Hyundai Getz: Get the positioning right

Brand : Getz
Company: Hyundai
Agency: Innocean

Getz is India's first super mini. Super mini refers to premium hatchback cars which is popular in European countries. These are compact cars which have all the goodies of a luxury sedan.In the highly competitive Indian car market, Getz is an experiment . Hyundai have the guts to take risks. With the success of Santro: India's first tall boy car ,the excellent brand building and successful makeover of Santro gave Hyundai great confidence about its marketing ability.

Getz is positioned as a premium compact car and is priced between Santro/Zen and the sedans like Ikon and Accent. Although it is not in direct competition with sedans, Getz is trying to create a market for itself. The reason why Getz cannot compete with sedans is the typical mindset of Indian consumer who always put Sedans at a higher level (in terms of status) to hatchbacks.

This market is expected to increase in size because of higher traffic and difficulty in getting parking spaces. With the launch of Maruti Swift, this segment is witnessing heavy competition.

Auto reviews suggest that Getz is even superior to many sedans in terms of drive quality and the goodies. But with its pricing, the brand has restricted itself in to a niche player. The price of 4.5 lakhs is going to put off many consumers who will go in for a sedan rather than settle for a "Small car". It will take lot of money for Hyundai to overcome the " Small car " obstacle. With The Tata Indigo and Fiesta offering a " Large" car at the same price, Getz will find it hard on getting volumes.

The brand was launched with some colorful advertising which appeared to be less focused. The initial focus was on fun. Then came the lousy promo involving Sania Mirza endorsing the brand. Hyundai fail to remember that no one is going to buy and expensive car because Sania is driving it.

The recent campaign of Getz talking about its USP of " More Space" was an ideal example of " Poor Execution" of a good concept. The odd looking family members using the hands to send the message that they need more space is not only irritating but creates a bad impression on the owners. Those who travel in crowded trains will notice how bad we feel when someone deliberately push others to make more space for themselves.

Since Getz is a premium car, Hyundai could have created better pictures in the mind of the TG about the product, use better imagery and messages just as what Toyota is doing for Innova.