So, Audi India has finally woken out of their print media trance and gone digital for Audi Q3. Oh, they are already on Facebook and Twitter, and pretty active too for that. But have they been creative? Rarely, perhaps no! But time has come for Audi to break the shackles finally. Audi India has been in news lately – for being No 2 after BMW in sales now (in luxury cars segment), and challenging the rival luxury brand from German. To attain the No 1 position, Audi India needs to go marketing aggressive. And they have. How?
Bring in John Abraham, a young Indian band, lots of youth and their conundrums – a young girl tentatively entering a tattoo shop, a coy boy hesitating to propose to a girl sitting opposite him, a young man gazing mysteriously at speakers in what appears to a be a railway station, a sports team being motivated by its coach. In the background, you have a rock band (I always prefer pop) in accented English screaming “This is our time” – positioned as the youth anthem. In other words, a promotional slogan for Audi Q3. The Audi Q3 is clearly looking at a young positioning, and they are bang on target. The SUV market in luxury segment is gaining strength, especially after the launch of affordable BMW X1. The Audi Q3, priced at about Rs 30 Lakhs is an ideal SUV for the affluent youth. They are hip, happening, though am not sure how many look at John Abraham as the youth icon, who is well into 40s and is being lately known for doing slapstick comedies or worse clichéd action films such as Force. Perhaps, a Rahul Bose or a Saif Ali Khan (who is also trying hard to degrade his brand equity by doing chaddi-baniyan ads) would have fit the bill more seamlessly.
Towards the end of the video, there’s a flash mob, the girl in the tattoo shop gets “This is Our Time” imprinted, the rock band yells its lungs out with an Audi Q3 parked in front, John Abraham is transmitting the song to radio stations, etc etc. I like the video production. Since its release on June 8, noon, the video has about 1800 views in about 24 hours. At 3:20 minutes, it is definitely not a TVC. If it’s a viral then let’s see how far it goes. On Facebook Audi India page, the video has 126 shares so far. Not bad stats to begin with, but the kind of investment Audi India has incurred for Audi Q3 on the internet, the numbers will have to be far more proving.
My View: The positioning of Youth Anthem is a bold one. For me, the song does not have it in it to make me sit for 3:20 minutes focussed. With such budget, Audi could have done better! Sorry, but I didn’t get the adrenaline! Having said that, I believe that the Audi Q3 is an excellent product. I’d like to see what’s next?