1. No category

Altius Shodh Journal of Management and Commerce
ISSN 2348 – 8891
A STUDY ON ADVERTISING STRATEGIES OF MARUTI SUZUKI IN MADHYA PRADESH
DURING FESTIVAL SEASON
*Prof. Ravi Kumar
*Assistant Professor, Prestige Institute of Management and Research, Indore
Abstract
In today's stiff competition, the automobile sector in India is witnessing tough times. The entry of global
brands and technology, rising raw materials costs, withdrawal of Government benefits and the uncertainty of
fuel prices, all have seemed to added oil into the fierce fire of competition. Yet one brand has overcome all
these odds and has emerged as a fighting champion. Maruti Suzuki can be truly said as an automobile brand
that has been able to survive amidst the tough competition in India. A major reason of its success is often
credited to its focus on rural Indian markets by providing offers and heavily promoting those offers. With
regular advertising, Maruti Suzuki has definitely got itself an edge as compared to others. In Madhya Pradesh,
Maruti Suzuki is seen to advertise in popular Hindi- Newspapers which highlight its offers and models. The
research scopes to study advertising strategy adopted by the brand in Newspaper of Madhya Pradesh during
the festival season 2014-2015.
Keyword: advertising, Technology, uncertainty, competition, automobile
Introduction:
Review of literature:
As a result of tie-up between Maruti Udyog and Suzuki
Motor Corporation of Japan by government of India,
Maruti Suzuki started operations in 1983 at Gurgaon,
Haryana. The main purpose of this tie-up was to produce
automobiles which could be purchased by the masses.
The Company gained popularity with its flagship model
Maruti 800 which is still remembered as 'Maruti' itself.
The Company not only brought the much awaited change
in the Indian automobile industry but played a pivotal
role in liberalization, globalization and privatization.
Lokhande & Rana (2013) discussed about the various
Brand positioning, Advertising, Distribution strategies
adopted by Maruti Suzuki to capture the market. They also
highlighted the unique promotional strategies executed by
the brand which included Teacher Plus Scheme, 2599
scheme, Change your life campaign etc.
Advertising followed by Maruti Suzuki in Madhya
Pradesh
Following the 'continuous' mode of advertising scheduling,
Maruti Suzuki advertises throughout the year in Madhya
Pradesh. The advertising is majorly done in prominent
Hindi newspapers such as Dainik Bhaskar, Patrika & Nai
Dunia. Supporting advertisements targeting specific
customers are done in English Newspapers such as Free
Press and Times of India but the frequency is relatively
low. The advertisements of Maruti Suzuki are usually very
simple in which the offers are highlighted and the specific
models are shown. Normally the offers shown in such
advertisements is generally festival/occasion based and
in certain cases economic factors such as price hike,
increase in duties and taxes are also highlighted. Maruti
Suzuki also creates special offers for government officers,
teachers and corporate employees occasionally.
Fatma & Kumari (2013) discussed about the promotion
strategies applied by the Company which includes road
shows to display vehicles in the pavilions during various
college festivals and exhibition, radio advertisements to
convey about the product features, price, qualities, etc. and
print advertisements in leading newspapers. They also
discussed about other print promotion tactics such as
brochures, leaflets, banners and posters at public places
to reach the customers. Workshops and seminars are also
used to display various models of Maruti Suzuki at the same
time offering test drive.McCabe & Malefyt (2010)
analyzed two past advertising campaigns for luxury cars,
Cadillac and Infiniti, to show how these brands were
stabilized as cultural forms at one moment in time and why
one was accepted and the other rejected by consumers.
They concluded that interactivity lies in the contested and
negotiated meaning of things in lived experience.
Mariel & Sandonís (2004) developed a dynamic
duopolistic model of advertising and price competition, in
which they concluded that advertising accumulates a stock
of goodwill which enters directly into the demand functions
and both the cooperative and predatory effects of advertising
are considered. They also presented estimations of the
demand using data from the German automobile industry
finally concluding that advertising plays an important role
in the automobile market and has a predatory nature.
Altius Shodh Journal of Management and Commerce
Greuner, Kamerschen & Klein (2000) examined the
effect of advertising on competition in the US automobile
industry. With a diverse set of data including advertising,
sales, profit, and market-share figures for General Motors,
Ford, and Chrysler over a 25-year period from 1970 to 1994,
they concluded that advertising serves primarily to transmit
information, not to create entry barriers.
Objectives:
The objective of the study is to study the advertising strategy
followed by Maruti Suzuki in Madhya Pradesh during the
festival period i.e. August 2014- January 2015.
Research Methodology:
Sample
The sample period is from August 2014 to December 2014
(which included the festival period and the period where
Maruti Suzuki was promoting the tentative price hike from
January 2015). In total 71 advertisements published in
selected prominent Hindi Newspapers of Madhya Pradesh
were analyzed.
Tools for Data Collection
Secondary data i.e. the print advertisements were collected
from prominent Hindi Newspapers of Madhya Pradesh.
Dainik Bhaskar, Nai Dunia, and Patrika, were selected as
maximum advertisements of Maruti Suzuki is done in these
newspapers. The data was collected from both physical
newspapers and e-papers.
Tools for Data Analysis
The analysis of the data was qualitative in nature and was
done as per author’s observation during three years of
industry experience in an advertising agency as a senior
copywriter.
Results & discussions
During the sample period, Maruti Suzuki followed the
‘continuous’ mode of advertising scheduling, in which it
regularly placed advertisements in the popular Hindi
newspapers of Madhya Pradesh. The strategy has yielded
great results for the brand as in the state, newspapers in
general command a great influence over the readers. On
many days, 2 print advertisements were placed in different
newspapers in order to get maximum response from the
customers.
With 33 print advertisements in Dainik Bhaskar during the
sample period, Maruti Suzuki gets the razor edge as
compared to its competition. Dainik Bhaskar is not only the
most popular newspaper in Madhya Pradesh but also has
the widest reach as compared to any other newspaper in
the state. Common sizes were 3x20 cc, 5x12 cc and 4x25
cc was used occasionally.
In order to connect with other customers, 20 print
advertisements were placed in Patrika and 18 print
ISSN 2348 – 8891
advertisements were placed in Nai Dunia. These newspapers
were used to comprehensively spread awareness about
the upcoming events and features of the new models. Since
the advertis em ent ra tes in both news pa pers a re
comparatively low in comparison to Dainik Bhaskar, the sizes
of the advertisements were 4x25 cc and Half Page.
The creative strategy applied by Maruti Suzuki in Madhya
Pradesh is very collaborative in nature. In total 23 prints
advertisements, the creative appeal was festival. Festivals
are celebrated with great enthusiasm in the state and people
usually look out to purchase luxurious products in the same
period. The festival theme was prominent along with other
highlights. For major festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi,
Dhanteras and Diwali, advertisements were being placed
3-4 days in advance.
Considering the price sensitive nature of the state, Maruti
Suzuki brings out savings offers to attract more and more
customers. In total 19 print advertisements, savings were
highlighted. During December 2014 and January 2015,
Maruti Suzuki was highlighting savings more aggressively
by focusing on the price hike of all its models.
Events have played a very critical role in the success of
Maruti Suzuki in Madhya Pradesh. But events alone itself
cannot attract customers, however if an event is promoted
in a popular platform such as newspapers the results can
be overwhelming. Such was the case of Maruti Suzuki, as
total 19 print advertisements supported these events and
spread more information. In fact the event advertisements
were released at times with separate offers for different
locations. The events highlighted attractive finance scheme
available with Maruti Suzuki models.
Some high end cars of Maruti Suzuki such as Ertiga, Celerio
and Dzire are promoted with more emphasis on features
rather than savings. In total 8 print advertisements focused
on features as the selling point for the cars. Such
advertisements have also helped Maruti Suzuki to maintain
a strong grip in the urban markets of Madhya Pradesh.
Conclusion:
To connect with the masses proper advertising is a must
and that is only possible if a firm is able to understand the
market and its customers. In the case of Maruti Suzuki,
advertising can be said as a big difference maker.
The advertising strategy of Maruti Suzuki in Madhya Pradesh
is effective in terms of customers touch and sales
conversion, much to the credit of simple and to the point
advertising. The importance given by the company to each
and every festival and provide relevant offers with proper
communication has helped it in every aspect. The events
are also well advertised which ensures maximum customer
turnout. The strategy of promoting purchase before price
hike also impacts the customer in a positive way.
Altius Shodh Journal of Management and Commerce
ISSN 2348 – 8891
Annexure - I
Date
NewsPaper
Creative Theme
Models
4/8/2014
Nai Dunia
Features
WagonR
Date
NewsPaperCreative Theme
11/11/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
Features
Models
Swift and Dzire
14/11/2014 Dainik Bhaskar Special Offer
Swift, Ertiga, Alto,
Ritz and Dzire
18/11/2014
Savings
Alto and WagonR
Event
Ritz and WagonR
5/8/2014
Patrika
Savings
Ritz
6/8/2014
Dainik Bhaskar
Savings
Range Shot
14/8/2014
Bhaskar
Festival
WagonR,Alto,Swift
14/8/2014
Bhaskar
Festival
Alto
23/11/2014
Nai Dunia
Savings
Swift
17/8/2014
Bhaskar
Festival
Swift and Dzire
3/12/2014
Patrika
Savings
Swift and Dzire
18/8/2014
Nai Dunia
Festival
Swift and Dzire
5/12/2014
Nai Dunia
Event
Dzire
22/8/2014
Bhaskar
Festival
Swift and Dzire
5/12/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
Event
Dzire
27/8/2014
Nai Dunia
Festival
Swift and Dzire
7/12/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
Event
Swift, Alto, Ritz and Dzire
28/8/2014
Nai Dunia
Festival
Swift and Dzire
9/12/2014
Event
Dzire
Savings
Swift, Ertiga Ritz and Dzire
Nai Dunia
23/11/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
Patrika
29/8/2014
Patrika
Festival
Dzire,WagonR,
Alto,Ertiga, Swift
30/8/2014
Dainik Bhaskar
Festival
Swift
12/12/2014
Nai Dunia
Event
Swift, Ertiga Ritz and Dzire
4/9/2014
Dainik Bhaskar
Finance
Alto and WagonR
13/12/2014
Patrika
Event
Swift, Ertiga Ritz and Dzire
11/9/2014
Nai Dunia
Features
Ertiga
14/12/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
Event
Swift, Ertiga Ritz and Dzire
12/9/2014
Patrika
Features
Ertiga and Ritz
17/12/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
Savings
Swift, Ertiga Ritz and Dzire
13/9/2014
Dainik Bhaskar
Festival
Swift
18/12/2014
Patrika
Savings
Swift, Ertiga Ritz and Dzire
19/9/2014
Dainik Bhaskar
Event
None
21/12/2014
Nai Dunia
Savings
Swift, Ertiga Ritz and Dzire
22/12/2014
Patrika
Features
Celerio
Event
Omni, WagonR,Alto and Alto
Swift, Ertiga,
Alto, Ritz and Dzire
Swift, Ertiga,
Alto, Ritz and Dzire
10/12/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
25/9/2014
Dainik Bhaskar
Event
26/9/2014
Patrika
Event
29/9/2014
Dainik Bhaskar
Features
Swift
Savings
Omni, WagonR,Alto and Alto
29/9/2014
Nai Dunia
Festival
Range Shot
26/12/2014
Patrika
Features
Swift
2/10/2014
Patrika
Festival
Alto and WagonR
29/12/2014
Patrika
Savings
Dzire,Alto,WagonR,Swift
3/10/2014
Nai Dunia
Festival
Alto and WagonR
30/12/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
Savings
Dzire,Alto,WagonR,Swift
3/10/2014
Dainik Bhaskar
Festival
Range Shot
31/12/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
Savings
Swift, Alto, Dzire
23/12/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
25/12/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
9/10/2014
Patrika
Event
Swift
11/1/2015 Dainik Bhaskar
Features
Ertiga and Ritz
11/10/2014
Nai Dunia
Festival
Celerio
13/1/2015 Dainik Bhaskar
Festival
Swift
14/10/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
Event
Alto
14/1/2015
Patrika
Festival
Alto, Dzire, Swift and WagonR
14/10/2014
Event
Range Shot
15/1/2015
Nai Dunia
Festival
Alto, Dzire, Swift and WagonR
Event
Range Shot
17/1/2015 Dainik Bhaskar
Savings
Range Shot
22/1/2015
Nai Dunia
15/10/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
16/10/2014
Patrika
Festival
Alto
Savings
Ritz
19/10/2014
Nai Dunia
Event
Range Shot
23/1/2015 Dainik Bhaskar
Savings
Dzire, Ertiga, Ritz and Swift
20/10/2014 Dainik Bhaskar
Festival
Range Shot
25/1/2015
Savings
Dzire, Ertiga, Ritz and Swift
21/10/2014
Festival
Range Shot
25/1/2015 Dainik Bhaskar
Event
Alto, Dzire, Ritz and WagonR
Savings
Swift, Ertiga, Ritz
Savings
Swift, Ertiga, Ritz
Patrika
2/11/2014
Patrika
Event
None
2/11/2014
Nai Dunia
Festival
Range Shot
3/11/2014
Patrika
Festival
Range Shot
28/1/2015
Patrika
Patrika
Nai Dunia
29/1/2015 Dainik Bhaskar
Altius Shodh Journal of Management and Commerce
References:
1.
Lokhande M.A & Rana Vishal Sunil (2013) “Marketing
Strategies of Indian Automobile Companies: A Case
Study of Maruti Suzuki India Limited”, Pratibha:
International Journal of Science, Spirituality, Business
And Technology (IJSSBT), Volume 1, Number 2,
February 2013
2.
Fatma Gauhar & Kumari Ela (2013) “Marketing
Strategies of Maruti Suzuki Limited”, International
Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering &
Management (IJAIEM), Volume 2, Issue 5, May 2013
3.
McCabe Maryann & Malefyt Timothy de Waal (2010)
“Brands, Interactivity, and Contested Fields: Exploring
Production and Consumption in Cadillac and Infiniti
Auto mo bile A dv ertising Cam pa igns ”, H um an
Organization, Volume 69, Number 3 / Fall 2010
4.
5.
Mariel Petr & Sandonís Joel (2004) “A model of
advertising with application to the German automobile
industry”, Applied Economics, Volume 36, Issue 1, 2004
Greuner Matthias R., Kamerschen David R. & Klein
Peter G. (2000) “The Competitive Effects of Advertising
in the US Automobile Industry”, International Journal
of the Economics of Business, Volume 7, Issue 3, 2000
Bibliography:
1.
2.
Belch G.E. & Belch M.A. (2005), Introduction to
Advertising and Promotion: An integrated Marketing
Communication Perspective, New York, Tata McGraw
Hill, 6th Edition
Tyagi C.L. & Kumar Arun (2005), Advertising
Management, New Delhi, Atlantic Publishers
ISSN 2348 – 8891
3.
Jaishri Jethwaney and Shruti Jain (2006), Advertising
Management, New Delhi, Oxford University Press
4.
Clow Kenneth and Baack Donald (2012), ‘Integrated
Advertis ing,
Pro mo tion
a nd
M arketing
Communications, New Delhi, Pearson Education, 4th
Edition
Webliography:
1.
E-Newspaper of Dainik Bhaskar All Madhya Pradesh
Editions http://epaper.bhaskar.com/bhopal/120/
23032015/mpcg/ 11:21 AM 23rd March, 2015.
2.
E-Newspaper of Patrika All Madhya Pradesh Editions
http://epaper.patrika.com/?s=mp 11:21 AM 23 rd
March, 2015.
3.
E-Newspaper of Nai Dunia All Madhya Pradesh Editions
http://naiduniaepaper.jagran.com/ 11:21 AM 23 rd
March, 2015.
4.
http://www.academia.edu/9106893/
Marketing_Strategies_of_Indian_Automobile_Companies_A_
Case_Study_of_Maruti_Suzuki_India_Limited
5.
http://w ww .re s ea rchga te .ne t/publication/
2 4 0 75 2 5 7 _ A_m o del_ of _ adv ertis ing_ with_
application_to_the_Ger man_automobile_industry
6.
http://w ww .re s ea rchga te .ne t/publication/
2 67 4 4 82 3 5 _M a rketing_ Stra tegies_ o f _I ndia n_
A u t o m o b i l e _ C o m p a n i e s _ A _
Case_Study_of_Maruti_Suzuki_India_Limited
6.
http://www.slideshare.net/dbhabuk/4ps-of-marutisuzuki