Toyota Etios's 'Q' Class Campaign: A Quality Marketing Strategy

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"Etios was first showcased in the Auto Expo and we received a good response. Now we are taking this sedan and hatch to many cities, under the Q-World, which is like an exclusive Toyota auto expo..... We use advertising to communicate product details to our customers. On ground promotional activities like road shows, customer meets, and sponsorship of various events are more fruitful."

-Hiroshi Nakagawa, Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motors Limited, in July 2010.

On December 1, 2010, Toyota Kirloskar Motors Limited (TKML), the Indian joint venture between the automobile major Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and the Kirloskar Group,1 launched the Etios sedan, priced between Rs. 496,000 and Rs. 686,000, ex-showroom Delhi. This launch and the subsequent launch of the hatchback Etios Liva marked TKML's foray into the mass market segment of the Indian car market. The launch of the Etios sedan was preceded by a slew of brand building initiatives by TKML including the Quality Revolution advertisements, the display of the Etios line at the Delhi Auto Expo 2010,2 the 'Q' World shows, the 'Q' Promise ad campaign, etc. The customer response to the Etios sedan was overwhelming.

In the first week of its launch, the Etios sedan had received 8,100 bookings. Industry observers felt that the excitement created by TKM around the sedan through the pre launch marketing strategy, had played a major role in this not-so-insignificant feat. However, customers who had been eagerly waiting for the cars were reportedly disillusioned when the actual vehicles were delivered to them. Many of the customers who had been swept away by the hype generated around the Etios by TKM and had rushed to book the car, felt that they had been short-changed by the company. Quite a few of them were not satisfied with the build quality of the car and felt that TKM had compromised on the features to keep the cost low. This customer perception of not having got what they wanted dampened the response to the hatchback Etios Liva which was launched subsequently, industry observers said. The Etios Liva received only 4,000 bookings in the first five weeks of its launch and experts attributed this to consumers having becoming wiser. Experts felt that this was something that TKM would have to worry about, as it needed the Liva more than the sedan version to establish a larger footprint of the Indian car market.

Background Note - Next Page >>

1] Kirloskar Group is an Indian engineering and construction conglomerate.
2] The Delhi Auto Expo is a trade exhibition of automobile and auto component makers organized once every two years at New Delhi. It is organized by the Auto Component Manufacturers Association, Confederation of Indian Industry, and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. The Delhi Auto Expo 2010 was held from January 5 to January 11, 2010. The total number of participants was 2,105 comprising, amongst others, 42 vehicle manufacturers and 1,754 auto component manufacturers.

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