From Zica to Tiago
By Maxus Global, Mumbai, India
For Tata Motors
Winner in category Media
Project Description
Tata had invested $82mn in R&D, production and marketing to launch its new model, Zica.
Two weeks prior to the official launch date, the World Health Organisation declared the Zika virus a global emergency.
Searches conducted for Zica, the car, were bringing up results for Zika, the virus.
Sentiment analysis confirmed that people didn’t want to buy a car that shared its name with a deadly virus. The emotional connection Tata was hoping to build between Zica and its audience pre-launch was going to be lost.
We had two weeks to help Tata Motors salvage an identity crisis that posed the risk of losing, at a minimum, the $82mn already spent on Zica pre-launch. Our brief was to run a rebranding exercise of Zica that would change neither the product nor the proposition. Moreover, it should deliver on our client’s original expectation that this launch would be a success.
Two weeks prior to the official launch date, the World Health Organisation declared the Zika virus a global emergency.
Searches conducted for Zica, the car, were bringing up results for Zika, the virus.
Sentiment analysis confirmed that people didn’t want to buy a car that shared its name with a deadly virus. The emotional connection Tata was hoping to build between Zica and its audience pre-launch was going to be lost.
We had two weeks to help Tata Motors salvage an identity crisis that posed the risk of losing, at a minimum, the $82mn already spent on Zica pre-launch. Our brief was to run a rebranding exercise of Zica that would change neither the product nor the proposition. Moreover, it should deliver on our client’s original expectation that this launch would be a success.
Agency Solution
We needed to reach a global audience at mass scale, with maximum cost efficiencies.
We created a multimedia announcement to communicate Tata Motors’ empathy with the hardships caused by the Zika virus and its decision to rebrand.
Digital was the clear channel of choice for this campaign, given the reactionary nature and obvious time constraints involved. Digital, and social media in particular, is also the ideal vehicle for crowdsourcing - to place the consumer upfront and fully in control throughout.
We created ‘The Fantastico Name Hunt’, a competition inviting people from 22 markets to decide Zica’s new name, empowering them to drive the new relationship and connect positively with the brand.
Rebranding a car isn’t an overnight task, so we broke the campaign down into three phases. These would enable us to both react effectively to the immediate crisis and build lasting support.
1. Accept the problem honestly
We distributed multi-media and press announcements
We created a multimedia announcement to communicate Tata Motors’ empathy with the hardships caused by the Zika virus and its decision to rebrand.
Digital was the clear channel of choice for this campaign, given the reactionary nature and obvious time constraints involved. Digital, and social media in particular, is also the ideal vehicle for crowdsourcing - to place the consumer upfront and fully in control throughout.
We created ‘The Fantastico Name Hunt’, a competition inviting people from 22 markets to decide Zica’s new name, empowering them to drive the new relationship and connect positively with the brand.
Rebranding a car isn’t an overnight task, so we broke the campaign down into three phases. These would enable us to both react effectively to the immediate crisis and build lasting support.
1. Accept the problem honestly
We distributed multi-media and press announcements