Branding Defines the New Fiat

It’s all about packaging! Italy’s major car maker, http://www.carazoo.com/NEW-CAR-SEARCH-MAKE/Fiat.chm announced its new branding strategy for Indian customers, but nothing with the cars. They want to revamp the media and creative side of the company. Fiat has already given the media buying responsibility to Group M agency Maxus and creative accounts are handed over to the Bates David Enterprise.

Dating back in 1899, a group of Italian investors including Giovanni Agnellia have founded the Fiat in North Italy in a place called Turin. As the acronym goes, FIAT is Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino.

In India first Fiat drove in the year 1905 with a single sales agency in Mumbai called Bombay Motor Car Agency. It was totally managed by Fiat Auto Spa of Italy,

But later, Fiat started manufacturing and selling of 1100 and 1100D Fiat Padmini cars by contracts with Premium Automobiles Ltd.

The Maxus MD Ajit Varghese told to India’s major financial daily that: “As the auto market is becoming increasingly competitive, we are happy that Fiat finds us best to partner them for a new beginning. This is a prestigious account for us.”

Surprisingly, Fiat was not really upfront in the aggressive car-selling fray in India, at the wake of all the car majors and even small players paving way to India. Despite Fiat being one of the foremost brands of neo-car history of modern India. Now the company may have realized the necessity to brand its cars and go ahead with a new plan.

“Considering the new image of Fiat and the job ahead of establishing it as a powerful brand in the Indian four-wheeler market, we feel Maxus is the right media partner for Fiat in India,” Fiat CEO Rajeev Kapoor told the same newspaper.

The top-gun of Fiat, India sounds forceful as it decides to ahead with the new media and creative brandings. Moreover, the company would be the first auto account for Maxus, though another Group M agency, Mind-Share, handles the Ford account.

At the New Delhi Auto Expo, Fiat had given a hint on its future moves; it launched a red rectangle logo, which will feature in all the cars made in India.

Alongside new strategies of media campaign, Fiat has also slotted an array of new products for this year, next month; it plans to launch Palio Stile. Two small yet newly defined cars are on its way in a couple of months, Fiat 500 and Bravo, for Rs 10-13 lakh and Rs 25 lakh respectively. A midsize sedan also features in its scheduled launch in September 2008. And of course many more!