Brand management - Land Rover North America

Résumé du document

Range Rover of North America subsidiary opened its doors in 1987. In seven years, the firm had grown from a distributorship selling only one Land Rover model to a multi-product firm with three vehicles under the corporate brand. In 1992, the firm changed its name to Land Rover North America (LRNA).

In 1994, Charles Hughes, President and CEO of LRNA had to make decisions which were to be pivotal to the future trajectory of the firm.

The first issue that Hughes faced is the lack of awareness of the brand and consumers' confusion with the brand name ‘Land Rover' and its product ‘Range Rover'. One of the consequences was the very low market shares of LRNA in the US SUV market.

Extraits

[...] In 1992, the firm changed its name to Land Rover North America (LRNA). In 1994, Charles Hughes, President and CEO of LRNA had to make decisions which were to be pivotal to the future trajectory of the firm. The first issue that Hughes faced is the lack of awareness of the brand and consumers' confusion with the brand name ‘Land Rover' and its product ‘Range Rover'. One of the consequences was the very low market shares of LRNA in the US SUV market. [...]

[...] Retail Strategy Should LRNA open new Land Rover Concept Center? The retail strategy of LRNA could be to open one or two Land Rover Centre Concept in the most important cities for the SUV market as Nike did with the Nike Store in New York. In the same time, the company should maintain the actual retail strategy. Before 1993, the retail strategy of Land Rover North America was to work with a limited network of premium-car dealerships. This selection of prestigious dealer network contributed to the perceived exclusivity of the brand. [...]

[...] It allows repetition and is a good way to explain the features and benefits of the products. Furthermore, print media is a good channel to target potential consumers. I would use business and family magazines for the Discovery to target upper class, professional and youngsters. I would also target health magazines because one of the most important benefits of Discovery is safety. Families who buy the SUV for the safety purpose are likely to read that kind of magazines. I would suggest advertising Defender in sport magazines and business magazines. [...]

[...] Sponsorship Sponsorship must support the Core Identity of Land Rover and at the same time reinforces the positioning of the three SUVs. The event should be selected by their values for the consumers and the message they convey to the different target groups. I would recommend maintaining the Camel Trophy sponsorship, where the Defender should be put forward. This event symbolises extreme conditions, promoting the need for adventure. Its values are close to those of the Defender's, so the audience of the Camel Trophy would be the target group of the Defender. [...]

[...] These different positioning will allow Land Rover to appeal to the main two distinct targets of the SUV market. The first target, families will give attention to the high performance (reliability and safety), comfort and the high storage capacity of the cars. The second target group, youngsters will be attracted by the promise of performance, prestige and adventure. Target groups Each of the cars in the LRNA's line has a specific positioning and corresponds to the needs of a specific target grouip. [...]