Design Briefing

The meaning of the car

The Tesla Model S is a high-end electric car. It has an aerodynamic design and has lots of space. This means that there is enough room for five persons and 2 children seats. The car is expensive, but has  impressive performance. For example an acceleration from 0-50 mph in 5,6 seconds and a top speed of 120 mph.

As a conclusion one can say that the Tesla Model S looks like a fast sports car and has also the qualities that go with it, but at the same time it has some real family features. It has enough space for the whole family.

For the owner driving and owning a Tesla Model S is a statement. Most important is that you drive a family car, but have the feeling it is a sports car. But you are also driving an electric car; having the feeling you are in the lead of the technology, being an innovator. You are not only driving an electric car, you are also driving a sports car, which can also serve as a family car. This enhances the statement, by driving something unexpected and different from all the other cars. Especially the contradiction of a sports car and a family car can really give you a feeling being an innovator and in the lead. The Tesla Model S has a streamlined design what does not only stand out for combustion engines, but also among other electric cars. You are truly unique!

The meaning of the brand

Tesla has experience in electric cars. They launched the Tesla Roadster, which can be seen as a the first competitive (with the fuel cars) electric sports car, with its performance and design.

Tesla's assortment consists of only electric car and stands for “Premium Electric Vehicles”. They are specialized and focused in electric cars; they want to show that an electric car does not mean that it should be a weird-looking with average performance. Also with the Tesla Model S they want to show that it is possible to have a family car with outstanding performance and a good design.

Purpose of the ad

By developing the ad for the Tesla Model S, we want people to get to know the car. More specifically, we want them to understand and know what the performance of the car is. Since the performance of the car is high compared to its price range, we want people to have a positive attitude towards this (electric) car. They have to be amazed by its possibilities, performance, vibe and design. The aim is to let our target group believe that they need the car, either for sustainability, space, performance or any other reason. This attitude should result in people to be more open to consider an electric car, more specifically the Tesla Model S, when making purchasing decision. The behavior we want people to adopt is for them to try the car and of course to purchase it afterwards.

In order to do so, the advertising strategy for electric cars should be changed. The Tesla Model S offers great specifications to focus on the car and its performance rather than driving on electricity, sustainability, etc. when setting up an advertisement. The Tesla Model S should be communicated as a high performance, high quality and a spacious car for business men with a family. This target group needs a business car which can also provide enough space for the rest of the family. We chose for this strategy because electric cars have a very negative image. People think they are expensive, low-performance, boring and mainly developed for tree-huggers. In order to overcome this prejudice and to support the sales of the Tesla Model S, the advertising aspect of this car need to be approached in another way. Compared to other electric cars, the Tesla Model S is a high performance electrical car which targets business men with family. We therefore want to advertise the Tesla Model S as a normal (business) car that also happens to be electrical.

For this new car of Tesla we refined the target group of Tesla Motors. By targeting business men with family, the aim is to reach a niche market. We want them to know that the brand is high-performance, high-quality and streamlined design. By developing the ad for Tesla Model S, we aim for enhanced brand awareness among the group of potential customers.

Target group of the Tesla Model S and its relation to the brand

The target group has been discussed extensively in our previous blog article. Now we want to discuss the relation of this target group to the brand. The brand stands for high-performance, masculinity, sports and high-quality. This brand image is supported by the specifications and design of the car. The vehicle has a sporty design to give it a masculine vibe. Furthermore the acceleration, top-speed and driving range is relatively high which implies masculinity, performance and quality. In this regard the target group fits very well with these characteristics of the brand. The target group, however have some additional demands. Even though they love the sporty design, the car has to be ‘serious’ enough to function as a business car and spacious enough to be a family car. This definition of the target group for the Tesla Model S is a further refinement and specification of the target group for Tesla in general. With other words, the target group of the Tesla Model S still fits perfectly into the target group of the Tesla brand. The relation between the Tesla Model S target market and the brand could therefore be classified as strong.