Can Safari Hit The Concrete Jungle?

A nightclub, shot in black-and-white and glints of metallic hue. In the backdrop, nocturnal creatures jive away. There's a man with dark eyes staring at you. As the camera takes a shot upside down "" literally "" the super intones: "The Bat".

Next, there are three men laughing together. "The Hyenas," says the super. The camera shifts to what the hyenas are looking at: "The Wildcats", who strut around, agile and quick. In a corner, there's a female in a slinky dress which resembles a snake skin: "The Python".

Then, there's a creepy reverse shot of an eye opening, which reminds you of a carnivorous amphibian. And then, someone crawls on the bar counter: "The Alligator".

Finally, there's the new Tata Safari. "There's enough wildlife in the city," growls the deep super.

The latest campaign for the Safari, conceptualised by O&M and produced by ad film maker Prasoon Pandey, director, Corcoise films, is significant for Tata Engineering. It redefines the imagery associated with the sports utility vehicle (SUV) "" from that of a luxurious four wheeler for the great outdoors to a premium city vehicle. The brief from Tata Engineering to O&M was to recreate the imagery around the Safari by adding a layer of lifestyle "" but the campaign had to retain the core proposition of the jungle.

Safari's original positioning was that of a tough off-roader, and its earlier campaigns revolved around wilderness and adventure, with the tagline, "Make your own road".

Why this sudden shift? "This is part of the ongoing process of glamourising the SUV," says Rajiv Dube, vice-president - commercial passenger car business unit, Tata Engineering. According to Piyush Pandey, group president and national creative director, O&M, "The creative hook was everyone has a wild side, and how the city can bring it out. The campaign moved the brand out of the jungle, and into the city." Adds Prasoon Pandey, "The creative challenge was to maintain the wild side of the vehicle and mesh it with urban style and attitude."

But more importantly, the campaign looks like a reaction to Mahindra & Mahindra's (M&M) Scorpio, launched in June 2002. Scorpio's positioning glamourised the concept of a multi- utility vehicle, with its campaign communicating an international look and attitude.

Let's have a look at the road travelled by Safari so far. When it was launched in 1997, the Safari was meant to tap a market of city-users who would use it for long-distance or weekend drives outside the city. Significantly, the Safari was the first SUV in the Indian market.

Over 1998-99, Tata Engineering sold around 350 Safaris a month (4,200 a year), thanks primarily to the first-mover advantage it enjoyed. The brand's communication strategy "" complete with stark and uncharted landscapes "" was on the lines of communication followed by SUVs worldwide, like the Toyota Landcruiser, Jeep Cherokee and Mitsubishi Pajero.

Soon, however, the novelty wore off, and 1999-2000 saw Safari sales dipping to 250 per month. According to market watchers, the main reason the Safari didn't quite succeed was that though it was called an SUV, it was nothing more than a multi utility vehicle (MUV). For instance, it had a mildly-tuned 2000 cc (cubic capacity) engine and a four-wheel drive. Popular SUVs like the Pajeros and Landcruisers have 4-wheel drive as standard fitment and almost twice as powerful engines.

Dube, however, feels that the slow pick-up was because the market had not yet matured to "lifestyle-driven" vehicles like SUVs. This is indicated by the fact that the Safari has been bought as a second vehicle by 90 to 95 per cent of buyers. Market analysts also agree that for the Indian consumer, there is a very thin line of difference between a MUV and a SUV. in the mind of the Indian consumer.

The company started thinking in terms of a repositioning in early 2002. There was also competition looming ahead from M&M as well as from international car makers like Mitsubishi (Pajero), Hyundai (Terracan), Subaru (Forrester) and Honda (CRV).

An analysis of the auto market revealed that the SUV customer, who was shelling out a premium of more than Rs 3 lakh over what he paid for a lower end C-segment car, was buying the car for the sheer lifestyle statement it made.

This demanded a change of imagery for the Safari. In July 2002, the company upgraded the Safari with new interiors, twin air-conditioners, new switchgears and improvised suspension. The luxury variant "" Safari EX "" was launched in October 2002, complete with features like rooftop ACs and blowers, a Blaupunkt music system, lumber support chairs and brushed metallic interiors.

What proved to be a stumbling block was the launch of the Scorpio. M&M positioned it as a MUV, with an imagery that clashed with passenger cars. "Cars will soon suffer from low self-esteem," shouted the billboards. In the six months since its launch, M&M has sold close to 1,300 Scorpios per month and company executives claim that the company cannot manufacture enough cars to meet the demand.

Apart from glamorising the MUV, the Scorpio also doled out the right variants at acceptable prices. While the Safari with its 90 horsepower engine did not provide any engine or fuel variants, the Scorpio came as 109 horsepower engine for its diesel variant. Priced at around Rs 5.72 lakh for its two-wheel drive version and Rs 6.8 for its soon-to-be-launched four-wheel drive version, it is being perceived as value for money. The Safari, on the other hand, is available at Rs 9.23 lakh for its two-wheel drive version, Rs 10.16 lakh for its four-wheel drive version and Rs 7.2 lakh for its EX version.

If Tata Engineering has to take the fight to the enemy camp, it will have to be on the basis on positioning. Therefore the new campaign. But the question is: would the affluent and "happening" target group that Safari is banking on actually prefer the Safari when it can afford a Pajero?

Also, auto analysts feel that, with the upgradation to luxury features and versions, the company should have focused on improvising key aspects defining any SUV. For example, it could have introduced sports variants with engine capacity above the usual 2000 cc.

So, whether the Safari can manage to ride out of the jungle and into the city "" and its lifestyle "" remains to be seen.