Marketing Automotive

During the Financial crisis, BMW has been aggressively discounting in a turnaround attempt to reduce high inventories in the US.

It is now trying something new: “built-to-order” vehicles. Already pitching the concept on the BMW US website

it’s hoping to generate built-to-order sales in America with its new X3 sport-utility vehicle, which will be introduced in early 2011.

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Mercedes spread the word about its Smart ForTwo car in China in a new way, using technology that inserts ads into residents’ online spoken English lessons.

Using a recently introduced concept called Conversational Advertising, Mercedes was able to embed customized creative into free online spoken English language lessons found at Speak2Me.cn, a Web site and social network targeting 300 million students and professionals learning English in China.

Here’s how it works.

Speak2Me uses speech recognition technology combined with a virtual teacher that helps users practice spoken English.

In countries like China, students learn how to read and write in English, but there’s a shortage of people who speak English, making it difficult for students to master spoken English.

Speak2Me’s Conversational Advertising allows users to interact with a brand visually.

Mercedes-Benz China created a microsite where consumers could tour Europe in a Smart ForTwo car while conversing with an avatar tour guide. Users spent between three to five minutes, on average, per visit. They can also share lessons via social networks to garner additional brand buzz.

Mercedes Benz China is the first client to use this technology in an ad campaign, and has also signed up for a second round. Results of the initial campaign show potential. Over the course of three months, 60,000 young, Chinese professionals took Conversational Advertising lessons, with each user completing four lessons on average, totaling 1.3 million minutes of interaction with the Smart ForTwo brand.

December 2009

BMW is pulling the satin wraps off of three new vehicles at the Los Angeles Auto Show in December (4-13 December 2009).

The company will reveal a hybrid BMW ActiveHybrid X6 crossover, which it is calling the world’s most powerful hybrid passenger vehicle; an all-new BMW ActiveHybrid 7 and a concept car called BMW Vision EfficientDynamics.

The company says the ActiveHybrid X6 will go on sale in the US in January 2010 and that ActiveHybrid 7 next spring.

The company says its take on the hybrid reduces fuel consumption by about 20% versus a comparable vehicle powered by a combustion engine alone. BMW says the ActiveHybrid X6, which carries a 400 hp twin-turbo-charged motor and makes 60 mph in 5.4 seconds The 455 hp ActiveHybrid 7 sedan will hit 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, per BMW.

December 2010