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From the "We Gotta Start Somewhere" File, Mercedes-Benz USA has launched a new brand image advertising campaign designed to "emphasize the unique and enduring relationship between the band and its customers" and get the auto manufacturer on the right track after a solid decade of strategic missteps and recurring quality issues. Michelle Cervantez, VP of marketing for M-B USA, had this to say: "Over the next two years, we will be introducing more new models than ever before in our history. And beyond our traditional buyer, we'll be introducing products for people who have never had any experience with the brand. What we want to do is to make the brand come alive for them in a way they can relate to. And we believe this campaign does that in terms of capturing what it is that quintessentially Mercedes-Benz, and that is best expressed by the passion and pride of the owners themselves." The campaign uses photos of owners, along with personal testimonials, to demonstrate the role that Mercedes has played in their lives. The theme line for the campaign is, "The love never fades. Unlike any other. Mercedes-Benz." Other than that insipid conflagration of words masquerading as a themeline, we applaud Ms. Cervantez' attempt at doing something to prop up Mercedes-Benz in the US after years of misguided marketing tactics and uncharacteristic quality problems did their best to slowly but surely erode this once-proud brand. We're frankly unconvinced, however, that a touchy-feely "huggable" Mercedes-Benz is going to be enough to get people back in touch with their inner "Benz." We're still going to have to ask the question "why?" - as in why Mercedes-Benz? This new campaign is about the good feelings that some people have for their Benzes, but what does that have to do with the disaffected owners of the last five years who have sworn off the brand for various egregious transgressions that have soured them on the brand for good? After setting the disastrous strategic course of becoming more "approachable" and forcing the brand downward in a market that was rising upward - Mercedes has lost its raison d'etre in the U.S. And, judging by reports from the German market, indications are that the brand has slipped dramatically on its home turf too. What will Mercedes-Benz stand for, exactly? Will Mercedes offer more quality and customer satisfaction than Lexus? Will it offer more engineering detail and sporting character than BMW? Will it even offer the design sophistication and emerging technical excellence of Cadillac? Will it be all of the above or none of the above? People need a reason why. And this campaign doesn't offer any answers. The essence of Mercedes-Benz was never about the passion and pride of the owners - it was about the passionate engineering that resonated from the cars that were once "engineered like no other car in the world." This ad campaign may make Mercedes-Benz loyalists happy, but last time we checked, they're a dwindling minority.
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Ya know, on this I agree. I don't think MB should be focusing on the customers. They need to get back to the cars. And what the heck is this crap about tons of new models. I personally think that is one of their downfalls. Too many new products, introduced in too short a time. And "new to the brand" customers?

I spent many years in sales and sales management, and the first thing you learn is that the best customer is an existing customer. Keep them, then aquire new ones. MB continues to ignore the MB-philes at their peril.

I didn't start buying MB cars years ago to be "like Mike" or some other real or imagined other MB customer. I did it to enjoy the superb engineering that went into their cars. Okay, even on the simple W123 cars, some things are overengineered, but that was charm that never got in the way of the performance of the car.

What the heck does MB make? Do they make people? NO! They make CARS. Make the best damn cars and we'll all be loyal customers. Stop thinking about ad campaigns and rethink the cars themselves. What happened to the W211 that was going to show the world that MB can build flawless cars? Cripes, everytime I'm at the dealer there is a W211 owner in there with a laundry list of things that require attention.

How did Toyota build a reputation for building superbly crafted cars that were reliable to a fault? With ads? Nope. People spread the word based on years of Toyota building reliable and affordable cars. MB has thrown away 100 years of reputation in an effort to cash in on the SUV craze and on trying to be an everything to everyone car company.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

You nailed it, and the article did as well.

If they want to show owners who are passionate about their MB's, I'm sure they can find plenty of 50's through early 90's MB owners happy to testify to their love.

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63 220S W111
76 300D W115
2013 VW JSW TDI M6

previously-
73 280 SEL 4.5
86 300E 5 speed
2010 VW Jetta TDI M6

This is all true, I've never heard anyone with a 210 or newer owner say they love their car. Im sure they exist, dont get me wrong, but not like the rest of us. It makes me sad, this BS mercedes is/has been up to. And I hate even more having to say negative things about Mercedes.

seems like a good time to buy a good 94-95 W124 ...

I love my car....:p

I do not like the newer models, and all this rave about the E320 CDI. Personally, if it is going to be in the W211, who wants it? Electronic fuel injection....Pha! An E55 Kompressor would be just as reliable(until that SC breaks).

I wonder if Larry Bible is going to chime in soon about how we're all wrong?

ENDURING RELATIONSHIPS....HOW LONG DO WE HAVE TO ENDURE THE BLEEDING. THEY SHOULD PROMOTE MB AS A "GROCERY TRANSPORT VEHICLE" OR A CAR FOR SPECIAL OCCASION ONLY. TO USE IT AS A DAILY CAR IS STRETCHING IT A LITTLE BIT TOO FAR AND WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO MARKET GIVEN THE CURRENT PROBLEMS THEY ARE FACING.

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2004 BMW 325 xiT Wagon 40miles
1999 BMW 528i
1995 e320GTO Wagon 137K
GTO means Grocery Transport Only
I LOVE MERCEDES BUT I PREFER HAVING SEX WITH BMW.

It is a nice marketing angle. All sentimental and hopeful. Cleverly designed and aimed directly at the wish fulfillment we seek from our autos. Failed dreams have been the, dare is say it, driving force for almost everyone of late. Or so it seems from the other comments in this thread.....

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

And I believe Mazda saw the error of their ways when they tried to produce too many models and decided it would be best to focus on just a few platforms instead...

...why does MB want to go backwards?

And I've seen some of the ads...looks like they say "If you want to smile like these folks, go out and get an early MB like the ones they are posing next to..."

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

I bet those pictures and people they show in the ads have really old benz cars;

The "dream" you long for when you walk into a Mercedes dealership no longer exist. Those days are gone. This ain't your father's Mercedes-Benz

Sometimes I feel like we owners of these cars, especially the older models, who take care of them perpetrate the hoax for Mercedes. I can't tell how many times people have come up to me and said "Wow your car is in amazing condition. How old is it? Is that the original paint? Thats it my next car will be a new Benz." I feel like shouting no don't do it! Its like seeing a cute baby and turning to your wife and saying lets make one

Mercedes still makes great cars. The problem is that so do other companies, and in many ways Mercedes was lost the certain something that makes them different.

Think back to 1986. The W126 ruled the open highway and the new W124 300E shocked people with it's technology (ABS!!), performance (could outrun a Porsche 944) and austere luxury. But, think back to actually owning one? Well, they were pretty robust cars, but not without some problems. The thing about it was that the 300E was just so good that people could overlook some minor problems.

Today, MB runs in such a tight market. Great cars are in abundance offering superb power, terrific handling, incredible reliability and pretty good longevity. The real problem for Mercedes is going to be how to sell enough cars to continue to be a "mass producer" (aka profitable) and still make something different enough that it has real cache.

The question at hand is about focus. If they focus on the owners I think they're missing the point of the last 100 years. Mercedes was never about the owners. It was always about the cars and if you were not a "Mercedes person" well, they didn't care. Mercedes-Benz was never about having a car for every person.

Okay, maybe I am wrong. Maybe today's marketing gurus will talk about "pulled by the consumer" instead of "pushed by the product." Makes sense, right? So what? Be a contrarian.

Years ago I loved being a 20-something driving a stodgy 190E Mercedes. When I worked for Xerox, all the young hot-shots drove Acura Vigors and I had the 190E 2.6. I liked being different.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

maybe DC/MB really IS re-thinking their internal priorities and stucture...maybe they are going to start building "better" cars (better is in the eye of the beholder...) in the near future.
And as for expanding their product line ? What platforms do we not get in the US ? the A-class compact ? the V(IIRC)-class minivan ? How tough would it be for them to start importing those here and making the sales numbers go up ?

maybe we should give MB a chance- maybe they are changing stuff around, and this advertising campaign is part of that...

maybe...

did I say "maybe" in here yet =)


That being said, I think the article and the previous posts are spot-on. Make cars that are superior, people like, and recommend to friends: then the cars will then sell themselves. W123/126/124's can sell themselves pretty well from what I've seen in my short driving life.

-John

-John

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2009 Kia Sedona
2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L
12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse
(insert Mercedes here)

Husband, Father, sometimes friend =)

I wonder if Mercedes has any idea of what people like us on this board think about the current direction of they're company. Probably not that they'd care, but if it was a loud enough cry. . .

__________________
63 220S W111
76 300D W115
2013 VW JSW TDI M6

previously-
73 280 SEL 4.5
86 300E 5 speed
2010 VW Jetta TDI M6

Ok Blackmercedes
"The W126 ruled the open highway and the new W124 300E shocked people with it's technology (ABS!!), performance (could outrun a Porsche 944) and austere luxury."

Now lets bring this statement into 2004 terms:

"The W220 rules the open highway and the new W211 E55 shocked people with it's technology (active brakes!!), performance (could outrun a Porsche 911) and austere luxury."

Kind of works, what do you think?

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

One should think enthusiasts oughta be who MB listens to most? However, these days Mercedes IS focused on the "look at my new Mercedes", now I'm in the club, I've got too much money to spend dickless fu**s as opposed to lasting customers or people who give a damn.

John, I think that is a very clear analysis of the problem. The reason I bought my w124 was because I felt the way you described. Everything about that old car plainly states pride in engineering and styling. Owning it makes me envy 126 owners. I want one of those, too! I can afford a more recent (though not new!) model, but I just haven't heard people talk about them with the pride of ownership that you hear from owners of older cars. My next sedan, not a hobby car, will probably be a used but recent Lexus or Infiniti--something I can count on for 10 years of reliable, affordable service.

My hope with the Daimler/Chrysler merger was that the science and engineering excellence of the Germans, in which they have always taken well-deserved pride, would infect Chrysler. Instead, it looks like the American penchant for getting some goofy toy into production first rather than best has infected M-B.

Botnst