INTRODUCTION the BMW Group Is a Manufacturer of Luxury Automobiles and Motorcycles

Marketing Activities Of BMW INTRODUCTION The BMW Group is a manufacturer of luxury automobiles and motorcycles. It has 24 production facilities spread over thirteen countries and the company‟s products are sold in more than 140 countries. BMW Group owns three brands namely BMW, MINI and Rolls- Royce. This project contains detailed information about the marketing and promotional activities of BMW. It contains the history of BMW, its evolution after the world war and its growth as one of the leading automobile brands. This project also contains the information about the growth of BMW as a brand in India and its awards and recognitions that it received in India and how it became the market leader. This project also contains the launch of the mini cooper showroom in India and also the information about the establishment of the first Aston martin showroom in India, both owned by infinity cars. It contains information about infinity cars as a BMW dealership and the success stories of the owners. Apart from this, information about the major events and activities are also mentioned in the project, the 3 series launch which was a major event has also been covered in the project. The two project reports that I had prepared for the company are also a part of this project, The referral program project which is an innovative marketing technique to get more customers is a part of this project and the other project report is about the competitor analysis which contains the marketing and promotional activities of the competitors of BMW like Audi, Mercedes and JLR About BMW BMW (Bavarian Motor Works) is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1917. BMW is headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It also owns and produces the Mini marquee, and is the parent company of Rolls- Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorad and Husqvarna brands. In 2010, the BMW group produced 1,481,253 automobiles and 112,271 motorcycles across all its brands. The company aims to generate profitable growth and above-average returns by focusing on the premium segments of the international automobile markets. With this in mind, a wide- ranging product and market offensive was initiated in 2001, which has resulted in the BMW 1 Marketing Activities Of BMW Group expanding its product range considerably and strengthening its worldwide market position. The company‟s brand is extremely strong and is associated with high performance, engineering excellence and innovation. Indeed, the BMW brand is often cited as one of the „best‟ in the world, and the company continues to launch a stream of innovative products as part of its battle with German peer Mercedes to be the world‟s largest luxury car maker. BMW‟s focus on engineering excellence allied to leading-edge design continues to drive successful, profitable expansion. In 2007 BMW sales increased by 8%, Mini by 18% and Rolls-Royce by 26% with, for the first time ever, over 1000 of the super luxury cars being produced in one year. To further this growth, a host of new models is being launched, including the Mini Clubman and the new sport utility vehicle, the BMW X6 - the world‟s first SUV coupe. While the Clubman reinvents views on vehicle access, the X6 is an excellent example of BMW innovation at work. It combines the safety and convenience of a four-wheel-drive with the on-road performance of a sports car and is designed to appeal to the driver who enjoys a commanding driving position, but also savours the characteristics of a sports car. With its stretched coupé silhouette and pronounced performance design, underpinned by hybrid engine options, as previously achieved with the X5 and the X3 in allied markets, the X6 is the latest instance of BMW changing perceptions of what a car should provide – for its passengers and its driver alike. At its heart, it restates an aspiration for driving that is both exclusive and yet also available to the mass market. BMW has also been at the forefront of introducing new IT options to enhance the driving experience. Starting with the iDrive first introduced in the 7-series, BMW Connected Drive is now available across most models and is adding greater functionality. After being one of the first to offer the capability for MP3 connectivity and incorporate RSS feeds including weather information, in 2007 BMW teamed up with Google to offer a PC driven route planning service. Of course this level of innovation does not come cheaply and a key challenge going forward will be to keep research and development costs under control. During the last five years, BMW‟s average annual R&D investment has been around €2,300 per car, compared with €1,700 spent by arch-rival Mercedes. Alongside the examples above, much of the money has gone into the car maker's Efficient Dynamics programme aimed at making engines more efficient, improving aerodynamics, reducing weight and capturing energy during braking. As the numbers clearly show, BMW is a mass market player but one 2 Marketing Activities Of BMW that successfully uses focused innovation to build and maintain the aspirational driving experience for many. Through a constant stream of consumer informed innovations, the company has moved ahead of its peers and future sustained and profitable growth is widely predicted. in the BMW's future strategy, it strongly focus on expand of the potential market. For example, China and Russia. In terms of brand promotion, BMW Group, will seize the opportunity, and vigorously advise and expand public awareness network. At the same time, BMW also advertise their ambitions and sense of responsibility to society. In the automotive manufacturing area, BMW Group proposed to advertise new product concepts and environmental protection. BMW believes that with further development of the industrial era, the traditional energy sources will become a bottleneck restricting the development of society, as with the development of traditional energy sources will gradually disappear. All of these above are only general publicity, from the details; BMW also has many methods of influence to advertise the brand promotion. In the past, BMW through the sponsorship of 007 series of films to lead more people know about BMW. Nowadays, Now, BMW further into the ranks of social charity and welfare to go. I believe that in the future, more new ways to promote the brand BMW will also be generated in the process. From BMW‟s advertising trends, while BMW focus on its own personality and the brand image. BMW also changed their advertising strategies, slowly trying to go into the market culture. For example, in China, BMW will be promoting the brand through the action to protect the local cultural heritage. In short, any successful brand or product can not be divorced from the success of advertising and publicity. 3 Marketing Activities Of BMW RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This research explores how BMW has managed to maintain its strong hold in the Indian market and its innovative marketing activities done to maintain a healthy relationship with its customers and create new prospects through referral marketing. An in depth look at the marketing activities of the competitors of BMW has also been done in order to know the market position of BMW. Objectives of the study . To know the market share of BMW in India . To reach the potential customers of BMW cars i.e. prospecting . To find out the marketing strategies of the competitors. To create more customers through referral marketing. To know how BMW can retain its strong position in the luxury car market Scope of the study The scope of the study includes all the competitors of BMW like Audi, Mercedes and JLR (Jaguar Land Rover). The study was conducted by observing the various marketing and promotional activities of the competitors. The study focuses only on awareness of BMW among upper class of the society. The study also focuses on the power of referral marketing and how customer reference can gather more customers and make a great difference to business. 4 Marketing Activities Of BMW HISTORY AND GROWTH OF BMW To better understand BMW today you have to know and understand BMW history. The last century gives the “flavour” of today‟sBMW cars, the ingredient that makes them so special. This “special” can be almost seen as the soul of a person. BMW cars have an unmistakably personality and an obsessive care about the feeling of driving, thus their slogan "the ultimate driving machine". This creates a bond between the car and the driver that may last for a lifetime. These three magic letters stand for BayerischeMotorenWerke, or in English, Bavarian Motor Works. The "Motor" is the core of this acronym and is the foundation; the key part around which BMW builds every product. BMW AG originated with three other manufacturing companies, Rapp Motorenwerke and BayerischeFlugzeugwerke (BFW) in Bavaria, and Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach in Thuringia. Aircraft engine manufacturer Rapp Motorenwerke became BayerischeMotorenwerke in 1916. The engine manufacturer, which built proprietary industrial engines after World War I, was then bought by the owner of BFw who then merged BFw into BMW and moved the engine works onto BFW's premises. BFW's motorcycle sideline was improved upon by BMW and became an integral part of their business. BMW became an automobile manufacturer in 1929 when it purchased Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach, which, at the time, built Austin Sevens under licence under the Dixi marque. BMW's team of engineers progressively developed their cars from small Seven-based cars into six-cylinder luxury cars and, in 1936, began production of the BMW 328 sports car. Aircraft engines, motorcycles, and automobiles would be BMW's main products until World War II.

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