With ad campaign sequel, we are showcasing products of four years: Vivek Nayer

Three years after the launch of the ‘Live Young, Live Free’ ad campaign, Mahindra recently decided to launch a sequel to this campaign, which encompasses all the cars in its portfolio riding through new locations across India. 
Speaking about the reason for doing a sequel for the ad campaign Vivek Nayer, chief marketing officer, automotive division, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “You see any great film in Bollywood it moves into a sequel and becomes a franchise. So if this film and campaign has done so well for us, can’t we attempt to do a sequel?” Nayer speaks to Collin Furtado on the new ad campaign, ad spends, competition, marketing strategy and demonetisation. Excerpts.

Why did Mahindra create a sequel to the campaign?

Four years ago, we picked up that people wanted to experience something different, beyond their going out for a meal, movie. The whole outdoor movement had started around 4 years showing SUVs are tough and rugged. That is how we made the campaign. Then we were inspired from Bollywood and Hollywood sequels. This time we got our new SUVs. So you will see products which were launched in the 4 years such as the KUV100, TUV300, the refreshes of Scorpio, XUV500 and Thar. We have launched it on social media because it is a long film, it is 2:30 minute. Next obviously we will take it to TV, may be in the second half of February. But right now the focus is on digital and social media only, because we get a lot of interactivity.

How long is the campaign for?

TV may be 2-3 weeks. Social media it will also be for 2-3 weeks. So totally the campaign will be running for 5-6 weeks.

What are the ad spends on this ad campaign?

We don’t share our spends but for 3 weeks we will be on social media and for about 3 weeks on TV. Even last time we had this mix because for us, we have been one of the pioneers in using social media and digital media in the country. We started this game 7-8 years ago. Today we have 18 million fans across all our Facebook platforms, we have Anand Mahindra who has 4 million followers on Twitter.

What is the marketing strategy that you have planned for Mahindra this year?

This campaign is a key part of that strategy. Building the brand along these values is a key part. We are an auto company so products are at the core. We have launched a couple of new products in the year or so and hopefully in the future we will come with new offerings.

How will Mahindra respond to competition from Tata Motors which has entered the space with the launch of Hexa recently?

This is normal. New products will come and new brands will come, some succeed, some don’t. Let the consumer decide what is a better offering. We think our XUV is a very strong offering and we have many world class features which our competitors don’t have. XUV is a very successful product and I think in the premium car segment, it is like a gold standard today. New products will come, which is part of the game. We have a range of SUVs, while others have one or two SUVs in their portfolio.

Why did Mahindra choose Manoj Bajpayee as the ambassador for its commercial vehicles segment?

The reason why we chose Manoj Bajpayee for the small commercial vehicles is because of the kind of movies they watch. Manoj Bajpayee is a big guy. The audience can relate to him as he is a very earthy guy. We checked out with the customers on our stands and he was one of them and they all related to well. Credibility comes from finding the right brand ambassador who can talk your message out. He came across with lot of credibility. He was a spokesperson for our brand and wasn’t driving the brand.