The Hindu Business Line : The Skoda score

WHY does the Skoda have a heated rear window? To keep your hands warm while you push it uphill! Now feast on this: What do you call a Skoda on top of a hill? A miracle!

These jokes were a part of the series that frequented the mailboxes of auto lovers until a few years ago. Times have changed. The recent ad campaign is designed to communicate the aggressiveness of this Volkswagen scion through pleasant and feel-good images.

So, we get a new television commercial which depicts a father lifting his kids followed by a man carrying his lady on the beach. Then there is a young Samaritan carrying a tired old woman to a car after which a man piggybacks his woman. This corporate ad campaign ends up with a smart one-liner `You need to be well-built to carry your loved ones...'

"Skoda jokes have never been an issue for us, and on the Internet you might find jokes on almost every automobile. The core essence of Skoda is its youthfulness. We are all about being lifestyle-centred," says Shashank Vaid, Manager (Marketing), Skoda Auto India Pvt Ltd.

Like apparel and lifestyle brands, a car is an extension of one's personality. People buy cars which either match their personalities or those which provide them an opportunity of being perceived as somebody they aspire to be. This becomes significant as consumers move up the value chain from small compact cars to midsize and upward.

"Reading the consumer mind, we find several motivations which drive him to consider or purchase a particular model. Almost all these motivations are emotional or aspirational," said Neeraj Bhatia, General Manager, TNS Automotive, of research firm TNS India.

For IB&W, the ad agency employed to build the Skoda brand, the brief was succinct: Evolve the core brand essence by integrating lifestyle and youth. Interestingly, the whole campaign was a case of synergy between the IB&W team and Skoda Auto's marketing department, unlike in most cases where one does not intrude into the other's domain.

"The key strategic intent for the ad campaign was getting the brand back into consumer consideration. Keeping in mind our target audience, the brief was to make Skoda youthful and sought after," says Vaid.

Hence, the latest television commercial focused on a car that could handle the owner's loved one with care. Consumers perceive such cues as an exciting offer and become committed to them.

The brand positioning was clear. Skoda Superb was targeted at chief executive officers and high net worth individuals. The message was about a prestige carrier of the world's most powerful man. The Skoda RS and L&K were positioned on a new plank altogether - India's family sports car.

"We believe that our automobiles and their brand positioning were unique and caught on well with our customers. Today, we are family to 16,500 proud customers," Vaid added.

The reality with Indian markets is that customers are extremely price-conscious. While making purchases based on emotional appeal, there is a rational side which does have an effect on the decision to buy a particular make and model of car.

"The car's fuel efficiency, cost of spares, service levels, network penetration, resale value and such factors have a big impact on purchase decision. This is true for cars across all segments whether small or luxury," TNS' Bhatia says.

Globally, Skoda Auto commands significant brand recall. Their claim to fame was always their pedigree. Skoda Auto realised the need to communicate information about its product features. The recent print campaign attempts that. In June last year, the company played the safety card.

The advertising strategy is pitched on safety. So there is a mother and kid print ad, and the copy reads `we fill our airbags with life.' The proposition was centred on the fact that Skoda automobile comes with six airbags - a feature that safeguards the owner and his little one.

There is a print campaign advertisement for Skoda Octavia's boot space, comparing it to a double bed when unfolded. The most distinct in terms of media strategy was the use of print media to promote product features.

"We use television commercials as part of the corporate branding strategy, while the print advertisements communicate the benefits," explains Vaid. The recent `well built' television commercial is a 30-second film shot in exotic locales in Goa. It says that the car needs to be well built to carry one's loved ones. However, the contemporariness of models has a big impact on purchase decision. The perception of the car in terms of its performance and design, quality, sales and after-sales, cost of ownership, apart from brand image, all affect the purchase decision. Product quality has the highest correlation with brand image, Bhatia says. The key to good and effective car brand advertising is to identify a unique emotional need, sharply position the car in all its form and style, delivering a strong personality to identify with, he adds.

But all the media spends and creative execution is just half the battle won. According to TNS Automotive 2004 Total Customer Satisfaction study, Skoda Octavia lags behind Toyota Corolla in the premium mid-size segment by few basis points. It's time it used its build to top the customer satisfaction list.

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