Skoda Better Made Better Campaign Review

Skoda Better Made Better Campaign Review

  October 21, 2016    Vijay

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The advertisement that caught my attention off-late is the latest commercials from Skoda Auto India. The campaign is Better Made Better. The campaign includes three ads; all choreographed using slice-of-life themes. The most played ad sequence is the one revolving around a new father handed over his baby at a hospital

Indian Car Industry

Indian car market is one of those text-book type markets ruled by a handful of strong player. It is expected that the top three market players (Maruti, Hyundai and Mahindra & Mahindra) hold more than 70% of the market share. Skoda Auto India is one of the penny-players in the market with less than 0.5% market share.

Though market share is very less, the brand is one of the top list makers in the premium/high end segment. I remember; during the early 2000’s, when Skoda Octavia was first launched – it was one of the biggest aspiring models in the market. In total, Skoda India has five models presently – Fabia, Octavia, Superb, Rapid and Yeti. Though, there are a plethora of complaints around how bad the after sales service is; it is expected that they are improving that part.

Better Made Better

Skoda Better Made Better is the latest campaign from the brand focusing on how car variants have improved, and other service quality improvements. A key component of the campaign messaging is about the brand’s improved service – be it the showrooms or after sales. Four things highlighted as part of the overall campaign are

• Improved crystalline designs of cars
• Better and improved showroom experience
• Four year service guarantee
• Improved after-sales experience

The all new Skoda Experience

Let’s have a look at one of the ad sequences in this campaign. In this ad, a tensed to-be-father is waiting outside a labor room waiting for a un-eventful labor. The nurse hands over the baby to him and it holds its’ father’s finger. And, the voice over starts – ‘The feeling when something so good becomes even better…..’.Of the 45 seconds of ad sequence, the brand is shown only after 30 seconds. The execution of the ad is good; it takes the usual slice-of-life theme and keeps the viewer’s inquisitiveness in-tact. This type of theme is so over-used by insurance brands, that one may not expect the ad to be about an automobile. Last few frames showcases the crystalline design of cars, the service guarantee and improved showrooms.

Personally, I still don’t get the connection to enhanced quality promise from the brand. Second ad in this campaign include a family dinner during which the child is provided with a sumptuous hot chocolate brownie ice-cream. And the third ad showcases a trekker enjoying the best of the nature. In all these sequences, the brand re-iterates its tag line of Skoda – Simply Clever.