Does your brand portfolio strategy affect how much people talk about your cars?
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Transcript of Does your brand portfolio strategy affect how much people talk about your cars?
Automotive research: Masterbrand v Product Brand
Does brand portfolio strategy affect social media engagement?
Contact:Dan MilesNew Business – Brand [email protected] 7264 6316www.precise.co.uk
Contents
Objective and approach 1
Key findings 2
Overview of themes of conversation 3
Themes of conversation about BMW 4
Themes of conversation about Volkswagen 6
Themes of conversation about Volkswagen Beetle 8
Conclusions and considerations 10
Objective and approach
1
Objective
To investigate the hypothesis that the brand
portfolio approach taken by automotive
manufacturers impacts on the level of focus and
cohesion of conversations around the
manufacturer brand, by performing an analysis on
the themes of conversation around BMW,
Volkswagen and Volkswagen Beetle.
Approach
We identified all English-language mentions of ‘BMW’,
‘Volkswagen/VW’ and ‘Volkswagen/VW Beetle/Bug’
within social media from 12th March to 12th June.
We analysed the content for each brand/model in
terms of the focus of each post, using market-leading
software including Crimson Hexagon.
This analysis was then explored in order to provide an
understanding the drivers of conversation for each
brand/model and the differences which exist (or not).
Key findings
2
Conversations about BMW were driven and dominated
by aspirational mentions. These mentions tended to occur
on Twitter and contained little or no detail regarding model or
style. Aspirational posts also made up a considerable
proportion of conversations about Volkswagen, but were
more likely to be driven by mentions of model brands,
particularly the Beetle and Campervan.
Mentions of models were common for both BMW and
Volkswagen in conversations which shared news and
information about specific models, and posts such as this
were predominantly generated within blogs and forums, or
comprised Tweets with links to external online content.
Mentions of models were also common within posts in
which consumers posed questions or shared advice and
experiences. These conversations predominantly took place
within forums, were specific in focus, and contained a high
level of detail.
A large proportion of negative mentions of BMW
referred to the drivers of BMW-made cars and failed to
discriminate by model. In contrast, negative mentions of
Volkswagen were driven by and differed by model-brand. For
example, negative mentions of the Volkswagen Beetle were
driven by comments on male drivers and the sharing of a
joke referencing the model brand.
The marketing activities of both BMW and Volkswagen
drove a similar proportion of conversation.
Conversations about the marketing activities of both often
did not include mentions of models and therefore served to
drive buzz around the manufactures as a whole.
Overview of themes of conversation
3
Other/Passing mentions
Generic negative comments/ Comments about the drivers
I have/had a BMW/VW/VW Beetle
Comments on the business
Problems/Questions & advice
Marketing and sponsorship
Reviews and comments on models
Positive and aspirational comments
Adverts/Selling/Buying
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Themes of conversation within social media by brand
BMW Volkswagen Volkswagen Beetle
BMW’s monolithic branding consolidated aspirational comments around the master brand.
BMW experienced a lower proportion of mentions of the master brand in connection with models. Given the lack of a brand name with which to otherwise identify the models in discussion, this is somewhat surprising, and indicates that conversations about BMW are quite homogeneous, master brand and aspiration-driven.
The relatively high proportion of posts seeking or giving advice for Volkswagen was a product of its more fragmented and evenly dispersed topics of conversation.
Volkswagen Beetle has its own perceptual profile, which drives more singular conversations than the master brand.
Volkswagen’s Beetle attracted a relatively high proportion of negative mentions about its drivers, however negativity was attributed to the model brand rather than the Volkswagen Brand overall. This was not the case for BMW, where similar negativity did not discriminate by model and instead was attributed to the BMW Brand as a whole.
Themes of conversation about BMW (i)
4
Passing mentions
Other
Generic negative comments
"I own a BMW"
Comments on the business
Problems/Questions & advice
Marketing and sponsorship
Reviews and comments on models
Positive and aspirational comments
Adverts/Selling/Buying
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
BMW: themes of conversation within social media
Themes of conversation about BMW (ii)
5
Opinion-based consumer conversations about BMW within
social media were dominated by aspirational posts. These
were predominantly generated on Twitter and, although some
posts did cite specific models, (“I want a 1990 bmw 325i...#boss
s***”), posts were more likely to omit details, (“I want a BMW
#wishfulthinking”), or quote other details, such as colour, (‘”I've
also always wanted a 1999 white convertible BMW”).
The aspiration surrounding BMW was also evident in the 5% of
conversations in which consumers informed people, either
directly or indirectly, that they, or someone they’re connected to,
owned a BMW. Within these posts it was again common for
consumers to omit details about the specific model they owned
(“So I just bought a BMW... #TheUltimateDrivingMachine”).
BMW’s marketing activity drove 7% of all consumer
conversations, but despite being widely shared and
commented upon on sites such as Twitter, again consumers
more often than not failed to cite which model was being
advertised (“@TheFatKidNaTion I love that commercial with the
BMW racer wearing the head cam. So cool.”).
Reviews of or comments on specific models made up 12%
of all conversations. These discussions primarily took place on
blogs and within forums, and tweets commonly linked to longer-
form content. They tended to comprise reviews, news, and more
general consumer comments (“BMW AG revealed a convertible
roadster version of its i8, a high-performance plug-in hybrid
concept car.”)
Mentions of specific models and their respective features
were also common within the 7% of conversations in which
consumers discussed problems, offered advice and shared
experiences in very detailed terms (“My car is an n54 with a
step-tronic transmission. No launch control from bmw, but I
discovered that if you do a 2nd gear launch, you can build up to
2500rpm and have no wheel-spin during the first 20ft.”)
Negative comments about BMW tended to focus on their
drivers, with a link to a study which found that BMW owners
are ‘twice as likely to be adulterers’ featuring prominently
(“Study: #BMW owners twice as likely to be adulterers as drivers
of other brands: Filed under: Etc., BM... http://t.co/ORtxAmz8”).
Themes of conversation about Volkswagen (i)
6
Other
"I own a VW"
Marketing and sponsorship
Generic negative comments
Comments on the business
Problems/Questions & advice
Positive and aspirational comments
Reviews and comments on models
Adverts/Selling/Buying
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Volkswagen: themes of conversation within social media
Themes of conversation about Volkswagen (ii)
7
As with conversations about BMW, posts commenting upon
specific models, and positive and aspirational posts were
the most common drivers of conversation about
Volkswagen. However, these topics of conversation were
significantly less dominant for Volkswagen than they were for
BMW, and topics of conversation about Volkswagen were more
evenly spread.
Posts mentioning and commenting upon specific models
were more common than positive or aspirational posts
within conversations about Volkswagen. These posts tended
to comprise the sharing of news or reviews of various models
(“This VW Passat just drove a record-breaking 1,626 miles on a
single tank of gas! http://t.co/7ZvRx6Qy”), and commonly linked
to external online content.
Unlike posts about BMW, positive and aspirational
comments about Volkswagen tended to be driven by
mentions of specific models, most commonly the Volkswagen
Beetle (“I want a Volkswagen beetle so bad:( “) and Volkswagen
Campervan (“I want an old school VW campervan”).
Negative comments were varied, but included a significant
proportion of jokes and comments on the drivers of specific
models, such as the Volkswagen Beetle.
As in conversations about BMW, a significant proportion of
conversational about Volkswagen comprised posts asking
questions or sharing advice and experiences, most
commonly within forums. Within these posts, mentions of
specific models and their respective features were again
common and posts often included a high level of detail (“I've
removed the pedal cover assembly using this "howto", Brake
master cylinder removal on VW Passat and I've lubricated all of
the moving parts with first 5-56 spray [...] but still, no luck.”).
Marketing activities drove a similar proportion of
conversation for both BMW and Volkswagen, and as with
conversations about BMW’s advertising, consumers were not
likely to mention the model advertised. Instead, posts about
Volkswagen's advertising tended to comprise short comments
without much detail (“That new Volkswagen commercial is
#priceless #DasAuto”).
Themes of conversation about Volkswagen Beetle (i)
8
Other
Negative comments
Problems/Questions & advice
"I have/had a VW"
Comments about drivers
Reviews and comments on models
Positive and aspirational comments
Adverts/Selling/Buying
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Volkswagen Beetle: themes of conversation within social media
Themes of conversation about Volkswagen Beetle (ii)
9
Unlike overall conversations about Volkswagen, consumer
discussions about the Volkswagen Beetle were driven by
positive and aspirational comments. These posts were most
commonly generated on Twitter and were simple in format (“I
want a Volkswagen Beetle so flipping bad. #favoritecar
#cutestthingsever”).
A similar proportion of posts comprised more specific
comments or reviews of the model. These were common on
blogs and within forums, or comprised tweets with links to
external online content (“Volkswagen New Beetle Diecast Model
Car 1/24 Yellow: Made of diecast Opening doors Opening hood
Wheels roll Stee... http://t.co/oMP2zteW”). Posts often shared
news about new releases, with the Fender Edition commonly
cited (“Volkswagen Beetle Fender Edition will hit the roads by
year end Passion Parade: http://t.co/XpCaa1pz”).
The most distinguishing topic within conversations about
the Volkswagen Beetle was comments on the drivers of the
car. The Volkswagen Beetle was widely cited as a ‘woman’s
car’, with almost all posts within this theme comprising negative
comments about men who drive the car (“seeing a guy driving a
VW beetle is actually hilarious #girlycar”; “Any guy that drives a
VW bug should have their man card revoked.”).
Conclusions and considerations
10
Although the themes of conversations surrounding BMW,
Volkswagen and Volkswagen Beetle appear similar at an
overall level, with similar topics driving mentions of each
brand, we identified some significant differences when
exploring these conversations in more detail.
Conversations about BMW were significantly more
homogeneous than were conversations about Volkswagen,
with adverts, positive and aspirational comments, and – to a
lesser extent – reviews dominating the lion’s share of BMW
conversations, with conversations about Volkswagen much
more dispersed across the different themes.
It might be expected that BMW’s monolithic brand approach
would lead to a much higher proportion of model-specific
mentions which were prefaced by a mention of the BMW
master brand. However, the proportion of model brand
mentions were in fact fairly even for each brand analysed, in
spite of the relative lack of other name options open to BMW
drivers wishing to identify their model easily in conversations.
BMW’s more monolithic approach to the branding of its
models appears to have consolidated the desirability of
BMW as a aster brand, whereas the desirability of Volkswagen
is driven more by specific model brands such as the Beetle. The
monolithic branding of BMW resulted in very focused
conversations surrounding desirability, whereas Volkswagen’s
model-brand portfolio led to more fragmented discussions.
Aspirational mentions of the Volkswagen Beetle tended to be
more isolated, and did not drive master brand perceptions very
directly.
The Volkswagen model brand portfolio appears to have
been successful in generating a number of separate brand
identities, which drove relatively isolated and specific
conversations. Although positive and aspirational posts were
therefore less powerful for the Volkswagen Brand overall, this
did mean that negative mentions were also largely confined to
model brand mentions, such as comments about male drivers of
the Volkswagen Beetle. In contrast, where negative themes
arose surrounding BMW – again including comments about
drivers – they tended to encompass the brand at an overall level,
thus strengthening and consolidating the negativity.
Considerations
10
As we have seen that the model-brand approach taken by
Volkswagen led to isolated and fragmented conversations,
it may be useful to conduct an analysis of conversations
surrounding every model brand within a portfolio, in order to
understand the perceptual profiles and themes driving
conversations of each model brand. We could then consider the
impact of these conversations on the master brand.
It may also be insightful to test further the hypothesis that a
monolithic branding approach leads to more homogenous
conversations, and that this is a particularly beneficial approach
to take when seeking to drive perceptions of desirability.
Contact:
Contact:James WitheyHead of Brand [email protected] 7264 6316www.precise.co.uk