+ Promotional strategy of Volkswagen Volkswagen have the same
core brand values across the globe, which is innovative, valuable
and responsible which reflects in their promotions. When VW started
in 2007, low brand awareness was one of their concerns. VW came out
with 13 advertisements in various newspapers. It told the readers
about how the name Volkswagen came about and its product line. By
the time the campaign ended VW had used 18000 television spots, 144
insertions in broadsheet dailies , 50 insertions in magazines, 280
out of home sites and 23 digital portals.
+ A move that captured india Majority of Indians did not know
anything about Volkswagen , not even the pronunciation. Brand
Awareness was 4% as compared to 70% which competition enjoyed. To
make Volkswagen a household name , for the first time ever in India
TOI had a single advertiser across all 26 pages and in all 16
editions of TOI. This is known as a Roadblock.
+ This ensured 100% mindspace and attention of the consumer.
The Result ? Hottest searched word on Google. Recall increased to
50% from 4%. 169% increase in Sales.
+ Promotion using TRADITIONAL MARKETING To improve brand recall
, the next campaign showed all Volkswagen cars: The Beetle, Passat,
Jetta and Touareg. Volkswagen has successfully focused on both the
superior product attributes and the imagery associated with owning
and driving it. Most of VW communication takes place through print
media in magazines and newspapers. They have also focussed on
communication through TV advertisements and point of sales
promotion.
+
+ Promotion using virtual marketing Now they have a state of
the art web portals which are highly interactive and informative.
Car buyers can get any amount of detailed information regarding
prices, features, retailers and support services. Usage of social
media networking sites to connect with the target market. VW was
the first company to use Linkedin recommended advertisements and
the campaign was a huge success. In less than 30 days over 2700 VW
fans had stepped forward to recommend their favourite cars and
shared these recommendations with their professional networks.
+How VW uses social media Volkswagen India mainly has a
presence across four social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter,
Youtube & LinkedIn. Apartfrom that they have dedicated sites
for their Innovations for Everyone and Think Blue campaign
campaigns. They are engaging with their fans on Facebook(1.1
million) in a responsible manner by replying to their queries,
appreciating feedback, posting offers and updates, running contests
etc. They have identified the owners of VW vehicles on Twitter
& have added them to the respective lists of different
vehicles.
+ How VW uses social media They use these lists to keep a track
of their customers & occasionally inform them about any new
initiatives or offers. Efforts are made to cross promote the videos
of their dedicated channel on other online platforms and they are
planning to provide some incentives for people to subscribe to
their channel. Linkedin company page of VW has been a huge success
due to a large number of recommendations.
+ SPECIAL CAMPAIGNS Volkswagen also started two campaigns at
different times in India. Innovations for Everyonewas launched in
2010 while another campaign Think Blue was launched in 2011. Both
these campaigns were launched with much fanfare as an integrated
marketing campaign across all the online & offline channels
which created a lot of buzz for them. People submitted their ideas
on the dedicated sites of these campaigns & they got voted for
their innovation by other participants. Some of these ideas are
passed on to the product team to study their feasibility of being
introduced among the upcoming vehicles.
+LATEST CAMPAIGN VWs latest campaign was Post it . The campaign
consisted of print, digital, out-of-home and on-ground, and which
ran for a duration of three and a half weeks. The campaign unveiled
a contest through which customers booking the new Polo and Vento
during the month of November 2012 would be eligible for winning a
free Polo or Vento. Through newspaper advertisements in metros VW
invited readers to test drive its Polo and Vento range of passenger
cars, along with the contest to win one of the two models.
Volkswagen took a 360 degree turn in its marketing strategy this
time with emphasis on on-ground activities with its dealer
network.
+ Innovative advertising VW India sent a shiver down a
newspaper readers spine with their new print ad in the leading
newspapers. VW India created a path breaking campaign by launching
the worlds first speaking newspaper.
+ Advertising VW launched print campaigns in glossy paper with
metallic finish. These campaigns also managed to garner attention
for the VW brand. Sending customised emails and newsletters with
various offers to various prospective customers based on CRM data.
According to the marketing and communications teams of VW the
digital medium is increasingly becoming an important medium for the
brand. They are planning to market themselves using PPC
advertisements , paid keywords and affiliate marketing.
+ special promotion After the success of the Vento IPL Edition
in Season 4 of the Indian Premier League (IPL),Volkswagen India
capitalised on Season 5 of the IPL with their Polo and Vento IPL
Edition II. The IPL Edition II versions of the Volkswagen Polo and
Vento hit showrooms on March 15, 2012. The new models sported
additional equipment but were offered at the same price as the
regular variants. Promoted by using Pro Batter which was
inaugurated by Chris Gayle in Mumbai which allows the participant
to face the swinging yorkers of Lasith Malinga. Launched in many
cities in public places like malls.
+
+Additional gizmos and goodies that both cars will get in IPL
Edition II include : Multimedia entertainment system featuring
navigation and social networking options Interactive car pad for
rear seat passengers to operate the multimedia system. Dual tone
leatherette seat covers, Special floor mats, IPL door sill designs
IPL branding on the boot.
OUTDOOR ADVERTISING+
+
+
+ DISTRIBUTION
+ Volkswagen India- Pune Assembles, manufactures and
distributes Volkswagen vehicles in India. Established in 2007. One
of the most modern in the Volkswagen Group. Large share of local
suppliers. Only production plant operated by a German automaker in
India that covers the entire production process from press shop
through body shop and paint shop to final assembly.
+ Manufacturing Facilities Manufactured/Assembled Locally
Imported Volkswagen Passat Volkswagen Jetta Volkswagen Touareg
Volkswagen Polo Volkswagen New Beetle Volkswagen Phaeton
+ Sales and Service Network Sales Performance Year 2010 :
Recorded sales of 32,627 vehicles against 3,039 vehicles sold
during the year 2009 and registered a sales growth of over 1,000%.
Currently has more than 70 dealerships in 56 cities across 18
states and 2 union territories of India.
+
+ Sales and Service Contd Recognizing the importance of an
extensive dealer network towards scripting a long-term success
story The brands of the Volkswagen Group are setting up dealerships
spanning the entire country with Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi having
in total around 120 dealerships across the country today.
Groundwork for offering a first-class all-round service, taking
customer satisfaction to the highest level. Keeping this in mind
they launched their first Group Logistics Service facility recently
that would help make their dealer network become more efficient and
smoothen the entire process of service.
+ DEALER OPERATIONS
+ Dealer Operations Every dealer with Volkswagen has signed a
three-year bond as the fluctuation rate in India is relatively
high. Very evenly distributed across the country but now is the
time to go rural. As per study, a consumer is willing to drive only
for an hour to an automobile dealership for service, after-sales .
To complement this, a strong CRM system is in place where they have
information about the customer. Keeping in mind that the rural
parts are still largely untapped, companies are pressing the
accelerator.
+ Volkswagens B2B Market place set up Nearly all of procurement
volume managed via the Internet Applications bundle for suppliers
on platform "VW Group Supply.com" The most important components;
Online-Catalogue-Purchasing, Online-Negotiations (auctions),
Capacity management (eCap) have been set up for Audi and Volkswagen
and have been introduced in the other brands and regions of the
Group
+ Inventory Management Wireless Stock Management System Fully
transparent stock management system Complete integration with SAP
R/3 WMS Reduced overall operating costs Increased accuracy Greater
all-roud speed and efficiency of operation
Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd. Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd. India
Pvt. Ltd. Offer in Manufacturin Excise Invoice NADCON g Printed
Parking Table update & duty Order in Vehicle calculation NADCON
Daily s to Stock Yard Vehicles Order despatched Purchase Order
allocation to dealer TOMCAD Inbound Delivery FI JV passed in &
Goods Receipt VWIPL to book Vehicle flagged Credit Sales Check in
TOMCAD while Invoice despatch Verification Allocation to Billing in
ATLAS FI JV passed in Transporters VWGSIPL to book Sale to Dealer
Billing in Nadiv to Material Movement book Sale to 201 to hit COGS
in dealer VWGSIPL Distribution Process SAPPage 31 Domestic Vehicle
Sales from NSC to Page. 31