Haval to pursue new marketing direction

HAVAL has announced it will launch a new marketing campaign designed to build the Chinese car-maker’s brand in Australia, focusing on the global identity of its vehicles to lure in more customers.

Having launched Down Under in 2016, Haval Australia promoted its initial batch of vehicles with the tagline ‘Luxury you don’t have to sell the house for’.

However, with a high-water mark of 710 sales in 2017, the Chinese SUV brand has so far struggled to capture the imagination of Australian buyers.

After winning the bid for Haval’s advertising contract in October, ad agency Havas is hoping to help boost Haval’s image – and therefore sales – by building customer confidence through a campaign aimed at reducing the negative stigma surrounding Chinese vehicles.

Havas Melbourne executive creative director Damian Royce said the agency would now work on building the Haval brand in Australia after the value-focused campaigns of past contributed to creating a feeling of perceived cheapness with customers.

The agency will highlight the partnerships Haval has with specialist manufacturers around the world such as Bosch and ZF, as well as its global team of engineers and designers, to create the new marketing slogan ‘Built by the world for the world’.

Positioning its products as designed and engineered across the world, and assembled in China, the campaign aims to offer reassurance to customers of the build quality, reliability, expertise and parts availability of its vehicles.

The idea for the new marketing strategy was born from exhaustive research and interviews with Haval dealers, owners, prospective owners and those who have test-driven the cars without purchasing, with the result being that once people were told more about the brand, doubts surrounding brand perception and build quality were alleviated.

To get the message across to the wider population, Havas has planned a five-year strategy to integrate Haval into the conscience of Australian buyers, starting with targeted ad campaigns to raise brand awareness and build credibility.

Starting in May, Haval’s TVC will be based around protagonists with competing personalities, including one who is open-minded and willing to try new things (such as a Haval vehicle) and another who has a more negative attitude towards unfamiliar experiences.

The ad campaigns will be refreshed to coincide with updates to Haval’s three models – the H2 small SUV, H6 medium SUV and H9 large SUV – which are expected to receive light model-year updates soon.

The next part of the campaign, starting next year, will involve establishing commercial sponsorships to further raise brand awareness and consideration among consumers.

As new product comes on tap in coming years such as the redesigned H9 in 2021 and a replacement for the current H6, Havas will aim to harness the interest around the new product to accelerate brand growth.

Future product plans for the Haval’s local arm remain unclear at this stage, however the sporty F7 medium SUV is a possible starter down the line, as is the more premium Wey VV6 which could be released in Australia under the Haval name.