BMW North America was seeking additional ways to communicate their competitive advantages to prospective buyers and, at the same time, retain their owner base. One of the biggest barriers to both purchase consideration for new customers and re-purchase for current owners was the belief that the cost of ownership, such as service maintenance of a BMW, was extremely expensive. To counter such purchase barriers, BMW wanted to cover all normal parts and service expenses for four years or 50,000 miles. BMW had determined that the cost to offer parts and service program was less than putting image-tarnishing cash incentives on a luxury brand. BMW challenged Mercati to develop two digital solutions to convey the parts and service program to both their owner base and prospective buyers.
In addition to BMW's national offline advertising announcing the program, Mercati's digital solution was to develop an umbrella campaign using a number of avenues to help position the message, and remove this barrier to purchase by leveraging mobile, desktop Web, social media, and e-mail programs. Mercati developed an e-mail campaign to BMW's owner base, and one tailored to owners of competitive makes, outlining the message. SMS messages were sent to owners' mobile devices when service intervals were up. informing them of the new program. A "$0" Maintenance Program page was developed for the BMW Web site which provided details for the program as well as information on downloadable iPhone and Android apps which allowed current owners to check their service records. The system also alerted the selling dealer that e-mails had been sent to their customer base so that the dealers could do service follow-ups.
To help convince potential new car buyers, an online ad campaign was developed that placed ads on Web sites where buyers would research new car data prior to purchasing. The ad campaign was also extended to social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. On BMW's Facebook page, there was a call to action for BMW Facebook fans to get more information which transferred the visitors to a dedicated landing page. BMW used their Twitter account to get the message out. Both current and competitive owners who were following BMW on Twitter were urged to go to the BMW Web site. The potential buyer was called to action by clicking on a Web interstitial to view see the required maintenance cost comparisons. The comparison showcased that luxury competitors would charge up to $5500 a year for the service that was "no-cost" for a BMW purchase. In addition, QR codes were placed in traditional print ads, which allowed the reader to instantly receive program information through their mobile device.
"Expensive to maintain" numbers as a barrier to a purchase dropped dramatically, resulting in a 11% increase in sales, putting BMW as #1 among luxury imports. BMW dealers saw an overall 26% increase in their service business.
