Scorpio Developing Brand Identity

NITIN JAIN
140103116

Mahindras Brand Portfolio - Personal

BRAND

SEGMENT

CUSTOMER
RATING

CUSTOMER
PERCEPTION

PRICE
( Lakhs )

SCORPIO

SUV

4.5/5

Great
performance,
good looks, stylish

8.40-13.05

THAR

SUV

3.2/5

Off roader, Value

for money

4.82-7.37

VERITO VIBE

COMPACT CAR

3.9/5

Spacious, bad
exterior, good
performance

5.71-6.57

BOLERO

MUV

3.4/5

Value for money,

Poor interiors,
Cheap quality

5.90-7.61

QUANTO

MPV

3.2/5

Powerful,
Comfort,
Expensive

6.10-7.87

XYLO

SUV

3.6/5

Good price, Poor

performance, Poor
handling

7.73-10.79

Rating is as per data available on www.carwale.com

Modifications in Brand Portfolio

Redesigning of existing Armada to Bolero by overhauling aesthetics, physical

features and comfort. Entered city market. Lower price than Tata Sumo
Brand promise : Luxurious toughness
Emotional Benefit : Break free

Redesigning of Marshal to MaXX, with more space and targeted towards the
stage carriage, contract carriage vehicles, pick-up vehicles

Launch of Invader, to target the young, rich personal segment at Rs 0.38

million

Launch of MUV Camper at Rs 0.48 million

Survey Among SUV/MUV Owners

Average Rating on Overall Opinion
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Tata Sumo

Toyota Qualis

Bolero

Tata Safari

Armada

Marshal

Armada Grand

Bolero received a high rating, even though it was a new roll-out, which points
To the fact that M&M was successful in its portfolio restructuring

Need for Project Scorpio

The Indian Automotive market was showing a discernible shift towards the
trend of poaching of entry level car segment by the evolving Utility vehicle (
UV ) segments, which was confirmed by the success of Toyota Qualis before
the launch of Scorpio

The SUV segment was still evolving and constituted a very small niche in the
market

M&M was losing its market leader status in the MUV category ( Bolero ) due to
stiff competition from Toyota Qualis and Tata Safari
Category Growth Rate ( 2001 )

45%
40%
35%

A vehicle appealing to Class B and

Class C buyers was appropriate
for the market scenario in 2001

30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Class A ( Entry Level )

Class B ( Semi Luxurious )

Class C ( Luxury )

POSITIONING DECISION

To meet the volume objective, Mahindra required a good positioning strategy

Held a static and drive clinic in one city to obtain customer reactions and
formulate a positioning strategy

Sample for clinic :

Age group of 21 to 60 years

Owners of small/midsize car/SUV

First hand car owners, frequent drivers

Price sensitivity model was used

Young age group had a propensity to

Static Phase

Drive Phase

Excellent Ratings and praised for :

Encouraging response for :

Exterior Fit & finish

Power and pick-up

Exterior Appearance

Quiteness of vehicle

Interior Styling & comfort

Easy gear shifting

Good finish

Interior drive comfort

Looks of rear and front lights

Smoothness of clutch

Overall design - sturdy

Overall drive quality

pay a higher price than older group

No specific positioning option could be derived from this study and it was
decided not to take the decision solely on customer perception

POSITIONING OF SCORPIO

Not Positioned as SUV, since the market for SUV was still at a nascent stage
and it was a niche segment

Positioning was Car Plus Luxury of a Car. Thrill of an SUV

Brand Promise
Emotional Benefits

Rational benefits

Good looks,
comfort,
Great value

Ownership
pride, Thrill,
excitement,
Power

Young, Modern,
Premium, City
companion,
Extension of
lifestyle

Relational benefits

BRAND ELEMENTS

SCORPIO Signifies thrill, adventure, outdoors

Logo It has a metallic logo which is a dominant visible feature. It appeals to

men and has a masculine look

Tagline Nothing Else will do

This has an emotional appeal and builds a desire to own the product

Developing Identity
Retailing & Service

Complete redesigning and revamp of dealer network

Goal was to provide a uniform customer experience across all touchpoints

A reputed architect was hired to design retail showrooms which would reflect
the true spirit of the brand and its vibrancy

A metallic appearance, imageries of movement, sportiness, strategic lighting,

red walls, wall posters of high energy sports was decided upon

A major challenge was convincing dealers to adopt this new design

Free signages were provided to dealers and training sessions were held to
encourage them to use this new design

Sales employees were trained extensively and exclusive sales men for Scorpio
was insisted upon

Material suppliers were standardized and specified

Developing Identity
Communication

Nodal agency Interface Communications

Theme Luxury of a car. Thrill of a SUV Car Plus Positioning

Situated near manufacturing facility, better coordination

Perceptual barriers of Not for city, not for me had to be cut

A big brand feel was required to obtain high impact

Advertisements showed superiority of Scorpio

Comfort and luxury of a car

Passion and thrill of a SUV

Hero in the ads was the product

Television

Newspapers

Magazines

Emotional
benefits
International
Image
No off road
usage
suggested
Appropriate
for men and
women

Functional
benefits
Repeated
usage of car
Color ads
Black and
white ads
Full page ads

Gate fold ads

Innovative
ads

Developing Identity
Customer Relationship

The main focus was on increasing the lifetime value for its customers

Customer profiling, campaign management, loyalty management, service analysis

Capturing customer data was a challenge and it was not easily available.
Customers are reluctant to provide data

Sharing of data, centralization of database, confidentiality were key issues

Membership of Top Gear Club was offered to the customers

To increase response rate, Mahindra agreed to donate to a charitable organization

every time a customer filled its form, on their behalf

Telephone calls immediately after purchase were made

Calls were made 7 days and 30 days after purchase to judge customer satisfaction
and address greivances

On special occasions and anniversaries, gifts and greeting cards were sent to
customers

Had a positive impact on the UV market and it started expanding

CUSTOMER OWNERSHIP PATTERN FOR

SCORPIO
Ownership Pattern for Scorpio buyers
Owned A segment cars

Owned C segment cars

Owned B segment cars

Owned a car previously

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

This analysis suggests that 68% of car owners got influenced by the marketing
and features of Scorpio and chose to purchase it
Segment C and B owners also showed a healthy conversion rate and purchased
the car
Segment A car owners have a low buying rate, due to the cost difference
between entry level cars and Scorpio.

LAUNCH STRATEGY OF SCORPIO

Targeting already existing network of 150 dealers and making suitable
modifications for the Scorpio launch
Redesigning showrooms Upmarket Style
Standardisation of process across the country
Training of Sales people and the Buy-in process

Launch of Advertisements on Independence Day

Patriotism Indian product positive feeling
National holiday, increased visibility
Sponsorship of events, Cavalcades, Radio ads, Scorpion King movie,
Tie-up with journalists, Scorpio Speedster competiion

Phase 1 : Main Metro cities

Phase 2 : 20 more cities
Phase 3 : Small towns
Within a year, it covered more than 50 towns, facilitating
synchronization of production and demand

Distribution & retail network

Communications

Phased Launch

Strategies for Future Growth

Scorpio is under a threat from various SUVs which have a good presence in the
Indian market, such as :

Renault Duster ( 7.86-13 Lakhs )

Ford EcoSport ( 6.46-9.71 Lakhs )

Tata Safari ( 8.26-9.71 Lakhs )

All these are priced in the same range as Scorpio, some are lesser, and offer more
features

Scorpio must offer some VAS, such as Rear view cameras, parking sensors,
Touchscreen controls for its base model to make its product more attractive

An average Indian consumer is very price sensitive and even though this is a high
involvement model, a substantial difference would lead to hampering of sales for
Scorpio

Customer mindset is changing and international offerings are being given

preferences

International emerging markets can be explored

Mahindra can think of supplying to the police, defence and political parties on a
contract basis, and assess profitability in those areas.