Hakuhodo Percept wins creative duties for Maruti Autocard

Hakuhodo Percept has bagged the creative duties for the Maruti Autocard account. The media duties for the brand will be handled by Initiative, the AOR (agency of record) for all Maruti brands.

The size of the business is estimated to be Rs 8-10 crore.

Hakuhodo Percept handles two other Maruti brands, the base model, 800, and Wagon R.

Ravi Bhatia, general manager, Maruti, confirms to agencyfaqs!, “We are currently following a step-by-step process. The first step was to announce the launch of the product. Now we shall stress on enrolling customers, which will be followed by adding more benefits to the card.”

“As of now, the communication need for the brand is to inform our loyal customers about the several benefits that accompany the card,” he adds.

Bhatia reveals that, mainly, the print media will be used for the communication, but the Internet and radio will also play an integral part in the media plan.

He says, “In the past, the Web or online media has yielded positive results for us and radio can’t be ignored because it is the media consumed largely by people while driving.”

Maruti plans to use scrollers mainly on the various news channels on television, but it will also look at other similarly lucrative platforms on television.

Bhatia adds that after tying up with Indian Oil Corporation and Citibank for the Maruti Autocard, the company is looking forward to an association with other companies from various sectors such as consumer durables, airlines and automotive accessories.

He adds that the auto major plans to take up aggressive promotion with Indian Oil in the future, including working on outdoor marketing.

For the record, Maruti Autocard is a relationship rewards programme designed exclusively for Maruti Suzuki car owners, which kicked off in April 2006.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!