Dieter Zetsche

Dr. Dieter Zetsche (also known as Dr. Z) (born on May 5, 1953 in Istanbul, Turkey) is the Chairman of DaimlerChrysler. The family returned to Germany in 1956. Zetsche first joined Daimler-Benz in 1976. He became a member of the board in 1998, and on January 1, 2006, succeeded Jürgen Schrempp as Chairman. Image File history File links 277706_424151_175_247_zetsche_175. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: , historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. ... A Chairman is the presiding officer of a meeting, organization, committee, or other deliberative body. ... DaimlerChrysler AG (ISIN: DE0007100000) headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA and Japan is a prominent automobile and truck manufacturer and financial services provider (through DaimlerChrysler Financial Services). ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Daimler-Benz AG was founded on May 1, 1924 by the merger of Benz & Cie. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Jürgen Erich Schrempp (born September 15, 1944 in Freiburg) is the CEO of DaimlerChrysler, a German-American car and truck manufacturer. ...

He attended school in Oberursel (near Frankfurt am Main) and studied electrical engineering from 1971 to 1976 at the University of Karlsruhe; he graduated as an engineer. Afterwards, he joined Daimler-Benz, working in the research department. In 1981, he became Assistant Development Manager at the Vehicles business unit. He completed his doctorate in engineering in 1982 at the University of Paderborn. He was the main influence behind the merger between Chrysler and Daimler-Benz to form DaimlerChrysler. Oberursel (Taunus) is a town in Germany. ... Frankfurt am Main [ˈfraŋkfʊrt] is the largest city in the German state of Hessen and the fifth largest city of Germany. ... Electrical Engineers design power systems… … and complex electronic circuits. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... The Universität Karlsruhe (TH) is a mainly technical university in the city of Karlsruhe, Germany and is a leading research university: It is among the five universities in Germany with the strongest effort in research. ... Daimler-Benz AG was founded on May 1, 1924 by the merger of Benz & Cie. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The University of Paderborn (German: Universität Paderborn) in Paderborn, Germany, is a university with 13,900 students (as of 2004/07/02). ... The phrase mergers and acquisitions or M&A refers to the aspect of corporate finance strategy and management dealing with the merging and acquiring of different companies as well as assets. ...

Zetsche was named to Time Magazine's 2006's list of 100 most influential people. (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ...

Ask Dr. Z campaign

In 2006-6-30, Chrysler Group announced the Employee Pricing Plus program, which featured Dieter Zetsche as Dr. Z, the DaimlerChrysler spokesman for a series of United States and Canadian television commercials,^[1][2] also animated in cartoon format on the company's Ask Dr. Z website, which began on 2006-7-1. Commercial may mean: as a noun: a form of advertising, as in a television commercial as an adjective: referring to commerce or for-profit activities or trade (compare with non-profit organization) a breed of cattle, Commercial This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages...

Produced by BBDO Detroit^[3], the "Ask Dr. Z" campaign includes television, radio, print, online, in-dealership and customer relationship marketing media components and guerilla marketing tactics (mobile billboards, aerial banners, street teams), as well as targeting the NASCAR fan community. Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn is an advertising agency formed by merging of BDO (Barton, Durstine & Osborn) and Batten Co. ...

In the "Ask Dr. Z" ad campaign he provides answers to customers' questions and exits with by saying "Auf Wiedersehen" (German for "See you later"). This is the second time that Chrysler has had a concerted ad campaign centered on its CEO, the last one being the "If you can find a better car, buy it" campaign centered on Lee Iacocca. An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). ... Lee Iacocca Lido Anthony Lee Iacocca[1][2](born October 15, 1924 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American industrialist most commonly known for his revival of the Chrysler brand in the 1980s when he was the CEO. Among the most widely recognized businessmen in the world, he was a passionate...

The ad campaign emphasized the consumer benefits of the best of American and German engineering and design built into every Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicle. However, most vehicles featured in the ads did not incorporate recognizable (DaimlerChrysler's) German technology during the initial broadcast. Although the Chrysler LX platform used by Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger is based on Mercedes-Benz W210 platform, the platform itself was no longer used by Mercedes-Benz vehicles built at the time of ad campaign, which can hardly be considered as 'best in German engineering'. Vehicles that met the claim include the Setra bus, Dodge Sprinter, 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee (Diesel option). Diesel version of 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee would not be available until the first quarter of 2007. The LX platform is Chryslers new full_size rear wheel drive automobile platform for the mid part of the 2000s. ... This page is about the modern Chrysler 300, not the Chrysler 300 letter series cars of the 1950s and early 1960s. ... There have been three entirely different Dodge vehicles bearing the Charger nameplate. ... Mercedes-Benz W210 E-Class wagon US-Spec W210 E-Class sedan The Mercedes-Benz W210 is a mid-size luxury car / executive car produced by the German automaker Mercedes-Benz from 1996 through 2002 (the W210 wagon was carried over to the 2003 model year). ...

As a response of shrinking sales, the Employee Pricing Plus program was extended through the end of August, 3 new TV ads, which did not feature Dr. Z, were added to the August campaign.^[4]

After 3 months however DaimlerChrysler hurriedly withdrew the Dr. Z campaign due to a significant loss in market-share. However, some of the Dr. Z ads can still be seen in Canadian television. In later broadcasts, the tagline in Dr. Z TV ads was changed to 'See the best in German and North American design in your Dodge and Chrysler dealer.'

After the end of Employee Pricing Plus sale, Chrysler offered a give away contest in Dr. Z's web site for 3 Dodge Challengers, 3 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, 3 Chrysler Sebrings. Contest ended on 2006-9-4.^[5]

The campaign was criticised for having a wrong guy to do funny ads^[6]. CNW Marketing Research poll showed most people thought Dr. Z was a fictional character, did not notice the employee discount offer in the ads, radio commercial listener had a hard time understanding Dr. Z with his German accent.^[7] In addition, the 'German engineering' sales pitch had failed in the South and Southern California.^[8]

List of Dr. Z ads

• Ask Dr. Z - Featured Dodge Charger R/T, Jeep Commander, Dodge Caliber, Chrysler Pacifica.
• Dismantle - About Chrysler 300.
• Du-Ram-Go - Dr. Z introduces Dodge Ram, Dodge Durango, Freightliner, Sterling, Setra bus, Dodge Sprinter passenger van, Dodge Ram Chassis Cab with Stake Bed, Dodge Ram Mega Cab, Dodge Dakota Quad Cab, a Ram Chassis Cab with dump box, Dodge Sprinter cargo van, Thomas Built school bus, and Western Star truck, under the direction of the 'HEMI guy'.
• Field Trip - Dr. Z introduces Jeep vehicles to kids.
• Trophy - About Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan.

Notes

External links

• http://www.askdrz.com/
• http://www.askdrz.ca/
• Dieter Zetsche page on DaimlerChrysler's homepage
• Press release for Ask Dr. Z campaign