Source-backed interpretation.
Editorial interpretation is derived from the original DMAasia/WION video description and transcript. Statements by speakers remain attributed to the source; no unverified current-role or performance claim has been added.
The durable question is how sustainability should improve trust without losing sight of data and measurement.
Source signal, edited only for readability.
Three takeaways worth carrying forward.
- 01
Read sustainability as the primary operating question in this record.
- 02
Test its connection to data and measurement and attention against the speaker’s reasoning in the transcript.
- 03
Keep the 2024 source context visible before carrying the lesson into a current decision.
What the transcript puts on the table.
🚗 Join Shashank Srivastava, the leader of India's largest automotive business, Maruti Suzuki, on Trailblazers as he shares insights into the brand's journey toward sustainability.
Learn how Maruti Suzuki leverages digital campaigns, personalized messages, and efficient media practices to contribute to a sustainable future.
Now here for a business and a brand Shashank that was not always associated with sustainability, tell us what's working for you guys and how you think about the topic.
Original context. Current reading.
Recorded in 2024, this captures the language, platforms and constraints of its time. Read it now by separating those period-specific details from the enduring operating question: how should trust and attention improve the decision?
Durable tests for the work.
- Make the promise visible and the proof inspectable.
- Earn attention with relevance before scaling reach.
What would you keep, change or measure differently if this intelligence were put to work now?
IP09 · READABLE TRANSCRIPT745 words
Welcome to Trailblazers Shashank, we're delighted to have you here. You're at the helm of India's largest automotive business, one in four vehicles. Now here for a business and a brand Shashank that was not always associated with sustainability, tell us what's working for you guys and how you think about the topic. Yeah so first of all let me begin by saying that we are actually one in two vehicles not one in four vehicles. We have a very large market share and therefore we believe we have a larger responsibility towards sustainability as well. You know when we talk about vehicles generally people and sustainability people think it's about vehicular emissions alone but it goes beyond that. Vehicle emission is obviously very important part of
sustainability. It's also about manufacturing process, it's also about logistics, it's also about energy conserving of energy, it's about conserving of water. So it's a mix of all these things including by the way the choice of media that you make while you are doing advertising. So it's a mix of many things that we do in order to have sustainability as one of the pillars of our approach to business. And Shashank you're a 15 year veteran of Maruti Suzuki. Was this a hard cultural shift to make? Absolutely I think first of all we had to burst this myth which is not only amongst employees and general business community. The first myth is that sustainability is not what consumers want.
Like they are looking for products, they are looking for price, they are looking for performance but not sustainability. That's no longer true. It's changing. It's changed completely. You can sell it now. Actually you can sell better with sustainability. Second, people feel that for companies sustainability would, if you take measures for sustainability, it will be more pricier. It's not. Actually in the long term it is cheaper to take the root of sustainability. Okay, so internally and externally the cultural shift is happening but Shashank you mentioned media. What's working for you guys in terms of media channels?
Yeah, so when you talk about media in the sense of sustainability, you know, you'd be surprised that if I were to say that if in a digital campaign you want to have 1 million impressions. The 1 million impressions is actually equal to charging 120,000 smartphones which is resulting in a huge amount of COT emission. So actually here what we are doing at Marty Suzuki for this aspect is to track the parameter of impressions versus the bids made. That ratio defines how efficient you are and therefore how much you are adding to the sustainability element of media. Like when we do sustainance campaigns, we try to modify the creatives. You can with good database, with the CDP platforms that we have. We have SVOC which is single view of customers.
You can have a very personalized messages to consumers which is what prevents waste in terms of energy. You could have for example optimized landing pages. And it's not just that for vehicles which is our primary business. We have power trades like the CNG for example. We have sold 1.4 million CNG vehicles so far. That's equal to saving 1.4 million tons of COT emissions. Okay, and I like what you say Shashank about you're able to customize the message because there you're seeing the experience economy intersect with sustainability. Last question Shashank. If you line up 10 different automotive firms, what is it about your brand management that makes you more convincing in sustainability?
Yeah, so first of all our products itself, the power trains that we offer, strong hybrids, hybrids, I mentioned CNG, biogas, we are working on biogas, flexi fuels, ethanol based fuels. It's something which and we are known for being very fuel efficient. We have the largest fleet of vehicles in the country as you just mentioned. But we are also the lowest in terms of emission. That's the number one fact which comes across as a very hard hitting fact to consumers. That despite having the largest fleet on the road, we have the smallest emission. Okay, so new marketing topic. We are running out of time here Shashank. It's a new marketing topic but actually as ever with Maruti Suzuki, one in two not one in four. The message is still simple. Biggest, best.
That's consistent. That's right. Done. Shashank, thank you so much.