Will M&M’s Foray into Mobikes be Successful?

Back in August 2008 when Anand Mahindra, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra got his hands on Kinetic Motors’ assets to pave way for the Group’s entry into the two-wheeler segment, critics cautioned that the buy may prove to be a costly affair as M&M had no expertise in the two-wheeler industry. However, Mahindra stood his ground on the decision and proved everyone wrong by selling one lakh units in just 10 months from the day he launched the first model.

Cut to September 2010, M&M is again the talk of the town with the launch of Mojo (a 300cc motorcycle) and Stallio (a 110cc motorcycle), which mark its foray into the motorcycle segment. Without a miss critics are back in job too questioning whether Mahindra will be able to replicate the same success that it achieved with scooters. However, a visibly confident Anand Mahindra says, “We are geared up to redefine the biking experience in India with the Stallio and the Mojo, which are a potent blend of global technology and innovation.”

But then, with players like Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors already bubbling in the industry with their huge portfolios, one cannot deny the fact that it will not be a cake walk for Mahindra this time. Going by the experts’ views, a lot will depend on how M&M positions its bikes in front of the already established players. On that note, while the recently launched Stallio is an out and out competitor to Hero Honda’s Splendor (India’s largest selling motorcycle), Mojo is the first 300cc bike in the country, which aims at establishing brand Mahindra in the segment by carving a niche for itself. Explains Devendra Shinde, Vice President – Marketing, Mahindra 2 Wheelers, “Stallio will be a volume puller for us, while Mojo, which is a sports cruiser, will establish Mahindra as a brand in the motorcycle segment.” Adds Anoop Mathur, President, 2 Wheeler Sector and Member of the Group Executive Board, M&M, “These world class bikes are worthy additions to the Mahindra’s product portfolio and are part of our commitment to establish an end-to-end two wheeler business in every segment of the industry.”

The company seems to be very particular about how the bikes are to be positioned. So, even before the bikes were launched, the company released a teaser campaign, depicting itself as a technologically ahead bike-maker. And if Shinde’s words are to be believed, then consumers will get to see a lot of it in the upcoming communications.

Be it IT, SUVs, tractors or any other segment that M&M operates in, it has been the company’s modus operandi to be in the top league. Having said that, attaining such a stature in this particular segment will be a tough task. Shinde confesses, “As far as volumes are concerned, we would not be in the top three. But our active marketing strategy has already ensured that Mahindra two wheelers are on the top of the mind recall of the bikers.” The company is fighting hard to create that recall as it has already signed Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador for Stallio – a move, which, as per experts like Jagdeep Kapoor, CMD, Samsika Marketing Consultants, is followed by automobile companies only when they desire to achieve high awareness in a short time span.

In order to have a competitive edge against others, M&M is also focusing on offering features in existing products rather than segmenting them on the basis of the engine power. But then, Bajaj Auto has been following the same strategy of differentiation and technology for the past couple of years. Where is M&M different?

M&M believes strongly in its aggressive marketing plans as Shinde says, “We had utilised digital marketing in the pre-launch campaign to generate strong awareness”, and expects to tread along the same path in future. But, the perception building activities will remain imperative for Mahindra as consumers still associate to it as a company that makes tough, rugged SUVs, which is totally different from the desired recognition of a technologically advanced manufacturer.

Abhimanyu Ghosh - CEO

I am compelled to get back to the days when we as a team sat down and discussed this project which is very close to all our hearts. Powerbrands came into existence, because of our very strong belief that India deserves a book on brands, which deserve their stories to be read. Brands fight it out, a war as potent as anything possible today and in a market, which is the most idiosyncratic in the world. Powerbrands is a salutation to the brands that mesmerise the Indian con-sumers with their brilliant brand strategies.

However for us as a team the biggest problem was to choose the most powerful brands in India. It was difficult, it was confusing and it was troublesome because there are just too many brands, which are doing outstanding and we had to choose only a few. So as the content team and ICMR team kept discussing, various new possibilities came out and so did many combinations. We tried our level best to ensure that the research that comes out has to be authentic and full-proof. ICMR team led by Shivalee Kaushik did a fantastic job of coming to me with a grid of choosing brands through a nation-wide research that looked totally convincing and very scientific. It took both qualitative and quantitative aspects, which delved deep into most important factors of a brand driven by perceptions. After researching 50 industries and various sub-industries, they gave us a list that looked pristine. However most exciting part of the ICMR survey was the path-breaking POWER-FACTOR research grid that was developed and executed for every brand selected to be a POWERBRANDS 2010-2011.

For all the selected brands ICMR went directly to the target market and analysed the trust, recall and emotional levels of the brand. We have incorporated the essence of POWER-FACTOR research as a part of the content. POWERBRANDS 2010-2011 is a pristine thought process, super research and genuinely made consumer recognized process. While we were on a path of creating a credible research report in the shape of a coffee table book format, we kept getting constant demands from various brands that they wanted to be featured in an innovative format inside the book. I am glad to say that Powerbrands is not just a result of quality research but the design execution in the Mega edition book is a first of its kind attempt made globally and is a visual treat. I want to thank Yogesh Gajwani for some remarkable designs and Devdeep Singh who worked on the content grid of the book. Powerbrands is a compilation of India’s most powerful brands and hence the book also needed to be a powerful property. We tried everything possible in this project which makes the total proposition of Powerbrands, the most well done project on brands for the first time in India. According to our initial plans, Powerbrands was only a research report with a very well written coffee table format. But as we progressed with our work and the project kept getting stronger, we did some change in our planning.

For the entire team of Powerbrands, it was always the most important thing to deliver to the Indian readers a book that really showcased brands, which stand for-”excellence”. A coffee table would be restricted to few, so as a part of the plan to reach out to every brand enthusiast in India, POWER-BRANDS 2010-2011 is coming out in two different versions. A coffee table Mega edition and a corporate edition at a much lesser cost. In the making of Powerbrands, I would like to thank the Chairman, CEO and company spokesperson of every brand whom I or my team met as a process to understand the soul of these brands. Powerbrands is an eclectic blend of super-lative content, design and production making it the most unique book on brands ever published. I want to thank Tara, Sumer, Vikram and Yasir for writing some wonder-fully drafted content and specially mention the contributions of Sakshi, Manvi, Sushmeet, Sarmad, Muneeb, Anisha, Preity, Preeti and Sunita for their tireless efforts of coordinating with each brand for the re-search, content and all other information on specific brands. Kanchan Chatterjee & Shahnawaz Ahmed for their designs and Sivam Ojha for managing the website.

Their contributions have been invaluable in the making of this project. Amim Ahmed has been my biggest support system. He went out of his way in helping to make this project a grand success with his great networking and marketing skills. The Mega edition has been printed by Pragati Printers who with their state of the art printing technology were able to give shape. Powerbrands has truly been a combined effort of a big human spirit called passion and team work. And that’s why we have the highest belief in it and we are sure everyone else will.I would like to thank Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri from the deepest point in my heart for being a support system for everyone working with the Planman and IIPM group. He encourages, motivates and gives freedom to give a shape to ones dream. Also big thanks to the Planman Media editorial, photo and production teams for the support that they gave in the making of Powerbrands. We put in our most sincere effort in making this book authentic in its research, world class in its looks and innovative with its design in the Mega edition and content that should justify all of it. I hope you love reading it as much we loved making it.