Experiential Marketing, the Tesla-way
Annual advertising spend:
VW, Ford, GM, Toyota, and BMW collectively - $25 billion*
Tesla - $0
It's also worth considering that Tesla is the most valuable car company on the planet, as well as the most-Googled car company in North America.
This in part thanks to organic (experiential marketing) hype that's mixed with influencer marketing from Elon Musk all the way down through the companies ever-growing "fan club", all linked with the golden thread: an unforgettable experience.
How does a car company build an obsessed "fan club"?
I guess it's best explained by a conversation I once had with a Tesla exec in The Valley where he said: These other companies obsess on selling themselves as 'the best car company' (from a marketing/branding/go-to-market perspective) we don't give a damn about them and their strategies, we build our car dealerships like Apple builds their iStores, we obsess on the customer journey and make our (Tesla-owned, direct to consumer) stores part of an unforgettable experiential journey.
This is all helped by the fact that in the 2020s, any fool can build a car, but few can create the feeling you have of when you sit in those Tesla all-white leather seats and while gazing through the seemingly endless panoramic glass windscreen/roof or geeking out over the magnitude of tech options on the giant iPad-like screens... All while knowing that if a Lambo pulls up next to you, your family sedan will eat it for breakfast.
Senior Onsite Coordinator at Vodafone UK
3 年When products are created, there must be a strategy on how to fulfill clear market needs, with a beautifully designed and a well packaged product, which on launch is garenteed to have positive word of mouth built in. For marketers and advertising agencies brought in after development, their job is only to increase exposure and enhance desirability of what already exists to the right target market. Where companies can get it wrong (in my very humble opinion of one) is to believe sales will be proportionate to exposure. If your product isn't selling, chances are it's not the marketing or sales teams fault, it's the product. The magic happens during development and reinvention of the product. I admire Tesla for producing an amazing product and executing a brilliant market strategy.
Agile Product Owner (PSPO I Certified) | Marketing Specialist
3 年Customer experience eats adverts for breakfast!
Ideanator | Proud Dad | Marketing Technologist | CX Agent
3 年$0 ad spend but a priceless marketing strategy ??