MUMBAI: A couple of months after announcing its next new product and rolling out extensive marketing campaigns, it is indeed a risk to rebrand the product itself right before the launch — a risk Tata Motors is willing to take. Yes, India’s largest automaker Tata Motors has decided to do away with the name Zica for their soon to launch new hatchback. The reason being to empathise with the victims of the ZiKa virus, which has an identical sounding name.

“We are making a conscious effort towards being the most customer-centric company. This translates not only into products but everything that we do in the market, be it services or marketing the products. Yes, we have decided to re-brand the car as that is the right thing to do,” shared a Tata Motors spokesperson.

What is even more interesting is that the automaker has opened doors for their consumers to suggest a new name for their hatchback.

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“While we have showcased this car but not launched, so we decided to offer our customers to also participate in this endeavour and suggest a new name for this cool hatchback. We announced the #Fantastico Name Hunt a global crowd sourcing contest,” added the spokesperson.

The contest is based on social media and mobile platforms where the marketers are engaging with the users and influencers to spread the word. To execute the this massive online campaign the automaker has roped in Maxus and LBi Digital.

Aimed at the netizens, this new initiative by Tata Motors has received an overwhelming reception and serves as a very effective marketing campaign that prompts active participation from the consumers. After all, who wouldn’t want to see their chosen name on a brand new Tata Motor car? Which brings us to the criteria for choosing the name from the crowd sourced ones.

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“Through this contest, #Fantastico Name Hunt, we were looking for suggestions from our fans and audiences around the world to share what they think should be the name of the car. The company will further shortlist these entries for viewers to vote for their favourite name. One of the lucky contestant whose selection matches the final name, stands a chance to win the car (if within India) or win a reward of equal value, if located outside India,” a Tata Motor executive explains.

In short, the contest will pan out in two steps — first that provides an incentive for the netizens to take part and the later naturally draws in those whose suggested names are in contest.

With the initial marketing efforts for Zica already in place, re-branding the car can be a difficult move. Tata Motors thinks otherwise. “What will also work for us is that the car is not yet launched and we have time to make changes to our plan and come up with new creative ideas to sustain the buzz for the car. We are determined to place it in the market addressing all relevant needs of the target audience,” shares the spokesperson.

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