Porsche's Integrated Marketing Campaign Tackles Consumer Perception
Posted by Ron Fink
On March 24 Porsche launched an integrated marketing campaign with the goal of changing consumer perceptions about its products.
The car maker working with their ad agency, Cramer-Krasselt, rolled out a campaign that included direct mail, mobile marketing, online advertisements and TV elements. It appears to me that they subscribed to a holistic approach and built their content with a consistent message with a complementary use of media.
Porsche conducted research late last year that revealed some interesting consumer behavior. They found that consumers viewed its cars as impractical purchases for everyday use, said David Pryor, VP of marketing at Porsche. The campaign is targeting luxury auto consumers and a “subset of auto enthusiasts,” he said.
Porsche felt that the consumer's perception of the car was almost that every 911 [model] was like a GT3, like it was almost like a race car instead of a car that could be driven every day. The automaker saw that as an opportunity to correct the misperception. Pryor said "they are not going away from the core brand values of performance, engineering and state of the art technology, but that they wanted to put a little bit of focus on the every day side of it."
All campaign elements direct consumers to a dedicated website featuring company- and consumer-generated content, including videos, photos and testimonials from customers about the everyday use of their cars. Consumers can share the content through social networks.
Porsche launched the initiative with TV commercials in select markets, such as New York, Miami and Los Angeles, during the NCAA Men's Basketball Division I Championship tournament.The company will launch other campaign elements, including direct mail brochures, print advertisements, a mobile-optimized website and a short-film contest, next week. The winning video submission will air in movie theaters prior to the trailers.
Porsche will distribute direct mail pieces to consumers outside the company's customer base to make sure that they can demonstrate this ‘everyday magic' notion to some people who have not driven a Porsche in a very long time or have Porsche in their consideration set but haven't pulled the trigger.
To submit content to the website, consumers are asked to provide their name, ZIP codes and e-mail addresses, and asked to opt-in to monthly e-mail newsletters from Porsche.
Consumers can also submit their buying interest, such as when they might buy a new car, the budget for their next car, and what Porsche models they are interested in. Porsche will relay that data to their local dealerships which can contact consumers regarding upcoming events in their areas, so that way we can make sure that those consumers are engaged moving forward from the campaign.
Even a 100 year old carmaker can shift consumer perception with a purposeful marketing strategy and the right tools. Are you in synch with your customer's perception about your brand?
