Choice of Brand Strategy for Metroville Cars - Essay Example

 Choice of Brand Strategy for Metroville Cars Subject: Choice of Brand Strategy for Metroville Cars In the modern era, marketing has turned into a strange mix of advertising, branding and pushing sales of a product or service. Many business people are in fact misinformed about the actual distinctions between advertising, sales promotion, personal selling and marketing when it comes to the real task of getting the sales targets achieved. But looking back on it all, marketing is a very wide concept and includes everything from identifying customer needs and wants, determining how best to satisfy them and then developing a product or service that fulfils this need. Lately we have seen that brand strategy and brand identity is playing a very important role in marketing and selling products. You would be amazed to know that even in a recession, branded goods are doing more sales than generic or unbranded goods. History records that it was K-Mart who was the first retailer than asked Jaclyn Smith of Charlie’s Angels fame to endorse a brand (Anonymous, 2007). From then on, brand marketing has exploded and today there are celebrities like Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Tiger Woods, David Beckham and others who have not only endorsed brands but also created some of their own. A variety of celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Jessica Simpson, the Kardashian sisters and Kanye West are also going into the retail clothing business and adding their own names and logos to these products. The reason is simply that people want to identify with these celebrities and buying their brands makes the consumer feel closer to these personalities- it’s a psychological and emotional bonding of sorts. Branding thus is the best strategy to follow and I propose that we brand the Metroville by using a deer as a logo. This deer will form part of the car insignia and sit atop the vehicle in the same fashion as an angel atop a Rolls Royce. The deer is known to be sleek and fast and to be able to outrun and outmaneuver its prey by its quickness and agility and that is exactly what we are trying to convey with the Metroville. In fact the deer often wins by tiring out its pursuers and zigzagging instead of running in a straight line. The ability of the Metroville that is small and lightweight but with a durable engineering and ergonomic design would appeal to the mass market of young consumers- from college kids getting their first car to newlywed families in the process of setting up their lives and homes. The deer is to be a prancing one, one who has leapt ahead and thereby avoided its pursuer. I would like Taylor Swift or Robin Williams to be the brand ambassadors for the Metroville. Taylor Swift has a squeaky clean image, avoids scandals or cheap publicity and is an all round good and law abiding country singer. She does not engage in risqué behavior just to be in the limelight. She represents the younger generation. Robin Williams could also be considered as his witty image gives one the feeling of a good time, and that is what we want consumers to have in a Metroville. If you remember he recently scored a hit with ‘RV’ at the box office, so people would identify with his image as the fun loving driver of a Metroville. For advertising purposes, we could use Robin Williams to appeal to the 40 and under crowd and the images and videos of the late Sam Walton to appeal to the crowd that are 40 and over and who are more concerned with cost cutting and fuel economy in the recession. Metroville has been engineered for the best fuel efficiency possible and also supports alternative fuels, another thing that would appeal to the younger environmentally conscious generation. If the Metroville were a person, I would prefer it to be Robin Williams. He is small and quick, easygoing but intelligent, witty and will get you if you don’t watch out. He can make you smile at your own foibles and relax at the same time. Life does not seem bad at all if you are in a Metroville, or attending a Robin Williams show. Robin Williams has also recently married a graphic designer and will be in the best of moods if we approach him to be brand ambassador right now. I would like the music of the ‘Blue Danube’ by Johann Strauss II to play in the background of all the advertisements for TV. The piece is familiar to the public, has a smooth flow and elegance and rises and falls in a rhythmic fashion. Imagine for yourself as images of the Metroville are shown negotiating both smooth roads and a little rough terrain that is inevitably part of a city’s landscape. It will be like the Metroville is waltzing with ease on the streets of the city. The Metroville will get the image of being an old friend, a companion that reminds one of better times. Images can also be shown of the ergonomic and spacious interior, trendy dashboard and the magnificent exterior as the car is on the move. The end of the advertisement would show the Metroville coming in to be parked at an average household, with the entire family getting out and meeting friends or relatives. In terms of the Susan Fournier article about how consumers would relate to the Metroville brand, I would presume that the younger consumers would see value in its small compact size, ease of maneuverability, trendy dashboard and fuel efficiency leaving a small carbon footprint. They would undoubtedly be pleased with its sturdy engineering and would definitely consider buying one given its reasonable price. If Mum or Dad is paying for the car they would definitely be reminded of the fact that the Sam Walton ad and personality stood for efficiency and long lasting value, which they could expect in a Metroville. I therefore think that there is a remarkably good fit between the Metroville and Robin Williams (fun loving, quick and maneuverable) or Taylor Swift (a good clean image of professional efficiency, quiet and beautiful looking). What more could they want? (Fournier, 1998). I must add as a caveat that there is a bit of risk using Robin Williams as brand ambassador as he has been known to make some off color remarks in his shows that various people have considered offensive. No one likes being made fun of and ridiculed, even in a comedy show (Anonymous, 2006). Therefore I would prefer to stick to Taylor Swift as Brand Ambassador. She is the model of quiet efficiency and has to date not exhibited any scandalous behavior which can hardly be said of anyone else in the music industry these days. Compared to Lady Gaga, she is a saint! I am sure you will agree on the major points but will be available to discuss any matter with you before we decide to go ahead with this plan. Thank you once again for taking the time to consider my ideas for the Metroville brand. I would like to know what you think. References Anonymous (2006). Star Blight: The Perils of Celebrity Endorsement. Accessed on 28 Oct 2011 at http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1552 Anonymous (2007). A Teakettle with Star Power? The Upsides and Pitfalls of Celebrity Brands. Accessed on 28 Oct 2011 at http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2761 Fournier, S. (1998): Consumers and their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research. Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 24, pp 343-373. Read More