What’s the Next Step for BMW? Though BMW has a fairly large market share in its class, the path for BMW has not always been smooth sailing. Their success is linked with factors such as creative marketing, consumer involvement, and product reinvigoration. BMW started out as a very prestigious brand, but shares eventually came stumbling down when Honda introduced the Acura at a lower price. Honda offered service, reliability, and quality and charged less.

After this hard time, BMW took actions to reinvigorate itself with the introduction of new vehicle models, series, an aggressive pricing strategy, and a reorganization of its dealer network. BMW also created more youthful advertisements that would later be imitated by competitors. These competitors, Lexus, Mercedes, Porsche, Volvo, Acura, and Jaguar try to compete on bases of similarity. However, each brand has a specific demographic that it relates to. The average BMW customer was about 46 years old with a median income of about $150,000.

He is also well educated, married, has no children, and enjoys his free time after a long day at work. Mercedes consumers, on the other hand, view their vehicle as a status symbol. Volvo buyers are those who are more focused on safety rather than speed and agility. According to the case, BMW consumers are those who like to work hard, but they also have a little wild side to them. After the success of their Golden Eye campaign, BMW wanted a new marketing approach. One of the most successful and genius marketing campaigns was the BMW Films series.

In these films, BMW focuses more on entertainment versus advertisement. The main character in these series is the BMW itself. All banged up, dirty, and shot, the BMW comes out of a suspenseful trail of events as the epic hero. These advertisements generated over nine million views, and most of the feedback by consumers was positive. The objective of the campaign was to show how BMW was different from the competitors. They wanted people to connect with their brand while maintaining creativity. They were trying to target those upscale consumers who were typically male and had access to the Internet.

These males would become engaged with these BMW series, and it would give them a more vivid idea of how a BMW handles under extreme conditions. The BMW growth strategy is successful, but it also has limitations. Though BMW is the leader in marketing, they also have to be sure to stay one step ahead of competitors. They limit themselves, because their consumers demand creativity instead of traditionalism. Nevertheless, BMW should move on to a new marketing strategy and branch away from the series. Though something is successful, its success be limited over time.

BMW should try and brainstorm the next big thing. This could possibly be having a “fashion show” with the vehicles, where people could come to lavish shows, and watch the cars come down the runway. Their features and beauty will be showcased, and it will be a fun event for spectators. Another example could be to have a rally, where 5 cars are given out to three winners of a social media event. The winners will race to the treasure hunt at the end of the rally. They can check in and get clues via social media networks. This will ensure that more people can get involved with the action.

BMW can offer promotions for those social media spectators, and the winner of the rally will get a cash prize. This will create excitement, involvement, and it will also great publicity when these vehicles are driving all over the nation for the rally. They can even have test drives on specialized road courses so that drivers can really feel the BMW in action. Another example could be virtual simulations, where people sit in the BMW and play the role of Clive Owen. With innovation versus imitation, BMW will continue to lead the way in not only market share, but with consumer loyalty as well.