Between tradition and innovation of the brand Porsche: Rethinking brand identity through rhetorical history

Abstract

“In the beginning, I looked around and could not find quite the car I dreamed of. So, I decided to build it myself”. These are the words of Ferry Porsche, not only the founder of the renowned automobile manufacturer but also a trailblazer who could turn his dream into factual innovation, setting the tone for the future. Today, 75 years after the creation of its first vehicle, the 356 Speedster, his statement has lost none of its appeal and it still describes the mission of the company. Porsche has gone through years of major social and cultural changes which it had to survive by adapting to both markets and cultural needs thanks to sharply differing and unique models. The brand acted since the beginning as a pioneer also in terms of engine technology when Ferdinand Porsche presented the first electric vehicle, the Lohner Porsche, at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris. However, the history of the brand was indeed not all roses and flowers and at times it became also questionable, for instance when in the mid-1930 the Porsche sports-car DNA was created as Hitler asked Mr. Porsche to design the Volkswagen, the People’s Car (Leffingwell, 2008). The purpose of this dissertation is to dive into the origin and the background of the Porsche brand to understand its evolution in society throughout history by explaining how the use of the past has been helpful to draw the present and set the stage for a favourable future path of the company. This journey aims to explore the existing dichotomy of tradition and innovation on which the brand bases his vision and to understand whether certain historical events have had a significant positive impact on its evolution or have somehow hindered the whole process. Using a historical approach and looking backwards will drive us to a deep understanding of the context and to highlight a rationale behind some choices that will surely be helpful to understand whether it is better to have strategy continuity or to rearrange the current strategic view on the future of the company.