Brand Management (MBA- 641M)

CIA-1

A Report on ZMET Analysis of Mercedes-Benz

Submitted under the guidance of

Dr.Barkathunnisa

Submitted By-

“Group 2 ”

Section “M5”
Christ University Bangalore
Central Campus

Date of Submission –

MBA PROGRAMME
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), BANGALORE
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 Group Members with Registration

“Group Number 2”

1. Nivedita M 2027538

2. Rachana B Rao 2027545

3. Megha Ajith 2027550

4. Harsh Deep Mittal 2027805

5. Nandha Kishore S 2027823

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I. INTRODUCTION

 ZMET Test:
Brand Image is the arrangement of convictions that a
consumer conveys for a specific brand. It is the mental
yield that all organizations need to accomplish after the
broad branding practices that they do. Be that as it may, Image Source:
https://www.olsonzaltman.com/zmet
the main piece of any marking interaction is to make a
brand personality. Brand Identity, as begat by Kapferer, is the thing that the organization
needs to project to the customers through its genuineness, for example brand, plan logo,
estimating and its emotionality, which is the passionate characteristics the organization
connects to its item. This cycle thus makes a specific situation of the brand as an unmistakable
space in the buyer’s mind. Brand Positioning is difficult to accomplish, yet once situated,
repositioning is significantly harder. How much fruitful the organization has been in its
undertaking can be measured by investigating the brand hole, which is the contrast between
brand character what's more, image picture. There are many instruments to examine the brand
gap.

Marketing and marketing research have been built on a model of customer behavior that is
deeply rooted in a linear view of marketing activities for decades. Academics and practitioners
alike are challenging major organizing frameworks for marketing and marketing activities on
a more regular basis. As a result, marketers are looking for new ways and tools to assist them
comprehend the interplay between attitudes, emotions, and product/brand choice. The
Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET), a patented market research tool,
invented by Harvard Professor Gerald Zaltman, has recently attracted a lot of attention.

 Relationship between Brand Identity, Brand Image and Brand Gap

Brand identity encompasses all of the strategies required to distinguish one brand from others.
It reflects how a company wishes to be perceived by customers. Personality, Positioning, and
Brand Communication are the three components of brand identity. The result of brand

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positioning is brand image, which shows how customers perceive the brand in their minds.
Every person perceives a brand differently and develops different images based on their life
experiences and some distinguishing characteristics. A positive Brand Image denotes a one-
of-a-kind connection to a brand. A brand has the ability to influence a customer's purchasing
decisions. Brand is a post-purchase differentiator that enables customers to make quick and
easy decisions. Brand Gap is the distinction between Brand Identity and Brand Image. Brand
Gap measures a brand's success in reflecting its identity in the minds of customers.

Image Source:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffanyv88.com%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fslideplayer.com%2Fslide%2F4881466%2
F&psig=AOvVaw2s8NpWERF3fuwA6a8okDIo&ust=1638018390051000&source=images&cd=vfe
&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCJj9_p6MtvQCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ

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II. BRAND STORY

Mercedes-Benz is a global division of Daimler AG, a

German automaker. The Mercedes-Benz brand is used for
automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. The headquarters
of Mercedes-Benz are in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg,
Germany. The name first appeared under Daimler-Benz in
Image Source:
1926, but it can be traced back to Daimler's 1901 Mercedes https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil
e:Mercedes_Benz_Logo_11.jpg
and Karl Benz's 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen, widely
regarded as the first automobile.

Mercedes-Benz traces its roots back to Karl Benz's invention of the first petrol-
powered car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, which was patented in January 1886, and
Gottlieb Daimler and engineer Wilhelm Maybach's conversion of a stagecoach later
that year with the addition of a petrol engine. Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft
introduced the Mercedes automobile in 1901.

Image Source: Company’s Website

Following the merger of Karl Benz's and Gottlieb Daimler's companies into the
Daimler-Benz company in 1926, the first Mercedes-Benz brand name vehicles were

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produced. Mercedes-Benz pioneered many technological and safety innovations that
have since become standard in other vehicles. Mercedes-Benz is one of the world's
most well-known and established automotive brands, as well as the world's oldest
automotive brand still in operation today.

The Three-Pointed Star of Mercedes signifies the company’s extension of its

Automotive Expertise in the fields of “Aviation”, “Water”, and “Road Transport”.

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III. ZMET PROCESS:

4) Mental Map of 1) Brand

the respondents Selection

3) An eye for 2) Story Telling

metaphoric through selected
details Images

Graph showing the ZMET Process adopted for this study

Step 1

Brand Selected – Mercedes Benz

Step 2

Story Telling Through Selected Images - Collage of all selected images

Step 3

An eye for Metaphorical details – Explanation of Metaphors used to convey the brand
association to the respondents

Step 4

Mental Map of respondents – Presentation of Collage to the respondents to understand their

association with the number of images and brand recall value for the selected brand

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IV. PICTURE COLLAGE

V. METAPHORICAL REASONING

Image 1: Number 44 with scenery

Mercedes has a strong association

with land, water and air as the parent
company Daimler has its wide reach in
all the 3 ways of transportation by
offering high quality engines for the
cars, trucks, yachts, ships and
aircrafts. Even the three-pointed star
logo of the Mercedes represents that

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on the ground, at sea, and in the air, Daimler engines are powerful and common. Also, 44 is
associated with Lewis Hamilton, who is the formula 1 racer for Mercedes. 44 is his jersey’s
number.

Image 2: Number of people in different groups

This picture of people depicts the number of people that

could be accommodated in the automobiles produced by
Benz especially cars. There are coupes, there are 4 door
sedans and there are 7-seater SUVs. It shows that Benz as
a brand wants to retain the customer when they grow
personally as a family from two persons to more than 6
persons. They want to make sure that once a Benz customer
is always a Benz customer. Recently Benz is also entering
into EV segments with various varieties of models.

Image 3: Luxury

Mercedes – Benz is one of the worlds largest manufacturers of luxury passenger cars. The image
shown above has been used to portray the opulent nature of the brand. With sensuality and pure
sophistication, Mercedes has created vehicles that showcases ultimate luxury. Their vehicles have
spaciousness, comfort, elegant design and finest materials. All these attributes combined together
provides the customers luxury experience at the highest levels.

Benz the name itself is a dream for

many youngsters and many people
in the world. It has become a status
symbol for the customer to own a
Benz in their lifetime. It had
become one of the iconic brands
for the rich people of the country.

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Models such as S-class, Maybach, G-wagon are purely a status symbol. People who own this are
luxury lovers and are rich by default. Benz also makes sure that the people who buy these products
are satisfied for what they pay for. The facilities inside the cars, the rich outlook of the car and the
power delivery are all curated in such a way that it shows their luxury and rich status in the name
itself.

Image 3: Meticulous and eye for a detail

The Image shows the detailed cross-section of

a watch and how precise work it is to fix the
needles, gears and other components in the
process of manufacturing a watch. Another
major factor which comes to everyone’s mind
when we hear the word Benz is the sleek,
stunning and meticulous design of the Benz
cars. Each car design is made for perfection. Even the smallest of details of the cars such as power
window buttons are made in a perfect and well-crafted manner. Their attention to detail is so elegant,
rich and created to perform. Each type of the car has its own design language which could say what
type of design it belongs to whether it is a sports car or is it a family car or a SUV.

Image 4: Reliability

The reliability index of Benz cars stands in the

place of 3 out of 5 making it one of the reliable
cars in the industry. People pay the price to own
a Benz not only for its luxury but also for its
long-standing reliability factor. On an average
Benz car has a safety rating of 4 which makes it
safer than other brands. Thus reliability is
strongly associated with the brand itself and it is
accepted and relished by the owners of the Benz.

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Image 5: Association with Germany

Founded by Karl Benz Gottlieb Daimler in the

year 1926, it has its home country as Germany.
Germany by default is the parent for world’s
most stunning manufacturing and engineering
marvels. Germany not only famous for its
engineering but also for its beautifully sculpted
arches and palaces. People in the older days
lived a luxurious life in huge palaces.

Another important thing which Germany is

known for, is its “Oktoberfest”. This is a
festival which is held in the late September and
early October every year celebrating the
consumption of beer. This festival runs for 16
to 18 days with more than 6 million people visiting Germany every year. Thus, these two pictures depict
the home country of Benz.

Image 6: Brand’s Slogan

Through the image shown we are trying to depict the tagline

of Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz has their strong belief that
their products are the best or else nothing. Thus, even their
tagline says “THE BEST OR NOTHING”. This slogan
certainly embodies the quality of the vehicles provided by the
brand. Mercedes-Benz vows to be the best in terms of every
aspect of its vehicles such as innovation, performance, design,
safety and environment. Their slogan certainly does help in
representing what Mercedes as a brand stands for.

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