Mercedes-Benz
B2C Regional / Field Marketing l Creative Targeting & Campaign Engage and Educate, Dealer Visits Increase ⇧ +108% YOY
Background
Due to a slowly recovering economy, car owners were keeping their cars longer, buying new models at a slower rate. Total Mercedes-Benz dealer group sales were flat year over year, and loyalty (i.e., brand affinity, dealer service visits and repeat purchase) was at an historic low. BMW, Lexus, Acura and Infiniti were matching and in some cases overtaking Mercedes Benz on key luxury car brand equities.
Maritz market (purchase-funnel) research showed luxury car buyers had favorable top to mid-funnel awareness, familiarity and opinions about MB, but below that, consideration was in decline, causing shopping (online traffic and dealer showroom visits) and purchase intent to fall.
My Role
Player Coach I was strategic lead responsible for supervising and coaching direct reports and junior colleagues, supporting and leading a large cross-functional team, guiding and developing research, analysis, insight and campaign strategy, and nurturing and supervising campaign development, production, implementation, measurement, reporting and optimization across multiple channels.
Research, Analysis & Insight
To better understand Mercedes-Benz challenges, we analyzed the category, competitors, customers and the Company, including its products, services, performance, key personnel and brands.
Then we dug further, taking a classic Segmentation / Targeting / Positioning (STP) approach: Segmentation to divide the market into distinct customer groups based on demographics, psychographics and behaviors, allowing for a more accurate and thorough understanding of customer pain, needs, perceptions and motivations; Targeting to select the most attractive segment(s) on which to focus, and Positioning to confirm the ideal product classification and value proposition to maximize relevance, distinction and attraction.
Segmentation The Dealer Association market stretched from San Diego, north to Santa Barbara and east to Riverside, with dozens of high-density, high-income cities including Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Santa Monica and Los Angeles within. A simple, affordable analysis showed existing and prospective customers fell organically into four simple groups:
Mercedes-Benz E Class Coupe
Existing MB owners
Former MB owners who’d migrated to competing brands
Competitor luxury car owners who’d never owned an MB
First time luxury car intenders / buyers — seeking performance, value and status, looking to upgrade
Targeting All four groups were relatively valuable, so we dug into segment size, and potential for growth, profitability and lifetime value. Most MB owners were older, 45-64. Potential lead us to younger (25-54), well-educated (college degree and up), affluent ($100K+) professionals who had favorable top-of-funnel awareness and opinions about Mercedes-Benz — but were gravitating towards competitors at the consideration stage. They were seeking accessible luxury and high-performance value, but some perceived Mercedes Benz as pricey, old fashioned and its dealers somewhat aloof and uncaring.
Positioning We stacked MB’s popular C & E models against comparable competitors’ (e.g., BMW 3 and 5 series) and found that, pound-for-pound, MB’s performance (e.g., 0-60 time, stopping distance, handling), luxury features (e.g., on-board navigation, Bose sound system, leather) and price points were the same as or better than competitors’.
And, customer satisfaction data showed that the majority of MB dealers in the 30-location dealer group delivered world-class service. Only a few actually needed to improve. This lead us to position MB as:
“The modern high-performance, appointed and affordable luxury automobile you’d expect, with genuine care and customer service you don’t.”
Development, Production and Implementation
Based on our strategic work and insight, I lead the development, production and implementation of a campaign to, as one executive said, “shatter the misperceptions” of, engage and educate a younger, more affluent target with the objective truth about M-B models and dealers.
I briefed our creative team, who developed a variety of concepts based on engaging storytelling and tangible reasons to consider MB and its SoCal dealers. The team developed a variety of strong campaign concepts. We copy-tested four of the best to help select one based on measures including message clarity, emotional impact, persuasion, recall and brand perception.
Mercedes-Benz C Class Sedan
The concept which emerged was a light-hearted campaign focused on a comedic duo (and other peripheral characters) including:
A likeable, mischievous, demanding luxury car buyer shopping for and comparing new and pre-owned MB models
A straight-laced, serious, caring Mercedes-Benz dealer rep, who calmly addresses her questions and demands with grace and humor
Like a well-developed TV serial, the duo were reoccurring characters appearing in a variety of situations, including in and outside modern dealer showrooms, and while sitting and driving in popular MB models. The commercials paired light-hearted humor with a luxury sensibility to “show and tell” about key model features, benefits and dealership care in memorable, emotionally engaging ways.
Creative assets focused on:
Performance — horsepower, torque, 0–60 speed, stopping distance, etc.
Luxury — leather & wood interiors, audio systems, comfort
Affordability — competitive pricing, certified pre-owned value, affordable lease and financing options
White-glove service — responsive, personalized, expert Dealer care and attention
Mercedes-Benz E Class Sedan
The campaign’s light-hearted appeal to a younger, more affluent target expanded MB’s audience and educated without diluting the brand’s premium feel.
Our work included broadcast video and audio, display, OOH, site design, dealer showroom materials and direct response, supporting every dealer within the region. Some dealers in outer markets like Riverside which didn’t receive as much media weight as others were provided additional support.
Measurement, Reporting and Optimization
The long-running campaign spanning 3+ years produced powerful brand and business results including:
Brand
+20% increase in brand consideration
+29% increase in purchase intent
+23% lift in positive perceptions of Mercedes-Benz dealers
Business
+108% increase in dealer showroom visits YOY
+34% average increase in YOY dealer sales
By combining engaging characters and story with key benefits, the campaign pleasantly surprised prospects, changed and elevated perceptions about MB and its dealers, and showed how effective regional and field marketing can improve brand and business performance.
Agency DES