Amidst the thrum of Germany’s industrial heartland, nestled in Munich, stands a symbol of automotive excellence – BMW. Beyond the bustling streets of this Bavarian city, BMW has forged its identity as a global powerhouse, crafting not just luxury vehicles, but legends on wheels. This case study embarks on a journey into the very heart of BMW, delving deep into the intricacies of its marketing strategy, dissecting the components of its dynamic marketing mix, and pitting it against formidable rivals in a competitive landscape.

Let’s get started with the company introduction.

About BMW

 

BMW is a German automobile engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces Mini cars, and it is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad. BMW is a winner of many racing championships.

The company was started as an aircraft engine manufacturer, founded by Camillo Castiglioni, Karl Rapp, Franz Josef Popp, Gustav Otto and the company is currently owned by Susanne Klatten, Stefan Quandt

Aircraft engines were produced from 1917 until 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945. The slogan of BMW, “Sheer Driving Pleasure” has evolved over the years having the current slogan as “ The Ultimate Driving Machine”

In 2017, BMW was the world’s fourteenth-biggest manufacturer of engine vehicles, with 2,279,503 vehicles created. BMW is settled in Munich and produces engine vehicles in Germany, Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Mexico. The Quandt family is a drawn-out investor of the organization (with the excess offers possessed by open buoy), following siblings Herbert and Harald Quandt’s interests in 1959 which saved the organization from insolvency.

What’s new with BMW?

German luxury car manufacturer BMW is on the verge of commencing local production of its electric vehicles (EVs) in India, as the company continues to witness a growing market demand for its EVs. In the first half of 2023, BMW achieved 9 per cent of its sales in India from EVs and anticipates this figure to escalate to as much as 25 per cent by 2025.

“As the volumes grow, as we have done with every other product, we will localise them (EVS), and we will produce them (locally),” remarked BMW Group India President Vikram Pawah in an interview with PTI.

Buyer’s Persona

Lets now have a look at the buyer’s persona of Mr.Santhosh Jackson – an automotive engineer from Banglore.

Now, let’s have a look at the marketing strategy of BMW.

Marketing Mix of BMW

The marketing mix is a plan of action which a company uses to promote its products. It has 4 elements: Product, Price, Place,  and Promotion. So, let’s deep dive into the marketing strategy of BMW.

1. Product Strategy of BMW

BMW Group manufactured luxury automobiles. They manufacture personalized goods as well as standard goods. The brand is always been connected as a luxury product. The product strategy of BMW includes premium sedans, sports cars ad SUVs. The performance and style are always premium and are shown as a status symbol.

The product is continuously improved to give strong competition. Earlier, the company was focusing on luxury and style, but over the years, safety, efficiency, and reliability became important in the product offering.

The company also manufactured motorcycles and bicycles for certain markets. These are categorized as niche market products.

 

 

Lastly, we can say, in product strategy, the company is focusing on safety, improved efficiency, innovative product, and maintaining luxury and premium standards in the market. Let’s move to the next element of the marketing mix, i.e., the price strategy of BMW.

2. Price Strategy of BMW

The company consistently portrays itself as a premium brand, with premium pricing serving as a key component of its impeccable positioning. Car prices fluctuate based on the series and model.

However, in response to intense market rivalry and a drive to amplify its operational reach, the company has ventured into the realm of budget-friendly automobiles, exemplified by the introduction of models like the BMW X1. Commencing at a price point of 22.5 lacs, this offering adheres to BMW’s signature standards.

3. Place Strategy of BMW 

The company has many manufacturing units around the world. In India, Chennai is the manufacturing hub for the company. The maximum output capacity to manufacture cars is 11,000 units per year. There is a spare part centre too in Mumbai.

BMW has a network of dealers for taking care of sales of their automobiles. They do not appoint distributors, instead directly appoint showroom dealers, this allows them to provide more margins to the dealers which they have to invest in distributors if they appoint them. But for the distribution of spare parts, they have distributors at strategic locations. The showrooms are located in the urban city of India. In Mumbai, they only have 3-4 showrooms so that they don’t lose their brand image because of aggressive selling.

4. Promotion Strategy of BMW

The company has been promoting its brand with the most amazing commercials, print ads, and online advertisements. This has made them the world’s most reputed brand in 2012, as per Forbes 

The company knows its target audience very well and according to that, the company markets its product in all the channels of marketing. There is always some exclusivity in the advertisement of the company. 

The ads are more focused on the looks and style of the car. The company also focuses on customer satisfaction and every time a customer purchases the car, they always create some memorable moments for the customer.

BMW ads focus on both, the looks of the car and the engine and the technology of the car. BMW also focuses on customer delight and the purchase of a car is almost always accompanied by gifting a few memorable moments to the customer for the purchase of the car.

BMW India introduced the #JustCantWait campaign recently, which aimed to capture the sentiment of those who are eagerly waiting to resume their favourite activities after the lockdown. The campaign highlights the things that people love doing and can’t wait to get back to, particularly driving on the road.

 

Apart from that, the company also offers various loans and deals to help the customer who wishes to purchase. 

Now, let’s discuss the competitor analysis of BMW.

BMW Competitor Analysis

Upon introducing a new product, companies inevitably embark on a journey to gauge their rivals’ offerings, aiming to match or surpass the quality of service while maintaining competitive pricing.

Now, let’s delve into a glimpse of BMW’s major contenders in the market.

1. Audi

Audi is an internationally known brand headquartered in Germany. Audi is known for the Design and production of luxury vehicles. The Unique selling point of Audi is their powerful engines which help them get into the segment of Luxury Vehicles and so like BMW even they target the rich segment. It competes for BMW by launching different models like A1, A3, A4, A7, etc, they provide this car in petrol and diesel both which increases their sales.

The cars produced by Audi are strongly equipped with Sensors, LED, Airbags etc and are made with the latest technology like Quattro and GSI.

2. Mercedes

Mercedes is a Germany based company initiated in 1926. The product range of Mercedes where they sell automobiles like a truck, buses, etc gives a tough competition to BMW. This company carries out their operations in26 countries spread over 6continents. Currently, Mercedes is a having a strong financial position due to which it is also the market leader in the automobile segment. Mercedes produces their vehicles with the latest technology and they also put the safety of their customers as their utmost priority

These were the 2 topmost competitors of BMW now, lets move on to the marketing strategy of BMW.

Marketing Strategy of BMW

BMW, as a premium brand, always had a premium marketing strategy. They use all channels of marketing whether it be offline, online, TV commercials, or print advertisements. Let’s learn more about the marketing strategy of BMW.

BMW focuses on 4 points while advertising, they are as follows

1. Artistic Approaches and Creativity is a must
2. Ambassador and proud presenters of latest technologies
3. Content Marketing 
4. Using Guest stars in Marketing Campaign

Let’s see each one in detail now,

1. Artistic Approaches and Creativity is a must

A Masterstroke of Artistry and Innovation in Global Customer Engagement: Every advertisement resonates with a distinctive blend of avant-garde aesthetics and technological prowess, captivating audiences worldwide. Evoking a sense of high-tech marvel and embracing the extraordinary, each campaign is a testament to BMW’s creative ingenuity.

Taking a closer look at their ingenious approach, a striking collaboration unfolds on the shores of Australia. Teaming up with the visionary creative agency, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, BMW embarks on an enchanting journey to promote their latest gem, the new X5. This partnership serves as a prime example of their commitment to crafting narratives that transcend the ordinary, elevating the brand’s allure to new heights.

2. Ambassador and proud presenters of latest technologies

BMW stands tall as a global titan renowned for its unwavering commitment to cutting-edge technology.

This dedication to innovation is brilliantly mirrored in their automobiles, where a relentless pursuit of advancement is evident. The embodiment of this ethos can be witnessed in their latest offering, Car #18, a remarkable testament to BMW’s embrace of the future. Infused with state-of-the-art features like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), it exemplifies the seamless integration of the latest technologies, reaffirming BMW’s position as a vanguard of tech-savvy excellence.

3. Content Marketing

The company uses a content-oriented approach to attract a broader audience. The company also claims that content marketing gave them a 27% increase in mobile visitors.

The Head of digital marketing Mr Jorg poggenpohl said“Based on data-driven insights we wanted to create relevant and snackable content in helpful and entertaining ways. That way the business hopes to reach both existing customers and those that might be considering BMW but don’t yet own one. We were thinking customer, consumer-first, which means for us mobile-first with speed. We did it by combining two technologies, accelerated mobile pages and progressive web apps, to bring both ends together on one site. It also shows when creativity and engineering prioritizes speed from the beginning of the project before the first line of code is written.”

4. Using Guest stars in Marketing Campaign

In the contemporary marketing landscape, influencer marketing has emerged as a resounding triumph. This strategic approach harnesses the influencer or celebrity’s devoted following to champion a company’s products, often spotlighting novel features within their offerings.

This potent strategy serves as a conduit to not only spotlight innovations within their automobiles but also to cultivate a broader customer base.

Illustrating this technique, consider the marketing coup orchestrated for the M2 coupe. BMW orchestrated a masterstroke by enlisting the iconic American model, Gigi Hadid. A cinematic marvel directed by the visionary Marc Foster, this captivating production unfurled its narrative on platforms like YouTube and Facebook. Through this artistic collaboration, BMW ingeniously harnessed Gigi Hadid’s influence, igniting a blaze of curiosity and captivating a wider audience, thus expanding their customer horizons.

THE BMW M2 – EYES ON GIGI HADID – BMW ad

 

 

To see the full advertisement, click here

Now, let’s move to the SWOT Analysis of BMW

SWOT analysis of BMW

SWOT Analysis comprises 4 components: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Here is the SWOT Analysis of BMW. 

1. Strengths of BMW

Strengths are the resource a company uses to achieve its objectives. The strengths of BMW are:

• Constant innovative headway in its R&D has made it a market chief in the top-notch section for vehicle deals. 
• It has made a pool of 100000+ profoundly gifted representatives who consistently work in 100+ nations to separate BMW’s contribution from their opponents.
• BMW has enhanced the item portfolio from SUVs to Luxury Sedans to sports vehicles. The product offering and item profundity are fabulous regarding quality and plan.
• There is next to no to work upon in developed economies. BMW has taken shrewd action by beginning right off the bat in creating economies.

 

2. Weaknesses of BMW

Weaknesses are the disadvantage of businesses, which prevent the company to achieve its goals and target. The weaknesses of BMW are:

• Controversies identified with a review of vehicles under some specialized usefulness or non-abidance to the government. driven principles are turning out to be exceptionally normal, the latest one is BMW reviewing 1.6 million vehicles due to airbag concerns.
• BMW bunch has not had many vital partnerships. This gives the competitors an edge over BMW. 
• The more youthful age is bound to spend the cash on electronic apparatuses than saving it for a superior vehicle.

 

3. Opportunities of BMW

Opportunities are the scope where the company can expand its business and generate more revenue. The opportunities for BMW are:

• There will be a huge demand for autonomous vehicles in the coming years. As many automobile companies are working on it, BMW should also acquire the skills and speed up the development of self-driving cars.
• Earlier, the new model tended to release every 4-5 years, but due to the competitive nature of the industry, companies are launching new models more frequently and BMW is well equipped with the technology to do so.

 

4. Threats of BMW

Threats are harmful to any company. The threats to BMW are:

• BMW needs to firmly adjust to the need for green fuel and green machines with the goal that it can ingest the potential clients who are searching for green vehicle arrangements, particularly in the developed markets.
• More and more individuals are turning out to be cost cognizant and with the more youthful age on an electronic buying binge, there is a danger that soon extravagant vehicles will quit accepting as much consideration.
• Low expense vehicle organizations with their upscale and cheap contributions will be a significant danger to the organization.

Overall, we can conclude that the company is doing good in marketing by maintaining its premium position in the market.

Top Competitors of BMW:

Although BMW is a well known brand that provides a premium experience for its customers, it faces high competition when it comes to marketing, Here are the top competitors of BMW.

• Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz, a division of Daimler AG, is one of BMW’s primary rivals in the luxury car segment. The two German automakers often vie for market share and prestige.
• Volvo: Volvo Car Group, owned by Geely, competes with BMW in the luxury car and SUV segments, emphasizing safety and Scandinavian design.
• Lexus: Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota Motor Corporation, is a strong competitor in the global luxury car market, known for its reliability and high-quality vehicles.
• Tesla: Tesla, Inc., the electric vehicle (EV) pioneer, competes with BMW in the emerging electric vehicle market. Both companies target tech-savvy and environmentally conscious consumers.
• Porsche: Porsche, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, is known for its high-performance sports cars and SUVs, often competing with BMW’s M series.

With this, we have come to an end of Marketing mix of BMW. Let us conclude it all in the upcoming section.

Conclusion

Founded in the year 1916, BMW stands as a distinguished emblem of German automotive excellence. With a heritage that spans over a century, BMW has meticulously carved its niche as a paragon of premium positioning within the automotive market. 

However, what sets BMW apart is not only its legacy and diverse marketing channels, but also its ingenious digital marketing strategies. These strategies act as a beacon, effectively captivating and engaging their coveted target audience. 

In conclusion, BMW’s remarkable journey from its inception in 1916 to its premium position in today’s market is a testament to its enduring commitment to excellence. Through a harmonious symphony of traditional and innovative marketing approaches, including captivating digital strategies, BMW continues to etch its name as a true luminary in the world of automobiles.

Thank you for reading this article about BMW marketing strategies. To read more such insightful Marketing strategies of various successful brands, visit IIDE’S  knowledge portal.