BRAND MANAGEMENT

Report

COURSE FACILITATOR: Prof. R. Kamble

Brand Name- TATA Indica

SUBMITTED BY:-
RAHUL GUPTA (08IT027)
SEC- ABC
INTRODUCTION:-

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In September 1995, Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Motors had a dream. A dream he
believed he shared with every Indian. "We'll have a car with the Zen's size, the
Ambassador's internal dimensions, and the price of a Maruti 800 and with the
running cost of diesel.
On 30 December 1998, Tata Motors (previously called TELCO) introduced the
most modern car ever to be designed by an Indian company: the Indica. The name,
Indica, was derived from two words – India’s Car.
Marketed with slogans like "The Big... Small Car" and "More car per car," the ad
campaign focused on roomy interiors and affordability. Within a week, the
company received 1, 15, 000 bookings. In two years, the Indica became the number
one car in its segment.
Partly designed and developed by Tata Motors, it is a five-door compact hatchback
with a 1.4 L petrol/diesel engine designated as 475DL internally. This is a
homegrown engine which is derived from the engine used by Tata in their line of
pickups and SUVs earlier with a reduced stroke. The original engine was
designated as 483DL which stood for 4 cylinder and 83 mm stroke.
The Indica offered options like air conditioning and electric windows, which were
previously restricted to only up market imported cars in India. Three years later the
Indica was exported to European markets for the first time, and from 2003 the
Indica was re-badged in Britain as the City Rover. This vehicle ceased production
in April 2005 when MG Rover went bankrupt, and did not resume production when
new owners Nanjing Automobile launched its own versions of the MG Rover range
in 2007.

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 Contrary to popular belief, the car was not designed entirely in India. The outer
body styling was done by an Italian design house called I.DE.A Institute, under
contract from Tata Motors, with heavy interaction with Tata's in-house design
team. The engine was however indigenous.

Different Tata Indica models are:

• Tata Indica Vista
• Tata Indica V2
o DLS
o DLE
• Tata Indica V2 Xeta
o GL
o GLX
o GLG
o GLS
o GLE
• Tata Indica V2 Turbo
o DLS
o DLG
o DLX
• Tata Indica V2 Dicor
o DLS
o DLG

Competitive scenario around the brand -

For long, the Maruti 800 was the standard entry-level car. The Maruti 800
dominated, and continues to, what is called the A segment. However, the entry of

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 MNCs, such as Daewoo and Hyundai, saw the focus shifting to what the industry
calls the B segment.
The main competitors of TATA Indica include the Zen, the Wagon R and the Alto
from Maruti, the Santro from Hyundai, the Matiz from Daewoo, the Uno and now
the Palio from Fiat. Competition is intense and the manufacturers admit that the
small-car segment, though offers volumes, is not profitable.Now after the launch of
TATA Indica Vista, if we consider the price range then it’s main competitors are
Swift and Palio. But TATA Indica Vista has to go long way to give a competition
to Swift.

FACT AND SUCCESS STORIES OF TATA INDICA V2:-

February 2001, saw the next stage in the evolution of the diesel Indica - the Indica
V2. A car that embodied everything the Indica had with several added features like
a SuperDrive Engine, Block Shock Absorbers, a Smooth Ride Suspension, Easy
Shift Gears and Wide Tread Tires.
Within just a few months of its launch, the Indica V2 was the best-selling car in its
class. Taking off on the success of the Indica V2 diesel, the Indica V2 Petrol was
launched in September 2001. It combined state-of-the-art technology with above
mentioned features with the smoothness of petrol.
Indica V2 XETA sales, at 1,00,300 units in April-December 2006 , grew at the
above industry- average rate of 35.8 per cent. The 2007 Indica V2 Xeta range
comes at Rs 2.55-3.49 lakh.

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RECENT DEVELOPMENT:--

Setting the benchmark, though, is one thing. Raising it is quite another. The Indica
constantly strives to beat its own, and the industry’s standards. It addresses the new
tastes and preferences of an evolving market. In February 2001, the launch of the
Indica V2 achieved all that and more.

Optimized performance with respect to brakes, power steering, air-conditioning

and Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH) are key features every customer looks for
before choosing a car. In the company’s constant effort to enhance product appeal
the Indica was given a facelift in January 2004. This has met with instant success

In 2008 it has launched the Indica Vista was unveiled at the 9th Auto Expo in New
Delhi. The Indica Vista is built on a completely new platform and shares nothing
with the existing Indica. This new version is bigger than the previous Indica; it is
3,795 mm long with a wheelbase of 2,470 mm. The Indica Vista has two new
engines, a 1.3 L Quadra Jet common rail direct injection diesel. The Indica Vista
was launched in August 2008.

Fig.1 TATA Indica Vista

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Brand Strategies :-

Promotion
‘More car per car’. In an increasingly competitive market, the Indica positioning
has remained consistent with the brand's offering. Encapsulating the inherent
product strengths and marrying them with the customer trait of desiring ‘More’, the
Indica is now synonymous with the word.

As India’s very first indigenous car, the launch could be nothing short of
monumental. A daring campaign achieved just that by extensively hyping the
launch date as an event to watch out for.

Launched only through the press medium, with three diesel versions and a petrol
version, the campaign shattered many automobile advertising myths. The car was
launched without any television advertising, but through high-impact newspaper
ads, dominating the medium and delivering the desired impact.

The campaign redefined the competition by keeping away from the ‘small car’
nomenclature. Headlines such as ‘You’ll never have to suffer a small car again’
assisted customers in distinguishing between their old choices and the Indica. This,
in effect, placed the Indica on the pedestal of leadership, set to change the rules of
the game.

With affordability range cars flooding the market every car needs to bring out its
special features through brand and value propositions .this is what the TATA

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motors has done. It has brought out its marketing slogan as more car per car. This
was the time when the Maruti introduced its low priced and user friendly small cars
in the domestic market and Tata’s too did the same. TATA used the trend setting
approach and multiple marketing to work synergistically to set INDICA apart as an
edgy, trend setting brand of cars. it generates word of mouth or viral marketing by
clever promotions from partnering with rent a car companies and the tourism
development corporation to add this fleet of car for executives and tourists alike.
now the INDICA is the most widely used taxi service and corporate cab used
exclusively for travel as it is economic and does not have high maintenance
expenditure. Tata Indica is a super brand in the Indian car market.

Media innovations have been a key to the success of the Indica. The ‘Kaun
Jeetega Indica V2’ contest, riding on the success of Kaun Banega Crorepati (a
game show on the lines of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’), won the Best Media
Innovation, EMVIE (Awards for media effectiveness). The contest integrated the
sales and advertising function and drove traffic to the dealer points for test drives.
The campaign also won The Best Media Strategy, EMVIE and was the only car
brand campaign in the finalists’ list at the EFFIEs (Awards for Advertising
Effectiveness).

The positioning was strengthened with the successful launch of the Indica V2,
which assumed the leadership position in the year of its launch. A recent campaign
for the Indica V2 builds on the rational platform and adds an emotional layer.
Anchored on the insight ‘It’s only human to want more’, the campaign revolves
around interesting candid moments in bigger lollipop, or a baby crying when her

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parents stop driving her around in the Indica V2. The latest campaign moves to the
‘Even more car per car’ positioning.

Indica 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. 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 are at a very affordable price.

The Marketplace Shift: The Competitive Threat to Indica comes from

Hyundai and Maruti who are also giants in car manufacture and are equally
competent in manufacturing good quality cheap priced cars. How should Indica
respond to the rising threat of its competitors?

The new Product from Tata should never betray the core values of the brand but
should work towards improving the values and making them relevant to the current
market needs. Hence the target market should be the middle income group to who
cars have become affordable. The new Partnership with the tourism industry should
be able to propel sales towards greater heights.

With the launch of the indigo which was expected to increase sales and the
introduction of the limousine XL all marketing plans failed as the car industry
slowed down with imports being heavily subsidized and luxury cars being targeted
at a tax bracket of a whopping 22%.

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 The Indica Vista was unveiled at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi. The Indica
Vista is not a facelift of the Indica. It is built on a completely new platform and
shares nothing with the existing Indica. This new version is bigger than the
previous Indica; it is 3,795 mm (149.4 in) long with a wheelbase of 2,470 mm
(97.2 in). The Indica Vista has two new engines, a 1.3 L Quadra Jet common rail
direct injection diesel and a 1.2 L Safire MPFI VVT petrol engine. It is also
available with the 1.4L TDi (Turbo Diesel). The Indica Vista, known as the Indica
V3, was launched in August 2008.

Powered by three new generation engines, the Indica Vista is a leap in

technology. Its contemporary styling and sharp lines give it a compact sporty look.
Height adjustable driver’s seat and tilt adjust steering wheel along with well-
designed utility spaces results in unmatched comfort. A 24 month warranty, which
can be further enhanced by a 24 month extended warranty and comprehensive
annual maintenance contracts, completes the Indica Vista experience.

Appropriateness of the “brand strategies” –

According to me Tata Indica V2 advertisement which was aired in 2005 is one of

the best advertisements. It was devised and created by FCB Ulka, the long standing

This new ad was launched with the intention of giving the Indica V2 brand a touch
of youthfulness. It looks stylish and international in feel, while reinforcing the
original message of Indica being a value car an also position the Indica V2 as a fun
and lifestyle product and not just as a great value car.

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 The best part of the brand strategies adopted by TATA Indica is their focus on
positioning as “More car per car”. Headlines such as ‘You’ll never have to suffer
a small car again’ assisted customers in distinguishing between their old choices
and the Indica. This, in effect, placed the Indica on the pedestal of leadership, set to
change the rules of the game.

Media innovations like the ‘Kaun Jeetega Indica V2’ contest, won the Best Media
Innovation, EMVIE. The campaign also won The Best Media Strategy, EMVIE
and was the only car brand campaign in the finalists’ list at the EFFIEs.

For TATA, Indica V2 has been a huge success. But the V2 would not have hit big
time had there been no actual improvements to the product. To do this, the
company started a loyalty programme. Called the Indica Club, this loyalty
programme includes 30,000-odd Indica customers from a customer base of nearly
1,35,000.These club members are provided several benefits based on Indica’s
advertising promise to offer more car per car. For instance, an Indica Club card-
holder gets preferential treatment - from retail showrooms of Titan and Tanishq, to
hotels belonging to the Taj Group.

Corrective Action:-

According to me all the strategies adopted by TATA Indica have been successful
though the drop in sales volumes by 20 per cent in 1999 growing customer
complaints put the brakes on sales in a market that is strongly driven by word-of-
mouth recommendations. This is not related to brand strategies but the CRM
department of TATA Indica.

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 The real turnaround came after the launch of Indica V2 version when the Indica’s
market share has jumped from 17.4 per cent in April-October 2000 to 21.4 per
cent. With the launch of TATA Indica Vista, it is set to give stiff competition to the
other cars in its segment.

The Road Ahead:-

It’s still behind the Hyundai Santro but sales have grown far faster than either of its
major competitors in the recent period. But still there is a long way to go for Indica
to become the fastest growing car in its segment. To be more effective TATA
Indica should concentrate on the following:-

• Expansion of network & penetration into smaller towns in pace with road
development.
• Customer care a competitive edge
• Dealer driven business sourcing
• Refurbishment of old vehicles
• Maintain strong position in rural market ( B and C class cities)

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