BMW Brand Audit

von: Marion Weiler

Table of Content

Introduction Page 3

General Page 3

Survey Page 4

Target Market Page 4

Brand Positioning Page 5

Tools Page 6

Brand Elements Page 6

Secondary Associations Page 8

Current Marketing Program Page 8

New Marketing Approaches Page 8

Product Page 11

Price Page 12

Place Page 13

Promotion Page 13

Effects of Current Marketing Program Page 17

Implementing Branding Strategies Page 19

Brand-Product Matrix Page 19

Brand Hierarchy Page 21

Knowledge Structure Page 23

Brand Awareness Page 23

Brand Image Page 24

Brand Outcomes Page 26

Suggestions and Recommendations Page 28

Appendix Page 34

Introduction

General

The brand that our group chose to assess is BMW. BMW, which stands for ‘Bayerische Motoren Werke’, is a major European manufacturer of luxury cars. The headquarters of this multinational corporation (BMW Group) is in Munich, Germany. The company has built substantial brand equity over the years through the continuous branding efforts for high quality products.
BMW is a manufacturer of luxury cars. The luxury car category includes both traditional and functional luxury cars. U.S. manufacturers like Cadillac mainly produce traditional luxury cars. These manufacturers focus on customers that want to enjoy a soft, comfortable and living room style appearance. Functional luxury cars are represented primarily by European manufacturers such as BMW and focus on customers interested in a car that provides more performance and style then a traditional luxury car. BMW focuses on providing performance via pinpoint steering and precision suspension system that ‘put the driver in touch with his surroundings’ and ‘inform the driver of the immediate environment’.
Direct competitors for BMW include luxury car manufacturers from Japan, the U.S., and other European Union countries. Globally, BMW’s biggest U.S. competitors are Ford, Cadillac, Lincoln, Buick, and Chrysler. Japanese competitors include Lexus, Honda, and Toyota. BMW competes locally (in Germany) and globally with other EU companies such as Mercedes Benz, Audi and Jaguar. BMW has a target market in each of the countries they compete in. Following section will summarize their target market in the U.S.A.

Survey

The survey was given to 30 people and was responded by 25 people. Out of these 25 people, 10 were female and 15 were male. The survey was given to people of different age groups and different professions. The survey included questions to tools, knowledge structure and outcome of the brand BMW. The process we used to capture our results left us unable to directly correlate a segment in the responding demographics with a bias in responses. For example we can’t determine which responses came from the 25 respondents in the 26 to 35 year old age range. With that capability we could have better identified which segment of the market was responding positively or negatively to a question, and determine if negative trends (i.e. all that age range didn’t think BMW was exciting) had developed. Please find attached an outline of the survey.

Target Market

BMW targets affluent men and women between the ages of twenty-five and forty. Since the functional luxury market’s traditional male domination is lessening, the target market for BMW consists of both genders. Citizenship or ethnicity is unimportant. As an exporter, BMW goal is to appeal to all people regardless of ethnicity. BMW believes the positive associations (country of origin) for their brand assist them in their export markets. The survey results indicate that the BMW message is reaching their target market. Of the survey respondents, more then two thirds recalled BMW as a luxury car, nearly all recalled BMW as a foreign car, and all respondents recognized the BMW name.
BMW produces models targeting the singles market as well as models for families. The survey data indicates the attributes relating to associations with the singles market to be far weaker then those focused on the family market. BMW realizes that their target market’s financial status requires them to focus on a more educated customer, one that has completed college, and survey results confirm their success. The price segmentation BMW chooses limits its target market to individuals at higher levels of income. The market segmentation requires income levels corresponding to educated individuals and professionals. Professions of survey participants included managers and other professional’s BMW targets.
The survey also indicated respondents not targeted by BMW are interested their products. This is a result of BMW’s association as a status symbol. Our survey resulted in a score of 4.1 and 4.6 (5 maximum possible) when participants were asked to indicate agreement with the words ‘prestigious car’ and ‘status symbol’, respectively. Some of those not targeted yet interested in BMW could move into the target market through graduation from college or increasing levels of corporate responsibility.

Brand Positioning

The BMW brand is positioned (in relation to competitors) by price. Its premium price is meant to guarantee the consumer a high level of quality engineering, which can display status or success in a visible manner for social approval. The car’s driving ability combined with its looks and advertised image distinguishes BMW from its competition. It is positioned to attract consumers interested in more than an ordinary car for their money. The survey results indicate BMW to be strongly positioned. Both quantitative and qualitative questions asking the same (or similar) questions were answered similarly. The survey asked the same question different ways; such as ‘if BMW gave a feeling of safety’, ‘how well does the word safe describe BMW’, and indicate agreement on a scale from one to five with the word safe. In all three instances, (Yes , Yes, and 4.1) a positive response was received. Similar results were with reliable/trustworthy/security and social approval/upper class/prestige questions. Survey questions related to positioning for a more youthful market were not associated as well with the BMW name.

Tools

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