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Source – J.D.Power Asia Pacific

Mahindra has put in great efforts since they took control over Logan. Developing a new marketing strategy and reducing cost by Rs 24,000 to Rs 80,000 seems to have worked for Mahindra. Logan is now planning to compete with other models in the segment like Hyundai Verna, Swift Dzire, Tata Indigo and Ford Fiesta. Mahindra’s immediate plan of action is to get Logan’s sale to a 4 digit mark consistently every month.

Pawan Goenka, President of the automotive and farm equipment sector at Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, announced to the media that M&M is figuring out ways to reduce the prices of automotive vehicles, starting with the release of a Logan, smaller in size and free of the hatchback design. Such a release, said Goenka, would make car prices more reasonable, which would ultimately increase the competitiveness within the auto market.

When Logan launched in 2007, it did not harvest the expected success. Therefore, Mahindra, as the Indian contributor, and Renault, representing the French partner, launched Mahindra Renault Logan in an attempt to increase the popularity of the previously renounced Logan.

Goenka justified the earlier failure of Logan by saying that the price was not fitting the market’s position at that time. The prearranged agreement between the two giants requires M&M to take over the operations of the car business, whereas Renault will keep on the supply of components.

Goenka clarified, “The name Logan will continue for a while. But once it becomes a complete Mahindra product, it will not be called Logan. It will have another name”. The new Logan will launch within the duration of 13 months.

Source :- FrenchTribune

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http://www.loganlovesindia.com/logan_loves_india/contest.asp

Loganizers talk about it @ http://mahindralogan.forumotion.com/mahindra-renault-f2/new-logan-loves-india-contest-t656.htm

LoganLovesIndia.com

Mahindra & Mahindra in a Bid to woo customers towards the Logan, have started new TVC’s and also changed their Website as a part of the Campaign.

The New website is now http://www.LoganLovesIndia.com from the earllier http://www.MahindraRenault.com

More @ http://mahindralogan.forumotion.com/mahindra-renault-f2/new-logan-website-t653.htm

Logan operates in the entry C segment  category and currently has a market share of 2.5 per cent in the category.
While the ‘Logan loves India’ campaign retains the target group of the Logan, which is the value-seeking, mature buyer aged 30 years and above, it has markedly repositioned the product. The marketing team has exploited the

characteristic Indian uniqueness, which is easy to relate to, by positioning itself as a car that best caters to the Indian quirks. Thus, it has used people from its existing customer base as brand advocates.

“Based on consumer insights, we have now found a new way to communicate the brand to the rational Indian consumer,” shares Vivek Nayer, senior vice-president, marketing, M&M. He adds that earlier, the price value equation of the car was slightly unfavourable – which is why the pricing of the car has been redefined. The new campaign was called for as an initiative towards improving brand visibility.

The creative duties for the account are with Saatchi & Saatchi. The two TVCs that are being aired currently interweave the core features of the car and those of typical Indians. The first film shows how, in India, dropping off someone at the airport is made into a huge family excursion. While tapping into this collectivist approach, the feature of ample rear and boot space in the Logan is stressed.

The second film shows an indecisive woman on a ’saree shopping’ mission, who goes from shop to shop looking for the right saree, while her husband aids her mission by driving her around in a Logan, thus emphasising its mileage feature (21.03 km/l in its diesel variant).

The TVCs aim to stir the sedan buyer who looks for space and fuel economy in a modern car, while pulling the very chord that makes them Indian. “Both scenarios depicted in the films are quintessentially Indian; something that buyers will instinctively identify with,” says Ramanuj Shastry, chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi India.

Nayer adds, “Logan loves India will be a very visible 360 degree multimedia marketing initiative, including television, digital, print as well as on-ground activities. It will have a 25-30 per cent reach and an OTS of about 8 plus.”

The Mahindra Logan is priced in the range of Rs 4.61lakh -4.86 lakh (petrol model) and Rs 5.35 lakh-6.21 lakh (diesel model).

Experts love Logan?

While industry experts are unanimous on the opinion that the ‘desi’ card is a hit as Indians can easily identify with the behaviour portrayed in the TVCs, they express varied views beyond this point.

Sujay Nanavati, chief strategy officer, Percept H, says, “It’s a huge improvement over the previous Logan commercials. I love the simplicity and the no nonsense approach that the TVCs display. There is nothing dramatically new or different that the campaign tries to say, which is what is really working for it.”

He adds that though several brands have tried to adopt the ‘made for India’ angle, this campaign has managed to incorporate relevant consumer insights into the features in a memorable manner.

Concurs Saji Abraham, vice-president, planning, Lowe, “The campaign has successfully enmeshed Indian insights with the features of the car. The TVCs are well produced, slick and watchable.”

However, he adds, “The campaign shies away from tackling the biggest problems facing the car – lack of badge value and being seen as a cheap car. A desirability quotient needs to be added to the brand. Rational messaging like fuel efficiency and space will fall on deaf ears if the car is not desirable as, despite all rationality, cars, especially for men, are a ‘heart decision’ first – and then come the spreadsheets.”

Expressing a different viewpoint, Mythili Chandrasekar, senior vice-president and executive planning director, JWT, says, “Indian idiosyncrasies have been played on by many categories, yet it must be said by different brands in different ways. ‘We love India’ has been said, yet if this car and this company needed to turn Indian-ness into an advantage, then I suppose this works. Making a car’s features relevant through life situations is always useful.”

Source – AgencyFAQS
© 2010 afaqs!

Discussions @ClubLogan.com/Forum – http://mahindralogan.forumotion.com/mahindra-renault-f2/new-mahindra-logan-commercials-t641.htm

The 2011 Mahindra Logan as foreseen by an Artists Eye!

2 New Commercial emphasizing on the 2 Major USP’s of the Logan, Space and  Mileage will go on air tomorrow.

Below are the 2 Commercials Available EXCLUSIVELY on Clublogan.com :-

Mileage :-

Space :-

Its been 50 days since Mahindra took over Renault’s Stake in Mahindra Renault Private Ltd. and M&M say that they have witnessed a substantial increase in enquiries and an equally impressive booking rate for the Logan in the past few weeks. The differences in the JV had badly hit Logan’s sales and now that the car is back on track, we can see a rise in sales.

“Earlier, people were really unsure about the future of the company which makes the Logan, as was evident from their questions, but now the enquiries are more related to the car. Billing has gone up substantially in the past few weeks, despite there not being any major engineering changes made to the car,” said Rajesh Jejurikar, chief of operations.

Mahindra will not leave the sales there, as they plan to sell 600-700 units a month in the next three months gradually increasing that figure to over 1000 by the end of this year. Keep your eyes open for a new advertising campaign that will hit the screens very shortly. “In the last six to eight months, there was no campaign for the product at all. It was essential that we give the assurance to our buyers about the reliability of the product and the company, which will help clear a lot of doubts and uncertainties,” added Jejurikar.

Within a week of taking over MRPL, Mahindra slashed the price by up to Rs. 80,000not due to cutting equipment but through rationalisation efforts at the Nashik plant. The Logan presently has low levels of localisation and the entire powetrain is imported. Mahindra will concentrate on increasing the localisation levels to bring the cost down further. Renault have started localising the K9K powerplant and that should give lower the costs but the biggest reduction will come in the form of a shortened Logan that we scooped months ago. A sub-4000 mm Logan will really hit the sweet spot. Mahindra have promised a refreshed Loganfor 2011 and this might just be it.