPE Conservative, Covert, Mainstream, Follower, Want the best of Zoom Zoom CAR SAYS “I want a weapon, but I don’t want everyone to know about it...it’s undercover like me”. CAR MAKES ME FEEL Sporty, Satisfied, Smart, Confident Simon, 32

18. ALFA ROMEO MIO‘PASSIONISTA’ OWNER TYPE Passionate Italian, Image is everything, Obsessed by visual appeal, Loud CAR SAYS “It’s sexy, I’m the one you should be looking at, but don’t look under my bonnet” CAR MAKES ME FEEL Sexy, Extroverted, Distinctive Marco, 27

19. SEMIOTIC CODES OF HOT HATCH ADVERTISING

20. IN TERMS OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION, ALL HOT HATCHES ARE MARKETED AS ‘CREATURES OF THE NIGHT’ THEY’RE PORTRAYED AS SERIOUS, AGGRESSIVE, MASCULINE, PRIMAL, MENACING AND BROODING. ALL THE LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY DEPICTS ‘TRANSFORMATION’ - THE VEHICLE HELPING BRING OUT YOUR DEVILISH SIDE TO PLAY..

22. danpankraz.wordpress.com