Mattel is making many changes to its Hot Wheels brand name and marketing strategy. Hot Wheels main product line is the die cast car and with its traditional target segment is 4-8 year old boys (Tkacik, 2002). Hot Wheels has a new website with free games aimed at teen and pre-teen boys, not their target segment, but who their target segment views as cool. .
Hot Wheels is trying to extend the maturity phase on its die cast cars by finding new uses for a product and targeting a new segment. Hot wheels wants children as well as parents to no longer view the die cast cars as just play toys. They hope that the cars will turn into collector items for parents and children alike (Tkacik, 2002). This also fits in with the targeting of a new segment. They want it to become a collectors for dads as well as young boys. To do this they will have to effectively reposition the product in the consumers mind, so that it no longer seems to be just a child's toy. Product line extensions such as their new die cast cars that look like Honda Civics and Ford Focuses could be the spark that is needed to change the way the consumer views the product. .
Hot Wheels Vice President in charge of marketing says that the brand name is versatile because it represents "power, speed, and performance" (Tkacik, 2002). If you check out the website www.hotwheels.com that is exactly the image that Hot Wheels means to display to the consumer. Brand equity is what they are counting on to sell skateboards, floor mats, and other merchandise with the Hot Wheels logo placed upon it. Hot Wheels is counting on their brand equity to stabilize their sales levels.
