Younger at all costs

4987 Views 15 Replies 9 Participants Last post by carbonfiber, Oct 3, 2013

parker

Discussion Starter · Sep 23, 2013

Mercedes is fully invested in transitioning itself into a younger company. First the CLA and GLA coming in sub $30K barely.. (BTW anyone see the new CLA ads during the Tour Championship this weekend, it was all about breaking the cheap barrier) and now Mercedes has decided to launch their own radio station to appeal to a younger crowd.

Launched quietly at Frankfurt the new Mercedes station will broadcast 24 hours a day bringing music and editorials to clients. The caveat, Music no older than two or three years will be used, young artists will feature prominently.

Radio can be accessed anywhere you can access Command Online. GLA will be the first model to offer it standard.

Again Mercedes is behaving very inconsistent with its core clientele. I understand they want to get younger, but at the expense of your established clientele on their third, fourth or fifth Mercedes?

I work in business development and the key to any good bus dev is to keep your core operations either in place, or develop what will supplant your core business model.

If you ask me $30k vehicles will not supplant the stream of margins from E-class and S-class buyers. Not to mention those who own S-classes and SLS' or SLK's. Every move lately has been geared towards on boarding broke young people who cannot and will not support the brand, why alienate your bread and butter?

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AMGz

· #2 · Sep 23, 2013

I don't know what their definition of young is but at the moment there's a very small percentage of people buying CLA"s that are under 30. When I hear a car maker wants to target young buying, young to me is early 20's.

They should start coming out with cars in the mid $20k's

Sweet Tooth

· #3 · Sep 23, 2013

OOooo, a radio station that only plays new music from the past 2 years. As if that is different from every other radio station on the air? I don't think that a Mercedes-Benz radio station is going to make young people buy a Mercedes. The change in actual products might, although I don't think that breaking through the "cheap barrier" is exactly what I want my car to do.

Cocles

· #4 · Sep 23, 2013

Parker, I think you're falling prey to some confirmation bias. While everything you list is true, you're ignoring the ways in which Merc is serving their older (oldest?) client base, such as the new S Class sedan and coupe.

parker

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 24, 2013 (Edited)

Cocles said:
Parker, I think you're falling prey to some confirmation bias. While everything you list is true, you're ignoring the ways in which Merc is serving their older (oldest?) client base, such as the new S Class sedan and coupe.

theres no confirmation bias at all. Actually your point is the perfect jumping off point.

Lets look at Mercedes USA lineup top down.

SLS coupe/Roadster
SL Roadster
SLK Roadster
S class sedan
CLS
E class cabrio
E class wagon
E class coupe
E class sedan
C class sedan
C class coupe
CL coupe
GLK
M-class
GL
G-class
CLA
GLA

and that's not counting AMG derivatives.

How many of those vehicles are geared towards older/traditional clientele? Aside from the CLA and GLA you could argue all of them.

So ~20% of Mercedes vehicles are aimed at an older clientele yet 100% of their new radio station is geared towards younger buyers...

And its not like Mercedes Radio is a CLA/GLA exclusive feature, it will make its way to the rest of Mercedes lineup. Then what? a useless feature for 80% of your clientele. Then we get into the interesting debate of who is actually going to be buying the CLA/GLA.

Many of you think it will be perfect for older Mercedes clients looking to downsize or retirees splurging on one final purchase to glorify their existence. Fine I'll play ball, NOW WHAT. If the CLA and GLA are going to be bought by older clientele anyways this move to make Mercedes Radio appeal to young listeners is superfluous. Do you think 65 year old Sylvia in West Palm wants to listen to Lady Gaga or One Direction? LOL

Corporate graveyards a riddled with companies that shuffled away from their core clientele in search of elusive greener grass, I'm not saying Mercedes is sounding their death knell but I am saying this is how the downward curve starts.

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Katvin78

· #6 · Sep 24, 2013

what are the editorials they speak of that will be aired? Is it vehicle specific or is it just some mumo jumbo mercedes marketing campaigns...

parker

Discussion Starter · #7 · Sep 25, 2013

Katvin78 said:
what are the editorials they speak of that will be aired? Is it vehicle specific or is it just some mumo jumbo mercedes marketing campaigns...

I'm betting its going to be marketing campaigns. But more about thigngs that Mercedes is sponsoring. Maybe case studies about why Mercedes is putting their sponsorship dollars there.

I'm really not sure, it could also be hip and edgy documentary type stuff that seems to be all the rage lately. Fiction is out don't you know...

I'm also wondering if Mercedes Radio is going to require a yearly subscription like with satellite radio..

Will there be genres of music to choose from...

the only concrete piece we do know is that its going to be young music and its going to debut on the GLA...

Cocles

· #8 · Sep 25, 2013

I still say you're overreacting, as well as picking and choosing. I mean, look at your thread title, "at all costs".

They're already established with the older crowd. It's the youth market they're now trying to attract as well, so they geared a radio station towards them. A radio station. Who cares?

Mountains and mole hills.

Frayzer

· #9 · Sep 25, 2013

The price point should be the main thing to attract younger buyers. has there been any discussion about the official price or where it could be at?

AMGz

· #10 · Sep 25, 2013

Frayzer said:
The price point should be the main thing to attract younger buyers. has there been any discussion about the official price or where it could be at?

No mention of price from official sources. Only our speculation which brings us to believe it will be a bit more than the CLA>

Truthiness

· #11 · Sep 26, 2013

Bottom line for me: it's weird that Mercedes-Benz is coming out with a radio station in any form. That is far outside the Mercedes realm of business.

Sure Mercedes is targeting some younger people with the CLA and GLA, but these young people will eventually turn old. I think the objective is to get them on board with the brand at a younger age so that they can develop brand loyalty and have a solid base of older clients further down the line.

All this "death knell" "corporate graveyard" speak is hyperbole.

@parker Go get a job on talk radio. Maybe Mercedes-Benz will hire you.

parker

Discussion Starter · #12 · Sep 26, 2013

I'm just going off the opinions I've picked up in this forum. There were discussions that the GLA was aimed at young people which you all quickly refuted by saying the average, older mercedes buyer would likely make up most of GLA and CLA sales, fine. Now you are all saying this radio station is a good move becasue young people are going to buy the GLA...

To use Cocles phrase mountain out of molehill. If the $30K starting for a genuine mercedes benz isn't pulling the youth in, a radio station will?

You can view it as hyperbole if you wish, but go look at any company that stopped catering to its core clientele or moved away from their competencies. They're all dead.

Cocles

· #13 · Sep 26, 2013

parker said:
I'm just going off the opinions I've picked up in this forum. There were discussions that the GLA was aimed at young people which you all quickly refuted by saying the average, older mercedes buyer would likely make up most of GLA and CLA sales, fine.

Eh? Your narrative is askew. I've staunchly held from the start that the GLA is aimed at the younger crowd and have said so. Some then jumped in wondering if this might be a final upgrade for senior citizens who had never owned a car from a luxury brand (I agree this could be a *secondary* market). Some also questioned whether the youth market could afford a 30k car. I pointed out that this would likely depend on where one lives. In California there is nothing unusual about a 20 something driving a 30k car.

No one has refuted the GLA being for the youth market, and frankly, anyone who tries is a doofus, because Daimler has flat out said that the A-Platform cars are intended for the younger crowd. Let alone the whole concept of "entry model".

A.T.L.

· #14 · Sep 26, 2013

Cocles said:
Eh? Your narrative is askew. I've staunchly held from the start that the GLA is aimed at the younger crowd and have said so. Some then jumped in wondering if this might be a final upgrade for senior citizens who had never owned a car from a luxury brand (I agree this could be a *secondary* market). Some also questioned whether the youth market could afford a 30k car. I pointed out that this would likely depend on where one lives. In California there is nothing unusual about a 20 something driving a 30k car.

No one has refuted the GLA being for the youth market, and frankly, anyone who tries is a doofus, because Daimler has flat out said that the A-Platform cars are intended for the younger crowd. Let alone the whole concept of "entry model".

Makes sense, their definition of "younger crowd" is far off from ours, it's just the younger mercedes buyer demographic, not our idea of young

Katvin78

· #15 · Oct 3, 2013

yes... young-er

Porbably just younger than whatever age they had before but they wouldn't be able to put a number. Just younger.

carbonfiber

· #16 · Oct 3, 2013

they are tapping into the younger luxury market because there is money there. older guys aren't getting any younger. and people dont live forever. if mercedes doesnt establish a brand image with the new generation of young luxury car buyers they won't survive in the future. these first time luxury car buyers might go for ar GLA or CLA today but in the future they might stay with mercedes and say buy more expensive models.

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