Ad focus shifts to technology and design The “world ’ s cheapest car ” label may have done more harm than good to the Nano image . That at least is the view of the creative agency for the car , Rediffusion Y &R . Tata Motors seems to be in agreement , for it is going along with the new campaign, though it says that the idea was never to play up the cheap price .
As a consequence of the realisation , the Tata Nano story is being retold . The new ad campaign has dropped its “ world ’ s cheapest car ” USP ; instead , it marks a shift in proposition from “ what you’ ll have to pay ” for a Nano to “what you will get ” from it . The new campaign underscores that it is a
comfortable car for Indian families with world - class technology and innovative designing.
Clearly , the attempt is to allay apprehensions surrounding the car ’ s safety and durability .
A top executive of Rediffusion Y &R , who did not wish to be identified , explained: “ The earlier media hype around the Nano positioning it as the Rs 1 lakh car has done more harm than good to the brand . The emphasis on the car being cheap has somehow portrayed the otherwise loaded product as a compromised solution. It has somehow signalled that it ’ s a car for people who are little disadvantaged, don ’ t have enough money to buy an expensive car .
This has taken away the pleasure of owning a Nano to some extent . ” The Tata Nano spokesperson, asked if it was a mistake to promote the car as the cheapest in the world , said, “ We never positioned ourselves as the Rs 1 lakh car . This has been created by the word of mouth . Our positioning is that of a comfortable car for Indian families and our marketing campaigns stand by it . ”
So if it ’ s not the innovative price point , what will brand Nano capitalise on from now on ? According to the advertising executive , brand Nano will now be built on its technological prowess and its acknowledgement on the global platform. “ There are several untold stories about the Nano other than its pricing that can be explored — like the number of awards it won globally, its design , technology, space use . He said his agency was in talks with Tata Motors to build on the brand as a mark of innovation , as the face of new India . Though the brand has so far stayed away from traditional media and depended solely on the word of mouth and unconventional ways to propagate itself, it now plans to go whole hog on TV, followed by print . The brand has allotted Rs 15 - 20 crore for the exercise to be conducted over the next three months.
After the December ad splash , three more TV campaigns will appear in coming weeks to reposition the Nano . Did the absence of communication when the debate raged hurt the brand ? The Tata Motors spokesperson would not admit to any delay. “We wanted to launch the full - fledged marketing campaign only after capacity and distribution issues were fully taken care of . ”
The new campaign is being watched keenly for its efficacy by brand watchers . Santosh Desai , CEO of Future Brands , said, “ The brand seems to have rested for quite sometime on the laurels of the tremendous public relations it got at its launch. This created a vacuum in the market and anxiety among consumers about the product.
Not reassuring the market and not being present enough did affect its sales . High time the focus was shifted from price to other positive aspects. ” Agreed Harish Bijoor , another brand consultant ,
“In the case of a car brand , aspects like functionality, price and size will always be there .
That is not what needs to be touted while marketing the product. It ’ s always better to go in for an emotional , rather than a functional, tag . I believe the company must have realised that its focus on functionality has not been delivering well. That ’ s why the new strategy . ”
(source- mydigitalfc)
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