The Hindu Business Line : A Ta Ra Rum Pum of brands

It's a movie made for these brands. Not literally, maybe, but Yash Raj Films' Ta Ra Rum Pum, with a storyline woven around the hero's career as a Nascar racer, has presented Goodyear India, General Motors and Castrol with a filmi platform on which their products blend into the situation and don't stick out as ill-fitting plugs for the brands.

For Goodyear, which has been a supplier of tyres to Nascar races for the last 50 years, the Hindi movie is a good opportunity to promote its tubeless tyres to the Indian masses. Says Mahesh Krishnan, Sales & Marketing Director, Goodyear India, "The market for cars in India has matured now - consumers have a huge choice, there are luxury cars coming in, and several models as well. All these are high-performance cars and to enjoy them to their fullest, the tyres should be those that facilitate speeds of over 120 kmph. Today, the roads are better too, and the tubeless tyres are ideal for these vehicles."

Most markets the world over no longer use tube-type tyres, not even other countries in the Indian sub-continent. However, India remains an anachronism in this regard as entry-level cars still come fitted with them, because manufacturers have invested in OE (original equipment) capacities.

The advantage of tubeless tyres is that there is no sudden loss of air in case of a puncture - there's no friction between the tube and the tyre as there is no tube - and it takes a relatively longer time before a tubeless tyre needs to be changed for a puncture. Cost is not an issue, says Krishnan, who explains that the cost of a tube and a tyre may well be equal to that of its tubeless counterpart. In fact, the tube accounts for a recurring cost.

For Goodyear, the movie is part of a larger marketing effort to step on the gas. The movie was shot in American racing cars on racetracks which have Goodyear pits. Since 1997, Goodyear has been the sole provider of tyres to Nascar races.

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (Nascar) is the largest sanctioning body of motor sports in the US. According to its Web site, Nascar is the top spectator sport - holding 17 of the top 20 attended sporting events in the US, the No 2 rated regular-season sport on television with broadcasts in over 150 countries, and has 75 million fans that purchase over $2 billion in annual licensed product sales. More Fortune 500 companies participate in Nascar than any other sport.

A pioneer of tubeless tyres, Goodyear, according to Krishnan, has launched a TV campaign that borrows visuals from the movie starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee. It has also got a campaign going on radio for contests based on the movie.

Another highlight of the campaign is the display of the historic Goodyear blimp in the movie. According to www.goodyearblimp.com, the blimp tradition took off in 1925 when Goodyear built its first helium-filled public relations airship, the Pilgrim. Over the years, it built more than 300 airships, more than any other company in the world. During World War II, the US Navy used Goodyear airships for aerial surveillance of the ocean to spot a rising submarine and radio its position to the convoy's surface ships. Though outdated due to modern surveillance technology, the company in the US operates three blimps - the Spirit of Goodyear, based in Akron, Ohio; the Spirit of America, based in Carson, California; and the Spirit of Innovation, in Pompano Beach, Florida.

In on-ground marketing activity, Goodyear has decorated 400 dealer outlets with material about the campaign and its association with the movie. It is also conducting contests and campaigns in malls in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, such as displaying the cut-out of the car Saif drives in the movie to get the public involved in contests like changing the car tyre, tyre skating and so on.

The marketing campaign, called Taking the Winning Turn, is just one part of the effort. Goodyear has set up Goodyear Corners, shops-in-shops in 23 retail outlets, to tell consumers tyre stores need not necessarily be "dirty places" to visit. These corners are staffed with uniformed and trained sales representatives and have even attracted women customers who usually stay away from such stores, says Krishnan. In fact, on International Women's Day (March 8), Goodyear even conducted a Women on Wheels workshop where women were offered free test drives. It has launched an online club called Goodyear My Turf for its elite customers and has set up the Goodyear Wheel Assist service, which operates through a toll-free number that a consumer can call and get information on all matters related to tyres, be it tips on maintenance or details of the nearest dealer. This number is used for promotions and consumer research. It has also invested in dealer education and mechanics' education, informs Krishnan.

Krishnan does not disclose the company's ad spend or by how much it has been hiked, though he says that this is a mass marketing campaign undertaken after a long time. Tubeless tyres account for about 5-10 per cent of the market as per the company's internal estimates. Tubeless tyre sales are growing by 30 per cent. More and more cars in India are being launched with the original fitment of tubeless tyres and this will result in a strong demand for them in the replacement market, a segment where Goodyear has strong top-of-mind recall, he claims.

Up to about five years ago, Goodyear was the only company to offer tubeless tyres, but now all tyre companies do. Goodyear in India today manufactures and markets radial and bias tires for most applications with plants at Aurangabad and Ballabgarh (Haryana).

GM's pitch too

Apart from Goodyear, Castrol and General Motors have taken advantage of this movie. Castrol GTX is seen going into the racing car when it needs refuelling, while GM has got a mention in addition to its cars and logo getting some exposure.

General Motors is in the film to push the Chevrolet Aveo launched a year ago in India. Saif and Rani, the actors in the leading roles, have been its brand ambassadors, and the storyline presented GM a "seamless opportunity", says Anisha Motwani, Director (Marketing), General Motors India. "Every other day, we get proposals from movie makers saying there's a car shot in the movie, or the hero can drive your car, but this movie showcases the performance and style of Chevrolet without being a force-fit," she adds.

Though it's not the Aveo that Saif is seen in but a sportscar from Chevrolet's international range, the role is in line with Aveo's `Now that's Performance' tagline, says Motwani. A whole lot of other Chevy cars including Corvette, claimed to be the world's longest running sports car, are seen in the movie.

GM India is organising a contest associated with the movie, and promoting it both on television and in print.

Those who watch Ta Ra Rum Pum will have the opportunity to test drive the Chevrolet vehicle of their choice at any GM India dealership.

The contest comprises answering a few questions based on the movie, and naming the model of sportscar that Saif uses. The winner will be chosen through a lucky draw, the grand prize is a Chevrolet Aveo.

Is the Aveo actually seen in the movie? No, but Saif is seen mentioning that he's signed a sponsorship with the car. The car has featured in other in-film promos, including one in the recent release Bheja Fry, but not on this scale. This is a 360-degree marketing effort and one more is in the pipeline for this year, says Motwani.

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A Ta Ra Rum Pum of brands