MxMIndia

Tag: Hero MotoCorp

  • Media planners say official broadcaster ESPN Star Sports hopes to earn Rs95-100 crore by selling advertisement spots during the 17-day event in July-August as well as related programmes

    Olympics countdown: Hero, Airtel etc flock to hockey on rising public interest

    By Ratna Bhushan & Meenakshi Verma Ambwani

     

    Indian marketers are joining the ‘Chak De India’ brigade going to London Olympics. A day after the Indian hockey team qualified for the Olympics in spectacular style, advertisers such as Hero MotoCorp, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone plan to associate with the team and the event while Coca-Cola and Samsung may look to cash in on their official partnerships for the event, say people involved in their media buying plans.

     

    Media planners say official broadcaster ESPN Star Sports hopes to earn Rs95-100 crore by selling advertisement spots during the 17-day event in July-August as well as related programmes that will be spread over five months starting March.

     

    This amount is several times more than Rs5-7 crore that Doordarshan had raked in during the Beijing Olympics in 2008, but experts say three factors will help ESPN Star Sports reach its revenue target.

     

    These are, Indian cricket team’s disastrous performance in recent times that has pushed the sport’s television viewership to new lows; the fact that the Olympics is being shown on a private channel for the first time, leading to aggressive marketing of the event; and, a strong revival in interest in hockey and other sports.

     

    “The hockey team qualifier has changed things. Many companies are now seeing the Olympics as an opportunity to cash in on their global partnerships,” said Navin Khemka, senior vice-president at media buying firm Zenith Optimedia, which buys media for Reckitt Benckiser.

     

    Advertisers game for London

    ESPN Software Executive VP Sanjay Kailash said there is significant interest among Indian brands to advertise on the Olympics. “With the Indian team qualifying for hockey, the interest and buzz around the Olympics among Indian viewers and advertisers will only increase,” he said.

     

    ESPN Star Sports plans to rope in eight partners for the event. Consumer electronics giant Samsung is the official partner of the Indian delegation to the London Olympics while dairy products brand Amul on Monday announced a deal to sponsor the Indian contingent.

     

    “The hockey team’s performance has added muscle to our sponsorship plans,” said RS Sodhi, managing director of Amul brand owner Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which will provide Rs1 crore for athletes who have qualified for the London Olympics.

     

    A Samsung spokeswoman said the company is yet to work out the specifics of its Olympics campaign. The firm is supporting training expenses of six players. Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp, the title sponsor for the Olympics qualifying tournament concluded in New Delhi on Sunday, is also expected to pick up broadcasting spots.

     

    Others such as telecom services providers Bharti Airtel and Vodafone too have evinced interest in associating with the Indian team, either on ground or on television, say media planners. Sahara Group, which renewed its five year sponsorship deal with Hockey India earlier this month, too may pitch in.

     

    Cricket’s loss helps

    In a strange turn of the wheel of fortune, the Indian hockey team, by merely qualifying for an event it had missed only once since the country’s Independence, has stolen the limelight from the national cricket team that won the World Cup less than a year ago.

     

    Television rating points for India’s ongoing series in Australia have plunged to less than 2, now that India has lost all the Test matches and is almost certain to finish last in the three-nation one-day international tournament.

     

    The downturn started in England last year, when the Indian team lost all its matches and meekly surrendered its top ranking in Tests to the host country. Yet, ESPN Star is expected to have earned about Rs300 crore in advertising revenues from the three-month Indian tour to Australia.

     

    “Family viewership for cricket has dropped and rates are now out of reach of certain brands,” says Shripad Kulkarni, chief executive officer of Allied Media, part of sports entertainment company Percept.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • The latest TV commercial for Discover 125 takes a veiled dig at Hero's flagship brands Passion and Splendor as the old bonhomie between two industrial giants gives way to no-holds-barred marketing strategy

    Bajaj takes a dig at Hero’s Passion & Splendor in its latest Discover 125 ad

    By Rajiv Singh & Bhanu Pande

     

    “We have not yet beaten Bajaj, they’ve just been overtaken by us,” said Brijmohan Lall Munjal in 2001, when the reticent Munjal family patriarch and chairman of Hero Honda understated the fact that his company sold more two-wheelers than Bajaj Auto.

     

    Fast forward to 2012.

    The latest TV commercial for Discover 125 takes a veiled dig at Hero’s flagship brands Passion and Splendor as the old bonhomie between two industrial giants gives way to no-holds-barred marketing strategy in a fiercely competitive market.

     

    Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj said the advertisement reflects a strategic repositioning and it’s not about Hero: “Our campaign is based on a consumer research interpretation and has nothing to do with taking on Hero”.

     

    That’s the official line. But most people who have watched the commercial feel it’s unmistakably targeted at Hero MotoCorp, the new entity formed after the Munjal family-owned Hero bought out its 27-year long partner Honda last year.

     

    Industry watchers say the breakup with Honda has weakened the market leader in the world’s second-largest two-wheeler market and Bajaj Auto wants to make the most of it.

    “Now Hero is without the safety helmet of Honda, so it is the best time for Bajaj to inflict maximum damage on the leader that is weak and vulnerable,” ,” said Prathap Suthan, chief creative officer of iYogi, a global remote tech support company and the man who created the government’s ‘India Shining’ and ‘Incredible India’ campaigns.

     

    KYUN, HERO?

    The advertisement shows three men owning different commuter bikes (seen in the background) say they always desired Discover 125, but settled for something lesser to satisfy father or wife, or to avoid annoying boss.

     

    They sound apologetic and wistful about their bikes. When they name them, a bleep sinks their voice, but it leaves enough for viewers to guess they are referring to Hero’s Splendor or Passion. “Discover nahin hai, par chalta hai,” each of them says. And the commercial, created by Ogilvy & Mather, ends with voice over, “Discover 125, ye chalta nahin, daudta hai.”

     

    The only previous time a Bajaj commercial took on Hero Honda was back in the early 1990s when a campaign for its 4s Champion teased Hero Honda with a tagline, “Kyun Hero?”

     

    Bajaj Auto President, Motorcycles, K Srinivas said that the advertisement does not take a dig at any rival, but wouldn’t comment on the bleep sound.

     

    DOING A BMW

    Rajiv Bajaj says his company wants to do what luxury carmaker BMW did when it entered the US 30 years ago – reposition the leader: “Mercedes was already an established player. So BMW said that Mercedes is the ultimate sitting machine, while BMW is the ultimate driving machine.”

     

    Now Bajaj wants to do something similar. “As part of an internal discussion, we felt that if you are not a leader, position yourself and re-position the leader by projecting yourself as the opposite of a leader… that’s what we are doing,” said Mr Bajaj.

     

    With Discover 125, Bajaj seeks a large chunk in the biggest segment of the two-wheeler market. Discover competes in the executive commuter segment – or bikes in Rs40,000-50,000 price range – that accounts for two-thirds of the two-wheeler market that sells more than a million units a year. This segment is dominated by Splendor and Passion. But that may soon change.

     

    BATTLE ROYALE

    “Splendor and Passion have not changed at all over the last few years, except maybe a tweak in graphics. They are heading the way Bajaj Chetak did,” said Adil Jal Darukhanawala, Editor, Zigwheels. One of the most popular scooters in the country, Chetak was discontinued in 2009.

     

    Analysts say Hero is grappling on technology front after the exit of Honda and this opens up the largest segment to competitors like Bajaj Auto and Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India that have planned aggressive model refurbishment and new launches.

     

    “For the first time in a decade, Bajaj is sniffing an opportunity to challenge the numero uno,” said Saurabh Uboweja, director of brand consulting firm Brands of Desire.

     

    He said that Bajaj’s take on Hero MotoCorp is deliberate and well timed: “By projecting buyers of Hero bikes as meek and compromising, Bajaj is also highlighting the weaknesses of Hero MotoCorp-withdrawal of Honda and its tech platform.” Without Honda, Hero might struggle to launch path-breaking products like it did in the past.

     

    “Hero has money but no technology. This is something that Bajaj is going to take advantage of with its slew of new models blitzkrieg that it has lined up this year,” said Mr Darukhanawala. The Discover ad is in line with Bajaj Auto’s aggressive stance in the market. Last year, one of its TVCs proclaimed that ‘Pulsar sells five times more than any Japanese sports bike in India’. With inputs from Lijee Philip

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Behind every great commercial is super strategy. Every week, MxMIndia will bring you the brief and the strat as given by the client and whatever else that went into creating a winning ad. AdStrat is compiled by Shubhangi Mehta.

    Ad Strat: The Hero in everyone

    Anil Nair, CEO and Managing Partner, Law & Kenneth

     

    Name of the Campaign/Ad:

    Hum Mein Hai Hero – Hero MotoCorp

     

    The Brief:

    To come up with a thought that will help Hero honda to transform and establish itself as Hero MotoCorp.

     

    Research:

    Our job was not only restricted to understand the two wheeler market but the people of India on a whole who could be our perspective target audience. Our focus was on the prevailing problems like corruption in India and how an Indian would overcome it.

     

    The thought process behind the creative:

    Since our hub was India, we saw a tremendous positive attitude amongst the people and we wanted to bring it out. Our focus was on the fact that there is a possibility and we all have a hero within us to overcome any hurdle and ‘self belief’ is the key factor in that.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulbchi7-N9c[/youtube]

    Media vehicles chosen:

    Complete 360 degree approach (TV, Print, Outdoor.,digital)

     

    Key issues kept in mind while executing the ad:

    Our motive was to not let it look like just an ordinary television commercial and at the same time we didn’t want to sound preachy. We wanted it to look realistic hence we used real people.

     

    Does the treatment do justice to the brief?

    Absolutely! Its spirit lies in the anthem.

     

    What according to you is the differentiating factor about the campaign?

    There are three differentiating factors:

    The Idea

    The Music

    Realistic Visualisation

     

    Market and client feedback:

    Hero MotoCorp enjoyed a higher sales percentage and went ahead of Hero Honda. The client is ecstatic and extremely happy with the work.

     

  • NDTV Profit and Hero MotoCorp Ltd Have launched the contest ‘A Search for India’s Stock Market Hero’ beginning November 8, on NDTV Profit.

    Search on for Stock Market Hero

    By Akash Raha

    NDTV Profit and Hero MotoCorp Ltd. launched the contest ‘A Search for India’s Stock Market Hero’ beginning November 8, on NDTV Profit. This new and exciting contest will give an opportunity to every stock market enthusiast to win Rs. 50,000 every two hours and upto Rs. 2 lakhs everyday for the next three months.

    Speaking on the channel’s new offering, Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV, said “We have always believed in creating exciting formats to keep our viewers engaged. This is not just any regular stock market game. It’s a contest of both skill and knowledge. And it will help investors get a deeper understanding of financial markets”

    All the viewers have to do to win is answer two simple questions: “Which stock which will gain the most in the next two hours?” and another question related to the programme on-air.

    Anil Dua, Sr Vice President (Marketing & Sales), HeroMotoCorp Ltd., said ”The new ‘Hero’ has arisen and is all poised to carry forward its rich legacy, setting new benchmarks with record performance and cutting-edge products. It is this spirit of ‘Hum Mein Hai Hero’ which reflects in all our brand associations.”