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Tag: Maruti Suzuki

  • Maruti Suzuki says #BeLimitless with the brand new Swift

    Maruti Suzuki says #BeLimitless with the brand new Swift

    MUMBAI: Automaker Maruti Suzuki is driving its latest campaign for the all-new 2021 Swift with the catchy slogan #BeLimitless. Conceptualised and executed by Dentsu Impact India, the campaign introduces the latest edition of one of India’s best-selling hatchbacks.

    With the all-new 2021 Swift, Maruti Suzuki offers a sporty driving experience that is complemented by its stunning looks. It features a new and appealing front fascia with sporty dual-tone exteriors. It is powered by the advanced powertrain Next Gen K-Series 1.2L dual jet dual VVT engine with idle start-stop. For enhanced customer convenience, the Swift offers cruise control and auto foldable ORVMs with key sync. The hot-hatch also comes with an electronic stability program and hill hold assist – to be offered as standard in AGS variants. The enviable feature list, thereby, makes the 2021 Swift a car that not only performs but also leaves a lasting impression for all.

    The film has been released on television supported by a longer edit on digital. Additionally, it is backed by elements in print, OOH and social media.

    Maruti Suzuki India executive director (marketing & sales) Shashank Srivastava, said, “Pure performance is thrilling. But when it looks good, it’s even more thrilling.  That is what makes the experience truly limitless. This is the idea behind the campaign which introduces the new 2021 Swift. After all, this widely popular hatchback not only highlights its well-known performance legacy but now also brings a world of enhanced style, all thanks to the powerful Next Gen K-Series 1.2L Dual Jet Dual VVT Engine, Sporty cross mesh grille, and stylish dual-tone exteriors.”

    Commenting on the campaign, Dentsu Impact president, Amit Wadhwa, added, “Swift is synonymous with car enthusiasts who love to push themselves beyond limits. With the new 2021 Swift, Maruti Suzuki has taken the pedestal a notch higher with new looks to match the aspirations of a modern-day customer. As their partners, we are excited to be a part of the Swift’s launch and create newer milestones with them.”

  • Maruti Suzuki sales up 20% in December 2020

    Maruti Suzuki sales up 20% in December 2020

    NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd posted total sales of 160,226 units in December 2020.

    This is a growth of 20.2 per cent over December 2019, when sales stood at 122,784 units. Total sales include domestic sales of 146,480 units and 3,808 units for other OEMs. In addition, the company exported 9,938 units in December 2020.

    With total sales of 495,897 units in Q3 (FY 2020-21) the company registered a growth of 13.4 per cent over the same period previous year.

    The carmaker remains committed to the health, safety and well-being of all members across the value chain, it said in a release. All manufacturing, sales and service operations continue to take place fully consistent with all safety requirements for employees and customers. 

    The sales figures for December 2020 are given below:

  • Maruti Suzuki clocks 1% net profit in Q2

    Maruti Suzuki clocks 1% net profit in Q2

    NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki India has reported a net profit of Rs 1,371, a slim growth of one per cent year-on-year for the quarter ended 30 September 2020.

    The Q2 bottom line of India's largest car manufacturer is still an improvement from a year-on-year loss of Rs 249.5 crore in the previous quarter, owing to Covid2019 related disruptions and lockdowns.

    Production across the company’s factories and supply chain was progressively ramped up, with total sales of 393,130 vehicles during the quarter, higher by 16.2 per cent compared to the same period the previous year. Sales in the domestic market stood at 370,619 units, higher by 18.6 per cent. Exports were at 22,511 units, lower by 12.7 per cent.

    During the quarter, Maruti Suzuki registered net sales of Rs 17,689.3 crore, higher by 9.7 per cent compared to the same period previous year. The operating profit for the quarter was Rs 1,167.7 crore, a growth of 71.7 per cent over the same period previous year on account of higher sales volume, lower sales promotion expenses, lower operating expenses and cost reduction efforts partially offset by an increase in commodity prices and adverse foreign exchange movement.

    The net profit in quarter two of the previous year FY19-20 was higher due to mark-to-market gains on the invested surplus and lower tax provision. As a result of this, while the operating profit increased by 71.7 per cent over the same period the previous year, the net profit increased by one per cent.

  • Auto industry steps on the gas to lift festive season sales

    Auto industry steps on the gas to lift festive season sales

    NEW DELHI: India's automobile industry has had a bumpy ride these last few years. Add a global pandemic on top of that and the sector was completely stalled. However, with the onset of the festive season, the industry finally seems to be on the road to recovery.

    Factors like consumers shifting to personal mobility (due to Covid risk), new product launches, increase in bookings and enquiries have raised the pent-up demand among buyers. The month of August and September has seen an improvement in retail volumes with sales picking up marginally. The rebound in auto sales is an important barometer that economic recovery is on a progressive track. The festive period has helped boost the sentiment across demographics.

    Traditionally, the industry has always been optimistic around the Diwali-Dussehra period, and this year too, car and two-wheeler makers are busy unveiling new products, giving discounts on service and older models. The recent surge in demand has led companies to focus more on their marketing strategies and get the best possible return out of it.

    Maruti Suzuki India executive director, marketing and sales Shashank Srivastava held the view that car buying is a discretionary purchase and therefore is influenced hugely by sentiment. "Festival season always brings in positive sentiment and therefore sales improve during this time. We saw that positive jump during the Onam festival in Kerala. We are optimistic about the festive season sales. A caveat here is that this time there could be headwinds because of Covid2019. So, our optimism is a bit muted because of this. But our dealers are well-prepared to take care of consumer demand and have replenished their stocks which were made possible by the improved production levels in September,” he elaborated.

    There’s little doubt that this year’s festive season will be crunch time for the auto industry, with customers looking to make big-ticket purchases post the lockdown, shares Vivek Srivatsa, head of marketing, passenger vehicles business unit at Tata Motors head.

    “Despite the slowdown caused by the pandemic, our market share has already doubled after the first quarter of this financial year to 9.5 per cent, as compared to the number at the end of the last fiscal year. Tata Motors was the only carmaker to see a visible growth of 10 per cent in passenger vehicle sales between April and September 2020, at 69,366 units,” said Srivatsa.

    Post the festive season, auto players will have to see how the demand sustains and the impact of underlying macro-economic factors. “We continue to witness a robust recovery and our supplies are being steadily ramped up to cater to the growing demand, despite industry-wide challenge in the supply chain.”

    In order to capitalise on the crucial festive period sales, a Volkswagen spokesperson said the car manufacturer has rolled out 360-degree campaigns extending customised offers to customers.

    “It is definitely a crucial spell for the industry and us. There has been an increase in the uptake for accessible individual mobility as consumers prioritise health, sanitization, and hygiene, steering them away from shared mobility,” the spokesperson added.

    Yamaha Motors deputy general manager Vijay Kaul also explains that the auto category has seen bigger growth every in this golden quarter. “We are hopeful that retails will be better in this period, primarily because of two reasons. Natural festive demand and fear of public transport due to covid19. This is seen by the upward trends in search volume for the auto category and sales numbers compared to pre-covid.”

    This year, the festive season happens to coincide with the IPL, and auto brands are keen to make the most of this golden opportunity. Since the unlock phase, they have trotted out aggressive marketing campaigns to fire up flagging consumer demand.

    For example, Hyundai’s launched a ‘thank you’ campaign with the anthem Haq Hai Hamara, “to honour the spirit of mankind.” Similarly, TVS Motor roped in Amitabh Bachchan and MS Dhoni for a new corporate brand creative. Brands like Honda (cars), and Hero MotoCorp released print ads to announce offers. Recently, Volkswagen rolled out ‘Volksfest 2020’ festive promotion to introduce the red and white edition of the Polo and Vento models.

    Srivatsa shared that before the pandemic the focus was equally spread across mediums. But given the current scenario, digital is leading the way as that is where most consumption of content is taking place.

    This year, Tata Motors is betting big on the IPL, building its marketing strategy across TV and digital medium around the cricketing extravaganza.

    “The former (TV) should help us with a wide reach amongst the audience and the latter (digital) will help us in engaging with the customers by giving them an innovative and immersive experience. We are looking at multiple engagement opportunities with the audience and players across mediums,” explained Srivatsa.

    Kaul also defines that digital has taken a leap. “We are currently betting on the two strong medium TV & Digital. Within digital, we are highly skewed towards performance. That’s the need of the hour to get the call for action.”

    Volkswagen echoed the sentiment, saying that digital and online media communication are definitely key in its media planning. “Traditionally, we have focussed 60 per cent of our ad spends on traditional mediums of TV, Print and OOH while 40 per cent on digital. Now, we are balancing our traditional and digital media spend equally and believe that the media spend on digital will increase in the upcoming years.”

    Dentsu Impact president Amit Wadhwa also agreed that the festive season should certainly be a big step towards pushing up retail sales for the industry. “In fact, we can see it happening across both four-wheelers and two-wheelers brands. The hope is that it brings the same cheer back to some other categories too,” he said.

    While on the subject, which medium are advertisers spending the most on, and is the ad revenue cycle geared up for the festive season?

     Wadhwa explained that business performance is directly proportional to the ad spends/ revenue, so this certainly will reflect on that front too. “Digital has seen a significant upswing in time spent by consumers – and hence, bucks spent by advertisers, despite the high affinity for TV. What is heartening to see is the traction that even print and outdoor is getting with life getting somewhat back on track.”

    In the past few months, digital buying has emerged as a new trend among auto buyers due to its bankability. For instance, Tata Motors launched an online portal called ‘Click to Drive’ to connect with all its dealerships across the country.  The end-to-end digital sales platform allows the customer to make the purchase from the safety and the comfort of their homes.

    However, with the gradual lifting of the lockdown, customers are once again heading back to showrooms.

    The Volkswagen spokesperson shared that the brand is experiencing an increase in footfalls at its offline locations, while online platforms are also registering strong growth and demand. When shopping for a car, it’s natural for prospective buyers to visit a showroom to touch and feel a vehicle before finalizing the purchase. However, now the brand has observed a significant shift in the buying habits of consumers, as people are learning about the product online and then setting-up virtual discussions to understand the vehicle with the salesforce team.

    Clearly, the auto industry is showing signs of recovery and banking on the festive season to deliver good cheer in the form of exceptional retail sales. While significant challenges lie on the road ahead, for now, the only mantra automakers need to follow is 'drive on.'

  • Covid2019 creates opportunity for used car market

    Covid2019 creates opportunity for used car market

    NEW DELHI- Covid2019 battered the automotive industry in India with the demand for new cars and two-wheelers plummeted between March-May 2020. The month of April 2020 has gone down in the history of the country when not even a single car was except a few that were exported out of the country. The industry started to pick up since May 2020 and has been showing signs of recovery. Even then at a cumulative level, the first half of the year 2020 has battered the auto industry, even worst then the last year. In passenger vehicles, in particular, the April-June period saw sales drop of 78.43 percent, making it possibly the worst-ever quarter since the time such data were being compiled.

    Covid2019 actually forced people to think twice before making investment into a big ticket purchase like cars. As a result, it created a window for the already existing new car market to grow further. Several brands have reported that there is an increased number of inquiries from customers around used cars. These include brands like Maruti Suzuki True Value and Hyundai’s H Promise.

    Maruti Suzuki India Limited executive director marketing and sales, Shashank Srivastava said, “During lockdown scenario, most media got impacted due to restrictions and hence their consumption. In New normal, ensuring customer safety and communicating safe practices is of utmost priority.”

    As per experts, the car buyers who had plans to buy new cars will opt for used cars seeing the economic uncertainty and the tougher times ahead. As economic activities resume, people prefer personal cars over public transport for the fear of being affected by the virus and to follow the physical distancing norms. This will give an impetus to the used car business.

    People will either go for two-wheeler or pre-owned cars. Historically, it has been that whenever there’s an economic downturn people gravitate towards pre-owned goods as they are cost-effective.

    Covid2019 has created a great opportunity for brands like Droom, CARS24, Olx, Mahindra First choice, and others in the space. They are aggressively promoting their products and released campaigns to connect with their consumers.

    CARS24 rolled out a 360-degree campaign with MS Dhoni that talks about how CARS24 can help connect sellers with buyers directly making the process more transparent and easier for its new-age customers.

    OLX CashMyCar is also doubling down digital presence across platforms. Maruti Suzuki also launched a 360-degree campaign on ‘Buy & Sell’ for True Value before the lockdown happened.

    CARS24 co-founder and CMO Gajendra Jangid explains, “the size of the used car industry is 1.3 times the size of the new car market, in other words, used cars accounted for 55 percent of total 7.5 million car transactions in India. We are expecting a steady growth in demand post lockdown period due to the shift in budgets.”

    He further said, “According to our recent research study, we saw that Intention to use private cars by consumers increased by 41 per cent and 22.5 per cent people who were preferring to buy new cars earlier are now shifting to pre-owned cars which looks promising for the pre-owned auto segment.” 

    However, since the time economic activity resumed, several automobile brands have also launched new products that were on hold. They are realigning new strategies to connect with the target audience.

    OLX CashMyCar business head Amit Kumar shares that the launch of new models will definitely help the pre-owned car market as consumers will have a wider range of brands and models to choose from across price ranges. 

    Kumar explains, “Pre-owned car market actually benefits from the increased activity in the new car market. “An important source of pre-owned market supply is the new car sold on the exchange. So, more new cars entering the market augurs well for the pre-owned car market as this would result in the availability of fresh new models with the latest features.”

    However, the used car market in India is highly unorganized, only a few organized players are operating in the market. The organized market contributes only 18 percent of total pre-owned cars sold in the country. The used car market size is around 1.5-1.7x (times) of the new car market. As per estimates, over 4 million pre-owned cars were traded and sold in FY19.

    Increase demand, the rise in personal mobility.

    Covid2019 has impacted the consumer’s behavior and preferences towards their commute choices. He prefers personal mobility over public transport.

    According to Jangid, as social distancing is the primary norm of the ‘new normal’, people are inclined towards commuting through their personal vehicles. But at the same time, they are looking for more affordable and budget-friendly deals as well. “This is the reason behind people moving more towards owning a pre-owned vehicle that fulfills both requirements. Further to the resumption of the services as soon as Unlock was announced, we have witnessed a surge in used car sales, he said.”

    However, during economic stress, customers are expected to downgrade their demand due to declining affordability and enhanced focus on functionality.

    Srivastava explains, “Nearly 85 percent pre-owned car customers are two-wheeler upgrades. We are confident that the current situation and sentiments will have a positive rub off on the used car market as the price of the new vehicle would be higher.”

    He further adds that telescoping of demand is expected to happen due to economic stress and customers will give more importance to functionality buying, Customers who were earlier planning to buy a Swift top variant may now consider the base variant. “First-time buyers are also expected to increase,” adds Srivastava.

    The used car market has registered healthy growth in India in the last few months. According to statistics released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers’ (SIAM), pre-owned vehicle segment that accounts for 18 percent of the market share, registered estimated sales of 4.4 million units, whereas the new passenger vehicle sales in FY 20 stood at 2,775,679 units, dipping below the 3 million sales unit mark for the first time since FY17.

    Kumar concluded by saying, “Pre-owned cars could see an increased supply of new car models. Buyers of pre-owned cars now would also prefer transacting with their local sellers instead of traveling to far off places which would further boost their local economy.” He also believes that the pre-owned industry will adopt digitization as a key pillar to ensure business continuity.

  • Dentsu Impact, Maruti Suzuki launch ‘Move Up’ campaign

    Dentsu Impact, Maruti Suzuki launch ‘Move Up’ campaign

    NEW DELHI: Moving up in life is a dream that is cherished by all. Bringing this insight to life, Maruti Suzuki has launched its latest campaign, ‘Move Up’, for its brand – the 2020 Dzire.

    Conceptualised and executed by Dentsu Impact, the creative agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India, the campaign introduces the latest edition of India’s best-selling sedan, the 2020 Dzire.

    With the all-new 2020 Dzire, Maruti Suzuki has introduced an offering that provides an upgrade not just for the owner of the car, but to every member of his or her family. It features a strikingly new and bold front fascia with a premium single-aperture front grille and bold chrome accents. Moreover, the sedan also has spacious and stylish interiors with champagne trim accents. It is powered by the advanced K-series Dual Jet and Dual VVT BS6 petrol engine with an idle start-stop (ISS) function. For enhanced customer convenience, the advanced features include cruise control and auto foldable ORVMs with Key sync. The enviable feature list, thereby, makes the 2020 Dzire a perfect car for those who go out of their way to provide their family an advanced experience.  

    The film has been released on television with a longer edit on digital. The campaign film is supported by elements in print, OOH and social media. It captures the story of a father who celebrates his success by going out of his way to fulfil his daughter's wish with the help of his 2020 Dzire. The digital short films are feature-led, integrating them seamlessly within the storyline itself. It is pertinent to note here that the campaign will be live till mid-August.

    Maruti Suzuki India  executive director – marketing & sales – Shashank Srivastava said, "With over 55 per cent market share in its segment, Dzire is the preferred sedan of over 20 lakh customers. Building on an overwhelming customer response, the 2020 Dzire offers next generation K-series engine with segment-first idle start-stop technology (ISS), an upgraded premium exterior design, refreshed interiors, and advanced features. As a company, we have believed in bringing technologies that benefit the customers. The 2020 Dzire will help us to continue with our brand promise, to offer products with state-of-the-art designs and advanced technology to delight our customers."

    He further added, "The introduction of the advanced K-series Dual Jet, Dual VVT BS6 petrol engine with idle start-stop (ISS) function makes it more desirable, low on emissions with best-in-class fuel efficiency."

    Dentsu Impact  national creative director Anupama Ramaswamy said, "When it comes to Indian families, moving up never happens alone. Right from our childhood, we have seen our fathers work tirelessly, selflessly and go to any length to make every little wish, every little desire come true. With the 'Move Up' campaign, we celebrate this emotion and, also tell all fathers that the 2020 Dzire is by their side to see each and every desire of their loved ones come true."

    Dentsu Impact president Amit Wadhwa added, "The idea of ‘Moving Up’ together with your family is one that resonates with every Indian. And when it comes to cars – moving up and togetherness is exemplified quite well in a sedan, especially by Dzire, which is the top choice for millions of people. The communication created around the car reflects just that and if I may add… quite beautifully!”

    Credits

    Client: Maruti Suzuki India Limited

    Agency: Dentsu Impact

    President: Amit Wadhwa

    Chief Creative Officer: Soumitra Karnik

    National Creative Director: Anupama Ramaswamy

    Copywriter: Uday Dayal

    Account Management: Karun Arora, Arjan Soni, Dipti Sinha

    Production House: Crazy Few Films

    Director: Sharat Kumar

    Producer: Viraj Gawas

    DOP: Andrew

    Music: Abhishek Arora

    Singer: Abhishek Arora

    Editor: Aman Shukla

  • Print advertising registered 325% rise in avg ad volume per day in June: TAM AdEx

    Print advertising registered 325% rise in avg ad volume per day in June: TAM AdEx

    NEW DELHI: It seems that print media will soon be back on track as print advertising registered 325 per cent rise in average ad volume per day in June 2020 when compared to April 2020, cites the recently released data by AdEx India, a division of TAM Media research.

    The report highlights that the month of March and April were worst hit by the lockdown but the average ad volume per day rose by 0.47 per cent in May and by 3.2 times in June.

    The report says that 75 per cent of the ads in April-June were in Hindi and English and 11 other languages accounted for a 25 per cent share of ad space of April-June. With almost similar ad language share of 5 per cent ads in Kannada, Marathi and Tamil ranked 3rd, 4th and 5th in the ad language share during the period.

    Cars category topped the list with eight per cent share of ad space followed by coaching/exam centres. with six per cent share in April 2020-June 2020, as per the TAM AdEx report.

    Top 10 categories covered 38 per cent ad volume share in both Apr-Jun’20. Out of this, four categories were from the education sector and together accounted for 16 per cent share. It also stated that multiple courses claimed the second position in Apr-Jun’20, from thirteenth it occupied in Jan-Mar’20. Similarly, ecom-education moved up by 20 positions to perch on the ninth position in Apr-Jun’20 compared to Jan-Mar’20.

    While the automobile industry was badly hit, Maruti Suzuki was the second-biggest spender in print with a three per cent share of ad space in April -June.

    Coaching institute Fiitjee witnessed 4.8x rise on print ads in
    April–June. Top 10 advertisers accounted for 22 per cent in April-June 2020 compared to 16 per cent in January-March of this year.

    Fiitjee topped brands in print with 2.2 per cent share of ad space followed by Maruti Car Range with two per cent share. Interestingly, Ghadi Detergent Cake/Powder moved up by 592 positions to achieve the fifth spot in April-June 2020 when compared to January-March 2020. Utkarsh Classes in a similar scenario climbed up the ladder by 244 positions and bagged the eighth-most advertised brand in Apr-Jun’20.

    Household Cleaners was one of the fastest-growing categories in Apr-Jun’20 recording over 9000x growth. Household UPS and Inverter Batteries accounted for over 300x growth in Apr-Jun’20 as compared to Jan-Mar’20. Interestingly, advertisements of Home Insecticides saw a 30x rise in Apr-Jun’20.

    71 per cent of advertisers preferred figured outline while 16 per cent opted for teasers for innovative ad layouts. The L spared layouts claimed seven per cent share of the ad space with masthead integration taking five per cent. As per the data, 12 categories used the Innovative Ad Layouts in Print during Apr-Jun’20.

  • Maruti Suzuki launches #BeLimitless Swift campaign to celebrate real-life heroes

    Maruti Suzuki launches #BeLimitless Swift campaign to celebrate real-life heroes

    MUMBAI: Focusing on recognising heroes who have gone far and beyond across different walks of life, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the leading passenger car maker in India, has launched ‘Be Limitless’—a 3-part video campaign for Maruti Swift. The campaign for Swift is aimed at highlighting the stories of extraordinary people, who are as dynamic as Maruti Suzuki and are relentless pursuing challenges every day.

    The digital campaign features six-time world champion and bronze winner in Olympics Mary Kom, para-athlete Bhupender Sharma, and corporate banker who scaled Mt Everest, Vikas Dimri. The campaign salutes the undying spirit of the special achievers who never accept things as they are and keep pushing past all limits to realise their dreams.

    Commenting on the campaign launch, executive director, sales and marketing Shashank Srivastava said, “At Maruti, we have always strived to engage with our audience and with our latest campaign our agenda is to engage with our target group in a more meaningful way. Be Limitless is a way to build a higher level of brand salience to associate with performance but in an emotional way which is going to be our long-term strategy. A deep dive into the lives of consumers made us realize that they seek new challenges. The campaign celebrates individuals who keep challenging themselves. These individual heroes have gone beyond the ordinary like the Maruti Swift; that has created the premium hatchback segment in India. The campaign not only honors those who are in the relentless pursuit of new challenges but also celebrates the very essence of being limitless.”

    Maruti Suzuki strives to inspire the audience to get up and work towards their goal, no matter how difficult or impossible they are to achieve. Just like Maruti Suzuki has been limitless in catering to the evolving tastes and preferences of their car buyers. ‘Be Limitless’ speaks to the men and women of action – those who are upbeat, energetic and are always on-the-go. Epitomising the relentless spirit of various individuals, the campaign will be entirely leveraged on the digital media across handles of Maruti Suzuki Arena content hub and the ever-inspiring limitless heroes.

    The campaign will be promoted across digital and social media platforms. Swift is a market leader in the premium hatch back segment with a market share of 28.4 per cent. Maruti Suzuki has sold over 21.96 lakhs units of Swift since it was launched in India in 2005.

  • Isobar South Asia group MD talks about the agency’s future plans on 11th anniversary

    Isobar South Asia group MD talks about the agency’s future plans on 11th anniversary

    MUMBAI: On the occasion of Isobar’s 11th anniversary, group MD for South Asia Shamsuddin Jasani spoke to Indiantelevision.com on ‘Media Minds’ discussing the journey that the agency has seen in the past decade and the way ahead. He also thanked the family of ‘Isobarians’ who ‘bleed orange’ and serve the agency with all that they have.

    Speaking about the transformation that the agency has seen since its inception, Jasani said, “We no longer call ourselves as a digital agency, but an agency for the digital age. We are looking at ourselves not only adding value to our clients’ digital presence but overall business as such.”

    The agency has created a number of successful campaigns amalgamating a fair mix of technology, creativity, data, and strategy. Jasani remarked that Reebok’s ‘Bruises Can Be Good’, and Maruti Suzuki’s physical and digital transformation stands as his favorites from the recent years.

    Outlining his plans for the future, Jasani noted that the agency will be investing heavily in voice technologies and AI & ML to create complete solutions for the brands. “We have started doing content marketing a few months back and will be working to build on this. We want to be a 25-30 member team next year.”

    Listen to the complete conversation here:

  • Maruti Suzuki inspires Hero ISL fans to “Be Limitless”

    Maruti Suzuki inspires Hero ISL fans to “Be Limitless”

    MUMBAI: In the world of digital media and endless social scrolling, it has become imperative for the brands to work on out-of-the-box campaigns to gain the attention of their customers. With abundant brand messages flooding the daily view cycle of the people, the brands have been trying to create more inclusive and exciting avenues for their consumers, so their products can have a greater recall factor. Keeping the same in mind, automotive brand Maruti Suzuki created a wonderful experiential campaign during the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) finale in Mumbai.

    Inspiring the Hero ISL fans to “Be Limitless”, Maruti Suzuki Swift used the power of technology to give an experience of a lifetime, to a selected few, by virtually providing them stadium like experience while sitting at home, for the Hero ISL 5 Finale between Bengaluru FC and FC Goa at the Mumbai Football Arena. The fans were connected to the stadium via video calling and they appeared live on the perimeter board along the football field.

    Doctors on call, new parents, students who are preparing for exams and differently-abled fans were taken out from the shell of limited possibility to travel to the city of dreams for attending the finale and were presented with the idea of “Be Limitless” through this campaign. The activity maximises eyeballs for the brand’s activation on LIVE TV and gained many praises for its out-of-the-box thinking.

    With the proliferation of hi-speed internet enabling the technology and the brand’s desire to stand out using a clutter breaking integration coming together, this was a prime example of a brand successfully activating its sponsorship with a sporting property.

    Logicserve Digital co-founder and chief executive officer Prasad Shejale noted that this initiative by Maruti stood true to its core proposition, where the brand is offering its customers a first-hand experience of being limitless.

    He said, “This innovative and brilliantly crafted initiative leverages technology keeping the customer at the center of overall brand strategy. Through this initiative, the brand has not only engaged the existing customers but has also penetrated the loyal base of potential customers. The initiative created buzz on social media especially #swift trending on Twitter.”

    He further added, “VR and Mixed Reality are surely here to stay and will continue to grow. This is definitely a great way to give the new gen users what they want. Today’s youth likes to be more at the moment and get a first-hand experience of things. This campaign beautifully aligned the brand’s proposition with the users' expectations using a befitting technology.”

    Mindshare vice-president Ajay Mehta found the idea refreshing for the Indian audience. He said, “It is a smart and cute idea, giving the audience the feel of being in the first row. Given the brand’s take on ‘be limitless’, I feel the campaign was a decent fit and did a good job.”

    Brand-nomics managing director Viren Razdan reflected the same thought. He contended that through this campaign Maruti Suzuki made a brilliant effort to bring the fans closer to a much-celebrated sport. “As Sports marketing true test is in bringing fans close to their passion, the game and the players they follow. Maruti’s act is a brilliant effort in bringing this experience alive – using technology. Bringing armchair sports enthusiasts to the field up close, virtually in the game would truly payoff this association for the brand,” Razdan said.

    Vertoz founder and CEO Ashish Shah commented, “Brand awareness – a top of the funnel process and customer retention – a bottom of the funnel process, form the two extreme ends of the entire customer acquisition funnel. Providing a good customer experience plays a vital role in customer retention. Maruti Suzuki’s new initiative is an excellent example of successful brand integration to fully achieve the above goals. As Maruti Suzuki is providing its customers with a memorable experience, this smart use of technology will go a long way in creating a great brand recall for Maruti Suzuki.”

    Langoor executive creative director Vignesh Iyer praised the idea and also showed excitement towards how the brand is going to take the idea forward. He commented, “Bringing the fans virtually to the stadium via a video call was as simple as it was memorable. It was also a good fit with the ‘limitless’ promise of Maruti Suzuki Swift. Digital enables brands to create meaningful experiences like this, which bring alive their promise in newer, interactive ways.”

    “It will be interesting to see if this is a one-time initiative, or if the brand can build #LimitlessFans as a long-term property with more such experiences and tighter product integration,” he concluded.

    Ethinos Digital Marketing joint managing director Brijesh Munyal also lauded the campaign and shared that he is expecting other brands to follow the trend set by Maruti Suzuki Swift. He said, “Such brand integrations leveraging new age digital technology, even within the digital marketing space, are really exciting and we will see more and more brands using it soon- not only in the automobile industry but other sectors too.”

    The campaign is one fine example of smart marketing that facilitates memorable interactions among consumers. The brand has done a commendable job in associating itself with ‘limitless’ opportunities that its products can bring to the customers.