First off, I have to admit that I know next to nothing about cars. Mine has 4 wheels, 5 forward gears and it can move in reverse. Every so often I put petrol in it, once a year I tax it and at every opportunity I avoid running into anything or anyone.
So why the post about Skoda? Well, this was prompted by the most recent Skoda TV advert, which got me thinking about how I perceive the brand now, compared to how I did 20 years ago.
Why do Skodas have heated rear windows?
To keep your hands warm when you’re pushing them in winter…..
Skoda were a joke during the 80s and 90s but in 1991 things changed when Volkswagen took a 30% stake in the Czech company. The new association with a reliable brand began to change public perceptions. Volkswagen eventually took over the business ten years later.
The first two cars launches under the ‘new’ Skoda brand were well-received but the costs of these improved models pushed up the retail prices. The cars carried a higher price tag and so Skoda needed to convince consumers that this price was worth paying.
A VW marketing manager working for Skoda explained: “We needed to move away from being a cheap brand to being a value-for-money brand. At the same time, we badly needed to find our own positioning within the group, rather than just trading on being part of the VW Group. Otherwise, we might just as well have re-branded ourselves as VW, with very little reason for existence.”
I haven’t heard a Skoda joke in years and so this improved reputation is obviously working – with comedians at least anyway. I’m not aware which models Skoda have been releasing in the years since the takeover by VW (like I said, I don’t know much about cars) but I have certainly noticed them more in the past few years.
I think they’ve done a great job in turning round this brand, considering how easy it it would have been for the association with Skoda to effect negatively on Volkswagen.
I love the new advert which plays brilliantly against the previous award-winning advert. It’s refreshing to see two contrasting approaches when trying to attract different consumers but with the same central message. I’m expecting the new ad to do just as well when the awards are handed out.
In the recent 2010 Auto Express Awards Skoda came away with, Car of the Year, Best Family Car, Best Estate Car and Driver Power Award. At the Which Awards, Skoda also won the Best Car Manufacturer award.
*UPDATE*
After posting this blog it was pointed out to us that the Skoda customer service was a lot less than perfect. If this is the case, I hope they start putting the same effort in keeping their customers happy, as they have done turning the public perception of the brand around.
More information on Skoda via Wikipedia – which notes that sales reached almost 685,000 in 2009 compared to 288,500 in 1997. Their 2009 market share was a record 1.9%.