Friday, January 31, 2014

Will emphasizing durability be a successful strategy for VW?


After a year of declining sales, Volkswagen is taking a variety of steps to get the brand back on the acceleration track.  Strategically, they have decided to focus on the fact that they have more cars on the road with 100,000 miles or more than any other brand. (Greenberg, 2014)

It's an interesting strategy, but will it get them on the consideration list for Gen Y?


Greenberg, K. (2014, January 29)  VW's Brand Strategy Hones In On Product.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved January 31, 2014, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/218405/vws-brand-strategy-hones-in-on-product.html?edition=69380

3 comments:

KDikun said...

I truly did enjoy this Super Bowl commercial, I thought it was clever and the statistics were easily recognized and it stuck with me. In my opinion I feel that when individuals consider a durable long-lasting car it wouldn't have VW on the top of the list. This is not because I have heard that they are not good quality but because it is not a characteristic that I would describe this company with, due to lack of marketing for this main reason. After watching this commercial, I thought to myself how many individuals do I know that have VWs and the ones that do I realized they have had them for a very long time. I was able to relate this commercial to personal experiences, through the individuals I know that own VW vehicles. I however, would never purchase a car, no matter if it has great life, because I prefer SUVs and VW does not advertise or market to their SUVs enough. When I think of VW I think of their sedans, the wagons and the Beetle. Even though SUVs aren't always popular and the economical choice for gen Y(although individuals born in the early 1980's are reaching the 35 year mark and might start to think about having a family), I personally believe that VW should put more of their budget into promoting their more expensive cars the Tiguan and the Touareg. When individuals think of purchasing their first car (gen y) they are not thinking, "what car can I have for the majority of my life", they are thinking about what is either the most cost efficient or "cool" car out on the market right now. As in the commercial, the little girl that the father was telling the story to was not that interested in the large mileage on the car. Yes, this commercial was interesting and understandable, I believe that it was geared towards the earlier generations.

Dylan Caulfield said...

I want to start by saying that the engineers growing wings was in my top 5, if not top 3 favorite super bowl commercials. On the contrary to what seemed like every other ad, VW's approach to their ad a light hearted and funny. I feel like every other car ad, for example the Maserati ad, was filled with sad music with cut scenes of beautiful landscapes and building structures. That being said, do I think that emphasizing their durability will be successful? Not entirely. As much as people will want their car to last long, that is not what gen y is looking for when they buy a car. They are looking for the car that can save them the most on gas, or that will turn everyones' head as they drive by. The commercial featured a dad and daughter and I think that's who the ad is appealing to, somebody who is looking to buy a car that they'll have for the remainder of their driving career, or maybe to hand down to their kids. Gen y is full of people that were brought up with technology so they have become accustom to getting things quick and seeing immediate results. They aren't planning for 100,000 miles down the road, they are going to buy a car that will give them the immediate saving on money, or the immediate "chick magnet".

Anonymous said...


In regards to VW emphasizing their durability being a successful strategy, it may work on baby Boomers and even with Gen X. Typically these two age groups are more concern with substance, durability and reliability than Gen Y. Because Gen Y grew up in the computer/technology age, their mentality is quite different from the other two previous age groups. Gen Y are more into instant gratification. In terms of technology they always want the newest, fastest, latest thing in the market. They are not concern about durability because they tend to replace their personal items with whatever is the latest,quickest technology around.


A good indication that this theory is true of Gen Y, in the commercial the teenager was very unimpressed about how durable VW can be. When her father alluded to the fact that each time a VW reached !00,000 miles, a German engineer gets his/her wings. Unimpressed, she replied with a smart ass comment, "Yeah Dad and when a VW reached 200,000 miles a rainbow shoots out of their butts."