Chapter 8 Segmenting and Targeting Markets

To segment a market you begin by defining the market as a whole. The market as a whole, for Audi, is any person with a driver's license. The next step is to examine the four bases of segmentation (geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioural) and decide which, and how they are  relevant to the particular product. Audi mainly utilizes Geographic, Demographic, and Psychographic Segmentation.

 

Geographic segmentation
Is geographic segmentation relevant to car buyers? Yes. The first decision Audi's marketers would make is which cars to market in which countries. Europeans, for example, drive much smaller cars than Canadians. Within a country like India, Audi might also segment the market into rural and urban areas. People who live in rural areas are more likely to buy a Audi A3 than a Audi A7.

Demographic segmentation
What about demographic segmentation? Demographics is a general term for any measurable information about consumers that allows marketers to group them into segments. Age is a relevant demographic for car buyers. The very young and the very old do not drive, and in between, say, from ages 20-70, the choice of car will be partly influenced by the person's age. Take the Audi A6, for example. A 20 year old is more likely to choose this car than a 70 year old because it is more flashy. There's more to demographics than simply age, though, such as segmentation by gender. Are women more likely to buy certain Audi models than men? Are men more likely to buy certain Audi models than women? There's also segmentation by income. A person's income level is a major influence on their choice of car. A young man just starting his career, or an older man working in a low-paying job, might desire an Acura NSX, but at $89,000 U.S., neither could afford to buy it. Family status, whether a person is married and whether they have children, is also a demographic factor that influences their choice of car.

 

Psychographic Segmentation

Psychographic segmentation is dividing the buyers in the market into groups based on social class, lifestyle, or personality characteristics. These variables heavily influence purchase making decisions. When it comes to social class, Audi aims for Upper Middle Class to High class people, because it is a luxury brand. Peoples interest in various products can be determined by their lifestyles, and indeed people can often express their lifestyles through the goods that they consume like cars. Psychographic segmentation has demonstrated its use as a practical marketing tool in consumer markets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 11 Developing and Managing Products

Audi of America attributes innovation in marketing and technology as its main revenue drivers, pushing its year-over-year sales up 20 percent. The brand’s January sales recorded 7,812 Audi cars and SUVs sold in the United States. This tops the charts as the best January in Audi history.Affluent consumers are continuing to be drawn towards and respond favorably to the most technologically advanced vehicle Audi has ever produced: the Audi A8. When the 2011 A8 flagship model was introduced in November, sales jumped 765 percent from a year earlier. Consumers also continued to demand the Audi A3 TDI clean diesel model, as sales climbed to almost 53 percent from a year earlier. This model won the 2010 Green Car of the Year award. Audi’s strong social media and digital tactics were leading factors in its sales records. The German automaker consistently posts recent news on its Facebook, Twitter and Web site. It also promotes its latest vehicles on the brand’s YouTube channel.

Audi also flaunts its newest vehicle via an iPad application. The automaker recently announced its plans to go green with the launch of providing auto show attendees access to digital brochures. Audi of America reshaped its business model to bolster its dealership partners and to get away from buying sales with unsustainable discounting. Audi is continuing to build consumer awareness and consideration, while building off interest in our newest models.This spring brought the all new Audi A7 4-door executive coupe – putting Audi into a new luxury segment.

Chapter 16 Intergrated Marketing Communications

When it comes to promotional strategy, Audi does it all from advertising to personal selling and public relations. These  promotional strategys go hand in hand.   First off, Audi creates advertisements on TV,  billboards, magazines, etc.Audi's broadcast and online video placements centered heavily on major sports events, which meant Audi outspent BMW on network television. Audi launched its "Green Police" commercial in this year's Super Bowl. This gave Audi alot of "Buzz" and it gained more than 2.2 million views to date on YouTube. Another way Audi put their name out there was by taking a big position on Yahoo during the FIFA World Cup. Audi was the exclusive sponsor for Yahoo's coverage of the entire month long sporting event. Both ran schedules on endemic automotive sites such as Edmunds.com, AutoWeek, Auto Trends, Car and Driver and AutoTrader. Through these advertisements and sponserships, they are able to advertise new features and prices. All these strategies eventually lead you to a dealership.

This is where personal selling comes in. They obviously would like to sell you a car but they understand how big of an investment a $100,000 car is. Therefore they take the time to get you the right car that fit your needs and budget. In terms of PR, the agency that wins the Audi PR business won't have to worry about turning around sluggish sales. In 2011, Audi said it expected its 2012 vehicle sales to hit 1.3 million -- a record with growth in most global markets, according to Automotive News. Also, for the month of October the Volkswagen brand -- which was named to Ad Age' Marketer- A- List this week -- posted the industry's highest sales growth in the U.S., up 40%.

Chapter 10 Product Concepts

An Audi product can be put into two categories . The first type of product it can be referred to as is a shopping product. It is more expensive than a convience product but also because it is a product that cnsumers will invest in. It fits their lifestyle compatibility, and desired benefits. It would be a heterogeneous shopping product, because the prices, quality, and, features (of cars) vary so much. This could be said for someone that is considering buying a Audi and might compare it to Honda, but to even compare a Audi to a Honda would be blasphemy.  It is also a specialty product because it is an expensive luxury car company and doesn't have as many stores as a convenience product does. A consumer will look to find a luxury model Audi and will not substitue a Audi with a Honda if their main priority is a luxury high end car.

With the way Audi has been marketed and branded consumers have this concept of an Audi car being a specialty product because of its price range and luxurious, prestigious look. Those who have an Audi A6 , S8 or any Audi model for that matter are very reluctant to accept substitutes to fill in for an Audi, which definitely has an exclusive image. Audi is "quality, luxurious, and truth in engineering" as informed by their commericals and spokesman. An Audi dealership helps create this image because they have this boutique, prestige feel as any exclusive product would. This is where Audi has achieved greatness and is the envy of many marketing professionals. Although some Audi models such as the A8 or S8 are more expensive and have this very stylish, elegant, and upscale feel, some of their other models such as the A6, or A4 are reachable and accessible to what one might call the "average" person who just might be looking for a lower end model. The models that have helped launch the brand into this status have definitely been the A8, S8, R8, A7 and S7 and TT RS which are all their top line models.
Audi's product mix consists of 33 automobiles. Within these 33, there are 5 different categories (The A line, S line, Q line, TT line, and R line), which we call the product mix width. Even within that, there is the product line depth, which are the different models under each line. With such a variety of cars, consumers have many options to choose from and which one of these models best suits their needs and desires.