AMB220 ADVERTISING THEORY AND PRACTICE JORDAN LIM N Tutor: Lisa Schuster. Total Words: 1164

Transcription

1 AMB220 ADVERTISING THEORY AND PRACTICE ASSESSMENT 1 CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS PART 1 JORDAN LIM N Tutor: Lisa Schuster Due Date: Monday 30 th March pm Total Words: 1164

2 BMW 3 SERIES Product Analysis BMW s 3 Series is their luxury compact car that comprises of comfort, design and performance. The German manufacturer offers a number of different variations of the luxury sedan, differing by the size of the engine and power they emit. The car itself is classified as a luxury product (Atwal, G., Williams, A. 2009) that is a desire rather than a need. The entry-level luxury sedan produced by the German manufacturer is recorded as being 40% of BMW s entire vehicle output as of 2005 (Williams, P. 2005) This then goes to identify the amount of demand that surrounds this particular vehicle resulting from a number of competitive pricing strategies (Tellis, G. J. 1986) Each time a customer evaluates buying a relatively expensive purchase they will subconsciously employ a Decision making model. This particular model, which is utilized with High Involvement purchases is the Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) Grid (Ratchford, B. T. 1987) More particularly an Informative response which is determined by LEARNING FEELING DOING (Belch, G. E. 2014). This process is common for purchases that require a large amount of evaluation and comparison of similar products in a competitive industry. The competitive luxury car industry has a number of rivals for BMW. Their major competitor, Mercedes Benz has been leading the industry since Tailed by BMW with Lexus and Audi both closely following behind. In the luxury car market within Australia, Mercedes-Benz is BMW s biggest rival, currently the industry leader selling 31,895 units in the last financial year. Followed by BMW with 22,722 sales, then trailed closely by Audi with 19,227 sales and lastly Lexus followed with 7000 units sold (Costello, M. 2015).

3 This gives an indication into BMW s current position into the market in order for them to increase number of sales and potentially move into the market dominant position. They will need to either improve their advertising campaign or increase amount of exposure. They have also implemented a new number of incentives to purchasing their car over their competitors. A decrease in price was introduced, as well as the addition of another model within their 3 Series range. A number of regulations and ethical considerations need to be made when advertising for a luxury car. When advertising in Australia, there are a number of ethical considerations that need to be accounted for when considering advertisements, both personally and by an AANA Advertiser Code of Ethics Standard (Belch, G. E. 2014). This Standard ensures that all advertisements may not be breaking any laws, however, are not a morally ethical practice. An example, relevant to the luxury compact car is the Social and Cultural consequences that arise through certain advertisements. The particular advertising may encourage materialism. As it is a materialistic item, a luxury brand may encourage consumers to associate the product with the good life and that acquiring of material possessions leads to contentment. (Belch, G. E. 2014). Regulations are the actual laws surrounding advertisers and the boundaries that they may over-step. The particular Australian government regulation that governs all forms of marketing communications is the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Belch, G. E. 2014). This specific act ensures that all marketers follow a firm set of guidelines to guarantee that no marketers promote any misleading or deceptive conduct.

4 Target Audience Analysis BMW s Series advertisement is showcasing the car s high-level of performance throughout the 40 years of production. This is targeting the respective target audience of the younger generation attracted to a high-performance vehicle. However, still remains appealing to the older generation interested in a sleek, attractive car. Looking in Appendix i. for a screenshot of the advertisement with the motto, 40 Years Of An Icon. The relative target market for the 3 Series is commonly a professional with a high disposable income. Either ambitious, younger groups who are image conscious or an older generation who are striving for freedom and a youthful spirit. Stereotypically targeting males who desire a powerful, domestic vehicle. The relevant market has been segmented by customer characteristics, more specifically by Socio-economic Status (Belch, G. E. 2014). The audience categorises within the dimension from both Income and Education (Frank, R.E., Massy, W. F., & Wind, Y. 1972). Which accurately fits in with the identified target market. As the established target audience are either younger, ambitious, success-driven professionals or an older, mature, already-successful generation. Majority of both have received the highest forms of education. This is an appropriate target as it correctly reflects the product on offer, an expensive luxury vehicle. Another of BMW s customer characteristics that their target audience categorises into is Demographic. (Belch, G. E. 2014). Their target audience specifically falls into the dimension by age, as the majority of BMW buyers are aged between and (Schlesinger, G., & Wachter, J. 2010) The customers of the 3 Series can be classified by using Roy Morgan s Value Segments (Morgan, R. 1980). The consumers can be classified into Visible Achievement and Something Better. Visible Achievement classifying hard workers in

5 their respective industry, as well as being high income earners, however, still remaining money conscious. Something Better, classifying it s individuals as having the desire to be seen as winners, their purchases being purely image conscious based. The younger, image conscious number of the target audience will commonly choose a car which is aesthetically pleasing, boosting their self-image (Morgan, R. 1980). The most appropriate type of appeal for the 3 series targeting this particular audience would be the combination of both the rational appeal and emotional appeal. (Belch, G. E. 2014). As a select few may view the product as a functional purchase, a practical product, purely as a vehicle, however, they could also gain appeal through their emotions. By having a sense of achievement or accomplishment, happiness and pride in owning a luxury car (Belch, G. E. 2014). The key consumer insight identified from the research that impacts the Advertising Campaign for the BMW 3 Series is that the target audience have a large number of similar products to choose from. In order to maintain the superiority and prestige already associated with BMW as a brand it should continue to build brand and model awareness. By continuing to produce clever and professional advertisements however possibly place them across more mediums in particular the Internet and social media. As these platforms are only becoming more and more substantial they will be able to reach a larger portion of the target audience. Specifically the younger generation who will spend more time on Social media and the Internet than watching television (Teo, T. S., Lim, V. K., & Lai, R. Y. 1999). Also the potential to incorporate females into their target market only will increase their probable sales. As their demographic is increasing but their structured market is also changing. By either slightly changing their advertisements or creating another would be the best recommendation. Targeting the female demographic by focusing on the practicality and safety features of the vehicle will only improve awareness and then increase sales.

6 REFERENCES Atwal, G., & Williams, A. (2009). Luxury brand marketing The experience is everything! Journal of Brand Management, 16. doi: /bm Belch, G. E. (2014). Advertising: An Integrated Marketing Communication Perspective(3rd ed.). AUS. Costello, M. (2015, January 6) car sales: Winners and Losers. Retrieved from Frank, R. E., Massy, W. F., & Wind, Y. (1972). Market Segmentation. Morgan, R. (1980). Roy Morgan Values Segments. Retrieved from Ratchford, B. T. (1987). New Insights About the FCB Grid. Journal of Advertising Research, 27(4). Retrieved from Schlesinger, G., & Wachter, J. (2010). Mid-Level Luxury Performance Sedans. Tellis, G. J. (1986). Beyond the Many Faces of Price: An Integration of Pricing Strategies. Journal of Marketing, 50(4). Retrieved from Teo, T. S., Lim, V. K., & Lai, R. Y. (1999). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in Internet usage. Williams, P. (2005, February 17). Retrospective: BMW 3 Series. Retrieved from series/

7 i.) APPENDIX