The Hindu Business Line : `Motor sports is positive for us'

Every other company is focused on promoting its product range through the new `720-degree' marketing approach. Jay Galla, managing director, Amara Raja Batteries, spoke to Brand Line on his definition of the new marketing mantra.

You rationale behind the NK (Narain Karthikeyan) sport academy?

We have been involved in motor sports from a sponsor's point of view for quite some time. We did get involved in some activities like go-karting championships to generate more awareness of the sport and also to help the association with the brand. We found that go-karting was a stepping stone towards a larger arena with direct involvement, rather than being just a sponsor.

We looked at companies that have adopted the 720-degree marketing approach; we studied it and tried to emulate it for the company, the brand and motor sports. We, along with Narain, have been discussing it all this while and have been wanting to engage young drivers from the very beginning. In addition to Narain, we have been supporting few other drivers like Karun Chandok and Arman Ibrahim. They all are our brand ambassadors.

We want to identify talent at the grassroots level, groom them, support them and give them opportunities. The money spent is not significant but not outrageous too. It's a good start we have had, but we need to see how we can develop what we have started with. Right now, it's been at the entry level with clinics at Coimbatore for the selection process. We are running a team in the JK Tyre national championship (Formula Rolon).

There are a lot of things we would like to do, but we don't have a large market to support these activities. Some of the things that we really want to do may be high for us at this stage, but ultimately, if we become big enough, we would like to own our F1 team! Everyone has to aim for the top and that is what we would be aiming for. If we can make a viable business case out of it ... it all depends on the growth in our business, as it is an expensive proposition. The cost of running an F1 team is a minimum of $100 million annually. We need to have a total turnover of $1 billion to make a viable proposition.

At this stage, we are sponsoring a team in the premier motor sports event in the country; maybe it will be extended to Asia and other prominent motor sports locations in other regions, but it won't be a direct jump to Formula One. I would see ourselves backing more and more Indian drivers, try to get them into international competitions like Formula Asia and F3 and probably looking at running a team in these races.

How do you see motor sports as a brand promotion tool for the company?

I think it is an extremely important tool for us; we took that position right in the beginning, and it's become an inherent part of our brand image among many others. More than that, motor sports has built positive reinforcements on the brand in terms of technology, teamwork and, performance that we believe as an organisation ... and as a brand is important for us to associate with those kind of qualities.

More Stories on : Interview | Promotions & Offers | Sports

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Hobson's choice

`Motor sports is positive for us'

`Motor sports is towards 720-degree marketing'

"Those were the days ... "

Swadeshi and beyond

Get set for a bounty

Still a young discipline