Maruti Suzuki, Saavn and Razorfish launch 'branded streaming radio station'

The digital agency Razorfish and the music streaming service Saavn, in partnership with the automobile company Maruti Suzuki India, have released a brand-dedicated streaming radio station on Saavn called Road Tripping. The new station is available for streaming globally on Saavn's app, and features Bollywood and Indie music.

The fully measurable ad campaign, which runs 24 hours a day, has branded audio ads and banners on the station exclusively from Maruti Suzuki. The campaign provides the automaker with access to precise metrics that include ad impressions, number of spots served, and click-through rates. The Road Tripping station has already garnered a CTR of 7 per cent. To measure the campaign's impact on brand awareness, Saavn will additionally measure ad recall and purchase intent among users.

Saavn has also created custom audio ads to promote the station amongst Saavn listeners, with a click through to start listening to the Road Tripping station.

Amongst the service's listeners, 28 per cent are young professionals, in the age group of 21-25 years, and residing in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. They spend the week listening to music at their desks and on weekends while travelling with friends. A further 19 per cent of the service's listeners are in the age group of 26-30 years, who spend much of their week commuting. These factors have made Saavn the ideal choice for Maruti Suzuki India, which aims to mainly target young consumers.

Sanjeev Handa, vice president - marketing, Maruti Suzuki, says, "We at Maruti Suzuki, have always pioneered many firsts in the auto segment and with our recent launches we are already the most popular car brand for the Indian youth today. This also means that we need to engage with our customers in the most relevant manner, and through the most relevant medium. Road Tripping is an exciting platform and we plan to build on it and more such new avenues to reach out to our young and dynamic customers."

Gaurav Pathak, chief operating officer and head of business transformation, Razorfish India, adds, "It is exciting to work with Maruti Suzuki knowing it is truly seeking business transformation and is tuned to innovative ideas, with the "let's do the never-tried-before" approach. Such ideas come through only with the partnerships of all stakeholders who strive to win the idea equally."

Talking about the key idea behind the campaign, Piyush Aggarwal, director digital media, Razorfish India, says, "According to the latest Global Web Index report, online music is at 8 per cent of the overall consumption in India, and 4th in the most consumed digital content category after social, videos, and online news. At Razorfish, we believe music offers an experiential and non-intrusive way for brands like Maruti to connect and engage with their target audience."

Sandeep Singh, executive vice-president - brand solutions, Saavn, says, "We are excited to work with Maruti Suzuki and Razorfish to bring their brand advertising to this ground-breaking new format. Young audiences engage with music in such a powerful way, and drive time is their classic listening paradigm, so we are honoured to help Maruti Suzuki capitalise on that connection, that is on Saavn."

Razorfish is a digital agency which is part of the Publicis Groupe. The agency offers services in strategic consulting, experience design, brand building, technology platforms, data services, retail/commerce and media services. Its client portfolio includes brands such as McDonald's, Mercedes-Benz USA, Microsoft, Nike China, Unilever, and Uniqlo among others.