7 Pros Inducted to India’s Finest Auto CMOs Club | Auto CMO Roundtable a HUGE Success

Digital Coffee Table Book on India’s Finest Auto CMOs
Auto CMO Roundtable on Digital
Innovative Strategies to fight the Slowdown! Let the Champions Emerge!

Message from Anuj Guglani, CEO – World Auto Forum

Dear Friend,

Greetings from World Auto Forum. The Industry is going through challenging times. This is when the Real Performers ‘Emerge’ and some R&R can surely propel them to the next level. Based on our research, statistics of last FY / CY and Market Innovations, we have selected India’s Top & Finest Auto CMOs and showcased them in a Digital Coffee Table Book.This marks their entry to
“India’s Finest Auto CMOs Club at World Auto Forum”

We have tried to present not just their professional but also their personal side. What inspired and still inspires them. How they shall like to inspire the Gen Next!

We look forward to adding more Auto CMOs and especially more female Auto CMOs in the Next Edition.

Click here to view “Digital Coffee Table Book” on India’s Finest Auto CMOs Club

Would like to also share moments & Key Takeaways from India’s First Auto CMO Roundtable on “Digital” held recently.

India’s First Auto CMO Roundtable on Digital is a HUGE Success!
It was attended by India’s Finest Auto CMOs and Marketing Gurus.

Roundtable 1 Theme
India is the fastest growing smartphone market in the world. Almost every Vehicle buyer and user has a smartphone AR/VR, Online, Social are the order of the day!How are Auto Cos leveraging Digital ? How to go beyond Lead Gen? Mantras for Sales & Consumer Engagements

(R to L) Gaurav Mann – Founder, K2B Learning, Bhargav Diwanji – AVP, Autoninja, Rajanish Sasidharan – Head of Business Development – IoT, Vodafone Idea, Puneet Anand – Sr GM & Group Marketing Head, Hyundai Motor India , Monika Nagpal – VP & Group Marketing Head – Group Landmark, Anuj Guglani, CEO World Auto Forum – Moderator

Key Takeaways

1. Hyundai Kona, within 2 days of Launch, received enough online bookings with Rs 1 Lakh Booking amount, to easily help them achieve the Year’s sales target. The Nostalgic Youtube AV’s of Hyundai Santro got more than a record 500 Million views and initiated a tsunami of consumer videos on the same theme. Digital now embraces and covers most of the Vehicle Selection and Buying Processes except the Full Payment and Delivery!

2. The Dealership’s main objective is to add the local flavour to the OEMs Brand and present to the consumer. Digital as a medium allows that accurate customisation. However the seams where the Online and Offline worlds meet is where lie the important Moments of truth.

3. The First thing, dealers can do to truly embrace digital is let go of excel sheets! Hard Copies of Excel Sheets, tweaked , checked, crossed, and then circulated to various departments for separate Data Entries!

4. Data Security and Privacy are important issues. They are beyond bold posts on Instagram or FB. The Data Protection and Sanctity still lie in ‘open and grey areas’ at Vehicle, Dealership and OEM Level.

5. Training and Empowering Dealer Staff to harness digital is the Key. At the same time, ensuring we release their salaries, incentives in a timely way, shall never go out of vogue!

Roundtable 2 Theme
Device Specific or Agnostic?Top Digital Strategies to fight the Slowdown. How do we see the Industry’s Digital Adoption next 5 Years?

(R to L) Kanishk Gaur – Director, India Future Foundation, Rajiv Gupta – VP & Operating Head – Honda Cars India, Amit Wadhwa – President – Dentsu Impact, Avik Chattopadhyay – Co Founder – Expereal, S S Gill – Sr VP & Head International Business, Brand & Communication – Volvo Eicher CV, Aniruddha Haldar – VP & CMO – TVS Motor Co, Anuj Guglani, CEO World Auto Forum – Moderator

Key Takeaways

1. More Digital Innovations are happening at CV perhaps than any other segment. Digital to maximise Vehicle uptime is a great use case.

2. Digital has a Great Paradox. It is transparent with detailed analytics but at the same time its also unregulated and opaque due to absence of widely accepted Benchmarks like TRP or TAM or INS.

3. Digital is not a Bottomless Pit. High Spending on Digital cannot ensure more or better results.

4. Industry is going through a churn. BS6, EV, Low Sentiment, Dealer Shutdowns, Production Closures, High Working Capital requirements. We are still unclear how to fully harness Digital for Success. Should Digital be taken just as another medium or given extraordinarily importance, is still a Dilemma

5. Digital is surely a Gateway to Connect. The Consumer might see the ad in newspaper, watch a TVC , see the Hoarding, read an article or a blog somewhere. But when they wish to connect, they pick up the phone or go to a computer and search online to find the Business or the Brand!

Click here to see Auto CMO Roundtable Pictures

Drive Safe!