Bajaj V : The Invincible

Brand : V
Company : Bajaj Auto

Brand Analysis Count : # 564

Bajaj V is the company's latest foray into the commuter segment. For a long time, Bajaj Auto has been looking to get a foothold in the commuter segment. The company's brand in the segment - Discover is not doing well and the competitors are making merry of the market opportunity. 

The brand story of V is very interesting. This is one of the examples of client - agency synergy working wonders. As the report suggests, Leo Burnett suggested the idea of using the INS Vikrant's decommissioning to create a new product. 

INS Vikrant is India's first aircraft carrier and it has played a stellar role in the India- Pakistan war. The aircraft carrier was decommissioned in 1997 and the government decided to dismantle the carrier this year. The agency suggested that Bajaj use the INS Vikrant to launch a new bike. 

The brand V was born inspired by INS Vikrant. Bajaj Auto bought the metal of INS Vikrant and used it in the bike manufacturing. Thus V became a part of the story of Vikrant. 

Bajaj Auto went on an overdrive in connecting the Brand V with the Brand Vikrant. The campaign tried to enthuse the customers to get a piece of history with them when they buy Bajaj V. The variant was named V15. 

To emotionally stir the passion, the company used content marketing very effectively. The brand launched a documentary titled - The Sons of Vikrant , highlighting the contribution of the heroes who manned the carrier. 

Watch the video here : Sons of Vikrant

The  launch ad also tried to create a sense of patriotism and also history into the brand. More than the historical association, the use of INS Vikrant also helped create instant brand trust in the new brand launch.

Watch the ad here : Bajaj V launch ad

Behind all these stories, the company also have sound product strategy. The new brand is positioned as a premium commuter bike. Priced at Rs 60000-70000, the company aim to create a new category for itself. The Bajaj V is a 150 cc bike and is styled as a Cafe Racer. The target customer is one who looks for a stylish bike but cannot afford to buy a Pulsar. 

Since the entire brand is being built on the legacy of Vikrant, the question is what happens after the entire metal of Vikrant is exhausted. The company has launched the Bajaj V15 as a limited edition. So the V15 would be there till the metals last, then there will be another variant of V. 

The brand Bajaj V already have won lot of accolades for the marketing idea and will be a case study for aspiring marketers on using opportunities to get an edge. 

Mahindra Stallio : RIP (2010-2011)

Brand : Stallio
Company : Mahindra 2 wheelers

Brand Analysis Count :  #513

Question : What else do you want for a  perfect product launch when there is a reputed Corporate Brand, Aamir Khan and a decent campaign ?

 Ans : A good product !

Mahindra Stallio is a sad story of a perfect plan foiled by a poorly built product. Mahindra Group was very vocal in its plan to enter into the Indian two wheeler market. It surprised the industry by acquiring the ailing Kinetic Motors' two wheeler division. The company  followed it up with the successful launch of automatic scooters Duro and Rodeo. Then came the much anticipated entry into the bike segment.

Rather than launching a macho, performance bike to impress the technological prowess of the company, Mahindra chose to enter the much crowded and highly competitive commuter bike segment. The first product in the bike segment was the 106 cc Mahindra Stallio. 

Stallio had a dream launch. The PR team of the company had built in enough suspense in the market. The entire automotive industry was looking for something similar to a Scorpio that will shake up the established brands like Splendor and Pulsar. Then Stallio happened. The brand instantly gained eyeballs through the endorsement of Aamir Khan. Aamir Khan's endorsement was a master marketing move. The actor had huge equity in the market and his endorsement of a two wheeler was something no one anticipated.

Stallio put on an aggressive face in the market with a cheeky campaign pitting against all those macho bike brands which advertised with more hyperbole than a Bollywood movie.
Watch the launch campaign : Mahindra Stallio1 
                                            Mahindra Stallio 2
Stallio was positioned as a commuter bike that combined style and performance. At a price around Rs 45000, the brand promised enough features and quality and was aiming to compete with the segment leader Hero Honda Spendour.

The brand sold more than 5000 units in two months time, then the problem started. The brand had serious issues in the clutch and gear box. Noticing this issue, the company stopped producing the product and the brand was withdrawn from the market. For a marketer, it is a nightmare come true. The issue was not a product recall but a complete withdrawal from the market. 

It has been more than 8 months since the product withdrawal and the company is still not able to relaunch the brand in the market. It is highly intriguing of the fact that a company like Mahindra would land in a product quality issue of this scale. 

As of now, Stallio is almost dead and it will be difficult for the company to revive the brand since it failed at the launch itself. Renewing the brand and regaining the lost trust will be Herculean task. Aamir Khan also lost his bike endorsing credibility and if he comes again to endorse Stallio, I wonder how the consumers will react. If Mahindra relaunches Stallio, it will be easy for the competitors to kill the brand by refreshing the past failure memories. How ever, Mahindra did  a good job in swiftly taking the brand out of the market thereby limiting the PR damage. Also the media has been benevolent about the failure with limited coverage on the debacle.

Vespa : Fashion Unchanged

Brand : Vespa
Company : Piaggio

Brand Analysis Count : # 512

Vespa is back in a new avatar or rather in its Original avatar. The brand which died in 2006 is being resurrected by its original owners is set to change the way Indian consumers think about scooters. Vespa initially came to India in 1960 with partner Bajaj  and later through LML. The brand had a tough ride in the Indian market with some few successes like LML Vespa Select. But the brand failed to bring in volumes which eventually led the demise of this stylish brand.

Although Vespa had a different image compared to its rival Bajaj, the brand was never considered to be lifestyle oriented. Consumers considered it as a stylish scooter and the image ended with that.

This 2012, Vespa has come back to Indian market with its original persona of an Italian Scooter. The launch is significant because of the iconic status that Vespa enjoys elsewhere in the world. It is also interesting to see how Indian consumer will welcome the second homecoming of the brand.

The main reason behind the relaunch of Vespa is the increasing interest shown by consumers towards the scooter segment. According to Economic Times, Indian scooter market is around 2.5 million units growing at CAGR of 20%. Lot of new launches are happening in this market and consumers seems to prefer the utility of this product.

What is interesting in Vespa is the brand's positioning as a fashion statement. For the first time in this segment, a brand is exploring the possibility of creating a new market - lifestyle scooter. The target segment is youth who wants to be different, make a style statement. Essentially a psychographic segmentation. The brand is now focusing on print campaigns which makes sense .

The brand has the tagline " Fashion Unchanged" and is drawing power from its legacy dating back to 1945. The brand uses funky colors and evokes as sense of youthfulness that fits a fashion brand.

The brand has done it right in terms of the product design. The scooters looks cute and stylish and the advertisements looks chic. Although the product reviews are average, Vespa is expecting to sell for its looks and more importantly its brand image. The brand owners are repeatedly telling that Vespa is not for power-hungry as an excuse for the poor engine specifications. But hope they don't forget that consumers should get a decent deal when the brands commands a premium. Poor specs cannot be masked through colorful advertisements and lifestyle positioning.

The challenge for the brand is to show value. The brand is expensive and the specifications is nothing special so getting Indian youth to open up their wallet for the sake of looking fashionable seems to be a tough task.

The silver lining is that this is the era of design and experience. Lot depends on the brand's ability to convey fashion statement through the product. 

The steep price will force customers to compare value with the workhorses like Activa, although Activa is not a style statement. There is a chance that the brand will remain aspirational restricted to a few. The brand could have done wonders if it was priced at an affordable range and get more on the road - some thing like an affordable fashion statement. But Italian arrogance is visible in the pricing. The brand with the styling and premiumness can make Indian consumers drool or will they ?

Related brand

LML Vespa

Brand Update : Bajaj Discover Zooms Ahead

It has been almost 6 years since I wrote about Bajaj Discover. A lot happened in these years about the brand. And those development was indeed surprising. Now Bajaj Discover is the second largest selling motorcycle in India . Since the introduction in 2004, the brand has moved through interesting phases to reach the top crossing the one million units sales per annum. 

The brand had a dream start with the endorsement from Jackie Chan. Discover instantly topped interms of awareness and image. The brand was launched as a part of the grand strategy of moving the consumers away from the 100 cc bikes towards more powerful 125 cc bikes. The commuter segment of the Indian motorcycle market was dominated by 100 cc bikes and Hero Honda ruled the segment.

The grand strategy failed and Discover was having tough times. Bajaj experimented heavily with the Discover brand by launching the brand in various engine capacities. Discover was initially launched in 125 CC later in 115 cc, then in 135 cc , then 100 cc and 150 cc. Most of these variants failed in the market. But somehow Bajaj decided to keep the Discover franchise alive. 

The fortune of the Discover brand turned with the launch of  the 100 cc variant. Ironically Bajaj resisted launching any products in that segment and it had the hypothesis that consumers will desert 100 cc m/cycle for more powerful bikes. But it had to bite the bullet and launch the100cc Discover and sales went through the roof.

The discovery of the potential of Discover was through a series of flawed product strategies. The dominant logic of the firm was that the era of 100 cc bikes were over which was a flawed logic. Consumers still found logic in using 100 cc bikes so Hero Honda thrived. 

The company got the positioning right for the 100 cc Discover . The brand talked about mileage ( 100 kmpl ) and that together with the premium image of Discover propelled the sale of the variant.The firm was right in pricing the brand competitively in the market. 

The success of Discover prompted the company to experiment more with the brand. Discover 150 was launched to act as a flanker brand for the premium Pulsar. Now Discover 125 is also being launched . It seems that there is hell lot of money at Bajaj for experimenting with brands.

Bajaj plans to use Discover for the volume game and the focus will be to give the right product mix to the commuter segment which forms the largest chunk of M/cycle market. The 100 cc and 150 cc experiment worked well for the franchise while the rest failed. 

Related brand

Bajaj Discover

Brand Update : Bajaj XCD RIP ( 2007-2010)

According to Economic Times, Bajaj has stopped the production of XCD 125 and XCD 135. The brand which was touted to give Hero Honda Splendour a run for money has become a part of history. In my analysis of the brand, I had opined about the positioning problem faced by XCD.

I feel that the brand established wrong sets of parity with Pulsar and the total confusion resulting in the focus on the cubic capacity rather than the brand benefits resulted in the death of this brand. Bajaj later diluted the core positioning of the brand by launching a 125 version of Platina which again cannibalized XCD.

The list of failed brands in the Bajaj's portfolio is increasing every year. The ET article also cites the imminent death of Platina in the future.

I cannot understand where Bajaj Auto is running so fast. The company in a race to overtake Hero Honda in volume sales is killing itself. The rapid launch of new products and product failures are going to hurt the company in future. Now will an XCD/Caliber/Wind customer try their hand on any new Bajaj two wheelers ? How will we ever know when company will stop producing that brand.

XCD could have survived if the company gave time for the brand to settle down, rectified its flaws and invested in the brand. Out of the 2 years that the brand had, the investment on the brand may have stopped after one year.

Bajaj is still putting lot of stake in anchoring their products on the CC( Cubic capacity). My personal opinion is that for a customer CC is irrelevant. They will buy good products and not CC. Too much focus on CC has created lot of problems for Bajaj two wheeler brands.

Related Brand
Bajaj XCD

Brand Update : Bajaj Kristal RIP ( 2007-2010)

Bajaj recently announced its exit from the scooter market. This announcement also marked the death of the last scooter brand from Bajaj -- Bajaj Kristal. Kristal was launched in 2007 was aimed at capturing the scooterette market dominated by TVS Scooty.

The failure of Kristal was a marketing failure. The firm failed to launch a product that was well differentiated and offered value to the customer. I had written about the stiff pricing of Kristal which may have caused the pathetic response from the customers. Kristal was a half-hearted attempt which was visible in the way this brand was promoted. After the initial promotions, there was no voice for the brand. It was a brand crafted for failure.

Interestingly ,the announcement of Bajaj's exit from scooter market evoked lot of media attention. Channels devoted lot of prime-time discussing the Hamara Bajaj campaign and the death of icons. There was a lot of emotional brouhaha which was totally unnecessary because the exit from the market is a pure business decision. Although the top management of Bajaj was finding it difficult to explain the reasons for the exit, one should understand that Bajaj feels that scooters does not fit into their business model and decided to exit. Nothing more , Nothing less.

The fact remains that Bajaj was not able to either understand the consumer expectations in the scooter segment and develop appropriate product which is a setback to the company's image. The fact that new players like Mahindra scooters are entering the scooter segment adds to the insult and injury to the Bajaj brand.

Even in the case of motorcycles, Bajaj is not having a wonderful time. It had shown a spark of brilliance when Pulsar was introduced, but even after 9 years, Bajaj could not come out with another brand like Pulsar. What it is doing is to milk Pulsar to death.

Related Brand
Kristal

Brand Update : Pulsar

Pulsar- the blockbuster brand from Bajaj has launched a new variant - Pulsar 135 LS. The new bike is a 135 CC 4 valve DTSI engine that delivers a power of 13.5 ps. The bike is being positioned as a light sport bike and the company aims to create a new category of ' light sport' bike in the Indian market. Pulsar 135LS is priced at around Rs 51,000.

Pulsar, when launched in the Indian market in 2001 changed the fortunes of Bajaj Auto. With its " Definitely Male " positioning and superior performance, the bike crafted a segment of ' performance bike' in the Indian market. Even after all these years, Pulsar has maintained significant leadership in the 150CC + market.

The launch of a less powered " light Pulsar" was a surprise to me. Why would a company stretch a performance bike downward into the executive segment ? Pulsar was having three models in the performance bike segment 150CC, 180cc and 220 cc. All these bikes were premium bikes and had similar chunky masculine look with exceptional performance.

There can be two reasons for the downward stretch for this brand. According to reports, Bajaj wants to create a new sports category in the executive segment. The company feels that there is a segment of consumers who want a commuter sports bike and Pulsar will fit the bill.

Another larger reason is the volume game. Bajaj so far has not been able to break the leadership position of Hero Honda either in the Executive segment or in the commuter segment. The experiments on Discover and XCD so far has not been successful in displacing Hero Honda. Since Pulsar have an excellent brand equity, it is easy to leverage it for the sake of volume.

Whether 135 LS will be successful or not depends heavily on the bike's performance. But I am sure that the premium positioning and equity of Pulsar will take a hit with the launch of this lighter version. The new 135 LS is not a Pulsar but something in between XCD and Pulsar 150.

In news reports, the company officials had commented that customers doesn't look at CCs while making purchase, they look at brands. But launching a lighter version of a performance bike is not going to boost the equity of the parent brand. On the contrary , if the lighter version fails in the performance, it will have an effect on the equity of the parent brand. Secondly if the lighter version works well, why should one go and buy the larger version ?

Pulsar 135 LS also cannibalizes the existing models of Bajaj Discover and XCD in the executive segment and there is a possibility of any of these brands being withdrawn from the market.

Pulsar 135 LS is a high risk brand from Bajaj. In the search for volumes, the company is risking one of its best brands in the line of fire. On one hand the brand is being stretched downwards and on the other hand, the parent brand is neglected. Except for occasional ads, Pulsar was never aggressively promoted these days. Taglines keep on changing and share of voice is very very minimal for Pulsar.
The only solace for Pulsar is that so far no brand has been able to match the standards set by this brand. But having no competition does not mean that one can mess up a brand.

Related Brand
Bajaj Pulsar

Brand Update : Pulsar

Faced with stiff competition from the likes of Yamaha, Honda and TVS Apache, Bajaj Pulsar have decided to strike back. The brand has been facing competition from the super bikes and was pressurised to hit back aggressively. Yamaha with its new launches and Apache are slowly eating away the market once owned by Pulsar. Pulsar reacted to this by launching new variants but on the promotional front, it was keeping silence.

In my earlier posts, I have been criticising this brand for being laid back in its promotions and commoditising its DTSI USP.

The brand has launched its revamped Pulsar 220 variant which will reinforce the brand's core promise of a performance bike.

Watch the new tvc here : Bajaj Pulsar 220

Although the ad is quite long , I really liked the climax.

And Hurray, Pulsar has a new tagline " The Fastest Indian ". After dumping the " Definitely Male " tagline, Pulsar ads never was a thriller. The product qualities made the brand a huge success. The ads just increased the familiarity and recall.

The new ad and new tagline gives a remarkable boost to this brand. And " Fastest Indian " is a very very powerful tagline. ( Hopefully Bajaj will retain this tagline for years to come ).

It is very wise for the brand to own the highest superlative . Pulsar has owned the " Fastest " superlative , that means another brand cannot be faster than the fastest. This gives a powerful boost to the brand itself. It all depends on how well Pulsar takes this proposition forward.

And being Fastest appeals directly to the target audience . Now in the promotion front, Apache and other performance bikes has to create a new superlative to beat the Bajaj.

The new ad is also well executed and packs the punch at the end beautifully . More than the ad, I liked the tagline.

It is good to see Pulsar getting the much needed promotional and creative boost.

Related Brand

Pulsar

Bajaj XCD : Positioning Problem ?

Brand : Bajaj XCD
Company : Bajaj Auto


Brand Analysis Count : 381

Bajaj XCD was launched in September 2007. The brand was expected to boost the fortune of Bajaj Auto and intended to give nightmares to the market leader Hero Honda.

XCD was a 125 cc motorcycle planned by Bajaj to pip the largest selling motorcycle brand Splendour. Indian twowheeler market is dominated by the 100 cc segment which constitutes around 60% of the total volume sold. Bajaj so far was not able to come out with a brand worthy of competing with Splendour . Its major challenger brand Discover , although was moderately successful failed to dethrone the Splendour.

XCD 125 was launched with much hype and fanfare. After Pulsar, everyone had high expectations over new product launches from Bajaj.

The launch ad for XCD 125 was a hi-fi ad which frankly I did not understand. The ad seemed to be expensive with lot of digital effects but conveyed nothing. May be the company wanted to position the brand as a hi-tech brand.

watch the launch ad here : XCD launch ad

Then came the down-to -earth campaigns for XCD. These campaigns were highly popular . The ads had two characters meeting at different places and the non-XCD owner getting pissed off at all these encounters.
Watch the campaigns here : XCD- Traffic signal
XCD Basement
XCD Showroom

The traffic signal advertisement was the most popular one and was really a cool ad. The characters were so popular that Sun Direct Digital TV used the same characters and theme for their commercial - watch here : sun direct

During this phase , XCD directly pitched against 100 cc bikes. Bajaj forecasted that over a period of time, 100 cc bikes will be replaced by more powerful 125 cc bikes. Since Bajaj had earlier failed to foresee the shift of consumer from scooters to motorcycles, it did not wanted the history to repeat itself.

So in a pre-emptive move, Bajaj launched the 125 cc brand XCD ahead of Hero Honda.

Hence, during the launch phase, Bajaj tried to convince the potential 100 cc bike customers to switch to 125 cc. These customers were in the middle-class segment and the price of these bikes were in the range of Rs 40,000- Rs 45,000.

In the campaigns, XCD tried to tell the consumers that 125 cc bikes are more powerful , fuel efficient and had lot of features like electronic start, LED lamps and digital speedometers that 100 cc bikes does not have.

More over the brand had the legendary DTS-Si engine which was proprietary technology from Bajaj.

Despite all these, the XCD failed to take-off. The company expected XCD to even overtake Pulsar interms of the sales volume. But after the initial spike, XCD failed to enthuse the market.

The first reason was the product failure. Immediately after the launch, there were reports on product problems and recall. Although there was no PR disaster, consumers were taken aback by the newspaper reports. ( report) The product also failed to deliver on the expectations generated by the advertisements regarding the mileage.

Another significant reason was the positioning issue. Bajaj XCD was destined to fight with Splendour . So through out the campaign , it wanted to establish the Points of Parity with Splendour and other 100 cc bikes.

But contrary to Bajaj's expectations, the consumers established Points of Parity of XCD with Pulsar. The main culprit was the ingredient brand DTS-Si. Since Bajaj XCD also had the DTSi technology, consumers expected the same level of performance with that of Pulsar.

Also consumers never put XCD 125 in the same category as 100 cc. Hence the comparison was with higher CC brands like Pulsar. Since XCD was no where near Pulsar, obviously consumers never was happy. Bajaj wanted to do a break-away positioning but the strategy failed.

Bajaj also confused the consumers by launching Platina 125 DTSI. Platina is the entry level brand and launching that brand with 125 cc engine killed any remaining prospect of XCD 125, since there is not much difference between the two brands except the price.

In 2009, Bajaj is trying a second luck with the XCD brand. In January , the company launched XCD 135 DTS-Si. The new variant is touted as India's first commuter sports bike.

The brand is currently running a television commercial in all channels : Watch it here

In my personal opinion, it is a lousy commercial which is a sheer waste of money. It is totally absurd and the idea is nothing new. I think some other brand had earlier advertised about the " one pillion rider " theme. Two girls fighting for a pillion ride is not a big ' aha' and the ad is too lengthy one which is a waste of money at this time of cash-crunch.

Here again Bajaj is trying to create a new category of bikes. The new XCD boasts of 5 speed gear box, front disc brakes, digital speedometers etc which is seen on the premium bikes. XCD also is powered with DTS-SI engine and is priced at Rs 45,000.

I don't think that Bajaj has learned from the mistakes from the failure of XCD 125. Here again the positioning of XCD is strikingly similar to Pulsar. Now the only difference between Pulsar and XCD is interms of engine power and price. Even the styling has become almost the same.

XCD 135 brand is again creating points of parity with Pulsar .I am sure that XCD will not match the power of Pulsar and those customers who expect the Pulsar's qualities in XCD are bound to be disappointed.

I don't understand why Bajaj has not been able to create a seperate identity for XCD rather than
keep its association with Pulsar. The advertising agency has also done the damage of creating a campaign which is strikingly similar to Pulsar campaigns by including the famous stunt called Stoppie where the biker lifts the rear wheel and balances using the front. .These stunts and visuals were trademarks of Pulsar ads.

Bajaj is also ignoring its best-selling Pulsar brand . It was not able to create new memorable campaigns for the flagship Pulsar and now they are messing up Pulsar by using same positoning platform for other bikes.

I have a feeling that Bajaj is now panicking because of the comeptition from Yamaha and Honda. In the Panic, it is creating strategies to boost short-term sales rather than investing for the long term. Brands take time to establish but Bajaj is trying to do things fast.

Having said that, the most important determinant of success in the two-wheeler segment is the product's performance. Splendour has been ruling the Indian roads on pure performance than anything else. If XCD 135 is able to create new benchmarks for performance, then there is nothing that can stop it from becoming successful - even lousy positioning cannot block its success.






Related Brand

Pulsar
Brand Update on Pulsar

Brand Update : Bajaj Pulsar

Recently I saw an ad of Bajaj which showed that Bajaj XCD 125 is now in the DTSI Club . The DTSI which stands for Digital Twin Spark Ignition system was a technology patented by Bajaj.

This technology uses twin sparks at either end of the combustion chamber which gives faster combustion compared to the single spark plugs found in conventional engines. This twin sparks increases the power of the engine and offer better performance.

Bajaj did a great marketing move by patenting it and then branding this technology as DTSI. This is a classical case of ingredient branding. The DTSI was featured in the second generation Pulsar which was launched in 2003.

While Pulsar rode the wave in 2001 on the back of excellent styling and mind-blowing positioning , DTSI became the key differentiators for the brand after 2003. Pulsar was perceived to be a mean machine because of DTSI.

Pulsar thus created and ruled the performance bike category in India.

Its natural for any company to think of extracting maximum mileage out of a patented technology. Bajaj did just that by extending the DTSI technology to all its vehicle models including scooters . My doubt is whether Bajaj has commoditized the DTSI technology by extending it too much.

When DTSI was associated with Pulsar, it meant power , efficiency and performance . But what will DTSI mean when it is associated with a small scooter like Bajaj Krystal or a entry level bike like XCD.

Branding an ingredient is the same as branding a product. The consumers should feel that the ingredient brand is different from other ingredients . The concept of positioning also applies to ingredient brands.

In many ways, Bajaj has done correct strategies for DTSI. It patented it, protected it and branded the technology. But where it had failed was that it commoditized the ingredient brand.

Bajaj did not try to give a special personality for DTSI. Remember, DTSI had a strong secondary association with Bajaj Pulsar. Both the brands benefited out of this association. Pulsar used DTSI as a differentiator while DTSI got the performance tag from Pulsar.

But by making this technology available to all other brands without clearly looking at synergy was a big mistake from Bajaj. I have no doubt that the extension of DTSI technology to other brands will greatly help the sales of these brands . XCD will sell more when it has the DTSi technology.

When a measly powered scooter is also powered with DTSI, what is DTSI ? It had lost all its brand values which were power and performance. I don't think that XCD is anywhere near Pulsar in terms of power or performance. So in a way Bajaj has virtually killed this powerful ingredient brand.

The brand which is going to suffer most will be the flagship brand Pulsar. When every other Bajaj brands have DTSI, how is Pulsar different from rest of the crowd ?

The obvious answer will be the design. If it is so, then Pulsar could be beaten by any other bikes which are better designed. Having good looks is good for the brand but cannot be sustained over a period of time because :

Competitors can come with good looking bikes.
Designs can be outdated.

Both these are affecting Pulsar. Too many Pulsars on the road has made this brand dated in terms of looks. But DTSI was a powerful differentiator which cannot be copied since it was patented. But Bajaj , because of greed, faltered with one of the most powerful differentiators at its disposal.

Last month, I read a report saying that the newly launched Yamaha FZ 16 has become the number two brand in the 150 cc segment beating Apache RTR , Hero Honda Hunk and CBZ. In some markets, FZ also has beaten the market leader Pulsar. Without a clear differentiator, Pulsar is now more vulnerable than ever.

Is Bajaj listening ?????

Related Brand

Pulsar
Yamaha

Bajaj RE : The End Of Days?

Brand : RE
Company: Bajaj Auto


Rickshaws were a part of Indian roads as early as 1880 and the rickshaw pullers of Calcutta are famous in the West as a symbol of Indian Poor. Rickshaw originated from Japanese words that meant Human Powered Vehicle. Later these rickshaws become powered by motors hence became autorickshaw. Bajaj is the pioneer in this market with a market share of almost 95%. Auto which is the short form of Autorickshaw started off with a front engine model with 'Dolby Digital ' sound effects with petrol smoke which comes free. In 1977 Bajaj launched the rear engine Auto which bought some decency to this class of vehicle.

Autos are a source of income for lot of families.There are estimated to be around 24 lakh three wheelers in India. The three wheeler segment include both passenger and goods carrier and Bajaj enjoys a near monopoly in this segment. The other players are Mahindra , Piaggio Greaves. KAL etc.

As a marketer I feel that this segment is going to witness the same fate as the scooters and as usual Bajaj Auto, unless it wakes up, is going to be in the same situation as it was in the case of Scooter segment.

Let us look at the product first. Autos is a mode of public transport. The reason why it succeeded in India is
a. Cheaper than Taxi
b.Ideal for short distance travel
c. City maneuvering is easy
d.Comfortable than buses.

Over these years all these factors has turned against the Auto. With the rising fuel prices, the auto rates have increased and is now out of reach for the lower middle class.This vehicle was earlier fulfilling the needs of the lower and upper middleclass families of India.But with the upper middle class going for two wheeler and Maruthi, these autos now have no significance in their traveling plans. For the lower middle class, the new auto rates are now not affordable so there is a shift to two wheelers or buses. For example a one and a half kilometer trip in an auto will cost you nothing less than 15 Rs while a car will cost you around Rs.6
The pollution caused by autos have forced authorities to put stringent norms for this segment. The rash behaviour of the drivers also is repulsing the customers from this mode of transport. One has to answer many questions from the auto driver before taking you for the ride. This segment till now has not understood the ground realities.

The vehicle is pathetic with respect to comfort to passengers aswell as drivers. The customers are using this product just because there is no other alternative. It is a sort of De ja vu .. Till now Bajaj has done nothing to the product. No change in the shape , comfort, technology etc. Yes they have came out with diesel version, 4 stroke self start and CNG version but essentially the product is still the same.

The market size is estimated to be around 400000 units per year. Since this is a major source of income, government will not take a drastic step to kill the segment . But I foresee a disruptive change in this segment. Already some disruption is happening. The goods carrier three wheeler segment is witnessing competition from other players and the Tata motors have launched a Blockbuster product TATA ACE to take on the three wheeler goods carrier.

A similar disruptive product will easily kill Autos. Already there are rumours of Honds seriously looking into this segment. To escape the fate of Chetak , Bajaj has to once again think in terms of customer. The autos in order to succeed should deliver more value to the passenger and the owner. Better mileage, ridability, comfort for the passenger are a must to survive the next ten years. Drivers should be trained to be more customer friendly because with their Union strength it may be possible to get higher rates but not the customers.

With the public transport systems gearing up fo major changes with better buses, metro rails etc, customers have choices. Taxi's have sensed this and have changed. Now we have better and courteous taxi cabs and their business is growing.

Hey Auto : R U listening?

Bajaj Chetak (1972-2005) :RIP

Brand : Bajaj Chetak
Company : Bajaj Auto Ltd

The brand which ruled the Indian roads have been laid to rest. Bajaj has officially stopped the production of Bajaj Chetak from December 2005. The stocks will last may be upto March 2006. The company says that the product no longer have any relevance to the customer. To quote Rajiv bajaj " Any one who clings to the past is a failure".

I owned a Chetak: a gift from my father for having secured admission to MBA program. It was in the year 1996. Later I exchanged it for a bike in 2001. Still Chetak lingers in me ( or rather haunts me) in the form of " Back Pain".

The brand which was launched in 1972 virtually owned the two wheeler segment. If reports are to be believed, Chetak was an unavoidable dowry in 1970's and 80's. It had a waiting period of more than 10 years ( can you believe it ? ) and now here I am after 34 years, writing the epitaph of this brand.

The brand which was named after the legendary stallion of the Rajput king Maharana Pratap, was known for the reliability and sturdiness. The brand thrived during the license raj with virtually no competition. It was during 1990-91 that the brand began the journey to the end.

Bajaj Chetak had a huge brand equity . The brand had the persona of a " work horse". With reasonable price and the low maintenance cost made this product a huge hit among the middle class Indians.

Promoted along the base line " Hamara Bajaj", this was the Indian Family vehicle - a position now owned by Maruthi 800.

But then How can a brand that was so popular and successful fail?

Frankly, I am not sure. But here is what I think about this brand...

The primary reason is that the Brand forgot the customers. Another case of Marketing Myopia. The company failed to understand the changing perception of the customers towards scooters. Rather than looking at the customers, the company focused on influencing Government to block the opening up of economy. Bajaj never did anything with the product. For 40 years Chetak had the same look, same quality and style.

During the mid nineties the company realised lately that the segment has shifted to motorcycles. Scooters were no longer the option. But did the company made a mistake in discarding the scooter segment ? Looking at the way the share prices are going, the market thinks that Bajaj Auto made the right decision. But I think that they made a mistake in leaving the scooter segment completely. Contrary to expectation, the scooter segment has not died. It has only changed.

Chetak lost its identity some where during the nineties. What should be the future of the brand : no body knew. It was only in 2004 that company made any change in Chetak. In 1994 Bajaj introduced Classic another scooter with same style as Chetak, but failed.

Bajaj never was serious about product development. The R&D spent for a long time was a miniscule 1%. The average cycle time for the new product development was 4-5 years compared to 2-3 years of Japanese competitors.

Even after the opening up of economy, the scooter segment did not witness much competition.

The players like Vespa did not had much of success in this segment. Kinetic Honda managed to carve a niche with its gearless scooters. Another segment which was growing was the scooterette segment which was dominated by TVS scooty.

Bajaj never seriously looked at customer perception about Chetak. The product had serious problems like starting trouble and riding comfort. The " Tilting the chetak to the side for starting " was a common joke. Did the company do anything for that ? no

There was nothing wrong with the Promotion. " Hamara Bajaj " and " No one can beat a Bajaj " were famous base lines. There was nothing wrong with distribution and the pricing was very reasonable. The major problem was in the first P : Product.

So without addressing any problems regarding the product , can you expect the customer to buy the product ?

Bajaj was never a leader in technology ( now they are !!!). They never bothered to and paid the price . Had Chetak pioneered Electric start, had it provided more riding comfort, it could have survived.

Somebody have just beat the Bajaj........ the customer!

Bajaj avenger- Feel Like God

Brand : Bajaj Avenger
Company- Bajaj Auto Ltd
Agency : Lowe

Brand Analysis Count : 1

Bajaj Avenger was launched in 2005. The brand was the sibling of India's first cruiser bike - Bajaj Eliminator . Eliminator had a good start but the expensive price tag of Rs 92000 dampened the enthusiasm of majority of bikers.

More over Eliminator was underpowered with a 125 cc engine and the value conscious customers gave the product thumbs down. The launch of Yamaha Enticer also took some market away from Eliminator initially.

Taking a learning from Eliminator , Bajaj launched Avenger . Avenger can be termed as a rebranding for Eliminator. Avenger sported a 180 cc dtsi engine and came with an attractive price tag of Rs 60,000. The failure of Yamaha Enticer also made the category worth a try.


The new bike is positioned on the comfort platform. The brand comes with the tagline " Feel Like God ". The brand is promoted in both print and visual media. The basic brand premise is that you will feel like god when riding this bike. The big idea is from the insight that cruisers are powerful bikes meant for a laid-back comfort riding.

Cruisers are niche products. The category is virtually new in India. And Indian road and traffic conditions also are not favorable for cruisers. But the changing Indian consumers definitely points to a favorable market for cruisers. More than volume, cruisers also are great image boosters for the company. A successful cruiser can give a positive image boost for all other products from the company.

Avenger, priced at Rs 60000 is definitely attractive in terms of price. With that Bajaj tries to give more than just low price. The Pulsar engine ensures that Avenger has the power.Lack of power was behind the failure of Yamaha Enticer.

The ads of Avenger are well made and definitely motivates a bike enthusiasts to give a test ride.

Smart advertising works well only with good product : plain common sense isn't it? But this is often missed by all marketers. Hope the Avenger lives to the expectation and its customers feel like " god".

Otherwise customers will behave like " God", they will just kill the product.........

Key words: Advertising, Brand, Brand Management, Positioning

Revised on 21/05/02008