8.2 MARKETING 8.2.

1 BRAND IMAGE MARKETING: JAPANESE TECHNOLOGY, MALAYSIAN STYLE In the early inceptions, Proton was marketed with the slogan "Japanese technology, Malaysian style". The whole idea behind the slogan is to create a quality image for the brand as Japanese automobiles are considered globally to be of high quality, reliable, efficient and low maintenance cost. Up till to day however, this whole concept is still written in people's mind because of their earlier advertisements in the 1980s and early 2000s and the fact that some of Proton engines are still made by Mitsubishi Motors. 8.2.2 REPOSITIONING STRATEGY: ACQUISITION OF LOTUS GROUP INTERNATIONAL LTD While Proton worked hard to encourage the UK market that their products are of high quality and standards, the car suffered somewhat from a poor public image. They were considered poor quality products with poor residual values compared to other cheap Pacific Rim cars from Kia, Chevrolet and Hyundai. This image was mainly as a result of lack of technological transfer from the side of Mitsubishi which did not allow Proton access into their brand technological secrets. By 1988, Proton attempted to change this image by launching of the Proton Satria GTi, but the attempted was not considered as success as it put their products out of the reach of younger drivers due to high insurance premiums. On the other hand, the Satria GTi also sported a "Lotus Ride and Handling" badge, which when combined with an average security component made the car attractive for thieves. However, with the full acquisition of Lotus Group International Ltd, a British automobile engineering company and manufacturer of Luxury Sports car in 1996 (Proton, 2012), Proton has been able to slowly reposition its brand as a world class auto-marker. The company also adopted aggressive advertisement and marketing as they continued to penetrate into more Asian, Middle East and European markets. 8.2.3 AFTER SALES AND WARRANTY SERVICES One unique aspect of Proton is the establishment of after sales services centers and offering of warranties based on certain conditions to all the markets they exist in. This features is essential what an auto buyer will put into consideration and Proton does it to perfection with free training offered to their customers on how to take better of their cars, genuine products and accessories for all their cars available at all their distribution and sale centers across the world and warranties for all their cars. Common after services and warranty include 5 year oil referring and engine check which is also common in the Malaysian market. This is a unique marketing strategy because it tries to persuade the customers that Proton is not all about the sales but also about ensuring that they have quality

services after sales through free maintenance check and oil change for their automobiles at Proton sales and distribution centers. The after sales services centers are available in all their websites across the globe.

POLICIES THAT HELPED PROTON TO INTERNATIONALIZE 7.1 THE PROTON WAY ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Besides quality management system, advancement in research and development and high financial capitals, organizations need a corporate culture that constantly reminds its employees of the company's main objectives. According to Proton (2012), each employee practices the company's shared values of guiding their behavior with other employees and customers. These shared values can be further discussed below as adapted from Proton (2012). 7.1.1 Quality - Proton ensures continuous quality improvements for its customers through delivering of products that positively conceptualized and manufactures. 7.1.2 Customer focus the company maintains that customers' remains their priority and they deliver all promises made towards customers' satisfaction. 7.1.3 Innovation Proton continues to challenge automobile conventions by seeking new and better ways to undertake their day-to-day activities through viewing change as an opportunity. 7.1.4 Teamwork the workforces trust, share and respect knowledge as a means of fostering productivity through teamwork. 7.1.5 Speed Proton claims to operate on a "can-do" attitude and will never rest until they find solutions to each challenge. 7.1.6 Caring in their quest to always be a responsible corporate citizen, Proton invest in safety and health of its workforce and the environment. 7.1.7 Honesty Proton allows transparency in their organizational system and takes responsibilities for their own actions. Their corporate culture which is highlighted in their value above is an essential police for internationalizing as customers need quality products and customer oriented services in order to make purchases, while Proton needs to innovation, teamwork and speed as a way of maintaining and gaining competitive advantage, and finally caring and honesty is essential to gain the full trust of the stakeholders in international markets. Thus, it can be argued that such organizational policy made internationalization easy for Proton Holdings Bhd