Comparison Of Branding Strategies

Comparison of Branding Strategies of Bajaj Auto Ltd and Hero Honda Motors Ltd

Subject: Apparel Brand Management

Submitted to:

Submitted by:

Mr. Vikram Parekh

Ajay Kumar Bhavik Gandhi Gaurang Gupta Ridhima Ranga Sunil Kerketta

Fashion Management Studies Department, NIFT - Mumbai

(M/FMS/08/02) (M/FMS/08/10) (M/FMS/08/11) (M/FMS/08/14) (M/FMS/08/31)

Comparison of Branding strategies

Table of Contents COMPANY PROFILE ....................................................................................................................................... 3 Bajaj Auto Ltd ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Hero Honda Motors Ltd ............................................................................................................................ 3 PRODUCTS/BRANDS...................................................................................................................................... 4 BRAND EQUITY .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Building Brand Equity ................................................................................................................................ 5 BRANDING STRATEGIES ................................................................................................................................ 6 The Product brand .................................................................................................................................... 6 The Line Brand Strategy ............................................................................................................................ 7 The range brand strategy .......................................................................................................................... 7 The Umbrella brand strategy .................................................................................................................... 8 The Source Brand strategy ........................................................................................................................ 8 Endorsing Brand Strategy ......................................................................................................................... 9 Mixed Brand Strategy ............................................................................................................................... 9 BRAND ROLES IN BRAND PORTFOLIO ......................................................................................................... 10 BRAND IDENTITY PRISM .............................................................................................................................. 11 New Pulsar 220 DTS-I .............................................................................................................................. 11 Karizma ZMR ........................................................................................................................................... 12 BRAND EXTENSION ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Line Extension ......................................................................................................................................... 13 Brand Extension ...................................................................................................................................... 13 COMPANION PRODUCT EXTENSION ................................................................................................... 13 COMPANY EXPERTISE.......................................................................................................................... 14 Reference .................................................................................................................................................... 15

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Comparison of Branding strategies

COMPANY PROFILE Bajaj Auto Ltd The Bajaj Group is amongst the top 10 business houses in India. Its footprint stretches over a wide range of industries, spanning automobiles (two-wheelers and three-wheelers), home appliances, lighting, iron and steel, insurance, travel and finance. The group's flagship company, Bajaj Auto, is ranked as t h e w o r l d ' s f o u r t h l a r g e s t t w o - a n d t h r e e - w h e e l e r m a n u f a c t u r e r and the Bajaj brand is well-known across several countries in Latin America, Africa, Middle East, South and South East Asia. Bajaj auto is based in Pune, Maharashtra, with plants in Akurdi and Chakan (Pune), Waluj (near Aurangabad) and Pantnagar in Uttaranchal. Bajaj Auto came into existence on November 29, 1945 as M/s Bachraj Trading Corporation Private Limited. It started off by selling imported two- and three-wheelers in India. In 1959, it obtained license from the Government of India to manufacture two- and three-wheelers and it went public in 1960. The company is headed by Rahul Bajaj who is worth more than US$1.5 billion.

Hero Honda Motors Ltd Hero Honda Motors Limited, based in Delhi, India is a joint venture between the Hero Group of India and Honda of Japan. It has been referred to as the world's biggest manufacturer of 2wheeled motorized vehicles since 2001, when it produced 1.3 million motorbikes in a single year. “Hero” is the brand name used by the Munjal brothers for their flagship company Hero Cycles Ltd. A joint venture between the Hero Group and Honda Motor Company was established in 1984 as the Hero Honda company,India. Hero Honda has three manufacturing facilities based at Dharuhera and Gurgaon in Haryana and at Haridwar in Uttarakhand. The company is founded and headed by Brijmohan Lal Munjal. Toshiaki Nakagawa (joint managing director) Pawan Munjal (Managing Director & CEO) are key person for Hero Honda Motors Ltd. The company's most popular model is the Hero Honda's Splendor, which is the world's largestselling motorcycle, selling more than one million units per year.

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Comparison of Branding strategies

PRODUCTS/BRANDS Bajaj Auto Ltd Pulsar DTS-i Pulsar 220 DTS-i XCD DTS- Si 125 XCD DTS- Si 135 Platina Platina 125 DTS-Si Discover 135 DTS-Si Discover DTS-Si Avenger DTS-i Kristal DTS-i Commercial vehicles

Hero Honda Motors Ltd CD-Dawn CD-Deluxe Splendor Plus Splendor NXG Super Splendor Passion Plus Passion Pro Glamour Glamour PGM F1 Achiever CBZ Xtreme Hunk Karizma Karizma ZMR Pleasure

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Comparison of Branding strategies

BRAND EQUITY According to The Economic Times Brand Equity India’s most trusted brands survey the ranking are: Hero Honda – 33 Bajaj Auto – 100

Building Brand Equity Bajaj Auto Ltd

Hero Honda Motors Ltd

Corporate Name Logo

Bajaj – Name very familiar for scooters Logo was changed

Hero Honda – Introduced wide range of bikes of Honda Japan No Logo Change

Slogan

Distinctly Ahead , (Pulsar – Definitely Male)

Spokes Person

Rahul Bajaj – Prominent Business leader, Rajiv Bajaj NO but using songs of new released movies for its lower income bikes

Dhak Dhak Go (Fill it. Shut it. Forget it) Pleasure (why should boys have all fun) Pawan Munjal

Celebrity Endorsement Jingle Product life cycle

Products

Service

Promotion

Technology

Earlier Bajaj had Hamara Bajaj jingle. Kills brands and product so often. Eg. Caliber, 4S champion, Rave, Chetak, Spirit, CT 100 etc. Known for Scooters for years, became 2nd largest motorcycle manufacturer in India Modern service centre’s and finance schemes through bajaj finserve available across India No corporate branding Pulsar & MTV Stunt Mania

YES – Hritik Roshan for Karizma, Priyanka Chopra for Pleasure No specific jingle Maintains brand portfolio. CD 100 now CD dawn & CD deluxe, Splendor lasted for almost 2 decades etc. Known for its motorcycles over the years & first mover advantage Modern service centres across India No corporate branding Sponsor ship – Hero Honda Series (India Australia series), ICC sponsorship, Hero Honda Saregama – Zee TV, Herohonda Karizma MTV Roadies

DTSi Technology

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Comparison of Branding strategies

BRANDING STRATEGIES The New Brand Management – Kapferer has following branding strategies. Most of the companies follow either of them or follow mixed branding strategies.      

The product brand The line brand The range brand The umbrella brand The source brand The endorsing brand

The Product brand As such Bajaj and Hero Honda are not having product brand strategies. Generally these strategy is adopted by FMCG players. They create individual brands like P&G has brands like Ariel, Tide, Head & Shoulders, Olay etc. Bajaj Auto & Hero Honda does product branding for their premium products such as Pulsar 220 and Karizma ZMR.

Positioning Statement

Both the bikes are very sporty and targeting the youths who are into biking.

Advantage:  

It reduces risk as if a particular brand fails other brands remains unaffected One could easily manage and cater to various classes

Disadvantage: 

It becomes expensive to do branding and advertising for individual brands.

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Comparison of Branding strategies

The Line Brand Strategy The line involves the exploitation of successful concept by extending it but by staying very close to initial products. Example – L’Oreal offers structuring gel, lacquer, a spray etc. under brand name of StudioLine. These strategy is more often practiced by cosmetic, FMCG etc. Bajaj Auto Ltd and Hero Honda Motors Ltd. does not follow the line brand strategy. Advantages are:   

It reinforces the selling power of the brand and creates a strong brand image; It facilitates distribution for each line extension; It reduces launch costs

The range brand strategy The range brands bestow a single brand name and promote through a single promise a range of products belonging to the same area of competence. Example – Clarins – Concept: the specialist in beauty care. Products – Creams, Solutions, fluids, Gels, Baths etc. and it has 3 lines for each products – Soothing line, Slimming and firmness line and line Y. Hero Honda follows Range brand strategy for Karizma, Splendour, Passion and CD brands. Bajaj Auto follows Range brand strategy for Pulsar and Discover brands. Splendor Target Market – Entry level, Middle income group bike Splendor Plus (basic Model Super Splendor (auto start) Splendor NXG (Next Generation) XCD Target Market – Mid segment bike 125 DTS-Si (125 cc bike 135 DTS-Si (135 cc bike)

CD Target Market – Entry level, Lower Income group bike CD Dawn – (basic bike) CD Deluxe – (old splendor look alike)

Passion Target Market – Tier I city, Middle income group bike Passion Plus (basic model) Passion Pro (Sporty look)

Glamour Target Market – 2nd bike purchaser, Middle income group Glamour (basic model) Glamour PGM F1

Platina Discover Target Market- Target Market Entry level bike – Mid segment bike Basic model – DTS-Si bike 110 cc bike 125 DTSi engine DTS-Si 135 cc bike

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Comparison of Branding strategies

Advantages:  

If a brand get recognized then to target newer customer new products are introduced to increase the range of product Less advertising needed

Disadvantages: 

If product does not full fill the expectation than it affects overall range image

The Umbrella brand strategy The umbrella brand strategy is mainly capitalization on one single name and the economies of scale on an entry level. For example – Cannon, Philips etc follow this strategy. This strategy is not adopted by Bajaj Auto Ltd and Hero Honda Motors Ltd.

The Source Brand strategy The products have their own brand name. They are no longer called by one generic name like scooter, bike, moped etc. Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda have moved on to source brand strategy to a great extent. For example earlier scooters were known by Bajaj and bikes by name of Hero Honda. Now all their products are having their individual brand names such as Hero Honda Spendour, Bajaj Discover DTSI etc.

Advantage: 

Strategy effective when new product is introduced

Disadvantage: 

If a brand fails to deliver promise and eventually fails it may affect other brands

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Comparison of Branding strategies

Endorsing Brand Strategy General Motors and Johnson & Johnson use endorsing branding strategy in which it they endorses many brands under them.For example – Buick, Chevrolet, Opel etc. are endorsed by GM.

Mixed Brand Strategy Normally all the corporation uses mixed brand strategies. Bajaj and Hero Honda use mixed brand strategy.

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Comparison of Branding strategies

BRAND ROLES IN BRAND PORTFOLIO Importance of Brand Portfolio    

To increase market share To attract consumers seeking variety who may otherwise have switched to another brand To increase internal competition within the firm To yield economies of scale in advertising, sales, merchandising and physical distribution

1. 2. 3. 4.

Flankers Cash Cows Low-end entry level High-end entry level

Flankers Flanker brands are called fighter brands and are positioned with respect to competitor’s brands so that more important flagship brands can retain their desired positioning. Fighter brands need to be designed in such a way that they should not eat away from their higher priced comparison brands or referents and it must be designed so cheaply that they reflect poorly on these other brands. Example – Bajaj XCD DTS-Si/ Passion--Glamour-Achiever Cash Cows Some brands may be kept around despite dwindling sales because they manage to hold on to a sufficient number of customers and maintain their profitability with virtually no marketing support. These “cash cow’ brands can be effectively “milked” by capitalizing on their reservoir of existing brand equity. Example - Pulsar 220 DTSi and Pulsar DTSi, Avenger DTSi/CBZ xtreme, Hunk, Karizma, Splendor Low End Entry level The role of low-priced brand in the brand portfolio often may be to attract customers to the brand franchise. Example - Platina/CD Dawn & CD Deluxe High-End Prestige The role of a relatively high-priced brand in the brand family often to add prestige and credibility to the entire portfolio. Example - Kawasaki Ninja/Karizma ZMR

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Comparison of Branding strategies

BRAND IDENTITY PRISM New Pulsar 220 DTS-I

Physique

Personality

Good looking 2 wheeler with a feel of sports bike

Masculine, Cool, Competitive, Attitude

Relationship

Culture

Distinctive, Exclusive

Daring, Indian, Thrilling

Reflection

Self Image

Young at heart, Confident, Carefree, Trend Setter

Fastest Indian, Definitely Male

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Comparison of Branding strategies

Karizma ZMR Physique

Personality

Stylish 2 wheeler with a feel of sports bike

Charismatic, Sporty, Energetic, Attitude

Relationship

Culture

Distinctive, Exclusive

Daring, International, Thrilling

Reflection

Self Image

Glamorous, Achiever, Explorer

Winner, Above all, Brave.

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Comparison of Branding strategies

BRAND EXTENSION Line Extension Line extension strategy involves launching various new products variants in the same category under the same brand name. For Bajaj its Pulsar > Pulsar DTSi > Pulsar 180 > Pulsar 220 DTSi. For Hero Honda its Karizma > Karizma ZMR

Brand Extension The Brand extension, on the hand, involves using an existing Brand name to launch a product in a different category.  

Companion Product extension Company expertise

COMPANION PRODUCT EXTENSION

Bajaj Providing integrated solutions, to the costumer. From the cradle to the grave.

Bajaj Auto Finance Here in the case for Bajaj the company provides loans for all the Bajaj Products at the showroom.

Bajaj Pro Biking Showroom It is a concept store targeted to pro bikers which houses sports bike like Ninja, Pulsar and Avenger. Apart from this it provides everything required for pro biking like accessories and technical expertise.

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Comparison of Branding strategies

COMPANY EXPERTISE

Hero Group

Expertise in two wheeler Cycle> Mopeds> scooters> Bikes The hero group used its two wheeler expertise to make other two wheelers apart from their basic product. Bajaj Expertise in Engine. The company is pioneer in developing new technologies like DTSi and is now moving on to developing ultra low cost car.

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Comparison of Branding strategies

Reference The New Strategic Brand Management – Jean Noel Kapferer Marketing Management – 12th edition – Phillip Kotler, Keller www.bajajauto.com www.herohonda.com www.wikipedia.com www.economictimes.indiatimes.com

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