Rebranding of Bajaj

Rebranding of Bajaj

People should now get used to saying Humara Pulsar’ or ‘Humara Discover’ instead of ‘Humara Bajaj’. The reason Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto, has decided to drop ‘Bajaj’ from the two wheeler brand name.

According to reports, the company has decided to overhaul its distribution set-up and rename all its consumer touch points to just Pulsar or Discover with an estimated total cost of 21 Crores

Is this rebranding exercise makes sense? Does removing the parent company name make sense?

The Rationale

I would rather see this as a product portfolio management exercise which would give a clear vision to the product strategy and helps in streamlining promotional and product launch strategies.

Bajaj and Pulsar contributes more than 70% of Bajaj auto two wheeler sales and broadly these two brands serve the two distinct segments of Indian consumers.

So, instead of adopting product centric segments (like pulsar 150 CC, Discover 135 CC) Mr. Bajaj has created customer centric segments with Discover, a economy class segment with high fuel efficient bike for the families and Pulsar, a sporty bike for the youths.

Again if you look at consumers’ perspective, these brands (Pulsar and Discover) have a better recall due its high brand value rather than the brand equity of name “Bajaj”. Ask someone which bike they have? 8 out of 10 would say Pulsar or discover not Bajaj Pulsar or Bajaj Discover. So removing the brand name from the customer touch points and communications of two bikes would not harm the company.

Coming to the name Bajaj, it is associated with ‘broad’ values such as trust and reliability, especially in the two-wheeler category. While the strength of the Bajaj brand ‘identity’ is undeniable, its ‘equity’ is far from being well focused. The name Bajaj does not stand for any thing (Think of Volvo for safety, Mountain dew and Thumbs up for Adventure).

Ultimately it’s the brand value that drives the revenue not the parent name. It is up to the Bajaj to keep Pulsar and Discover relevant and refreshed.

Amanpreet.

AMUL - The Gentle Giant

AMUL stands for Anand Milk Union Limited. 
AMUL is the umbrella brand for a variety of products like Cheese, Milk, Ghee, butter, ice-cream etc.

The real name behind the 'Amul' brand is Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF). 
Amul has gone from strength to strength with a great fabric of Supply Chain Management and a low budget yet highly effective and aesthetically pleasing Marketing Campaign, and created history in Indian FMCG sector.

Amul has created a very simple, sociable and Indian brand; people identify themselves with the AMUL brand. 
Lets look at the Marketing Mix of Amul:

Product - Dairy Products, Cooking Products
Price -  Low Pricing Strategy
Place -  Rural and Urban Market, International market
Promotion - Advertisements, Show sponsorship's

A point worth noting is that AMUL spends a mere 1% of its turnover on promotions. The simple yet effective print ad campaign which creates adverts on the daily issues has been a MEGA success; and has greatly been able to identify itself with the people. A brand is nothing but a manifestation of trust. The Butter Girl Ad campaign is the longest ever ad campaign and has been running for over 40 years now (the same was launched in 1967) 

Some of the most enticing ads are posted here:

Ad on Shoaib Akhtar's book - Controversially Yours

Zidane's head butt in the WC 06:

 Ad on Lord of the Rings success:

Kumble's 10 wicket hall:

2008 US recession:

Raju's Satyam scandal:

Ad on Joker from Dark Knight:

Please refer to this link for a comprehensive list of the Amul's Billboard ads:
http://www.nofullstop.com/2009/04/30/125-mesmerizing-ads-from-amul-india-marketing-management-at-its-best/

The billboard campaign has indeed done wonders for the Amul brand.

Other than these ads, AMUL also sponsors TV shows like Chef of India Contest, Star Voice of India, Music ka maha muqabla etc. Association with these TV shows helps Amul gain mass media coverage and an opportunity to bind more with the youth. It also organizes competitions like Slogan Likho Disneyland Dekho. 

Amul has its presence in more than 40 countries till date. No doubt, with this so 'Indian' and unique way of advertising and Brand building, Amul will always pose a stiff task for the behemoths like HLL, Nestle, P&G etc.

Way to go AMUL, the taste of India :)

                                                                                                                                                                   - Amanpreet