Swift work

BRAND LAUNCH MOST SUCCESSFUL

The story of Maruti Swift reads like a recipe for success "" a good product, aggressive branding strategy and doing things differently. So, no teaser campaigns, no going all-out with TV ads and no brand ambassador for you. And no white model "" the best-selling colour!

While most auto companies "" including Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) "" prefer to keep a new car model under wraps until the launch day, the Swift had already undergone test drives by auto experts.

It had been showcased to the distributors, and had 9,000 bookings before the launch, even before the price was announced. "We were so sure of the design and the complete product that we feel the need to keep it under wraps," says a company official.

From the Maruti 800 to the Esteem, MUL has always successfully cashed-in on the value-for-money proposition. "We were a little conservative when it came to the design," says a senior company executive, "but we went all out with the design with the Swift."

"MUL identified an aspiration gap and plugged the gap with the Swift. No wonder it is doing so well," says Jagdeep Kapoor, brand guru and CMD, Samsika Marketing Consultants.

That's a thought echoed by the respondents of the Brand Derby. Eighty per cent considered the Swift a very successful launch, with 21 per cent considering it the year's most successful brand. "Aspirational value", "brilliant positioning" and "a killer combination of style and reliable brand" "" Derby respondents certainly found a lot to praise in the Swift.

But then, a lot of effort has gone into creating it. India's largest car company invested Rs 440 crore in developing the Swift, of which Rs 190 crore was contributed by its vendors.

Further, a team of 25 MUL engineers and designers were a part of the design team for the Swift and even spent six months in Europe, the world's biggest small-car market, studying trends and also working on what would still be stylish five years from now.

At the same time, they didn't forget the Indian roads and climate. So, the Indian variant has features such as better suspensions and an anti-rust coat at the bottom of the body. Another first: the car was launched globally within a span of a few months.

Come December 2004 "" five months before the car was launched in India "" all new WagonRs and Maruti Omnis had sunshields and stickers that said: "My next car is a Swift".

For the first time, MUL also opted for an in-film placement with the Bollywood hit Bunti Aur Babli, which was slated to hit the box-office around the same time. "The movie could have been released a fortnight in advance, or a month late. We didn't let that bother us, however," says the MUL spokesman.

A 1,000-strong team of salespeople called "energisers" were trained and placed at the 328 Maruti car dealers to sell only the Swift. Overnight, models of the car appeared on high platforms at busy intersections in Delhi, and in malls.

In India, the car launch spread over just three to four days in 15 cities. "Not after the Maruti 800 has such activity and buzz happened over a car from the MUL stable," gushes an auto analyst.

The price tag was equally attractive. With the base model for Rs 3.87 lakh, the Swift was almost Rs 50,000 less than what other cars in the segment cost. "Affordable and stylish in today's age, what more do customers want?" asks Kapoor.

Adds auto analyst Tutu Dhawan, "More than the marketing initiatives, it was the car that made the difference. It was targeted not only at the first-car buyers but also at those who wanted another one, or a change from set of staid-looking wheels."

Too much of a good thing? You're probably right. "What can I say? Looks like our estimates about the car demand were conservative," smiles a senior MUL executive. When other cars in the A2+ segment "" Hyundai Getz, Fiat Palio, Corsa Sail "" were selling 2,000 units a month collectively, MUL set itself a monthly target of 4,000 cars.

However, within the first six months, the car had already sold over 40,000 cars "" more than 6,600 cars a month. Soon, there was a four-month waiting period while other cars in the segment were available off-the-shelf.

"There would have been huge discontent if customers had to wait so long," says the MUL official. Within five months, MUL upped its production capacity by 30 per cent: it can now manufacture 6,000 units a month.

The branding exercise is far from complete. The MUL corner at the just-concluded Auto Expo in New Delhi was more about the Swift than any other car. On display were seven more Swift models, from Swift Sport to the rally Swift, the Swift JWRC. "It's a car of the future," says the MUL spokesman proudly, "and there's more to come."