Maruti Shifts Gears: Media Mix Steers Toward the New-Age Consumer

Maruti Suzuki is transforming its media environment to keep pace with India's digital-born consumers, prioritizing AI-facilitated personalization, hyper-local promotion, and sporting promotion. Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer – Marketing & Sales, looks towards a shift from mass marketing to targeted content aligning Gen Z and millennials, prioritizing sustainability (CNG, hybrid campaigns) and purpose-driven storytelling.

 

Key moves include doubling down on IPL advertising for premium models like Grand Vitara and Swift, leveraging cricket’s NCCS A demographic reach. Regionally, Maruti’s 18 regional offices and vernacular influencer partnerships have driven a 15% rural retail growth, outpacing urban markets. AI chatbots now handle 97% of inquiries, while martech tools enable hyper-local content delivery.

 

The brand's digital transformation includes 25/26 purchase digitization steps, with immersive experiences like "Rock N Road SUV" events encouraging community engagement. Such a hybrid approach contrasts traditional reach with accuracy targeting to gain relevance in India's diverse markets.

 

Source: Exchange4Media, Adgully, Social Samosa