An In-Depth Analysis of the Marketing Strategies for Cybertruck Launch

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Tesla Cybertruck launch event, evaluating its marketing strategies through the STP model (segmentation, targeting, and positioning) and the 4Ps of marketing (product, price, placement, and promotion). The report dissects the key people involved, the timeline of events, and identifies both successes and failures, including the infamous window breaking incident. It further examines the public relations efforts following the event, comparing the Cybertruck launch to the Hummer EV launch and the Innocent Conkers smoothie mishap. The analysis provides a detailed overview of the marketing approaches, challenges, and public relations strategies employed during the Cybertruck launch, offering valuable insights into product launches and brand management.

Running head: MARKETING AND BUSINESS ADMINSITRATION
MARKETING AND BUSINESS ADMINSITRATION
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Answer 1:
In marketing terms STP denotes segmentation, targeting and positioning. It is a marketing
model that is designed to target the customers that are potentially the best inclined to buy a
specific product. The launch of the Cybertruck by Tesla points towards the utilization of STP
strategy to reach the right customers. The segmentation of the product can be done on the basis
of demographic, geographic and psychographic segments. Concerning the same, the car would
be more important for people of the higher income group who have large businesses, located at
places with significant travel needs and having a pro-environment mindset. In this case the
specific target would be the people that are ready to invest in a unique heavy vehicle that runs on
electricity. The customers of the larger income groups have been targeted subsequently by the
Cybertruck marketers. The positioning of the product is slightly complicated as it is not being
marketed as strictly a transport medium for businesses. In this case the STP of the Cybertruck is
slightly dissatisfying. The truck only seems to target people that are willing to invest in buying
the truck and make its best possible use. The positioning in the market is that of a newly evolved
innovative vehicle for interested buyers only.
Answer 2:
There are many key people in the launch. One of the most important people in the launch
is Elon Musk himself. If the entire launch is considered, there are many other key people
involved in the entire presentation. Franz is another important person who is involved in the
entire marketing and presentation process at the launch. Along with him there are other
important people that help in the testing process of the various attributes of the Cybertruck.
It is important to evaluate the timeline of the events that took place at the launch. Firstly,
it can be seen that Musk explains how revolutionary the new idea connected with Cybrtruck is.
The Cybertruck is projected to be a vehicle running on clean energy that has design concepts to
make it an optimally integrated vehicle. Moving forward, the cars body and the other important
features were explained by Musk. Musk calls his assistant to test a sledgehammer against a
normal truck door and then on the Cybertruck. This was an important part in the development of
the event. This provided the audiences with a kind of shock value that added to the promotion of
the Cybertruck. Moving forward, the window glasses of the car were tested. At first the glass
materials were tested by throwing metal balls on them. However, the second part went bad as
when his assistant threw a metal ball on the actual windows of the windowpanes badly cracked.
This was undoubtedly an incident that was unwarranted. This was a part of the event that went
wrong for the organization. The car’s adaptive air suspension was demonstrated next.
Subsequently, the performance measurements and comparative performances were provided on

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the giant screen. The later part of the event showed how well performing the vehicle was a truck.
A quadbike was mounted on back of the vehicle. This was a good thing as it showcased the most
important aspects connected with the vehicle. The interactive elements connected with this part
were very important factors.
The events can be analyzed through the utilization of the 4Ps of product, price, placement
and promotion. It is important to understand that the product is innovative and effective in terms
of new value creation for the customers. Additionally, it is important to evaluate that the price is
very high. The price is kept high as a higher income customer base would be important for
selling the innovative vehicle. The promotion is done through the event and the added benefit of
being able to charge another electric vehicle is provided. The placement value is derived through
placing the vehicle in the more technologically savvy and well informed places. It is important to
understand that the marketing mix that has been chosen for the product is niche. The Cybertruck
cannot be marketed among the normal customers of trucks. Hence, the idea is to present the truck
to a potential customer base that is open to using innovative vehicles and is willing to pay for the
same.
Answer 3:
The window breaking incident was a major setback in the launch of the vehicle. It was a
major failure as Elon Musk was focused on projecting the vehicle as a strong counterpart of the
normal trucks. After the event one of the major steps towards establishing good public relations
taken by Elon Musk was giving an explanation through a twitter post. Musk explained that
hitting the door with the sledgehammer first weakened the base of the glass. After the steel balls
were thrown the glass cracked as the impact was doubled. However, the fact that the front
window was also cracked along with the side windows did not go down with the people that
were interested in the product. The attempt to prove that the windows were unbreakable ended in
failure. This was an important issue that required the development of effective PR strategies.
However, the main problem with the PR strategy through twitter was that Elon Musk did not
maintain an interactive mode of communication with the audiences. He did not explain why the
front window of the prototype broke. This could hamper the prospects of the post launch public
relations to some extent. In essence, the value of development for the product was hampered. A
better PR campaign to make up for the glass window issue could have been undertaken.

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Answer 4:
The Hummer EV launch has more elements of surprise than the launch of the Cybertruck.
This is because the Hummer EV provides some useful information for the audiences while
actually withholding many other important information for the company. It is important to value
the proposed productivity of any product that is to be launched. Another major difference that
can be seen at this point in time is the fact that the date of launch was announced for the Hummer
EV. However, in case of Cybertruck the promotion was done in the launch event itself. The
content in case of the Cybertuck launch was more engaging and effective. The product, price,
promotion and placement value was understood more. This was not the case with the Hummer
EV launch. However, the impact that was created through the product was far more engaging
with the audience in case of the Hummer EV launch.
Answer 5:
The Conkers mishap by Coca-Cola owned brand Innocent can be compared with the
public relations efforts from Tesla concerning the Cybertruck’s broken window mishap. In this
case it can be said that Innocent handled the issue very well. In case of Innocent’s Conker
campaign, the negative reactions of the public in regards to the campaign that sarcastically tried
to promote the consumption of Conker milk. The organization took a very positive approach by
reissuing a statement that requested the target audiences to not consume the Conker milk
product. This was an example of constant interactions with the target audience. However, this
was certainly not the case with the way Tesla handled the window break incident. In this case
Elon Musk did not answer the questions of the audiences in regards to the breaking of the front
mirror. This was somewhat mishandling of the entire incident that occurred during the launch.

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References
Elon Musk Explains--Sort of--Why the Cybertruck's Windows Broke During a Demo (2019).
Available at: https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/elon-musk-cybertruck-demo-broken-windows-
explanation.html (Accessed: 5 February 2020).
Fortuna, C. and Fortuna, C. (2020) Super Bowl Ads Announce Hummer Electric Truck & The
"Quiet Revolution" — Part 1 | CleanTechnica, CleanTechnica. Available at:
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/02/02/super-bowl-ads-announce-hummer-electric-truck-the-
quiet-revolution-part-1/ (Accessed: 5 February 2020).
How Innocent was the ‘Conker’ publicity stunt? (2019). Available at:
https://fuzionblog.wordpress.com/2019/11/11/how-innocent-was-the-conker-publicity-stunt/
(Accessed: 5 February 2020).
Tesla Cybertruck Unveiling Event: Watch the $39,900 Bulletproof Truck's Full Reveal
Presentation (2020). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P_1_oLGREM
(Accessed: 5 February 2020).
The 4 Ps of The Marketing Mix Simplified (2020). Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mco8vBAwOmA (Accessed: 5 February 2020).