Auto Pilot - Driving on all fours, and some on two, auto makers storm the Top 25 Best Marketing Companies list

Auto Pilot Driving on all fours, and some on two, auto makers storm the Top 25 Best Marketing Companies list It seems roti, kapda, makaan, mobile, gaadi, in no particular order, is the new mantra for the upwardly mobile in the country. Indians are buying small cars, smart cars, medium-size cars, family cars, SUVs, XUVs, sedans and scooters, bad roads and worse traffic notwithstanding. And guess who is not complaining. There are six major automobile companies in the list of the Top 25 Best Marketing Companies in the country. They are a mix of Indian-born, Korean, German and Japanese thrown in for good measure —Tata Motors, Maruti Udyog, Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai and Volkswagen. In 2011 auto sales figures in the country recorded a fair growth, not bad at a time when most markets have slowed down or practically stalled. As sales accelerate, so do marketing plans. Mahindra enjoys an enviable position in the SUV / UV category in India. When asked what the key reason for its success is, the answer is rather simple: basing marketing strategies on “real consumer insights”. But the bottom line, according to Vivek Nayer, senior VP, marketing, automotive division, M&M, is “to ensure a strong portfolio of products based on consumer needs and product innovation and strong marketing strategies based on relevant consumer insights” Real consumer insights is what helped the company and its agencies create the product and campaign for its latest offering the XUV 500, an SUV that’s designed to look good both in boggy Amazonian forests and Ahmedabad. The 360 degree marketing approach included an intriguing TVC with sexy cannibal ladies in a tropical jungle and multitude of beauty shots, of the car too, besides digital and social media programs, before and after the launch phase. The company claims it was so successful, it had to close booking within just 10 days of launch in five cities according to Nayer. From four wheel drives to two, Hero Honda transformed itself into Hero MotoCorp and with that change came the campaign with Oscar winning composer AR Rahman and thousands of Indians singing ‘Hum Mein Hai Hero’ online and offline. But the auto sector’s growth story is not restricted to Indian metropolises. Indeed they keep a close eye on the masses itching to buy cars, small and big, and two wheelers to fit families of three and often more, in Indian cities. However a lot of Indian carmakers are placing their stack of chips in rural areas. Hyundai for instance already has 32% of its sales coming from nonurban markets. And Maruti, India’s largest car manufacturer, took its non-urban sales from 3.5% five years ago to 26% of total sales in 2012 as reported in Brand Equity (issue dated 18 April 2012). Mayank Pareek, executive officer (marketing & sales), Maruti Suzuki India, told BE, “You have to invest in gaining their trust and never betray it.” To help them do just that, Maruti came up with an innovative marketing push. All they needed to jumpstart it was a truck that doubled up as a mobile cinema. One of its primary competitors, Hyundai has often disrupted the pecking order by injecting new cars in its product line-up. On the communication front the carmaker is less clinical. There’s been a deliberate effort to use the emotional card. According to Vivek Srivastava, joint managing director, Innocean Worldwide India, Hyundai’s ad agency; “The portrayal of its brands is being kept in line with the aspirations of emerging India. The intent is to move beyond the obvious category triggers and motivators to more intrinsic and discerning aspects that build long-term brand stickiness for Hyundai.” With one of largest and fastest growing auto sectors in the world at their wheels, Indian auto makers are revving up not only production but also their marketing plans and perhaps more importantly spends to capture the Indian consumer with everything from cinema on the road in various outposts to talking ads in the biggest daily newspaper. AUTO BRANDS IN THE TOP 25 1 Tata Motors (rank 9) 2 Maruti Udyog (rank 14) 3 Hero MotoCorp (rank 17) 4 Mahindra & Mahindra (rank 20) 5 Hyundai (rank 22) 6 Volkswagen (rank 24)