The growing importance of maintaining tradition in brand competition
Under the term history marketing, a number of activities have been carried out in recent years with the aim of using the immense possibilities - especially in communication - that history offers for strong brands. German manufacturers have taken a pioneering role in this area. Especially museums play an important role in public perception. After the opening of the new Mercedes Benz Museum in 2006, the Adam Opel Company announced a reorganization of their former factory grounds, in which the creation of a company museum is also planned. After completion, an interested general public will have an unimpeded view of the extensive, long-existing collection of this historic company. The spectacular new Porsche Museum in Stuttgart Zuffenhausen is to be opened this year, and the modernized and expanded BMW Museum will open in summer 2008 directly adjacent to the BMW World. Together with the Automobile City successfully staged for many years in Wolfsburg as well as the "Museum Mobile" of the Audi Company, this ensemble of automotive cult sites impressively demonstrates the importance of German companies in the development of the automobile.
The fascination of classic cars and the communicative potential are best experienced at numerous driving events, trade fairs and shows on this topic. The Techno Classica in Essen holds a special place. At this fair, about 1000 international exhibitors show the entire product spectrum concerning classic cars to more than 150,000 visitors. All automobile manufacturers are represented at this show and increasingly present historic topics at their stands to support the current brand news. However, other shows like Retro Classics in Stuttgart and the Classic Motor show in Bremen confirm this positive trend with an ever increasing number of visitors. Regarding the driving events, the "2000 KM through Germany" has been one of the most successful rallies for 20 years. Hundreds of thousands of spectators follow the event as the rolling museum drives across the country, and it made about 120 million contacts through press and TV coverage in 2007. The attractiveness of German old-timers is confirmed by numerous auctions, where the prices have considerably increased in recent years.
