Marketing II Launching the BMW Z3 Roadster

Section C Group-6

Ashish Kalya Krit Doshi Pradeep Kumar Mishra Preethi S Sumanth J Tushar Gupta

2012PGP069 2012PGP174 2012FPM012 2012PGP274 2012PGP381 2012PGP410

Introduction
James McDowell, Vice president of marketing at BMW North America is required to design Phase II communication strategies for the launch of new BMW Z3 roadster. In Phase I, prelaunch campaign in James Bond hit movie Golden Eye was successful. Product orders exceeded the companys initial expectations and this was due to out of the box prelaunch campaign which was centred on the placement of the product in the movie. Moreover, it includes non-traditional campaigns such as the product display in the Jay Lenos tonight show, large scale public relation event for introduction of the car, Radio DJ program, Product launch in Central Park and an offering of Special Bond Edition Roadster in Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalogue. The challenge for James McDowell is to design a marketing program that would sustain product excitement until product availability in March. The main concern for him was how to strengthen the brand campaign. In this case it exemplifies the role of cross promotions and movie product placements within the marketing mix. It also reflects how communications strategy and tactics have evolved beyond traditional advertising in electronic media.

6M model for communication planning

Market Psychographic segmentation of the market Targeting people with a lover of life mindset and propensity to seek unique expressions of individuality

Mission To use the roadster to motivate and simulate the dealer network to meet higher standards to qualify for the roadster To build an order bank to enable the new Spartanburg plant to build to the specifications of BMW customers To draw broader interest and attention to the BMW brand Expansion of the BMW franchise beyond Europe to become a truly global brand

Message Media
Mix of traditional and non-traditional activities Elements of non-traditional activities o BMW placement in the upcoming James Bond movie GoldenEye o Co-branding with the help of MGM production house o Neiman Marcus Catalog Offer

To replace Made in Germany as a symbol of quality with Made by BMW To provide the world market with luxury/performance vehicles that were the best in its class rather than the biggest

o BMW Internet site o Press Launch in Central Park o Jay Leno Tonight Show o Radio DJ Program o American Road Story Video Elements of traditional activities o TV and print advertisement o Dealer Advertisement and promotion

Money Launch Budget was split 40/60 between traditional and non-traditional activities

Measurement Dealer Advertising and promotions Generate dealer motivation and co-operation Dollar savings on share-of-market as well as on share-of-voice Huge opening of $26.2 billion for the Bond movie gave a great promotion to the Z3 Product pre-bookings were more than expected i.e. 9000 as compared to 5000

Consumer Response
High involvement purchase where consumer follow Learn-Feel-Do Four step customer emotional purchase o Awareness 15% of TV viewers demonstrated advertising recall which was 50% higher than the 10% recall of Mercedes with a budget of three times o Interest Traffic in dealership was up o Desire Customers were willing to wait for 6 months as it heightened the excitement value of the message and made people ripe with anticipation for experience o Action BMW pre-bookings reached 9000 as compared to expected 5000

Problem Identification
Given the consumer response Phase 1 has been successful but our way ahead would be to sustain the interest of the consumers and finally convert them to sales. Moreover keeping in mind the larger focus of becoming a truly global brand and shredding the perception of being a German car-maker. It has to strengthen competitive advantage of this concept as other luxury car import manufacturers (e.g. Porsche, Mercedes) are rumoured to have this concept under development.

Way Ahead
Phase 2 must entirely focus on Sustaining the interest generated in Phase 1 Converting the interest into final orders in the long run

Stages of Brand Development 1. Identity 2. Meaning 3. Response 4. Relationships

Branding objectives at each stage Deep, broad brand awareness Points of parity and difference Positive, accessible reactions Intense, active loyalty

BMW has already attained the objectives of the first3 levels. Now their focus should be on achieving the 4th objective of brand development i.e developing an intense, active loyalty among its customers. Going forward these could be the steps taken: Continuing the James Bond Television Advertisement till the movie hype lasts as it has resulted in an excellent brand recall Since the hype corresponding to the James Bond movie can fade away soon, BMW should come up with new alternatives and strategies Sponsoring a TV show which shares attributes of Roadster can help in including the product mention in the entertainment program itself Providing exciting offers to customers that will pique their interest Brand identity created around Z3 should be reinforced at the dealership and sales representative levels. BMW should work with sales representatives and dealerships to provide quality service to the customers