Ad Campaign of the Week: Mercedes-Benz Grow Up Campaign Appeals to Luxury Consumers

When you think of the Mercedes-Benz brand, you probably associate it with affluent, established consumers who have found success in their professional and personal lives. But a new campaign from the automotive brand is forcing some to rethink that perception. The Mercedes-Benz “Grow Up” campaign features some younger consumers and more modern storylines. But could the campaign actually change any of those existing opinions? We tested the ad with 1,000 respondents to see if it changed any perceptions.

Automotive Consumers

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest online survey, 84% of respondents said that they currently own or lease a vehicle. But just 12% of current and former vehicle owners have ever driven a Mercedes-Benz vehicle. And just 2% currently own one. In general, the more budget friendly brands like Ford and Toyota were much more popular with consumers than luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Audi.

Mercedes-Benz Grow Up

Of those who are likely to own or lease another vehicle at some point in the future, 6% said they would be certain or practically certain about choosing Mercedes-Benz for their next vehicle purchase. And 11% said it would be very probable. Of those who viewed the Grow Up ad, 6% still said they would be certain or practically certain about choosing Mercedes-Benz for their next purchase. And 14% said it would be very probable. The ad did seem to persuade some consumers to opt for Mercedes-Benz over other luxury brands like Lexus and Audi. But it didn’t make much impact on those who chose brands like Ford and Toyota.In addition, 56% of those who viewed the ad said that they’re at least somewhat interested in owning a luxury vehicle at some point in the future. Of those respondents, 10% said they would be certain or practically certain about choosing Mercedes-Benz for their next vehicle purchase. And 22% said it would be very probable.

Brand Perception

Expensive was the most popular word that consumers used to describe the Mercedes-Benz brand. But some also used words like luxury, quality, classy, nice and fancy. Those who viewed the Grow Up ad were a bit more likely to describe the brand as luxury, quality and classy. But expensive was still the most popular descriptor.

Key Takeaways

The Grow Up ad did seem to make a positive impact for Mercedes-Benz where it counts -- with consumers who are actually interested in luxury vehicles. Not surprisingly, the campaign didn’t make much of an impact with automotive consumers as a whole. But it did make some consumers opt for Mercedes-Benz over competing luxury brands like Lexus and Audi. So it seems that taking a more modern approach with these ads could be a good strategy, and one that appeals to the consumers who are most likely to actually spend on luxury vehicles. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Mercedes-Benz 190E by Michiel Dijcks under CC by 2.0What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on August 30 via AYTM’s online survey panel.