McCann wins Chevrolet Captiva

The SUV market is heating up with the several launches that have already taken place in the segment, and it’s only going to grow with lots more to come

The SUV segment seems to be hotting up in India. First it was the revamped model of Mahindra & Mahindra’s Bolero, then the Grand Vitara Escudo by Maruti Suzuki was re-introduced, and now it’s General Motors’ Chevrolet Captiva.

General Motors has awarded the creative duties of the Captiva to McCann-Erickson, following a multi-agency pitch called in late August.

P Balendran

P Balendran, vice-president, GM India, confirmed the news to agencyfaqs!. “Between the two, Leo Burnett and McCann-Erickson, the latter won the creative business purely on the basis of merit,” he says.

Debashis Paul, general manager, McCann Delhi, adds, “Winning this account is a sign of the strengthening of a relationship with General Motors and a reinforcement of the company’s confidence in the agency.”

Soon-to-be-launched Captiva

The size of the business could not be ascertained, but with competition getting up close and tough, GM will contemplate ideas that are a balance of intelligent allocation of ad spends and competition. GM is considering media such as television, print and outdoor amongst the traditional options available for advertising the product.

The digital space is also being considered. Madison Media is the AoR for the company.

GM has two agencies on its roster, Leo Burnett and McCann-Erickson, which share the creative duties for all GM brands. Leo Burnett handles the corporate duties for the Chevrolet Tavera and Chevrolet Spark. McCann takes care of the Chevrolet Optra, SRV, Aveo and Aveo UVA.

Rediffusion was also on the GM roster and was handling the corporate and creative duties for the Tavera, but these are now with Leo Burnett.

The Captiva is slated for a January 2008 launch, and a first peek at the car can be had at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi between January 10 and 17, 2008. With the SUV space gearing up, Mahindra & Mahindra has planned the launch of a second SUV, Ingenio; Nissan, too, is eyeing the segment.

The Captiva will be positioned against the Maruti Grand Vitara, the Honda CR-V and the Hyundai Tucson. It will be priced in the range of Rs 15-20 lakh. The model is known to have done well in Europe. With 2,400cc petrol and 2,000cc diesel engines, the SUV seats five or seven. The Captiva will most probably enter Indian roads on diesel with a common rail engine jointly developed by GM Powertrain and VM Motori.

GM has offerings in almost all the significant areas of the Indian car market. The Aveo is designed for the mid segment, the Tavera is a multi utility vehicle, and the recently launched Spark is a small car. The Aveo UVA, which was launched in January, is positioned against the Maruti Swift and the Hyundai Getz.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com