MarketingMasters Luncheon Seminar
For Navistar, the Road Less Traveled Makes All the Difference
Presented by: Al Saltiel, Vice President of Marketing, Navistar International Corp.
Few Chicago-area companies are as steeped in tradition as Navistar, which for most of the 20th century was known as International Harvester. But it took a nontraditional approach to get the company back on track when it found its brand lacking in direction and focus.
Hear how that approach came about when Navistar’s Al Saltiel keynotes BMA’s final MarketingMasters Luncheon Seminar of the 2008-2009 program year on Thursday, June 11. The June luncheon is being held at The Drake Hotel in conjunction with the BMA National Conference.
Saltiel, Navistar’s vice president of marketing, will take luncheon attendees back to the company’s foundations in 1831, when Cyrus McCormick invented the mechanical reaper. McCormick’s company merged with four others to form International Harvester Company in 1902, and the first International-brand trucks began to delivering farmers’ goods to market in 1907.
Over the next half-century, International Harvester embarked on an innovation binge:
- In 1922 it modified a truck chassis to create the company’s first school bus. Today it is the leader in the school bus market.
- In 1934 it launched the C line of trucks, including the C1 pickup truck, which began to take on a more modern look. That led to the iconic D-39 half-ton pickup (which would be the inspiration for another kind of truck much later).
- During World War II, International Harvester began producing trucks and armored vehicles for the U.S. armed forces. Navistar continues to produce military vehicles today, including the U.S. Army’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All-Terrain Vehicles.
In 1955 International Harvester ranked as the 26th largest industrial company on Fortune magazine’s first Fortune 500 list. By 1979, strong market demand, improved market share and cost controls resulted in record net income of $427 million on sales of $7 billion.
Then came the ’80s, and things began to change. As Saltiel will explain, that record year in 1979 was followed by a six-month strike, a recession and a series of financial crises for the company. At the same time, the country began to shift away from an agricultural economy, demand for farm equipment declined, and demand for trucks and engines increased. By 1985, the farm equipment and construction businesses were sold, and two years later the company changed its name to Navistar.
Since then Navistar has focused its efforts on its International-brand commercial and military vehicles, its MaxxForce-brand diesel engines, its IC Bus brand school and commercial buses, and its Workhorse-brand chassis for motor homes and step vans. Navistar also provides truck and diesel engine parts and service, and Navistar Financial offers financing services.
When Saltiel joined the company in 2004, business was strong ... but the brand was lacking excitement and emotion. He realized he was entering a sales-driven category where brands had always been built the old-fashioned way. The category was ripe for innovative, brand-driven marketing.
Saltiel and his team decided to challenge the conventional way of appealing to customers by implementing a strong new voice, doing the unexpected, embracing truckers as social networks and investing in the company’s Web efforts. They tapped into the passions of their customer base, and began to create a new culture among their employees. They would be bold, confident and energetic.
They summed up their new positioning in the tagline “Miles Ahead”, a brand vision for a company that would borrow the best ideas from the company’s past and pair them with the features that truckers are yearning for today.
Perhaps the best example of that strategy is the LoneStar-brand long-haul truck, which debuted to wide acclaim at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show. Taking it one step further, this year Navistar introduced a special edition of the LoneStar designed in collaboration with Harley-Davidson and featuring authentic Harley-Davidson motorcycle elements.
Saltiel’s strategy also bucks the conventional approach by embracing new media, including branded entertainment. The most prominent example is “Drive and Deliver,” a documentary film about real truckers and their lives underwritten by Navistar and directed by award-winning film producer Brett Morgen.
About Al Saltiel
Al Saltiel is vice president of marketing at Navistar Incorporated, one of the world’s leading truck and engine manufacturers.
Saltiel joined Navistar (a $14 billion corporation headquartered outside of Chicago) in 2004 and serves as its marketing leader. He oversees a 90-person team responsible for all brand, product and pricing strategies, as well as all integrated communications efforts, including advertising, customer relationship management and dealer marketing.
Prior to joining Navistar, Saltiel served as general manager of marketing of Sony Electronics, where he set strategy and oversaw the development of demand-generation campaigns for Sony’s television and home audio products. Prior to joining Sony, he held several senior marketing positions (including general marketing manager and retail transformation director) at Jaguar and Ford’s Premier Automotive Group.
Saltiel holds an Executive Scholar certificate in sales and marketing from Northwestern University. He holds an M.B.A. from DePaul University in Chicago and an undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, and he is fluent in Spanish.
Saltiel is a member of both the American Marketing Association and the Marketing Leadership Council.
About Michael Krauss
Michael Krauss is president of Market Strategy Group, a business strategy and strategic marketing consultancy.
Krauss has served as the chief marketing officer of DiamondCluster International and as a fellow with the firm. Prior to joining DiamondCluster, he was a principal with OmniTech Consulting Group.
Before that, Krauss was the worldwide director of marketing at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). He led the first global marketing and branding initiative that established Andersen Consulting as a leading worldwide entity.
He is also the technology marketing columnist for Marketing News, the official publication of the American Marketing Association, and serves as co-chair of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Council of Technology Advisors.
Krauss’ career as a global marketing executive has ranged from chocolate chips to computer chips. He began his career as a product manager at Esmark and later at Keebler. He holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He also holds a CPA certificate in Illinois. He taught on the faculty of the U of C’s Graduate School of Business in its innovative New Product Development Laboratory. He joined BMA/Chicago in 2001 and has served as a director, executive vice president, program chairman and chapter president.
Michael Krauss is president of Market Strategy Group, a business strategy and strategic marketing consultancy.
Krauss has served as the chief marketing officer of DiamondCluster International and as a fellow with the firm. Prior to joining DiamondCluster, he was a principal with OmniTech Consulting Group.
Before that, Krauss was the worldwide director of marketing at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). He led the first global marketing and branding initiative that established Andersen Consulting as a leading worldwide entity.
He is also the technology marketing columnist for Marketing News, the official publication of the American Marketing Association, and serves as co-chair of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Council of Technology Advisors.
Krauss’ career as a global marketing executive has ranged from chocolate chips to computer chips. He began his career as a product manager at Esmark and later at Keebler. He holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He also holds a CPA certificate in Illinois. He taught on the faculty of the U of C’s Graduate School of Business in its innovative New Product Development Laboratory. He joined BMA/Chicago in 2001 and has served as a director, executive vice president, program chairman and chapter president.
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