Porsche Case Study

Current Situation For years, the Porsche brand stands for expensive, high-performance sports cars. A typical consumer for Porsche is a young, adventurous, wealthy male who enjoys living life on edge (19). This single-minded focus would change in 1998 when Porsche made an announcement to develop an SUV to be released in 2003 in the United States. The new SUV would provide traditional Porsche styling and performance however combines components promoting family and outdoor activities. Porsche would be joining an already intensely competitive market primarily dominated by the Ford SUV. Additionally, the company would unintentionally anger loyal owners and Porsche enthusiasts – many of whom believed that the company has “sold out.” Hostility towards the launch of the Cayenne SUV was intense – disbelievers began expressing themselves via online message boards such as Rennlist, where they’d vent their displeasure, in addition to the offline world. “Consumer-generated-advertising spoofing the Cayenne made its way around to the Internet, consumers circulated bumper stickers, license plate frames, and t-shirts for the Cayenne with slogans like ‘My other car is a REAL Porsche.’” What was said online would soon travel beyond the Internet world; mainstream press and television programs would quote Porsche owners in new stories and would eventually develop and reflect the “online zeitgeist of the Porsche enthusiasts” (11).

SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
- Strong brand
- Loyal consumers
- Target a new market niche
- Brand extension
- Corresponds with Porsche’s high technical and visual standards (4)
- Traditional Porsche styling and performance with off-road driving capability (3)
- Spacious and comfortable interior (3)
- Based on survey, customers want an SUV (3)

Weaknesses:
- Difficulty with product positioning (1)
- Targeting a much different driver leading to a loss of brand loyalty
- Angry Porsche enthusiasts
- Partnership with Volkswagen
- Japanese