2013 highly commended: Audi, New Brand - case study

It can be hard to isolate marketing’s impact on the launch of a new product.

The quality of the product, the creativity of the communications, the state of the economy or indeed the weather can all make a difference.

But this is a story that really does prove the power of effective marketing.

The small car Supermini segment is a mass-market category, and Audi needed to find a way in without damaging the prestige brand that had taken so long to build.

Two divergent marketing strategies were employed. One in the UK and another in Western Europe.

Same car, same conditions, different strategy.

The UK strategy was significantly more effective than the European. 55% more effective to be precise, or approximately 6,000 more cars sold.

This paper is about the UK strategy, which was founded on an insight.

The UK marketing team realised they could flip “small”.

In the technology category, “small” is a product of good design.

With this perspective, “small” was no longer a barrier: it was an opportunity; Audi had found something new to say in the crowded Supermini category - but also a new point of difference versus the Prestige category as a whole.

And because of this, the A1 became the fastest selling small car launched in the last ten years; expanding into the mass market left the brand strengthened, not diluted.

‘Vorsprung durch Technik’, as people are increasingly saying.

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