Volkswagen - The Company That Stands By Its Meaning

Contributed By TEJA BANDARU

Germany is known for cars. The country is so connected to cars that whenever the word ‘Germany’ comes up, BMW, Benz or VW flash almost in an instant; well beer also flashes for some people but since I am a teetotaler, cars usually come up. VW was created by the Nazis. Though they were notorious, the company that they created was pure, classy and a brand in itself. It has got some of the best brands in the auto industry under its umbrella and is one of the largest auto companies in the world. Such a company which has conquered most of the major world car markets was late to enter India but is quite ahead of what it does when compared to its competitors. It has done some brilliant work in all kinds of media; be it digital, print, TVC.

It is also the first automobile company to use ‘road blocking’; which is blocking the entire newspaper for its ads. The result: superb visibility. Similarly its talking newspaper created a quite a flutter. Digital marketing or ‘whatever’ marketing should be more interactive in order to capture potential customers. The world is evolving with lots of knowledge at disposal to the common man. Marketers should understand that the future customers no longer respond to static promotion. They should involve the audience and this is what VW has done. It involved the audience. It connected to people. One example of this can be seen in this video:

Same is the case with the talking newspaper.

Now you must be thinking “alright! Promotion is excellent .But what about cars?” I am coming to that point. In India, VW initially launched Jetta and the Passat. Unlike the west, VW in India is perceived as a premium brand, hence the launch of the ‘premium’ cars (actually Jetta is not while Passat is somewhat premium). And price? The price WILL be expensive as the company sources most of its components from abroad as VW doesn’t compromise on quality and is still trying to find local suppliers to match its requirements. Next it launched the Taureg and the Beetle a little later (sorry if I interchanged). Now why Beetle? Beetle, in Europe is the actual people’s car that Hitler conceived (stolen, to be precise). Well yeah, though it sells for 20 odd lakhs in India. Now for a late entrant like VW, it is foolish to assume that a country whose per capita income is less has lot of potential for an iconic two seater car whose power, mileage is less than a small car that comes for 5.5 lakhs (Its Swift, if you’re thinking). So why did it launch? The answer is that the company launched Beetle to propel its brand further in India. VW is not clearly looking at the numbers but is looking at the intangible benefits it obtains and with Beetle’s iconic design; it isn’t tough to capture the audience mindshare. This was a clever move and has really paid off. Next was the stunning Polo that arrived; solid build quality, nimble etc. etc. were there. The numbers took off and opened a new avenue for VW in India.

So, the essence is that VW has made a pioneer in itself in one of the world’s fastest growing auto markets. It is really a tough task to enter a new market when the competition is already at logger heads. It is a lesson that needs to be learnt by not only its fellow competitors but also other companies.