Tata Nano: Bring home happiness

Following the launch film that announced the big arrival of the small Nano, three more TVCs, which position the Nano as the ideal replacement for two-wheelers, hit the screens recently.

After breaking its much talked about launch film on December 17, 2010, Tata Nano recently rolled out three new TV commercials. The films hit screens on January 9. The tagline in this campaign reads: Tata Nano - Khushiyon ki chabi.

The launch film, shot in a heritage town called Paragpur in Himachal Pradesh, depicts the sentiments of anticipation and joy surrounding the arrival of the Nano into a family. The entire neighbourhood is shown looking on as a man brings home a Nano, much to the delight of his school going daughter. The ad ends on a classic Indian note as the little girl is shown putting some of her kajal onto the car to ward off the evil eye.

While the launch film centred on bringing home 'khushiyan' (joys), the three recent films are specifically targeted at scooter owners and convey the advantages of driving around in a car, namely privacy, intimacy, enjoyment and convenience.

All four films evidently target people belonging to Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns - people who're either looking to replace their two-wheelers with a car, or have no private transportation and thus aspire to buy their first car. The campaign is primarily targeted at families for whom owing a car is a dream - while it partly looks to stir those who want to buy a second car.

Tata Motors utilised both qualitative and quantitative research for this campaign, which has been created by Rediffusion Y&R. The creative team comprises Minakshi Achan, chief creative officer; and Tina Sachdev and Chraneeta Maan, creative directors. The production house is Equinox Films and the films have been directed by Ram Madhvani. Shekhar More is the art director. Credit for music goes to music director Rajat Dholakia, while the voiceover is by Aamir Bashir. Manoj Shroff is the executive producer on the film while Poonam Wahi is the line producer; Siddhartha Luther served as first AD and Anna Ipe is the production designer.

"The brief given to the agency was to speak the language of the consumers, while highlighting the product's features including space, manoeuvrability, performance, mileage, safety and durability," informs a spokesperson at Tata Motors. The campaign is a blend of emotionality and functionality.

The media mix comprises a 360 degree communication effort. Besides TV, the campaign is utilising print and radio branding. The digital space, specifically social media, is also being used extensively; Nano has a popular Facebook page called Nano Diaries, the hits for which have been increasing progressively since the product's launch in March 2009.

BTL (below the line) efforts form a major part of the campaign. Several initiatives that reach out to and seek feedback from customers are being held. This is being done especially for those potential customers who're diffident about visiting car showrooms. In addition to the existing 585 regular sales outlets (including showrooms and dealership outlets), 289 special 'Nano Access Points' have been set up in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. Here, potential customers can experience the car first hand and go on test drives.

"These access points don't intimidate our customers and help override the mental block against typical showrooms. The executives at these outlets speak the local language and these outlets are located far from Nano's other dealership outlets," explains the Tata Motors spokesperson.

Does the campaign bring happiness?

The ads seem to have been received fairly well by industry professionals for varied reasons.

Shweta Khosla, planning director, Grey, says, "Before the advertising campaign was launched, we wondered how the people's car will pull itself out of the trap. The Nano was supposed to make a car affordable to the poor man and therefore, an owner would be labelled a poor man, right? Would it ever be aspirational to middle class India, then?"

Answering her own question, she says, "The communication turned all the questions and doubts on their heads. The ads unlock emotions which are desired but not experienced; the people could be you or me. Khushiyon ki chabi is exactly what the car would be for millions who are saved from crowded scooter rides and the rain."

Khosla adds that while the launch film establishes the attributes of speed, space and sturdiness, the rest of the commercials just make one desire that 'Nano feeling'. "They had the opportunity of exploring other rich emotions though, like the grandmums' dream to ride in a car - but next time, I guess!" she says.

Raghu Bhat, founder director, Scarecrow Communications, has a different take. "The task of the communication is to get people to upgrade from two-wheelers. Interestingly, the ads don't provide a rational reason to do so. Instead, the task of persuasion is accomplished by evoking the emotion of romance," he says enthusiastically.

According to him, the ads work beautifully due to the seamless manner in which the two-wheeler context has been woven into the storylines. Bhat is also all praises for the script. "The writing is of a very high quality. The director deserves high praise for being a great observer of life; he also displays a lot of restraint. Even the pace of the films is very relaxed; this lets the car be perceived as a very confident brand," he admires.

Specifically with respect to the launch film, Bhat says, "It is replete with lovely moments. The timing of the soundtrack elevates even the otherwise oft-seen act of 'kala teeka' into a real, relatable moment."