2

O� the Beaten Track

Automotive & Ancillaries

Client

One of India’s leading two and three wheeler tyre manufacturer rolling out over 11 million tyres per annum.

Challenge

A strong player in the OEM segment due to its association with its sister concern – a top 2-wheeler brand, the client was completely overshadowed in the aftermarket segment by a competing brand. Associated with the company andall its brand building exercises since 2003, Vertebrand was faced with the challengeof evaluating and redesigning its marketing mix, creating a brand strategy that would di�erentiate it from the mother brand and developing a Marketing & Communication plan to reinforce brand awareness in the aftermarket.

Solution

Having actively worked with the brand, Vertebrand already had a wealth of knowledge about the company, consumer and the environment. With a single- minded focus on creating a nationwide marketing plan that would help the client capture a sizeable chunk of the market, Vertebrand began with a market map. In a sector where the two biggest players had the same USP – physical strength, we

chose a di�erent positioning for our brand, in line with the corporate identity: intellectual and technological edge.

A MARCOM plan was evolved to increase mindshare among key customer segments with the tagline Ride Smart. We arrived at the marketing plan by identifying the focus states based on market potential for sale of two wheeler tyres. The marketing activities were designed based on concern areas like conversion rate, replacement behavior, reasons for replacement and pro�le of customers. Our �nal plan had a city-wise prioritization of maketing initiatives with cost e�ective brand activities designed especially for the 20 – 40 year old age group who were identi�ed as the primary target segment.

A thorough brand and retail track conducted later indicated that the client’s position in the market had steadily improving, especially in traditionally weak markets like Pune. The favourable marketing cost-market return ratio was another indicator of the success of this brand strategy exercise.