Volkswagen Polo: German Engineering at affordable price

ByDevashish Nabhi

Segmentation of VW models

• Volkswagen offers car models in Luxury segment, Midsize segment, compact car segment in India

• Following are the models which are available:

1. Volkswagen Polo- (compact car segment)

2. Volkswagen Vento, Jetta - ( midsize segment)

3. Other cars such as Beetle, Passat, Touareg and Phaeton (luxury and premier segment)

Target Audience

Volkswagen literally meaning “people’s car” aims at young executives and urban middle class families

B+ Segment against competitors such as Hyundai i20, Maruti Swift, Fiat Punto & Ford Figo

Young corporates who will want a stylish, comfortable yet powerful car

Consumers with an annual income of more than Rupees 5 lacs pa

The new Polo SR- a good choice for those looking to own a sporty hatchback

Promotional Strategies of Volkswagen

Volkswagen have the same core brand values across the globe, which is innovative, valuable and responsible which reflects in their promotions

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.

Traditional Marketing Promotional tactics

To improve brand recall tie up with IPL coming up with IPL Edition Polo

Fous 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

Emphasis on communication through TV advertisements and point of sales promotion

Virtual Marketing Promotional Tactics

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

The first company to use Linked In recommended advertisements

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

Social Media Promotional Tactics

• Volkswagen India mainly has a presence across four social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Youtube & LinkedIn

• Apart from that they have dedicated sites for their ‘Innovations for Everyone’ and ‘Think Blue campaign’ campaigns

• They are engaging with their fans on Facebook 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.

Experiential Positioning

• Experiential positioning is the strategic process of understanding consumer desires, creating and delivering a particular form of experience, and communicating the firm’s proposed experience to consumers in a way that differentiates the brand from competitors in the consumer’s mind

• The world’s first ‘talking newspaper’, which used light-sensitive chips to speak to readers about Volkswagen as they turned the pages of TOI

• Brand awareness more than quadrupled, increasing from 8 percent to a high of 37 percent

Innovative advertising

VW India sent a shiver down a newspaper reader’s spine with their new print ad in the leading newspapers

 VW India created a path breaking campaign by launching the world’s first ‘speaking newspaper’

Why Polo?

• The premium hatchback car

• Contemporary and smart styled

• One with a plush ride and a special premium feel

• Safe, solid and sensible car