Key Assignment Final Draft
Introduction to Marketing (MKTG225-1501A-14)
Instructor; Heather Brant
Ralph Shanabarger, Feb 4, 2015
Company overview:
Porsche Enterprises Inc. engages in the sale of automobiles in the United States. The company
was incorporated in 1983 and is based in Lisle, Illinois. Porsche Enterprises Inc. operates as a
subsidiary of Porsche Automobile Holding SE.
Ferry Porsche (for short) His dream of the perfect sports car has always driven us – throughout
our history. And we get closer to achieving it every day. Within every concept, every
development and every model our heart goes into it. Along the way, we follow a plan, an ideal
that unites us all. We refer to it simply as the Porsche Principle. The underlying principle is to
always get the most out of everything. From day one, we have strived to translate performance
into speed – and success – in the most intelligent way possible. It’s no longer all about
horsepower, but more ideas per horsepower. This principle originates on the race track and is
embodied in every single one of our cars. We call it “Intelligent Performance”.
Competition:
“Engineering and design were considered the hallmarks of Porsche’s competitive advantage, and
rather than keeping its R&D under tight wraps, Porsche shared its R&D team of 2,300 engineers
with outside companies, and had built a lucrative engineering services business based on this
model. Through its 100% wholly-owned customer engineering development company, the
Porsche Engineering Group (PEG), Porsche made its wide-ranging expertise in the development
and production of vehicles available to clients from a variety of industries. PEG was considered
Porsche’s “secret weapon, enabling it to employ more engineers than if it worked alone, giving it
an edge in product development.” Porsche’s small size and market niche made it easier for other
auto manufacturers to trust that Porsche would not use the technology knowledge attained
through its engineering services division to compete head-to-head. Bringing the R&D functions
of the two firms too close together could potentially weaken Porsche engineers’ sense of
belonging and demotivate them. While Porsche was a company that thrived on healthy profit
margins, VW’s business model was all about volume. Furthermore, if Porsche engineering was
too closely associated with the entire VW portfolio, the company could lose its ability to sell
external engineering to other OEMs concerned that Porsche would be sharing strategies and
innovations with VW. The question facing Porsche’s senior leadership was how to ensure that the
integration of VW did not negatively affect Porsche’s outside engineering business.”
1
(https://mitsloan.mit.edu/LearningEdge/CaseDocs/08-075-What%27s%20Driving
%20Porsche.Henderson.pdf by Rebecca Henderson, Cate Reavis
August 25, 2009)
Research and the marketing strategy:
“We’ve always been ambitious. And we’ll make sure it stays that way. The focus of our company has
always been on people – whether it’s our customers or employees.
At the same time, the core element of our corporate objectives is value-creating growth. This provides us
with the means to invest in innovative technologies, new products and, above all, in our workforce. Our
aim is to be market leader. We want to grow profitably the Porsche way – with enthusiastic customers
and as an excellent, social and family-friendly employer.
We will also improve our processes and develop new ones, while ensuring a good rate of return. We
have everything we need to achieve these goals: emerging markets, fascinating vehicles and highly
motivated sta). Talking of our workforce, this is another area where we are looking to signi%cantly grow
by 2018. This also includes expanding the infrastructure accordingly.”
(h/p://www.porsche.com/usa/aboutporsche/overview/strategy2018/ n.a.)
The marketing mix objectives: There is but one company like this with the overall performance record.
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), based in Atlanta, Ga. is the exclusive U.S. importer of Porsche
