Hollyanne Peck on the Meaning of Ultra Luxury

Paul Daly: 0:00We're here with Hollyanne Peck, director of marketing for Karma Automotive.

‍Unknown: 0:05

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Paul Daly: 0:23

here we are Hollyanne. Good to have you.

Hollyanne Peck: 0:25

Good morning.Good morning.

Paul Daly: 0:27

How you doing today?What?

Kyle Mountsier: 0:28

Morning?Morning.

Paul Daly: 0:30

Morning. I think we're at the writers event.There's like a different different greeting.

Kyle Mountsier: 0:33

Everybody just kind of opens up the palate just a little. Just, that's terrible.Why am I doing?

Paul Daly: 0:40

Hollyanne Good to have you here. It's the first time I think we've ever been on like a podcast together we

Hollyanne Peck: 0:44

Yes, yes. Behind the scenes, right. Yeah,

Kyle Mountsier: 0:47

exactly. Yeah.

Paul Daly: 0:48

So tell us tell us about your current role. Like,what are you doing on a regular basis? Where are we going with this?

Hollyanne Peck: 0:54

Well, I'm the Director of Marketing at karma automotive. And it's really exciting time for us right now.And so believe it or not,marketing is kind of just running around like crazy,trying to make sure everything is ready. But there's so much to talk about, I could sit here for three hours just talking about what we do in one morning,right. But you know, we've got a team that's just really hungry to be out there and, and get ourselves known a little more.And you're gonna see some exciting things.

Kyle Mountsier: 1:25

So tell us a little bit about karma. Because it's a newer to the market,right, just as a brand. But tell us a little about what the brand is doing and and how it's coming to market?

Hollyanne Peck: 1:34

Well, we're a little different than some of the other Evie companies that are out there. There's there's a ton of us, right. As as we're kind of needed in the market right now and growing. But we are America, American made.We're and honestly, were America's only ultra luxury vehicle.

Paul Daly: 1:52

And been around for been around like a moment here for about a lady but you've been around for a little while. Yeah.Or at least in like concept and like, you know, prototypes and all that stuff.

Hollyanne Peck: 2:01

Exactly. We're actually going on about 10years. Wow. And we have a wonderful vehicle that we have for sale right now. We also have an amazing design team and a new leader, Marcus McCammon. Who has a design background, among other things, I mean, the guy kind of does everything and does it all?Well. So we're all very focused on the future of American made ultra luxury. So

Paul Daly: 2:27

separate ultra ultra luxury from luxury for us.

Hollyanne Peck: 2:31

That's an interesting debate I actually had yesterday hear somebody tell me, it's only about the price,that means you're gonna charge a lot. No. It's also about the experience, the fact that you can be one of very small amount of people to own the car. So it's definitely a niche market.You know, we're not looking for mass appeal, we're not looking for the I'm gonna sell 3 million cars this year. That'll that's not us. So part of the gold market we're going for. And we just, there's a gap there that we feel we can fill.

Kyle Mountsier: 3:04

Now you through your history in automotive have been primarily on the industry partner side of things, right and some moving to an OE and especially in an Eevee. OEM is got to be like, come with its new excitements and challenges talk through that transition.And like, what assuming kind of a new role within the industry is, has been?

Hollyanne Peck: 3:25

Well, actually go a little further because I only met you when that was going on. But my actual background is I started in dealerships. Okay.And I started a bunch of internet departments when it was a phase. We'll get through this,let's just do exactly, exactly.But then I just kept wondering,you know, I don't know that a lot of salespeople on the floor,understand, like, how did the cars get here? Where do they come from? What they just show up one day? And who's that guy in the suit that keeps walking in the building once a month and then just leaves? You know, so I

Paul Daly: 3:59

gets all the attention when you hear exactly what moves

Kyle Mountsier: 4:01

everyone has to screen? Yeah, tell me to clean my desk, right? Is that

Hollyanne Peck: 4:05

guy? Exactly. So then I realized, you know,there's a whole side of the business that, you know, I never knew existed. And so actually get a job with Subaru of America. Love Subaru. And the company, what it stands for, how they go, how they go to market,how they've been growing amazingly. And then I was recruited by Lincoln Ford Motor Company to come help them with their process training and digital online experiences and all the customer experiences.

Kyle Mountsier: 4:36

So you've had some of that OEM experience in your past. Yeah, very cool.

Hollyanne Peck: 4:40

And honestly link working with Lincoln, I mean, such a great organization,you know, and then I had an opportunity to go work on the vendor side. So I do have all three, dealer OEM and vendor and then I was lucky to be able to work with Carrie wise over at auto phi and the team there And I learned a lot about fintech.And you know even more about digital retailing. And then William called me one day, my boss at karma, and I was like,this is an amazing opportunity.This is amazing. I need to I need to do this. So I literally moved my entire life from Florida. I lived on the beach in Florida and was constantly warm to California, which is absolutely beautiful. But I'm freezing constantly part of California. I live in Southern California. Our offices are in Irvine so so you really

Paul Daly: 5:31

must love the heat.Because I don't know anyone.

Kyle Mountsier: 5:35

Yeah, or California is like 70 year round. And to a Floridian,that's cold.

Paul Daly: 5:42

That sounds amazing.

Hollyanne Peck: 5:44

I'm constantly in a hoodie. It's just it's always a little chilly. But it's just beautiful.

Kyle Mountsier: 5:49

Paul is like that.

Paul Daly: 5:50

Yeah, so from Syracuse people escaped.

Hollyanne Peck: 5:55

Great, no, it's great. It's great. It's a good move. For me, career wise,working with a great team, great company, and I get to live in Southern California, I'm not really sure it could get much better,

Kyle Mountsier: 6:05

right? So when it comes to the customer experience, you were talking about that a little bit earlier.And when an ultra luxury brand has to compete in a world where like, you're working not to compete in price you're working to compete in status or experience. What are some of the challenges that come up for the brand in in finding the right market and making sure that market understands who it is and then understands how they're connected to that brand? past a purchase? Yeah, it's,

Hollyanne Peck: 6:34

it's, it's actually not as easy as it might sound to some people. I know,there's a lot of people who haven't really done marketing,and I was that person in the beginning of my career, right?I'm in sales going, Why are these marketing people doing more? Now that I'm in marketing and have learned a lot about it's actually if you can't have marketing that's effective without a client experience attached to it. And that's a very difficult concept for some people to actually pull in to their marketing. So it's not just hey, here's, here's a direct mail piece. Here's a banner ad. It's about the experience that goes with it.And I think you guys have probably talked about this to other people, when you're talking about like, you know,digital transactions or digital retailing, it's the same How are you going to make a client feel like you're paying attention to just them that personalized customer experience? Through digitally, you know, so we're kind of the same way. So how do you from a tear one aspect, grab someone's heartstrings?

Paul Daly: 7:33

What's the what's the handoff that typically happens in your world? Someone you know,finds the brand or goes to the website? You know, I don't know if they place an order, like how does your ordering system work?Like physical stores? Yes.combined. Yeah, I know you have some

Hollyanne Peck: 7:49

we have over 35stores globally, most are called those.

Paul Daly: 7:53

You call them stores retail out like because I know they're they're kind of bougie they're really cool.

Hollyanne Peck: 7:59

They are a little bougie I guess.

Paul Daly: 8:01

ultra luxury. Luxury and not be not be bougie a little bit, right.

Hollyanne Peck: 8:06

I am a little bougie I suppose. I like it. I could be fine. I'm not that seems like a wristband.

Paul Daly: 8:12

I'm a little bougie.I'm feeling bougie

Hollyanne Peck: 8:16

next t shirt.Yeah, no, I, it. It's hard to it's hard to kind of find that niche in that field.

Paul Daly: 8:26

What's What's the average journey? Like? What is some? How does someone buy a car?

Hollyanne Peck: 8:31

Honestly, right now, we're very typical in how you would buy a car. And that is a lot of people come to our website, they go to a local dealer and buy it like they would like, you know, most

Paul Daly: 8:41

of it like that experience. I got to think

Hollyanne Peck: 8:44

not necessarily necessarily. Okay. Yeah. So we're working on processes right now to change that and make it so that, number one, we're not eliminating the dealer,necessarily, you know, the way people would think, but also helping the dealer. So, you know, our website, ordering services, anything of that nature that can help them feel personally taken care of. And I think the one thing that, you know, I say this, not everybody,but I really feel like the new wealthy, or the, you know, the new idea of wealth is more about time experience. loving people,right? It's more about that personal private time and not having to spend all your time running around going to a car dealer doing all this stuff,which kind of goes in again to the Yeah, that

Kyle Mountsier: 9:32

makes you feel makes you feel what's that?What's the value of a minute is more than what's the value of$1?

Hollyanne Peck: 9:37

That's exactly I mean, can I am I going to spend three hours at a dealership just test driving and landing on a car? Nevermind going to finance right? Yeah, right? Do I want to spend three hours at my kids soccer game or are going out and trying a new restaurant with my friends? I mean, so it's very much so about personal experience and I think that the more the higher end, ultra luxury is definitely looking for that customized To experience come to me sort of idea or how are you going to come to me?Yeah.

Paul Daly: 10:05

Well, look, I love that we just talked to ultra luxury on the floor of Hollyanne. We super bougie thanks for joining us today. Hi,Leo. It's been a great thank you

Hollyanne Peck: 10:13

guys. Thanks.

Unknown: 10:16

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