Porche Canada: Selling Winter Driving

Porsche, a worldwide motor vehicle manufacturer best known for making luxury cars, opened an office in Canada after increased sales in the country in 2007.  Porsche has made great strides in the luxury sports car market with the success of the 911 and Boxter, as well as the luxury midsize car market with the cayenne.  With luxury cars selling at premium prices, Porsche's target market included the middle and upper class.  However, many of Porsche's customers never perceived the luxury car company as a manufacturer of all weather vehicles.  This downfall led to a dilemma in the marketing of Porsche vehicles:  How would Porsche overcome the common perception that Porsche cars are not winter vehicles?  Jasmin Rawlinson, Director of Marketing in Porsche Canada, knew the capabilities of Porsche vehicles; however, the consumers did not.  Porsche vehicles are made with quality parts, capable of withstanding poor driving condition and performing in adverse weather, yet with Porsche best known for luxury, the Porsche vehicle line is perceived as a seasonal driving vehicle. Based on common consumer knowledge, poor conditions in the winter lead to damages to the Porsche vehicle, pushing drivers to only use their luxury vehicle in the summer and spring months.  It was necessary for Jasmin Rawlinson to reevaluate the Porsche Canada marketing strategy in order to educate and convince drivers and potential consumers to consider Porsche cars an all weather vehicle.

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• Relying on a single characteristic to maintain the consumer market leads to misperceptions and misunderstandings about other characteristics
• Porsche's most notable attribute, luxury, served as a weakness in the longrun when consumers connected luxury sports car with seasonal driving only.
• It is necessary for Porsche to reach multiple consumer bases by diversifying their marketing campaign.
• Porsche might have considered providing video/live demonstrations of their winter equipment rather than just email and brochures.
• Rawlinson began by gathering information from Porsche consumers regarding their willingness to buy winter equipment.  This strategy led to increased winter capability awareness through email and brochure.  However, simple letter and emails may not be enough for consumers to move to purchase expensive equipment.
• Educating consumers on additional product capabilities can be difficult when there is evidence to suggest that these capabilities are not always plausible.
• While some Porsche vehicles are designed to handle adverse weather, past examples of car failures and damages in winter weather are more notable than a Porsche's good performance in winter weather.
• Additional winter ads could prove to be the most viable solution to the Porsche Canada marketing dilemma.

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Buyer's Viewpoint

The average Porsche consumer's usually have an initial perception of luxury and class and are educated on basic Porsche capabilities.  This includes the perception that sports cars are seasonal vehicles and cannot handle well in adverse winter weather.  A Porsche consumer usually buys the vehicle for summer and spring driving, and based on examples of sports cars not being able to handle themselves in the winter, they buy the car planning on only driving it in the summer and spring.  The buyers education may even include the winter equipment that Porsche may offer; however, due to the fanatic nature of many sports car drivers, the car will always be considered a seasonal vehicle.  The seller must find a way to overcome these consumer behaviors.