MKTG1045-Royal Automobile Club Of Victoria RACV Statistics Case Study

Company Background
Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) started operating in 1903 as an auto club. At the time of this research project, RACV has more than two million members and has a presence in over 70% of Victoria’s households. RACV’s business spans numerous categories: motoring and other transport; home; leisure and travel; resorts and retail; emergency roadside and home assistance; insurance and finance; home security; and drive school and vehicle inspections.
RACV is a mutual organisation, which means it is owned by members rather than shareholders. In 2005, RACV introduced ‘Membership Architecture’ which involved transforming all those who purchase a product or service (e.g., car insurance) from RACV from customers into members. At RACV, membership is not a buzzword but a philosophy underpinning everything RACV does.
Compared to shareholder-based companies, the value earned by RACV is returned to members through discounts and benefits with products and services. RACV has served and advocated for its members for almost 120 years.
Throughout its long history, RACV has grown and evolved by driving and responding to changes in the market and environment. Its current corporate strategy focuses on building a stronger and more relevant RACV – this translates to growing the membership base, delivering more products and services to more members, and making membership more meaningful and valuable. RACV has become focused on young Victorians (under 30s), which they’ve identified as a large and lucrative segment. For instance, RACV previously launched the free2go program targeted at a youth market, which offers all the benefits of RACV membership and comes with roadside care at half-price or for free, depending on your age. Going forward, RACV seeks to better understand what young Victorians need and value and to establish a sense of connection and community with this group.

Past Market Research
Given RACV’s focus on their membership offering and the young Victorians segment, they have previously conducted market research around these two themes. Key findings summarised below.
Key findings around the RACV membership offering:
• Members value their membership with RACV, and being an RACV member invokes thoughts of ‘security’, ‘assistance’, ‘trust’, and ‘reliability’
• Membership with RACV and member benefits are considered to be important.