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Why provide premium cars and then cover them in decidedly non-premium ReachNow stickers? I'm surprised this service is actually _by_ BMW. I understand wanting

Why provide premium cars and then cover them in decidedly non-premium ReachNow stickers? I'm surprised this service is actually _by_ BMW. I understand wanting to use your cars for marketing, but at least do what zipcar did: don't place any stickers on the driver side so the driver feels like they're getting into a premium car.

jonknee 11y ago
They are the cheapest models BMW makes. They are premium compared to other shared cars (Car2Go!), not compared to BMWs.
- guptaneil 11y ago
  Sure, but BMW's branding is that they only make premium cars. This would be a bit like Apple plastering its iPhone SE or Apple Watch Sport in poorly-designed stickers because hey, it's their low-end model.
  - jonknee 11y ago
    I just walked around and saw a bunch of their cars and thought it was neat that there were so many. If they weren't labeled I would have had no idea. At the moment it's great advertising.
rconti 11y ago
shrug seems fine to me. Doesn't change the enjoyment of the car. Yeah, it's got a sticker on it, but likely an urban dweller without a car who only rents one for occasional trips would be relatively proud of their lifestyle, not embarassed by a sticker on the car.
michaelwolo 11y ago
Maybe that's the point? BMW wouldn't want to cannibalize their primary source of revenue (selling luxury cars). One way to maintain the value of owning a BMW is to lower the status of their rental cars. Keeps owners happy and likely doesn't bother renters.
- ajju 11y ago
  Can't speak for BMW or ReachNow, but can tell you from working with that that no one at ReachNow wants to "lower the status of their rental cars".
woodpanel 11y ago
Take car2go as an example. Their product branding scheme achieves 1) chrystal clear advertising 2) differentiation in value vs. an unbranded car 3) easy recognition for users that are trying to find their car2go DriveNov/ReachNow are nicer cars, but also more expensive and that places their buisness plan under different constraints. Just to prove 3): driveNow's placement of branding on their cars feels more premium than car2go's. But this low-profile labeling comes with a cost. Drive now had to implement a feature in their mobile app for making the car honk or flashing its lights because otherwise you've had a hard time finding your booked car between all the other black or white BMW1s.

jonknee 11y ago

They are the cheapest models BMW makes. They are premium compared to other shared cars (Car2Go!), not compared to BMWs.

guptaneil 11y ago
Sure, but BMW's branding is that they only make premium cars. This would be a bit like Apple plastering its iPhone SE or Apple Watch Sport in poorly-designed stickers because hey, it's their low-end model.
- jonknee 11y ago
  I just walked around and saw a bunch of their cars and thought it was neat that there were so many. If they weren't labeled I would have had no idea. At the moment it's great advertising.

rconti 11y ago

shrug seems fine to me. Doesn't change the enjoyment of the car. Yeah, it's got a sticker on it, but likely an urban dweller without a car who only rents one for occasional trips would be relatively proud of their lifestyle, not embarassed by a sticker on the car.

michaelwolo 11y ago

Maybe that's the point? BMW wouldn't want to cannibalize their primary source of revenue (selling luxury cars). One way to maintain the value of owning a BMW is to lower the status of their rental cars. Keeps owners happy and likely doesn't bother renters.

ajju 11y ago
Can't speak for BMW or ReachNow, but can tell you from working with that that no one at ReachNow wants to "lower the status of their rental cars".

woodpanel 11y ago

Take car2go as an example. Their product branding scheme achieves 1) chrystal clear advertising 2) differentiation in value vs. an unbranded car 3) easy recognition for users that are trying to find their car2go DriveNov/ReachNow are nicer cars, but also more expensive and that places their buisness plan under different constraints. Just to prove 3): driveNow's placement of branding on their cars feels more premium than car2go's. But this low-profile labeling comes with a cost. Drive now had to implement a feature in their mobile app for making the car honk or flashing its lights because otherwise you've had a hard time finding your booked car between all the other black or white BMW1s.