Maruti Suzuki inspires Hero ISL fans to “Be Limitless”

MUMBAI: In the world of digital media and endless social scrolling, it has become imperative for the brands to work on out-of-the-box campaigns to gain the attention of their customers. With abundant brand messages flooding the daily view cycle of the people, the brands have been trying to create more inclusive and exciting avenues for their consumers, so their products can have a greater recall factor. Keeping the same in mind, automotive brand Maruti Suzuki created a wonderful experiential campaign during the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) finale in Mumbai.

Inspiring the Hero ISL fans to “Be Limitless”, Maruti Suzuki Swift used the power of technology to give an experience of a lifetime, to a selected few, by virtually providing them stadium like experience while sitting at home, for the Hero ISL 5 Finale between Bengaluru FC and FC Goa at the Mumbai Football Arena. The fans were connected to the stadium via video calling and they appeared live on the perimeter board along the football field.

Doctors on call, new parents, students who are preparing for exams and differently-abled fans were taken out from the shell of limited possibility to travel to the city of dreams for attending the finale and were presented with the idea of “Be Limitless” through this campaign. The activity maximises eyeballs for the brand’s activation on LIVE TV and gained many praises for its out-of-the-box thinking.

With the proliferation of hi-speed internet enabling the technology and the brand’s desire to stand out using a clutter breaking integration coming together, this was a prime example of a brand successfully activating its sponsorship with a sporting property.

Logicserve Digital co-founder and chief executive officer Prasad Shejale noted that this initiative by Maruti stood true to its core proposition, where the brand is offering its customers a first-hand experience of being limitless.

He said, “This innovative and brilliantly crafted initiative leverages technology keeping the customer at the center of overall brand strategy. Through this initiative, the brand has not only engaged the existing customers but has also penetrated the loyal base of potential customers. The initiative created buzz on social media especially #swift trending on Twitter.”

He further added, “VR and Mixed Reality are surely here to stay and will continue to grow. This is definitely a great way to give the new gen users what they want. Today’s youth likes to be more at the moment and get a first-hand experience of things. This campaign beautifully aligned the brand’s proposition with the users' expectations using a befitting technology.”

Mindshare vice-president Ajay Mehta found the idea refreshing for the Indian audience. He said, “It is a smart and cute idea, giving the audience the feel of being in the first row. Given the brand’s take on ‘be limitless’, I feel the campaign was a decent fit and did a good job.”

Brand-nomics managing director Viren Razdan reflected the same thought. He contended that through this campaign Maruti Suzuki made a brilliant effort to bring the fans closer to a much-celebrated sport. “As Sports marketing true test is in bringing fans close to their passion, the game and the players they follow. Maruti’s act is a brilliant effort in bringing this experience alive - using technology. Bringing armchair sports enthusiasts to the field up close, virtually in the game would truly payoff this association for the brand,” Razdan said.

Vertoz founder and CEO Ashish Shah commented, “Brand awareness – a top of the funnel process and customer retention – a bottom of the funnel process, form the two extreme ends of the entire customer acquisition funnel. Providing a good customer experience plays a vital role in customer retention. Maruti Suzuki’s new initiative is an excellent example of successful brand integration to fully achieve the above goals. As Maruti Suzuki is providing its customers with a memorable experience, this smart use of technology will go a long way in creating a great brand recall for Maruti Suzuki.”

Langoor executive creative director Vignesh Iyer praised the idea and also showed excitement towards how the brand is going to take the idea forward. He commented, “Bringing the fans virtually to the stadium via a video call was as simple as it was memorable. It was also a good fit with the ‘limitless’ promise of Maruti Suzuki Swift. Digital enables brands to create meaningful experiences like this, which bring alive their promise in newer, interactive ways.”

“It will be interesting to see if this is a one-time initiative, or if the brand can build #LimitlessFans as a long-term property with more such experiences and tighter product integration,” he concluded.

Ethinos Digital Marketing joint managing director Brijesh Munyal also lauded the campaign and shared that he is expecting other brands to follow the trend set by Maruti Suzuki Swift. He said, “Such brand integrations leveraging new age digital technology, even within the digital marketing space, are really exciting and we will see more and more brands using it soon- not only in the automobile industry but other sectors too.”

The campaign is one fine example of smart marketing that facilitates memorable interactions among consumers. The brand has done a commendable job in associating itself with ‘limitless’ opportunities that its products can bring to the customers.