Competitive Analysis

BMW has taken many steps to set themselves apart from their competitors in the luxury automobile market.  The closest competitors are Japanese owned Lexus and fellow German competitor Mercedes-Benz.  Each company has their own approach to setting themselves apart from each other.  It seems that in services being offered, and the automobiles themselves, the companies are, in all intents and purposes, equal.  While there may be small differences, they are not large enough to really matter to the purchaser.  At this level, most consumers are purchasing the lifestyle image that comes along with the vehicle rather than the features of the vehicle; the BMW may get a better MPG rating than the Mercedes, but at this level the purchaser is not going care about one or two miles either way. “Most competing brands are of equal quality-that is, they are parity products or services.” (Advertising by Design; Landa, Robin; 2)   In this respect I think that it is the ad campaigns and way that the company portrays their product in the media. 

This is why the ad that I created for the BMW 3 Series will be successful.  The ads aims to tug at the heart strings of the purchaser of the car.  Creating an emotional connection to the consumer is the most important step in selling any luxury item, and the Luxury is never out of place campaign will do just that in order to separate BMW from the crowd.  “What differentiates a brand is how it is characterized, its visual and verbal identity as expressed in each media unit and through every point of contact.” (Advertising by Design; Landa, Robin; 52)    Currently, BMWs overall slogan, Ultimate Driving Machine, is good for the motor enthusiasts who purchase the super sporty M series vehicles.  The M series is built for speed and performance, but the purchaser of the 3 Series is buying a lifestyle, not a car.  “The brand idea is based on an insight into the audience that makes the brand relevant to them.  It must exemplify something – tangible or intangible – that people find compellingly relevant to their lives.” (Advertising by Design; Landa, Robin; 52)  Both Lexus’ and Mercedes’ ad campaigns also leave much to be desired in this arena of emotional pull.  Lexus states that they are in the Pursuit of Perfection, if a consumer is paying this amount of money on a vehicle I think that they will be looking for perfection, and not just the pursuit of it.  Lexus has created a campaign that may be slightly working against them in their target consumers subconscious.  Mercedes as well as failed to create an emotional connection, and therefore longing, for their vehicles through their ad campaigns.  All the ad campaigns are similar, and include the same typeface and same sort of message, but there does not seem to be one unified slogan across the entire brand.  While each vehicle may need some sort of specific advertising, when selling a lifestyle the company itself should also have some sort of overall brand message to sell to the consumer. “In an overcrowded, competitive marketplace, relevant and engaging branding can ensure efficacy for a quality product, service, group, individual, or commodity.” (Advertising by Design; Landa, Robin; 49)