Should Hero go for a new logo?

Last couple of years has seen a lot of rebranding exercise. Godrej, Shoppers Stop, India Post, CEAT Tyres, Essar, Bajaj, Videocon and the latest being Airtel. Some have been praised, some not. But that is not the topic of discussion here. The 26 years relationship between the Hero Group and the Honda Group has been finally ended with the announcement of the Munjals buying the 26% stake from the Honda group. Tensions had been simmering and it was inevitable after Honda could no longer be happy with the 26% stake and started their own set up in India with Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd.

This opens up the market for other Indian motorcycle players since Hero Honda was the largest player in terms of volume of sales. Now with both breaking up, Hero can enter segments where Honda was present and Honda can enter segments where Hero was present. Increase competition could lead to price wars in the immediate future with both brands wanting to gain market share and build an individual brand identity. Here is the catch.

Honda has an individual identity in India. Hero does not. It has always been in the company of Honda and has leveraged the Honda name for Japanese technology in the minds of the Indian consumers, directly or indirectly. Thus should Hero go for a corporate rebranding exercise with its logo if not the name? Hero can now also export its motorbikes to the developing nations which are such a big market. Baja Auto would testify to that with its huge exports. Changing name would not be a good idea but creating a new logo would seem to be good.

With the Honda name gone, Hero would need to tell the consumer about its technological expertise and R&D facilities as well. It would need to spend on increasing its product mix with only the hero name with the individual brand name. a factor which would hinder Hero also would be its existing products which are strong names such as CBZ, Splendor, Karizma in the urban markets whereas the other good names such as Passion, CD 100 which are strong in the rural markets. They would bear the Hero Honda name. Hero would need to launch new bikes to not just take on market competition but also the competition within. Not in the short term but in the long term where it would slowly need to take away these big brands and move its own brands ahead without losing on the cash inflow which these current brands would bring. A sort of catch 22 situation.

The same problem doesn’t arise for Honda since it doesn’t mind taking on these brands since the name is only attached and the earning they get is only through royalty which isn’t much high compared to what Hero would be getting form Hero Honda

It could also lead to dealer poaching by Honda from the Hero Honda’s intensive penetration although it is said that it’s a mutual understanding that it should not happen. Price would be an advantage to Hero vis-à-vis Honda. The spare part availability and its lower price would be of a greater advantage to Hero than Honda.

Speaking from a broader perspective with long term focus, it’s a good thing for both Hero and Honda with opening up of newer markets for both. A new logo by Hero would seem to be a natural step ahead with its own identity creation. Just some food for thought would be, can Hero think on the lines of what Bajaj is thinking i.e. change over to a house of brands with individual brand names. Bajaj has strong brand equity with Bajaj name with lot of hindrance from the other Bajaj players in the family. It would take a lot of gumption to do that. Hero on the other hand would do well to go ahead with it this and take a head start over its immediate competitor.

Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTSi advertisement- a paradigm shift:

A new phase of advertisement execution has been pioneered by Bajaj pulsar 220s new ad. This should not take you by surprise though when I tell you the person behind the bike. Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto has always been a step ahead of his times. He ventures Bajaj scooters into bikes when he saw the future of two wheelers. Scooters were soon going to be passé and bikes were the new mode of transport for the new and young India. He saw the stiff competition from Hero Honda, Yamaha and TVS although TVS wasn’t into bikes when Bajaj started.

Bajaj initially collaborated with Kawasaki but later launched its own Pulsar brand which was a runaway success. Bajaj has bought its indigenously made twin spark technology engine Pulsar 220 into the market. It is one of the highest CC bike from an Indian manufacturer to be launched in India.

The new ad showcases the bike with an international appeal. The ad seems to have been shot in the cowboy belt of Texas. Another point is that the ad shows the bike for approximately just about 10 seconds in an ad time of a minute. The ad isn’t making an emotional or a practical pitch. These types of ads are prevalent in the western developed world where the audiences have matured to advertisements. It’s a first-of-its-kind in India and that’s the reason I said a paradigm shift.

The ad ends with the words, “the fastest Indian”. For the first time, an Indian bike has boasted of the ‘speed’ feature. This has differentiated the bike from other bikes. This is a new thing too for Indian customers. Till now all bikes talked about mileage, looks, safety, comfort and other features since speed has never been a forte of these bikes due to their small cc engines. A case in point is the latest Hero Honda ad talking about great mileage or the glamour ad talking about ‘style’. The new bike ventures into a very high cc category for Indian bikes where it doesn’t find any competition from Indian bikes atleast. There are other bikes with higher cc, but they are not as commercially viable as this in terms of looks, price and comfort.

The ad would definitely appeal to the urban young that did not have a speed machine to ride. They had seen the high CC Hayabusas and Thunderbirds in films but this is a bike which will give them an almost similar feel. So don’t be surprised the next time you see a bike zooming by on marine drive before you bat an eyelid.