BMW offers cooperative advertising initiatives to their regional dealerships as a rapid way to increase brand equity. Brands can provide store-level marketers with access to more sophisticated media placements by splitting some of the advertising expenses with their dealers. Dealers may expand their advertising presence across print and digital platforms thanks to these cooperative partnerships without having to pay astronomical charges on their own. Dealers are more likely to return and conduct business with the brand in the future if they feel the company is supporting them and assisting them in selling the products they have on the lot.
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Key Points Regarding BMW’s Digital Marketing Strategy
We must first emphasize that the web presence is not merely for product sales before we can analyze the BMW marketing approach. It serves as a “vehicle” to position the brand and elegantly accomplishes their objectives.
For many years, BMW has been regarded as one of the top manufacturers of premium and cutting-edge automobiles. The company is thought to be the top auto manufacturer in the world by a sizable number of people. Munich-based German automaker establishes itself as outstanding in both aesthetic and comfort control.
Business managers of the brand should comprehend the many components of the marketing mix and pinpoint the specific market segmentation in order to establish a well-organized and effective marketing strategy. In order to increase sales inside the premium market sector, BMW started the process of segmenting the market. To do this, it optimized the correct match between consumer purchasing behavior and the marketing mix.
BMW is fortunate in that we don’t face a significant naming difficulty for our vehicles. – Jim McDowell, BMW’s Vice President of Marketing
BMW’s marketing strategy is successful because it continuously defines premium brand identity while focusing on high-end categories on a worldwide basis. The automaker’s innovative and alluring product line successfully targets wealthy consumers and exemplifies the effectiveness of its international marketing approach.
BMW was able to go above and beyond its expected performance by delicately responding to the distinctive values and purchasing behavior. In order to precisely present, here are 6 excellent examples of BMW advertisements that have been published in recent years, along with the marketing strategies that went into each of them.
BMW’s marketing strategy includes segmentation, targeting, and positioning.
The premium car maker divides its selection into categories based on behavioral, psychographic, and demographic characteristics.
A typical BMW consumer is between the ages of 35 and 50, is doing well in his or her job, enjoys aspirational products, and places a high value on his or her own social standing. These folks look for advantages like supremacy, performance, dependability, and quality.
BMW aims to attract clients from upper class socioeconomic groups since they are the ones who can buy a BMW and will also value the work of art. As the leader in the world, BMW has established a reputation as a premium, technologically cutting-edge, high-performance, and exclusive automaker.
BMW’s marketing and advertising plan:
The following describes the BMW marketing strategy’s promotional and advertising approach:
For nearly 50 years, BMW has been a well-known brand worldwide. The business has done a good job of promoting its goods and other services. In order to continuously build brand awareness, the promotional strategy, which is a component of its marketing mix, relies on aggressive advertising through media channels including TV, web ads, billboards, print ads, etc. For a number of rally racing competitions and other sporting events, BMW has been a close sponsor. The business also supports numerous renowned sports groups and rally drivers. For a long period, BMW has consistently competed in numerous international rally races. On multiple instances, they have had success in the F1 races.
BMW has been a prominent competitor in Superbike racing in addition to Formula 1. The business has been actively competing in numerous racing events ever since it started producing motorcycles in 1923. In addition to participating, the firm has played a significant global organizing role in such events. These incidents have contributed to BMW’s reputation as a quick and dependable car over the years. Furthermore, BMW has discovered an efficient approach to penetrate newer markets thanks to the enormous fan following that such racing events enjoy across the globe. In addition to these sponsorships, BMW has developed a cutting-edge technique for advertising. Every year, BMW pulls pranks on April 1 that are warmly received by the public, serving as yet another effective marketing push for the company. Thus, the BMW marketing mix is complete.
Regarding BMW
German luxury car maker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, or BMW as it is often known worldwide. The business was founded in 1916 and has its German headquarters in Munich. The business initially produced motorcycles and heavy duty aircraft engines before expanding into the automobile industry. BMW is currently a well-known premium automobile company with operations all over the world. The goods stand for sophistication, good taste, luxury, and dependability.
The company started out making airplane engines during World War 1, but after the Versailles Armistice Treaty, it was compelled to shut down operations. This ultimately pushed the company to focus solely on passenger cars.
With a total sales of EUR 99 billion and profits of roughly EUR 4 billion, the BMW Group employs over 122,000 people worldwide. In addition to these other car brands, BMW is also the parent company of Rolls-Royce and the sports coupe manufacturer Mini Cooper.
View the marketing plans and 4Ps analyses of additional brands that are comparable to BMW. The 4Ps and 7Ps of more than 800 brands across two categories are covered in the Marketing Strategy & Mix section.
BMW Marketing Techniques
BMW focuses the majority of its marketing efforts on premium markets in an effort to establish a luxurious brand identity for its cars. The majority of its marketing for the 3–7 series has mostly targeted wealthy consumers, demonstrating the efficacy of this strategy. BMW uses innovation to establish itself as a market leader. This might include sophisticated electrical systems in its cars or clean energy engines. The innovation concept, which is mirrored in the company’s global marketing strategy, is the foundation of its value and competitive advantage (Dong & Koo, 2018). In other words, BMW automobiles’ development work, components, and performance reflect their value and support their high price tags.
Despite any economic downturns during the past ten years, the market for luxury goods has continued to show strong increase year after year. Premium automakers like BMW segment their markets based on the idea of scarcity.
Customers that buy luxury goods are investing in the ideal and high caliber. BMW takes advantage of this by using a “masstige” strategy, which combines the prestige of its cars with mass marketing techniques to boost sales. The psychological concepts of self-esteem and social acceptance are strongly impacted by premium products. Consuming and owning luxury goods is linked to enjoyment and a variety of other feelings that people pursue in an effort to elevate or maintain their social status (Chandon, Laurent, & Valette-Florence, 2016).
Based on this, BMW started experimenting with a new tagline of “sheer driving enjoyment” in a small number of markets to try and shift the marketing emphasis from performance alone to the emotional appeal of its luxury brand. While the iconic “ultimate driving machine” may be a hit, it might be possible for BMW to switch up its tagline in the future. The current phrase appeals to rich men, who make up its main target market, but it misses out on women, young adults, and those who are less enthusiastic about vehicles. The emotional marketing strategy is directly related to individualism, which is a prized virtue among American consumers.
Emotional paradigms influence a vehicle’s cultural context and societal structures (Lutz, 2015). BMW can leverage on its well-known brand and improve customer communication by incorporating its quality and performance into emotive marketing. By fusing emotionally sensual marketing with premium performance, BMW may enhance its marketing approach and target new consumer segments. The two ideas naturally complement one another and would enable BMW to keep its position as the industry leader.
How does BMW divide up their market?
BMW The company’s marketing initiatives can be based on segmentation, targeting, and positioning. BMW, just like any other firm, must categorize the population using a set of specified criteria and provide goods and services that are particularly appealing to this particular demographic. Segmentation, targeting, and positioning are terms used to describe this marketing strategy. Businesses cannot offer goods and services that are appealing to all segments of the public equally, so segmentation, targeting, and positioning are crucial. The term “segmentation” refers to the division of potential customers into various categories based on a variety of factors, including age, social status, lifestyle, etc. Demographic, behavioral, psychographic, and geographic segmentation are the four categories.
Targeting, which comes after segmentation, involves choosing a specific group or groups as a target client segment. The final step in segmentation, targeting, and positioning is positioning, which is choosing the marketing mix that is most pertinent to the specified target consumer segment.
BMW Group has a mono-segment positioning strategy, and as a result, the corporation appeals to a single consumer category. In other words, the corporation does not offer affordable vehicles to market to people and households with a smaller budget. Instead, the BMW Group’s product line primarily consists of pricey vehicles at a premium level.
The segmentation, targeting, and positioning used by BMW are shown in the following table:
It must be recognized that the segmentation, targeting, and positioning for BMW as shown in the above table are carried out broadly, without recognizing distinctions between different models of a single brand. Every brand within the BMW Group is capable of additional segmentation, targeting, and positioning.
For instance, the aforementioned chart classifies the MINI target customer segment as 25–45 year old males and females who are part of Full Nest 1 (married couple with youngest child under six) and who have a high level of attachment to the brand’s cars but who do not currently use MINI products. However, particular MINI models, such as the MINI Roadster, MINI Clubman, and MINI John Cooper Works, have been created for certain market groups.
The BMW Group Report is a thorough examination of the company’s marketing and business strategies. The paper uses the BMW Group as an example to show how to apply the most important analytical strategic frameworks used in business research, including SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, Value Chain analysis, and the McKinsey 7S Model. The report also examines the leadership and organizational structure of the BMW Group and covers topics related to corporate social responsibility.
What kind of advertising does BMW employ?
According to the BCG Matrix, the automotive division of the BMW Group is a shining star due to its significant market position in the premium market sector and rapid model growth. Its financial services and motorcycling businesses are regarded as being under investigation.
BMW’s 3, 5, and 7 series sedan and touring models are its stars because they account for the majority of the company’s sales.
BMW’s use of direct marketing
BMW is no stranger to utilizing cutting-edge technology to attract clients who value luxury. To reach the brand’s desired demographic groups, carefully planned television and radio spots are combined with targeted internet ads, email campaigns, and a fully functional website. BMW has added an older technique to the mix by distributing a number of glossy photo-adorned direct mail postcards to consumers’ homes. These postcards cut through the typical marketing clutter to capture potential buyers in a calm, personal moment since they are made of a durable, practically indestructible substance.
Television and radio shows are regarded as entertainment, and viewers and listeners naturally use the downtime while commercials play to complete quick tasks or divert their attention elsewhere in order to avoid missing any of their programming. Similar to this, sidebar online advertising vanishes into the background, and spam filters prevent many marketing communications from effectively reaching the target customer. On the other hand, direct mail postcards like BMW’s penetrate consumer attention and support other marketing initiatives through a tangible object, making an impression on their own while also enhancing the message of brushed-off spots in other media.
Courtney Albert, a management consultant at Parker Avery Group in Atlanta, provided her perspective on the campaign’s strategy in an essay for Luxury Daily. Here are a few of our favorite passages from it:
Instead of sending them to the main BWM Web site or relying on them to find the closest location, the printed mailer can be used locally to drive traffic to specific dealerships.
“A consumer typically has to engage with a promotion or campaign more than once.”
Another advantage that direct mail provides to advertisers is that BMW uses both sides of their postcards to emphasize various features of their BMW 3 Series cars. Double-sided postcards are able to display two quite diverse feature sets in one imprint, but the extent of what is contained in an advertisement is typically limited to a single theme for the sake of cohesiveness. BMW’s postcard campaign is a case study in effective and targeted advertising, including photo collages, marketing language, and individualized calls to action that direct customers to a nearby dealership.
Leading the pack in consumer interest is difficult, even for a luxury brand like BMW. Their creative approach to promoting the characteristics of their BMW 3 Series may be seen in their use of direct mail postcard campaigns to contact buyers. BMW’s sturdy direct mail postcards capture consumers’ attention with glances from unexpected locations, even days after they first arrive, serving as a covert reminder of the beauty and grace of their product. BMW continues to pioneer luxury vehicle advertising, which is not surprising given their thoughtful direct mail marketing strategies.