The 11th edition of Auto Expo laid exclusive emphasis on road safety, importance of eco-friendly fuels and vehicles, futuristic technologies and new designs under the “mobility for all” theme. However, it was for all to see that majority of car companies strived to work upon another theme at the show, “target the youth”. The theme was a part of every car major's stand ranging from Mercedes-Benz to Maruti Suzuki and made best efforts to reach out to the young visitors as the Auto Expo.
Talking about the latest initiative, Debashis Mitra, Director, Sales and Marketing, Member of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz India, said, "Through the initiative we wanted to communicate that we're going to grow by many folds in the near future by targeting the youth. We needed to target the youngsters as the average age of the consumers in India is lesser than Japan and China.”
Mercedes was seen promoting its all-new initiative termed as ‘mb. Inspired’, which according to the company was meant to honour rising talents in the country. The initiative was used as a coveted platform to address the youth of the nation by bringing its latest cars that have been produced with youngsters on mind. The attention grabbing tagline, 'mb feel it' has been successful in signifying the company's thinking and moreover encourage the youth to be a part of its futuristic car launches. For highlighting the initiative further, Mercedes-Benz roped in young talents like Farhan Akhtar, Chetan Bhagat, Irfan Pathan and Masaba Gupta, terming them as 'reflections of the brand'.
“Our initiative 'mb inspired' talks about the new design language of Mercedes. We wanted to get in faces of the youth to just talk to the youth and that's why we brought in the four 'reflections'. The four of them are not brand ambassadors, they are a face for Mercedes for the youth," Mitra added.
Apart from Mercedes, other potential players in the auto industry namely, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India counted on interactive digital campaigns to come at par with the mindset of youth present at the Auto Expo. Moreover, social media too played a pivotal role in bringing the youth-oriented efforts of these market leaders under light.
Hyundai's booth at the Auto Expo 2012 allowed visitors to have a memorable experience while becoming an integral part of the display. The stalls offered the visitors with a chance to update their walls with new Auto Expo posts and pictures, there and then, on Facebook as well as email IDs using RFID cards. As soon as the RFID card user likes a car at the expo, a link regarding the like would make its way to the Facebook page along with the Indian TVC and information about the vehicle.
Arvind Saxena, Director and Board Member, Marketing and Sales, Hyundai, said, "We have been very active on social media because we have seen a trend of younger car consumers in the country. So we extended that to our stall this time. The social media platform is a language that youngsters understand today and they are more vocal about their likes and dislikes. This gives like minded people a good feedback on our products."
Maruti Suzuki also included digitalised mediums to reach the young audience at the expo. Visitors were provided with the power to give a green signal to any of the Maruti product by positioning their thumb on a pillar stationed next to the car. The approval would then link to the user's Facebook page and show his/her like for the car.
Thus, car majors confirm to incorporate new strategies while showcasing their vehicles and ensure to reach out their target audience in the best possible way.
