Tata Nano : A Promise is a Promise

Brand : Nano
Company : Tata Motors
Agency : Rediffusion ( Rumour)

Brand Count : 303


As a die-hard fan of Ratan Tata , I could not resist joining the euphoria around the Tata Nano. Yes, the world has seen and heard enough of the Tata's one lakh car. Today , every news, talk show talks about this revolutionary new product. Tomorrow newspapers and mags around the world will be celebrating this brand.

Seldom one gets an opportunity to witness a product launch that has the potential to change the dynamics of an industry as such. When the world boasts of an Ipod , we Indians did not had something to talk about. Now we have.
I am a big fan of Ratan Tata because he is someone who could be considered a true representative of Indian management ethos. The way he took the leadership of a whithering empire and the controlled aggression through which he tookover Corus and the way he came out of his initial failures at Nelco all makes him look attainable and inspiring . The dignity with which he handled the situation when his foray into starting an airline was torpedoed by the Government and now the one lakh car exemplifies the qualities that a young mind should aspire for.

The launch of Nano is a valuable lesson for all aspiring entrepreneurs. The brand is a symbol of VISION. In 1998 , Ratan Tata announced his dream of giving a car for one lakh. Many critics scoffed at the mention of the dream . Auto majors around the world questioned the business logic of the dream. Months back, the chairman of Suzuki Motors categorically ruled out the possibility of such a car at such a price. Now the product is now in front of all of us to see. In a sense this product is also a reminder of the vast potential of a human mind. Just like Roger Bannister who broke the four minute barrier, Ratan Tata has broken the one lakh barrier. Ofcourse he had the money but remember he is the first one to do so in the world. The words he spoke on the launch " A promise is a promise " makes a perfect tagline for this car.

The launch had raised thousands of questions about the quality of the car and the performance. But the look of the car silenced many critics. Tata proved that cheap does not always mean bad quality. Nano looks better than most of the small cars that are there in the Indian market. C K Prahlad in his pathbreaking book " Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid " reminds us that Indian consumers at the bottom of pyramid looks for value even at the low prices. Brands which focused only on low prices and produced junk products always have failed in the Indian market.

The new brand Nano will do two major changes in the Indian markets :
a. It will open up a new segment in the Indian Four Wheeler Industry
b. It will inspire many Indian entrepreneurs to have grand vision.

I think Nano will redefine the pricing in the Indian small car market. Either companies like Hyundai , Maruthi may have to cut the prices of existing small cars or they have to comeout with a similar priced car.

Nano will be making cars an affordable luxury for many Indians. To a limited extend it will affect the two wheeler segment but only to a limited extent. The reason is in the running cost and maintenance of four wheelers. At the current oil prices, Cars are still expensive to run & maintain. It cannot in the near future replace the functionality of a two wheeler until cars match the fuel efficiency of two wheelers.

So Nano will be the first car of many Indians who dream of a four wheeler . For those who travel less than 300 km permonth, Nano is definitely an alternative for two wheelers but more kilometers than that will burn a hole in the pocket of an average Indian consumer . Indian consumers will make a careful balance of usage of his two wheeler and Nano to make sure that his budget does not go out of control.There will also be many who could not buy Nano because their flats or houses didnot have parking space ( just joking! ).

Nano also will inspire many to think big. While Ambani brothers make us watch their progress with awe rather than inspire, the success of Ratan Tata will inspire us because he strikes a chord. The fact that Nano was put in reality within four years will also mark a significant turning point in the way we look at our engineering and design talent. The 1700 crore investment that Tata made in this project will be an eyeopener to many who are reluctant to put their money in R&D.

In the marketing front, Nano had the dream start . Infact Nano may need no ads but heavy dose of positive PR during the launch. The brand may have to counter the skepticism surrounding the performance . Another nightmare is managing the initial rush of the customers. Since this is a car for the common man, there is every possibility that the customers could be given a raw treatment at the dealership touch- points. Indian marketers are still to wake up to the possibilities of a good customer service. How Tata and its dealers handle the initial euphoria will be something to watch for in the Customer-relationship perspective .

Whether the car performs or not, Nano is set to change the dynamics of an Industry. I am happy that my favorite business leader is making that change.

Brand Update : Tata Safari Dicor

Safari has got better and more powerful. Last month Tata Motors launched a new variant Tata Safari Dicor 2.2 with a price starting from Rs 7.33 lakhs. The new variant is more powerful than the existing Dicor machines. Tata has also incorporated many cosmetic changes in the new Avatar. The changes are both external and internal and includes :

New Front Grill with chrome
Bumper Grill
Spare Wheel Cover
Two Tone beige Interiors
New Design leather seats
Wood Finish Control console etc etc

Safari has been struggling to carve out a space for itself in the highly dynamic SUV market in India. Tata Motors has been very patient with this brand and has been adding value to this product at frequent intervals. The new TVC is on air now and Safari retains the tagline " Reclaim your life ". One of the problem that old brands especially in the premium segment faces is that over a long period of time, the brand becomes dated. Customers are seeing this brand for a while and there is nothing new or exciting in that brand. Highly successful brands like Ford Ikon, Scorpio ,Accent and even Mercedes Benz face this issue of being perceived as dated. So marketers try to either change the look of the brand drastically or come out with a new brand and slowly phase off the existing variant. Safari has been trying to change itself in looks aswellas in positioning. There are rumors that Safari may be phased out in 2008/2009 and will be replaced by a new brand. Highly successful Scorpio is also feeling the pinch of being an old one and the new Ingenio is expected to take the center stage. This kind of issues become critical in the case of premium brands because Novelty and Exclusivity are serious attributes in the Product Choice.

Related Brand
Tata Safari

Brand Update : Tata Indicom

After a series of horrible ads featuring Kajol and Ajay Devgan, Tata Indicom has initiated a new series of ads trying to differentiate the brand from the rest of the service providers. Indicom retains Kajol as its brand ambassador, but has completely taken a new tone in talking to the customer. While Indicom was using Kajol and Ajay Devgan to lure the middle and lower middle segments with its Lifetime prepaid card and following it with cheap handset offer, the latest campaign is aimed at a different TG. The new campaigns are targeting the existing mobile users ( of competitors) and not the first time users which was the TG of the earlier ads.

View the Ad Here: Marriage ad. Love ad, Car Ad
This time the brand is talking to the Rational side of the brain. The new campaign is revolving around 6 key differentiators for the brand:

1.BroadSpan Network for constant signal accessibility across narrow subways,basement,elevators etc.
2.Breathing cell cites for seamless connectivity in trains lifts etc.
3.Echo free filters for clear sounds.
4.High security network for absolute confidentiality.
5.T-sim based service that enable customers to switch mobile handsets to latest ones.

6.Gentle waves for echo friendly system.

The brand communicates that these are the six reasons why one should switch to Tata Indicom.
Here again the brand has shown its ability to innovate. The above features are common features but Indicom has communicated effectively that the brand is good in these features.Atlast some sensible campaigns from Indicom...

Related Brand
Tata Indicom

Image source:agencyfaqs

Tata Indigo : Spoil Yourself

Brand : Indigo
Company: Tata Motors
Agency:FCB Ulka

Brand Count : 196

Tata Indigo is a super brand in the Indian car market. The brand is my choice as a Super brand not only because it was successful, but also because this is India's own brand. In a segment where the World's "Who is Who " is present luring the customers, Tata Indigo is the only truly indigenous presence. With the government exiting Maruti, Indigo and Indica represent the only domestic car manufacturers having their presence in the car market.

After the success of Tata Indica, Indigo was a riskybut bold move from Tata motors. Indigo is a sedan in the C-segment of the 600,000 new car market in India. C- segment represents around 20-25 % of the total cars sold that makes the c-segment market size around 1,50,000 units.

Indigo was launched in 2002.The car was developed on the highly successful Indica platform and was targeting the entry level C-segment. The brand was positioned as a truly value for money car in line with Indica.The brand from the launch itself wanted to pamper the customers. The car offered more space and comfort than even its high priced competitors.

The C-segment is one of the fastest growing and most competitive segment . The brand competition include Accent,Sienna,Esteem, Ikon,Corsa and the like.
Indigo did not compare itself with the immediate competition but wanted to offer what the premium brands in the D segment offered. The car was known for the space and the accessories it offered as a part of the standard equipment was seen only in premium segment cars. Indigo (like Indica) came out with different variants at different price points. One variant even had DVD player and Screen attached to the seat -a feature that you see not even in luxury cars.All these at a very affordable price.

The brand adopted the tagline " Spoil Yourself" and all the ads, highlighted the goodies that came with the product. Another series of ads promised the customers, business class experience. The basic focus of the brand was to drive home the fact that Indigo has more legroom and space compared to most of the C-class sedans.
This campaigns and the reasonable performance of the car with the tempting price tag ensured the brand's success in the market. Indigo has now 33% market share in the c-segment.

2004 saw the launch of a product variant of Indigo : Marina. Marina was the estate version of Indigo. The brand harped on the extra space that the Estate version offered and was promoted with the baseline " We like to carry our world with us".

In January 2007, Tata motors surprised everyone by launching India's first stretch limousine - the Indigo XL. Indigo XL marked the entry of Tata into the premium segment. Indigo XL has a longer wheel base that gives the rear passengers legroom comparable with the Limousines. Even the premium sedans in the E segment do not offer the leg space that XL offered. So Tata chose to call it a stretch Limousine. This straight comparison has irked some auto watchers who could not believe an Indian automaker calling their car a Limousine. XL has already created enough buzz in the market. Indigo XL as usual is positioned as a value for money car. The car offers comfort and accessories that is seen only in super luxury cars and comes with the price of a luxury sedan.

Despite all the right things that Tata Motors has done, the brand faces issues regarding its image. Whether be it Indica or Indigo, the brands does not carry the image of a Hyundai or a Honda. The main reason is that this brand does not get the support of the media. The media has only tried to degrade these brands and most of the time tried to find fault with these brands. I saw an Indian author berating the Indigo XL 's positioning as a stretch limousine by comparing Cadillac and the like with XL. But the comparison showed that Indigo has a comparable Wheel base with these super brands. Even in the auto shows, the anchors are blinded by the glamour of global brands. I am not stressing on being patriotic (am not a swadeshi jagron manch member) but Indica and Indigo should be treated at par with the global giants because they have proved their worth ?

Indigo is another classic example of Masstige product and is a proof that we also can make world class product.

Source: businessline,agencyfaqs

Brand Update : Tata Salt

Tata salt has introduced a new brand of salt in South India named " i-shakti". Although no TVC is aired, the brand is being promoted through ads in regional magazines. The ad in this post is in the regional language- Malayalam. Surprisingly the website of Tata Chemicals do not have any information about this brand. There is a possibility that i-shakti is test marketed in Kerala.The brand is being positioned as Iodised Free Flow salt that will help your child to become smart. Tata Salt do not have that much popularity in South India . That may be the reason for the new brand launch.The packaging and the color usage seems to be eye catching . Although the ads are in place, the product is yet to reach the supermarket -it seems.The brand is also endorsed by ICCIDD which stands for International Council for Control if Iodine Deficiency Disorders. i-shakti will take the competition head on from HLL's Annapurna brand. Annapurna is positioned on the iodine platform

Related Brand
Tata Salt

Tata Salt: Salt Of The Nation

Brand : Tata Salt
Company: Tata Chemicals
Agency: Bates

Brand Count :155

Tata salt is India's first branded salt. The story of this brand is interesting because the brand came as bye product. Tata salt was launched in 1983. Tata Chemicals has their largest integrated chemical plant in Mithapur. The soda ash plant needed fresh water for their boilers. Hence to supply fresh water, the company started purifying sea water and it created high quality salt as a bye product in the process. This coincided with the government campaign with the support of UNICEF for promoting Iodised salt since iodine deficiency was a serious issue haunting the children's health.
This environment gave birth of one of the super brands and a classic case of branding a commodity in the Indian market.

The Indian salt market is estimated to be around Rs 1 Billion. The market is dominated by unbranded players. Tata salt have a market share of around 40% in the branded segment and 18% in the total market. The product salt is a low involvement and low value product with little scope of differentiation. Tata salt had the first mover advantage and was able to consolidate its position in the market thorough brand building.

1990 saw organised players eyeing the market. Captain Cook salt was launched in the market taking the " free flowing " feature as a differentiating factor. 1996 saw HLL extending its Annapurna brand to salts and positioning its brand on the platform of health and iodine content. 2001 saw the high profile launch of Dandi salt from Kunwar Ajay sari fame.Still 70% of the market is dominated by unbranded players.

Tata salt started its life positioning on the rational platform of purity. Since the corporate brand had the value of Trust engrossed in Indian consumer's mind, Tata salt was eagerly owned by the consumers. One of the major factors that accelerated the growth of branded salt and Tata salt was the effective campaign by the government to promote iodised salt. The campaign penetrated the market to as deep as 20% and the first mover Tata Salt benefited most out of it.

2002 saw the repositioning of Tata Salt on the platform of emotion. The brand owners felt that they should rise above the rational differentiation and try to emotionally influence the consumers. Hence Tata salt adopted its new tagline " Desh ka namak" translated " Salt of the nation". The brand is trying to associate itself to the nationalistic feeling of the consumers and is trying to fill a passion towards the brand. It is a herculean task for a brand that is in a category which is low involvement and low priced. To create involvement in such a category will be a tough task . But the campaign has raised the brand to new heights in terms of market share. Since customers usually are brand loyal and tend to use the same brand of salt every time ( convenience factor) , such high decibel campaigns helps in strong brand recall.

But the long term view of this category is challenging because the scope of differentiation has not been sustainable. There has not been any serious product development these years and this can recommoditise the category.The brand owners may have to think about value additions in the marketing mix to capture the 70% of unbranded segment.

source:tatasalt, superbrand, businessline, agencyfaqs,domainb

Tata Sierra : RIP

Brand : Sierra
Company: Tata Motors
Agency: O&M

Brand Count :144

Sierra is the first passenger car from Telco ( Now Tata motors). Tata Sierra was launched in 1991 marking the transformation of a Truck manufacturer to a Passenger vehicle maker. Sierra was an entirely a new product in the Indian car market at that time. This three door vehicle was indeed the first SUV to hit the Indian roads.

Sierra was the baby of Ratan Tata and his first attempt to make a mark in the Indian Business world after taking over Telco. But the product bombed inthe market. Sierra can be said as a brand that came too early. The Indian market was not ready for this concept.

I personally love this car for its look. Most of you will agree that this vehicle is a stylish one. Even with the entry of all major SUV brands in India, Sierra looks contemporary ( my opinion) and modern.
Why did Sierra failed in the market?
a. Price
b.Quality
Sierra primarily failed in the market because of its steep price. Priced around Rs 5 lakh, the brand failed to appeal to the value proposition of the Indian consumer. Another factor was the corporate image of the company. Telco was rightly perceived as a truck manufacturer and Sierra was the first passenger car. Hence the consumers were not ready to shell out a premium for this brand

Then there was the quality issue. Sierra was a truck in the car form ( no problem with that!) .The consumers knew that and the price don't justify the quality proposition given in the product. Although steeply priced, Sierra had all the goodies that 2005 cars offered like power steering, power windows etc. Yet.... Sierra failed to enthuse the customers.

Sierra was rightly positioned as a sporty beast. The ads and campaigns rightly promoted the brand and it had all the potential to be an icon. Telco made a mistake in having high hopes for this brand. At the best, the product could have been a niche brand and an important one. The brand could have lifted the company to a higher level, had the quality issue was rectified.

Even today , we can see this car on the road . And most of the owners who uses this product because they like the brand not for any other reason such as low price.I read in an article that the design guru Dilip Chabaria loves the look of Sierra. As the old ad of Sierra says , "Sierra is not owned It is Possessed". Today Sierra's position is occupied by Scorpio and rightly so.. If launched again with a right price , there is still a market for Sierra.

Source: indicar,businessline,agencyfaqs.

Tata Ace : Small is Big

Brand : Ace
Company: Tata Motors
Brand Count : 97

TATA Ace is the classic case of marketing success in India. What ever factors that Kotler have spoken about to successfully launch a new product, it is there in this product. Ace is Tata's answer to the marketing myopia of three wheelers.
Ace is a .75 ton truck in the commercial vehicle segment which is dominated by large trucks. It can be called India's first mini truck . Launched in May 2005, Ace has become a blockbuster and is expected to create a huge dent in the three wheeler goods carrier market.

Till the launch of Ace, the sub one ton loads were transported by the three wheeler goods carriers. Although the quality and performance of these three wheelers are less than desirable there was still huge demand for these vehicles. It is this market that Ace is trying to capture. It is the transportation at the " last mile" market that Ace has captured.

Ace had all the qualities of a winner. It is cute, the engine is good interms of mileage and performance, the comfort factor is very much there and more over it is a Truck and not an Auto. Priced competitively at 2.25 lakh to 2.40 lakh, Ace is a value proposition that no one can refuse.The brand was launched at a point where there was a need for transportation of good speedily and conveniently and in a cost effective manner.

The target segment are those who want to upgrade from these three wheelers. The brand Ace has its own limitations. Hence Tata was careful not to overhype the product so that it will "under promise " and " over deliver".

Although the product took around Rs180 crores to develop, the brand is giving rich returns for Tata Motors. The company is working overtime to deliver the orders and is looking for expansion of production of Ace. Even Ace is looking at overseas and is exporting to Srilanka and Bangladesh.

The success of Ace has opened up a new category in the commercial vehicle market. It is reported that Ace had already captured 65% of the small commercial vehicle segment and is expected to contribute an additional turnover of Rs 2500 crore.It is again a sign that Tata Motors have identified the DNA for marketing success in Indian market.

Tata Ace : Small is really BIG......

Tata Safari : Reclaim Your Life

Brand : Safari Dicor
Company: Tata Motors
Agency: O&M


Safari is the first luxury SUV in India. Launched in 1998 Safari have around 23% market share in the booming SUV market in India. Although Safari has been dwarfed by the success of homegrown Scorpio, it is an example of the guts of Tata to invest and built a brand.

Although Safari has been there in the market for 8 years, it has not been able to excite the market in the way Scorpio did. One of the major factor being the product quality.With the failures of Estate and Seirra, Tata motor's image had took a beating .
Safari is India's first full bodied luxury sport utility vehicle is known for its comfort and luxury. Launched as an off roader, the positioning of Safari has been changed thrice. Initially Safari was positioned as an offroader. the ads had jungle as the main locale and the baseline said " Make your own road". The ads created by O&M were catchy and rightly positioned the premiumness of the brand. Later consumer research revealed that Safari is used by urban folks and perceived as a City vehicle and not an offroader. Hence Safari shifted its positioning as a " Car for the urban Jungle".Tata projected Safari as a lifestyle product and promoted Safari using all media including Placement in Film ( ROAD) , sponsoring events and high decibel media blitz.

Safari recently did a major overhaul and launched it with new look and new engine DICOR and a new positioning. The new DICOR says " Reclaim your life" taking the campaign to a higher level and trying to connect with the customer at a higher plane ( Oops ! Am I becoming philosophical?).

It can be called as Laddering where initially you start taking about functional aspects but later when the brand awareness is high you connect with the need of the customer at a higher level. Here Safari dares you to break from your past and go after your dreams.

Personally I was really impressed by the ad, the message and the product. Going by the new strategy of Tata Motors to load their products with value, Safari is also loaded with all the hightechs that is seen usually in high end SUV's.

Safari has all the potential to Reclaim its Rightful Place .

Tata Indica : Truly more car per car

Brand : Tata Indica
Agency : FCB Ulka
Company: Tata motors

Baseline : more car per car

India is a lucrative market for automobile manufacturers. If we believe the fancy numbers floating around regarding the industry size, this is a market no one can ignore.

Fighting with all the big names in the auto industry is our very own Tata Motors.

Let me be patriotic and say " we have done it". We have our own Indian Car: Indica.
Well You may say that the design was outsourced from IDEA ITALY so this is not 100% Indian. I would say that Tata's are smart so they outsourced it.....

Any way as hypocritic as we are by birth, although we say " sare jahan se acha " , we were ruthless towards Indica. Everyone looked down upon this car from Tata talking about all the negative points about the performance and writing off this dream of an Indian to build an Indian car.

Despite the initial setback with Indica, Tata motors reworked on the engine and relaunched Indica as Indica V2. Now indica is the second largest selling car in India.

Indica is positioned as a value for money car. I have said in my earlier blog that this is a proposition that will always work on Indian consumers, provided the promise is delivered.
Indica delivered its promise. It promised that it will give more car per car and delivered that.

The success of this proposition had an interesting side effect ( positive of course). Tatas have discovered its vision : deliver more value at a reasonable price. The recent launches prove that Tatas have imbibed this "value for money " proposition . The latest products like Safari Dicor and Indigo give many features which were seen only in premium cars.