March, 2013 – This article from Luxury Daily discusses the unveiling of the Rolls-Royce Wraith model and how this product line expansion will attract a lot of attention to the brand and attract buyers from segments of the affluent market that may not have previously thought Rolls-Royce was for them.  (http://www.luxurydaily.com/rolls-royce-releases-highly-anticipated-new-wraith-vehicle/)
By Erin Shea
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveiled the much-hyped Wraith model March 5 via a press conference at its Geneva Motor Show stand and corresponding digital promotions.
The British automaker has been teasing enthusiasts for a couple of months with teaser images and videos to show off certain details about the new model. This additional vehicle will bring more attention to Rolls-Royce and potentially lead to more customers.
“For Rolls-Royce, this expansion of its product line will attract a lot of attention to the brand and attract buyers from segments of the affluent market that may not have previously thought Rolls-Royce was for them,†said Ron Kurtz, president of the American Affluence Research Center, Atlanta.
“The promotional materials add value to the brand by making it clear that the Wraith is a dramatically new model for Rolls-Royce that combines the traditional Rolls-Royce luxury and prestige with high performance and technology,†he said.
Mr. Kurtz is not affiliated with Rolls-Royce, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Rolls-Royce was not able to comment directly.
The wait is over
Rolls-Royce held a press conference at the Geneva Motor Show to unveil the Wraith.
The model offers Satellite Aided Transmission, a technology that uses GPS mapping data to ensure the correct gear is always pre-selected for the road ahead and voice-activated connectivity that acts as an on-board valet.
The car has a V12 engine with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
In addition to the physical vehicle, Rolls-Royce also released several images and a new video to completely show off the Wraith.
“The Frozen Moment†is an extension of a previous teaser video that showed a woman running while the vehicle drove through a dark forest.
This time, the vehicle’s details are shown. At the end of the 107-second video, consumers have the opportunity to explore the design, interior and performance of the Wraith through a platform on the Rolls-Royce Web site.
Click here to watch the video on the Rolls-Royce Web site.
Dragging the pointer gives a full-view of the vehicle.
Consumers can also access more content by clicking on the “discover more†call to action that leads to a 95-second video of Helmut Riedel, director of engineering at Rolls-Royce, explaining the Wraith’s performance details.
Also, the automaker posted photo albums and videos on its Facebook page to show the Geneva Motor Show reveal event and press conference.
Rolls-Royce also updated its Facebook cover image to a picture of the Wraith.
The new model is priced at approximately $319,600. The first vehicles will be delivered to customers in the last quarter of 2013.
On deck
Rolls-Royce released plenty of promotional material before the debut of the Wraith.
In January, the automaker teased the model by releasing the first shadowed image to the public and hosting an interactive video on its Web site.
Rolls-Royce shared the image with consumers via its Web site and social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+. It also began using the #Wraith hashtag.
The automaker continued to release new images to show off slight details about the Wraith.
The final image released Feb. 26 along with other digital marketing efforts, including a three-second video on its Facebook page to show how the sketch and final image was drawn with only three lines by Giles Taylor, design director at Rolls-Royce (see story).
All of the promotions before, during and after the release of the Wraith gave publicity to the brand, which could help it gain new customers who would not have considered owning a Rolls-Royce before.
“This new model may attract business from some other similarly priced cars that are more performance-oriented, but are less comfortable and luxurious than the new Wraith,†Mr. Kurtz said.
“The Wraith will initially attract buyers from among the affluent who want to be the first to own new, high-prestige products of all types,†he said.