Print & OOH remain key channels for building Volkswagen’s brand visibility: Abbey Thomas

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German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen is one of the world's leading car makers with a rich history dating back to 1937. Known for its innovative engineering, iconic models like the Beetle, Volkswagen has grown into a global powerhouse in the automotive industry. The brand is recognized for producing a wide range of vehicles that balance performance, safety, and cutting-edge technology, appealing to a diverse set of consumers worldwide.

Volkswagen entered the Indian market in 2007 and has since established itself as a key player in the country’s automobile industry. Known for offering premium build quality, advanced safety features, and German engineering at competitive prices, Volkswagen India caters to a growing demand for reliable and stylish vehicles.

In this exclusive Ag Talk interaction with Adgully, Abbey Thomas, Head of Marketing & PR, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, discusses the company’s offerings of over 40 active and passive safety features. The latest campaign by the company emphasizes on the importance of six airbags as a standard feature across all variants. Thomas speaks about Volkswagen’s marketing plans for the festive season this year, including safety-focused campaigns that aim to strengthen the brand’s resilience in a competitive market. He also highlights how the company balances traditional media, such as print, with digital and out-of-home (OOH) advertising in their media mix for this campaign, including the percentage allocation across these platforms, and more.

Volkswagen has been at the forefront of vehicle safety, offering over 40 active and passive safety features. Could you share how this focus on safety aligns with current consumer priorities, especially in the mass market?

At Volkswagen, we have always prioritized safety as a core pillar of our brand. In fact, our focus on marketing the 5-star GNCAP safety credentials of our cars was instrumental in making safety a key consideration for car buyers, which today is up there with other make-or-break considerations like fuel economy. This is also reflective of the shift that’s taking place in what car buyers want from their cars. The Indian consumer, with more disposable income in his/her pocket, has today gone from being cost conscious to value conscious… and safety, alongside other value drivers like immersive cabins and digital technology, has emerged as a big part of the value pie. So, in that sense, our focus on safety, with our cars packed with over 40 active and passive safety features, aligns perfectly with consumer priorities. We believe that safety should not be a luxury, but a standard feature accessible to all customers, and this approach resonates well, especially with the mass market.

The campaign emphasizes the significance of 6 airbags as a standard feature across all variants. How has customer feedback been so far on this initiative, and how do you see it influencing purchase decisions?

The introduction of 6 airbags as a standard feature across all our variants has been met with a very positive response from customers. This initiative is a testament to our commitment to safety, and it has positively influenced purchase decisions, especially among our core audiences that are married with children and safety-conscious consumers. Both of our India 2.0 products – Taigun and Virtus – are 5-star GNCAP safety rated cars and customers appreciate the peace of mind that comes with knowing they are driving one of the safest vehicles in the market, and this is reflected in the comments we’ve heard from both existing and prospective customers.

Can you share some insights into Volkswagen’s festive season marketing plans this year? How have you leveraged this period to promote safety and other brand values?

We, at Volkswagen, ushered in excitement this festive season with the Volksfest 2024, our annual celebratory extravaganza which commenced from September 14 and culminated in October. Each year at Volkswagen India, our aim is to make the Volksfest bigger and special and leverage this period for our customers with exclusive offers, benefits, and engagement opportunities. This Volksfest, we are bringing our brand even closer to customers, at the heart of cities, at premium malls across the country. We have also built a unique “Trust Drive” zone that invites prospective customers to get behind the wheel and spend quality time experiencing their preferred Volkswagen model that’s safe, sturdy and fun-to-drive.

Volkswagen has consistently focused on building brand resilience. How do you believe your safety-focused campaigns and festive season marketing will help in strengthening the brand’s resilience in a competitive market?

Marketing and positioning for any brand cannot be a short term engagement, much rather, it must outline the tenets over a longer duration for consistent positioning and recall/ association. For us, we have been quite consistent with our communications that have reinforced the ideology of Build Quality, Safety and Fun-to-Drive. Moreover, these have been built in as qualities of our German Engineered products. So, whether it’s a campaign specifically communicating the safety credentials of our cars or festive campaigns, consistent messaging of our key tenets have always been placed up front and centre in our messaging. As a result these facets have become intrinsically-linked propositions of the Volkswagen Brand in the minds of our customers and prospective customers alike. It is one of the key pillars that differentiate our brand and set us apart in an increasingly crowded and competitive market.

Volkswagen is known for its innovative print ads. How are you balancing traditional media like print with digital and OOH in your media mix for this campaign? Could you share the percentage allocation across these platforms? Are there any shifts in focus, such as increased investment in digital or experiential advertising, especially considering the growing importance of vehicle safety?

We constantly tweak the mix of our delivery mechanisms to engage customers in the most effective and goal oriented manner. Like in the past, print and OOH advertising remains a key pillar of our strategy. We see them as key channels for building brand visibility. But at the same time, we have certainly sustained a healthy mix of penetration through digital platforms. Like we mentioned earlier, consistency is key and this holds true for our optimum mix as well, addressing more than just the top funnel but even down funnel strategies, where we can be more tactical with our communications, tailoring the messaging for specific audiences and that is where we leverage strengths of digital platforms.

Could you tell us about the creative and media agencies you have partnered with for this campaign? How have they contributed to bringing the campaign vision to life?

DDB Mudra has been our creative partner for over a decade in India and has played a key role for us on many fronts. As for this campaign on safety with 6 airbags as standard, DDB has really put together a unique way of reaching out to customers to emphasize on the number 6, to send out a captivating message while embodying the core narrative of safety.

With consumers becoming more environmentally conscious, how is Volkswagen India integrating sustainability with safety in its vehicle offerings? Are there any plans to align future campaigns with both these themes?

Sustainability in mobility solutions currently means green or electric product offerings. However, it is also important to understand that at present, especially in India, we are yet to move to more sustainable renewable energy forms. So ideally, while EVs may replace tailpipe emissions with industrial emissions, these do continue contributing to the carbon footprint. With that said, in the interim, we are providing ICE powertrains that not only conform to the standard emission norms of the nation but also bring in innovative technologies such as ACT or active cylinder deactivation technology on our 1.5 l TSI EVO engine. This technology moderates usage of cylinders in the engine block to optimize fuel consumption, returning a good mileage and reducing tailpipe emissions depending on power consumption patterns.

How do you see the role of emerging technologies, like AI and connected cars, shaping the future of vehicle safety for Volkswagen India? Will we see these innovations reflected in future campaigns or product launches?

While AI and connected cars as technological services in mobility continue to evolve, their role in terms of safety would still be at a nascent stage. Globally this year, At CES 2024, Volkswagen presented the first vehicles in which the artificial-intelligence-based chatbot ChatGPT is integrated into its IDA voice assistant. In future, customers will have seamless access to the constantly growing artificial intelligence database in Volkswagen models equipped with the IDA voice assistant and have researched content read out to them while driving.

Enabled by Cerence Chat Pro, the integration of ChatGPT into the backend of the Volkswagen voice assistant offers a multitude of new capabilities that go far beyond the previous voice control. These are just a few glimpses into what capabilities AI may unravel not just in-terms of convenience but even safety in the years to come.

Also Read: Neha Agrahari on Flipkart’s big video commerce push for festive season this year