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Rolls-Royce targets aspirational buyers with Phantom app

April 25, 2011

Phantom

British automaker Rolls-Royce is further strengthening its mobile marketing with the launch of a third iPad application called the Rolls-Royce Phantom Family to push its Phantom models.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom app allows aspirational buyers to design their own car by picking the wheels, exterior features such as paint and sideboards and the interior colors. However, some experts do not know if the app is useful to actual Rolls-Royce customers – or worth the massive 300 megs of real estate on an iPad.

“It’s beautifully designed and has great user interface and has some good sharing capabilities, but it doesn’t romance the cars sufficiently to make it fun for the enthusiast,” said Oren Michaels, founder/CEO of Mashery, San Francisco. “For the casual person, it doesn’t have what everyone wants to know: how much it costs.

“The entire point of appealing to aspirational buyers is to provide them with the opportunity to fantasize and look,” he said. “And many of the people cannot afford to buy Rolls-Royce cars but every single person is going to want to know how much it costs.”

The brand’s first two apps, Rolls-Royce Ghost and Rolls-Royce Apprenticeship and Graduate opportunities, both launched last year.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom has four or five doors, depending on the type of model. The vehicle length is 229.9 inches, width 78.3 of inches and height of 64.5 inches.

The wheelbase is 140.6 inches and the turning circle is 45.3 feet. The Phantom has a V12 engine.

The car’s top speed is 150 miles per hour with a 5.7 second 0-60 mile per hour acceleration and a 5.9 second 0-100 mile per hour acceleration.

The Rolls-Royce Ghost app is similar to the newest Phantom application where users can design a bespoke Ghost model. The latter focuses on job opportunities within the company.

Rolls-Royce did not respond by press deadline.

Phantom of the appera
The Rolls-Royce Phantom main menu consists of designing a Phantom, bespoke options, media library, Web site, find a dealer and legal.

When users choose to design a car, they can select a Phantom Coupé, Phantom or Phantom Drophead Coupé.

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Which Phantom do you want?

Users can pick the color of the interior, the paint color, the wheels and bespoke options such as a bonnet, coachlines or painted wheel center.

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Rolls-Royce customization page

The coachline section explains that the brand’s coachline painter, Mark Court, takes three hours to paint a five-meter line on a Phantom using a brush made from squirrel and ox hair.

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Coachline explanation

This kind of information is exactly what Rolls-Royce enthusiasts enjoy knowing about because it explains what separates the brand from its competitors, Mr. Michaels said.

When users are finished designing their models, they can save it into his or her “garage” or share the car via social media or email.

The Rolls-Royce app also includes a link to its YouTube page, where consumers can view videos of Phantom models.

Video of the Phantom Drophead Coupé

All revved up
The Rolls-Royce Phantom app launched April 22 – irony of all ironies, on Earth Day – and there are still some bug issues that need to be worked out to prevent it from crashing.

Furthermore, some of the features such as the YouTube channel, Web site and dealership locator do not seem to be working on some iPads.

“I’m not sure what to do with it after I’m done playing with it one time,” Mr. Michaels said.

There does not seem to be any way that even aspirational buyers can participate in the brand experience.

The Phantom app appeals to aspirational buyers more so than the typical Rolls-Royce consumer, and it does not quite make sense why the app does not allow consumers to buy other Rolls-Royce products, such as the luggage and picnic baskets showed, Mr. Michaels said.

“A mobile presence should be an extension of the brand’s voice and marketing strategy,” Mr. Michaels said. “This is a good car app, but it is no different than any other car.

“Rolls-Royce should be trying to tell consumers that it’s different from other brands, and its app shouldn’t blend in with the others,” he said. “The app doesn’t tell me that a Rolls-Royce is special.”

Final Take
Rachel Lamb, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York

Rachel Lamb is an associate reporter on Luxury Daily. Her beats are apparel and accessories, arts and entertainment, education, food and beverage, fragrance and personal care, government, healthcare, home furnishings, jewelry, legal/privacy and nonprofits. Reach her at rachel@napean.com.