A apki jeet hamaari jeet hai (your win is our win), says Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Don't worry… Not to his cricketing counterparts from around the world, but to a motley bunch made up of a truck driver, a fleet operator and a mechanic.

The latest commercial to hit the TV screens last week during the IPL, it features Captain Cool – hair slicked down, clean-shaven and sporting an ‘Ashok Leyland' shirt – saluting the fleet that runs the show behind the scenes.

Did we say Ashok Leyland? Yes!

For long, the reticent player from the South was content doing what it knows best. But now the bus-and-truck maker, owned by the Hindujas, has decided to turn off the mute button. It is eager to talk. Not about itself and its products, but about the “unsung” heroes of the transportation world. Some of them who spend months on the road, miles away from home.

“We have been shy for too long. It is time for us to break the shackles of silence and be more market-facing as we look to scale new markets and segments,” says Alok Saroagi, Head – Brand and Marketing Communication, Ashok Leyland. This could have been done at least five years ago, he admits.

Apart from buses and medium and heavy commercial trucks, Ashok Leyland last year entered the light commercial vehicle segment in a joint venture with Nissan. The LCV Dost has already clocked sales of 7,760 units in less than a year. The company also entered the construction equipment sector along with American major John Deere. Defence vehicles is another segment the company is keen to expand.

Ashok Leyland is the second largest commercial vehicle maker in the country with a turnover of Rs 12,841 crore. Around six out of every 10 buses plying in the State transport system are from Ashok Leyland. Some of its biggest clients are the State Transport Corporations of Delhi and Tamil Nadu. Ashok Leyland also operates several school buses. Its buses carry around 70 million passengers every day. Yet the brand has poor recall.

Ask Smita Narain, a bank employee in Delhi, which brand of bus she travels by every day, and she draws a blank.

Raghu Viswanath of Vertebrand Management Consulting says as a brand Ashok Leyland has not leveraged its business strengths. “In spite of steady market performance, its mindshare has always lagged behind its market share ... vis-à-vis Tata Motors and other commercial vehicle companies.”

The other big trucking company, Tata Motors, is certainly more visible. The Tata Ace campaign is perhaps the most memorable campaign from the Tata Motors stable in recent times, says Viswanath. The commercial shows a not so prosperous man ultimately running his own business – the truck's rear-view mirror is used to capture the changes in his life as he goes up the ladder.

Why does Tata enjoy such high brand recall? First of all, the Tatas are a recognised brand and any sub-brand associated with the group gets a residual equity, says Viswanath. “Also, the money the Tatas invest in marketing campaigns is huge. “Substantially higher than what Ashok Leyland invests,” he adds.

This time around, Ashok Leyland is ready to spend. Dhoni does not come cheap, he would have cost Leyland at least Rs 3-5 crore, says a media analyst.

But this is not the first time Ashok Leyland has come out with an ad. Back in 2006, when it was less flamboyant, the company briefly ran an ad featuring an engineering-obsessed father who gets a truck-shaped cake for his son's birthday.

“From being inward-looking, the needle has shifted to an outward-looking perspective. The latest ad is not a campaign to showcase our trucks or buses. But it builds on the good work we have done in the community. For instance, for driver welfare in the form of driver training schools which not only teach safe driving but also life skills,” says Saroagi. “If we keep our fraternity happy, it reflects on our profitability too.”

Viswanath of Vertebrand says the communication strategy of co-creating success is refreshingly different from many other commercial vehicle campaigns which focus on product benefits.

But reactions to the commercial have been mixed. A few young viewers feel it is not slick.

Rohit Srivatsava, National Head of Planning, Contract Advertising, which has conceived the ad, says the primary target audience is the hard-working people from the world of transportation, not the youth. “The ad is a celebration of their victory, and the brand ambassador Dhoni promises to be in the trenches with the real heroes.”

The ad runs in five languages – Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Apart from the TVC, there will be an outdoor campaign, print ads and on-ground activation for drivers and mechanics. The company is tight-lipped on details and marketing spends.

Bang for buck?

It is important for the brand to ensure that it does various things to drive home the success message – be it on ground or online. It needs to focus on the ‘real' heroes out there, rather than emphasise an over-exposed Dhoni who is perhaps losing his stock, cautions Viswanath.

Is there any celebrity who is not over-exposed today, argues Saraogi. “The way we have used Dhoni in the campaign – as a neat representative of the corporate world – will cut through clutter and get into the mind space of our audience. Dhoni stands for someone who leads from the front … he is the son of the soil with an element of groundedness and all this ties in well with our company.”

Incidentally, this is the first time in its 60-year journey that Ashok Leyland has roped in a celebrity endorser.

Ashok Leyland, which hates being referred to as a South Indian company, says it is, in fact, an international player. Ashok Leyland's Avia trucks are a common sight in Eastern Europe. The company has a manufacturing plant in Ras-al-Khaimah which rolls out four buses a day to Africa and West Asia. Recently, the company also entered the UK with the acquisition of majority stake in bus maker Optare.

The corporate sure has had a head start in South India. But now the North is also growing fast for the company in terms of sales and network expansion. Last year, the North accounted for 40 per cent of sales.

Ashok Leyland is serious about being a nationally relevant player and Dhoni with his pan-Indian personality fits well, the company officials chorus. “And thanks to Chennai Super Kings, he is also a well-known face down South too,” laughs Vinod Dasari, the young and dynamic MD of Ashok Leyland.

Dasari, who took over the reins from industry veteran R. Seshasayee a year ago, is keen to give marketing and branding a big thrust. Previously, its creative and marketing activities were handled by JWT and Mudra. Ashok Leyland has now found a new creative agency in Contract (Mumbai) which echoes the views of the changing Ashok Leyland brand. It has also handed over media buying responsibilities from Mindshare to Mudra.

Earlier, Ashok Leyland marketing activities were restricted to just leaflets and brochures. But now it wants to engage more with the community through on ground activities and meet-and-greet programmes with Dhoni.

It is also weighing social and digital media. Barring a token presence on Facebook, the company's social engagement is nothing significant. “Since we are not a typical B2C brand, we are looking out for a partner who can help us build a point of view on this,” says Saraogi.

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