V: A TWIST IN THE TALE OF A BRAND

Abstract

Bajaj Auto Ltd. (BAL)-An Indian auto-maker unveiled its most glorified 150cc commuter bike model ‘Bajaj V’ (named ‘V15’ for limited edition) in a quite simple & no-frill launching event in New Delhi on 1st February 2016. The bike model was presented to audience which comprised of journalists, company executives, bike enthusiasts, business analysts and other invitees. On 26thJanuary 2016- The Republic Day of India, BAL had created lots of buzz about the upcoming brand Bajaj-V through a series of integrated campaigns, especially by airing a teaser video that was created by its agency Leo Burnett India. Probably for the first time in Indian automobile industry, an automobile company was trying to experiment with an innovative concept as model ‘V’ was introduced to the world as one which contained metal sourced from the scrapped INS Vikrant- India’s 1staircraft carrier known for its war time military legacy. A bike someone can ride with pride. The sleek and sturdy design embroiled with an unforgettable logo/ brand mark of a designer ‘V’ on its fuel tank complimented the tagline ‘Part Motorbike, Part War Hero’. Model ‘V’ was outcome of a tightly held covert project for almost two years jointly taken care of by team from Bajaj & agency Leo Burnett. The commuter bike segment in India being most promising, the company had set higher expectations from the launch. The case being analyzed, students can understand whether such promotion and positioning is short lived or it is a ripple that will have a lasting pass along rate for long. They can relate sales outcome to buzz-marketing. Students would appreciate the long term impact on family brand ‘Bajaj’. From a strategic marketing perspective, students would find rationale of a new product launch in a competitive scenario where market is almost saturated. Students can learn how companies try to leverage from heritage value of a brand.