The Hindu Business Line : The wild side

The setting is wild and rugged. A young urban male takes his Ford Fiesta out on an incredible adventure on the outskirts of his city. Setting up a slalom course of torches, the driver uses his car to light them at high speed, showcasing the manoeuvra bility and exact precision of the vehicle, all the while listening to his favourite old Hindi song. No driving on wide open roads with a girlfriend in tow and zooming at high speed in this new television commercial.

Indeed, as Scott McCormack, Vice-President (Marketing, Sales and Service), Ford India Pvt Ltd, says, the whole idea was to move away from traditional stereotypes – that the Fiesta is not about just speed and acceleration but control and precision as embodied in the new TVC.

Test drives are an important sales tool, as consumers like to get behind the wheel to make a more informed decision. And the two-year old Fiesta has strategically used its advertisements to reiterate and stimulate the buyer to take the patented five-minute test-drive challenge, with its tag line, ‘believe it or drive it.’ As McCormack told BrandLine this feature of the Fiesta ads helped increase the curiosity in the minds of the prospective buyer. “On tracking dealerships, we come to understand that this element specifically has helped skyrocket enquiries from future buyers.”

This ad, directed by film-maker Ram Madhvani, is targeted at the passionate driver who seeks adventure. “The core target audience for the TVC is mainly male in the age group of 25-35-plus years, who is an achiever and someone who loves control, precision, is very confident, and drives well,” says McCormack. With the daily dose of Internet, the current customer is more excited in consuming real-life content in the user-generated space and this is what Ford has tried to embrace. “In fact, this commercial is designed as a trigger to stimulate and generate video responses that test the performance of the Ford Fiesta petrol through the eyes of different drivers, making the campaign work hard in the interactive space,” adds McCormack.

The TVC can be seen on a wide range of news and entertainment channels for a period of six weeks from now. The TVC will be supported by a print and online campaign. “March is one of the biggest seasons for us and it’s important that we are seen in the market and be in the consideration set of potential buyers,” he says.

According to Ford India, the Fiesta has contributed largely to its sales; since the car’s launch in 2005, more than 65,000 Fiestas have hit the road. With Fiesta becoming a significant player in the C segment, Ford’s Ikon is now an entry-level sedan in this category. However, as McCormack points out, cross shopping does not happen often in the C segment, even though a premium hatchback customer (B segment) could opt for a sedan for a little bit more. Fiesta launched itself with Abhishek Bachchan as the brand ambassador for a one-year period, and his style and panache helped the brand establish itself early. McCormack does not rule out using a celebrity endorser again if necessary.

Ford India, which announced a Rs 2,000 crore ($500 million) expansion plan early this month, is likely to enter the small car segment in 24 months. The company is looking at a full portfolio of products in the next few years. McCormack says: “The Fiesta is going to be here for the long term and in it its life cycle we may make changes to freshen the product.” He claims that the Ikon too will be a significant player in the Indian market for some time to come. The Josh continues and Ford is still ‘fida’ with the Fiesta.

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