Driving School and more

This recent advertisement of Maruti Suzuki caught my eyes. A brilliant strategy by Maruti I must admit. Driving schools are not new - thousands of them infest our roads near any RTO office.

But what makes a Maruti Driving School so special?

1. A new revenue model for Maruti. Castrol Bike Zone was a similar move. Bring thousands of local neighbourhood driving school under your fold. Provide support and proper branding and you create a Maruti goodwill in the market. (Research shows new drivers generally tend to buy the same car, which they used to learn driving. Upgrade happens much later.)

2. Secondly, it brings new consumers under the Maruti umbrella. Registration gives Maruti access to a huge database of potential car buyers.

3. The process of procuring a driving license becomes easy (otherwise you generally have to catch an agent or bribe the RTO guy.) Maruti Driving School takes that headache from you.

4. Easier to push a particular car eg. someone wants to own a Esteem, learn to drive one at a Maruti School, fill in your papers, get a driving license and the keys of your new car will be delivered at your doorstep.

5. Since women drivers are on the rise, they feel safe and secured being trained with high-tech gadgets at a professional driving school.

I wonder if this model could be replicated by other players in the market. How about a Ford or GM Stunt Driving School (Chevy has a huge equity with our Bollywood Stunt Directors)? Or a Honda Drag Race Driving School? Or a Mitsubishi Rally Driving School? Or a Volvo Truck/Bus Driving School centered around "Safety"? Am sure there is merit in this idea and it can strengthen a automotive brands positioning in the market.

Don't drink and drive. Be safe.