VW CEO Becomes Scout CEO, Netflix Loses More Subs-Changes Model, Kia Skeleton NFTs

The Automotive Troublemaker w/ Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier

Welcome to Wednesday Troublemakers. Today we’re covering VW of America’s CEO, Scott Keogh’s move to be the CEO of new VW EV brand Scout. We also talk about Netflix continued slide and plans to add ads, as well as Kia’s latest commercial that takes another swing at integrating with NFT’s

• VW of America CEO Scott Keogh steps into new role as CEO of VW’s new EV truck brand ‘Scout’
  • Came from being CEO of Audi of America and was the first american to occupy the CEO seat w VW in 2018
  • “"It was a simple, straightforward decision: Either, one, stay in my existing role and continue to operate and do it accordingly and keep rocking and rolling, or take the chance of a lifetime to do a startup company," Keogh told reporters during a quick conference call Tuesday from a board meeting in Chattanooga. "I think if you're an American and a businessman and person of humanity, in my mind, it was no choice: to do a startup, to be entrepreneurial, and to revive an iconic American brand."
  • Pablo Di Si, 52, who has headed VW's South American region, is becoming CEO of Volkswagen Group of America as well as CEO of Volkswagen North American Region.
  • The transition will happen on Sept 1st
  • Take away: Love the entrepreneurial spirit! Now how about those dealer network questions?
• Netflix loses subs for second month in a row, forecasts growth, and announces lower cost, ad-supported subscription in early 2023
  • “We’re talking about losing 1 million instead of losing 2 million, so our excitement is tempered by the less-bad results,” Netflix Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Reed Hastings said in an analyst interview to discuss the results. “Losing a million and calling it success” is tough, he said. “But really, we’re set up very well for the next year.”
  • Advertisers were locked out of the platform for years, but that is changing
  • Product placement is set to increase from brands like Peloton and Hyundai
  • New ad supported platform would open up those of the 220M subs who might choose the ad supported version
  • Netflix will be partnering with Microsoft to provide the technology to deliver targeted ads to viewers
  • Several advertisers have already expressed interest in signing long term, multi-million dollar deals
  • Take Away: Evolve or die. Oh look, another place to run OTT.
• Kia deploys NFT characters in commercials to let viewers get one for free
  • Three popular characters from the Dead Army Skeleton Klub (DASK) appear in the commercial promoting the Kia Soul
  • Viewers can scan the in-commercial QR code to get one of 10,100 NFTs generated by the project for free. One of the NFTs has desirable ‘gold’ rarity
  • This isn’t Kias first NFT project as they debuted their Robo Dog during the Superbowl last year with current agency David and Goliath
  • Take away: This is a great example of an OEM doing the leg work to tap into existing communities that have some stickiness

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Hosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
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