Mercedes-Benz Australia

1. Mercedes-Benz Australia Monitoring Report August 2013

2. Key Stories: 8,084 total mentions 22-24 August: Ongoing commentary following the official release of specifications for the S500 Plug-in Hybrid resulted in an increase to volume after August 22. http://bit.ly/1dRcZ0e 25 August: An unauthorised, satirical ad online showing a Mercedes-Benz C-Class hitting a young Adolf Hitler with the aid of it’s early danger detection feature has generated significant buzz online that resulted in this spike in mentions. http://bit.ly/14kWiGt 28 August: The launch of the new A45 AMG in Australia was responsible for this peak in activity. http://bit.ly/19jWFiw 30 August: The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival in Brisbane which culminated on August 30, also created significant buzz online. http://bit.ly/17PT52w

3. Mercedes-Benz Australia: Media Split* • Blogs : The majority of blog mentions came from car specific sites, however technology blog, Gizmodo was also indentified on several occasions. Discussion of Mercedes-Benz features on a tech blog is evidence of their high reputation for innovation and technology. http://bit.ly/1dR6BGy • Forums : There remained few mentions generated from forums this month, with the only active platform identified on Is1.com.au. The thread is entitled, ‘AMG’s new mini weapon…A45’. http://bit.ly/19jQlYk • Top Forums • www.ls1.com.au • Top 10 Mainstream Media Sites • smh.drive.com.au • theage.drive.com.au • www.baysidebulletin.com.au • www.australiannews.net • www.news.com.au • www.gladstoneobserver.com.au • www.themorningbulletin.com.au • www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au • www.mydailynews.com.au • www.sbs.com.au • Top 10 Blogs • www.caradvice.com.au • www.carsguide.com.au • www.gizmodo.com.au • www.behindthewheel.com.au • www.empireave.com • www.mydrivemedia.com.au • www.ozroamer.com.au • www.breaknecknews.com • www.carshowroom.com.au • www.autotalk.com.au * Based on 1,569 scored mentions.

4. Mercedes-Benz Australia: Tone Average score: +10.6 (+1.1vs. July) Positivity rate: 96% (+5% vs. July) 3 August: News that the Western Australian State government would launch legal action against Mercedes-Benz over gas bus fires resulted in this drop in sentiment. http://bit.ly/1dRg7t1 14 August: Positive public reaction towards the leaked images of the new Mercedes-Benz GLA helped to drive up the sentiment score on this day. http://bit.ly/1fAkdBn 20 August: The circulation of a positive review for the E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet across various regional online papers ensured this lift in sentiment score. http://bit.ly/1dIg1Tx 23 August: Positive reactions from the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival in Sydney as well as considerable interest in the comparison between the Australian built HSV GTS and the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG helped to drive up sentiment score. http://bit.ly/14ZXTQu & http://bit.ly/160gThw 24 August: Mercede-Benz’s recall of Mitsubishi Fuso Euro 5 Heavy FP54 Trucks resulted in this dip in sentiment score. http://bit.ly/14l0kyB

5. Mercedes-Benz Australia: Models • SUV’s • Mercedes-Benz’s range of Sports Utility Vehicles were the most prolifically discussed for the month. Below are some of the topics that generated conversation: • Mercedes-Benz release official pictures and details of the new GLA. http://bit.ly/160jtEh • GLA sketches teased on Facebook ahead of official release. http://bit.ly/17FFsPD • Mercedes-Benz unveil ‘teeny SUV made for urban driving’.http://bit.ly/15AgUeR • Widespread positive public reaction to the launch of the new A45 AMG in Australia ensured that the model was well represented in terms of both volume and sentiment. http://bit.ly/18Enwnm • Usually the most talked about range of models with in the Mercedes-Benz fleet, the S-Class experienced a minor drop in mentions for the month of August. • Leaked design sketches for the Mercedes-Benz Viano ensured that vans despite relatively low volume for the month, vans produced the highest average sentiment score (+13.1). http://bit.ly/15wa1Fx • E-Class Family: E, CLS-Class; CLA-Class • S-Class Family: S,SL,CL,SLS; • SUV: G, GL, M, R-Class; • Vans: Vito, Viano, Sprinter, Valente

6. Mercedes-Benz Australia vs. Competitors *The volume of terms “Mercedes”/”Merc”/”Mercedes-Benz” mentioned online vs. “Audi” and “BMW” 8 August: Mentions regarding the BMWi8 and the 4 series are responsible for this peak in sentiment. http://bit.ly/1egxbqf & http://bit.ly/15wi3hz 30 August: Spy shots of the Audi S3 Cabriolet ensured this spike in sentiment. http://bit.ly/14sgzob

7. Mercedes-Benz Australia: insights • MB keeps eye on the future with potential incorporation of Google Glass technology. • Public reaction to leaked Viano sketches. • The battle of innovation • Excitement builds for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week • Aggressively priced A-Class widens gap between Mercedes-Benz and BMW Please login to Online 1984 to see the relevant social media mentions these insights are based on: http://live.online1984.com/user

8. Further Information: Yoni KozminskiAccount Managerp: +61 3 9696 9176 e: yoni.kozminski@theonlinecircle.comLevel 2, 83 PalmerstonCres, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 Report developed by: RaisaTsemelDigital Intelligence Analyst p: +61 3 9696 9176 e: raisa.tsemel@theonlinecircle.comLevel 2, 83 PalmerstonCres, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 Josh DorevitchJunior Analystp: +61 3 9696 9176 e: josh.dorevitch@theonlinecircle.comLevel 2, 83 PalmerstonCres, South Melbourne, VIC 3205