Andrea Miller

Laura Dwyer
MKTG: 763 - Buyer Behavior
3 October 2016
Porsche Canada
Perception of Porsche Cars in Canada
Exposure and Attention
In the exposure and the attention phase of perception the brain makes a
cognitive decision to attend the mind to one specific thing in our mind and
it then becomes a stimulus. Then the mind constructs a mental
representation of the stimulus to become a percept. (Boundless Psychology,
2016) In first stages of perception, Canadian customers do not view the
Porsche as a typical car, but as a luxury item. In Canada, much like the rest
of the world, Porsche is seen as a luxury brand. Most Porsche owners had
previously been interested in Porsche as a brand since they were teenagers.
They were interested in the companys rich heritage and its reputation of
high performance. (Mark, 2011)
Interpretation
After the first two stages of realizing the Porsche is a luxury item, the brain
then interprets that information in a way that makes sense using existing
information about the world. (Boundless Psychology, 2016) For those in
Canada, most owners viewed their cars as an expensive asset that must be
protected and well maintained. In Canada, winters can get very cold and
dangerous for cars. There can be a lot of snow accumulated throughout the
winter. Because of the previous stimuli created about the brand (Boundless
Psychology, 2016), most Porsche owners are hesitant or refuse to drive their
cars in the winter weather for fear of damaging the car, or the luxury item.
(Mark, 2011)
Marketing to the Perceptions
To market a Porsche to the Canadian public, Rawlinson is going to have to
take into account the perceptual filters and selective perception that the
consumers will have created, especially to market driving a Porsche in the
winter. As a brand focused mainly around sporty cars, the Canadian
consumers have already filtered their perceptions of Porsche to fit their
previous knowledge and the norms of a sports car. Those norms could be
low ride height, lack of traction, rear wheel drive, none of which would be
useful features driving in the snowy months of winter in Canada. The

Porsche 911, Boxter, and the Cayman are all small sporty cars that fit the
above description and would not perform well in the winter months according
to Canadian Porsche consumers. (Jackson & Hogg)
Selective Perception
Porsche owners in Canada view their vehicles so highly that they defend
themselves against any stimuli or idea that would damage their luxury item.
The idea of driving their vehicles in the winter is avoided because there is a
possibility it could damage the vehicle and therefore, the stimuli is avoided.
(Jackson & Hogg)
However, Rawlinson could attempt to market the vehicles in a way that
would be perceptually vigilant and reach out to the Canadian consumers and
help them to recognize the stimuli in a way that could be significant to the
consumers and help them to relate Porsche as a brand that can be driven in
all seasons. (Jackson & Hogg)(Mark, 2011)

Proposed Marketing Campaign

Rawlinson has an opportunity to change the brand perception of Porsche in
Canada and should do so though increased promotion of two models, the
Panamara and the Cayanne as all season vehicles. To do this, she should
use the Microsite, the brochure, and promote winter equipment through
different sales and deals.
Because of the preconceived notions of sporty cars and their usability in the
winter, it will be very hard for Rawlinson to change the Canadian consumers
selective perceptions and perceptual filters. However, Porsche does have
some models that can be advertised to change the view of Porsche as just a
sporty car brand. (Mark, 2011)
Porsche entered the sports utility vehicle market with the release of the
Cayenne. The Cayenne is a five seat, mid-sized vehicle which was designed
to appeal to families as a more practical vehicle. This SUV is different than
any other model Porsche had come out with and can be used to serve a
much different purpose than any of the other models sold by Porsche. SUVs
are much higher off the ground than a sporty car and have much more
durable wheels and tires. Therefore, this would be a perfect model to
advertise as an all season car. Advertisements for the Cayanne could show it
driving in all different seasons and all over different terrain showing that the
Cayanne is more of a durable utililty vehicle that can be used through all
different seasons. (Mark, 2011)

The newer model that also will be unveiling, the Panamera, could also be
advertised as an all-weather sporty vehicle. Most sporty cars are known to
have two doors and two seats with very little room for storage or usability.
The Panamera has four seats and four doors, but has the typical Porsche
body style shared by all of the other sports cars in Porsches line. Rawlinson
can use this difference in appearance to her advantage and advertise the
Panamera as a sporty car that can be used in all seasons and is more of an
everyday car than a 911. It could use the predefined perceptions that
Canadians have about driving a sporty car in the winter, and show the
Panamera to be a car made to be driven in those conditions. Advertisements
could show families driving quickly in the snow to show that while it is still a
sporty car, it can be driven in the snow and used for families. (Mark, 2011)
To help advertise the cars for winter driving, Rawlinson could offer
promotions for winter equipment to be given to potential or current Porsche
customers. For example, the new advertising of the Panamara could offer a
promotional clear car bra with every new purchase to protect the front end
during the winter months. Promotions for winter tires would also be
beneficial to help entice customers to drive their cars in the winter with
better tires.
Current vs. Proposed Schema
Marketers make use of perception to formulate marketing strategies. The
marketers use schemas and perceptual maps to help find out how products
are perceived by the target audience. A schema is a mental structure we use
to organize our knowledge of the world around us. They affect what we
notice, how we interpret things and how we make decisions. Schemas can
help find out the attributes or the characteristics that the consumer
associates with a certain product and they create the marketing strategy
around those perceptions to either enhance or combat those perceptions.
(Consumer Behavior)
Porsche Cars are:
Winter Car

High Quality

All season drivability

Porsche Cars
Sports Car
Expensive
Luxury Car

Durability
Good Value

According to the article and the schema above, the attributes that are closely
related with Porsche currently are that it is a high quality sports car or luxury
car and it is expensive. Currently Porsche cars are seen as luxury vehicles
that need to be taken care of and maintained. Many Porsche customers will
not drive their Porsches in the snow because it could be damaged from the
snow chipping paint off of the front, damaging the front end, or the
damaging the wheels. Therefore, the attributes of Porsche having all
season drivability, or it being classified as a winter car are not closely
related to the car brand itself. Because of this, it can also be said that
Porsche may not have the best value as a car because it cannot be driven
during one season. The durability of the car can also be questioned by
consumers because they dont believe it would last through a winter season
without having some sort of damage done to the car. (Dolan, 1999)
To create a successful marketing campaign that would help Porsche Canada
customers see Porches cars as being able to be driven in the winter, those
attributes that are not closely related to the brand would have to be
increased. If the marketing campaign discussed above is successful, the
schema would look a little different.

Winter Car
High Quality
Sports Car

Porsche Cars

All season drivability

Expensive

Luxury Car

Durability
Good Value

Because of the marketing plan above, the attributes that were originally not
associated with the brand like winter car, durability, and all season
drivability have moved closer on the perceptual map because they have
become related attributes. They are not as high as some of the other
attributes because only the Cayenne and the Panamara were advertised as
all season cars. Therefore, there are still cars that will not be considered all
season cars by Porsche consumers. The perceived value of Porsche cars also
increased because the possibility of them being an all season car increases
their usability. (Dolan, 1999) (Mark, 2011)

Works Cited
Boundless Psychology. (2016, September 20). Intrudicing the Perception
Process. Retrieved October 3, 2016, from Boundless:
https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychologytextbook/sensation-and-perception-5/introduction-to-perception39/introducing-the-perception-process-167-12702/
Consumer Behavior. (n.d.). Retrieved from IBS Center for Management
Research: http://www.icmrindia.org/courseware/Consumer
%20Behavior/CBC05.htm
Dolan, R. R. (1999). Analyzing Consumer Perceptions. Harvard Business
School .
Jackson, R. L., & Hogg, M. A. (n.d.). Sage Knowledge. Retrieved from
Encyclopedia of Identity: http://sk.sagepub.com/reference/identity/n183.xml
Mark, K. (2011). Porsche Canada: Selling Winter Driving. Richard Ivey School
of Business .