Competing with the buzz

Challenge

Our client’s main competitor was about to introduce a new model and concept of car which was already attracting wide attention from the media, government and industry. The competitor was considering launching a new joint venture brand with a local company. Our client wanted us to research the impact this type of approach – generating a huge buzz around a new launch - would have on the overall market and provide recommendations on how to better approach launching new cars in China.

Process

In order to gain full exposure our research team went to the Beijing autoshow where the launch event was taking place. We conducted on-site interviews to gain first hand perspectives from the public, press and industry. Then, as a follow up, we conducted intensive research for the following two months. This provided valuable insight in the medium-term results of press coverage and responses from industry and the public. As a final step, we held one-to-one interviews with consumers to learn their reactions to this concept car.


Outcomes

As a final deliverable, we created a comprehensive report describing the effect and overall impact that a media campaign had on the launch of a concept car in China. While we were not asked for guidance, we could not help ourselves, so we also made recommendations for how our client could better utilize the media “buzz” effect in its own launches.