MissLava had a tweet about this a couple of moments ago. I'm aware that everyone on (and off) the internet has seen it by now but it got me thinking about a couple of things. One is the importance of tough, hard-sell communication in times of economic stress. It is a general rule that when consumers begin thinning out their spending habits you have to fight brutally for every inch of market you get.
The other thing it got me thinking about was; How big of an army do you have to have to be able to fight a battle on multiple fronts? Thus the title of this post. Audi has been using some serious head on positioning against the toughest of customers for quite some time. I can just see the board room table covered in images of all the competitors automobiles.
Subordinant#1: "Vich competitors ah vee goink to crush Mr.Vintercorn?" Then CEO Martin Wintercorn looks over the images slowly and grins maniacally.
Wintercorn: "All of zem!"
Firstly they took on the "boxy" Luxury SUV market and have been throwing mud at BMW directly for a while.
BMW as a brand doesn't really take the head on approach for it's primary strategy this was a purely spur of the moment flash of genius situation. When a category leader calls out the competition they run the risk of looking like a bully and compromising the brand's integrity. When they fight back with a wittier, "Hey kid, take it easy before you get hurt" approach they confirm their position of superiority.
