The Cayenne Changing the Meaning of the Porsche Brand
To understand the impact of the Cayenne on the Porsche brand, it is first important to note what the brand represents in terms of what it is projecting to consumers. When people think of Porsche, they usually connote the ownership of such a vehicle with a certain level of exclusivity and luxury wherein it is meant to denote that an individual is part of the upper class or is relatively well off.
There are certain parallels of this type of brand representation in the fashion industry where luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dolce and Gabanna as well as Hermes also focus their brand management efforts on connoting that ownership of their items is meant only for a certain “type” of individual (i.e. those who are rich).
From the perspective of Kapferer and Bastien (2009) who utilized the theory of consumer behavior and its impact on luxury brands, it is the exclusivity associated with a luxury brand that acts as the prime selling point. Kapferer and Bastien (2009) stated that for some consumers in the upper income ranges with disposable income, their total utility for a particular product is often connected to how “special” such a product makes them feel (Kapferer and Bastien 311).
This feeling of being “special” is connected to how friends, family members or even the general public perceive them through the items that they wear. This type of consumer buys exclusive luxury products based on how others would perceive their ownership of such an item with their marginal utility often being connected to the annual changes in fashion with new designs being released resulting in them eschewing the products they already bought in favor of these new items (Kapferer and Bastien 314).
From this example, it can be seen that the concept of exclusivity, the feeling of belonging to a special group of “elite” individuals by virtue of owning a particular item, is at the heart of luxury brand management. Now, in the case of the Cayenne, the exclusivity that was once connoted to the Porsche brand has been eschewed in favor greater mass appeal. This adversely impacts the current brand perception associated with Porsche and could lead to lower sales for its other car lineups.
Value of the Rennalist Online Brand Community
The value of the Rennalist community is that it enables Porsche to know what its current consumers like about the brand, what aspects would result in better car development and how they can better appeal to their consumers by examining the various experiences that the members of the community have undergone whether it comes to purchasing their Porsche cars, issues when it comes to finding adequate places to have repairs made or what factors influence their purchasing behaviors in the first place.
Rennalist in effect acts as an easily accessible and above all free way for Porsche to get into the mind of its consumers. However, what must be understood is that the current members of Rennalist do not reflect all possible consumer markets that Porsche can appeal to. While it is true that a company should list to its customers, the fact remains that the reason that Porsche even developed the Cayenne in the first place was to attempt to penetrate new markets in order to survive.
It is with this in mind that while the CEO of Porsche should take the opinions of the members of Rennalist into consideration, he should not listen to them since they do not reflect the rest of the manufacturer’s potential market.
Impact of Rennalist on Porsche Ownership Experience
Based on the negative responses and outright hostility experienced by Cayenne owners on the Rennalist community, it is likely that this has marred their experience of owning a Porsche. One aspect of human nature is the desire to feel that they “belong” so to speak, whether it applies to being part of a particular group or a type of community. People in general are social creatures and we derive a certain sense of fulfillment by being part of something bigger than ourselves.
In the case of the Rennalist brand community, being ostracized, negative responses and outright hostility they level towards Cayenne owners as not being “true” Porsche owners makes it so that it is unlikely that they would continue to endorse the community in the future. This actually reflects badly on the Porsche brand since it makes future customer hesitant towards buying new iterations of the Porsche brand due to the potential hostility or even outright derision they may experience.
Lessons from the Cayenne launch
From the experience that Porsche gained from the release of the Cayenne, there are several aspects learned that make the launch of the Macan easier. The first is that Porsche has learned to focus on showcasing the exclusivity and luxury of the Macan. This is based on the original selling point of the Porsche brand and should help in gaining sufficient traction among its older consumer.
The next point is Porsche has now learned that it should also focus on better advertising initiatives to its traditional clients by showcasing how its new products are not a departure from the characteristics and quality that defined Porsche in the past.
The one aspect that makes the Macan launch more difficult because of the Cayenne is due to the negative response that former Porsche owners have had regarding the Macan which may make future buyers reluctant due to the negative attitudes traditional Porsche owners have to their new counterparts.
Works Cited
Kapferer, Jean-NoĂ«l, and Vincent Bastien. “The Specificity Of Luxury Management: Turning Marketing Upside Down.” Journal Of Brand Management 16.5/6 (2009): 311-322. Print