The Different Markets of Volkswagen in the World - Essay Example

Volkswagen in China How your group developed the poster, why you chose a specific case study and how you organised the content of the poster Posters are the best way to catch the attention of customers to a product. “Poster presentation would appear to have potential as a learning strategy and as a method of assessment.” http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01421599880274?journalCode=mte Thus, it can be said that poster is one of the main methods to promote a brand. “Posters can be used as a distribution medium for copies of associated papers, supplementary information, and other handouts.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1876493/ For this study, our group has focused on luxury cars and we have decided on Volkswagen, which is one of the popular international car companies. We have studied different markets of Volkswagen in the world. We have thought it better to select Chinese market where all the international car companies seemed to have reaped good profits. China, with its large population and improving economy is one of the growing automobile markets in the world. It has secured the top spot in the sales of automobiles in the world. Most of the automobile giants in the world market are engaged in fierce competition and Volkswagen and Toyota are two of the main contenders. Thus, we found it appropriate to consider Volkswagen in Chinese market. We have collected several articles and news from business magazines, which were very helpful in obtaining the statistical information reflected in the poster. We believe that Volkswagen’s emblem is the main attraction that catches attention. The collected materials have been rendered to a written format and we prepared an outline for the poster. We have avoided dense text in this poster, as it will make difficulty in the view. We have prioritised the concepts of clarity and comprehension and included graphs and pictures in the poster. Otherwise, there will be a dense concentration of texts, which may turn off the readers. We have collected the data regarding the economic growth of China against the domestic demand, which shows it is growing. The graphs and tables gathered from the business news were highlighted in specific places. The pictures of old models of the Volkswagen and also the other car companies in the Chinese market were collected and we tried to include some of them in the poster. The important matters were highlighted to get the maximum attraction. We have focused on furnishing the true information and made spaces available to make it for easy reading between the lines. “Changing the format and structure of information to match the accepted standards of the content system. The process consists of stripping unneeded surrounding information (e.g., headers and footers, unnecessary content, and unwanted navigation) then mapping the format and structural tagging to the accepted standard.” http://www.metatorial.com/pagea.asp?id=poster 2. Which are the skills, according to your opinion, that are developed through the creation and presentation of a poster? Provide support for your ideas One of the important skills is to present the apt information and mainly the true information collected together in the poster. It is not possible to paste all the details in a small space such as a poster. It will be very tough skill to make it in a clear and easy to read style which will be the main attraction on that. It calls for creativity and skill to attract viewers through the short and brief style and to indulge all the essential details. “The idea with poster printing is that you want to be sure everyone can read it, and that everyone will read it.” http://www.hfe-signs.co.uk/news/poster-printing-29-08-07.php This poster will have to accommodate all the details that should involve the central message in the introduction part, methods, results and the findings. It has to clearly present all the discussions and conclusions, and also the acknowledgements and recommendations. “An effective poster provides minimal text. We will make this point over and over again as we go along. You must be complete, so that a person can understand the project based solely on what is written, but you must be tremendously concise, for no one wants to read ten pages of text while there are still 100 other posters waiting to be seen.” http://www.asp.org/education/howto_onPosters.html One of the skills needed for poster designing is the ability to handle the graphics. It is important to add a variety of pictures and graphics in the presentation. It should be done in one or two fonts; more than two fonts will give an unclear view for the readers. “An advertising billboard is a poster. If well designed, it will be attractive and engender a lasting impression; earnest but not boring. Importantly, it should shout out to you - "buy me!" or you would think, "I want that!” http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/dept/tips/present/posters.htm A valuable poster will show the talent of the creator. One must concentrate on what he/she has to present the idea to the readers. “An effective poster operates on multiple levels ... Source of information Conversation starter Advertisement of your work Summary of your work An effective poster is not just a standard research paper stuck to a board. A poster uses a different visual grammar. It shows, not tells.” http://www.ncsu.edu/project/posters/NewSite/ 3. Using other posters you saw during the session as a starting point for your reflections, which were, in your opinion, the main strengths of your poster? The main strengths of the poster are that it portrays several arguments that relate to the opening up of Volkswagen market in china. First of all, the poster has illustrated that China has a very good demand for automobile market especially luxury cars like Volkswagen. Its previous launches of Audi Luxury, Jetta and Lavida have been highly successful in Chinese market. “China, western Europe, North and South America will “continue to drive demand” as VW presents new models such as the Audi A7 coupe, the VW Passat station wagon or Bentley’s new Continental GT coupe, VW said.” http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-10-22/volkswagen-boosts-nine-month-profit-sixfold-on-china.html The poster has tried to provide relevant background information by stating the GDP growth and the report of Volkswagen cars. The second strength of the poster derives from a colorful display of Volkswagen cars with the percentage of sales in Chinese market. The third strength is that of the economic growth report of China projected in the poster which shows that the Volkswagen market in china can grow tremendously due to the growth in GDP from a mere 8.5% in the year 2000 to 11.5% in the year 2010. The poster has also reflected the growth in the automotive sector in China has increase to around 8-10% “Trade surplus increased by 10 times from 2003 – 2007.” http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=12c9c1b93ace08fe&mt=application/pdf&url=http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D22b2e6cbd5%26view%3Datt%26th%3D12c9c1b93ace08fe%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dattd%26realattid%3Df_gh4l2wt40%26zw&sig=AHIEtbQLhi9j-M5puMn4hsOwaYzZDa0U7g The information that the poster provides is quite inspiring both for the Chinese government as well as Volkswagen management and thus this poster acts as a promotion tool for Volkswagen in Chinese market. The poster has mentioned the key restructuring areas and the key targets that Volkswagen has in China. This helps any reader to understand the sales target that Volkswagen can acquire in the Chinese market. “As the biggest car maker in china, Volkswagen has built the full line system in its two joint ventures, producing vehicles from low priced compact and middle sized passenger cars to luxury cars.” http://books.google.co.in/books?id=kDw8bPPpGEkC&pg=PA197&dq=volkswagen+in+china&hl=en&ei=Rsr1TJOmDsTHrQe639GUBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=volkswagen%20in%20china&f=false pg 197 4.Using other posters you saw during the session as a starting point for your reflections, how do you think your poster could be improved? The poster is colorful and it reveals important data that is needed for better market promotion of Volkswagen in China. After screening several posters of similar nature it transpires that the poster is less informative and lacks adequate market and brand information. Market segmentation information also has not been given in the poster. Market segmentation is essential because it can help both Volkswagen and the Chinese government in order to understand the market conditions in China. “The fact remains that Volkswagen is by far the largest passenger vehicle brand in China, something that will become quite obvious once you venture out on China’s streets. Volkswagen is a little heavy in the luxury segments and could use some lower priced offerings to counter GM’s Sail et al.” http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2010/11/volkswagen-wants-to-sell-2-million-in-china-this-year/ A statement like this in the poster would have helped the audience understand more about the viability of Volkswagen cars in Chinese market. Also, the next new launches that the firm is going to make in the Chinese market could have been added in the poster so that the audience feels that the firm has a huge line of products to launch like that of sports cars, more luxury cars etc. “For Volkswagen, entry into china offered “first mover’ opportunities in what was clearly going to be a vast and rapidly growing market.” http://books.google.co.in/books?id=2pMZ48Y0qeAC&pg=PA142&dq=volkswagen+in+china&hl=en&ei=ns_1TPW5GoLUrQeTm6CcBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFoQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=volkswagen%20in%20china&f=false pg – 142 A statement like this in the poster would enhance the marketing prospects of Volkswagen in China and will increase the demand for Volkswagen. The poster ‘s presentation of the percentage of different cars does not provide any other detail as to what the audience should understand from the poster. Thus, the poster is unable to clearly communicate its point to the audience. A clear data revelation by way of a pie chart or a bar graph would have added further appeal to the poster in terms of clarity of presentations. “ ” http://www.google.co.in/images?hl=en&expIds=25657,27026,27031,27816,27823,27868,27879&xhr=t&q=volkswagen+car+posters&cp=17&wrapid=tljp1291178523046012&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1020&bih=511 An image like this included in the poster also would have been an advantage to the poster. More informative details regarding Volkswagen products like speed, efficiency, mileage, less consumption of fuels should have been reflected in the poster for better capturing of the Chinese market for its products. The poster, of course, does appeal to the audience, but it still lacks some specifications, which are needed for capturing the market in China for Volkswagen, and thus it needs improvements in certain aspects. Read More