Promotional image for She’s Mercedes
German automaker Mercedes-Benz is seeking to increase its visibility in China by curating content specifically for Chinese messaging application WhatsApp.
In January, WhatsApp announced that it would begin allowing businesses to communicate directly with its approximately 1 billion users. The new development served as a reflection of how popular messaging apps are as well as how messaging platforms are reshaping traditional marketing to unlock one-to-one engagement opportunities for brands (see story).
Chatting with Mercedes
Through the WhatsApp newsletter, Mercedes enthusiasts will be notified of product launches, motorsport updates and general information about the automaker’s models in real time.
Subscribers to the Mercedes newsletter on WhatsApp will be able to customize the content received to ensure that the user only receives relevant information for their needs and lifestyle.
At time of launch, WhatsApp users can pick from the six channel categories. The “Best of Benz” category, for instance, is a “daily Daimler dose” where Mercedes will dispense all brand news through text, photos and video.
The automaker’s “Formula 1” channel will give up-to-date coverage for Mercedes’ motorsport team. On WhatsApp, consumers will have the most recent news for the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team right at their fingertips.
Promotional image for Merceces’ WhatsApp newsletter
Similarly, the DTM channel will follow race weekends for the Mercedes AMG DTM team. The Mercedes-AMG channel will educate on driving performance with the latest information on Mercedes’ AMG products, topics and events.
Mercedes has also included a newsletter dedicated to its innovations in the automotive space. Subscribers to Mercedes’ Taubenheim 13 newsletter can follow along as the automaker “build[s] the future.”
Lastly, “She’s Mercedes” WhatsApp news feed will keep female Mercedes enthusiasts in the-know with inspiring stories and live event notifications. This content will be pushed on a weekly basis.
To register, users must add Mercedes channels and message the brand’s WhatsApp account with “start.” Unsubscribing is done by messaging the world “stop,” while “pause” puts Mercedes’ push on hold.