By Saloni Dutta
CEAT has made a place in the consumer’s mind by ensuring safety on the road its core brand proposition, says Nitish Bajaj, VP Marketing, CEAT Ltd. Looking ahead, the tyre manufacturer, a challenger brand, bets on its communication to move forward in the competitive SUV space
Q] CEAT has always based its communication strategy on consumer insights. What was the insight behind your new campaign which looks at superstitions with actor Irrfan Khan?
You should be able to marry insights to the core of the brand and it should be used relevantly in the communication. CEAT stands for safety, making sure that people’s journey on the road is safe and secure. The pedigree of our motorcycle advertising is be ‘Idiot proof’ - you can’t control behaviour and mistakes of others on the road, putting at risk somebody else’s life. However, a motorcycle with superior grip can keep you safe and this was our insight. We also extended this to car passengers where we found that with safety, a pleasurable ride was a key factor. We also found that in the mass segment, people believed in superstitions knowingly or unknowingly – they believe in certain omens and keep amulets, this shows the consumers’ anxiety when travelling. However, it’s not these beliefs but a tyre with a strong grip that will keep you safe.
Q] Can you share some relevant pointers from your research for the campaign that shows consumer trends and preferences in the tyre segment in India?
Tyre is not a high involvement category, people change their tyres once in three to four years and the choice of tyre is based on price or dealer recommendation. We want to change that behaviour and ensure that with our campaign, tyres remain integral in people’s minds. This campaign brings to the forefront the role of tyre in passenger safety and if our objective is achieved, we hope to be taken as the tyre of choice for a safe and secure ride.
Q] What are the fundamental principles of your marketing strategy?
Our communication is unique and relates to day-to-day usage, it’s not about a pleasurable ride. Our insights are fundamentally rooted in the tyre as a product and that’s why our campaigns are so memorable.
Q] What does your marketing mix look like? Which medium gets a major chunk of your advertising and marketing spends?
Traditionally, TV has been the dominant medium; however, we are trying to change it and currently our digital platforms have become very active. We are also strong on below-the -line direct consumer contact and this will be strengthened; we are also getting into Print and Outdoor. Our TV spends are on parity with the No.1 player in the tyre segment and our share of voice on TV is around 30%. In terms of advertising-to-sales conversion, we invest about 7% to 8% of our sales. We invest less in the commercial segment but in the competitive passenger segments, we spend aggressively. Our marketing spends have grown 25-30% CAGR YoY driven by strong results and as our campaigns are paying off, we are continuously increasing our investments.
Q] Do you leverage CEAT Cricket Ratings to market your product?
CEAT was a pioneer in cricket ratings but in the recent past, this property hasn’t got the impetus it needs from us. Leveraging this property has become expensive due to the number of permissions and royalty involved. Though we have maintained our investment, we need to up the ante. We are in an evaluation frame and are looking to keep this property alive by making it stronger and bigger. We may leverage CEAT cricket ratings digitally as our audience is already on this platform and work is on to make it more vibrant and alive.
Q] What are you doing in the digital space to connect with your consumer?
Digital gives us about 10-11% reach but for a youth centric audience, especially in two-wheelers, the reach becomes higher. We have three digital properties on Facebook – CEAT Tyres, BeIdiotsafe and CEAT Cricket Ratings. We also associate with endorsement and advocate sites like xBhp and do campaigns with them. We engage with buying sites like ChangeMyTyre.com, clicktyre. com, Snapdeal.com, which sell tyres, to get our brand to stand out and be appreciated on these forums. In fact, CEAT Czar was one of the best rated tyres on ChangeMyTyre.com recently. In future, we are looking to get into blogging where people can share their experiences and testimonials about our product.
Q] What are some of your interesting BTL and sales promotion activities for consumer engagement?
Our BTL programme is not centralized; we have eight zones with activation resources that build our campaigns. We do a lot of mechanic meets and training programmes for mechanics and fitters - our influencers – where we train and educate them about our tyres. We are expanding our distribution and do a lot of sub-dealer education programmes. Through our consumer contact programme at shopping malls and petrol pumps, we identify people in need of a tyre-change and give them a trigger, like a coupon, balance alignment or a CEAT shopping address voucher where they can go and change their tyres.
Q] What is the brand’s current marketshare in India and how do you manage to differentiate brand CEAT in the market?
Industry reports estimate our marketshare at 12%. Our share is much larger in the two-wheeler segment. We are a strong No. 2 in the replacement or aftermarket segment and our share has more than doubled in the last three years. It now stands at 23%. In the passenger car segment, our primary focus is SUV radial tyres, where we have a doubledigit market-share and are growing fast. Our key proposition is grip and manoeuvrability for passenger cars and grip for the two-wheeler category.
Q] How does CEAT approach different markets? Do you compartmentalize your strategy geographically or based on the category of product?
Our TV strategy is fairly homogenous, driven by the fact that consumer needs are very similar. Looking at communication, the requirements are similar, however, tonality of communication may vary in different regions. It may be said that Irrfan Khan has an appeal in the North, but his international projects have made him a familiar face across India. The values he portrays are equally understood by a South Indian consumer.
Q] What are the challenges in establishing and communicating the brand proposition in the market today?
We are banking on our new campaign to deliver us gains in the SUV segment, which is fiercely competitive and with varied choice, both local and global. We have leadership aspirations in the SUV tyre category, so our campaign has to break the clutter and create an impact in the consumer’s mind. CEAT is a strong challenger brand, we need to get to the next league and our accelerated investments will take us there. Our communication strategy is our big driver; we are distinct, nobody else in the industry talks the way we do and our communication creates a unique proposition and standing in the minds of the consumer.
We were the first to offer unconditional warranty on our passenger tyres and also a 24x7 call centre, where people can register complaints with an assurance that they will be settled within 48 hours. If not done, there is a proper escalation matrix which ensures a solution within seven days.
Q] What are some of the emerging trends that you see in the automobile industry in the coming year, especially focusing on the tyre segment?
The industry now prefers fuel efficient tyres and the low rolling resistance tyre is one clear trend in the passenger car segment. In the two-wheeler segment, we see the emergence of radial tyres due to an increase of high-end bikes. A number of players are making investments in building capacities here and we are also putting up a small radial plant. In the commercial space, the overall value proposition - fuel efficiency, longevity, retreadability, is looked at to see which tyre gives the best bang for the buck.
CMO FILE
Nitish Bajaj, VP Marketing, CEAT Limited spearheads the marketing function at the tyre manufacturing company. Bajaj has experience of nearly 19 years in marketing, of which 13 years were spent in brand management in sectors like Healthcare and FMCG. Prior to joining RPG Group (parent company of CEAT), he worked with Reckitt Benckiser, the Steel Authority Of India, Heinz India Pvt Ltd & Ranbaxy Global Consumer Healthcare. Bajaj holds a management degree from IIM-A and is a Bachelor of Technology from Banaras Hindu University.
MARKETING TIP
Spend time with consumers and understand their motivation. These insights are critical and help build strong, successful campaigns
ABOUT THE BRAND
CEAT, the flagship company of RPG Enterprises, was established in 1958. Today, it is one of India’s leading tyre manufacturers and has strong presence in global markets, producing over 700 tonnes of tyre per day. CEAT offers a wide range of tyres to all segments and manufactures radials for heavy-duty trucks and buses, light commercial vehicles, earth-movers, forklifts, tractors, trailers, cars, motorcycles and scooters as well as auto-rickshaws. It enjoys a major marketshare in the light truck and truck tyre market and its tubes and flaps are known for quality and durability.
FACTS
CREATIVE AGENCY: OGILVY & MATHER
MEDIA AGENCY: MADISON
SOCIAL AND DIGITAL MEDIA MARKETING AGENCY: HUNGAMA
PR AGENCY: KETCHUM SAMPARK
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