Grey, SSC&B, Saatchi & Saatchi in the fray for Hyundai's Terracan

Hyundai Motors India (HMI) is in the process of selecting an agency to handle the advertising account of its soon-to-be launched sports utility vehicle (SUV) Terracan. The three advertising agencies on the company's roster - Grey Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi and SSC&B - are in the fray for the estimated Rs 3-5 crore Terracan account. Terracan, the new 4X4 from HMI, is slated for launch in February 2003. HMI currently has three brands on the Indian roads - the Hyundai Accent, which is handled by Grey Worldwide; the Sonata by SSC&B; and the Santro by Saatchi & Saatchi.

The agencies have already been briefed about the brand's requirements. "Mostly 4X4's are positioned either as vehicles for the rough/tough terrain or the focus is on class and sophistication. For Terracan, the brief is to highlight both these aspects," says Sanjeev Shukla, manager, marketing, HMI. The positioning idea of Terracan, explains Shukla, draws from the name itself. "The name Terracan is coined from two words - Terra and Can. While Terra means earth, Can is a distorted version of Khan, which means the king. In effect, Terracan means the king of the earth, and that how we intent to position the 4X4," he says.

Based on this premise the three agencies have been asked to make a creative-cum-strategy presentation. While the account may not be large, it is definitely an exciting category to work on. That is because the category itself is at a nascent stage, and the task entails a large dose of concept selling. "Our objective is to give the Hyundai customer a wide choice. Right now the SUV category is small but it is poised to grow. When we launched the Santro, the B segment was small. Today it is the fasted growing segment in the car market," he reasons.

The Terracan, which is powered by a 2.5 litre turbo diesel engine, would be priced between Rs 18 lakh and Rs 20 lakh. The market size for SUVs is estimated at 2,000 units a year. Initially, the company plans to import completely built units of the Terracan for the Indian market and depending on the volumes, it hopes to shift to production in the country using completely- or semi-knocked-down kits. © 2002 agencyfaqs!