Case Study

AMUL BUTTER

(Managing Mass Communications)

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), India’s largest food products marketing organization, has successfully implemented its Amul butter campaign primarily through the use of billboards at strategic places. The campaign, which started in 1967, introducing Amul butter’s brand ambassador—a round-eyed, chubby-cheeked girl in a polka-dotted frock, had been India’s longest running campaign. The Amul butter campaign forms part of the collective memory of a large number of Indians, many of whom grew up watching the Amul butter topicals. When the campaign was launched in 1967, Amul wanted to break the dull, boring image built by normal corporate advertisement and establish a livelier image. Moreover, Amul wanted a mascot which would win hearts of housewives and could rival ‘The Butter Girl’, the mascot of the main competitor Polson. The challenge was to bring excitement to the image of Amul butter by involving humor but without offending the Indian mass and housewives who had taken food seriously and would not like to fool around with it. The campaign was managed by Sylvester daCunha, who in collaboration with artist Eustace Fernandes, created the Amul butter mascot, now popularly called Amul girl. They also wrote the tag-line “Utterly Butterly Delicious Amul”. The campaign introduced the strategy of wooing the consumer by applying humor in advertisements for the first time in India. Since the campaign planned to use a number of billboards in the city of Bombay (now Mumbai), the sketches were kept simple so that painters could paint the billboards quickly. The first billboards, put up in 1967, not only charmed everyone’s hearts but also enabled Amul butter to establish itself in the city of Bombay. As the campaign became successful, Amul continued the campaign with the objective of ruling the hearts of consumers by reminding them of its presence in their daily life. While the initial ads made statements of some kind or the other, the campaign slowly acquired a topical tenor. The campaign utilized billboards at strategic locations on a pan-India level and emerged as a communication tool that commented on current events related to politics, television, films, celebrities, cricket, economy, environment, festivals, foreign affairs, great Indians, Internet, kids, lifestyles, music, sports, strikes, and the urban life. The message strategy tried to evoke humor in the target audience by use of Hinglish, a mixture of Hindi and English. The message, with the Amul butter girl playing the role of a social observer, succeeded in connecting with the target consumer, thus enhancing the brand

image. The success is also reflected in the sales as the sales of Amul butter has jumped from less than INR 1 million in 1967 to over INR 5 billion in 2007. Over the last forty years, the basic structure of the campaign has remained the same with the Amul girl holding out her favorite packet of butter, accompanying a sketch of the topic for which comments were made along with the catch-line“Utterly Butterly Delicious”. The consistency has been attributed to GCMMF’s policy of continuing with the same agency for the execution of campaign. Another hallmark of the Amul butter topical campaign had been the speed with which the advertisements were put up on the billboards overnight. daCunha Communications, who have been handling the campaign for nearly forty years, credit the speed of execution to the free hand given by GCMMF to the ad agency for the content and the artwork of the ads. In fact even the top management of GCMMF comes to know about the contents of the ads only when the advertisements go on the billboards. For each of the products, GCMMF has a policy of spending up to one percent of the previous year’s turnover for the next year’s advertising. However, the high levels of brand awareness, large-market share, and the low cost of billboard strategy ensure that GCMMF does not have to spend more than one percent of Amul butter turnover on advertising. Despite the entry of many new players in the butter market, GCMMF is only spending INR 20 million on a turnover of INR 5 billion for advertising Amul butter. In order to maintain dominance, GCMMF undertakes regular brand impact analysis for the campaign, based on sales audit reports by A. C. Nielson.

Questions for Discussion

Q1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using billboards as communication media. Explain with reference to the Amul butter campaign.

Q2. Comment on the objectives and budget allocation process for Amul butter campaign. Do you feel that the current budget needs to be increased in light of entry of new players?

Case Study

How Cadbury's won the battle of worms

Three years back, Cadbury's found itself in the eye of a storm, when a few instances of worms in its Dairy Milk bars were reported in Maharashtra . In less than two weeks, the company launched a PR campaign for the trade. And three months later, came an ad campaign featuring Big B and a revamped poly-flow packaging.

Marketing and communications experts brought together by AICAR and the Subhash Ghoshal Foundation

say that Cadbury moved quickly to bear the cost of damage.

And thanks to its equity with the consumers, Cadbury's won back consumer confidence, with hit on sales

notwithstanding.

In October 2003, just a month before Diwali , customers in Mumbai complained about finding worms in

Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolates. Quick to respond, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration seized the

chocolate stocks manufactured at Cadbury's Pune plant.

In defense, Cadbury issued a statement that the infestation was not possible at the manufacturing stage and

poor storage at the retailers was the most likely cause of the reported case of worms.

But the FDA didn't buy that. FDA commisioner, Uttam Khobragade told CNBC-TV18, "It was presumed that

worms got into it at the storage level, but then what about the packing - packaging was not proper or airtight,

either ways it's a manufacturing defect with unhygienic conditions or improper packaging."

That was followed by allegations and counter-allegations between Cadbury and FDA. The heat of negative

publicity melted Cadbury's sales by 30 per cent, at a time when it sees a festive spike of 15 per cent.

For the first time, Cadbury's advertising went off air for a month and a half after Diwali, following the

controversy. Consumers seemed to ignore their chocolate cravings.

As a brand under fire, in October itself, Cadbury's launched project 'Vishwas' - a education initiative covering

190,000 retailers in key states. But what the company did in January 2004 is what really helped de-worm the

brand.

By investing up to Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) on imported machinery, Cadbury's revamped the packaging

of Dairy Milk. The metallic poly-flow, was costlier by 10-15 per cent, but Cadbury didn't hike the pack price.

Bharat Puri, managing director, Cadbury's India says, "While we're talking about a few bars of the 30

million we sell every month - we believe that to be a responsible company, consumers need to have

complete faith in products. So even if it calls for substantial investment and change, one must not let the

consumers confidence erode."

Simultaneously, Cadbury's roped in brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan to do some heavy duty

endorsement putting his personal equity on the line for the brand.

The company upped ad spends for the Jan-March quarter by over 15 per cent. The recovery began in May

2004, and by June, Cadbury's claimed that consumer confidence was back.

These experts believe that the reason for Cadbury's success was that it took crisis head-on. And the

consumers were more forgiving, because the brand enjoyed an emotional equity in India.

Santosh Desai, former president, McCann-Erickson says, "The nature of the relationship that Cadbury's has

built with the consumer is responsible for latitude the consumers are giving it.

"They are seeing it as a lapse, not a breach of trust - this difference is key. What Cadbury's set out to

deliver, it goofed up once but it seemed to be very sincere in its intent to get things right."

Even so, other experts felt Cadbury's was itself to blame for the worm crisis.

Mahnaz Curmally, PR counsel, explains, "Cadbury's had known for a long time that packaging needed

change, so in a sense, they waited for something to happen before they made that change and perhaps in

hindsight, they could have made that change voluntarily."

Cadbury's could be case study of a sweet recovery from a crisis. It continues to lead the Indian chocolate

market with over 70 per cent market share. However, the experts feel that today's constantly changing

environment should keep the company on guard.

Eureka Forbes - The Direct Marketing PioneerAbstract:

The case examines the strategies adopted (over the years) by leading consumer appliances company Eureka Forbes in India. The case explores how the company built up the vacuum cleaner and water/air purifier markets in India from scratch through its direct marketing efforts.

The various initiatives to ensure good customer service and enhance customer satisfaction are examined in detail. The case also discusses the company's attempt to enter the bottled water business, its decision to increase the thrust on the retail business, and the problems between its owners, Forbes Gokak Ltd. and Electrolux

Issues:

» Understand the applicability of the direct marketing model to the household appliances category vis-a-vis the traditional retail channels.

No More Direct Marketing?

In 1999, Eureka Forbes Ltd. (Eureka Forbes), the leading vacuum cleaner and water/air purifier equipment company, announced a major policy change that came as a surprise to the Indian corporate world. The company, regarded as the pioneer of direct marketing in India, was planning to focus more on the retailing business in the future. Commenting on this decision, S Goklaney, Managing Director, Eureka Forbes, said, "Direct sales permits us to exploit only the top end of the market." This move was in accordance with the company's plans to increase the visibility of its products. The company planned to make its products available in retail outlets through its dealer network, spread across 2,600 dealers.

With this move, Eureka Forbes also planned to increase the sales revenue generated by the retail division. Eureka Forbes Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Palekar, explained, "While the dealer channel contributes 10% to the overall sales turnover of the company, the direct sales route contributes 75%."

The same year, in another major departure from the business practices adopted since it began business in India, Eureka Forbes announced its decision to enter the bottled water market. The company wanted to position itself as a one-stop shop for products related to providing pure water.

Industry watchers questioned this decision, observing that most manufacturers of bottled water were regional players and very few brands had an all-India presence. Parle's Bisleri mineral water brand, the only national level player at that point of time, was expected to pose stiff competition to Eureka Forbes. The fact that these developments

came at a time when the partners in the Eureka Forbes joint venture, Forbes Gokak Ltd. (FGL) and Electrolux AB (Electrolux), were engaged in a bitter boardroom battle, added to the air of uncertainty surrounding the company.

The tiff had started in early 1999, when Electrolux announced its decision to walk out of the direct sales business worldover and, consequently, sell off its 40% stake in Eureka Forbes. Company observers stated that Eureka Forbes could find it difficult to succeed in the retail business without Electrolux's financial support and marketing expertise. The decisions to shift from direct selling to retailing and to enter the bottled water segment were being eyed with suspicion by analysts. Commenting on these decisions, analysts said that since Eureka Forbes was a relatively new player in the retail business and did not have much experience, it could have a tough future ahead.

Background Note

Fred Wardell, a well-known businessman of Detroit, Michigan, launched vacuum cleaners under the Eureka brand name in 1909. Eureka's vacuum cleaners were sleek, versatile and lightweight, while most of the vacuum cleaners manufactured those days were clumsy and difficult to use.

Within a few years, the company became well-known for its innovative product range. In 1913, Eureka launched vacuum cleaners in six different models and offered various add-ons for cleaning floors (bare/carpeted), walls, upholstery, and crevices. The company adopted the direct marketing route from the very beginning and its sales personnel delivered personalized services to customers.

As vacuum cleaners became increasingly popular in the early 1900s, Eureka employed around 5000 salesmen and opened over 400 branches to cater to growing customer demand. Within a decade, Eureka had established itself as the market leader in the Vacuum Cleaner industry.

The company acquired reputation for high quality products and excellent customer/dealer relations. In 1915, Eureka received the highest award for vacuum cleaners in those days, the 'Grand Prize,'by a jury of electrical experts at the San Francisco International Exposition...

Eureka Forbes - Starting From The Scratch

Eureka Forbes followed the globally 'tried and tested' direct selling route for marketing its products in India, thus becoming one of the first direct selling companies in India. Vacuum cleaners and water purifiers were rather new concepts for Indian consumers, who had till then followed only the traditional methods of cleaning and filtering.

Therefore, Eureka Forbes had to first establish the concept of vacuum cleaners and water purifiers in India before it could sell 'Eureka' as a brand. The company believed that its core strength was its people. It employed dynamic, highly motivated individuals, called 'Eurochamps,'

who projected the image of 'The friendly man from Eureka Forbes.'

Thus, for the average Indian consumer, Eureka Forbes became synonymous with the smartly dressed salesman who came to their houses and cleaned up things in a jiffy or showed how air/water purifiers were indispensable. Euro champs initially targeted the metros but soon began visiting smaller cities and towns also...

Future Prospects

Commenting on the decision to diversify into bottled water, company sources said that it was only to strengthen the core products by capitalizing on their brand image. Goklaney said, "In the water category, I will conduct activities which strengthen my core products. How I do that and what I do is a matter of strategy."

According to company sources, Eureka Forbes not only had the financial strength, but also a strong network of sales executives to push its new products into the market.

The company's decision to enter the retail business was primarily the result of its launch of 'Tornado' vacuum cleaners and 'Aquaflo' water purifiers in 1995.

Eureka Forbes had utilized the retail route for this range, mainly to cater to the industrial segment. Over the years, the retail business assumed greater significance and by 1999, around 5% of the company's sales came from the 2500-strong dealer network...

Amway's Indian Network Marketing Experience

Abstract:

The case 'Amway Indian Network Marketing Experience' examines in detail the experiences of the leading global direct marketing major Amway in India. In the initial stages, Amway had to face a host of problems, which are explored in detail. The case then studies the remedial measures taken by the company to counter these problems. The case also provides a brief introduction to the concept of multilevel marketing, with a note on the Indian MLM industry.

Issues:

» Multilevel Marketing

A Dream Gone Awry

In the late 1990s, the global direct selling giant Amway had to contend with increasing doubts regarding its survival in India. The company that had become synonymous with network marketing or multi-level marketing (MLM)1 the worldover was beset with problems. Media reports were quick to point out Amway's failure to sell the basic concept of direct selling to the Indians.

Though the company managed to rope in a substantial number of distributors, the attrition rate was at an alarming high of 60-65%. Most of the products that the distributors bought, they consumed themselves. Estimates put the percentage of self-consumption at almost 50-60% of the total volume. (There were rumors that some distributors enrolled just to take advantage of the distributor's margin of 18-30%). In the initial stages, when trials were the only criterion, this worked well. However, this self-consumption did not translate into repeat purchases.

This was because the percentage of 'active' distributors at any given point of time remained at a low level of 35-40%. Many people who joined in the initial frenzy returned the product kits within the first month.

Company sources claimed that the returns constituted just 1% of the total strength, but rivals and ex-employees put the figure at over 5%. Of the total distributors, only about 10% showed reasonably high levels of activity.

To top it all, Amway was burdened with an image that had little basis in fact. Its products began to be perceived as being very expensive and meant only for the premium segment.

This was identified as the single biggest reason for the high attrition rate. What was overlooked was the fact that almost all Amway products were concentrates. When used in the proper diluted form, the cost per use of each product worked out to be at par with (and in some cases, even lower than) the nearest competitor's products. For instance, the product named LOC (priced above Rs 320 for a 1-liter pack), when diluted gave around 165 bottles. The cost per usage was thus very low. Either the distributors were themselves not aware of this fact, or they were unable to communicate this to the customers. Since the distributors themselves were unsure about the price-value equation of the products they were selling, they could not effectively convince the consumers either. Amway also had to contend with customers complaining of poor customer service on the part of the company. Analysts commented that as long as the volume of products that moved through the network was high, network market such as Amway were satisfied.

Even though customers complained of the lack of services, the company deemed it more beneficial to go for higher salesforce motivation programs rather than undertake customer service initiatives. This was largely due to the fact that the company was almost never involved directly with the end-consumers and the sales volumes were the end of all discussions.

Making of The Dream

Privately held by the DeVos and Van Andel families of US, Amway, short for American Way, was set up in 1959. Amway and its publicly traded sister companies supported 53 affiliate operations worldwide. About 70% of Amway's sales were outside North America.

With over 12,000 employees around the world, Amway was renowned for its strong R&D centre in Michigan, which had 24 laboratories. Amway was present in over 80 countries and its manufacturing plants were located in US, Hungary, Korea, China and India. The company had over 3 million distributors across the world. Besides its direct selling portfolio of 450 products, Amway promoted around 3,000 products through catalogue sales2 as well. Amway had received permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in 1994, to invest $15 million in the Indian operations and to source products from India...

Picking Up The Pieces

Amway soon woke up to the reality that it had to take steps to put its MLM machinery back to the track. For this, it had to first identify where it had gone wrong. Amway realized that like most direct marketing networks, it had hoped to leverage the global promise of the lucrative business opportunity for its distributors...

'Network'ing Its Way Into The Future

By 2004, Amway planned to become a Rs 1000 crore company with a physical presence in 198 centers across India. The company also revealed that by 2002, it would be selling all the 450 Amway products that were available abroad, in India. As part of its plans to tap unexplored markets, Amway announced an ambitious expansion of its distribution infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh, which included setting up a warehouse. Once the marketing business in urban areas was strengthened, Amway planned to turn tis attention to untapped rural areas as well...

The Indian MLM Journey

MLM was the fastest growing sector of the direct selling industry worldwide. In 1988, the total revenue generated by MLM was $ 12 billion, which doubled to $ 24 billion by 1998. The direct-marketing industry in India was about Rs 6 billion in 1999. This was a growth of 62% over the previous year. In the pre-liberalization era, network marketing in India was usually in the form of various chit fund companies like Sahara India. These had a system of agents, who simultaneously mobilized deposits and appointed sub-agents for further deposit mobilization.

Companies such as Eureka Forbes and Cease-Fire pioneered the direct selling system in the country with a sales force that was trained to make direct house-to-house sales.

Oriflame International was the first international major to begin network marketing operations in India in 1995. This was followed by the entry of Avon India in late 1996...

CASE STUDY

MONSANTO: CUSTOMIZED GLOBAL MARKETING STRATEGY IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION

Monsanto Company (Monsanto) is a leading agro-based company in the United States, which is gradually speeding its network's expansion in different countries of the world. It mainly focuses on innovations and technologies to help farmers to produce more and more agricultural commodities in a sustainable manner to feed the world population. For this purpose, the company has set its vision as “to make the world a better place for future generations by providing value through the products and systems we offer to the farmers, which will result in increase in yield”. Accordingly, the mission of the organization is “to deliver agricultural products and solutions to the farmers to meet the world's growing food need, to conserve natural resources by protecting the environment”.

To be in line with its vision and mission statements, the organization has set its intermediary goals as follows: By 2030, Monsanto commits to help farmers to produce more and conserve more by

Developing improved seeds that help farmers' double yields from 2,000 levels for corn, soya bean and cotton with a $10 million grant pledged to improve wheat and rice yields.

Conserving resources by developing seeds that use one-third fewer key resources per unit of output than conventional seeds to grow crops, while working to lessen habitat loss and improve water quality.

Helping to improve the lives of all farmers who use Monsanto's products, including an additional 5 million people in resource-poor farm families by 2020.

HISTORY OF MONSANTO

Monsanto is a relatively new company. The company was founded in 1901 by John F Queenly. The original Monsanto produced and marketed agricultural chemicals, and in 1960 the agricultural division was established. Gradually, the company entered into molecular biology and biotechnology. The original Monsanto entered into a merger and changed its name to Pharmacia Corporation. In the year 2000, a new Monsanto company based on the previous agricultural division of Pharmacia was incorporated as a stand-alone subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company. The Monsanto of today focuses on agriculture and supporting farmers around the world in their mission to feed, clothe and fuel the growing world .

STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS (SWOT) ANALYSIS

Company profile is the essential source for top-level company data and information. The company profile report examines a company's key business structure and operations, examines its history and products, and provides a summary analysis of its key revenue lines and strategy.

Monsanto is a global provider of agricultural products. The United States is Monsanto's major market. However, Monsanto also has substantial operations abroad, covering the regions of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. It is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and employed 18,800 people as of August 2007. The company recorded revenues of $8,563 million in the fiscal year ending on August 2007, an increase of 17.4 per cent over the figure of 2006. The operating profit of the company was $1,418 million in fiscal year 2007, an increase of 21.1 per cent over the figure of 2006. The net profit was $993 million in fiscal year 2007, an increase of 44.1 per cent over the figure of 2006.

MONSANTO's BUSINESS STRATEGY

Expansion in developing countries: Monsanto is looking at expanding its markets, especially in developing countries, so as to regain some of the ground that it has lost in the European and American markets.

Targeting the small farmer: Another way by which Monsanto is looking at expansion is by targeting the small farmer. Monsanto's customers largely comprise middle-income and

rich farmers. Hence, it is now looking at developing a strong base at the small- and marginal-farmer level.

Increasing nutritional value for consumers: Monsanto knows that the best way to capture the market in developing countries is by increasing the nutritional value of products for consumers. It is quite obvious that a farmer eats the same food that he or she produces. So, the ideal method to market a product would be to ensure its nutritional value is high.

OPERATIONAL STRATEGY

Bring out customized and area-specific products: Monsanto's focus is on bringing out customized products that are developed specifically keeping in mind the characteristics of an area, such as soil types, climate and other factors.

Regain goodwill among farmers, especially in developing countries by providing technical assistance: This can be done by organizing special training courses for farmers in the use of modern methods of farming.

Launch a public relations exercise: As Monsanto's image has taken a beating in recent years, it needs to launch a massive public relations exercise in order to recapture its brand image.

Check piracy: Piracy must be checked by establishing direct relationships with farmers. One of the crucial issues faced by Monsanto is that after spending millions on R&D its product is pirated and sold at cheaper prices, leading to serious loss of revenue for the company. It can check this tendency by establishing direct relationships with farmers so as to increase brand loyalty.

FUNCTIONAL BENEFITS OF FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION

Operational Benefits

Enhanced inventory control—Better inventory management by identifying the ordering quantity.

Better quality tracking—There is an efficient feedback system that ensures proper quality tracking and control.

Reduced transaction costs—The required levels of inventory are known, which reduces

the frequency of ordering it every time.

Research and Development Benefits

Better flow of knowledge—Knowledge sharing becomes easy and effective.

Coordination among research teams—Coordination of different resources becomes effective.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is the market potential of agricultural products in India?

2. What are the challenges that a multinational company faces while marketing its products to farmers?

3. How will a management information system help in overcoming these challenges?

Volkswagen IndiaCase Study

Innovative campaign inspires 2,700 car recommendations in 4 weeks

Volkswagen (VW) is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. As Volkswagen pursues its goal of becoming the number oneautomaker in the world by 2018, India has become a key component of its strategy. India is currently the world’s second fastest growing car market, with shipments expected to more than double by 2018. As a relatively recent entry into the Indian automotive market, VW needed to raise brand awareness. To address this challenge, Volkswagen’s marketing team focused one of its key brand pillars, innovation, to make a strong impact throughout the roll-out in India. Innovation was showcased not only in Volkswagen’s product introductions, but also in its communications and advertising.

Innovative marketing strategies raise awareness

VW India created groundbreaking campaigns such as the world’s _rst ‘talking newspaper’, which used light-sensitive chips to speak to readers about Volkswagen as they turned the pages of their morning newspaper. The talking newspaper ad created a sensation in India, and garnered worldwide attention for taking print advertising to a newlevel. In one year, brand awareness more than quadrupled, increasing from 8 percent to a high of 37 percent. Volkswagen next turned to digital media to extend its success and create new opportunities for customers to connect with the brand.

Lutz Kothe, Head of Marketing for VW India, says, “At Volkswagen, innovation is woven into everything we do. In formulating our digital strategy, we looked beyond the obvious for innovative ways to engage our audience. We knew that for many people, their car affects their professional life and their professional identity affects their car choices. This made LinkedIn a natural choice to connect with current and potential car buyers among the growing Indian professional population.””Engaging working professionals on LinkedIn

LinkedIn approached Volkswagen India with an opportunity to be the first auto major to establish a presence on LinkedIn Company Pages. ‘Company Pages’ provide a branded

home base within the LinkedIn community where businesses can showcase their company, products, and services in a trusted, professional environment.

Volkswagen India participated in the worldwide launch of Company Pages in November 2010, and soon thereafter opened up their pages to allow LinkedIn members to post reviews and recommendations of their car line in India including the New Beetle, Vento, and Polo.

Mr. Lutz Kothe, Head of Marketing & PR, Volkswagen Passenger Cars says “We were pleasantly surprised to see how easy it was to create our Company Page on LinkedIn and start engaging with customers among the LinkedIn community. Furthermore, the quality of interaction was very high.

Recommendation Ads get people talking

Next, Volkswagen launched a series of Recommendation Ads encouraging more customers to join the conversation. Each ad showcased endorsements of actual LinkedIn members, and invited the community to recommend their favorite Volkswagen model.Volkswagen used LinkedIn’s broad reach (100 million members worldwide, 9 million in India) and precise targeting capabilities to connect with professionals who matched the buyer profiles for their different models.

Lutz Kothe said, “Volkswagen was the first company in India to use LinkedIn Recommendation Ads, and the campaign was a success. We went in with a goal of inspiring 500 recommendations among current and prospective car buyers. In less than 30 days, over 2,700 Volkswagen fans had stepped forward to recommend their favorite cars and share these recommendations with their professional networks. In the same time period, we gained over 2,300 followers who asked to stay abreast of the latest news and developments from Volkswagen.

Kothe concludes, “In a world where people spend an increasing amount of time at work, thinking about work, and interacting with their work colleagues, we believe it’s important to foster discussion about Volkswagen products in a professional context. Our innovative partnership with LinkedIn lets our customers learn about Volkswagen products and provides insights”.