Volkswagen India IMC -

Case Study
A Story about VWs successful entry into India
Volkswagen group India
Volkswagen group India, the Indian subsidiary is
a part of Volkswagen AG.
It has its headquarters in Pune, Maharashtra.
The VW group is represented by three brands in
India : Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda.
VW has done a lot to increase its brand name,
which gives it the flexibility to sell higher-priced
cars.

Car segments in India
Budgeted car segment (1-3 lakh)
Compact car segment(3-5 lakh)
Mid size segment (5-10 lakh)
Premium car segment(10-25 lakh)
Luxury car segment (25+ lakh)

Segmentation
Volkswagen offers car models in Luxury segment, Midsize
segment, compact car segment in India.

Following are the models which are available
1. Volkswagen Polo- ( compact car segment)
2. Volkswagen Vento,Jetta - ( midsize segment)
3. Other cars such as Beetle, Passat, Touareg,
Phaeton come under luxury and premier segment.




Segmentation
Car users looking for sedan, SUV, hatchback are the
market segments which they are focusing.

They Present themselves in various segments as the
premier manufacturer of high volume vehicles.

Launched globally successful Passat in 2007.

It was Targeted mainly for the luxury segment in the
Indian market.

They launched their bestseller brand Jetta in India
in July 2008 to expand their portfolio and cater to
the mid segment.




Segmentation
New Beetle and high end SUV Touareg were
introduced in December 2009 in the high-end
segment.
December 2009 they started manufacturing the
hatchback version of Polo to target a huge
segment of small car buyers.
Plan to capture bigger market with Polo.
Vento was the next car which was targeting the
mass market.


Segmentation
Currently Volkswagen India offers a car in
every segment except budget cars segment.
Volkswagen also has plans to target the ultra-
low-cost hatchback segment in India.
Volkswagen India has hoped to bring the one
and only low-cost car Volkswagen Up! priced
in the range of Rs 3-4 lakh.



Targeting
Young executives, businessmen and urban
families.
Now have started targeting the mass market.
Some of the cars like Volkswagen Phaeton is
placed in a niche market to target niche audience
in India.
The company had outlets in all the major cities but
is now targeting semi-metro cities like Lucknow,
Bhopal and Vijayawada in order to expand its
market and availability.


Targeting
Volkswagen India wanted to target the working professionals . They
wanted to build loyalty and aspiration and Influence decision-making.
Volkswagen used LinkedIns broad reach (100 million members
worldwide, 9 million in India) and precise targeting capabilities to
connect with professionals who matched the buyer profiles for their
different models.
They launched a series of Recommendation Ads, and invited the
community to recommend their favorite Volkswagen model. In less
than 30 days, over 2,700 Volkswagen fans had stepped forward to
recommend their favorite cars and share these recommendations with
their professional networks.
Thus , Precise targeting by seniority and geography ensured match
with affordability criteria and dealership locations.
Differentiation
It is focusing on a large market, but is targeting
the upper-middle class and higher class.
Volkswagen has a 18 plus strategy to make it the
most eco-friendly automaker in the world.
Their focus is to become an economic and
environmental leader in the automotive industry.
Strive for success in terms of customer
satisfaction and exploring new markets.

Differentiation(Audi)
Audi offers top-quality, technically brilliant cars with
an exclusive flair in the relevant luxury segments

Around the world Audi has always been number 3
when compared to the more well known German
brands of Mercedes and BMW. However, that is
changing in India partly because Audi was able to
capitalize on the new designs featuring the LED
eyelids that are now copied by every other car
company.


Differentiation
Volkswagen Indias strategy is to present a
region-specific approach focused on vehicle
safety, fuel efficiency, and environmentally
friendly vehicles.
The right adaptations for the Indian market
will enable Volkswagen to differentiate itself
from domestic and international competitors
and generate growth.
Showcase German engineering coupled with
Made in India promise.
Differentiation- ThinkBlue
An example of differentiation by Volkswagen India was
introduction of BLUEMOTION Technologies incorporated in
their cars.
ThinkBlue mindset is combining mobility with sustainability for
people who care about the environment but do not want to
ignore the economical aspect and the fun of driving.
BlueMotion Technologies is a range of innovations and
refinements that represent the cleanest, most energy efficient
cars in the Volkswagen range.
It stands for the interaction of a number of technologies, for
example recuperation, the start-stop system, optimized
aerodynamics etc. They all work together to make a
Volkswagen more economical and reduce emissions. Customers
can recognize the most efficient models by the name
BlueMotion Technologies.



Positioning
Volkswagen has positioned itself as the safety
leader that also offers lower operating costs and
eco-friendly driving.
They have also projected themselves as a
premium, innovative brand.
Volkswagen positioned itself as a premium brand in
Indian market, but it is now trying to reduce costs
and increase profit by removing many of its
premium traits and also by building local
manufacturing plants and selling smaller cars.
Positioned as the biggest automobile giants.



Positioning
Audi is in the luxury segment. Skoda, however,
has taken a more premium positioning
compared to the Volkswagen brand, contrary
to the group's global practice.
Reposition its brands available in the country
so as to bring in more alignment with its global
image.
Competition for Volkswagen India is tough as
people have the notion that it sells mainly
upper segment cars and think of it as a very
pricey brand. Also, Brand recall is very low.


Positioning
Example of Experiential positioning by
Volkswagen : Experiential positioning is the
strategic process of understanding consumer
desires, creating and delivering a particular
form of experience, and communicating the
firms proposed experience to consumers in a
way that differentiates the brand from
competitors in the consumers mind.


VW India

Challenges

Volkswagen was a late entrant in the
already crowded Indian car market

Well known European brands had a
difficulty in proving themselves in India
compared to the established Japanese,
Indian ones questions about after-sales
service, toughness on Indian roads
remained

Ad spends by competitors in this sector
were very high, how could VW hold its
own by resorting to lesser ad spends?

Campaign Objectives

To increase awareness of the VW brand as
a mass premium player in India

To maintain consistency & yet establish
uniqueness across the different brand
launches VW had planned for the various
segments over the year

To drive VWs core brand identity that
globally stood for pioneering in innovation







Talking Newspaper for VW Vento
The readers of the Times of India in the five metros were
taken by surprise when their newspapers talked to them
about the Vento.
The worlds first talking newspaper, which used light-sensitive
chips embedded with speakers to speak to readers about
Volkswagen as they turned the pages of their morning
newspaper. The talking newspaper ad created a sensation in
India, and garnered worldwide attention for taking print
advertising to a new level. In one year, brand awareness more
than quadrupled, increasing from 8 percent to a high of 37
percent.
Due to its uniqueness, this advertisement became the
talking point for a while and garnered great press and
social media coverage. -

Perfect Positioning - VW Beetle
Instead of selling to men, targeted
successful and affluent women as
the buying audience.

The New Beetle was launched as
a fashion icon and not as just
another car.

Stylish and sexy positioning for
the car - Its Official. Curves are
back.

OOH - At an important junction in Mumbai, an eight-section hoarding was
erected, with each panel showing a different section of the car. Panels were
initially covered up, but day by day a new panel was revealed until by the
eighth day, the Beetle could be seen in its glory



Made in India - VW Polo
Volkswagen aimed to employ the
think global, acts local communication
to drive home to point that it is Made
in India

Punched a Polo-shaped hole in each
copy of the newspaper. Inside the
hole one could read about each of the
innovative India-appropriate features

Digital campaign - Used innovative
banner ads to take people on a virtual
tour of India, passing through famous
sites and clearly communicating
Polos Indian-ness in an interesting
and innovative way.



Touareg VW SUV Machine
The Touareg is an SUV that dominates
the road and makes mincemeat out of
even 45 degree hills.

OOH - A dummy Touareg was created
and attached to the outside of a
building, giving the impression that it
was climbing vertically. The innovative
approach intrigued passersby and
garnered widespread press.

Digital media
A rich media banner ad that unleashed
an animated Touareg which would then
descend through the text of the page
that is being read.
LinkedIn Recommendation
VW India participated in the worldwide launch of Company Pages in November
2010, and soon thereafter opened up their pages to allow LinkedIn members to
post reviews and recommendations of their car line in India including the New
Beetle, Vento, and Polo due to majority of their working class TG being present
here

Results
2,700 product recommendations in 30 days
2,300 new followers on VW India Company Page
960,000 viral updates about VW car models
Results
VWs brand awareness jumped exponentially
since its launch.

Within a years time, Volkswagen came to be
known as a brand that makes innovative cars in
India

In the period between 2009 to June 2010, it
sold record breaking cars, from the higher
priced Passat and Jetta models to the more
affordable Polo.

All of this was achieved with minimal ad spends
with VW having only a total 9% share of voice
and leveraging word of mouth and efficient
positioning instead of out shouting competition