MARKETING MIX – CITROËN DS3
Comparison France – China

Grégoire Duffour - 20140202930

Marketing Mix of the Citroen DS3 in France and China

Citroën is a French automobile manufacturer. André Citroën founded the company in 1919. The brand has always been known for its cutting-edge technology and, on several occasions, it revolutionized the automotive industry. Citroën notably created the “Traction Avant” in 1934, the utility H, the 2CV, DS, GS, BX, SM, CX or, XM which are all avant-garde creations. In Paris, February 5, 2009, for the 90 years of Citroën, and after a week of speculation about the resurrection of the DS, Citroën presented the launch of a new family of premium models, “Citroën DS”. A premium line based on the classic
The goal is to break with standardization and to provide a response to consumer desires. The car is playful, fun, urban, and rather upscale. Unlike France, the DS3 is not intended to restore a youthful brand but rather to offer an innovative product that breaks with the range of available cars in China.
Promotion:
In China the DS3 was also highlighted as a young product, easy to access and to use. To sell the product, Citroen has focused its communication on the “French chic”. The car is presented as a luxury product, almost as “haute couture”. The woman who is acting in the advertisement is a Chinese elegant woman probably coming from the fashion world. To escape this environment tasteless, she disguises herself and hand drive her DS3. Driving this car is a kind of escape from the everyday but also to have a fun activity while remaining elegant.
On the other hand the brand played on the luxury product appearance highlighting the car in department stores. When creating the "Galeries Lafayette" in Beijing (Lao Fo Ye), the brand has created a miniature DS3 was slipped into make-up kits. Upstairs men, the car sat beside the male ready–made clothes.
An image of luxury with the French returned to China for an unknown brand.
On the other hand the DS3 and more generally the DS line didn’t communicate about the affiliation with Citroen. The goal was to launch a new brand totally independent and really new in the Chinese automotive