Mercedes Benz

Marietta Gerber

Marieta Gerber

We all knew, before the talk, that we wanted a Mercedes Benz. But that company’s Marketing Communications Manager, Marietta Gerber, was able to explain why we think that during the course of her presentation to a RIBS Business Forum in October.

She talked her audience through the strategic processes which were addressed and implemented by the company during a recent repositioning of the marque and the development of a new advertising and promotional campaign for its luxury vehicles.

“There’s a set train of thought”, she explained, “when it comes to the whole process of marketing and repositioning what is, after all, a 100-year-old brand. It starts with the identification of just what exactly is ‘a brand’.”

A brand, she feels, is the customers’ idea or perception of a product. “This is important”, she reckons; “a brand is bought by a consumer—a product is manufactured in a factory.”

“A brand makes a promise”, she explained. “Our brand promise is ‘Appreciation’ and this has several facets, including heritage, respect and fascination.”

The impact of this exercise in branding and brand identification was felt throughout the company. “We were providing our customers with a sense of style, design, safety and ‘the Culture of Driving. As a result we accept that the attributes which a customer can expect in our brand must also exist and be apparent in our people from top management right through to the factory and throughout our dealer network.”

“Our goal is two-fold”, she concluded by saying. “We have to unlock that inherent fascination and we strive to put the driver into the car and in the environment.

Gerber shared with her audience some excerpts from current advertising which well illustrated the points she had made as well as the processes involved in supportive and complementary advertising and promotional efforts.