For an automaker with 166,000 workers worldwide and a history of riding boom into bust, the slogan is intended in part as a warning against complacency after three years of profits, executives say.”Go Further” will be used in marketing campaigns, replacing “Drive One” in North America and “Feel the Difference” in Europe. Those slogans were coined to help overcome wariness on the part of consumers about the quality and performance of Ford cars as the car maker bounced back.”We are at a different point now in our company’s history,” Jim Farley, global head of sales and marketing, told Reuters.

Ford is not the only automaker that has relied heavily on a catchy slogan. Crosstown rival Chrysler, now under the control of Italy’s Fiat SpA (FIA.MI), has played up both sides of its heritage with the year-old “Imported from Detroit.”

At General Motors Co (GM.N), former CEO Ed Whitacre was amazed in 2009 that the automaker did not have a slogan that reflected a mission statement, so he supplied one: “Design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles.”

But Ford, founded in 1903, has a particularly long history of using slogans meant to resonate both inside its glass-walled Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters and outside with customers. Its sloganeering goes back at least as far as 1914′s “Ford: The Universal Car.”For the past five years, Chief Executive Alan Mulally, 66, has driven Ford’s turnaround under the global slogan “One Ford.” The motto underscored the need to unify the automaker’s operations and put an end to executive infighting.In the latest evidence that the plan worked, Ford is due to report its 11th consecutive quarterly net profit on January 27. In December, the automaker announced it would begin paying a dividend for the first time since 2006, after moving within a notch of regaining an investment grade credit rating.

Farley insists the new slogan is not a replacement for “One Ford,” which he said is a motto that reflects the automaker’s core global strategy. And although Ford plans to use “Go Further” to market new vehicles around the world this year, the phrase is also meant to motivate its employees.”We really see it as kind of documenting the culture or the DNA of the company,” he said.

Farley said Ford looked at the success of “Just Do It” for Nike and “I’m Lovin’ It” at McDonald’s in crafting its new slogan.One expert said that, while Ford’s slogan would resonate for employees who know what the company has been through in recent years, it would not deliver the same kind of message to outsiders.”I don’t think it’s that good. It’s a little too inside the industry,” said Jim Wangers, a marketing analyst in Oceanside, California.

In the late 1960s, Ford tried to rally baby boomers around the slogan, “Ford has a better idea,” using the image of a lightbulb to signal inspiration instead of the “o” in Ford.In the 1980s, when Ford was scrambling to counter inroads into the U.S. market by Japanese rivals led by Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), the automaker rolled out the slogan, “Quality is Job 1.”In early 2006, Ford dubbed a wrenching restructuring, “The Way Forward.” The plan involved closing 14 plants and cutting more than 25,000 jobs. Some workers joked at the time that it looked more like a giant step backward.

When Mulally arrived later that year, he tapped into the company’s history of sloganeering with “One Ford.” Mulally even insisted that all workers be issued laminated cards with the turnaround motto: “One Ford, One Team, One Plan, One Goal.”Mulally introduced the “Go Further” slogan to Ford’s employees around the world in a New Year’s message. The slogan is already being used in advertisements and on Facebook for Ford in Europe. It will be introduced in markets from India to North America later this year.

Justin Wartell, head of brand strategy for Interbrand of Dayton, Ohio, said the challenge for Ford will be to make the slogan concrete in a way that makes sense to consumers.”Any automaker can use that,” Wartell said of the new slogan. “What makes it Ford? What makes it stand out?”

Elena Ford, Ford’s global director of marketing and the great-great granddaughter of founder Henry Ford, said the new slogan was essentially a reminder to employees that they had to set the bar higher after recent gains. Her way of describing that could itself be turned into a slogan.”We go further so you can,” she said.

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Source: www.in.reuters.com  24/1/2012

Elsewhere, Maruti Suzuki redesigned one of its models, the Swift hatchback, based on customer comments on sites like Facebook, Orkut and Twitter, such as criticisms about its “plasticky” interior.Social media now takes 8% of the firm’s advertising and marketing spend – standing at Rs200 crore ($39m) annually – over the 12 months to March 2011. This total should reach 16% by the end of the fiscal year.Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager, Maruti, told : “Social media is a very engaging medium. It helps get feedback on both products and services and in making a reputation online.”"Compared to advanced markets like the UK, we as a country are still not very digitized, but the direction is very clear.”

Hyundai, the Korean automaker, also dedicates 8% of its communications expenditure to social channels, a figure which has grown from 2–3% just three years ago.”We have a lot of young customers and most are hooked to social media in some way or the other,” Arvind Saxena, director, sales and marketing, Hyundai, said. “It’s important that we talk in their language to connect with them.”At the Auto Expo 2012, BMW, the high-end marque, gave visitors a digital card linked to their Facebook account. Visitors could then use this card to log in to Facebook via iPad devices made available at BMW’s stand, and post updates and photos from the event.”It’s a very cost-effective tool,” said Christian Saffer, director, marketing, BMW India. “It’s much cheaper than placing an advertisement in a newspaper.”

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Source:Livemint 13/1/12

A catchy jingle that might trigger a little foot–tap and visuals that are meant to encompass the length and breadth of the country — from what clearly looks like a busy night in a metropolis to scenes of festivities with majestic forts as the backdrop. The car bears witness to it all and attracts a few stray glances as happy drivers steer through towns. According to Arvind Saxena, director, marketing and sales, Hyundai Motor India, “Market research revealed that the first thing Indian car buyers want after fuel efficiency is style.”

So they had a clear picture of how they wanted to position the car — “stylish and contemporary (interior and exterior), playful, youthful” and above all the best in its class and that was the brief for the agency too. Vivek Srivastava, joint managing director, Innocean Worldwide India, says the small car market is about to explode and the mandate was to establish the EON as the most stylish, hip and young car “even your parents will approve of”. And help invoke envy in your friends, neighbours and complete strangers even. It might not seem as much of a stretch from the general breed of car ads but Hyundai’s attempt to court a younger car buyer with a fairly priced vehicle to cruise in might just pay off.

The question, however, is whether the commercial is intriguing and cool enough to ignite curiosity among an increasingly unpredictable consumer population. Indeed, the car will be noticed because there’s a lot of the car in the ad according to Arun Iyer, national creative director, Lowe. “But I’m not sure they’ve done enough with the commercial to connect with the youth,” he says. “Sure it’s a classical montage film with shots of the car and India with a catchy song, but it’s nothing to write home about. Everyone’s talking to the young nowadays and desperately vying for their attention. But if you really want to talk to the youth, you talk to them!”

Well, the makers of the 13-year-old tall-boy Santro might be trying to get the attention of the young and the restless with their new small car, however, think small is certainly not Hyundai’s motto when it comes to this campaign. But is it on or not? You decide.

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Source: ET  2-11-11

First of all, Fiat India will enable doctors to test drive Fiat cars without their busy scheduled being interrupted by delivering test cars to the doctors’ doorsteps. Fiat India will also offer an attractive exchange offer to doctors through which they can exchange their old cars for new Fiat models. Leading auto financier SBI, is also a part of this scheme in which the bank will offer 1% discounts on Fiat cars bought through SBI loans and will also waive off processing fees on the auto loan.

All of last month, Fiat India has been offering big chunks of discounts on both the Fiat Linea Sedan and the Fiat Grande Punto Hatchback. Despite this, sales of both the cars have tanked dramatically, to register the lowest number of 622 units in October, a 70% plummet from 2,000 plus units sold in October last year. So, it remains to be seen whether these sales promotional offers will actually do anything to put more Fiats on the road.

We for our part feel that extending this promotional scheme to all sections of car buyers would be a better idea as the primary reasons why Fiat cars aren’t selling is due to the indifferent attitude shown by Tata-Fiat dealership staff when it comes to selling Fiat cars. So, approaching the car buyer directly at his or her residence for longish test drives can actually help seal the deal as Fiat cars inherently have many good qualities like  great ride quality and handling that can be appreciated only on longish test drives.

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Source:Daily News

Mr Ramakrishnan said passenger car-specific outlets will also be started this year. However, he did not further details.In July, the company’s total passenger vehicles sales in the domestic market declined by 38.30 per cent to 17,192 units, as compared to 27,865 units sold in the same month last year.However, it recorded a 14.30 per cent jump in commercial vehicle sales to 40,798 units in the domestic market during the month.
Nano sales also dipped by 64 per cent to 3,260 units in July.

Commenting on the poor Nano sales, Mr Ramakrishnan said, “We are still at the early stages of understanding the market. We are going through a learning curve and are trying a lot of different things in marketing activities, like selling the car through Big Bazaar outlets.” So far, Tata Motors has received good response from such initiatives and will continue to take many such steps, he added.Interestingly, customers take about 45 days to make up their mind for buying Nano, than an industry average of 7-10 days, Mr Ramakrishnan said.As regards setting up manufacturing plants overseas, Mr Telang said the company is examining quite a few countries and will make appropriate decision.“As of now, no decision has been taken,” Mr Telang said.

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Source: PTI 2/8/2011

Currently on their minds is to tap rural people, and farm owners, like orange growers in Nagpur, jute mill owners or mango growers in Bengal. And, they have kept their fingers crossed on increase of car sales in festive season.The hard work Maruti puts in is revealed by its number position at most searched car company on Google. Number one search engine disclosed top nine searched cars, in which Honda Siel and Hyundai Motors were second and third, and Volkswagen and Fiat-European cars were at eighth and ninth position.In the mid-size cars, Alto K10 was the most searched car, followed by Ford Figo and Hyundai i10 Next Gen, and in the two-wheeler segment, Hero Honda was the most searched company, Bajaj and Yamaha were respectively placed at second and third.

Source: TOI 7/8/2011

Speaking on this initiative, Arvind Saxena, Director, Marketing and Sales, HMIL, said, “As the official car sponsor for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, we are extremely delighted to organize the Hyundai Fan Park. It is our constant focus to increase customer interaction and satisfaction, and this park will bring together the collective synergy of scores of fans of the sport that binds this country together. I am confident that customers will appreciate this special initiative and participate with great enthusiasm”.

The Hyundai Fan Park will be held at the Great India Place, NOIDA, the In-Orbit Mall in Mumbai and the Ampa mall in Chennai. Fans will be treated to giant screens to catch all the action, live, and non-stop for the entire duration of the World Cup (19th Feb – 2nd April). The award-winning i10, the i20, the Santa Fe and the Sonata will also be on display.So for those who love to watch cricket and feel the energy of hundreds of fans as they enjoy the game, the Hyundai Fan Park is the place to be!

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Source:www.indiainfoline.com 19-2-2011

Buoyed by last year`s overwhelming response to the event in Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore where over 1,500 car enthusiasts experienced the adrenalin rush as rally drivers simulated critical road situations, MBIL has extended the programme to Kochi, Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Ludhiana, Hyderabad and Pune this year. “We have decided to make Star Drive an annual event and are even considering a performance driving school so that Merc owners can get the best out of their vehicles,” the official said.While its SUVs (ML-Class, GL-Class and the iconic G-55 AMG) being put through extreme terrain conditions reveal their brute power and true-blue off-road character, the near-accident simulated motions of sedans (C-Class, E-Class, SL-63 AMG and C-63 AMG) drives home its new brand positioning as maker of safe cars.”A host of active and passive safety features in the vehicles like integral occupant protection system (Pre-Safe), Neck-Pro, Parktronic and Attention Assist system are demonstrated by expert drivers. Mercedes-Benz owns 90% of auto patents, including air bag and other safety critical technologies. Instead of holding on to these technologies, we have shared it with others because we value life. Once potential customers get to experience the technologies that make Mercedes-Benz cars, the translation to sales will happen,” said Mitra.With customers of luxury cars like Mercedes-Benz comprising high networth individuals, the “safety” proposition may just prove to be a very safe bet.

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Source:TOI  27-4-2011

It was interesting to note, for example, that while Volkswagen made its 2012 Beetle six inches longer and three inches wider than the former model (and, yes, touted these numbers), the company kept top of mind that this is the car that started its life in America as the hippie vehicle of choice. It’s the car for those who consider “Think Small” a badge of honor, and those who love being seen as iconoclasts, disdaining the bigger, flashier rides. The Volkswagen brand team remembers that it was their car that starred in the 1968 Disney movie, “The Love Bug,” about Herbie, a cute and feisty Beetle with a mind of its own who gave its cute and feisty human co-star, Dean Jones, a run for his money. The Volkswagen Beetle brand story line is so distinct and familiar that Disney was able to take a literal nuts and bolts brand – a car – and know exactly how it would behave were it a living, breathing thing. While rational data about the vehicle is important to consumers, including the collateral benefits of frugality, it’s the fun and whimsy associated with the brand name that gives it its power. Hey, Oprah gave away 275 of the 2012 model to her studio audience. How fun is that?!

And how clever is an app that lets consumers track their driving habits and daily driving distances to assuage their trepidation about driving a battery-powered car. With all due respect to Nissan and its nifty electric Leaf, BMW, long aligned with the idea of performance, decided it needed to understand more about driver behavior before introducing its own battery-powered electric vehicle. Its EVolve app is intended to help people wrap their heads and hearts around the experience of driving electric before getting behind the wheel of a real plug-in reliant car. The fact that BMW won’t wheel out its battery-powered models until at least 2013 is, well, beside the fact. The company knew that its brand story line would fall off the tracks if its entry into electricity didn’t measure up to its own exacting standards for performance. Rational, yes, but in response to the very emotional consumer fear of running out of power on the way to the office, it’s a brilliant move.

The most miles per gallon, the number of speakers, the most horsepower are important facts and figures. Consumers may listen to facts and figures. They may appreciate facts and figures. But branding pros shouldn’t confuse the facts. When it comes to selling cars, it’s being able to weave the hard data into the totality of the brand story that really counts.

By: Allen Ademson
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Source: Forbs.com 25/4/2011

The luxury watch brand spends around 25 per cent of its annual marketing budget around car racing. Tag Heuer India at present contributes less than 5 per cent of the brand’s global turnover. (Although Tag Heuer’s global turnover is not available, parent firm LVMH did around Euro 19 million last year.) The brand generally spends 20 per cent of its turnover on marketing and advertising, but this year it has hiked the budget by almost 30 per cent.Talking about their communication plan around car racing, Manishi Sanwal, GM, LVMH Watch & Jewellery India, said, “Since car racing is a very metro city phenomenon in India, our media mix will essentially comprise outdoor, print, digital and on-ground advertising in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Most of our communication will be around the launch of 200 pieces ‘India limited edition’ watches priced at Rs 2 lakh each.”

Tag Heuer is one of the few international brands in the premium/luxury space that has a India specific communication plan and uses an India brand ambassador, Shah Rukh Khan. It is also among the very few brands in its space that spends around 25 per cent of its marketing budget on TV. “We will keep investing on TV advertising as we plan to increase our reach from 26 cities to 35 cities by next year. ”Globally, Tag Heuer’s association with motor racing has been longstanding. ‘Mastering speed for 150 years’ is the theme of its global celebrations in 2011 to mark its racing heritage.Sameer Gaur, MD and CEO of JPSI, said, “We are also talking to several auto and TV brands but haven’t finalised anything yet.”

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Source:Financial Chronicle 8/5/2011