CHENNAI: In the three years since its launch in India, Datsun has rapidly become a leading car brand, selling almost as many units as its parent Nissan thanks to a digital-first strategy.
“We are taking a digital lead,” Jerome Saigot, Managing Director, Nissan Motor India, told Exchange4Media. “In fact, digital is leading our main marketing strategy.
“We are also focusing on experiential more than the traditional media,” he added. “I think traditional media is behind us and digital and experiential is ahead of us.”
Around the world, car sales are increasingly influenced by digital, with customers already having a good level of product knowledge before entering a showroom. India is no different, especially when considering Datsun’s younger target audience for whom the brand is making international technology available at the affordable price of Rs 3 lakh (US$4,600).
That has been a big challenge for the design team, which relied on the use of off-the-shelf parts and engineering the car almost entirely on computers to keep the price down.
The marketing team’s challenge has then been to raise brand awareness consideration while also making it accessible in terms of network.
“We have a high level of acceptance among the young generation and we are getting good response especially from the tier 2 and tier 3 markets,” Saigot reported.
The Datsun care package has also been well received, and has been a factor in pushing sales of the Redi-GO model in particular.
As global head of brand, Jose Roman, told The Hindu recently: “In emerging markets, a car is a big investment for the customer and completely different from the US and Europe where it is like buying a refrigerator.
“You have been saving money for five years to make this a reality and need to go in for something good and reliable.”
“We are taking a digital lead,” Jerome Saigot, Managing Director, Nissan Motor India, told Exchange4Media. “In fact, digital is leading our main marketing strategy.
“We are also focusing on experiential more than the traditional media,” he added. “I think traditional media is behind us and digital and experiential is ahead of us.”
Around the world, car sales are increasingly influenced by digital, with customers already having a good level of product knowledge before entering a showroom. India is no different, especially when considering Datsun’s younger target audience for whom the brand is making international technology available at the affordable price of Rs 3 lakh (US$4,600).
That has been a big challenge for the design team, which relied on the use of off-the-shelf parts and engineering the car almost entirely on computers to keep the price down.
The marketing team’s challenge has then been to raise brand awareness consideration while also making it accessible in terms of network.
“We have a high level of acceptance among the young generation and we are getting good response especially from the tier 2 and tier 3 markets,” Saigot reported.
The Datsun care package has also been well received, and has been a factor in pushing sales of the Redi-GO model in particular.
As global head of brand, Jose Roman, told The Hindu recently: “In emerging markets, a car is a big investment for the customer and completely different from the US and Europe where it is like buying a refrigerator.
“You have been saving money for five years to make this a reality and need to go in for something good and reliable.”
Sourced from Exchange4Media, The Hindu, Financial Express, Auto News; additional content by WARC staff
