[keeprevving]

Tata Motors, Mahindra, Force, Bajaj, TVS and others need to succeed and take up the global competition head-on. We are in the 68th year of our independence and still we have not made a major mark in the Automobile fraternity, say the way Hyundai has done. I know it will take time, but we will reach there.

Good thing to notice about Tata is that they are up and ready to fight. This goes to show that the company has got immense confidence in their forthcoming launches. They have just been rated 3rd best automobile company in JD Power Customer Survey for 2015. I am sure, no one expected such a major jump. 2014-2015 manufactured models have had very few quality issues. The number of complaints and parts replacements under warranty has gone drastically too. So I must say that bashing Tata won't help.

[mobydick1983]

I hope atleast they terminate the services of the ad agency that created the atrocious 'muh muh muh multi drive' and 'welcome to the good life good life good life' campaigns for the bolt and zest. Instead hope they make some great ads like the earlier ones for the Indica and the Safari. A friend of mine whom I gave a lift in my Zest recently commented that the car looks good when compared to in the ad. It should be the other way around, right? As for Lionel Messi, its a good move in my opinion. Messi is not someone known only in Kerala as many forum members are making it out to be. Definitely, he's a popular name in the urban areas and many of the tier 2, tier 3 cities, especially among the age 21-35 demographic. That's where the Tatas are concentrating now with recent launches like the Zest and the Bolt being targetted at young professionals and being sold only to personal buyers. Also, Tatas are trying to gain a presence in the Africas and Messi could be someone who gets them the brand recall value they are in need of. If Micromax with a Hugh Jackman and Apollo tyres with Manchester United are doing fine enough, why should not Tata? And its hilarious some members suggesting Tatas should have spent the money being paid to Messi on product development. This is a company with a market capitalisation of 2-2.5 lk cr that we're discussing about. If Nike, Adidas and Pepsi can get a bevy of stars and celebrities in their kitty, Tatas can sure afford a Messi atleast.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I read somewhere that Micromax indeed benefited from their association with Hugh Jackman. I have no data / statistics on this though.

The minute I read that Micromax signed up Hugh Jackman I knew its a great idea, the advantage here is phones, more or less have the same components sourced from 3rd party vendors which are then assembled and put to quality control. Micromax even though made in India probably uses most of the key functioning parts like processor, lens, battery etc from expert manufacturers. All they needed was a very famous global face and they nailed it with Jackman who is a Hollywood actor yet would accept becoming part of an Indian brand (being Aussie).

Now with Tata, to be frank I've never driven one.. I've just sat in a few old Indicas and I'm sure the quality from there had to have gone up in the current models Zest & Bolt. Tata also benefitted a lot from their short partnership with Fiat (Zest has a lot of bits inspired from Punto like the Harman Kardon sound system & voice control). However in the long run Tata must absolutely do 2 things to ensure success - change the passenger vehicle division name from Tata to something else, and move away from the wide-stanced+big grille+huge headlights Indica design, a complete ground up design change. I cannot comment on things like driving, service & reliability of Tata cars since I know very little, but obviously something is amiss.. be it in the brand value, or ownership experience or simply because the competition has them beat. For that only the above solution would work.

As far as signing Messi goes - HUGE waste of money, he isn't cheap. He's known to accept weird endorsement offers (eg. Turkish Airlines), I'm not a football fan and over half of India aren't either.. how Lionel Messi directly translates to higher sales is left to be seen and if so it does happen I would be surprised.

[rrsteer]

Tata badly needs to DISRUPT the market.

Now this is not technology sector where you can aim to be disruptive with your offerings. Changes are incremental in nature and hence take time to be noticed. And time, is something Tata don't have on their hands. Competition is just too fierce and they are almost at the brink of being redundant as a brand for a lot of people.

Associating Messi, is not disruptive but it will hopefully cause a good number of people to turn around and notice. Which is probably not required at this point in time, for say Hyundai or even Mahindra, but I do think is relevant for Tata. Because people are fast forgetting them. Zest is probably the best offering in its segment but sales are poor. Tata sales and service is not Maruti standard but not VW standard either. So, the point is they have good products, offer decent service and have good service back up and are yet not succeeding.

In such a scenario, one of the solutions can be to start by forcing more customers to atleast look at them...or begin evaluating their products...and I think that is what they are hoping to achieve with Messi. I feel he is a good choice, but may be Aamir Khan may have proved more worthy as he is much more popular in India, carries a lot of credibility and Tata Motors needs that at this point in time.

[avishar]

I think its a fantastic move. Lionel Messi will not help Tata sell cars since there is absolutely no relationship between Messi and a Tata car. Messi as a brand as stands for very different things than what you expect from a Tata car. And that is why this is a brilliant move.

What Lionel Messi will do is in the total disassociation of what people's perceptions are off a Tata car. You can wipe the slate clean. He can totally disrupt the thought process of when i am seeing the Ad and change my associations and brand recall.

But for this to happen, they need to use him very very innovatively.

Please no silly CGI background of an office building, walking down to the basement, turning on the car and then some driving through CGI bridges and fields which look fake as,as,well,hell. After that a silly J turn(which nobody who buys a Tata or Suzuki ever does) before the end of the ad.

[srj1266]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Tata Motors has announced that it has signed up Argentine football star Lionel Messi as the global ambassador. Messi will promote and endorse its passenger vehicles globally. To start with, Tata Motors will first roll-out the association campaign, #madeofgreat, starring the footballer.

Link to Team-BHP News Article

It says that he will endorse the vehicles globally. I am sure this will help Tata build a good image overseas, especially in Europe and S America. Also, in India I think Messi is quite popular and would help Tata. With major improvements in the car quality (Bolt, Zest) and a globally known brand ambassador, things look good for Tata Motors.

[rohansachar]

Originally Posted by mobydick1983

I hope atleast they terminate the services of the ad agency that created the atrocious 'muh muh muh multi drive' and 'welcome to the good life good life good life' campaigns for the bolt and zest. Instead hope they make some great ads like the earlier ones for the Indica and the Safari.

BANG ON!! Bolt & Zest ads were one of the worst I've seen from the Tata Motors advertisements. Obviously this is also because the bar was raised so so high with the "Reclaim Your Life" & the "Kuch Log Sumo Chalatein Hai".

And just look at Reclaim Your Life:
- No Celebrity
- No major product upgrade [only Dicor addition & minor exterior tweaks]

HOWEVER, the concept being SO SO beautiful, it caught the attention & aspiration of millions. Those included people who could buy the Safari then & there, and SOME [like myself ] who decide, "When I can, I surely would, even if it's 10 years from now".

Tata Motors needs that connect with customer, they need to "Reclaim Our Mind". And in that direction, I doubt if Messi is the answer.

Regards,
Rohan Sachar

[Latheesh]

Here is the first #madeofgreat commercial featuring Messi!

"What drives us from within is what makes us great"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4MFmVq0Hfs

You can also see glimpse of new Kite in the video!

[tushky]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Here is the first #madeofgreat commercial featuring Messi!

"What drives us from within is what makes us great"

You can also see glimpse of new Kite in the video!

Awesome! Side profile resembles New ford Figo. However i liked that Orange color and the finishing of the Front grill. They should offer this color in Bolt too.

[rsquared]

Thanks for sharing Latheesh!! I kind of liked this video. Kite does look promising too!! I sensed some semblance to the New Ford Figo. Anyways exciting times ahead.

[ksameer1234]

The ad is already doing rounds on various TV channels as well. The script and narration chosen to describe Messi actually goes quite well with Tata Motors brand.

I feel this brand promotion should resonate with the younger generation and coupled with the launch of fresh compact hatch aimed at young lot, it might as well swing the tide in favour of Tata!!

[pgsagar]

Moderator Note: You have been warned earlier, and infracted too. Do NOT spew your venom on threads across the forum.

[balajisv]

@ pgsagar

With due respect to your views, it is so much appreciated that a company is trying to claw back into business.

First right step in their approach and vision: Horizonnext
Second right step: Zest, Bolt and Nano AMT
Third right step: Re-building the brand. Mind you, they are a global brand and Messi is a great choice they have done!
India is a cricket crazy nation. True, but that is slowly ceding ground. Football is catching up. Do you follow ISL? Tremendous excitement and money is being poured in!

Finally, a company which is horribly struggling to find itself some space in a fiercely competed market, the least we can do is to encourage it's sincere attempt!
I'm personally proud of Tata Motors in being successful to rope in Messi, an international sports person to promote their products in a cricket crazy nation!

#madeofgreat #MadeInIndia

[vkivaturi]

The advert in newspaper today says "Tata Motors announces Lionel Messi as their Global Brand Ambassador". Messi probably has much better brand value outside of India. I believe Tata Motors is targeting both Indian and Global customer base by associating themselves with such a global personality.

[carbhaari]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

This country worships cricket and cricketers, like God. No other sports matter.

That's right sir, this country is Cricket crazy but Lionel Messi has been signed as global brand ambassador. And Football being more popular across globe will surely make an impact in other markets such as South Aftrica along with India. Tata has already launched new products (Bolt Sedan and hatch) in in South Aftrica. So IMHO in the country where Football world cup was hosted, Messi would surely create buzz.

Originally Posted by balajisv

India is a cricket crazy nation. True, but that is slowly ceding ground. Football is catching up. Do you follow ISL? Tremendous excitement and money is being poured in!

Agree with you Balaji. ISL, ProKabbadi are also getting popular. Of course not as popular as Cricket.

Originally Posted by balajisv

I'm personally proud of Tata Motors in being successful to rope in Messi, an international sports person to promote their products in a cricket crazy nation!
#madeofgreat #MadeInIndia

Roping in cricket player would have helped only in India. And Messi being international star and also having fan following in India will surely help in India and across globe.