Skoda’s Octavia

The Skoda Octavia is a small family car produced by Czech automaker Skoda Auto since 1996; their first VW-backed model was the Octavia. It was launched in the UK with a $10m promotional campaign- Skoda’s highest-ever spend on a marketing campaign. It was a total failure; only 6,154 Octavia cars were sold over the year.Market research at the time suggested that sixty percent of the people said they would never by a Skoda.

Skoda’s image was old, unfashionable and out of sync with its products.

Remember the Skoda jokes?

• What do you call a Skoda with a sun-roof? Answer: a skip
• Why does a skoda have a heated rear windscreen? To keep your hands warm when you push it
• What do you call a skoda with twin exhaust pipes? A wheelbarrow

Their Strategy

To improve its performance in the competitive car market, Skoda UK’s management needed to assess its brand positioning. Only then could it grow from being a small player. To aid its decision-making, Skoda UK obtained market research data from internal and external strategic audits.

PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS WERE NEEDED! THE CAR-BUYING PUBLIC AND THE CAR INDUSTRY

AS A WHOLE NEEDED CONVINCING THAT SKODA CARS WERE GREAT TO OWN AND DRIVE .

               

• They did an excellent job on the advertising part. At first they made very good commercials that show how great the Octavia is. People started thinking differently about the brand.
• They had a lot of test drives, so people could see how the “Octavia experience” is. This was also smart because when you show people what kind of product you are trying to sell, they can judge about it while testing it.
• Showing the car in malls while dealing leaflets about the Octavia.
• Advertising in papers, magazine, billboards, radio and of course showing the commercial on TV, the perfect way to connect to your target group.
The sponsorship, the perfect way to show a large group of people your brand name. Skoda knows perfectly how to do this by sponsoring e.g. the Tour de France and cycling Ireland.

Skoda did lots of primary research by asking customers directly about what they thought about their cars, and also used reliable independent surveys that tested customers’ feelings. it was expensive but worth it. Because thanks to this and a lot more of research and changes Skoda’s Octavia has won the 2008 auto express driver power ‘best car’.

Skoda's Octavia is always evolving

  Skoda made  GREAT commercials for the car, this is one of them.. SIMPLE AND CLEAR!

REVIEW SKODA'S OCTAVIA