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Fiat’s Love Story with Brazil Started with a Video Campaign
While this type of marketing is often associated to Volkswagen in the 1960s, the Italian maker has some strong examples of its own
Entering a new country is both exciting and daunting for a company. While venturing into a whole new group of potential buyers encourages them to go ahead as fast as possible, experience says this initiative must be as carefully planned and executed as possible because there will be many variables working against that level of success.
Companies have failed for misunderstanding what the local clientele wants, not developing a strong image, changing their lineup too often in an effort to please the customers, not advertising them as much as they could… the list of reasons is long and, unfortunately, each and every one of them has numerous examples that could be mentioned.
Fiat founded its Brazilian branch on July 9th, 1976. Forty-five years later, it has become successful to the point of leading the market among cars, with the Argo and the Mobi, and trucks, with the Strada and the Toro. But everything started with a very different model which was given a head start by a very interesting series of commercial videos.
Little bit of background
The Brazilian car industry was established in the 1950s thanks to a federal tax policy which encouraged foreign automakers to build local factories and make cars with an increasing percentage of locally produced parts. Many companies were quickly attracted but only Chevrolet, Ford and Volkswagen became truly strong in the new market.
In the 1960s, the local military dictatorship practically banned imports while driving the economy into a deep recession. The market ended up stagnant: no foreign automakers would come, small local ones would succumb quickly, and purchasing power was low. As the decade ended, only those “Big Three” could properly adapt to the situation.
The oil crisis of the 1970s only made things worse. Gas prices skyrocketed, gas stations would close at night and on weekends, and people had to either leave their cars in the garage or use questionable solutions like vegetable fuels and even wood gas generators. And that was the scenario in which Fiat decided to establish its Brazilian operation.
Were there tricks up its sleeve?
In theory, yes. Fiat’s starting point was the 127, which was released in Europe in 1971 and was awarded European Car of the Year for 1972. It was one of the first modern superminis and featured several design solutions to maximize its internal space; it was said at the time that 80% of its floor space was available to five passengers and luggage.
Fiat knew, however, that it was not enough. The 127 underwent several heavy changes: the suspension was completely redesigned to become more resistant, there were some visual tweaks, and the engine was increased to make enough power using the low-octane gasoline available in Brazil at the time. Because of all that, it was renamed to 147.
In other words, the Italian automaker had a car model that turned to be quite appropriate for the Brazilian scenario of that time, and even walked the extra mile by mechanically adapting it to the local reality. Unfortunately, there was yet another obstacle to overcome: Brazilian customers have always been very picky when it comes to cars.
What else did Fiat have to do?
Although Chevrolet, Ford, Volkswagen, and the other rivals were all foreign, by the 1970s they had all operated in Brazil long enough for the people to get acquainted with their products. Besides that, the market restrictions imposed by the military government had been forcing them to customize their overall strategies for the country.
Fiat was entering an environment where the buyers had become conservative, and the sellers had dominated the market. Offering that new product, as good and appropriate as it was, was not enough to convince Brazilians to leave their comfort zone and buy such expensive products from a newcomer whose plans and background were unknown.
The concept behind the strategy used is quite common: Fiat faced the problem head on. It released a series of TV commercials where each one shows the 147 in a different situation designed to highlight one of its advantages. And which were those situations? Interacting with some elements of the Brazilian culture in funny and unexpected ways.
How were those videos?
Some were quite common: a couple arguing while the woman continuously unloads luggage from her husband’s huge car and effortlessly fits everything in the 147’s trunk despite being a much smaller car, and a man calmly talking about it while the car appears at highway speed and comes to a full stop right behind him without any difficulty.
Others targeted dynamic advantages: the car crossed the fourteen kilometers of the Rio-Niterói bridge, opened two years earlier with high praise, using less than one liter of gasoline. The 147 was also filmed at a military base among tanks and trucks speeding through off-road paths and even jumping over small hills with its suspension unfazed.
Speaking of its suspension leads us to the most symbolic one: the 147 climbed the Nossa Senhora da Penha church’s entrance stairway, which is famous for its height of 111 meters and its 382 steps, without reinforcements of any kind. No other car or automaker has had an advertisement campaign like that in the Brazilian automotive market so far.
What was their effect?
There were no miracles here: the 147 still had problems, some of them bigger than others, and buyers, press and competitors definitely did not ignore them. However, that campaign made Fiat stand out in the country; it called people’s attention and encouraged them to search information about it and even visit a dealer to learn about the 147.
The automaker responded to all that with print ads, which focused on rational characteristics like fuel efficiency and internal space, and by tirelessly paying attention to what Brazilians wanted from a car. Over the years, that led Fiat to initiatives such as the first ethanol-powered engine and a series of body styles exclusively designed for Brazil.
The video campaign made Fiat reach its first goal of being seen in the country. After that, listening to the customers and developing products that effectively delivered what they wanted, despite not always complying with the market’s traditions, helped the Italian automaker become the best-seller it is in Brazil and Latin America nowadays.
Forty-five years ago, Fiat had the ambition to take part in the Brazilian market but knew that the path towards that was arduous. The TV campaign it created to promote the 147 was definitely one of a kind. What do you think about that marketing solution? Feel free to share your opinions and ideas about it using the comment button below!
