Well on the way to leading the growth of SUV penetration in India, Vivek Nayer, Chief Marketing Officer – Auto Division, Mahindra & Mahindra talks about Scorpio’s return in a new generation avatar, a change in consumer profile to a more aspirational lifestyle and how Mahindra & Mahindra plans to meet evolving consumer needs based on insights
BY HENNA ACHHPAL
Q] From primarily industrial vehicles to consumer vehicles, how has the story of Mahindra & Mahindra evolved over the years?
The biggest change that Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has undergone is that now we have a full range in personal as well as commercial vehicles, and a high market share in several segments. We are the number one SUV and pick-up player in the country. We have Thar, a complete off roader to the entry level SUV, Bolero, to a premium SUV, Scorpio. We have a comfortable MUV, Xylo; an international standard SUV, XUV 500; and Rexton, the very top end. On the commercial side, the Alpha three-wheeler carries a load of about half a ton, to the large trucks that carry up to 25-30 tonnes. In many of the Western countries, the penetration of SUVs is 40% plus. In India, it is still around 15-20% and growing. Being the market leader and having a full range, M&M is well poised to play a role in driving this growth.
Q] Talking of driving the SUV penetration in India, which markets are you looking at to deliver the next leap of growth?
India is very much a priority market. We are increasing our penetration into the rural market every year. That’s our ongoing job. We have a good presence across the country, being market leaders. As long as you meet evolving consumer needs with new products, there are opportunities in both urban as well as rural.
Q] What was the marketing plan for the recently launched new generation Scorpio and which media platforms did you leverage?
It was a 360-degree launch with a pre-aunch plan. We started by creating buzz on social media. We announced a contest asking people to guess how the new generation Scorpio will be revealed in the new TVC and the prize was the new Scorpio itself. We received more than 26,000 entries for the contest in less than a week. We also started revealing some of the car’s key features. Five days before the launch, we ran teasers on Television which showed a SUV coming out of the mud with the front LED lights on. On the launch day, we did a live web telecast of the launch which had more than 1 lakh people logged in. Soon after that, we started our Television campaign. Within two weeks, the TVC on YouTube crossed 1.3 million views. On the launch day, we were No. 1 on Facebook, No. 2 on Google Search and No. 8 on Twitter in India. These are dramatic statistics and show how much buzz and engagement we were able to create with this launch. We had a doublespread Print ad as well which said, “Not just a new car. A new breed.” We displayed the new car at key airports in the country. At the ground level, we had experiential test drives. We also invested in Cinema as the TVC is so clutter-breaking.
Q] Tell us more about the insight behind the TVC...
For the TVC, our primary brief to the agency was that it needs to be a dramatic and clutter-breaking product reveal. When the new generation Scorpio is revealed in the film, you see it in all its glory and it looks very majestic. The TVC also shows the hero’s status and lifestyle which we wanted to project as aspirational. Our secondary brief to the agency was again based on consumer insight - let's show our Scorpio hero as a real hero. We wanted to project a SUV owner in good light.
Q] How has Print as a medium performed for M&M?
Print enables auto players to give details of all the benefits and features which sometimes becomes difficult in a 30-second TVC. TV has a role to play when you try to communicate lifestyle and an emotional quotient. Print has a role to play especially in the communication of the rational benefits and features.
Q] Customers can book the new Scorpio on Snapdeal. How is this partnership faring?
Through the partnership with Snapdeal, we wanted to make it convenient for people to book a car. This is the first time we’ve done it and it worked well for us because it created a lot of buzz — booking a car on an online platform, that itself gave us a lot of PR.
Q] How are you leveraging the festive season to market the new Scorpio?
We strategically launched the new generation Scorpio at the beginning of the festive season so that we could maximize the period and fully leverage the festive season. The buzz created by the launch has been massive, so we will take it forward even when the festive period is over. We will continue to keep the excitement going.
Q] How has the consumer profile evolved since the first Scorpio?
As aspirations keep going up, the consumer keeps evolving every year. People are becoming more adventurous. They are looking at lifestyle options and the Scorpio is perfectly suited for that. Even in our TVC, we’ve shown a very upmarket and aspirational lifestyle. The hero is living on a ranch, in the countryside, he’s driving a Scorpio on open roads and there are mountains in the background. This is the kind of lifestyle consumers are aspiring for these days. They want to get out on weekends, and go for long drives with their friends and family. We have a series of Mahindra adventure initiatives which make that happen. We have several events throughout the year, such as one day off-roading events to 10-day expedition events. It’s like creating an experiential brand where we offer lifestyle options. The tough, rugged DNA of our SUVs gets demonstrated in a very experiential manner so we don’t need to tell them; they can experience it for themselves. These are the consumer insights that we have picked up over the last few years. People want a different lifestyle nowadays; they want to go beyond just going out for a meal or a movie.
Q] How are the XUV 500 and the latest Rexton faring in the market? What are your plans for the next year at the Auto Division of M&M?
XUV 500 is doing extremely well and in the price point that it falls in, it does better than all the sedans put together. As far as Rexton is concerned, we are already the No. 2 in the market. Toyota is the No. 1 brand in the high end SUV space with Fortuner. We are present in all the segments now. Our plan is to keep launching new products to keep up with the evolving consumer needs. We are looking at compact SUVs as a segment.
ABOUT THE BRAND
The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise through solutions that power mobility, drive rural prosperity, enhance urban lifestyles and increase business efficiency. A $ 16.5 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, Mahindra employs more than 1,80,000 people in over 100 countries. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership. In addition, Mahindra enjoys a strong presence in the agri business, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel, commercial vehicles and two wheeler industries. In 2014, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000, a comprehensive listing of the world’s largest, most powerful public companies, as measured by revenue, profit, assets and market value.
FACTS
Creative Agency: Interface Communications
Media Agency: Lodestar UM
PR: AdFactors PR
Digital Agency: Hungama Digital
MARKETING TIP
In all aspects of your marketing strategy, consumer insights are very important. You must drive everything based on real consumer insights.
CMO FILE
Vivek Nayer joined Mahindra & Mahindra in 2005 and as the Marketing Head and Brand Custodian, he has led the 30+ member marketing team in successfully launching several key initiatives. These include new product launches, re-launches, high impact advertising campaigns, brand portfolio differentiation strategy, pioneering push behind digital and social media and the Mahindra Adventure off-roading events. He is also involved in driving the medium and long term aspects of business like strategy, new products, brand equity and architecture. He is a member of the senior management councils of the Auto Division at Mahindra Group. He started his career with Voltas Ltd of the Tata group, and has a strong track record of over 24 years on blue chip brands.
Feedback: henna@exchange4media.com
