Maruti Suzuki to go idea shopping in Delhi

Sources inform afaqs! that the auto major is keen on evaluating communication and digital options.

Maruti Suzuki India, leading manufacturer of passenger vehicles in India, is set to meet communication and digital agencies. Insiders at Maruti Suzuki confirm to afaqs! that the process is likely to begin in a week's time and will be held in Delhi.

Further, it is learnt that the development is part of what the company prefers to term an "internal review process" in which all the existing agencies on the brand's roster will undergo a review. These agencies are likely to participate in the evaluation process.

"It is more to look at the options available, than anything else," says a source at Maruti Suzuki, on grounds of anonymity, adding that the process will be skewed towards digital agencies as the team is keen to explore the options available in today's buzzing digital agency market. The duties include search, social, mobile, creative and digital media planning and buying. The brand's dealership and distribution fronts will also undergo an internal review.

Maruti Suzuki works with different creative agencies across its brands. For instance, Lowe Lintas has worked on Maruti Suzuki's life utility vehicle Ertiga in the recent past, while Dentsu Creative Impact has worked on the brand's premium hatchback, Ritz and the sports sedan, Maruti Kizashi. Other agencies that have been on the brand's roster recently include Publicis Capital (which created the popular 'Kitna Deti Hai' series of commercials) and Hakuhodo Percept.

Even on the digital front, Maruti Suzuki has worked with several agencies in the past, including Interface Business Solutions (social media marketing for Ritz, Swift Dzire and SX4), social media agency Media Redefined (Alto K10) and integrated marketing communication agency Markigence Communications (A-star and Estilo).

Lintas Media Group (LMG) has been in-charge of the media mandate for Maruti Suzuki, across brands.

For the record, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL, formerly Maruti Udyog) is a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan. The company offers a range of car brands including Maruti 800, Alto, A-star, Estilo, WagonR, Ritz, Swift, SX4, Omni, Eeco, Kizashi, Grand Vitara, Gypsy and Ertiga, among several others.

Maruti Suzuki has two manufacturing facilities located at Gurgaon and Manesar. The company currently employs more than 9,400 people. In addition to catering to Indian consumer needs, Maruti Suzuki also exports cars to several countries across Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and Oceania.