Promotion: BMW Films, Case Study Example

Summary

The BMW film idea was very lucrative and acted for the benefit of the company. However, after many years of adopting this concept, McDowell was faced with a number of choices that would subsequently define the future of the company. He had the option of continuing with the pursuit of the film idea as well as the option of developing new ideas for the BMW Company. Either of the options would still work effectively, however, it would be better to consider one that would be cost effective as well as of great impact to the company advertising motives.

The recommendation

In my opinion, the recommendation that would suit McDowell’s decision was milking the existing 5 firms and presenting them to a wider audience. There are many firms in the market competing in the same industry, and each firm is presenting its best in the market to entice buyers. The use of films is among the most lucrative ways through which an automobile firm can advertise its products.

Basis for recommendations

The BMW has a number of films which have not been viewed by many fans. Distributing these to the movie theaters and availing them online would lead to a great success in the company. Using the short films as trailers in movie theaters is important in making people develop the mentality that BMW is among the best in the market. The celebrities, styles, speed and various sleekness associated with these films greatly make them eye catching and perfect for advertisement.

Another basis for this recommendation is that it entails limited budget and will not cost the company a great deal. A number of films are already produced and the only major task is distributing them to the prospective targets. Distributing the films to places like movie theaters are equally a good way of reaching the targeted market segment. Most people attending movies are often young men and women who are still at their tender ages; such often look for impressive and luxurious cars, using this means would help in effectively reaching out to them. Alternatively, the short films used in the internet can be of great use in advertising.

This recommendation also targets customers who do not use the internet regularly. The initial use of short films online was meant to attract customers using the internet; however the use of theatres will attract a large number of viewers at the same time.  Therefore not only is this method cost effective, it is also important in advertising to large audience. Another unique thing about this means is that it can be used to reach a given target audience within the market segment this also will help the company go extra miles in accomplishing what the internet short films did not achieve. The company should thus incorporate both the use of internet and Movie Theater in their marketing strategies.

Assumptions and risks

Despite the great potentials indicated with the use of these movies, certain risks and assumptions may also be accepted. Some of these include showing “star” on theaters airing these movies to lead to a great turn out. People may also get tired of watching these movies, especially with the constant pushing of these movies down their throats in the theatres. Since the target customers are the elderly, the movie theaters are likely to be the right place to find them. This would have achieved the overall target of the marketing strategy. Other risk assessment questions that the company must ask are whether the targeted customers have time to view the films. At the same time it is hard to evaluate whether the revenues correlate with the number of people viewing the short films. Other assumptions are that the most viewed film will correlate to high levels of returns.

Using the above risks and assumptions, the best choice turns to be the star.  This entails, selecting a movie that gained popularity in the year 2001 and then persuade movie producers and theaters to run it at a cost of at least $60 million. This figure is based on the previous capital expenditures that were incurred on the short films. The producers would take the largest share as compared to the theaters due to the nature of tasks they perform.

The action steps

To take advantage of the surprise factor, the company does not involve in any rumors to help them in their strategy. The steps here involve careful selection of a full length movie that is screening currently in the theaters and has a correlation with the other popular BMW short films. After the selection, the movie producers and the movie theaters are paid and then handed the amount required for them to run these films alongside theirs.

Exhibits

The budget

Number of viewers