No, we don't build garages, says MG Motor in teaser ad

Clearly, the subtext is - We admit not many people in India may know who we are and what we sell.

Sample this recent digital teaser video released by car maker MG Motor (Morris Garages), a 95 year old British-born brand. We found this video on LinkedIn and on the WhatsApp share-vine. It's a very short, video with big, loud supers that jump out at the audience; by the end, the video names a car that's about to hit Indian shores - MG Hector, an SUV. But more than that, it's an admission on the part of the brand team that car buyers in India may not know what Morris Garages is - and what it markets.

MG Motor India is a fully-owned subsidiary of Shanghai-headquartered auto firm SAIC Motor Corporation.

ALSO READ: "An agency partner should not just be conversant with, but live in the online world": Pallavi Singh, MG Motor

Picking up the most likely point of confusion - the word 'garages' in the brand name - the team found it important to spell out that it does not, even on a bad day, build garages.

The brand team must be busy preparing for MG's official debut in the country, scheduled to take place by mid-2019. We're curious to know how MG plans to infiltrate the highly competitive, and cluttered, SUV market with Hector.

We interviewed MG's marketing head for India Pallavi Singh recently. She said during that chat, "The challenge is huge, yes, because like you said, people don't know MG. That's where the brand custodians and marketers need to rack their brains. But the opportunity is great. It's a challenge we'll address over time; it's not going to happen overnight, or even over months. We have a long way to go. We're thinking hard about how we can create events, mindsets and opportunities to be a 'different' car brand. We're really thinking our strategy through, because MG has a great history, it has gone through ups and downs, it has gone through ownerships."