[xingamazon]

Its not just film actors / actress who are using things like Twitter / Facebook to woo their fans.Nowadays, even the auto manufacturers have started making good use of the Web 2.0 to come ever closer to its potential and current users.

Note using digitial marketing is not just advantage for the customer its the companies also which gain a lot by getting deeper knowledge about customer by interacting directly with him. Especially in markets like India and China, Digital ones are changing the car scenes that existed a decade back.

Few examples of the Auto manufacturers using the Web 2.0 that I can think of:
1. Having twitter pages for the PR, Vehicle plans , Vehicle news
Everyone is on board in this aspect, Toyota, Audi, Volvo cars, Ford, GM's brand etc. There are twitter account of all.
2. Having Facebook pages this is also nothing new. The car maker have Facebook account thro which it keeps in touch with customer
3. Having games in the website Few manufacturers have tried having games in its website to woo customers.
4. Forums in its website: There are few auto makers having Forums in its website to discuss its products within the customers.
5. Chat facility in the website to help customer get the questions resolved immediately.
6. Smartphon App having details about car comparitors etc. and FAQs about cars etc.

This thread is to discuss the level of Digital marketing campaigns that companies are involved in during this digital age.
Also we can touch upon what the companies can think of to improve its digital marketing campaigns by providing examples. You never know companies seeing this page might get interested in discussed idea.
Also discuss on which companies need to do lot of catch up with respect to digital footprint.

Do share some good links of companies using web 2.0 in a better way.

Request you to restrict discussion only to the topic of digital marketing, please do not get into details of direct marketing campaigns by the company.

[kanuj]

Not exactly web 2.0 per se, but Maruti recently concluded a very successful campaign on its Ritz facebook fan page... just goes to show that the manufacturers are trying to woo customers by reaching out via these social network mediums.

[xingamazon]

Originally Posted by kanuj

Not exactly web 2.0 per se, but Maruti recently concluded a very successful campaign on its Ritz facebook fan page... just goes to show that the manufacturers are trying to woo customers by reaching out via these social network mediums.

I agree, even Ford Figo on its part is still running some campaigns for its users who are in Facebook.
I see them updating the posts atleast 4-5 times a day.

I have seen twitter sites of Toyota in US, they are quite active over there.

[GTO]

I find it really funny when I see all manufacturers talking about "social networking", yet few even have a clue about it. Amongst the three doing a really good job are Mahindra, Ford and Maruti (though not a patch on the first two). Hyundai is conspicuous by its absence, while Tata is somethings hot, at times cold. Strange that the luxo-marques - Audi, BMW & Mercedes - are absent on the digital marketing scene. Also, a brand like Chevrolet could gain a lot from digital marketing. They'd do well in following Ford closely.

Originally Posted by xingamazon

Smartphon App having details about car comparitors etc. and FAQs about cars etc.

Who has apps? Link to Android / Apple market place?

[xingamazon]

Originally Posted by GTO

I find it really funny when I see all manufacturers talking about "social networking", yet few even have a clue about it. Amongst the three doing a really good job are Mahindra, Ford and Maruti (though not a patch on the first two). Hyundai is conspicuous by its absence, while Tata is somethings hot, at times cold. Strange that the luxo-marques - Audi, BMW & Mercedes - are absent on the digital marketing scene. Also, a brand like Chevrolet could gain a lot from digital marketing. They'd do well in following Ford closely.

I agree, the car manufacturers rarely do get a real idea on how to reach out on the "social networking"

But one thing which recently impressed me (cos I came across this, I am guessing other manufacturers might have done it too) was the attempt by Ford to woo its social networks.

I remember they gifted around 100 fiestas (for free, BTW some call it a bribe) to US netizens before launch so that they can spread the goodness of the vehicles. They were supposed to update the world and their audience daily by updating how they enjoyed the car on that day.
(not sure how the attempt turned out to be).

Some good Social networking efforts were also taken by them during launch in Chinese and Thai market.

Originally Posted by GTO

Who has apps? Link to Android / Apple market place?

This topic came up during discussion with my friends they were mentioning something like this in Europe.

But I have seen apps by Ford in both iphone and Android market allowing people to access the the forums of Ford mustang and Ford Fiesta
Here is one link Apple - Web apps - Ford Fiesta.
Sorry the Android one is not available in the website even if it is there in my phone.

[kanuj]

Maruti seems to be doing this better than the others. Just a few weeks ago they streamed the live launch of Kizashi on Facebook and built up a fair amount of hype by emailing and posting a lot on the facebook page itself...

[xingamazon]

Has anyone seen the BMW website anytime.
Its one of the poorly designed websites that I have seen. If there was any particular information that one was looking for the site never provides information at all.

I am guessing, it must have been picked from other market sites but since there is not much content to enter for India most parts of the tabs are kept pretty empty. Not impressed

[cranky]

Marketing guy: We have 10 million dollars for marketing this year. How should we spend it?

Agency guy: Sure thing. Let's be the first people on the internet. We'll spend a million dollars on broadcasting a film or two.

Marketing guy: And what about the rest?

Agency guy: Make the films, of course

Here's the result - IMO the best car marketing campaign every created. The most famous is the 'Star' film with Madonna, most would have already seen that.

BMW Films 'The Hire' - Complete Series featuring Clive Owen

[tanwaramit]

some of the manufacturers doing the impressive job are GM, Maruti & Mahindra.

With Maruti doing live webcast for all their launches, Kizashi, Ritz, Dzire etc.

Mahindra wooing fans of scorpio on facebook and giving freebies like coffee table book to the ones posting good photos of scorpio, lots of bhpians can get it (the ones who post awesome pictures of their scorpio in TBHP)

[iSpoke]

This one does not fall into Social Networking but definitely one of the best Digital marketing (highly interactive) that could be expected from Mercedes. For better effects you should have sound ON with this,

http://www.a-to-s.co.uk

[xingamazon]

I have noticed lots of manufacturers are starting to make Iphone / Ipad apps off late.
They are available for free to download in the Apple iTunes store.

Audi Worldwide > Experience > Audi multimedia > Audi Apps
http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/volkswag...ld/mobile-apps
Toyota Mobile - Offerings Across Mobile Devices

This looks like is seeming to be trend off late. Its ironic such things dont exist in India to bette the user ownership experience

[ra'ul M]

VW has some really nice apps for the iPhone. Their racing games are very popular the world over [One of them is called Real Racing GTI]. I am a very big fan of their digital marketing, especially because they are quite interactive. I am pretty sure they will plan something major in the digital space specifically for India [they seem to be more focused on the physical side of marketing right now- Polo Cup et al]

[greenhorn]

check out this hyundai video which had some decent viral exposure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu0TRA6a21Q

While the stuff in the OP is the more glamorous side of digital marketing, i wonder if any of them are managing the more mundane stuff like banner ads, mailers, keyword management, sms, referrals, analytics etc . Wonder who are more aggressive with site placements ( I'm sure our own list of banned advertisers should throw some light on who is trying hard to make it had to tbhp) . I've seen both tata and their dealers run sms campaigns

Of course I'm yet to see the really cutting edge stuff like QR codes and location based stuff ( I guess this stuff works only in bangalore).

The most innovative I have personally seen, though a bit risky, was a spark with a 'turn on your bluetooth to know more' sticker driving around.

[AVR]

A very serious effort at using digital marketing was/is being done for the Tata Aria.
Pre-launch: They had the build-a-Aria game/contest which outlined all the features that came with the Aria that highlighted the relevance of the features. Vehicle website here

Current: Guess-the-feature campaign that they are currently running till the 10th July. Quite interesting and active on Facebook here

@xingamazon - You should check it out.

Cheers,
Adi