Brand Positioning - Scorpio

By Group 2

About the Company

M&M was established in 1945 & listed on BSE in 1956. Initially manufactured Willys Jeeps and its minor modified versions. Production of LCVs at four manufacturing plants. Acquired International Tractor Company of India in 1977 & gained the brand Mahindra. Had huge turnover of Rs 46 b & net profit of Rs1.46 b.

Continued
After 1994, it was restructured such that the flagship co had 2 operating divisions:
Automotive Sector Farm Equipment Sector

Since 1997, it realigned its product and brand portfolios prompted by changing environment. The Scorpio was conceptualized and designed by the inhouse integrated design and manufacturing team of M&M.

"Car of the Year" award from Business Standard Motoring as well as the "Best SUV of the Year" and the "Best Car of the Year" awards, both from BBC World Wheels

Automobile Sector in India

Total market size in 2003- 0.73 m vehicles. Passenger car segment was divided into 2 broad segments: Personal cars &Utility Vehicles. Utility Vehicle Segment divided:
Pickups, soft tops and hard tops

Car segment was classified into three categories:

Economy Segment Premium Segment Super Premium Segment

Product Portfolio
Product Range consisted of Three Wheelers (Champion) LCV (Load king) Utility Vehicles Utility Vehicle consisted of Soft Top Vehicles Hard Top Vehicles Pick up vehicles M&M vehicles sold in semi urban & rural areas, as they were designed for rough terrains of India Major Users: Army, Police & Paramilitary Forces

Utility Vehicle Market Trends

1998
Soft Top Vehicle Industry Sales M &Ms Sales 57665 49261

1999
41385 34080 82 62021 23204 37

2000
40724 32945 81 66140 25205 38

2001
23386 18645 79 85696 26477 30

2002
20191 15520 77 84416 28360 33

M &Ms Sales(%) 85 Hard Top Vehicle 72171 Industry Sales M &Ms Sales 17282

M &Ms Sales(%) 24

M&Ms Urban Brand Image

Inspite of wide product portfolio, they did not have a significant presence in the fast evolving urban markets Hitherto, was loosing its market share in the urban market Brand Image for M&M was Tough, Reliable, Ruggedness, Easy to maintain & economic vehicles The companys product were not perceived as technologically advanced They wanted to change the Brand Image for Mahindra to make it more relevant to the value for money oriented young urban Indian consumers

Brand Identity Prism- Mahindra & Mahindra

Tough, economical, jeep looks, all terrain, diesel, noisy
PHYSIQUE

Down to earth, tough, Indian, not PERSONA young ,son of the soil

Dependable

RELATIONSHIP

CULTURE

Laid Back, Family

1 Institutional police, army 2 Rural guy, middle class

USER IMAGE

SELF IMAGE

Prudent, macho & tough

Rationale New Product Activity

Objectives To continue dominating the rural & semi urban markets with a range of products catering to the low cost mass transportation needs To develop a strong presence in the urban markets with a range of value for money products To keep these objectives , the company had little finances ; hence it was imperative to keep the cost to minimum Project Scorpio was launched in 1997 and an exercise to rationalize the brand portfolio of the company was also undertaken

Rationalizing the Brand Portfolio

MUV and SUV are used for 4 specific purposes by customer:
Type
Stage Carriage

Usage

Examples

Transport goods and people as a M&M three wheeler taxi. Usually run on per person Champion basis. Similar to Stage carriage except they work on contract and per kilometer basis. Pick-up vehicles, light duty vehicles(mini-trucks) and heavy duty vehicles(trucks). Personal transportation needs of individuals Tata Sumo , M&M Marshal and MaXX

Contract Carriage

Goods Carriage

M&M Loadking, MaXX Pickup Tata Safari, M&M Armada

Personal Carriage

Rationalizing the Brand Portfolio (Contd..)

Market realities prompted to take a re-look at their products and the brand portfolio, upgrade some products and reposition some brands. Directions also pointed towards introduction of new products to compete in emerging market conditions. Armada, given its features and designs, had limited impact in the urban market and thus it was redesigned to address the personal carriage market and phase it out once the new product was in place.

Driving into the cities

Consumer research showed that despite urbanization, people preferred to take holidays as extended families. The status of an individual was increasingly being assessed by the type of vehicle. Armada was redesigned as Bolero and offered good appearance, car-like comfort and ruggedness. The brand promise was luxurious toughness.

Driving into the cities(Contd..)

Front grill, rough, all terrain, car-like comfort Young, Vibrant, sophisticated. PHYSIQ UE

PERSON A

Outdoor Fun Companion

RELATIONSHIP

CULTURE Break Free, modern outlook, pushing hard.

Yuppy, city dweller, sporty

USER IMAGE

SELF IMAGE Free, enjoys life

Brand Identity Prism Mahindra

Driving into the cities(Contd..)

The brand was priced at Rs. 0.49 mn (Rs. 60000 less than Tata Sumo). As part of Brand rationalization, Marshal was modified and launched as MaXX as stage carrier vehicle creating more space. Bolero helped the company drive into the cities. Sales increased from 250 per month (for Armada) to 800-900 per month (Bolero).

Product Development Process

Codenamed Scorpio Sting the competition with a superior product. Product development process - IDAM (Integrated Design and Manufacturing) For quick decisions, people from various functions formed 19 cross-functional teams
Design & Development Testing & Validation Marketing Manufacturing Supplier Development

Sequence of steps
I
Interacted with around 500 customers Determine the product usage and perceptions

II

Formal market research - Visual models used to obtain customer inputs Arrive at customer priorities and perceptual benchmarks of various attributes

III

QFD (Quality Function Deployment) Customer inputs were translated into design dimensions and product specifications

Customers Perception
Feature/Brands Size Latest Technology International sports utility brands SUVs Luxury Vehicles for rich and famous Provide thrill and passion of driving Perceptions Indicated Status

Consumers want Premium Imagery at affordable price Image of the new product comfortable, easy to drive, city vehicle with international imagery connotations

Naming the new vehicle

Suitable name required to represent premium imagery, international aura, and elements of superiority, while capturing the essence of SUV. Interface communications (Advertising agency) conducted a study of international brand names of mid size cars and SUVs. Some suggested names were Warrior, Terrainer, Stormer, Stallion, Fusion and Sting. Subject to extensive qualitative and quantitative consumer research, Scorpio came out as a winner over others.

Brand Strategy
Alternatives Mahindra Scorpio Evaluation Advantage of drawing from positive images of mother brand Mahindra that connoted toughness, reliability and outdoor image (Similar strategy used by Mahindra bolero) Advantage of creating a completely independent image of a modern, trendy brand that represented a new generation of world class products Brand name Scorpio can connote a new independent product that carries positive associations of Mahindra

Scorpio

Scorpio from Mahindra

PRICING STRATEGY
Research showed that consumers were looking for a vehicle with international imagery at an affordable price. Consumer clinic results suggested a price range of 0.55 mn to 0.63 mn for the petrol version of Scorpio. Company decided to adopt a penetration strategy within the psychological range of 0.5 mn to 0.7 mn. The base version was launched at 0.55 mn. The fully loaded version was launched at 0.6 mn. It was lower than 75,000 to the leading SUV in the market.

MAPPING COMPETITION
FORD IKON POSITIONING Most superior car on the road HYUNDAI ACCENT POSITIONING So powerful that you can make unthinkable things happen MARUTI ESTEEM POSITIONING Most comfortable vehicle money can buy

OPEL CORSA POSITIONING Enjoy the difference

TOYOTA QUALIS
POSITIONING Large vehicles for large Indian families.

QUALIS BRAND IDENTITY PRISM

Large family Sopshisticated , vehicle with well mannered , good technology PHYSIQUE PERSONA family-centric

Family member for all occassions

RELATIONSHIP

CULTURE Caring and understanding brand

Head of a rich,large family

USER IMAGE

SELF IMAGE Quality conscious caring family member

TATA SUMO
TATA SUMO positioned around toughness and power. Later changed strategy to TATA SUMO King Size

TATA SAFARI

TATA SAFARI used the platform of attitude and lifestyle. An off road SUV for people who were adventurous - Make your own road

Alternative Brand Positioning Options

Why should Scorpio search for alternative Brand Positioning Options ?
Category A 55% to 34% in 2001 Category B 43% in 2001 Category C 14% (constant) Category D & E Increasing trend but limited Volumes

Positioning Options
Involvement of customers in designing new offer based on ECR. To position the new offer as a vehicle that provided an ownership experience. To position it as a vehicle that could cruise on any type of road. To position the vehicle as one designed by the worlds top designers. To position as rare combination of luxury & brute force.

Static & Drive Clinic

It was the exercise done to seek the customers input for Brand Positioning Decision. Purpose :
To evaluate the vehicle as a leading competitor Brand To obtain customer reactions that helped arriving at a positioning decision.

Response of ECR
Static Evaluation Phase
Exterior fit & finish Perceived as STURDY

Driving Evaluation Phase

Power & Pick up Overall quietness Interior drive comfort Smoothness of clutch

Price Acceptability
Clinic was used to obtain the price acceptability of price for both Diesel Petrol Price Sensitive Model used. Younger age group Propensity to pay more. Old Age group less propensity to pay.

Scorpio as a JEEP or CAR

Wide spectrum of opinions. It is a jeep, not a car- totally a Jeep Jeep with a touch of car Good Looking posh Jeep , for city driving. Looks expensive Weekend Car

Conclusion of ECR
No specific positioning option Jumped Out It indicated that the vehicle offered
Superior Technology Dynamic Looks A car like product Great Value for the price

SCORPIO BRAND POSITIONING

RATIONAL BENEFITS World class vehicle Good looks Car like comfort Great value EMOTIONAL BENEFITS Experience of thrill , excitement and power RELATIONAL BENEFITS Young , modern , extension of lifestyle BRAND PROMISE Luxury of car , Thrill of SUV

CBBE Model

Thank You