The communication and marketing director in Brazil, Cláudio Rawicz, says that one of the automaker’s goals is to have people as the main focus
One of the most successful luxury car brands, ranking third in the sector, Audi has two very clear goals as a company: the first is to increase the production of electric vehicles and the second is to put people at the heart of its business. communication, through the global concept Living Progress. To this end, it has been investing more and more in experience marketing, according to the communications and marketing director for Brazil, Cláudio Rawicz. “With this positioning, the brand grew in prestige and image”, he says. It is worth remembering that in the country the company has just changed its leadership, with the entry of Daniel Rojas as the new CEO, in place of Johannes Roscheck.
What is the meaning of the Living Progress global positioning?
Living Progress was launched in early 2020, close to the pandemic, unfortunately, but the company’s idea at that time was to become a brand increasingly connected to people. We realized that Audi was always recognized for being a very innovative brand in terms of products, but that connection with people was lacking. The company understands that nothing is more legitimate in building value for the brand than putting the human being approach as the main focus and, obviously, after that, the product is inserted in people’s lives. When Audi launched this positioning, increasingly bringing the human being as the main focus of the brand and the product as a consequence, we realized that the work became easier for the communication areas, and the brand grew in prestige and image.
Was this detected through research?
Yes, Audi has a global survey called MPM (Marketing Performance Monitor), which measures various brand factors such as innovation, prestige, brand image, design and leadership in electric vehicles. It has a biannual sample that is divided into two audiences: the general public, who are buyers of cars of all brands; and the public that we call premium drivers, which are those people who buy luxury cars. We realize that the leap that Audi made in 2021, compared to the previous year, was very significant. Today, Audi is already the number one brand in prestige, innovation and brand image, according to this survey, in relation to its main competitors. This demonstrates that this communication strategy has also had an impact on the perception of the brand’s image in relation to customers who buy luxury cars in Brazil.
Is Audi a leader in electric car sales?
The company was the sales leader in 2020, with 187 cars sold, but last year Porsche took the lead. The important thing is that we launched two new products, the RS GT, which was a car that we managed to sell 35 units in less than 24 hours, was a huge success, and the e-tron Sportback. Today, Audi has four 100% electric models and is growing significantly in sales. We could grow even more if we had product availability, but unfortunately, the semiconductor crisis prevented Audi from having the offer the market was looking for.
Does Audi have an electric car production target?
In fact, Audi has a very clear goal of launching 30 new electric and electrified products in the world by 2025 and Brazil follows this trend. From 2026 onwards, the goal is not to launch any new products that are not electric, and from 2033 onwards, no car will be sold that is not 100% electric. So this progression to electrification for Audi is a one-way street. The main launches of the brand nowadays are already like this, it is a reality for Audi and a worldwide behavior as well. As the Brazilian car market is largely based on the behavior of the headquarters in the United States, Europe and Asia, which follow a path towards electrification, naturally we have no doubt that Brazil will also follow a process of commercial electrification in the automotive market. .
How long should this take place?
For the premium and luxury market, it is much easier for a person to make a choice on purpose. Because today, when we compare similar combustion and electric cars, the value of the models is very similar. In the case of popular vehicles, the value of the electric is still much higher compared to the combustion model. We imagine that in five, six years, even seven years, when the production of electric vehicles is equivalent to the cost of producing a combustion vehicle, the trend is that the market may have an exponential increase, mainly for economic reasons. Nowadays, understanding the cost of gasoline as it is in Brazil, charging an electric car in its entirety costs 25% of filling a fuel tank. In the short and medium term you have a much faster return on investment. This is something that, naturally, as the price of the electric car goes down, the production volume tends to increase exponentially.
What is Audi’s customer profile?
He is a class A customer. When we look at Audi’s audience, we talk about a very small percentage of the population. Only 2% of the population has the possibility to buy an Audi vehicle, that is, four million people. What Audi has been doing is working on a very assertive communication for this market niche. It is clear that an action like House of Progress, for example, increases awareness and desire for the brand, which is very nice in general. The more the brand is desired, the more successful it is. But the luxury market, compared to the total car market, is 2%.
How does House of Progress work?
Anyone can enter, just register on the site and register. The person not only had access to the house, but could also test drive available Audi cars, such as the A3 and an electric sports car. The house was very democratic in that sense, because it is open to the public. But it was not opened just to be a museum, a visiting experience, but to function as a content hub. The objective is to project progress in its different forms, on what the future of humanity will look like in Audi’s vision, with different contents that were made every day for different audiences. There were from workshops, collectives to lives with people from different segments who talk about different progress. We also had an immersive gastronomic experience, for example, with Alex Atala and dishes inspired by Brazilian biomes, for a very restricted audience, 40 people maximum, per night, and sold out in three days. It was an excellent surprise.
Do brand ambassadors participate in all campaigns?
The idea is to use ambassadors as brand storytellers, who are people who tell the brand’s stories. I have a very clear conviction that people follow people. The more nice people to tell the story, the more effective the result within that campaign. Audi has been doing this since 2018, assembling a team of strong ambassadors who can tell stories. In every event and campaign we do in Brazil, the brand uses these ambassadors associated with the strength that each one has to enhance the power of stories. They are people who inspire others and, obviously, they connect very well with the audience that Audi sells, the premium progressives.
What is the brand agency?
Soko, with a full service communication work, on, off and CRM. Product campaigns usually have a global adaptation and we are free to do local social campaigns. We have the flexibility to adapt content and also produce locally.
How is the participation and importance of Brazil for the brand?
Brazil is a country that has great strategic importance for the brand. It is not a country that has large volumes, because the luxury car market is niche, it should not exceed 50,000 units. But the growth in demand is gigantic, we could have sold much more last year, if it weren’t for the semiconductor crisis, understanding that the total market must have lost something around 10 million units because of this semiconductor crisis. Although we don’t have a large volume, Brazil is strategically important for the brand, not least because the construction of the brand in the country was born from a Brazilian hero. Who brought Audi to the country was Ayrton Senna. This legacy that Senna brought to the brand and this success story demonstrate the strength and bond that Audi has with Brazil. Remembering that, in the first half of 2021, the Brazilian market stood out and became the 10th country that sold the most vehicles of the RS line. This is an outcome that had never occurred before.
What are the main competitors?
This market has five major competitors. Basically, BMW, which is the market leader; then Volvo; Audi is third on the market today; Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover. Of course, there are other brands that compete with us, such as Porsche, which is also part of the Volkswagen Group.
Offering experiences to customers is today’s marketing buzz. How does the brand see this aspect?
Experience is key. During the pandemic, in 2020, Audi opened for the first time the possibility for the customer to customize their sports car the way they wanted. The experience has now become one of the main marketing investments for Audi in Brazil. For this segmented and niche audience, the best way for the customer to decide to buy a car is to get to know the brand and drive the car, and House of Progress offers this and several other actions. The House of Progress in São Paulo (which opened in December last year) was the third opened in the world, the first was in Japan and the second in Germany. We did the first of the Americas in Brazil. It is obviously a super important concept for us, because it has a global concept seal and we understand that the success of the house can open up possibilities for us to have a second edition in 2022.
How is the brand’s investment in media?
Marketing investment varies greatly according to sales volume. Today, a large part of our media investment ends up in digital, with a 70% share. But Audi also continues to invest in TV, out of home and cinema. What is important is that Audi does not give up on experience marketing and PR communication strategy, always creating stories for the press so that we can expand our image with spontaneous media.
