The Elevator Pitch.


























































Abid Imam, PMP
MBA Candidate 2009, Schulich School of Business
Tel: 647.999.0297
Email: abid.a.imam@gmail.com
Key Selling Ideas – Bailout!

The Routan is conceptualized beyond functionality into a personally relevant experience that is not
defined by VW, but the customer. The ‘bailout’ creative is a means to do so while also challenging
consumers to face their fears of the recession by confronting the current (and presumably ongoing)
economic downturn.

The Campaign
The creative surrounds the concept of ‘Your Personal Bailout Package’. There will be a handful of
(customizable) predefined packages that will most likely appeal to the targeted segments. These
packages will have names such as ‘Fun Utility Vehicle’, ‘The Most Entertaining Road Trip Ever’ and so
on. For the latter package, offerings may include rebates on children’s DVDs that would leverage the
onboard DVD players on the Routan.
Because campaigns should not be one-off marketing initiatives, the campaign will also build the overall
VW brand loyalty by enabling current VW owners to be able to capitalize on the packages without having
to buy the Routan. Because the experiences will be so closely tied to the Routan it is likely that they
would create a pull effect for the minivan as the next vehicle to buy through the phenomena of customer
migration.

Direct Marketing Creative: Based on psychographic and demographic segmentation, direct marketing will
be used to literally mail parcels in the form of packages. Each package will contain a VW logo
paperweight, with a URL and serial code. The URL will point users to the bailout webpage, while the
serial code will allow them to browse predefined packages.

New Media Creative: A dedicated website that provides the means to create a personalized bailout plan.
The bailout packages consist of a set of activities and goods that a minivan owner belonging to particular
segment might enjoy. This will require, as part of the campaign, to create relationships with local
businesses that provide products and/or services inline with experiences desired by targeted consumer
segments while using the functional benefits of owning a Routan.
The online component of the campaign has the benefit of measurability. The website will be able to
capture the more popular plans, denote the undesirable ones and create a two-way communication
platform between VW and consumers. Metrics will further define psychographic appeal and provide VW
with a deeper knowledge of their consumers in terms of desires, barriers, loyalty and ultimately
profitability. For example, because each serial code will be related to a particular postal code, VW will be
able to segment interest by neighborhoods and decide to send out a second wave of ‘bailout packages’ to
better penetrate newly defined high potential geographies.

Rational
Volkswagen translates to “The People’s Car”, therefore it is only fitting that VW would take it upon
themselves to facilitate mobility to the masses. Vehicle-based mobility is a commodity, and therefore to
differentiate, brands need to create a unique and relevant experience.
One-way forms of communications are being replaced by more interactive forms of media (see Appendix
C); and in order for VW to continue to be the people’s car, it will need to embrace sharing control of what
products and services consumers want. This is the new form of relationship that is increasingly relevant,
which is why the bailout-specific website is deemed essential. Even now there is a huge discrepancy on
how marketing budgets are allocated for new media (see Appendix B), this campaign will not make that
mistake – especially since many of the targeted segments are avid users of the internet. The direct
marketing creative simply serves to generate intrigue and direct consumers to the website.

Communication Objectives

Communications will focus on three points: (1) that VW has a plan to combat the recession ‘blues’; (2)
that the plan begins with the Routan; and (3) that the consumer can personalize their Routan experience.
Canadians will be hit hard by economic duress this year. Recessions tend to linger in the Canadian
market and have made its population especially sensitive to it. The negative perception is so strong that
in 2008, Nielsen found that even ‘recession proof’ households have started to trade-down in their
1
purchase habits . This means a perception of compromised experience in consumer consumption for
almost all segments.
The objectives above espouse an uncompromised or in many cases enhanced customer experience that
will be especially appealing not only to the targeted segment (next section), but to the general population
– which in turn may result in purchases by untargeted consumers. The product is considered to be
secondary as contemporary minivan perception has remained in the outskirts of experiential consumption
and has remained firmly in the realm of satisfying functional needs. This is all about differentiation
through experience.

Target Audience

The targeted segments were rated based on a criteria triangle consisting of the affinity to

• Innovation (i.e.: early adopters)

• ‘Premium’ class vehicles
• Minivan functionality

Consumers’ affinity to innovation was deemed important as the Routan model has yet to make a name for
itself in the Canadian market. The VW brand is expected to be of some help in regards to Routan sales,
however because current (pre-Routan) Canadian models have appealed primarily to the singles and
urban segment, the help will be limited – at least in regards to the image portrayed by VW owners.
Fortunately customer migration may play a role in sales as the former satisfied ‘singles’ and ‘urban’ VW
owners may be entering the lifecycle stage of starting a family.

Pricing and VW’s Canadian positioning firmly places the Routan in the low to middle premium minivan
category. Consumers that are unlikely to purchase a Routan due to financial constraints will be ignored
unless of course they score high in the other two dimensions – leading to aspirational consumption.

Finally, minivan functionality plays a role not only in terms of the Routan’s physical features, but also the
experiences that complement them. Delving into the experiential desires of minivan owners will also
allow VW the opportunity to better understand its new market’s motivations and create a ‘pull’ towards the
Routan through delivering experiential promises.

The analysis is heavily driven by Environics Analytics’ Prizm CE consumer segmentation system to
identify and sift through psychographics and demographics data that baud favourably on the three
criterions mentioned. Appendix A, Table 1 illustrates preliminary segmentation efforts.


























































1
Allison, Carmen, ‘The Slow-Down Show-Down’. 2008. 2008 Ontario CCGD Conference.
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Appendix B: Discrepancy in Marketing Expenditure

Appendix C: Shift in Advertising Spend