Mercedes Benz origin(s):
Mercedes Benz is a multinational division of the German Automobile manufacturer Daimler AG. It manufactures luxury automobiles, Coaches, trucks and buses. The headquarters of Mercedes Benz is located in Stuttgart, Baden Wurttemberg, Germany. On the 23rd of June in 1902, German automaker Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) first registered "Mercedes" as a brand name.
Brand portfolio:
According to Ehrmann (2016:11) brand portfolio simply refers to all the brands which belong to a manufacturer or company. Brand portfolio strategy focuses on questions such as: Should we launch a new brand or a sub brand? Should we acquire a new brand? How do we prioritise our brands? Do we have too many brands? Should we discontinue some of our brands? (Tybout & Calkins 2019:38).
Mercedes Benz has developed and sustained an impressive product line, length and range since the company had been renamed in 1926. Over time, it has developed car models that have been based on efficiency, limited fuel consumption, superior safety features as well as luxurious interior and exterior technological components. The organisation has been effective its brand portfolio in terms of creating enough media coverage, providing advertising media placements in prominent above the line advertising tools, partnering with other renowned brands (i.e. sporting competitions, Global summits, conferences etc.) as well as collaborating with social media influencers to promote the brand on a global scale.
An example of the aforesaid relates to Mercedes Benz' partnership with well renowned and champion Formula 1 driver, Lewis Hamilton. This strategic partnership with leading sports personalities and celebrities elevates the brand value and perception in the eyes and minds of consumers. Moreover, it creates a heightened level of purchase interest in some of the brands product portfolio and consolidates the company's significant market share stake in the luxury car channel.
In keeping with the above mentioned points relating to Mercs brand portfolio, the company has also developed new versions of the same car models they have had in their manufacturing pipeline that stretchers back over 40 years ago. Of course, the company has had to discontinue some line in their operations as a measure of reducing operational costs, emissions, excess labour as well as keeping an eye on international trends and best practice. Furthermore, the impact competitors have has also contributed towards the effectiveness of Merc managing their brand portfolio for as long as it has. One has to consider that in order to survive and be sustainable in the luxury car category, companies have to be ahead of the trend, consistently study its competitor analysis data and at times, amalgamate with other car manufactures as a means to eliminate competition in order to gain significant amounts of market share and customers share of wallet.
The first ever Mercedes Benz Formula 1 (F1) car making its debut on a race track in 1954
Portfolio extension: At least 10 additional model series by 2015
How the marketing mix relates to the brand portfolio?:
Product is the strongest P of the 4Ps (Product, Place, Promotion and Price) in the marketing mix of Mercedes Benz. Mercedes remains as one of the leading brands in the Indian market. The company currently assembles its models - S-Class, E-Class, C-Class and ML-Class. Other models GL-Class, CL-Class and SLK-Class are fully imported.
How Merc managed to save itself amidst controversy and ultimately manage its brand reputation?
Mercedes Benz experienced a period where it was one of the most talked about car brands in South Africa....and this was all for the all wrong reasons. This was in light and reference to the tragic and controversial television advert that was done in 1990 about how one of the Mercedes Benz car models managed to save the life of it's seasoned driver when he crashed 100m down the side of Chapman's Peak, just outside of Cape Town.
That was a fatal accident, and one that could have had serious repercussions for the driver behind the wheel. Luckily, the man on the receiving end of the accident, Mr. Christopher White survived that fateful crash mainly down to two things: that he was wearing a seat belt and that he was a driving a Mercedes Benz.
Fast forward now to the year 2017, almost 30 years later, Mr. White was requested by the Mercedes company and an ad agency affiliated to Mercedes, to do another advert - repeating the same route but this time in a latest S-Class Mercedes. However, the agency, initially, did not mention to Mr. White that he would be driving along the Chapman's peak Drive - and not the other way around.
This is in part to the fact that the S-Class is fully equipped with Mercedes' latest "autonomous driving" technology, which ultimately meant that most of the drive, particularly the really hairy part, coming up top the corner where he (Mr. White) went off originally - would be a "hands-off" experience for Mr. White.
The above story demonstrates a clear example of how the Mercedes brand managed to engineer a near disastrous incident in the early 90's into a success story of redemption and for a lack of a better phrase, "a second chance in life". The accident of Mr.White could have easily hampered the brand reputation of a quality car manufacturer but because Mercedes practices great customer-centricity, it was able to involve Mr. White as part of a genuine campaign that elevated Mercedes' global standing and profile.
Guidelines Mercedes Benz should adopt to maintain a positive brand reputation:
Before a company such as Mercedes preserves its brand reputation, they need to build and sustain one. Here are some tips and suggestion on how Mercedes Benz can establish a positive brand reputation:
1. Be yourself:
Mercedes Benz should not deviate away from what has made them successful over decades of producing luxury cars. Perhaps the best way to understand this is by understanding the definition of brand, which according to the American Marketing Association (AMA) is a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. When Mercedes is able to achieve this over a consistent period, it is able to create customer loyalty, credibility and deliver its message clearly.
2. Engage with influencers and the community:
According to Social media expert, John Ramption (2016:67) brands should use social media to converse with industry leaders, such as asking questions, adding your input, sharing their content or signing up for their news feed. This type of networking will continue to improve your credibility and expertise.
The same could be said about joining communities specific to your niche. The idea is to create a contact base in the community that could lead to further possibilities.
3. Create compelling and quality content:
Mercedes Benz should create content that engages its audience and loyal customers alike. This will continue to prove that the company is an expert and it should gain traction and recognition respectively. It is important that the company creates quality content that the Mercedes Benz audience will find useful, entertaining or informative and would be something that they want to share with its audience.
4. Protect yourself:
Mercedes should ensure that they monitor what people are saying about the brand and its products on social media platforms, online articles and newsroom publications. By keeping up on what's being said about the company online, Mercedes can prevent hijackers from tarnishing its good name. It is important that the company has a crisis plan in place as it is very difficult to prevent people from talking negatively about your brand portfolio.
5. Don't neglect your offline reputation as well:
While there is a big emphasis on protecting and building a positive online brand reputation, Mercedes cannot forget the fact that there's an offline world. This means that the company have to keep customers and fan base happy. Not only will this lead to loyalty or eventually brand advocates, but word-of-mouth referrals or testimonials are great for business.
Lastly, Mercedes should make sure that customers are happy by offering outstanding customer experience and they will gladly tell everyone who listens about how great the Mercedes brand is.
Sources:
https://simconblog.wordpress.com/2015/05/03/mercedes-brand-analysis/
https://books.google.co.za/books?id=DZtQDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA11&dq=brand+portfolio+meaning&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9rduy0ZnmAhUiUBUIHYyCB_0Q6AEIbzAJ#v=onepage&q=brand%20portfolio%20meaning&f=false
https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/12/178194.html
