Mercedes’ iconic three-pointed star symbolizes the auto manufacturer’s mobility on land, water, and in the air. Given its recent marketing efforts, the prestige car brand might want to add another point to its skill-set: digital mobility. Mercedes re-emergence and success on the digital scene can be attributed to its innovative, fearless spirit and intimate marketing approach.
Mercedes digital strategy is informed by the auto-lux’s three key brand elements as outlined by Mercedes-Benz design head Gorden Wagener: innovation, trend-setting, enduring style. Using these brand elements, Mercedes is emphasizing self-expression and customer intimacy to woo the digital native cohort (16-33). It’s establishing a strong presence on industry-leading social networks, such as Facebook, YouTube, in addition to crafting an ambitious, exclusively Mercedes community. Has the customer intimacy strategy worked?
The prestige auto brand is already seeing the fruits of its innovation. After a slump during the eye of the recession — taking $3.5 billion in losses last year — Mercedes sales rose 24 percent worldwide in January. CEO Deiter Zetsche says the automaker, which cut is dividend, will return to profit this year, reports USA Today.
Mercedes’ focus on customer intimacy helped turn it from the odd man out to come-back kid. “I’m talking about getting that much closer to your customer — that makes some of our ways of targeting them look Stone Age,” said Steve Cannon, VP of marketing for Mercedes-Benz. “We have actually taken money away from things like focus groups and the like and moved it to [customer intimacy] programs.”
Two digital campaigns have defined Mercedes self-expression and customer intimacy initiatives: “Express Your Style” and Generation Benz. “Express Your Style” and Gen Benz promote its new E-Class — targeted towards forward-thinking, innovation-seeking, affluent buyers. The “Express” campaign uses model/actress/zombie killer, Milla Jovovich in a colorful headpiece by avant garde hat designer Philip Treacy. The campaign embraces exuberance and high-design to appeal to younger, affluent car buyers:
Mercedes more ambitious initiative is Gen Benz, its gated social network. Gen Benz was designed to engage Gen Yers in a conversation and incorporate them in the marketing and business development feedback loop — such as suggesting changes to TV spots and tweaking production performance. Embedding customers in the development and marketing phases of the process engendered a sense of ownership, which eventually translated into demand. Sterling Lanier, President of the market research consultancy Chatter, suggests affluent Gen Y thrive on exclusivity, or the secret handshake and gated social communities taps into that desire.
Ultimately, Mercedes Gen Y-centric marketing initiatives enabled them to create a car essentially designed by its audience (via Gen Benz) — from early product development to the final marketing stage. Incorporating customers in the feedback loop positions, “its fanciest cars will outpace sales in the market because of pent-up demand,” writes USA Today. Has Mercedes re-invigorated an arid auto-lux market with Gen Benz and innovative spirit?
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Image by Flavio Takemoto from Stock.Xchng
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