Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös has just announced the release of the new Rolls-Royce Ghost that will come in Autumn.

Rolls-Royce is the quintessential expression of luxury in the automotive industry. In terms of attention to details, opulence, and pure focus on a luxurious experience, whether driving or being chauffeured, very few come close, and usually they do with just a single model in a wider lineup. It is the case of Bentley’s Flying Spur or Mercedes with some of its Maybach models.

*New Ghost Concept©Rolls-Royce Media

Here is a new article of my ‘Marketing Racing’ series, where I look closely and discuss the most interesting and innovative new and old marketing campaigns launched by luxury car manufacturers. Last month I looked at Lamborghini’s Huracán EVO RWD Spyder. This week is Ferrari’s turn, with a really fresh idea launched back in 2018. A webcomic. Despite being likely overlooked by many it is still worth mentioning as an example of creative thinking and how diverse marketing can become to appeal to a new target audience.

FERRARI’S MARKETING

Ferrari as a company has a wide variety of unique channels and marketing resources thanks to its history and standing reputation, as well as its unique nature. The main pillars of its marketing mix are its racing heritage, which includes its Formula 1 history and team, its brand, named more than once ‘Most Powerful Brand in the World’ by Brand Finance, which brings numerous important sponsorships and several merchandising lines and collectors’ items.

For brand enthusiasts museums and limited-time exhibitions, such as Michael 50 and Universo Ferrari, are a great way to experience the brand. For clients instead, specialised events and activities, such as presentations and the FXX Programmes or F1 Clienti.

All these activities and marketing channels are analysed more in-depth in my Brand Market Potential Analysis.

ART FOR FERRARI

After the Grand Prix Posters introduced a year earlier, in 2018 Ferrari added a new art wave to its portfolio to celebrate its racing DNA. It launched a daring but definitely original initiative through a really unexpected mean this time. The Ferrari-branded webcomic ‘We Race’. It has been written by Giulio Antonio Gualtieri and drawn by Riccardo Burchielli. Here below is the official trailer published online by Ferrari.

The comic is a sci-fi set in a dystopian future where the earth has become a wasteland, but a futuristic version of Formula 1 is still practiced. The storytelling naturally revolves around motorsport and its possible future. The story arc is divided into three different periods, 2057, 2058, and 2095 and deals with different themes such as teamwork, competition in sports, gender inequality, the relationships of humans with machines in a highly technological environment, and, of course, the passion for motorsport. As the quote ending the introduction of the comic reminds us: ‘Because the world may change, but certain thrills never do’.    

References to Ferrari’s tradition, apart from the protagonists’ red car, even in this far future are subtle. In the panel below, the background shows what resembles a 1959 Ferrari 250 SWB and the Scuderia Ferrari badge, even if it is never mentioned in the actual story.

The mean itself is well suited for this kind of product. Set between a traditional art form and new technology, much like Ferrari itself, We Race has the capacity to really immerse the reader thanks to parallax scrolling effect, music, and sound effects accompanying the panels that unfold scrolling the page.

THE WEBCOMIC EXPERIENCE AND ITS MEANING

The webcomic was an interesting experiment directed at a potentially different demographic. Not only that of comics enthusiasts (not necessarily mutually exclusive with motorsport) but definitely a younger one.

The stories in the two time periods connect and conclude at the end of the third series. Considering the rather limited nature of the comic there is not much space for the writer to go in-depth with the character development and the unfolding events. This eventually ends up feeling a somewhat superficial reading experience, which also suggests this was more of an attempt than a proper fully developed long-term project.

What it achieves though, apart from being a technically impeccable and original product, is creating brand awareness and showing Ferrari’s willingness to try different things, celebrate motorsport and connect with its fans at many different levels. And this is one of the most important factors that contribute to creating a well-rounded marketing strategy for the most powerful brand in the world.

Auto shows have been for most of the past century the main promotion channel for automotive manufacturers. Especially in Europe and North America, the first exhibitions started at the beginning of the last century. It has been years now though since talks around the eventual demise of Auto Showshave started going around.

Nowadays, despite being still an important part of the industry, the Global Pandemic might have very well accelerated the change.

The advent of the internet and growing trends like live streaming, augmented and virtual reality, are offering OEMs a faster, efficient, and more cost-effective way to reach an even bigger audience. Many automakers have started adopting alternative solutions a while back. The Quarantine forced many of them to use it. So, are International Auto Shows going to disappear completely in favour of virtual events? 

WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION FOR AUTO SHOWS?

The map below shows all the major Auto Shows and Concours d’Elegance organised since the dawn of the automotive industry. It does not include rallies and specialised events for tuning and other connected disciplines, but only exhibitions where automotive marques participate to present new models or promote existing ones.

INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOWS WORLDWIDE

*Source: Auto Shows Official websites - Graph created by the Author

The Covid-19 outbreak that affected the entire industry, stopped also the first wave of big international auto shows. Some of those planned for the second part of the year are being cancelled as well or being delayed at least.

The most notable in Europe was the Geneva Motor Show. The cancellation forced car manufacturers to come up with alternative solutions. The different approaches were interesting. While all scheduled a time for a live presentation online, the execution was different. British marques Aston Martin and McLaren, along with others, opted for an official unveiling at their respective headquarters, while Swedish automaker Koenigsegg, having set up its own stand at the Swiss event, took advantage of it for the live presentation.

Following the live shows, a major event for the luxury low-volume companies’ segment during the quarantine period has been the Lamborghini Huracán AR presentation I discussed in a previous article.

The significant audience attention obtained by these live events arranged with a relatively short notice surely gave automakers a good indication of online means potential for this kind of event. In March 2020, this has been a forced decision, but in the coming years, it could become a conscious choice.  

ARE INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOWS GOING TO DISAPPEAR?

One likely consequence of this evolving environment is the further separation between market segments.

Low-volume manufacturers have already extensively adopted private events exclusively organised for their highly selected customer base. Most of them still take part in public events, even if the attended events are less than before.
Just a couple of weeks back, Lamborghini shocked the media confirming that it will not present any new model at public events again. The company will instead focus on private events and use online channels as the traditional motor shows do not reflect anymore the brand’s values.

After the difficult 2020, with the virus outbreak forcing different routes, more companies could follow the example. Both Aston Martin and Bentley would have already spoken about skipping the 2021 Geneva Motor Show.

As for the rest of the industry, the same formula would not be sustainable, considering the higher number of models produced every year and the audience's attention. In this context, the shows will likely take a different direction.

They are still considered one of the best platforms for networking. But in the coming years, the focus will arguably shift more towards the potential customers attending the event with more interactivity and a higher technological integration rather than traditional unveilings and press conferences. These will be increasingly paired with strong online activity and daring marketing campaigns. Some OEMs like Mercedes have already understood the potential of this formula. Relevant innovations might also come from the East, where several shows consistently attract much larger audiences. Overall, if the change is adopted by others as well, the International Motor Show could change for the best instead of disappearing.

One consequence of the quarantine period for the motorsport industry, and indirectly for automotive companies, it has been to bring E-sports to the spotlight, accelerating their growth even more.

I already touched in a previous article on the growing importance of E-sports in the Formula 1 context. This, along with other marketing activities, has been so far an effective way to attract a younger audience to a sport that was losing popularity. The merit of this discipline has been to allow young people to take part in a sport that most could never afford. Are well known in fact the prohibitive costs of a career as a professional driver, right from the start in karting.

*Virtual F1 Grand Prix in Monaco

McLaren has recently released its financial statement for the first three months of 2020. Like other automotive companies, the business has been seriously impacted by the virus outbreak. Why, all things considered, other companies in the same market segment have performed reasonably well while McLaren suffered such a sharp decline in sales and revenue? And is the pandemic the only cause of this result?

MCLAREN IN 2019

McLaren had originally set a business plan called Track22 in 2016. The program was then updated and called Track25 in 2018.

The new plan set two main objectives: the addition of 18 new models between 2018 and 2025 and achieving the production of 6,000 vehicles a year. Along with these, other targets are the realisation of a 100% hybrid product line, the release of the P1’s successor, continued study of lightweight materials to produce the lightest vehicles in each product segment, evolving the driving experience, vehicle security, and expanding to new markets.

*McLaren Speedtail©McLaren Media

WHICH MEASURES HAS MCLAREN TAKEN?

To outweigh the losses, last week the company announced it would layoff 1,200 employees in a restructuring effort as reported by Reuters. The job cuts will interest all three divisions, applied technology, automotive, and racing.

Other steps taken regard a £110 million reduction in CapEx through delay or cancellation of activities that do not carry 2020 return potential. Other additional expenses for marketing, events, motorsport, travel, racing, IT, and facilities management have been reduced too. The focus will entirely be on current products (Speedtail, 765LT, and Elva) or new models to be delivered in 2021 instead. Further cost-saving measures are achieved through the Government’s Job Retention Scheme, furloughing part of the staff and a temporary salary cut agreed by those who kept working.  

The business is expected to underperform in Q2 as well, during which, in western countries, the majority of the ‘Lockdown’ period happened.

At the beginning of April, McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt announced that the £1.4 million speedster Elva production run would be reduced from 399 to 249 units. The official reason put forward for this decision is a demand by a majority of valued clients for more exclusivity for this vehicle.

*McLaren Elva©McLaren Media

It was around a month and a half before the 2020 Geneva International Motor Show that Lamborghini announced it would have skipped the event. Then, even with the pandemic affecting the entire industry, media and enthusiasts got a degree of satisfaction. New models were presented through online events streamed on every social media platform.

Fast-forward to two months later, and it looks like Lamborghini managed once again (here are more insights on Lamborghini’s online marketing) to steal the online show with the presentation of its new Huracán EVO RWD Spyder. This time not only by picking a date for a separate event but by being the first company ever to present a new car with Augmented Reality (AR).

h©Lamborghini

The EVO RWD Spyder is the soft-top version of the latest iteration of the ‘entry-level’ Lamborghini. And like its predecessors it is a very important addition to the lineup. As the coupé, it is cheaper than the all-wheel-drive (AWD) version, with the MSRP at £188,000 instead of £218,000 (all before options of course), and has new technology, but it is slightly less powerful.

Lamborghini’s statement for both Huracán EVO RWD Coupé and Spyder is “Rewind to Rear-Wheel Drive”, and in this sentence sits the reason for the existence of this new version of the car. The RWD configuration, common in older Lamborghini’s flagships up until the 90s, has been substituted by the AWD one, for improved traction and acceleration. The new one instead will ‘deliver pure, unfiltered driving excitement’(Lamborghini), and the majority of the press so far seems to agree.

By looking at the sales history since its introduction in 2013, and 2015 for the Spyder, the model’s success is evident. Even more when thinking that up until 2019 the best-selling Lamborghini of all was the Gallardo with 14,022 vehicles. As of 2019, Huracán has reached 14,528 produced units, and it just got a cheaper version with updated technology and that promises a more exciting driving experience. 

LAMBORGHINI PRODUCTION FIGURES BY MODEL (2013-2019)

THE PRESENTATION

On May 7th 2020, Lamborghini published on its social media platforms the link to access the new page containing technical details and information about the vehicle, 3D visualisers, and, most importantly the option to use the AR.

This allowed people to look at the car through the screen of their device like the vehicle was sitting there in front of them, whether indoor or outdoor. Unfortunately, the experience is available only for Apple users, and not for Android devices. This could be for branding reasons or more likely for compatibility ones, being the Android ecosystem much more varied and less controlled.

HURACÁN PRESENTATION ENGAGEMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

*Data refer to the last 3 months of activity on each channel

Regardless, the campaign was an innovative way to stand out from the competition. This is, in fact, an unprecedented way to unveil a new model in the automotive industry, which ties perfectly with Lamborghini’s values of uniqueness and technological innovation.

The announcement of the 7th on the main social media channels got a slightly below average engagement (which is already very high for the industry’s standard), while performing well above it on LinkedIn as shown in the chart.

But considering that social media traffic accounts only for about 2% of the total, estimated over the past 30 days, the Huracán unveiling generated significant attention as highlighted in the global ranking improvement based on traffic and engagement since May 7th. This is especially true for the US, Lamborghini’s largest market, where the website ranks 7857th (Source Amazon Alexa.com). The combination of eye-catching yet easy to access technology along with avoiding the direct competition, as it happened for the Virtual Geneva International Motor Show has been very effective.

 

LAMBORGHINI’S WEBSITE GLOBAL RANKING BASED ON TRAFFIC & ENGAGEMENT, AND TRAFFIC SOURCES (IN %)

*Source for both graphs Amazon’s Alexa.com

 

IN SHORT

Remaining truthful to its brand, Lamborghini launches the latest iteration of its best-selling model in an unprecedented way. Regardless, of the positive traffic and engagement results, this AR unveiling is an important display of technological innovation that no other company has exploited so far in this context.

This marketing idea plays perfectly in Lamborghini’s desired image. The concept is perfectly synthesised by the statement used for the Sant’Agata Bolognese Museum rebranding: “Future Shapers Since ‘63”.

Numerous announcements popped up on Maserati’s marketing channels lately, and especially since the beginning of the year. The company is going through a major restructuring process. The developments involve a wide range of business aspects: marketing and customer relationship, top management, production, and of course, product line.

So, what is the best first step for an Italian luxury car manufacturer to signal the beginning of a new era? Producing a highly exclusive, high-performance luxury supercar. This is Maserati’s formula for the entrance in a new decade and in a new phase of its history.

Let’s back up a little first, to review the company’s recent history and most importantly why Maserati needs such a bold announcement.

THE LAST DECADE

Maserati is laying the foundation for its recovery after two years of decline that have reached the lowest point in 2019. Financially, the last few weeks are heavily affected by the Covid-19 outbreak as shown by the graphs.

The brand has changed quite a lot in the span of just 20 years. First acquired by Ferrari in 1999, it was handled as a luxury marque, selling low volumes of vehicles every year throughout the 2000s. In 2005 the brand’s ownership was passed to Fiat.

After a sharp decline of almost 50% due to the 2008 financial crisis, the brand restarted climbing up the ladder. Its strategy in the new decade was shaped to drastically increase the sales number to compete directly with big brands in the same segment such as BMW and Mercedes. Huge results, in fact, arrived in 2013 and 2014 thanks to the updated lineup with the new Ghibli and Quattroporte that brought the deliveries from the 5,675 units of 2010 to 36,000 in 2014. Then delays with updates and production of the SUV Levante caused a contraction in 2015, the year for which the new vehicle delivery start was intended. As predicted though, the Levante significantly improved the numbers in the two following years as it happened for every luxury manufacturer. Coming into 2018 and 2019 a late product-cycle, with dated technology and luxury features that did not keep with the competition in terms of value for money, along with big investments for the new generation caused another sharp decline.

MASERATI YEARLY CAR DELIVERY FIGURES

BACK TO THE ORIGINS

Since the second half of 2019, a brand’s refocusing, and a clear vision of its future started to take shape in Maserati’s communication strategy. A large mix of measures has been taken to ensure the survival of the marque in the ‘new luxury automotive industry’. So far, they seem to strike a perfect balance between future vision and celebration of the Trident heritage and prestige, an asset of crucial importance that not many modern manufacturers can boast.

It all started with some relevant marketing initiatives, first of which is the reveal, as mentioned at the beginning, of its new luxury supercar named MC20. The new mid-engine car is the spiritual successor to the successful MC12, supercar based on the Ferrari Enzo, produced only in 50 units that marked Maserati’s return to racing. The name itself MC stands for Maserati Corse (Italian for Maserati Racing), while the 20 recalls the year of production as did the first Maserati racing car Tipo 26.

This is already a return to the roots, but it is even more apparent in the big launch event scheduled initially for May and now delayed to September due to the Covid-19 outbreak. It is called ‘MMXX: The Way Forward’. The intention to reiterate heritage and ‘Italianness’  is clear from the decision to use roman numbers, to the choice of Modena as setting for it, to strengthening the brand’s identity with messages such as ‘Maserati has 100% Italian DNA and is in continuous movement’. The last part of this statement though is also really relevant, so let’s look at the ‘continuous movement’.

WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE IN THE MARKETING MIX AND STRATEGY?

The restructuring goes indeed even deeper. First came the announcement at the end of 2019 of the appointment of a new leadership team with new CCO and CMO Bernard Loire and Paolo Tubito. Then, the press releases regarding the restructuring and updating of the Italian industrial plants in Modena and Turin, with the last one, in particular, receiving an €800 million investment from FCA for a new EV production hub. These, of course, regard mainly plans for the development of hybrid powertrain that will be applied to the upcoming Ghibli and the full electric one to the GranCabrio and GranTurismo further down the road. Part of another €5 billion R&D investment by FCA for Italy is also directed at the development of autonomous driving from level 2 to 3.

The marketing activities continued also through Maserati’s sponsored Multi 70 Trimaran which in one if its last regattas displayed the MC20 logo on the sails. Trimaran regattas might seem an unusual choice for marketing promotion but digging a little deeper is sufficient to see that it is not. Being a very niche sport and, especially for those who practice it, mostly linked to the world of luxury, speed, aerodynamics, and technological evolution, it is closer to the automotive sector than one could expect. Brands in the same market segment such as Aston Martin, Mercedes, Volvo, and Land Rover have all some degree of involvement in the nautical niche, whether it is through luxury yachts or regattas.

Finally, on the customer care and engagement side, there are also interesting updates. First is the new personalisation program which is a really important requirement in today’s luxury industry, and it is being applied more and more even by premium manufacturers, not just those in the top luxury segment. A new workshop in Modena will be built for it. Secondly, the Modena factory will also have a modern paint shop that will carry out a double function: the implementation of eco-friendly technologies and a special structure that will allow clients to follow their cars being painted.

TO CONCLUDE…

The overarching strategy put in place by Maserati involves numerous aspects of the business and addresses different issues. Mainly the dated product line and the loss of Italian prestige due to the close link with mass-produced Chrysler cars. This along with the ‘obsolete’ technology and lack of luxury features put Maserati at a disadvantage in comparison with its competitors in the same market segment.

The new plan instead shows a clear vision for the company’s future and employs a smart balance of Italian heritage, racing spirit, and pursuit of innovation. All the actions will be delayed due to the current situation, but the pieces are in place on the chessboard. Whether the strategy will be well-executed remains to be seen but the starting position is certainly good.

In the luxury performance car market McLaren, despite being young, has already distinguished itself for producing some of the cars with the most alien and imposing presence, which often translates to performance as well. This is thanks to the state-of-the-art engineering work done in Woking where, every line, vent, and winglet has a specific aerodynamic purpose and, at McLaren, they rightfully never forget to remind us. Their marketing strategy expresses perfectly the value of ‘Form Follows Function’ that the company embodies.

Looking at the vehicles’ characteristics some might say it really seems like ‘Rocket Science’. Well, McLaren took it literally. So, who better than an actual Rocket Scientist could convey the value and the achievements of the work done on one of these cars?

The model is 720S. Since its presentation at the International Auto Show in Geneva it gained praises by the automotive world thanks to its innovative technical solutions and performance capabilities considered the top of its segment and even comparable to much more expensive limited series. Even though there are no official numbers from McLaren, the company, in fact, claims the 720S to be one of the major contributors to its huge jump in sales in 2018 along with the 570S Spider (both unveiled in 2017). From two fairly stable years, 2016 with 3,286 units sold, and 2017 with 3,340, 2018 instead saw a 45.6 per cent increase up to 4,863 units.

THE MARKETING STRATEGY

The video published a while back on McLaren’s Channel is a noteworthy example of how to market a model in a different and innovative way.

The trend across the majority of manufacturers’ channels is to publish videos that vary from 50 seconds to 2 minutes with no comments and where the car is shown in very cinematographic shots either standing still or driving along some beautiful road.

Here instead, Ph.D. Ryan W. Conversano starts the video referencing a rearranged version of Newton’s Second Law of Motion: Acceleration = Force/Mass. The decision to use each element of the equation to describe the car’s characteristics while relating them to real rocket science is a smart one. It allows McLaren to showcase its engineering and aerodynamics innovation as it would happen in a review video, but with some additional values.

Of course, a normal review on a car manufacturer’s channel, even if truthful, would be perceived as biased. This way instead, McLaren showcase the 720S only indirectly, and by doing so it adds also some interesting and quite surprising notions (always explained in common people’s language luckily), and most importantly it once again ties its brand and message to an idea of extreme technological development. One that sets the company apart from all its competitors.

WHERE AND HOW THE STRATEGY IS SUCCESSFUL?

This marketing message is in fact consistent over time, well-targeted to McLaren’s client base, and overall successful so far.

Consistent because the same kind of communication has been chosen already in the past throughout social media. The video below, though quite different from the previous one because shorter and without any talking in it, uses the same way of indirectly (in this case there is not even the actual car in the video) showcasing a vehicle’s characteristic, here aerodynamics.

As mentioned, this type of communication going beyond the ‘simple’ aesthetics or a mere didactic list of performance numbers seems to cater well to McLaren enthusiasts as much as the concept of function and performance above form.

In terms of views on McLaren’s channel, the two videos are respectively 62nd and 35th out of 282. Longer videos though get on average fewer views, and as standard for several manufacturers’ online automotive marketing, the majority of content is fairly short, between 1 and 4 minutes. The ‘Science of Speed’video despite being 7 minutes long ranks 6th out of 32 videos above 5 minutes in length. The threshold has been selected because of a noticeable drop in the number of views for videos over 5 minutes which are also much fewer overall as shown in the graph below.

MCLAREN’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL - NUMBER OF VIEWS VS. VIDEOS LENGTH

Three videos are not included as the high number of views would squeeze the rest of the data on the lower side of the graph. Two fit the trend while the third is the only exception, respectively at 1:04, 0:41, and 5:28 of length and with 4.1, 1.9, and 1.6 million views. It must be said though that despite the trend the statistical correlation is not as strong as it might look considering the quantity difference between ‘short’ and ‘long’ videos. The remaining 250 are all between 10 seconds and just less than 5 minutes. The result indicates a good level of interest overall by McLaren’s audience, even more, if it is considered that both the videos have been published a while back, especially the ‘McLaren Vs Aerodynamic – The Next Chapter’ one which is much shorter but was published back in 2012, to introduce the Hypercar P1 to an arguably way smaller audience.

Finally, McLaren’s focus on performance over style looks also well-targeted for its customer base as proved by a survey I conducted among 244 luxury car owners. Respondents had to indicate on a scale from 1 to 10 the importance of different factors in their purchase decision, namely price, brand, performance, design, company’s robustness, model’s rarity, and personalisation options. McLaren’s buyers on average scored the Performance factor higher than what all the other brands’ owners gave as a reason for choosing a specific car.

IMPORTANCE OF PERFORMANCE FACTOR IN THE CAR PURCHASE DECISION BY BRAND (SCALE 1-10)

TO CONCLUDE…

Overall, the videos, are just two examples (among several) of luxury performance automotive marketing online with an interesting and innovative approach. While every car company has its own specific focus on online marketing, the contents often overlap consistently. McLaren instead does it in a different way showing in various instances originality that not only helps set it apart from the competition but also aligns well with what clients and prospects are expecting from the brand.

In 2019, Ferrari and McLaren both launched two new models that expanded their respective lineup and market coverage. The Roma and the GT, which especially for McLaren Automotive represents a totally new segment, aim at competing with models such as 911, Vantage, or DB11 looking at the pricing, and generally more luxurious grand tourers. It is no coincidence then that as of now (I doubt it will last long), when searching for ‘Ferrari Roma’ on Google it is actually the Bentley Continental GT that comes up at the top of the ranking (image below). The house of Maranello, in fact, quotes Bentley along with BMW, Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Rolls-Royce among its competitors for the new model.

Also, GT and Roma preserve a strong component of sportiness, confirmed not only by the early reviews but well-highlighted by the manufacturers themselves in their marketing strategies. While the other brands’ models despite having a similar power output market their models more as pure luxury cars. Such a difference is also evident in the interiors where Bentley, Mercedes, and Rolls-Royce focus much more on the super-luxury in every small detail. This does not mean that Ferrari or McLaren display an inferior quality level, but once again the sporty heritage is still present and visible in both these new models. Their competition with these will arguably be mainly against Aston Martin (as well as with each other of course), but it is still a new niche for both the brands.

SIMILAR STRATEGIES, DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES

If the target looks similar though, the objective might not be the same. Both the brands have registered a continued growth for quite a few years in a market that differently from the mass automotive market experienced consistent growth as well for the majority of the low-volume luxury performance car manufacturers.

In 2018, Ferrari and McLaren reached record deliveries in their history with 9,251 and 4,829. Ferrari exceeded that record in 2019, surpassing the 10,000 vehicles mark at 10,131 units. Data for McLaren’s full-year are not available yet, and despite the further financial growth with 19 per cent more revenues, up to Q3 sales figures, momentum seemed to falter with a decrease of 4.5 per cent, from 3,463 to 3,306. The house of Woking is aiming with its Track25 plan at reaching 6,000 units sales by 2025, and despite the quarterly slowdown, they expect sales to be in line with 2018. So, without a huge jump in sales or even with a slight decrease, they are not far from their mark. Considering that low-volume manufacturers often deliberately limit their sales number (something that Ferrari did in the past) to maintain their status within the industry and their exclusivity, the Roma looks like a diversification aimed at offering a more understated and luxury-oriented option to surprise and retain customers more than increasing the sales figures massively. McLaren on the other hand so far has been only focused on high-performance sports and supercars. The expansion toward a more daily-drivable car could prove the trump card to reach their strategic goals like happened for other manufacturers in this space such as Ferrari itself, Aston, and Lamborghini.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER SIMILARITIES?

Ferrari and McLaren both have a unique marketing channel which is the first that comes to mind when someone mention their names, and no one else in this market has (so far). A Formula 1 team. But there are indeed a few more, strictly related to the automotive business. The first is the release of two limited edition highly exclusive speedsters. On Ferrari’s side, the Monza SP1 and SP2 (one and two-seater) on McLaren’s the Elva. Both cars are extremely limited, 499 units the Ferrari, 399 the McLaren, with similar power output around 800 bhp and similar price, £1.4 and £1.6 million respectively (before options). Both flagships also pay tribute to the classics of the two manufacturers. The Monza part of the Icona series celebrates Ferrari’s most iconic classics like 250 Testa Rossa and 750 Monza. The Elva recalls classic open-top race cars conceived by Bruce McLaren in the 60s and outsourced at the time to the British manufacturer Elva.

Ferrari Monza SP2 (left) - McLaren Elva (right)

 

The second, at least for the time being, is that both the companies do not have an SUV in their lineup. The vehicle that has completely changed the game for almost all the other players in the segment, and on which Aston Martin that just released its own is relying to save the day.

It is known by now though that Ferrari is just ‘late’ but developing a vehicle called ‘Purosangue’ that will come in 2021 and will supposedly be an SUV. While Ferrari does not explicitly call it like that, it implies a new ‘body shape’ mentioning its future technical challenges with a new architecture. McLaren instead, up until now explicitly claimed they are not going to build one. The reasons are several, from an already crowded segment to the difficulties for a ‘small’ low-volume manufacturer to develop an entirely new platform both in terms of time, due also to lack of expertise, and financial resources, up to the difficulties of remaining true to the brand values.

 

These are probably also the reasons why it took Ferrari longer than other brands to enter the segment. Company values, resources, and time. First of all, the brand is one of the most important assets that these companies have. As it demonstrates a survey conducted among luxury performance car owners about the factors affecting their purchasing decision (Table below).

Survey involving 243 Luxury Performance car owners from the US, Europe, and Asia.

In each age group, on a scale from 1 to 10, the Brand is firmly marked as the third (and second for 25-35 age group) most important factor for the purchase decision. This analysis reflects also a changing luxury market trend by highlighting how for younger generations the Brand is gaining even more importance.

Secondly, for the firms under the VW umbrella, an SUV was a much different challenge as for instance both Lamborghini and Bentley’s models were based on Audi’s platforms. Aston Martin in its marketing, instead, highlighted numerous times how long it took for them to develop a completely new platform just for the DBX, which according to them will also be one of the keys to their success. A development process that could relate to that of Ferrari’s Purosangue.

IN CONCLUSION

The two companies in this market segment that have the most in common, starting from their important Formula1 heritage, have been developing product strategies with different similarities, and both successful even though with different rates (McLaren Automotive is effectively just a 10-year-old company after all).

For the future, considering a likely high sales figure for Maranello’s SUV, if the trend continues, it will be interesting to see if Ferrari will again voluntarily limit its sales that, at the current market condition, could easily reach the 2,000 units, or adopt any strategy to preserve the brand exclusivity. As for McLaren, is not certain yet if they plan to hit their Track25 plan marks with the current lineup or further diversify, and if so, in which direction.

Finally, it must be noted that regardless of any strategy, the consistent risk for disruption caused by the Coronavirus, especially with regards to the Chinese market, is affecting and will likely keep affecting both the manufacturers’ supply chain and sales performance for 2020.

Differently from the example of marketing strategy analysed in the previous article, this one might seem less ‘unexpected’. It is noteworthy nonetheless for the range of business aspects it involved and ultimately for its daring commitment, which was instrumental for the company to recover from one of the worst financial years in its history.

*Bentley EXP 100 GT - Photos byBentley Media©

Numerous manufacturers are moving in this direction, not only because it is necessary for our environment and to comply with increasingly strict regulations, but because as of now even customers are increasingly aware of this necessity and willing to buy into the renewing automotive sector. When it comes to electric vehicles especially, younger generations of luxury car owners consider them the viable future for the industry and sometimes even the more desirable option. The graphs below show the opinions of luxury performance car owners when asked whether they thought EVs could be the future of the mass automotive market and of the luxury one. The younger age group clearly shows a higher reliance on this technology. The percentage of people believing in it decreases significantly for the luxury performance market, but it represents a consistent share nonetheless, and much higher than for the other two groups.

 LUXURY CAR OWNERS OPINIONS ON EVS BEING THE
FUTURE OF THE AUTOMOTIVE MASS MARKET BY AGE GROUP (%)

LUXURY CAR OWNERS OPINIONS ON EVS AS THE FUTURE OF THE LUXURY AUTOMOTIVE MARKET BY AGE GROUP (%)

At the top of the luxury market though, so far is Bentley has embraced the sustainability challenge with a stronger commitment to tackling the issue from different perspectives.

THE PILLARS OF BENTLEY’S MARKETING

The company from Crewe started this journey even earlier though. In 2017 specifically, at the Geneva International Motor Show, when it revealed the EXP 12 Speed 6E Concept. The electric luxury convertible first showed glimpses of the company’s sustainable future in materials sourcing and was instrumental for the development of its first hybrid car presented in 2018, the Bentayga Hybrid.

Fast forward to 2019, in its centenary the major element of the marketing campaign has been an even more extreme and surprising concept car. The EXP 100 GT, Bentley’s vision for its full-electric sustainable 2035 Grand Tourer. Its success as a statement for the company has been confirmed by the ripple effect created online among reviewers and once more, at the beginning of February, by the award received from GQ as Concept Car of the Year 2020. Upon receiving the award Bentley’s CEO Adrian Hallmark said: “…The car represents every aspect of Bentley’s future, and we’re already working on introducing the design DNA, sustainable materials, and upcoming technologies showcased in EXP 100 GT into the next generation of Bentleys” (Bentley, 2020).

Photos byBentley Media©

Details about its construction have been highlighted to strengthen the concept car’s proposition: “the use of 5,000-year-old copper-infused riverwood, exterior paint made from recycled rice husks, 100 per cent organic leather-like interior textiles derived from wine-making; Cumbrian crystal interfaces; British farmed wool carpets and embroidered cotton interior finishes all combined to reconnect passenger and driver to the authentic, natural world around them” (Bentley, 2020).

The second pillar of Bentley’s strategy has been the start of the Bentayga Hybrid deliveries at the beginning of October. The SUV, that as for many other OEMs in these years, has outsold any other model in the product line was rightfully the first to get a hybrid powertrain. Even though not in 2019 as Bentayga is already advanced in its product cycle while the Continental GT received its update more recently, since its launch, half of Bentley’s sales were thanks to this single SUV model, while the other half was reached by four different ones.

BENTLEY BENTAYGA SALES FIGURES AGAINST CONTINENTAL GT, CONTINENTAL GT CONVERTIBLE, MULSANNE, AND FLYING SPUR SALES COMBINED. (2016-2018)

This move makes sense not only for the numbers but also considering the end-user of such model. The SUV is generally aimed at families or people who are less interested in the driving experience but, in the case of the Bentayga, much more in the luxury feeling and might be more sensitive to environmental issues (not even considering gas mileage which is arguably not an issue for someone spending over £130,000 before options on an SUV). The Bentayga hybrid has been in fact the ‘most sought-after’ since its announcement at the Geneva auto show of 2018.

Bentley’s restructuring seems to have worked well as its sales in 2019 increased by 5% and exceeded the 11,000 units.

MORE SOLUTIONS TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

As mentioned at the beginning, Bentley’s sustainability challenge involved different aspects of the business. It involved the powertrain evolution, realised with the Bentayga Hybrid and with the eye-catching EXP 100 GT, but also the sustainable sourcing of materials with new and innovative solutions. The other two factors that complement the former are the energy supply and headquarters’ efficiency.

For its 100th anniversary, during UK’s National Tree Week, Bentley planted 100 trees around the factory.

With this initiative, the manufacturer acknowledges the importance of environmental protection and reflects also how they source wood (as well as other materials) only through suppliers employing ethical practices.

While 100 trees might seem just a symbolic effort for such an important company, the sustainability journey has been developing for a while now and in various concrete ways. Through social media Bentley proudly displays how 100 per cent of the electric energy is provided by over 30,000 solar panels to the Crewe factory which is now certified carbon-free. How they halved water consumption in 6 years and committed to a zero-to-landfill policy with enhanced recycling. New policies have also drastically reduced plastic consumption among employees, improved the supply chain efficiency, and even established a site for beekeepers to house big colonies of honeybees and help biodiversity.

TO CONCLUDE

Bentley’s commitment to becoming the leader in sustainable practices and environmental protection within the luxury automotive sector seems to be paying off. While it was certainly not the only factor that helped the company come back from its financial distress at the end of 2018, it certainly helped to strengthen its image and show its clear vision.

This restructuring and marketing campaign are also especially beneficial in relation to Bentley’s competitors. Within the segment, only Porsche (still part of VW Group) jumped ahead of the curve with the full-electric Taycan, which is anyway aimed at a different target. The same is true for its SUVs Cayenne and Macan, which despite being in the premium segment do not reach the luxury refinement (and price) of Bentley’s. The only direct competitor, Rolls-Royce, is right now employing a different strategy, skipping the hybrid technology to move directly to full electric in the future. As of now though, it certainly looks behind or simply not as interested as Bentley is in sustainability.

However, in a time when climate change is arguably the most sensitive topic in any sector, and consumers’ awareness has never been higher, this multi-faceted strategy proves the company’s management efficiency and effectiveness in establishing its presence as one of the strongest competitors in the niche. The award-winning beautiful, elegant and sustainable EXP 100 GT tops it all and closes the circle with a sparking success.

This new article is numbered because I want this to become a regular series for me to revisit and analyse unique or particularly innovative marketing campaigns. Marketing Racing is about the competition within the luxury performance automotive industry and the companies’ race to new and effective marketing solutions.

One of the most interesting examples in the last few years is that of the limited-edition Porsche GT2 RS. Stuttgart manufacturer’s fastest road-legal car, that in September 2017 set the record of 6:47.25 for the fastest lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife completing it 10 seconds quicker than the £800,000 918 Spyder.

While one might expect a special car like this one to be presented at some exclusive event or big international auto show, this was not the case. Porsche surprised everyone by unveiling its most powerful 911 ever in June 2017 at the E3 (which stands for Electronic Entertainment Expo) convention in Los Angeles. A video gaming conference.

HOW AND WHY DID PORSCHE DECIDE TO USE THIS UNCONVENTIONAL PLATFORM FOR SUCH AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE?

Two months earlier, in April 2017, the company at the New York International Auto Show announced a 6-year partnership with Microsoft. This naturally interested specifically the Xbox’s most important racing titles Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon. This was an important move for numerous reasons.

Another reason was perfectly explained by Porsche’s board member and Sales & Marketing Executive Detlev von Platen who said: “Racing games and eSports connect the real and virtual worlds and enable us to gain further access to the young target group. It means that they can develop a passion for Porsche even before buying their first sports car”. This has not changed in 2019/2020, if possible, the competition in this segment has even got fiercer.

Official eSports events related to motorsport and automotive have become a regular occasion for companies to show off new products or raise brand awareness. For instance, the Formula 1 eSport championship throughout the years has become bigger and more influential up to 2019 when every single F1 team had its own official eSport representative in the championship. The same was for the 2019 FIA certified Gran Turismo championship finals in Monaco, where Aston Martin invited internet personalities to participate by giving them the opportunity to arrive in Monaco driving one of their cars. There is no denying then that for car manufacturers video games have become extremely relevant. They improve brand recognition while targeting a young audience of future fans and potential buyers, yet no one has done what Porsche did with the GT2 RS.

This leads me to the next point: the first-mover advantage. Even though not in the strict sense of the term, considering that a new partnership is not as complicated or time-consuming as for example entering a foreign market, this decision paid-off also in terms of visibility simply for its originality and boldness.

CES in Las Vegas, a show focused on consumer electronics, that often hosts video games related exhibitions, has also seen an increasing involvement of car manufacturers, as more and more technological integrations enter cars, especially with electrification and connectivity. Porsche itself had previously a 16-year-long licensing deal with Electronic Arts that gave the developer exclusive rights on the use of Porsche cars’ image, apart from rare minor deals with other houses. It started in 2000 with a branded game called Need for Speed – Porsche Unleashed and continued in numerous titles. The license contract ended in December 2016, right on time for the new one to be signed.

Finally, being an ongoing partnership this one between Porsche and Microsoft, the German manufacturer has also a competitive advantage over other companies for the future as well. With a franchise that is arguably one of the biggest if not the biggest in its genre right now, Porsche has ensured itself a great, and potentially preferential, exposure to a young audience while not excluding its presence from other franchises and gaming platforms.