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 : Bajaj Pulsar

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is Bajaj listening ?????

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Pulsar
Yamaha

Best Marketing Practice : Living the Story

Every brand has a story and the success of the brand depends on how well they tell the story to the consumers.
After a near -death experience in the Indian market, Yamaha have slowly started telling a compulsive story. In my last update on Yamaha, I had blogged about their new launch Yamaha YZF R15. Priced at Rs 1,25000, the brand has already made a strong start.

R 15 is positioned as the urban racing machine. The brand boasts about its racing instinct and most of the auto reviews have written positive words for this machine.

Last day I was watching the Auto Car show in UTV i and happen to see the report on the racing championship for R 15 owners held in October 2008. The first racing event was held in September.
I consider this event as one of the best marketing practice where a brand truly living the dreams it has painted for its customers.

The racing event promoted by Yamaha was not for the racing professionals but for the ordinary owners or R 15. But the entire racing was done on the professional race track. So many guys were able to realize their dream of participating in an actual race using their bike.

Its not the first time that a bike brand associating itself with racing . TVS Apache RTR was positioned along the racing platform. Even the market leader in performance bike - Pulsar also was associated with racing attributes.

But R 15 has gone the extra mile by making racing real by launching such an event. I bet that many of those R 15 owners who participated in the race was seeing the racing track for the first time. They also got the chance to burn the rubber and live their dream - thanks to the brand.
This event is also an outcome of the clear understanding of the consumers who buy such a bike.

Those who can shell out Rs 1 lakh for a bike will definitely a bike enthusiast who wanted to burn the rubber and make a statement. These customers will also be the key opinion leaders among their community be it students or professionals. So a racing event will be the best possible way to make them feel good about their purchase.

The customers of R 15 can participate the event by paying a nominal amount of Rs 500. According to the report , the company will handle the transportation of the bike to the racing venue. The riders are given enough training before letting them loose on the race track.

The brand is going to have lot of advantages by organizing such an event. First is the reinforcement of the brand's positioning of a sports bike. The event also will make the opinion leaders to hook on to their brand. Those who have participated this even will cherish those moments and will have generated lot of positive word of mouth . It also will strengthen the case of pricing the brand at Rs 1.25 lakh .

Another interesting factor is that this event is not for potential customers but existing customers. So this case is an example of a successful "After Marketing' . 'After Marketing ' is a jargon that is used for all marketing activities that are done after the sale is over.

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Yamaha

Brand Update : Yamaha

In an interview with CNBC TV18, Rajiv Bajaj was asked about competition. His reply was he get jitters with the new launch of Yamaha R15. What Pulsar done to the motorcycles, R15 may repeat it.

I did not believe that statement. I viewed the launch of R15 with cynicism because of the price tag.

Can anyone think of buying a bike for Rs 100,000..

But a conversation with my journalist friend who handles the automobile-column in a leading newspaper changed my perception. According to him, R-15 is selling like hotcakes.

In my last post on the brand Yamaha, I had suggested that the brand needs was a statement. And it did make a statement with R15

R 15 is a stunner interms of looks. Auto reviews say that it doesn't disappoint interms of the performance.

More than that ,Yamaha got the timing correct. The market was evolving and there was a need for a motorcycle which made a statement. Two factors paved the way for the wide acceptance of R 15.

First was the emergence of a new set of customers who wanted a bike and was willing to pay the price to look different. R15 gave that fillip to this segment. These guys liked fast bikes and wanted something that suited the Indian conditions.

Second was the dealer support. Price wars among the bike marketers had significantly eroded the margins. R15 gave the dealers their required margin and they gave enough support for this bike.

Pulsar was too popular to be exclusive so the bike had to be exclusive and the higher price ensured that not everyone could afford this bike.

Whether R 15 will deliver volumes or not, it has given a new lease of life to Yamaha. The brand which was once an icon now have a chance to regain its lost status.

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Yamaha