Having withdrawn its association with various motorsports events in search of a wider consumer audience, the country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is now formulating experiential initiatives to connect with younger buyers, according to a senior company official.

The auto major, which has pulled out of marquee events such as Raid de Himalaya, Desert Storm, Dakshin Dare and Autocross Championship, is now in the process of giving final shape to its next level of engagement with consumers, with plans to start programmes like track events and inter-city expeditions.

“We found out from research that consumers wanted something experiential. It was not enough for MSI to be seen as a company associated with motorsports (only), but subsequently they wanted something more, which was something related with experiential driving,” MSI Executive Director, Marketing & Sales, Shashank Srivastava, told PTI.

The consumer, who is slightly younger now, is becoming more aspirational and experiential. Besides, motor rally events are limited to professional drivers and a few enthusiasts with deep pockets, Srivastava noted.

“And, therefore, we said the purpose of association with those rallies was more or less over because we have firmly established MSI’s qualities with the consumers,” Srivastava said.

Going forward, he said the aim of the company would be to organise events which can give a more experiential thing to a wider base of consumers.

“Probably you will see (some activities) from mid-July this year and we hope to make it a calender as we go along so that people look forward to it,” he said.

Asked to elaborate, Srivastava said, “It would be something like a track event, for example where people participate and experience driving or something like expeditions ..driving from one city to another..so we are planning events like that.”

The aim of such events, he said, is “to give them (consumers) a more experiential thing...So that has been the directional shift that we have envisaged.”

When asked if MSI would look at sponsoring motorsport events again, Srivastava said: “The marketing purpose for participating in those events has been more or less served and we would now like to get to the second stage of giving an experience to customers. At some later stage if we see a different trend among consumers, we may look at (motorsports) at that time.”

MSI has been associated with motorsports since 1986. It supported the Himalyan Rally from 1986 to 1991. It sponsored the Raid de Himalaya from 1999 to 2017. The company was also the main sponsor of the Desert Storm rally from 2003. In 2009, it also brought in the Dakshin Dare to encourage the rally scene in South India.

The auto major was also associated with other events like the Autocross Championship.

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