In the bustling theatre of the Indian automotive sector, a market often defined by aggressive pricing and the constant drive for sales volume, premium brands face the complex task of gearing up for growth without skidding on their core identity. Skoda Auto India, leveraging its 130-year European engineering heritage, is attempting to strike this precise balance, navigating the chicanes of consumer desire. Ashish Gupta, the brand director, steps into the spotlight with ETBrandEquity to discuss the critical intersection of heritage and hyper-local relevance. The conversation moves beyond mere product launches, providing an assessment of the internal metrics, specifically brand trust and emotional connect, that guide the company’s long-term strategy, its view on the EV market’s true tipping point and the philosophical argument it is making against the widespread conviction that bigger always means better. Edited Excerpts:
If the brand were to distill its current internal metric into one or two emotional promises, what would they be, and how is their delivery measured?
Internally, we measure two key metrics: brand familiarity and brand trust. These are two essential metrics for assessing marketing effectiveness. Brand familiarity indicates the level of awareness, while brand trust serves as the right metric for long-term brand building.
Which contemporary Indian archetype or value is the Skoda brand narrative casting itself as, and what are its primary marketing foils?
If you look at it, our entire brand positioning and purpose are centred around our customers, whom we refer to as ‘Everyday Explorers’. All of us, as human beings, have a natural sense of curiosity and it’s that curiosity that drives us to explore.
Exploration, for us, isn’t just about off-roading or trekking in the mountains; it’s about being curious about the world around us and constantly seeking new experiences in everything we do. That’s how we’re positioning the brand — these are the ethos, communication routes, and interpretations we bring to life in all our campaigns to ignite curiosity and inspire people to explore the world around them with Skoda.
What is the one philosophical argument your SUV brands are trying to win — not against competitors, but against India’s universal conviction that bigger is better?
The narrative we have is built on our 130-year engineering legacy. We are known for our European design, safety, and build quality. From our perspective, it’s about the cocoon-like feeling our cars provide offering a sense of calm amidst the chaos around you. That’s the narrative of our marketing positioning.
What is that single absolute tripwire specific or maybe future marketing condition, unrelated to your product launch schedule that, once pulled, will dictate the moment you flood the Indian market with your mass-market EVs?
I think the tipping point will come when the aspiration for electric cars meets practicality on the ground. That’s the inflection point when customers have enough choices in terms of available products. Secondly, they have the infrastructure to fully utilise or exercise those options.
In a hyper-competitive auto market, you can’t worry about everything. So, what’s that one persistent marketing challenge that constantly confronts you or takes your sleep away?
Our focus is on building a stronger emotional connection with customers.
If you had a magic wand or perhaps a magic wheel to instantly solve one fundamental marketing challenge, what would that one wish be?
The most fundamental marketing challenge would be figuring out how to generate a million leads without spending any money.
Beyond the obvious shift to EVs, what is a traditional marketing challenge in the Indian auto sector you believe is ripe for total implosion or disruption? What specific mandate have you issued to your team to prepare for this?
There are many issues to address, but as I mentioned earlier, the key is to keep everything we do relevant to the consumers we’re addressing. However, the idea of relevance differs across markets, age groups, and products. So, it’s important to be clear, focused, and targeted toward your audience, ensuring that your communication and marketing remain relevant to them.
What’s one marketing vanity metric you currently find severely overhyped — one hard-to-measure velocity metric that a premium auto brand should be obsessive about instead of simply focusing on?
I think virality is overrated. It’s something we’re all chasing, but its definition keeps changing every day.
In a world of increasing data, what’s your proprietary process for translating raw customer data into a memorable or emotional campaign that actually reaches out to consumers?
It’s about the emotional connection customers build with your campaign. The message that truly resonates with them. That’s hard to measure; it’s not just a science but a blend of science and art. First, you look at the metrics; who your demographics are, their behaviours, and their preferences, and then you combine that with the art of experience and storytelling.
Short-term discounts drive sales, while long-term values build a brand. In a high-stakes competitive market, what is that one ironclad rule or the highest internal council that you use to balance the desperate need for quarter and sales lifts with protecting and building Škoda’s long-term brand equity?
I believe the brand comes above everything. You may have to do tactical marketing and short-term marketing to push up sales and volumes. But the brand is something that is untouchable – the brand should not be affected.
If you could offer one piece of advice that isn’t immediately obvious to a brand just beginning to build its core marketing team today, what would that one philosophical foundation be?
Stay grounded. Keep your ears to the ground. Observe the people around you. They are the best cues you can have to know what you need to do.
