Micra is Nissan’s first major Indian offering.As a brand,Nissan is not unknown in india.People have seen Nissan cars around.With this latest offering,Nissan is set to become a household name(if micra becomes successful).

After the Figos and the Polos,India is all set to check out the new Nissan Micra.

In India,people tend to ask first up, how much will it cost ?

Micra is aggressively priced between Rs.3.98 lakh and Rs.5.29-lakh which is very competitive.Ford Figo,Volkswagen Polo,Maruti Swift would all feel the heat with this product.

Lets see what the product has to offer.

Equipped with multiple first-of-its-kind features including intelligent key with immobilizer, a push-button engine start-stop system and electric foldable mirror besides other safety and luxury features, Micra will come with 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine and available in three variants — entry model XE (Rs.3.98 lakh), mid-level XL (Rs.4.69-lakh) and top-end XV (Rs.5.29-lakh). Nissan Micra also promises fuel efficiency of 18.06 km a litre. The carmaker also announced a host of customer care and service schemes.

Both Petrol and Diesel versions would be launched(Diesel till end of the year).

Service is one area where they need to understand India very well.Fiat is still suffering due to that.

Ranbir Kapoor is the brand ambassador of the car.This came as a surprise as all the recent cars in the segment didnt go for any brand ambassador.Figo and Polo chose common people and their concerns as the base for their ads.In the past, Brand ambassadors like Shahrukh Khan(Santro),Abhishek Bachchan(Fiesta) have helped the brands become popular initially.

So can Ranbir Kapoor prove to be their best bet ?

Check out the ads

The other thing that Nissan is stressing on in their ads is the ‘Touch’ concept.The’ Touch’ concept seems to have got into everything these days.Touch phones,ipods,TV,PC and now a Car which can be started by a ‘Touch’.The concept seems cool though.

Outside Asia,the car is known as Nissan March.It has been a highly successful car for Nissan.I also went through its website http://nissanmicra.co.in/ .The website seems a bit primitive.It just lets you download a brochure and lets you apply for the car online.Nissan could have come up with a more comprehensive site in the initial days itself.

Overall,the product seems to be a winner.But let time decide its fate.

What Say ?

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The ads are customer oriented.Whenever a new car(or product) is launched a potential customer has a lot of unanswered questions in his mind.

What is the mileage ? What are the safety measures ? What are the specs ? What are the extra features in this car ?

Rather than just building a story around the car or concenterating on the name of the car or having a brand ambassador,Volkswagen have kept it straight.The ads just talk about features of the car and nothing else.The model used in the ad looks ordinary,simple and can represent the kind of target audience for Polo.The ads are funny and hit the right chord.

Volkswagen seems to have understood the indian market quite well and Polo seems to be their best bet.Volkswagen seems to be justifying its name well in india too.i.e. People’s Car.

Das Auto.

What Say ?

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Many a times when these giants launch cars in India they go for so called safe methods like hiring popular Brand Ambassadors(Ford did it with Fiesta when they brought Abhishek Bachchan) or they go with flashy zooming ads like what Chevrolet Beat did.But sometimes they miss the point that they need to CONNECT with the customer(read potential customer).They need to tell what the car is all about,what all features it has, etc etc.Figo seems to have hit the bull’s eye.

The ads are fresh,different and informative.Lets have a look

The ads are simple,uses a a boy and a girl(brother sister or a couple i cant say but it doesn’t even matter).The car is being shown as the part of the family with the help of its features whether it is its interior design,its AC or its big Boot Space.The background song is also very nice and has a soft feel to it.Ads have really started to feature good melodious songs off late.Coca Cola’s new ad also features a peppy hummable song in the background.

Ford Figo is not just marketing itself with these ads but they are associating themselves with a lot of TV programs,contests and  movies.

The car is being positioned as a smart car(a bit similar to Wagon R positioning but effective).The website is well made and showcases the car very well.They are also using the social media to market the product.

How effective would this excellent campaign prove to be ! Lets Wait !

What Say ?

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These trucks were good,served the purpose but were very basic.They served the purpose but that was it.They didn’t have their own bodies,just the chasis.The trucks were not very powerful.Many a times going on the highway,i remember seeing Trucks upturned due to the load.And when i used to see the trucks used in the other countries like US or European,i used to realize how old models were we using(The Fiat Effect).

But things might just change ! It should not take long.Mahindra’s and the TATA’s are coming with the new age trucks which are gonna change the way Indians perceive trucks

Just have a look at the new Mahindra Navistar

These trucks are result of a JV between M&M and Navistar Trucks(US).These trucks are good looking,well built and colorful.

As per the Mahindra website about Navistar

“Designed in India, Mahindra Navistar trucks are ready to outperform even in the most extreme Indian conditions. Capitalising on M&M’s 60 years of experience in India, our trucks are built to meet the challenges of India. And Navistar’s expertise in technology further powers up our capabilities. Hence, we have extremely application-friendly and highly customizable trucks, ready for the most difficult terrains, load conditions, business requirements and challenges.

There are 5 different types of trucks in the portfolio.M25 Tipper,M25,M31,M40 and M49 are different models as per various load and business requirements.The truck not only positions itself as a powerful,business truck but also communicates the comfort level associated with it.Adjustable Seats,Storage Space,Wide Windscreen etc are part of the product.

This was Mahindra’s side,now lets talk about TATA,the original truckers of India.TATA is the brand which has been associated with the Truck in india.The trucks shown in the beginning of the blog are also TATA Trucks.

TATA has realized that the old truck models have really got old now and needed to be replaced by the new ones.They have launched TATA Prima.

All these new trucks have power,comfort,business use and nice marketing to go with.Both the companies have dedicated websites for the brands.They have proper galleries with downloadable content.Proper specifications are given online.Online form to get to the customer are also available.

Both the companies are using Digital Ads to market the products.The trucks were also seen at the Delhi Auto Expo.Net is buzzing about them.

Both the companies seem to target the Business customer and enterprises as whole else how do you explain digital Google Ads.

I think we will see more of them in future in Business magazines,Eco times etc.

One more interesting thing to watch would how would they tackle each other in the competition.TATA would have an edge due to old association with trucks in India but Navistar is a global player so can be a tricky situation.

Right now we can’t comment on the actual success of these new age Indian trucks but one thing is sure that odds are in favour of these marvels.

These definitely would make Indian roads look much better and feel much safer.

India is arriving ?

What Say ?

© 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

In my last post on PAL,I had discussed how PAL had caused poor brand image for Fiat in India which is still bothering Fiat a lot.But what about PAL as a brand ?

Where were they ? What were they doing all these years ?

I don’t know about that but what we all know is that they are back with a mini-SUV called Rio.It was actually launched on Oct 28th but is yet to create a buzz on advertising space.I saw RiO’s Ad today in Bombay Times.

As per the website,The Premier RiO aims to cater to the segment between mid-size passenger cars and larger utility vehicles.

Looks wise Rio seems quite good,much better when compared to Premiers previous offerings.

Now,we already have many SUV’s in India from Indian as well as international players like Maruti,Toyota,Hyundai,Chevrolet.Almost every car company operating in India has a SUV of its own.

So why Premier chose this segment to make a comeback ?

They could have come up with a car,but then bloggers like me would have written there are so many cars around so why PAL is coming up with a car why not a SUV.This is what exactly they are doing.

Rio is not a regular big expensive SUV.Its in the league of Maruti Gypsy.After Maruti has stopped thinking or advertising about gypsy,there was a kind of a void in that mini SUV segment which RiO might just fill.

Rio base model would cost about 5 lakhs and upper model would be about 7 lakhs.

Rio would not only compete with the other SUVs but also many passenger cars in the same segment.A guy who buys a swift for Rs 5 lakh or so may also want to have a look at RiO.

RiO seems to be a good bet.It has not been able to create much buzz till now but may be when PAL is just playing the wait and watch game as the advertising has not been extensive.

But one question still arises which is would people ignore PAL’s poor brand image and service and its inability to handle competition in the past.

What Say ?

© 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

Mahindra 2 Wheelers(Business Unit) has 3 products in its stable.Flyte being the third apart from the above two.

Mahindra had actually acquired Kinetic in 2008.Flyte was originally a Kinetic product which has been retained.I liked the Rodeo ad very much.The rodeo has been positioned as a power scooter.It is shown as an alternative to a motorcycle which is assumed to be powerful.

A few years back scooters were the obvious choice in India but the things changed when Bikes became the favorites Honda Activa and few other scooterettes could only survive.Honda is the clear market leader right now with about 60% market share and there is no clear number 2 in the scooter market which is set to grow in coming years(scooter market in India is expected to grow more than 25% in the next 3-5 years).With Mahindra coming into the picture the things might become interesting.

To further check the 3 product offerings,i visited the Mahindra 2 wheelers website.After browsing through all the three products i was confused.

Just have a look at the picture below which i created from their website(click to enlarge in a new window).

There is no major difference in any of the offerings as far as engine,CC,Horse Power or torque is concerned.The price range is also the same. In fact Duro and Flyte are very very nearly priced.All 3 are gearless.

Now after browsing a bit more for the products i found that there are some minor differences in the  features.

So the Main difference is the Positioning.

Rodeo is positioned as the Power Scooter.Duro is positioned as all season,all in one scooter with a tagline,”Chale apne dum(power) par”.Whereas Mahindra has no ad for Flyte as such but Kinetic positioned it as a good powerful scooter for females.Bipasha Basu was the brand ambassador for it.So Flyte is a scooter for females.See the Rodeo Commercial here or in the  TV Ads Showcase.

So the technical specifications are more or less same and the shapes and features are also quite similar,so what was the need for three different brands? Rodeo or Flyte alone could have done it ?

Can just Positioning your products differently (without actual product differences ) enough to take on the market ?

Now when we think about the above two questions one more brand comes to my mind i.e. Maruti.Maruti also have done something similar over the years.Swift,Estilo,Wagon R,Ritz all are more or less similar.Alto and 800 were a bit different in power and price.

This is called Line Filling in marketing terms.When a firm lengthen its product line by adding more items within the present range,it is known as Line Filling.
Why a company go for line filling ? Won’t it cause brand cannibalization ?
The reasons companies go for line filling are Incremental Profits,Satisfy Dealers who complain about lost sales because of missing items in the line,Utilize existing capacity,try to become a full-line company or try to plug holes to keep the competitors away.

Does Mahindra really need to do this ? Or what else can be the reason for 3 similar products in the same price range ?

Can Positioning alone help without actual product differences ?

What Say ?

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

Royal Enfield started as a British Brand of motorcycles in 1890.In 1955 Enfield of India started assembling Bullet motorcycles under licence from UK components, and by 1962 were manufacturing complete bikes. The original company dissolved in 1971, but Enfield of India, based in Chennai, continued, and bought the rights to use the Royal Enfield name in 1995. Royal Enfield production continues, and now Royal Enfield is the oldest motorcycle company in the world still in production and Bullet is the longest production run model.

India was basically a scooter market few years back.Last few years have changed the way people see and perceive bikes.India is now seeing a trend of 150 cc or above bike segments,but Bullet was always present with the ranges of 250 cc,350 cc and 500 cc bikes.

Many bike lovers across India saw this bike as a cult.Now when the Indian bike market has evolved and come of age,then this is the time,Bullet should re-establish itself.This is what they are exactly doing these days.

They recently are coming in news for all good reasons.

Royal Enfield said it will invest over Rs65 crore in the next three years to double production capacity to one lakh units.

The Chennai-based company, which has been expanding its export markets, also said it expects overseas sales to more than double over the next five years.

Also yesterday I saw an ad in Brand Equity

Its a kind of Ad that can start conversations.A fresh approach to establish the brand as Cult.The tagline is great ‘Leave Home’(on a bullet).

I also visited the website and found that Royal enfield are bringing the Classic Version of Bullet back.The classic version is based on the famous original Bullet of 1950′s.

Also on the website,there are lot of communities,Blogs,Trip Stories,forums which establishes Bullet as a cult brand in its own league.

The site looks quite like Harley Davidson site.Now with Harley Davidson actually coming to India,Bullet has a hidden opportunity.The cruise bikes would gain popularity and Bullet would be an obvious choice for people who would not be able to afford a Harley.Also,There are a lot of bikes in 200- 250 cc segments that are being launched in India so people will now look upto Bullet for a Flashy Big high CC Bike.

I belong to Punjab and have seen whole of my life that What Bullet means there.Bullet is a tradition in Punjab.People flaunt it,People aspire it.Bullet is truly a Cult brand in Punjab and also other interiors of India.This is amazing how a Chennai based brand has achieved a cult status in Punjab.Bullet needs to leverage this to establish it as a big Cult brand in whole of the India.

Bullet also sponsors many trips in India in which it provides Bikes for the Trip and Branded T-Shirts too.One of my friends had an experience of such a trip.Bullet also organizes a 16 day Royal Enfield Himalayan Odyssey every year.These all exercises can take Brand to new heights,the Cult Height .

The main problem with Bullet was the price.A normal Bullet costs about 80 K.But with new bikes coming at similar price tags Bullet has nothing to lose.

I personally admire Bullet and have decided to buy one after my MBA.

There is a saying about Bullet,”Once you ride a Bullet,You don’t ride any other bike! ” I am sure its true.

What Say ?

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

I still remember the lyrics of this ad by heart.

Hamara Bajaj (Old)

This ad is close to everyones heart.Bajaj had a monopoly in 2 wheeler markets at this time.And Chetak was every one’s choice .But then things changed and other players started to come.

The Indian consumer preferences changed and Bikes came into the picture.Hero Honda kept on rising at a good rate.Bajaj felt the heat.The Bajaj’s also launched their own bikes with KB 100(Kawasaki) in 1986.

Then 4S champion,Boxer and Caliber followed.Meanwhile they also brought out their 4 stroke scooter Legend.

In 2001 a new ad was launched by Bajaj which not only showed their diverse product range but also had a touch of modernity telling that they are changing and adapting.

The core values were kept same,Hamara Bajaj was still there.The brand personality was made a bit modern but with all emotional and indian values intact.

Bajaj-2001

2001 was not only the year of this ad but also the the year of a new dawn, a new bajaj.2001 saw the launch of Pulsar,which changed the way ,Indians looked at bikes.CBZ was launched by Hero Honda in 1999,which showed there was an untapped market in india for performance bikes.

Pulsar was launched successfully with ‘Definitely Male’ campaign.Bajaj didnt go for Hamara Bajaj tagline for Pulsar.

Its a Boy !

Till 2007,Bajaj kept on growing in the bike segment as did the indian market as such.Scooters were a thing of past’.Chetaks,Vespas,Priyas all were out of indian roads.Only scooters like Activa survived.

Then came 2007,Bajaj repositioned itself from ‘Hamara Bajaj’ to ‘Distinctly Ahead’.

Distinctly Ahead comprised of three core values Speed, Innovation and Perfection.

The “Distinctly Ahead” vision was communicated through the all new “Hamara Bajaj” commercial. A break from the past, the communication was fast paced and aggressive and symbolized all that Bajaj Auto stood for. With one 220 Pulsar DTS-Fi’s morphing into many other Pulsar 220′s and racing against each other, the visualization and lyrics – “Alag Andaaz, Alag hai khoj, Rakhe Aage, Hamari soch” – clearly conveyed that Bajaj sets its own standards and competes only with itself.

Conceptualized by Mr. R. Balki, National Creative Director, Lowe this memorable commercial went on air on the 27 th June 2007.

Watch the end of the Ad,where the new logo and the tagline is unleashed.The ad keeps the Hamara Bajaj theme.

Till here the transition seemed smooth but now Bajaj has totally ended the Hamara Bajaj thing and are totally stuck to ‘Distinctly Ahead’ theme.
All the subsequent ads and communications are based on the D A theme.
Now personally speaking i didnt like totally foregoing the HAMARA BAJAJ theme.Change is inevitable but why we have to change so much that the old heritage is forgotten.
Same has been done by Onida and Videcon.Hamara Bajaj had a heritage of about 12 years.Suddenly it was replaced by Distinctly Ahead.

Few of my friends gave a presentation on Bajaj, They made a very interesting comment about the new logo of Bajaj.They said they asked few people about the new logo of Bajaj.Many told that the new logo looks like a Bluetooth logo or the rotated Volkswagen logo.See the image below for the resemblance.

Such things can matter in long run but never mind.

Bajaj has made India proud.Pulsar not only sells in India like hot cake but also in many other countries especially Indonesia,Malaysia etc.

Bajaj has come a long way from Chetak to Pulsar and Hamara Bajaj to Distinctly Ahead.

What Say?

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.

FIAT has had a very strange relationship with India.We all do remember the Premier Padmini which was on roads till 2000.Even today majority of the TAXI’s in Mumbai are Padmini.

Premier Padmini is a word that sounds a little lesser known and lesser recognized.Many would think,Which Padmini,Which premier car is he talking about ? Now when i say majority of the TAXIs in Mumbai are FIATs it makes a lot more sense.

Both sentences are somewhat true.In India,a company named Premier Automobiles Limited(PAL) started making a version of FIAT cars in India.In 1951, they began producing versions of the Fiat 500 for the Indian market. This was followed by the Fiat 1100 in 1954. In 1973, the Premier name was used on their vehicles for the first time, the Premier President, based on the Fiat 1100 as Premier Padmini. In 1978, they launched the Fiat 124-based Premier 118 and 138D models.Over the years,Premier Padmini could not establish its brand and the car was always referred to as FIAT in public.Decades went by but the name and main design of the car didn’t change at all. For decades ,the car came to be known by FIAT and just FIAT.Many people knew that this infact is padmini made by an Indian company on some FIAT’s design.But in Pre-Liberalized India,this was the king.

I even found a print ad of Premier Padmini.

Things changed when FIAT actually came to India post liberalization,They entered India with FIAT UNO in 1996 with PAL as partners but things didn’t work out as  PAL delivered just 617 cars  out of 30000 ordered.Then in 1997 they again launched it with a JV with TATA Motors.

The problem with FIAT was that the image that people had of FIAT was the Premier Padmini.That image refused to go away.I remember when i was a kid even i used to think that way.

FIAT tried hard in Indian markets,but Indians had moved on with Maruti and were apprehensive about  FIAT and its image of the old FIAT 1100 (the 19 50′s Italian model which we see even today on Indian roads).

Even then UNO picked up well.The Uno was initially a success in India, but then it faded badly due to poor dealer support.

Here comes the reason where the case becomes a lot more curious.

One of my friends went to a TATA  Showroom to enquire about Punto.After some talk about FIAT cars,the salesman suggested him TATA Safari and Indigo instead.FIAT and TATA Motors have common showrooms at major  places.So this is a problem,a big one.

In India FIAT has two major problems

1) The old brand image made by Premier Padmini is still stuck in the mind of people.

2) Problem with partners at the actual touch point and service centers.

The first point is fading with cars like  Punto,Linea coming out of FIAT Stable,but what about point number 2.This reason is actually acting against FIAT and many consumers are shying away from FIAT due to it.

Now FIAT is totally dependent on TATA for Sales ,Service and Spares.This is a point where FIAT needs to more inclusive.They cant allow this to be their weak point in India.

There are 11 companies in India in passenger car segment.With Maruti having 60% of market share,things are tough for the other 10 companies.

Things are improving for FIAT as the sales are improving for them but the above two points really need to be sorted out.

What Say ?

UPDATE : The Premier in the above post has recently come in news for their new SUV.Premier RIO is the name of the SUV.

© 2009 – 2010, TMSBee. All rights reserved.