Yo bykes : Ab Rasta Hai Mere Pass

Brand : Yo Bykes
Company : Indus Electro-trans ( Electrotherm)
Agency : Canvas Communications

Brand Analysis Count : 373

Yo Bykes is the first electric Scooter to be launched in Indian market. Launched in 2006, this brand is a market leader in the Rs 500 crore electric scooter market in India. Yo is from Indus Electrotrans which is a division of Electrotherm India which is a major player in the foundry and steel industry.

When electric bikes & scooters were launched in India during 2006, there were lot of expectations about this category. The rising fuel prices , air pollution , growing concern about environment provided enough opportunity for such a product. The rising fuel costs were the most significant factor behind the growth of this category.

Yo Bykes rode on the back of the higher fuel prices. Electric scooters are dirt cheap to run compared to petrol vehicles. Compare the cost of Rs 50 for 500 km for electric scooters to Rs 50 per 60 km for petrol scooters.

Besides the advantage in running costs, electric scooters had also another advantage .There is no need for license or registration for certain variants. According to Indian rules, those vehicles which are powered by engine less than 250 watts and has the maximum speed less than 25 kmph do not need license.

Yo Bykes launched the first scooter in this category branded as Yo Smart.

The electric scooters gained rapid consumer attention across the country. The market saw the evolution of a new category . In 2007, the electric two wheelers sales was around 10,000 units thus taking 10% share in the two wheeler industry.

These figures attracted lot of players into the market. Most of the bicycle marketers ventured into this segment. Even large companies like TVS and Bajaj began to view this segment seriously.

TVS felt that electric scooters was a major threat to its Scooty brand. It proactively launched the electric version of Scooty to counter this threat.

How ever, the euphoria over electric scooters could not sustain its initial momentum. The sales peaked when there is a fuel price hike but then it is back to low volumes.

The main issue was the power of the vehicles. The standard electric scooters were severely underpowered. This was because of two reasons. To sell scooters that do not need registration, the power had to be kept low. Another reason was that when power was increased, the fuel efficiency will come down.

To counter this issue, Yo bykes launched another variant Yo Speed which was having an engine output of 750 watts . This was the first scooter to get the approval of Automotive Research Association of India. But these high powered scooters had a price equivalent to the petrol scooters.

Even after two years of launch, electric scooters have not been able to give a threat to its petrol competitors. These brands still occupy a niche rather than becoming the mainstream category.

All brands of electric scooters including Yo is positioned on the basis of its fuel efficiency. Although fuel efficiency is an important attribute for a consumer, it is not a determinant variable for purchase of a scooter.

Due to the lack of power, these electric scooters does not appeal to men. And many would also use scooters to travel with family, e-scooters is definitely not a choice in such a scenario.

Most of the customers for this category are ladies and self -employed men who travel short distances. The common perception is that e-scooters are like underpowered scooterettes. Although the running cost is low, the cost of ownership is at par with the ordinary scooters. There is also a yearly recurring cost for the replacement of battery. So when a customer does his mental accounting, electric scooters' fuel advantage is not compelling enough.

So will electric scooters replace petrol scooters ?
No.
Then what is the future of electric scooters ?

The current differentiation of electric scooters on fuel efficiency will work only for certain segments of consumers. Yobykes have to find some other interesting propositions for the consumers to opt for such scooters.

Rather than competing with mainstream scooters, e-scooters should expoit multiple niches.

These scooters are excellent option aiming at students and pre-teens. It could be the First Scooter for everyone..

Another small niche are those environment conscious segment which are growing but now a very small one. Yo can partner with NGOs for a cleaner environment thus promoting the concept of such scooters.
Rather than focusing on fuel efficiency , YoBykes should be able to provide reasons for customers to chose an underpowered scooter. Otherwise, the brand will be highly dependent on the whims and fancies of OPEC 's oil barons.

Brand Update : Ford Ikon

After nine years of Joshful existence, Ford has relaunched Ikon. Ford Ikon has been given a new life, a new look, a new engine and a new positioning.

Last November, Ford Ikon was relaunched with a Dura Torq TDCI diesel engine. The brand was earlier available in petrol only . The diesel version of Ikon will appeal to the consumers who worry about the fuel prices.

Besides the diesel engine , Ford Ikon also sports a new look and spruced up interiors.

The positioning also have changed. The Ikon now ceases to be a Josh Machine. The brand has replaced its " iconic " tagline "Josh Machine " with a new tagline " Sensible Bhi, Crazy Bhi "

Watch the new campaign here : Ford Ikon

I was a big fan of the Josh Machine tagline. It was a simple but a very effective positioning statement. It reflected everything that the brand stands for.

It is true that the brand has become older and dated. The brand needed new energy. But the new campaign is definitely anything but Josh. The idea is old and the execution average.

One of the reasons why Ford Ikon's position deteriorated in the market was because the brand never reinvented itself. There was not much happening with the brand . The brand off late became complacent in promotions. There was no campaign which was worth remembering in the last 5 years. The brand could have kept the energy by constantly promoting itself. But Ford adopted a strategy of milking this brand without investing much on the promotions.

If you ask any one about Josh Machine, you will never get a wrong answer. The brand and the tagline was heavily associated and remembered. If this tagline has to be replaced, the brand should have replaced it with an equally powerful positioning statement. "Sensible Bhi, Crazy Bhi " is nothing but a boring tagline. The brand also just lost its core positioning of a sporty car.

Remember that there is no other Indian car brand which is positioned as a Josh Machine. By forgoing such a powerful statement, Ikon has just lost its Josh.
Related Brand
Ford Ikon

Brand Update : Toyota Innova

Innova which created the luxury MPV segment in 2005 has reinvented itself . This January , Toyota launched a refurbished version of Innova. The new Innova has a new front bumper and have a sporty look . The interiors have also been spruced up.

Since its launch in 2005, the brand had a dream run. According to domain-b website, Toyota has sold over 1,60,000 units since its launch. The brand have a market share of over 36 percent in the segment.
The brand virtually ruled the premium segment without much competition. The brand also had the exemplary Toyota quality which created a benchmark for future competition.

The relaunch of Innova is a pre-emptive strategy by Toyota because of the recent launch of Mahindra Xylo. Toyota knew that Xylo can be a dangerous competitor. The simple fact that Mahindra shook the SUV market with Scorpio makes it a worthy comeptitor for Toyota.

So as a market leader, Innova had to respond to competition. I am impressed with the speed in which Innova reacted to Xylo launch. According to reports, the MPV segment witnessed a degrowth in 2008. Mahindra is expected to bring consumer interest back to the segment. The pricing and the quality of Xylo is reported to be good enough to give Innova a tough year ahead.

The degrowth of MPV segment is due to the lazy marketing by Innova. Innova also became laid back last year in terms of promotions and product improvements. The brand shot into limelight through some classy adverting featuring Aamir Khan. Later Aamir was dropped and Innova went into silence. There was just one campaign for Innova in 2008.

Although the MPV segment have few intra-segment competition, they compete with other segments. Hence the high profile launches of premium cars in other segments will have its effect on Innova.
In my personal opinion , consumers in India evaluate products across segments while making a decision. So a consumer may look at Scorpio and Skoda together and then make a choice. Hence when all other brands are making noise, Innova lost many customers because of its laid-back promotions.

Xylo has really warmed up this brand and Innova has responded early to the competition. The brand does not have much issues on the product side but there is an issue in the promotional side. The brand really needs a heavy dose of promotions to retain its glory.

I am sure that Innova may be missing Aamir Khan......

Related brand

Innova

Brand Update : Tata Safari

Tata Safari has launched a new TVC which further reinforces the " Reclaim your Life " campaign.

Watch the tvc here : Tata Safari

The ad asks a very pertinent question " when you look back in life, what would you remember?" and ends with the tagline - Reclaim your life.

Some of the factors which I liked about this ad was the
Catchy Phrases
Cool Music and
Exotic Locales

Its also interesting to note that the company was bold enough to show the product only at the last shot. That too for a very very small time.
I remember a report on afaqs about the same strategy used for the launch ad for Linea ( read the article here ). The article talks about the usual practice of advertisers using the long drawn product shots and using the entire airtime displaying the product and how the agency convinced Fiat to break this tradition.

It take lots of courage and persuasion to convince the client that some times it is better not to show too much of the product.

Tata Safari should be appreciated for being consistent in their positioning strategy. The brand has been reinforcing the same message but at the same time coming out with fresh ideas about reclaiming the life.

Related Brand

Tata Safari

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

Tata Xenon XT : Fits No Label

Brand : Xenon XT
Company : Tata Motors
Agency : O&M

Brand Analysis Count : 384

While the debate is still raging over whether recession is the best time to launch new products, Tata Motors have launched a brand new vehicle Tata Xenon XT. What is interesting is that Xenon is not only a new product but it is trying to create a new segment as well.

Tata Xenon XT is a Lifestyle Pickup Truck. For Indians , the concept of a lifestyle pickup truck is entirely new. Pickup trucks are heavily associated with cargo. According to livemint website, in 2007-08 around 1,25,000 pickup trucks were sold.

The concept of lifestyle pickup trucks is directly imported from the western market. I have seen in Hollywood movies where families driving around in pickup trucks ( remember movie Twister ?) especially when they have a farm or when they love offroading.

It is not the first time that Tata Motors is experimenting with the concept of lifestyle pickup trucks. In 2005, the company had launched the same kind of product Tata TL 4x4. But the product bombed owing to the steep pricing of around 10 lakhs.

The current Xenon was debuted in the Bologna Motorshow in 2006. The brand shares the same platform as the Sumo Grande. Before being launched in India, Tata Motors has been selling this vehicle in Thailand, Saudi,Algeria, Italy etc.

The critical marketing issues with Xenon XT are two ? Need and Positioning.

The first issue is whether there is a need for such a product in the Indian market. The brand is aiming at those customers who love offroading and are in need of a pickup vehicle. The rich farmers of Punjab and those guys who love hunting and adventure are the potential customers for this product. The hardworking, fun loving entrepreneurs who love to sweat and enjoy the wild fits the label for this product.

How ever the question still lingers whether the product is ahead of its time ? Are the Indian consumers ready for a cross-over product like Xenon. The pricing of the product is also steep at Rs 7 - 10 lakhs where it will be competing with its brother Tata Safari and the highly successful Scorpio.

The second issue is the positioning.

Indian consumers has never seen a product like this. Hence the task of establishing the points of parity is crucial. One of the steps in establishing POP for an entirely new product is to establish the category membership . Since the consumers have not seen such a product before, the brand should first establish a reference point for the consumers. It has to tell the consumer that the product belongs to a certain category.

This is where Xenon has a challenge. Tata Motors in their press release itself have mentioned that creating a reference point for Xenon is the major challenge. I would say that the success of Xenon will depend largely on establishing the right category membership.

For a product that tries to create a new category, the marketers try to establish the category membership first and then try to do a break-away positioning from its root category. If the category membership is wrong, then the break away strategy will never work.
A classic case of break away positioning is seen in the Swatch brand. The brand wanted to create a new category watches. So Swatch first established its membership in the fashion accessory category and not in the watch category. Then it created the break away positioning as a " watch accessory".

What the advertising agency has done for Xenon is one of the most risky strategy in establishing a new category. It has not tried to establish the category membership. Instead of establishing membership in a category ( SUV or Pickup truck), the brand has left it to the consumers to decide the category to which Xenon belongs.

In the first print ad for this brand, Xenon has adopted the tagline - "Fits No Label ". That means that neither the agency nor the company is sure about the category membership and it is leaving this responsibility to the consumers.

History has shown us that leaving this task to consumer is dangerous. In branding text books, you can find the classic case of Motorola Envoy which failed because it did not defined its competitive frame of reference. Envoy was the first personal digital assistant (PDA) product that the consumers have seen. Envoy did not have all the functionality of a laptop but had more functions than an organizer,. But the brand never bothered to establish a category membership.
The brand never defined itself and consumers could not understand the exact category that the product belonged to. Consumers was confused and the product failed. While the competitor Palm Pilot which established itself in the Electronic Organizer category acheived considerable success. ( reference : Strategic Brand Management by Keller).

When we leave this task of reference point to the consumer, the consumer is free to put this product in any of the category. By the look of the vehicle, there are chances that consumers will put Xenon as a pickup truck. If they do so, then Xenon will face the issue that Tata TL faced-Consumers unwilling to pay Rs 9 Lakhs for a pickup.

I think that in the current scenario, Xenon should not associate itself with the truck category. It should have the membership in the offroader /SUV category because trucks never are associated with luxury and comfort in India. I would love this vehicle to fill the gap that Maruti Gypsy left. So Xenon should be a Luxury Jeep and not a truck.

Xenon have the biggest USP of being heavily customisable . The consumer have the option of a large number of accessories like bed-liner,canopy, boot lid etc. It is powered by Dicor engine and comes with SUV accessories.

Tata Motors have in a way messed up its positioning for Xenon during the launch itself . All the news about Xenon has already labeled it as a pickup truck. It has to be seen whether Indian consumers will accept the concept of a luxury pickup truck.

Brand Update : Tata Nano

After a long and treacherous journey, Tata Motors have finally launched Tata Nano. No other product had such an excitement in the Indian market as Nano. And no other product had to face those hardships that this brand had to face.

Although the brand has been officially launched, consumers may not be able to get hold of Nano anytime soon. The first car is expected to be delivered only in June and the company will be able to meet the entire consumer demand only in a phased manner.

Nano now comes in three variant. The basic version is the One Lakh car and there are two upgrades. The basic version will cost around Rs 1,30000 on Road and the premium version will cost around Rs 1,80,000.

Nano is a special brand. It is a brand that symbolises an entrepreneurial dream. It is also a brand that symbolises determination , hardwork and innovation.

With the launch, Nano also have its tagline " Now You Can " derived from the famous campaign of Barack Obama. The new tagline symbolises the brand's promise of an affordable car for the masses.

Nano also gives a very valuable lesson to the marketers. It shows that low cost does not necessarily mean a 'cheap ' car. Nano suprised many with its stylish look, spacious interiors and a good quality drive. All these comes with a very low cost.

Usually when we think about a low-cost product that is targeting the lower rung of the consuming class, the focus is more on functionality and compromises. The resultant product is a poorly designed functional product with rugged look and zero aesthetics.

Professor CK Prahlad famously remarked in the book " Fortune at the Bottom of Pyramid " that the consumers at the bottom of pyramid wants an affordable product and not a cheap low quality product.

Many Indian consumers irrespective of social class is going to buy this car because it is a very good looking , highly functional car and not because it is a cheap car.

Tata Nano also gives the marketer a golden key to tide over the recession. Come out with a product that catches the imagination of the consumers.


Related Brand
Tata Nano

Studds Helmets : Safety and Style

Brand : Studds

Company : Studds Accessories Ltd

Brand Analysis Count : 391

Studds is a brand that brings back memories of my two wheeler days. I hated helmets and I bet most of the youngsters do hate helmets. It is a glamour killer. What is the use of having an expensive bike and a handsome face when what those chicks will see is the dark full faced Red Helmet ???

My first helmet purchase was a grudge purchase. One fine morning, Kerala Government had a revealation that its citizen's head was very important. Government decided to  " enforce " the helmet rule and a fine of Rs 500 or more ( depending on the value of the head !) were to be imposed on those who chose to ride two wheelers without helmets.

There was a frantic run for helmets. At one point of time, there was a shortage of helmets and we guys had to play hide and seek with the traffic police who were determined to keep the keralites head safe. Those smart ones bought fake helmets from roadside and put ISI sticker on it. Some even used Cricket helmets to fool the cops.

The helmet game had been a regular feature in our state for a while. Government keep on enforcing and relaxing helmet rules in the state. Last year there was a directive that even the pillion riders should have helmets. This move created an uproar among the lady pillion riders who felt that their hair-style would now have to be at the mercy of their helmets. 

Having said that , majority of fatalities involving two wheelers is caused by head injuries . Helmets definitely is a life saver and I am of the opinion that the helmet rule should be enforced.

Studds is a major player in the helmet market in India . The Helmet market is estimated to be around Rs 200 crore but 85 % of the market belong to the unorganized segment. Studds is a major player in the organized helmet market in India.

Rs 200 crore seems to be a very small size compared to the size of our two wheeler market. India sells about 6 mn two wheelers in an year and that is a huge market for helmets. Helmet marketers are not able to tap this huge market .

One reason for that is the enforcement of the helmet rule across the country. Helmets are compulsory for two wheeler riders as per the Central Motor Vehicles Act Section 129. But this is not enforced in most of the states. 

The second reason is the lack of marketing effort on the part of helmet marketers to create an awareness among the riders about the need for helmets. Even in the states where the helmet rules are enforced, riders use helmets only to evade the cops. Hence they buy sub-standard helmets and put the ISI sticker on it. The helmet marketer are still dependent on the government to make the rule strict so that they can sell helmets without much effort.

It is in this context that Studds brand becomes interesting. Studds brand came into existence in 1970. The founder of this brand was Mr Ravi Khurana who was an R&D Head at Escorts at that time. He witnessed a fatal accident involving several of his colleagues during a test ride which prompted him to start a helmet manufacturing unit. 

Ironically in 1999, the group split into two and the Studds brand now rests with Studds Accessories Ltd and Ravi Kurana had to start a new company Ergo .

Studds is a well known and well respected brand in the industry. Without much advertising, Studds built a brand through positive word of mouth. The brand had a high perception of being a high quality helmet. It was able to charge a premium because of this thrust on quality.

Compared to other brand, Studds also was innovative interms of designs. My last helmet was Studds Ninja which I bought because of the stylish design.

Studds is not without competition. It faces competition from brands like Aerostar, AVG, Vega and host of local players. India is also witnessing the emergence of a new segment of premium helmets.

The single reason why the helmet market has not grown in value terms is the laid back marketing behavior of helmet makers. Despite being an important accessory, seldom we see any ad campaign from helmet marketers. No road shows or sponsoring of helmet-awareness campaigns. The marketers are still banking on the free lunch offered through enforcement of helmet rules by governments.

It is true that helmet is a messy accessory. It is heavy, it spoils the hair, it has to be carried around and unless you have an accident you seldom realizes its use. But it is a life saver for the biker. Every other excuse becomes irrelevant when it comes to the matter  of life and death.

It would have been wonderful if the helmet marketers come togther to increase the awareness and importance of helmet wearing among the riders. Studds could have done far better if it had invested heavily in brand building .

It is also interesting to note why two wheeler marketers have missed this opportunity for selling their own brand of helmets . 

All the marketers are waiting for the natural process of emerging segments which are conscious about the use of helmets. But in my opinion it is marketing laziness at its best.

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

Kinetic Honda : RIP (1972-2008)

Brand : Kinetic Honda
Company : Kinetic


Brand Analysis Count : 406

Kinetic is another sad Indian brand story. The brand which was once synonymous with Luna and gearless scooters is no more.

Kinetic as a corporate brand is not dead but Kinetic as a scooter brand has been laid to rest in 2008 after the take over by Mahindra & Mahindra.

Kinetic was born in 1972 with the launch of Kinetic Luna which became a generic name for Mopeds in the country. Later in 1985, Kinetic formed a joint venture with Honda to manufacture scooters in India. The company then launched India's first gearless scooter KH 100 which became a run away success in India.

Kinetic Honda was a premium scooter in its brighter days. I would say that this was the brand that gave the ladies in India - the luxury of travel.

Since the scooter was ungeared, Kinetic Honda became the favorite mode of transportation for the women folks. The scooter was reasonable for city use and ladies loved it. So despite the high price, the sales was rocketing like anything. The product was not really good. The engine was unresponsive and mileage was bad. But people loved it because it was ungeared and had an electric start.

Somewhere down the lane, things started to go wrong for Kinetic Honda. Kinetic Honda was limited by their JV Partner to focus only on Mopeds and Scooters. Since Honda had another JV with the Hero Group ( Hero Honda), Kinetic could not enter these markets. At one stage the competition became intense in the moped and scooter segment. TVS with their Scooty carved as significant chunk of Kinetic Honda's market share.

The joint-venture between Kinetic ( Firodia Group) and Honda faltered during 1998. Honda wanted to buy out Kinetic , but Firodia was not willing to sell stake ( Read a report here). Finally the JV ended with Honda exiting the venture.

The exit of Honda was a huge blow for the brand . The consumers were sceptic about the quality issues since everyone knew that Kinetic Honda 's main USP was its technology from Honda.
Kinetic Motors was not affected by the exit of Honda. Infact, the company became more aggressive after this break up.

The issue with Kinetic scooters was more than the Joint venture. The brand had its issues with Product , Price and Promotions.
Regarding the ungeared scooter segment, Kinetic Honda was never successful with its new products or upgradings. It is said that in automobile segment, 90% of success depends on the product and rest is in other marketing mix elements. Hence if the product is very good, then the chances of success is very high.

Kinetic was unlucky in this front. The brand was not myopic or complacent. Infact I was surprised at the number of products this company has launched over these years. The brand was working on new products but somehow the products was not successful in the market.

For example, in 1996-97, the company launched its scootterette Kinetic Pride but was withdrawn because the pillion ride was not comfortable. In 1997, the company launched a powerful scooter Marvel but the product failed in the market. In 1998, Kinetic launched its Y2K complaint version of Kinetic Honda. In 2002, the company launched Kinetic Nova and Kinetic Zing but both were not big hits.

After the split up with Honda, Kinetic ventured into motorcylce manufacturing and launched Kinetic Challenger in 2002. In 2003, the company stunned the auto world by launching 4 models at one go. Kinetic launched Kinetic Boss, GF170, City and Kinetic Velocity.

Again in 2003, Kinetic launched India's most expensive bike Aquila priced at Rs 1.15 lakh. The brand was launched in collaboration with Hyosang Motors. Surprisingly Aquila was well received by Indian consumers. But Kinetic was complacent in projecting Aquila as its flagship offering. Rather it played cold to the demand from the market and did not pursue the opportunity.

Despite doing these , Kinetic failed in gaining momentum in the Indian market. The nail in the coffin came when Honda launched its own scooter Activa.

If you look at the failure of Kinetic Honda, one of the reason was the price. While Kinetic Honda was ruling the market, consumers were willing to pay a higher price . But Kinetic continued its high price without giving additional value to the consumers. After the exit of Honda , the core product - Kinetic scooter never got any better. Kinetic also priced its new brands Nova and Marvel aggressively thus putting off consumers. Consumers never wanted to pay a high price for a brand which was yet to demonstrate its technical superiority on its own. The brand could have developed a product that convinced the consumers that Kinetic could stand on its own. TVS did that with its Victor and improved upon its image through Apache. But Kinetic never had such a product to showcase.

Kinetic failed in its motorcycle venture for the same reasons. The products had its own flaws and Kinetic was not aggressive in marketing its products convincing the customers that they are not just scooter makers. May be the brand tried too much in a short period of time.

The story of Kinetic did not end like that. During late 2000, the brand tried to make a come back by launching designer scooters under Italliano range. But again , the brand faltered in delivering world class product.The final product from Kinetic was Kinetic Flyte which got rave reviews from auto reviewers.

Kinetic is not a sad story . In 2008, Firodias decided to sell the scooter business to Mahindra & Mahindra. Soon after the take over, Mahindra decided to drop " Kinetic " brand from the products. That was the end of an era.

Kinetic group is still running strong with its businesses in automotive parts and is a leading supplier to Tata Motor's Nano project.

For consumers, the death of Kinetic is a death of an era. It is sad to see a home grown brand dying because it could not catch the pulse of the market and develop unique technology on its own.

Suzuki GS 150 : Drive Me Crazy

Brand : Suzuki GS 150
Company : Suzuki Motors
Agency :RK Swamy

Brand Analysis Count : 407

Suzuki Motors entered the two wheeler market in 1982 through a joint venture with TVS and launched their first two wheeler Ind Suzuki in 1984. Ind Suzuki was a success in the Indian market. After a rocky relationship, TVS and Suzuki parted ways in 2002.

Suzuki re-entered Indian market in 2006 with two brands Zeus and Heat . But both these brands failed to make a mark in the market.

2009 is witnessing another attempt by Suzuki to grab a pie of the two wheeler market. Suzuki recently launched a 150 cc motorcycle Suzuki GS 150. The 150 cc bike which is priced at around Rs 60000 is trying its luck in the highly competitive Executive bike segment.

As discussed in my other posts on automotive brands, the success of the brand is dependent heavily on product quality than anything else. Brands like Activa has proved that product performance is the best possible advertising.

How ever in the case of brands like Suzuki and Yamaha, brand promotion is of utmost importance because of the peculiar situations they are facing.

Suzuki is the market leader in four wheeler segment but it is surprising that the brand has failed miserably in replicating its success in the two wheeler market.
There are two reasons for this failure. The first reason is that Suzuki is not serious about their two wheeler business in India. The efforts of the company was half-hearted and the brand does not have a deep distribution channel .
Second is their selection of products for the Indian market. Suzuki is doing the same mistake which Yamaha earlier did - launching substandard products for mass markets. Yamaha learned from mistakes and came back with good powerful bikes. But Suzuki is adamant that it will learn only from its mistakes.

GS 150 is launched for the highly competitive executive segment aiming for the numbers. But I think it was not a good strategy for Suzuki to launch a product in that segment while making a come back.

Now look at the relaunch scenario. Suzuki motorcycles does not have any meaningful equity in the consumer's mind. Although Suzuki cars have excellent equity , there is no guarantee that consumers will feel the same in the two wheeler segment. The failure of its earlier models and the long absence from the industry has removed this brand from the consideration set of the potential consumers.

Consumers of executive segment are very pampered. The players in this segment invest heavily in product features aswellas branding. With Pulsar and Hero Honda leading the crowd, it is a very difficult market to crack.

So the chances of Suzuki making an impact in this segment looks bleak.

Having said that , a company like Suzuki can change the game by launching a product that Indian consumers has never seen before. Suzuki has the technological ability and money power to do that. A high profile product with a marketing blitzkrieg can make Suzuki a hot property...

But Alas.....

Look at the branding strategies of GS 150. The brand is currently running a television commercial in most channels.
Watch the Tvc here : Suzuki GS150
It is one of the boring commercials I have seen in recent times. A commercial which lacks both imagination and strategic intent. A girl getting aroused while pillion riding a bike is an idea which has been raped a million times.
The brand has the tagline " Drive me crazy " which is nothing but unimaginative. Frankly there is nothing much to speak about the campaign. No clarity in USP or differentiation.

What Suzuki needed was a powerful statement. A power bike which would showcase its capabilities to the consumers. Yamaha did the comeback with R 15 launch. More than the volume, R15 was aimed at rebuilding the Yamaha brand. Once consumers got the taste of Yamaha technology, mass models will reap the benefit.

Suzuki should have bought in their superbikes and should have unleashed a campaign revolving around these macho machines. Time should be spent on building the core Suzuki brand reminding Indian consumers about the capability and technological superiority of this brand.
But Suzuki went after the volumes thereby killing all scope of building a brand.

Brand Update : Yamaha

Yamaha has launched (relaunched ) Fazer in the Indian market. Yamaha India is clearly on overdrive with the success of R15 and FZ range. Fazer is a 150 cc bike priced around Rs 72000.
Fazer came to India in 2004 as a 125 cc bike. The bike was different from others because of its unique twin headlamps. But the bike got a lukewarm response from the Indian market.

Now Fazer comes with a new 153 cc engine and a terrific styling. In my earlier post on Yamaha , I had compared the Fazer 125 cc with its global counterpart and criticized Yamaha for bringing in a stripped down version of Fazer.

Now that complaint has been taken care of. The new Fazer looks exceptionally cool and stylish.

Fazer is targeting the bikers who likes to live their life on their motorcycles. The brand is being positioned as one ideal for those weekend getaways.
The brand is currently running a TVC : Watch it here

Fazer has the tagline of "Touring Spirit " which reflects the brand's positioning.

Yamaha has identified its core brand DNA. Yamaha has found that its success lies in performance bikes rather than those volume driven underpowered bikes. Yamaha is now reinforcing its brand DNA by bringing in models that drive performance and style rather than volume. A look at the home page of Yamaha India reflects the new Yamaha.

Corporate brand - Yamaha also sports the new tagline " Yes Yamaha ".

It is good to see a failed brand rejuvenating itself . The lesson that Yamaha gives the marketing practitioners is not to forget the Brand DNA.

Brand Update : Zen RIP (1993-2009)

One of most popular Indian auto brands has been laid to rest. Maruti Zen is dead. On August 25, Maruti announced the launch of new Estilo. The Zen brand name has been taken off. Now there is only Maruti Estilo. ( Read news report here)

It is a sad moment for all brand enthusiasts. Zen was a wonderful brand. A brand which personified sportiness and performance. The old Zen owners still swear by the brand . The jelly bean shape, roomy interiors and the peppy performance gave Zen an unique identity.It was surprising to see Maruti messing up this wonderful brand and finally killing it .

Zen Estilo was launched in December 2006. The car is a refurbished version of an outdated Japanese car MR Wagon. The entire product was different from the old Zen. Maruti chose to use Zen as the primary brand and Estilo as the subbrand for the new product. The strategy was to retain the brand equity of Zen to drive the sales of the new product. But the strategy backfired.

In a way killing the Zen brand will be good for Estilo. For Estilo, association with Zen was a liability. Interms of style or performance, older Zen and Zen Estilo was miles apart. Those who checked out Zen Estilo expecting the same performance and sportiness of old Zen were visibly disappointed. Estilo was a different car with a different brand personality. Launching Estilo as Zen Estilo actually created a negative impact for the car because Estilo was more of a style oriented girlish car compared to the sporty Zen. Now Estilo is an independent brand and can develop its own persona. The new Estilo comes with a new look and a new K-Series engine.

It is sad that a wonderful brand like Zen was being killed without being fully utilized .

Related Posts
Zen

Marketing Funda : Line Filling

Marketing Practice Reader Balaji asks a very pertinent question about the series of brand launches by Maruti Suzuki in the hatchback segment. He asks :

"

I want to know about New product development in automobile industry especially in Maruti.They are launching different small cars.Is it really makes a profit for them.Can you give the explantion with example.Introducing new car in the small car segment(Maruti) makes confusion among the customers that which car to buy /which is best?.Is really they are benefiting or just in order to compete with other company they are introducing the new product ? "

Maruti Suzuki is following the product line strategy of Line Filling. Line Filling is a strategy where the company introduces new products within the same( existing) price range.

Maruti Suzuki recently launched a series of brands in the hatchback segment. A look at the price ranges of hatchback brands of Maruti will give you a clear picture of Line Filling.

Maruti 800 - Rs 2,00,000 - Rs 2,12000

Maruti Alto - Rs 2,22,000 - Rs 2,70,000

Maruti Estilo - Rs 3,17,000 - Rs 3,98,000

Maruti Wagon R - Rs 3,18,000 - Rs 4,32,000

Maruti A Star - Rs 3,40,000 - Rs 4,12,000

Maruti Ritz - Rs 3,89,000 - Rs 5,10,000

Maruti Swift - Rs 4,06,000 - Rs 5,20,000

( All prices are Ex-Showroom Cochin)

Source : Marutisuzuki.com)

The overlap is diagrammatically represented below.

From the price ranges, it is evident that there is a significant overlap among various brands.The question is why Maruti chose to bring out products with similar price ranges. Another question is whether this overlap will create cannibalization among these brands.

There are several reasons for such a line filling strategy. According to Prof. Philip Kotler, firms adopt this strategy for

a. Incremental Profits

b.Satisfy Dealers who complain about lost sales because of missing items in the line

c.Utilize existing capacity

d.Try to become a full-line company

e.Try to plug holes to keep the competitors away. ( Source Marketing Management ,11 edition)

In the case of Maruti, more than one reasons prompt it to fill the line. Maruti Suzuki has tremendous brand equity in the Indian market. Hence having a full line catering to all segments of consumers offers tremendous advantage to the company.

There are customers (like me) who would like to buy a car from Maruti. Having various offerings at various price points keeps that customers happy and make them stick to the company. If I want to upgrade to a bigger car, I have a choice or a A star or a Wagon R or a Ritz or a Swift. In such a scenario, I may not go in to a competitor's product.

Another reason for Maruti's line filling is to keep out the competitors. The company is facing lot of competition in the hatchback segment. At the lower end Nano may give Alto and 800 a run for its money. Santro, i10 and Spark is giving tough competition for mid-range hatchbacks and products like Fabia, Palio,Punto,i20 are giving competition at the higher segment of the hatchback market. Hence to keep the market share intact , Maruti is keeping a full line of brands covering various price points.

When there are brands which has similar price points, it is natural that some sort of cannibalization will happen. When Ritz was launched, it definitely took away some customers of Swift. But Maruti can be happy that the customer has bought its product rather than that of its competitor.

Regarding the profits, Maruti is one of the lowest cost producer in the automobile industry. This low cost base enable the firm to make a profit irrespective of cannibalization.

One of the critical factor that a firm should consider while line filling is the Differentiation. There has to be a just-noticable difference between the offerings other wise consumers will get confused . In the case of Maruti brands, there is a clear differentiation either interms of design or performance between these brands.

Line Filling is the strategy adopted by Maruti Suzuki to retain its grip in the Indian market. But in the Indian Automobile industry , may be only Maruti can do it.

Brand Update : Wagon R

Wagon R is one of the largest selling brands in the Indian car market. The brand is currently in its maturity stage and Maruti is all set to put Wagon R again into the growth path. The brand has roped in Madhavan as the brand ambassador . The brand hopes that the endorsement from the star will create a new growth path for it.

Watch the TVC here : Wagon R

Wagon R is a highly relevant product for Indian consumers. I have spoken to many Wagon R users and all of them have high regards for this vehicle. Even though the product is a globally " Outdated" vehicle, for Indian consumers the brand has remained very useful. One of the major factors that drive this brand's sales is its usability. The car is easy to drive and extremely comfortable and is virtually trouble-free thanks to the Maruti Reliability.

When the product reaches the maturity stage, marketers change its marketing mix elements to rev up the sales. In the case of Wagon R, Maruti chose to change its promotions. The choice of Madhavan as the brand ambassador will give an added thrust to the brand equity of Wagon R. The brand is feeling that it is not realizing its potential fully in the southern market. Madhavan is expected to boost the brand sales in the southern markets. ( related report)

It is also interesting to see how the brand has used Madhavan in its communication. Madhavan is being used as a model in the TVC rather than as an endorser. Here Madhavan is being used as a character in the TVC plot. He is being cast as an entrepreneur in the ad.One of the reasons cane be that if Madhavan acts as an endorser, no one will believe that he uses a Wagon R. So it makes sense to cast him as a character rather than as an endorser.

Wagon R retains its core positioning as a smart choice car and has a new slogan " Smart Ideas lead the world " . The brand retains its tagline " For a Smarter Race ".
The new campaign is pushing the idea that Wagon R is a smart choice for the consumers. Indian consumers seems to like that idea.
Related brand
Wagon R

Mahindra Rodeo : Power Scooter

Brand : Rodeo
Company : Mahindra Two Wheelers

Brand Analysis Count : 426

After acquiring Kinetic Scooters in 2008, Mahindra two wheelers is on an overdrive to capture a fair share of India's emerging scooter market. While retaining Kinetic Flyte, Mahindra has launched two new scooters - Rodeo and Duro into the market.

Rodeo is positioned as a power scooter . The brand sports a 125 cc engine which churns out 8 bhp . Rodeo competes with Honda's Activa, Aviator , Hero Honda's Pleasure and Suzuki Access.

Indian scooter market is a classic example which shows how difficult it is for marketers to predict the market pulse. This is a market which analysts predicted a demise. This is a market which humbled the mighty Bajaj Auto from a position of market leader to a market follower.

When every one predicted the demise of this category, Honda redefined this market through their Activa brand. Now according to press reports , scooter market in India is expected to grow more than 25% in the next 3-5 years.
India produces around 12 lakh units of scooters every year. The market is dominated by Honda which has a market share of more than 55% ( source).

Mahindra is entering a market where there is no powerful No.2. It is common sense that there are always a space for a second player in any market. The million dollar question is how to break the stronghold of Honda brands in this segment.

Marketing wisdom shows that the challenger brands should have a powerful differentiation if it wants to successfully counter the market leader. And it is good to see that Mahindra twowheelers have found a powerful differentiation & positioning strategy.

Rodeo is being positioned as a " Power Scooter". The brand is claiming that it is as powerful as a motorcycle ( in a symbolic sense) and has all the advantages of a scooter. Power looks like a good attribute to differentiate because scooters never are perceived to be powerful. And by claiming that attribute, Rodeo will be able to get the attention of the youth.
The brand is currently running a TVC across channels

Watch the TVC here : Mahindra Rodeo

The important question is whether a typical scooter buyer considers Power as an important attribute in scooters. Scooter is a functional product. The convenience matter most in this category. Honda scooters gave consumers a high quality refined product and consumers loved it.

Rodeo is trying to make a space for itself in the market by attaching it to the Power attribute. The brand at the same time achieves parity with the competitor's qualities like ride quality, storage etc. Mahindra also priced the product smartly at Rs 41299 a tad below the market leader's price. The power proposition + attractive price + Mahindra brand will prompt many potential consumers to put Rodeo into their consideration set.

Mahindra was able to successfully identify a relevant positioning platform for Rodeo. Although Rodeo may not attract the youth segment, it will definitely appeal to those who is looking for a powerful alternative to motorcycles.

Related Posts

Bajaj Chetak
Kinetic Blaze
Scooty
Pleasure

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 : 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

Maruti Eeco : Happiness Family Size

Brand : Maruti Eeco

Company : Maruti Suzuki Ltd

Brand Analysis Count # 440

Maruti has launched a new Multi Purpose Vehicle - Eeco. Eeco is the rebirth of the Late Maruti Versa. Versa was a big flop despite the high profile celebrity endorsements from Amithabh and Abhishek Bachchan. Maruti messed up that

practical car with a ridiculous pricing.

And what a way to come back.

Eeco is built in the same platform of Versa. The brand has the famed KB series of engine that powers the new Maruti offerings like the Ritz. The company also squeaked the exteriors of the old Versa, discarded the high roofing and added little more graphics in its new avatar.

More than anything else, it is the price that makes Eeco a potential winner in the ever value conscious Indian market. Priced from Rs 2,60,000 - Rs 3,10,000, the brand comes in a mouth watering price . At this price,Eeco is a winner from the word " Go".

Maruti Eeco fills an important gap in the automotive market. There exist a need for a entry level vehicle that can carry a large family . The small cars can never satisfy that need. Infact most of the cars are ideal for a family size of 4. Eeco is fulfilling that need and that too at a irresistible price.

Eeco is priced at a premium to Omni. Omni , although found takers in the Indian market suffered because of concern of security and lack of comfort. The future of Omni is bleak since the van cannot be fitted with A/C and A/C is becoming a part of the expected product.

Eeco offers all these comforts. It has an A/C variant and comes in 7 seater & 5 seater offerings. For a large family , Eeco makes immense practical sense. Backed by Maruti reliability, Eeco is expected to boost up this new segment of entry level MPVs. Eeco will be popular both at rural and urban markets.

I expect this brand to create a new segment of entry level MPV . Eeco will definitely cannibalize Alto, Omni and to a certain extent Wagon- R by luring large families into it. But more than the limited cannibalization, this is a product that Indian families were waiting for. The predicted success of Eeco will also open up a new market segment for comfortable mini vans. Now we have only have such large carriers at the premium segments like Innova. Eeco has the potential to disrupt the market structure . Most car makers assume that the typical family structure in India is of the size 4 and thus turning a blind eye towards many large families. Eeco can change the way automakers look at this segment .

The brand has the tagline " Happiness , Family Size " . Eeco is running a tvc across various channels. The ad is very basic and nothing much to talk about. It does't need a highly creative ad for such a wonderful offering.

The only factor that Eeco will have to deliver is the promise. If Eeco as a product performs on parameters like comfort, A/C cooling, safety, stability and mileage, it is a winner.

Related Brand

Maruti Versa