MERCEDES-BENZ: Assessing Opulence in the Age of Digital Media
The Mercedes-Benz, a car so luxurious that it is synonymous with opulence and wealth. I must admit that I am not a car guy… at all. I am no Mona Lisa Vito; I don’t know anything about cars, their engines, its design etc. As long as it can drive well, play music, and take me to my destination safely, we’re good! However, I can appreciate cars as a work of art, which helps me better understand peoples unwavering devotion towards them. Plus it helps that the automotive industry is a booming with a lot of interesting visibility in the digital landscape. So, diving into this research with this in mind has yielded some interesting observations and discoveries.
The Mercedes-Benz website is exactly as I had expected it to be, even with my limited interest and knowledge in cars. This can be seen as either a good thing or a bad thing (more on that later). The page shows a Mercedes-Benz truck, zooming through some oversaturated landscape that nearly every car advertisement has used at least once in their campaigns. The mobile version is not much different, with a new product displayed with a swipe up. Every advertisement with a car plays up the themes of wealth and luxury by showing these models against backdrops of ultra contemporary mansions, glitzy cities, and gorgeous landscapes.
Like I mentioned earlier, this website interface was everything I had expected it to be, but I am not entirely sure this is a good thing. The page had everything you needed; a simple menu detailing prices and models, flashy pictures showing a Benz’s sleek design and advanced technological features, and a portal to log into your own account. But, the website (both mobile and desktop) is almost too simple and quite honestly, boring. It isn't pushing the envelope in any way to make me MORE interested in purchasing a Benz. The only remotely interesting thing on the website is that you can “build” your own with an archaic interface that doesn’t really do much for the user experience. Yet, there is no interesting or innovative user experience tied to the website and its promotions. While purchasing a car is a much more intimate experience that requires an in person assessment at some point, the online features do not compel me to want to do so by any means.
Therefore, while the website uses a layout and design that is very “what you see is what you get” that is very easily digestible for the new user, it doesn’t really do much for the brand. The website lets the product speak for itself because it is an established brand with significant market share, but is it enough? Does it need a new innovative website or campaign? Probably not yet, as Mercedes-Benz is holding up well in the market. That being said, it wouldn’t hurt if the brand decided to take a fun creative risk with an upcoming campaign. God knows they have the budget.
