Positioning the New Beetle
Why would positioning the New Beetle be considered Mission Impossible?
Vanzura knows the importance of a good segmentation, targeting and positioning for a successful marketing strategy, that is the reason why she is concerned about the strategic triangle for the New Beetle and its consequences on the sales growth goal. Additionally, she feels the pressure for an amazing marketing campaign since the previous ones were so viral and spoken about.
Positioning the New Beetle is a hard task for several reasons:
1) There are two attractive and distinct segments to which VW cannot attend without damaging its current positioning and brand awareness since it has been seen as an affordable and young brand. These two potential target segments are the baby-boomers and the 18- to 34-year-olds, the last is the brand's current target, achieved through the Drivers Wanted campaign. The baby-boomers segment is constituted by former Beetle users, who are now older and enjoy larger cars like SUV, however the New Beetle brings back several good memories which induce the desire to be back in those youth days creating nostalgic feelings that can be translated into sales. The 18- to 34-year-olds segment is composed by young and adventurous people, who enjoy an active driving experience, who want to be challenged and defy rules. On one hand, we have an older segment that already made some pre-orders and which is willing to pay a premium price, however there is the possibility that the sales will be only the pre-orders since this segment prefers a different type of cars nowadays. On the other hand, we have a younger segment, that is larger and has more potential to influence Beetle's sales in the long run, but it has price constraints.
2) VW current strategy is to be an affordable brand that provides an unique driving experience through connecting the driver to the road and to the world. This predefined goal was achieved by the Drivers Wanted campaign. This campaign was part of the
Vanzura knows the importance of a good segmentation, targeting and positioning for a successful marketing strategy, that is the reason why she is concerned about the strategic triangle for the New Beetle and its consequences on the sales growth goal. Additionally, she feels the pressure for an amazing marketing campaign since the previous ones were so viral and spoken about.
Positioning the New Beetle is a hard task for several reasons:
1) There are two attractive and distinct segments to which VW cannot attend without damaging its current positioning and brand awareness since it has been seen as an affordable and young brand. These two potential target segments are the baby-boomers and the 18- to 34-year-olds, the last is the brand's current target, achieved through the Drivers Wanted campaign. The baby-boomers segment is constituted by former Beetle users, who are now older and enjoy larger cars like SUV, however the New Beetle brings back several good memories which induce the desire to be back in those youth days creating nostalgic feelings that can be translated into sales. The 18- to 34-year-olds segment is composed by young and adventurous people, who enjoy an active driving experience, who want to be challenged and defy rules. On one hand, we have an older segment that already made some pre-orders and which is willing to pay a premium price, however there is the possibility that the sales will be only the pre-orders since this segment prefers a different type of cars nowadays. On the other hand, we have a younger segment, that is larger and has more potential to influence Beetle's sales in the long run, but it has price constraints.
2) VW current strategy is to be an affordable brand that provides an unique driving experience through connecting the driver to the road and to the world. This predefined goal was achieved by the Drivers Wanted campaign. This campaign was part of the