“German Engineering, Made for India”
An entire Times of India edition blanketed with only Volkswagen, over and over again as each page was turned on by surprised readers & confused marketers. Confused & in awe only because of the gravity of the money that had been spent for the day, 11th November 2009.
This is the kick start of a 40 crore campaign by Volkswagen India, who have also come up with a Television ad recently, showcasing their brands.
The print ads introduced and appraised readers to the various Volkswagen brands that are currently available (Passat & Jetta) & the ones that are lined up for India (Polo, Beetle, Touareg).
Each brand of Volkswagen caters to a different target group, and the company is hoping that the 40 cr. media spend will help establish all its brands; they certainly got people talking for almost a week now.
The media spend will include print, TV, outdoor & the internet.
Expect the internet & outdoor impact to be similarly innovative-Mudra Group
The 40 cr. question?
is whether this will boost their numbers, which were poor in Oct' 2009. They operate in the very niche top end of the business, which accounts for less than 2% of overall car industry sales. India is touted as one of the growth markets for Volkswagen and they are not that far behind Mercedes or BMW in their numbers. Apr to Oct sales show that they are only around 700-900 cars behind.
The main question is the relevance of such a blitzkrieg campaign in a daily known for being friendly (readers may spell irritating) to full page print advertising. Is this the best channel for a niche top end brand like Volkswagen? Would it do any good if the word-of-mouth continued in the lower floor circles of an office?
Brand building, definitely yes! & a good job at it too, but at what cost, is the 40 cr. question. Meanwhile entertainment galore for readers & marketers alike, let’s hope the numbers look up, while people look forward to the Beetle & Polo hitting the hard Indian roads.
No comments:
Post a Comment