The Hindu Business Line : Ceat embarks on brand restructuring exercise

Mumbai May 10 Ceat Ltd, known for its rhino mascot and the Ceat Cricket Rating besides tyres, plans to invest Rs 20 crore in a 360-degree branding exercise to rework the parent brand, `Ceat' (tyres), `Ceat Shoppe' (retail outlet selling tyres) and promote the `Ceat Cricket Rating', said Mr Arnab Banerjee, Vice-President, Marketing and Sales, Ceat.

The company has appointed Ogilvy & Mather for the job. The `Ceat' brand will be restructured and repositioned based on customer feedback, past legacy and market research. Internally, employees would be asked to come up with their views.

Externally, the company will ask buyers, dealers, agents, passengers and the youth in general as to where the brand stands, where it should be and what is expected of it.

Retail Presence

The exercise will focus on the usage cycle of the product i.e. tyre, said Mr Banerjee. Advertisements will be based on the feedback generated and will be displayed across the electronic, print and Internet media.

The company intends to expand its retail presence through its chain of exclusive Ceat Shoppe outlets.

It will double the existing chain of 75 dealerships by the end of this year and make its presence felt in the tier 2 cities. Moreover, the retail outlets will wear a new face and have features like two-wheeler tyre balancing, headlight alignment and provision of nitrogen gas in tyres as added services — the first of its kind in the country, said Mr Banerjee.

Award Night

The Ceat Cricket Rating award will be promoted on a higher scale with a wider audience spread over a longer period.

Last year, the company held the award night with an event that included signing of bats by the Indian team as part of the World Cup promo across four metros.

Ceat is also looking at one-off projects like the `Spiderman & Ceat— Born Tough' for a co-brand promotion exercise and select winners will be called for the first preview of the movie.

More Stories on : Restructuring | Brands | Tyres

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