Digital Marketing and its Impact: Thor Trucks Electric Truck Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Thor Trucks' digital marketing strategies for its electric truck. It begins with an executive summary highlighting key aspects of the company's approach, followed by an introduction to the electric truck market and Thor Trucks' ET-One model. The report delves into a situational analysis, examining the company's launch strategy, particularly its use of digital marketing to compete with Tesla. PESTEL and SWOT analyses are conducted to assess the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors influencing the company, as well as its internal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Customer analysis includes segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies. The report also addresses potential challenges in the Australian market, outlines required marketing objectives, and proposes a budget allocation for the marketing mix. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, emphasizing the importance of digital marketing in Thor Trucks' success. The report highlights the innovative use of digital marketing to promote the product and overcome budget constraints. The report is a comprehensive study of Thor Trucks' marketing approach, providing insights into the electric truck market and its challenges. The report also provides an overview of the challenges the company faced, including the competitive landscape and budget constraints. The report is a valuable resource for students and professionals interested in digital marketing and the electric vehicle industry.

Digital marketing and its impact

1
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................2
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Analysis of the various aspects of product.................................................................................3
Situational analysis.................................................................................................................3
PESTEL Analysis...............................................................................................................4
SWOT Analysis.................................................................................................................7
Customer analysis for electric truck.......................................................................................9
Segmentation and targeting approach................................................................................9
Positioning approach..........................................................................................................9
Problems that product may be face in Australian market......................................................9
Required marketing objectives for the company (Marketing mix strategy)........................10
Budget allocation for the marketing mix strategy for the product...........................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................13

2
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
Executive Summary
The company named ‘Thor trucks’ has launched its new product of electric truck
which is very environment friendly by using electricity as fuel. The company has launched its
product on the same day on which its big rival ‘Tesla’ launched its new electric truck with
attractive features. Although ‘Thor trucks’ had a very limited budget to adopt any marketing
techniques that is why it used digital marketing technique for promoting and positioning of
the product. The company wisely used the name of its rival Tesla for promoting its product
while adopting techniques of digital marketing.
Situational analysis has been done for the company to identify its suitable marketing
mix. Main challenges that the company might be faced while introducing the product in
Australian market is also scrutinised in order to develop an idea about market scenario for
launching the product. The major objectives of marketing of the product has been analysed
and a budget allocation also implemented for knowing the perfect marketing strategy of the
product.

3
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
Introduction
Thor trucks have launched a semi-truck which is electrically powered. It is highly
useful for the transport industry. The ET-One model of the truck was launched in 2017. In
2018, the company launched fully electric duty delivery trucks. It runs with minimum voice
and avoids unhealthy fumes of diesel vehicles because it can run above 300 miles even in one
single charge with an 80,000 pond of load. The base price of the truck is $150,000 (Lora
Kolodny, 2018).
In this report, a study will be done over the Situational analysis and Customer analysis
of the company for the product on the bases of the tools PESTEL analysis and SWOT
analysis. For the particular marketing objectives of the firm, the marketing mixed strategy
will also be analysed.
Analysis of the various aspects of product
Situational analysis
The ET one model of Thor trucks was launched in November 2017; in the same
month Tesla was also ready to launch the semi electric truck. Despite of the limitation of the
budget, the Thor trucks decided to launch its model of electric truck in the same month in
which its strong rival Tesla was launching its semi electric truck. Thor truck planned the
marketing strategy of its product in an efficient manner. Thor truck offered Ashlee Vance
from Bloomberg to write a story related to the comparison between Thor trucks and Tesla
(Vance, 2020).
Their headline was ‘Thor trucks was beating Tesla’s product on the street’. Just after the story
telling by Ashlee Vance on Bloomberg, Thor truck had a deep look of ET-one at Trucks.com.
It was planned to reveal the access of Thor trucks on Trucks.com just after one hour of access
to Bloomberg. Lastly, Thor trucks planned a day with Media Blitz to ensure about the
maximum and full coverage of the knowledge about their product. They adopt the techniques
of digital marketing for the success of their product by creating awareness about the product
(Lora Kolodny, 2018).
In spite of facing a very tough competition by rival Tesla, with the help of digital
marketing techniques, Thor trucks made their marketing strategy to beat its rival even
launching their product on the same day (Bijal N. Zaveri, 2019).

4
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
PESTEL Analysis
(1) Political Environment:
Political environment was not very much favourable to Thor trucks. The profitability and
chances of survival of the product was very least. The taxation policies are very high and
reduce the profitability of the firm. The fluctuations in the global business scenario
demotivate the new launching of products. U.S. government is also not stable in the business
sectors because of the changing scenario of the business because of the crucial relationships
with other countries. Automotive industry is facing very tough competition in cost of
products because of meeting the government regulations on environmental safety and control
on emission of harmful gases (Patrick Plötz, 2019).
Fleet and transport industries have to follow strict rule towards controlling the emission
of harmful gases in the environment. Political guidelines and regulations was one of the
greatest challenges that Thor industry had to face while making the model of Truck.
Although, because of the tough competition given by the truck of Tesla, the political
environment was very challenging for the Thor trucks (Maria Taljegard, 2016).
(2) Economic Environment:
The financial position of the company was not very much good. They were facing the
problem related to budget allocation for the marketing strategies of their new product.
Although the company is delivering a satisfying financial results but making a non- polluting
electric vehicle cost a lot to the company. A lot of research related to development of the new
vehicle is very costly for an average firm. After the production of the vehicle, a considerable
amount of fund is required for marketing the product in such a scenario where strong rivals
are launching their product with same features (PETERS, 2020). Although, the economic
scenario of the country is found healthy by analysing the major economic indicators of the
company like GDP, GNP and other products. There is not a position of inflation or deflation
inside the country. However GDP growth rate is expected to fall below 2% to 3%. Overall the
economic scenario of U.S. seems to be in sound position in 2019 (Burak Sen, 2017).
(3) Social Environment:
The people of the society will be extremely benefitted by the vehicle of electric charge
because this new product of the company is a non-polluting vehicle. The social environment

5
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
of the new product is very favourable. Thor trucks claims that it can run through 300 miles in
a single electric charge. Before the launching of such types of electric vehicles, drivers and
public have to deal with vehicle using petrol and diesel as a fuel. Very harmful gases releases
in the environment by burning of petrol and diesel. These harmful gases like carbon di oxide,
methane, carbon mono oxide and other gases are not only leads towards global warming but
also results in various diseases related to respiratory system (Saumya Mathur, 2018).
(4) Technological Environment:
There was a lot of operating and technological challenges exist while manufacturing and
launching the new electric truck of the company. The CEO of the company named Dakota
Semler stated in a conference that they are manufacturing petroleum and diesel based trucks
that are why they themselves are a part of problem towards the environment. Technological
inventions were extremely needed for the protection of the people and the environment. The
co-founder of the company named Giordano Sordoni also stated that making electric truck
technology is not only a method of generating money but also it’s a new way to solve the
environmental problems up to a certain limit (ZumMallen, 2020).
(5) Environmental aspects:
The new electric trucks launched by Thor trucks are very much environment friendly.
Although many of the companies of fleet industries claims about green technology but it is
very rare that some of them prove it. The well capitalized companies like Tesla and Toyota
motors also claiming for a better and fuel efficient technologies but Thor trucks which a very
small in capital and have only eighteen employee team manufacture the ET-One model of
Thor trucks with green and environment friendly technology (Agency, 2020). No doubt the
environmental aspects for Thor trucks are very favourable and contribute towards the
reduction of emission of harmful gases inside the environment (Patrick Plötz, 2019).
(6) Legal aspects:
The production of the new vehicle was abided by regulations of the U.S. Department of
transport (DOT). The national transport safety board (NTSB) also provide guidelines for the
trucks in order to stop the accidental cases. It was quite challenging for Thor trucks to
produce and engineer a new vehicle which matches towards the requirements of legal aspects
of the country (Hardman, 2016).

6
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
EPA (Environment protection agency) and NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration) was set the strict regulations related to the emission of harmful gases like
carbon di oxide, carbon mono oxide and other harmful gases. To follow the requirements of
these regulatory authorities the engineers of transport industry has to focus over the fuel
efficiency of the vehicles by cutting the emission of carbon particles. ‘Thor trucks’ that is
why made the vehicle running with electric charge to make it environment friendly are more
favourable towards the legal scenario of the country (Saumya Mathur, 2018).
On the bases of the PESTEL analysis of Thor trucks, it is very clear that manufacturing
the new product of electric truck used for transport was a very challenging task for the
employees of Thor trucks.
SWOT Analysis
(1) Strength of the company
The major strength of Thor trucks is their engineers and designers who made unique
design of the truck which is very fuel efficient because it is completely electric truck which
can run through 300 miles in a single charge. The product is environment friendly because of
its non-polluting features.
Apart from all these special characteristics of the truck, the company is very well in
making its marketing strategy in a very less budget. It takes help of digital marketing while
spending on costly advertisements. It makes a strategy to use the name of its big rival Tesla in
their marketing campaign who is going to launch the product with same features on the same
day. Thor trucks made a story on Bloomberg with a heading that ‘Thor trucks is going to beat
Tesla’ which became viral. After that they spend a whole day in shooting for Trucks.com by
making every minute detail of their product available to the users (Vance, 2020).
The efficient marketing department are also major strength of the company (Katelyn Purnell,
2020).
(2) Weaknesses of the company
The very low budget is the major weakness of the company. Company is not having
sufficient fund to sponsor their marketing campaign at a huge level, comparative to its rival
firm Tesla. Another weakness of the company is having very limited number of employee.
For the continuous production of the product of Thor Company, it is essential for having a

7
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
sufficient number of employees so that the company can be ensured about the continuous
production of the electric trucks. However the electric trucks are very much nature friendly
product but the lack of infrastructure which may be able to support the electric charging
facilities for trucks may prove drastic to the demand of electric trucks (F Diez-Martin, 2019).
(3) Opportunities for the Company
The firm has the opportunities to sell its product of electric trucks in the global market as
well as in domestic market. During the forecast period of 2019-2024, the electric truck
market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.38% (intellegence,
2020). Government of U.S. and other countries are making pressure to vehicle manufacturing
industries to design vehicles having low carbon emission (WILLIAMS, 2020). Government
is emphasis on making electric charges trucks for the well-being of environment and people.
That is why electric truck of Thor trucks has a lot of opportunities in the field of transport
industry to prove their capacity and innovations (Katelyn Purnell, 2020).
(4) Threat to the Company
The launching of the electric trucks by Tesla is the greatest threat for the new product of
Thor trucks. The rival companies are performing very well in the field of manufacturing
electric trucks like Tesla and Toyota. These are giant firms of transport industry whereas
Thor industry is very new and developing in this field. Getting defeated by big brand names
is the major threat for Thor trucks. Lack of recognition by buyers is also not good symptoms
for the future growth of the company. Drivers and users have to be educated for using the
electric trucks especially they should have the knowledge related to the charging techniques
of the electric trucks. So, there are many threats in the growth of the company related to the
launch of new electric truck (Vance, 2020).
Customer analysis for electric truck
Identification and segmentation of the cluster of the customer would be a challenging
task for the marketing mangers of Thor trucks.
Segmentation and targeting approach
Thor trucks targets on the users of short distances for the selling of their new electric
trucks (Angueira Jaime, 2017). The electric truck can be run around 300 miles in one charge
that is why company specially target the customers who are using the transporting range of 1-

8
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
300 miles (Cannon, 2020). Because of the limited battery back-up, the company is avoiding
the customers of large range transportation (intellegence, 2020).
Positioning approach
The positioning of the electric trucks in the mind of consumers should be very unique
and satisfactory. The headline of the launching campaign of the electric truck was that Thor
electric trucks are going to beat Tesla’s trucks. This headline creates a very challenging
outlook of the product of Thor trucks in the eyes of consumers. A very cost efficient and
environment friendly image of the product should be positioned in the eyes of consumers
(Saumya Mathur, 2018).
Problems that product may be face in Australian market
(a) Lack of awareness
Australian market is completely unaware about the new product of electric truck made by
Thor trucks. Exporting the trucks from U.S. to Australia is also one of the major issues for the
Thor Company. The company is also not familiar with the Australian culture. Use of electric
trucks is also not very common among the customers. The drivers and consumers need to be
educated about the use of electric trucks. Lack of awareness about the uses and benefits of the
products need to be demonstrated in the public (F Diez-Martin, 2019).
(b) Pricing
The company is facing a lot of competition from its rivals like Tesla and Toyota. That is
why considerable pricing strategy should be adopted to enter in the Australian market. Low
cost would be the perfect penetrating strategy for the new product in the market of Australia.
Although making the product cost efficient and maintaining the profitability for the firm is
very challenging task to the managers of Thor Trucks (Hardman, 2016).
Required marketing objectives for the company (Marketing mix strategy)
(1) Creating awareness among the consumers of Australian market(Product and
Place):
Awareness should be measurable on the number of consumers that the company would be
approaching within a certain time period. Various methods of digital marketing could be used

9
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
to create awareness like making stories on Bloomberg, Covering the features of product by
important websites etc. (D Chaffey, 2019).
(2) Deciding suitable pricing strategy for the product(Price):
Appropriate pricing strategy while entering in the Australian market is very important for
the success of the product. Price should be decided on the bases of price of rival’s product
(Djordjevic, 2019). Moreover entry in the new market should be very crucial and alluring to
the customers (Jose Ramon Saura, 2019).
(3) Positioning of the product(Promotion):
With the help of proper coverage of the product in famous websites and magazines with
its special features should be the major target of the company to attract the customers
(Koushyar Rajavi, 2019). Marketing campaign should be done to establish the right image of
the product in the eyes of customers. Moreover the right positioning will surely help the
company in acquiring customers (Bijal N. Zaveri, 2019).

10
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
Budget allocation for the marketing mix strategy for the product:
Activities for marketing strategy Budget allocation
Coverage by media through news channels $ 2000
Information display on important websites $ 1000
Story highlights on Bloomberg $ 4000
Video coverage by social website $ 5000
Advertisements on Television $ 5000
Advertisements in newspapers $ 1000
Free trial facility to drivers and consumers $ 1000
Free distribution of pamphlets and posters $ 1000
Total Budget for marketing strategy $ 20,000
Conclusion
On the bases of the situational analysis of the product of the company, it can be said
that a lot of challenges and barriers may occurred in the success of the product. The positions
of rivals are very strong with relation to the product that is why a very effective marketing
strategy is required for the success of the product in Australian market. The company is at a
beginning phase that is why effective techniques of digital marketing should be used with
minimum budget in order to the successful implementation of the product.

11
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
References
Agency, U. E. (2020, January 6). Regulations for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from
Commercial Trucks & Buses. Retrieved from The official website of EPA of US:
https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/regulations-
greenhouse-gas-emissions-commercial-trucks
Angueira Jaime, K. K. (2017). Exploring the relationship between vehicle type choice and
distance traveled: a latent segmentation approach. The International Journal of
Transportation Research, 146-157.
Bijal N. Zaveri, P. D. (2019). Global Marketing Strategy in Digital Era: Global Online
Presence. IGI Global , 1-10.
Burak Sen, T. E. (2017). Does a battery-electric truck make a difference? – Life cycle
emissions, costs, and externality analysis of alternative fuel-powered Class 8 heavy-
duty trucks in the United States. Journal of Cleaner Production, 110-121.
Cannon, J. (2020, January 6). Electric truck maker Thor targets short-haul segment with
battery-powered rig. Retrieved from The official website of Overdrive online:
https://www.overdriveonline.com/electric-truck-maker-thor-targets-short-haul-
segment-with-battery-powered-rig/
D Chaffey, F. E.-C. (2019). Digital marketing. UK: Pearson.
Djordjevic, A. (2019). Entrepreneurship Opportunities in Management of Digital Marketing
Advertising Campaign – with Special Focus on the GCC Region. International
Journal of Economics and Management Systems , 13-18.
F Diez-Martin, A. B.-G.-R. (2019). Research Challenges in Digital Marketing: Sustainability.
Sustainability.
Hardman, S. J. (2016). Consumer adoption of fuel cell vehicles: lessons from historical
innovations and early adopters of battery electric vehicles. Consumer adoption of fuel
cell vehicles.
intellegence, M. (2020, January 6). ELECTRIC TRUCK MARKET - GROWTH, TRENDS,
AND FORECAST (2019 - 2024). Retrieved from The official website of mordor

12
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
intellegence: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/electric-truck-
market
Jose Ramon Saura, P. R.-S. (2019). Digital marketing strategies based on the e-business
model: Literature review and future directions. IGI Global, 1-18.
Katelyn Purnell, S. Y. (2020, January 6). OPPORTUNITES TO FACILITATE ELECTRIC
MOBILITY IN AUSTRALIA. Retrieved from The website of Centre for Energy and
Environmental markets:
http://ceem.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/Sub_65.pdf
Koushyar Rajavi, T. K.-B. (2019). In Brands We Trust? A Multi-Category, Multi-Country
Investigation of Sensitivity of Consumers' Trust in Brands to Marketing-Mix
Activities. Journal of Consumer Research, 651-670.
Maria Taljegard, L. G. (2016). Charging strategies – implications on the interaction between
an electrified road infrastructure and the stationary electricity system. World Electric
Vehicle, 1008-1019.
Patrick Plötz, T. G. (2019). Impact of electric trucks powered by overhead lines on the
European electricity system and CO2 emissions. Energy Policy, 32-40.
PETERS, A. (2020, January 6). These Electric Semis Hope To Clean Up The Trucking
Industry. Retrieved from The official website of Fast Company:
https://www.fastcompany.com/40552884/2018-world-changing-ideas-awards-
winners-developing-world-energy-thor-trucks
Saumya Mathur, R. R. (2018). A Study on the Impact of Green Marketing on Consumer
Buying Behavior in Automobile Industry. Journal of advanced research and
development, 286-290.
Vance, A. (2020, January 5). This Electric Truck Will Probably Beat Tesla’s to Market.
Retrieved from The official website of Bloomberg businessweek:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-13/this-electric-truck-will-
probably-beat-tesla-s-to-market
WILLIAMS, B. (2020, January 6). Here's the new electric big rig that could bring the
hammer to Tesla's Semi. Retrieved from The official website of Mashable:

13
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS IMPACT
https://mashable.com/2017/12/13/thor-electric-semi-truck/
ZumMallen, R. (2020, January 5). Thor Trucks Storming Into Heavy-Duty EV Market.
Retrieved from The official website of Trucks.com:
https://www.trucks.com/2017/12/13/startup-thor-trucks-electric-truck-market/