BMW Product Life Cycle

BMW is a German automotive company which centers its new manufactured automobile release and development on a seven-year product cycle. Maximizing the introduction and growth stage of the product life cycle, BMW has strategically employed and invested over time all features and technological offering of their products, divided into specific series models. The company optimizes the concept of product life cycle with sheer capability to compete and keep their brand to be one of the most recognizably premium and prestigious trade names around the world.

Marketing Case Study: BMW— “Newness” and the Product Life Cycle BMW: Short Company History and Product Offerings In the ever competitive automobile industry, BMW lastingly stands out as one of the great premium brands of luxury automobile vehicles, operating under keenly sharp commerce trade techniques and critically innovative marketing strategies. The history of the company can trace its roots of innovation and technological progression outside the automobile and motorcycle industry: “BMW started in 1916 as manufacturer of airplane engines” (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. 304).

Through the years, BMW has tactically broadened their automobile line in terms of a series offering that would be most identifiably linked with the company’s exhibit of fine technological prowess. The array selection of product series gives chance for better positioning against a certain competing brand of which the company can even feasibly and effectively serve a particular opportunity in a market: “BMW recently introduced its 1 series—a compact car designed to compete with the Volkswagen Golf in Europe and the Rabbit in the U. S. —to attract a new younger audience” (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. 304).

Also, owning other well-esteemed brands such as Rolls-Royce and the MINI, BMW has put its strong stamp in the auto-industry as a brand simply and truly separate from the rest. BMW’s Concept of Product Life Cycle There are four main periods in a product life cycle concept which begins with the introduction stage, followed by the growth stage, then the maturity stage, and finally the decline stage. Naturally and comparatively, there are distinct characteristics which would qualify a certain product to be under a specific stage heading.

For example, in terms of marketing objectives, a certain commodity which is at the introductory stage opts to “create product awareness and trial,” while at the growth stage, it changes and shifts to “maximize the market share” (Kotler, Keller, Ang, Leong, & Tan, 2006, p. 344). In terms of advertising, a commodity at the maturity stage chooses to “stress brand differences and benefits,” while at the decline stage, it alters to “reduce to level needed to retain hard core loyals” (Kotler et. al., p. 344).

In many of the general definitions and processes, these attributes apply to mostly all companies but vary in intervals: “In Sweden and Britain, automotive product life cycles are eight years, while in Japan they are typically only four years long” (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. 304). In the implementation of a seven year product cycle, BMW has devised a unique system which demonstrates superb marketing skill and judgment: “To keep products in the introductory and growth stages, BMW regularly introduces new models for each of its series to keep the entire series ‘new’” (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. 304).

As explained, “for instance, with the 3 series, it will introduce the new sedan model one year, the new coupe the next year, then the convertible, the station wagon, and the sport hatchback” (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. 304). BMW has managed to use the outline of the product life cycle concept but has ingeniously used the stages to full potential. As BMW utilizes the series system classification, it not only helps present variety in appealing to more segments of potential buyers, but the classification differentiation also carries on the brand in quite literally an automobile genre of its own prestige.

Being a luxury car brand that makes use of such a practice, the rarity and distinctiveness of the units within the specific series kept for a period of time are better highlighted, for there is a sense of prestigious-novelty preservation. As stressed by the Vice President of Marketing, Jim McDowell, this fits very well with company’s business hopeful ambition: “BMW doesn’t aspire to be the world’s largest car company, we already are and we want to continue to be the largest premium company” (McGraw-Hill Irwin, n. d. ).

This means that as a new model is introduced in a separate series, the other relatively previous series is still kept competitive within its identified market. In addition, further introduction of other new model series from the sedan to sports car series not only provides the whole product offering of the automobile series with a maintained and secured status of a current and still relevant significance, but an emphasized recent-to-latest mentality unto the customer—potential, present, or otherwise—is also most evidently put forward in terms of the overall company product offering.

This predetermined product cycle strategy development keeps a certain series’ credibility prestigious, which enduringly and wholly translates into the individual product unit purchased by a customer, as it both implicitly and explicitly speaks of and displays a distinguished sense of class to that series where that unit and owner belongs. Moreover, BMW units are universally exclusive in every facet: “BMW’s positioning strategy is the same worldwide and that is to offer high performance, luxury vehicles to individuals. ‘You won’t see it as a taxi or a fleet car’” (McDowell cited in McGraw Hill, n. d. ).

This association of sustained prestige within and amongst the series is shown and dictated by administering and handling of product introduction and growth by the company. The seven-year product cycle may seem rather long, but in reality, it gives opportunity for the company not only to develop and incorporate new ideas and substantive changes into a series model in terms of performance, feature, quality but also to offer a sense of reference and assessment with regard to a particular series to better the product and company altogether: “BMW often harvests a model in the decline phase as an alternative to deleting it out right.

They basically go back to certain retired models and refresh them, bringing them back with a technological make-over” (McGraw-Hill Irwin, n. d. ). All forms of forward movement are done with taken into keen consideration the mentality of a “product advocate” to better the series product. (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. 304) In this, the company is able to optimize to full capacity and facility every aspect of the product and life cycle concept they have used while staying loyal to the needs of the customer.

The company is also able to offer assortment and range in their products. Aside from the employment of a patented product life cycle, they launch other product in the market, such as the “X3 Sports Utility Vehicle” and the “1 series” which cater to different market segments in terms of price, customer taste, and much more in between (McGraw-Hill Irwin, n. d. ). BMW’s Branding Scheme BMW automobile series branding scheme puts into practice a combination of alpha-numeric symbols which immediately is a very simple method of showing the categorization of the vehicle.

At the same time, such symbols have also become a popularly recognizable trade mark for the company: “the designation ‘328’ tell you the car in the 3 series and the engine is 2. 8 liters in size” (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. 305). In its simplicity, the branding scheme has not only been known far and wide all throughout the world, but as a BMW advocate or enthusiast, there is an uncomplicated and logical identification and recognition with regard to a particular series model.

Moreover, BMW keeps it brand also current and prestigious at the same time with major business tie-ups: “BMW products, for example, have been featured in four James Bond films” (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. 305). The brand personality of BMW is not only maintained to being a high-status brand, but the tactical pairing up of the brand also shows how they can be positioned into being classier and even more sophisticated in more terms and ways than one; for this case, cinema helps the brand send across the reputation in being a strongly founded brand name of prestige. BMW’s Utilization of the Internet

As digital and interactive connectivity and interconnectivity have evolved by means of the Internet, BMW has been aware of the prospective of the world-wide-web which they have been fully utilizing to communicate and stay in touch with customers to continue customer interest and inclination with the brand in a manner like no other: “What really sets BMW’s website apart from other car manufacturers, though, is the ability for customers to configure a car to their own specification (interior choices, exterior choices, engine, packages, and options) and then transfer that information to their local dealer” (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. 305). 

Also, in terms of promotions, being a brand of automotive prestige, BMW has made full use of the wide reach of the Internet to better bring to light their competitive selling point: “BMW hired master directors to create a series of Internet-based mint movies called ‘The Hire’— which featured the ‘ultimate driving machine’ and edgy actors” (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. 305). BMW, in all its business and marketing endeavors, has made it their high-priority to separate their brand from the rest in every extent imaginable, which they have upheld through the years.

Works Cited

Kotler, P. , Keller, K. L. , Ang, S. H. , Leong, S. M. , & Tan, C. T. (2016). Marketing Management: An Asian Perspective (4th ed. ). Singapore: Prentice Hall. McGraw-Hill Irwin. (Producer). (n. d. ). BMW: “Newness” and the Product life Cycle [Case Study Video]. Retrieved February 20, 2009 from http://www. mhhe. com/business/marketing/kerin9e/video/Ch05_BestBuy. swf. Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Book Title  (Edition). New York: McGraw Hill Irvin.