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Beetle Case Study

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The New Beetle Question 1: Why was the current advertising campaign a success? In 1993 Volkswagen had record low sales but by the end of 1997 the VW brand had sold 137,885 cars. That was an increase of 178% from it’s 1993 slump. It is safe to say that the the ’94 relaunch of VW on the American Market was a success. The “Drivers Wanted” campaign, developed by Arnold Communications, I believe was successful as a result of excellent market research and positioning. Arnold Communications undertook extensive market research in order to understand the modern VW buyer and their position in the industry. They set about collecting primary data through extensive interviews, visiting 95 of the top VW dealers and drving VX over 50,000 miles …show more content…

Round shapes conger up inviting, friendly images.They represent completeness, wholeness that mant are draw to. The sociologists suggested that the “Bug” phenomenon in the 60’s was seen as countercultural and that small is beautiful. These values could still be leveraged in modern American society where there is a move to standarize. The Beetle could still be counterculatural and used in the modern quest for individuality. Question 3: How would you evaluate the different positioning options? Hollensen 2007 states the third phase in the IMS model is the screening of the markets. Following Arnold Communications research, VW had assessed and developed their potential markets. Now was the time to select and screen the best of the segment opportunities. VW had deduced that their two main target markets would be 18 to 34 year olds and the baby boomers in the over 40’s range. Both of these markets, much like the VW research showed similar persnality traits. However, due to VW’s lack of budget it was not possible to target both markets. VW had to decide where to position the new Beetle. For the younger market, utilising the successful Drivers Wanted campaign and therefore putting the Beetle under the VW umberalla. Or for the baby boomers, by developing a seperate campaign to fully utilise the nostalgic leverage and to use the Beetle as a Hero brand for VW. 18

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