The thrice-born brand

Suzuki Motorcycle India has a peculiar problem. The two-wheeler arm from passenger car Suzuki’s stable has the unenviable task of establishing its own unique brand identity in competition with its own brand. And not once or twice, but three times over!

There is, for starters, the towering brand presence of the automobile arm, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the market leader in four-wheelers and arguably, the most recognised car badge in India.

Suzuki Motorcycle has the same stylised samurai-style ‘S’ as the cars, which should have been a great brand advantage, one would have thought. After all, if your logo is recognisable to most adult Indians, you’ve got a running start in the brand race.

Or have you? The Suzuki of the Maruti Suzuki brand has very different brand connotations – of dependable, affordable cars which sip fuel, but would seldom win beauty contests – or body-building ones either. On the other hand, Suzuki Motorcycle boasts the Hayabusa as part of its stable in India – it was once the world’s fastest production motorcycle and still one of the most aspirational superbikes in the market. A bit different from the ‘cheap and cheerful’ Maruti Suzuki line.

That is problem number one. As if that wasn’t enough, the brand has a second problem. Its first entry in India was not on its own, but in conjunction with TVS. TVS Suzuki was the number two motorcycle brand in India for a while, and had a huge fan following of its own, particularly in the South. Unfortunately, unlike the Maruti joint venture, the TVS-Suzuki marriage did not stand the test of time and both have gone their own, separate ways – with TVS doing some aggressive branding in the early years to establish its own identity.

So, when it came to two-wheelers, Suzuki had to establish its brand identity thrice over. But Suzuki feels the multiple brandings have helped give its solo entry a flying start. In the South, for instance, where the erstwhile TVS Suzuki reigned supreme, Suzuki two-wheelers have found a warm welcome.

“The South accounts for 25 per cent of our motorcycle sales and 40 per cent of our scooter sales,” says Anu Anamika, national head (marketing) of Suzuki Motorcycle India.

At an all India level, though, Suzuki has to fight an uphill battle against market giants Hero and Bajaj, former collaborator TVS and fellow Japanese rival Honda. “We are one of the newest entrants in the market and that was an advantage,” says Anamika.

Suzuki had certain advantages even before it entered the market. High-profile bikers such as film star John Abraham, who owned a Hayabusa, became an unofficial brand ambassador of sorts.

At that time though, Suzuki was not officially in India as a solo brand – it made its formal entry only six years ago. When it did enter the market, the challenge was entirely different. Suzuki already had its own niche following among performance biking and superbike enthusiasts – but the largest chunk of the market was for a basic, affordable and fuel-efficient workhorse, one which was also sturdy enough to take the punishment of the harsh Indian climate and road conditions.

The Hayate edge

Enter the Hayate, which Suzuki Motorcycle hopes will turn into its bread-and-butter volume bike, on the lines of Hero’s Splendour, the single largest selling mobike variant in India for any brand.

The Hayate has been Suzuki’s bestseller in the motorcycle segment and has given Suzuki two-wheelers an edge in helping it offset the sluggish growth in the two-wheeler industry. Suzuki attributes the Hayate’s success to its ‘value for money’ proposition, combining price, performance and low operating costs with a more stylised look and decorative bells and whistles than comparable counterparts.

With a new-look Hayate in the market and aggressive expansion plans – it plans to double dealerships from 300 to 600 this year and is aiming to double its market share over a year, Suzuki is now stepping on the gas to push the brand.

It kicked off a massive marketing exercise. Suzuki is said to be planning to spend in excess of Rs 100 crore on the two-wheeler brands (although the company declined to give the financial details), by finally unveiling a new brand positioning exercise – ‘ Apna way of life’ – and a brand new brand ambassador – Bollywood superstar Salman Khan.

“It is important for us to create an identity of our own,” stresses Atul Gupta, executive vice-president of Suzuki two-wheelers, “product to product differences are not that great in the market, so branding is critical”.

Suzuki’s response bears more than a stray resemblance to Bajaj scooter’s iconic Hamara Bajaj branding. Suzuki, too, wants to send the message that its bike is not just for India, but a part of the Indian way of life.

The series of commercials feature Salman Khan in different parts of the country, riding with different kinds of Suzuki owners.

Although the approach is straight out of Suzuki’s global “Suzuki way of life’ campaign, the India version, conceptualised by RK Swamy BBDO, is very ‘filmi’ in its narrative and storyline. Not surprising, since the films have been directed by Bollywood director Rohan Sippy.

“The Indian audience connects with Salman on a personal level. As the narrator of the story, he brings together the many colours of Indian life and Suzuki’s presence in each of those moments,” says Anamika.

Simply south

In fact, for the South markets, Suzuki’s biggest in India, the TVC has been customised.

An extension to the 2012 campaign, this marketing campaign is spearheaded by a new-look TV commercial with Salman Khan in a South Indian setting. Directed by cinematographer V. Manikandan, it is shot in an over-the-top style typical of Kollywood masala movies with veteran actor Kota Srinivasa Rao.

Suzuki is hoping that the new big bucks campaign will propel the Hayate into the leader’s pack. The stakes are high.

The South market is Suzuki two-wheeler’s biggest. And the mass market motorcycle segment (100-110 cc) contributes a large chunk of overall two-wheeler sales in Tamil Nadu (43 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (44 per cent), Karnataka (45 per cent) and Kerala (45 per cent).

The marketing campaign is supplemented by Suzuki’s dealership expansion in these markets. Outlets will now go up to 30 in Tamil Nadu, 25 in Andhra Pradesh, 20 in Karnataka and 15 in Kerala.

All that remains is for Salman to work his magic!

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