MARUTI SUZUKI
The Indian automobile manufacturer earned a 4.5-point lift in brand awareness when it partnered with select content creators for an Instagram campaign celebrating the launch of its latest sport utility vehicle (SUV).
Founded in India in 1981, automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki is a major player in the Indian passenger car industry. A part of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Maruti Suzuki India launched NEXA, a premium car dealership channel.
higher lift in brand awareness for partnership ads combined with usual ads, compared to usual video ads alone
The automaker aimed to improve brand awareness for its new SUV, the Grand Vitara, and reach an untapped audience by launching a campaign of branded content that Maruti Suzuki hoped felt “authentic” and resonated for car lovers.
THE SOLUTION
Exploring unique partnerships
Maruti Suzuki identified and partnered with well-known creators from the “Born on Instagram” initiative for a campaign featuring 15-second video ads. The ads showed the creators posing next to a series of SUVs, amidst flashing cameras and a luxurious stage, and going for a drive, which highlighted the cars’ newly improved camera, front grille and taillights.
The creators posted the ads on their personal accounts and shared them to Stories, enabling Maruti Suzuki to reach people outside of the brand’s usual audience. The ads were marked as Paid partnership and led to a special landing page for the Grand Vitara after audiences clicked on them. The automaker then turned the creator posts and Stories into a campaign of video ads shown across a variety of placements, including Instagram feed, Stories and Reels.
The campaign ran alongside the brand’s usual campaign of 15-second video ads, which led to its website. The Maruti Suzuki team showed all ads to men in India aged 25–54 who had an interest in automobiles and vehicles.
The team conducted a brand lift study to gain insights into the performance of the partnership ads. According to the study, the creator-led ads positively impacted Maruti Suzuki’s brand awareness, earning the following result between July 21–August 20, 2022:
- 4.5 points higher lift in brand awareness for partnership ads combined with usual ads, compared to usual video ads alone