Analysis of Consumer Engagement by Bmw in Terms of Traits Theory

The target market of BMW are people of a higher social class and income level. This group of people are known to have the peculiarity of being able to distinguish the taste, quality, or the value of something. Having grown up in high class society, most of them have gotten used to have this traits of inner-directedness. They are highly perceptive and value their own judgements and evaluations on something. They are known to usually be innovative people. For this group of people, with this trait, BMW offers the quality which comes with their products and entrusted the consumers to judge with their own experience and perceptiveness of whether the qualities presented was of high value or not. Asides from those, this market segment are also judged to have a need for uniqueness as they are always looking for a difference or specialty that lies within a products, which is unattainable to be reproduce or found in any other products. This target market also craves for the highest level of stimulation level or in other words, Optimum Stimulation Level (OSL). They demand that the products must not only satisfy them but excite them. Most consumers of BMW-I series are sensation-seeking people and they love the thrill they had experiences and the novelty of the inventions of BMW-I series cars.

To attract them, BMW had the profound judgement of offering them the ease in driving assisted by advanced technology, the comfort that comes with it as well as the variety of designs that with it, cause like they said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. As such, while offering various pleasant design, BMW manages to caters to the consumers with the traits of variety-novelty seeking, consumers which takes pleasure in seeking variation. Most BMW–i series consumers also has a hidden needs for cognition (NFC) because although the technology must have seems impeccable which helps with the drive, however, in actuality, with higher specifications, cars would need higher level of attentiveness for its care, hence just dubious knowledge related to the car would not do to preserve its elegance and durability. It is also worthy to be mentioned that, mostly this kind of consumers are highly concentrated or attentive on visual related information, hence the name visualizers. Therefore, BMW mostly advertise their products with high quality visual, showing the drive experience with words decorating and taking only a little space. BMW takes care to not cramp all words into a single video screen as they showcase their car designs. This is of high importance as most visualizers would feel disturbed and may not watch the advertisements should such things occur. BMW consumers are mostly materialistic as they possess the desire to acquire and show off possession, compete with each other over whose possession is more superior and are also known to be selfish and self-centred however, it is not to the extent enabling them to make a compulsive consumption. The selfish and self- centred traits or the stubbornness that they possessed are mostly due to social upbringing as well of their high self-esteem.

BMW is often associated with being performance driven. Rather than going for product anthropomorphism, BMW chooses to be synonymous to its logo, in other words, BMW chooses its logo to be the Brand Personification. The white and blue quartered are also meant to symbolized rotating aircraft propeller while its propeller blade are spinning across a clear blue sky. The white and blue quartered are also meant to signify Bavarian flag colors which are the company’s origin or home country. In terms of Brand Personality Framework, BMW-I brand’s image and positioning are more congruent with the concept of Sophistication and Competence. As both elements are plainly highlighted in any of BMW-I advertisements, with the “charming” advertisement always showcasing “successful”, “intelligent” “upper-class” people driving in “reliable” car. BMW does possess some product personality issues, especially in the terms of gender, with the products always seems brimming with “masculinity”.