ASE STUDY
Brand Values
BMW
Outcome Summary
1
Brand values associated with BMW by purchasers were profiled
by Benchmarketing and formed the basis of briefings and
workshops with in-house teams and external agencies
2
The visual style, copy and strap line of subsequent campaigns
were changed to reflect the purchasers’ language patterns
“Insight into consistency and processes across marcoms were very
useful with lots of learnings that can be brought back into the
business. Excellent mix, specifically on copy, customer insight and
how it translates.”
3
Market Share increased from 4.95% to 5.39% when almost
all other category brands lost share
4
Defining expressions of the Brand by key purchasers prompted
marketing creativity that made a significant contribution to sales
Harness the voice of the consumer to increase acquisition, loyalty and satisfaction
© Extra Sensory Perception Limited 01903 753697 www.espconsultancy.co.uk
A Customer Experience Case Study
Situation
BMW and any other Brands that had been considered
were explored.
BMW is one of the world’s great Brands with a highly
developed sense of identity, direction and corporate
responsibility. Extensive consumer research is
employed to monitor customer attitudes, purchase
preferences and Brand perceptions.
CASE
However, when BMW UK wanted to optimise the
positioning of the 3 and 5 Series they wanted to add a
further level of understanding focused on purchase
decision and with a capability for direct application to
advertising and marketing collaterals.
Therefore, they included ESP in-depth interviews
with recent purchasers of BMW 3 and 5 Series and
comparative analysis of current TV advertising and
marketing materials.
When the customer verbatims were analysed by
the benchmarketing system’s forensic linguistics the
profiles did indeed align with the established BMW
Brand values reinforcing their appropriateness
and relevance. However, the analysis also identified
particular nuances of motivation and structural
preference that were important to customers but were
under-represented in the Brand positioning in existing
advertising and marketing collaterals.
Specific features highlighted by the analysis were an
imbalance between the Brand’s delivery of Detail and
Logic and the customers’ use of Abstract ideas and
more Feeler or Kinaesthetic language.
For example, when laddering down through the
expected customer references to ‘engineering’,
‘quality’ and ‘performance were their descriptions of
what they felt when they sat in the BMW.
Method
Recent purchasers of BMW 3 and 5 Series were
interviewed about the selection and decision making
process including their sources of information and use
of Test Drives. During the conversation, interviewees
were ‘laddered down’ into their underlying beliefs,
values and expressions of evidence criteria related to
their decision. In particular, comparative reasoning for
Applications
Supported by the associated customer language
patterns, the profiles formed the basis of briefings and
workshops with in-house teams and external agencies.
Harness the voice of the consumer to increase acquisition, loyalty and satisfaction
© Extra Sensory Perception Limited 01903 753697 www.espconsultancy.co.uk
A Customer Experience Case Study
“
CASE
The subsequent campaigns changed visual style, copy
and reflecting the purchasers’ language patterns, the
strap line was changed from; ‘The Ultimate Driving
Machine’; to ‘Joy’.
Insight into consistency and
processes across marcoms were very
useful with lots of learnings that can be
brought back into the business.
Excellent mix, specifically
on copy, customer insight and
how it translates.
”
Applications
The following year, Market Share increased from
4.95% to 5.39%
Only Audi came close to BMW in protecting its sales
and brands such as Mercedes Benz, Lexus, Saab and
Jaguar lost share.
Defining expressions of the Brand by key
purchasers prompted marketing creativity that
made a significant contribution to sales
Lulu Sullivan
Account Manager, EURO RSCG
Harness the voice of the consumer to increase acquisition, loyalty and satisfaction
© Extra Sensory Perception Limited 01903 753697 www.espconsultancy.co.uk