"Fancy advertising can't sell a two wheeler": Sumeet Narang, Bajaj Auto

Bajaj Auto has been in the news this year for its unusual new launch, Bajaj V, in February. By using a bit of metal from INS Vikrant, India's sole aircraft carrier involved in the 1971 war with Pakistan (and which was recently scrapped), Bajaj V has struck an emotional chord among buyers of two-wheelers. The new bike had sold 1.6 lakh units by September end this year and, with a new variant on its way, this looks like an emerging brand that has struck roots in the consumer's mind.

afaqs! Reporter used the occasion to talk to Sumeet Narang, vice-president, Marketing (Motorcycles) at Bajaj Auto. Narang, who spent most of his working years with Procter & Gamble, has also been with Coca-Cola and, most recently, with Samsung as marketing director - Mobile. Narang moved to Bajaj in March 2014.

Experience has taught Narang that while the core principles of marketing across categories are similar, each market has its peculiarities and challenges. "In the two-wheelers market, one of the biggest challenges is that you are not just selling a brand, you are selling a product as well," he says.

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We will be announcing a new variant in the 'V' portfolio very soon. We are working on something really interesting - it's an extremely inspiring web series made up of individual short stories.

Bajaj has six brands for consumers to choose from: Puslar, Discover, CT - 100, Platina, V and Avenger.

We once had two powerhouse brands - Discover and Pulsar. We realised that it was getting difficult to address all the consumer aspirations through just those two brands. We now have six and each of them stands for a new attribute, offers a new value and has a different price point.

No research ever helps you get a great brand name, at least in automobiles. In other categories it might as you want to come up with a name that is easy to remember, easy to ask for over the counter - and it might highlight the key product benefit. Since automobiles are a high involvement category and the consumer has relatively few names to choose from, brand recall is not a big issue. Even if it is a complex English name - like Pulsar or Splendor - rural consumers get used to it. What we do is figure out the offering, its benefit, the key value the brand stands for - and then, in that space, we look for names which are unique, and which people would be proud to be associated with. So, very often the name is derived from internal discussion and then finalised after a regular watch out.

We finalised the name without discussing it with a single customer. We were a little uncomfortable in the beginning because the commuter segment is not used to a single-letter brand name. But if you don't feel a little uncomfortable in the very beginning, it means you are going for a safe choice. Everything we were doing about the bike was different and the name had to be different too.

The internet allows a marketer to make multiple conversations around a brand which wasn't possible earlier with TV alone. Also, the biking culture has grown exponentially in the last five years and yet, it is in its early stages. There is interest now in leisure biking.

Large motorcycles have always been about making a style statement. Today, you have lifestyle bikes going up from affordable brands like Avenger and RS 200 all the way up to super bikes. Many people start out buying bikes as utility vehicles but as they move up, the lifestyle angle keeps growing and the utility bit gets much smaller.

It is down to three to five years. In the case of Pulsar, we have also seen that when a new model is launched there are loyalists who move up.

The major part is directed towards acquiring new customers, but in the process we obviously reinforce the trust and pride of existing customers. I also believe that once a person has bought into the brand, the delivery of the product and the service network plays a very important role because now he is experiencing what your offering is all about.

Both are equally difficult and the routes are totally different. This is an industry with very high mortality rates: a large number of products come, last a couple of years and disappear. The challenge with a new product is whether you can create differentiation, build an aura around the brand and arouse at least some interest among people.

You might create a great brand but if your product is not differentiated in the automobile space it is difficult to survive. Nobody is going to buy a new two-wheeler because of some fancy advertising. The other challenge is: what can I say that hasn't already been said?

On the other hand, when you have attained some sort of leadership and are defending it, the brand plays a very big role. You need to keep building on the aura and strengthening your leadership.

Two years is too little for a change in habit. But I have noticed that once you start offering technology to consumers they quickly start expecting it. For example, two years ago, consumers had a low understanding of features like fuel injection and ABS (AntiLock Braking System). But now they ask about these in performance bikes.

The other thing in supersports bikes is that people are beginning to make up their mind that this is the look, style and character they want. At the top end, personalisation is happening in terms of choices.

A meaningful AFP can always be helpful, no question about it. But digital has started to offer an alternative to connect with consumers and perhaps in a more direct and meaningful manner. This offers a new aperture and that's why our reliance on AFPs has become lower.

It looks promising. One and a half years ago we created a reality web series, 'Zing Zong Rides'. Since Discover stands for rejuvenating spice in a relationship, we decided to identify eight couples who would drive across India and make a big 'heart' in the middle of the country. We were overwhelmed when we got over 10,000 entries.

There are challenges though and the biggest one is discovery. Today, our reliance on videos is very push driven. Few people watch the video and then go on to YouTube for related videos.

The way in which people are consuming TV advertising has been changing. This would be different in different categories. For example, in some, it is becoming extremely transactional - state the offer, the benefit, the sale period, and move on.

In our category, where people go online for details, it is getting less important to state details in our TV communication. It is more important to make people feel connected to the brand or for the brand's messaging to catch their imagination. After that the bike is available on the road: he can see it, borrow it from someone, read a review. Besides, there is enough information available on the internet. But the initial spark is provided by TV advertising.

In our category at least it's a function of the medium and the message. Our 'brotherhood' film on Avenger gave us fantastic ROI. In terms of ad awareness, recall and brand association our scores were comparable with a TV campaign we had done on Avenger where we spent a hell of a lot more.

Print is as much a favourite medium for automobile advertising as it is for consumer durables even though it is not as if footfalls in showrooms increase each time you run a print ad. I think it's a mix of message and medium that matters and that's where your judgment as a marketer is very important.

You have a point but you can't write off activation. If you have a unique message, it works. For example, we've rolled out something called the 'Platina Comfort Challenge' in about 250 towns in the last couple of months. To show that a ride on the bike is less jerky, we created a torture track filled with bumps and invited the customer to drive both his own bike as well as a Platina. To show them the difference, we mounted a mobile phone on their chest with a belt and then put on the video camera. So, the camera captures the rider's view. Then, when they see both the films it is evident to the driver that the ride on Platina is smoother.

This activation worked extremely well in conjunction with the TV ad which was building the proposition of comfort around '20 per cent less jerks' on Platina. The point is: for activations in our category to work, there has to be a unique message.

(Thinks) Over the last couple of years we have been trying to come up with newer thoughts and ideas to build our brands and engage with customers. For example, we created a national anthem with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, something which has never been done in our category. We are constantly looking out for newer ways in which a brand can be strengthened in its space. What you will rarely see is any particular formula being applied across all of our brands. That would kill differentiation. What keeps me up at night is a mix of two things. One, the thought, "What is it that I could do differently?" The second is, whenever you do something new and different, you don't know whether it is going to work. So there is that worry at the back of your mind that says, "If I am doing four new things at least three should do very well". This is the kind of stuff that keeps you up on tenterhooks and that's what the fun of marketing is all about!

This interview was first published in afaqs! Reporter on November 15, 2016.

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