Our business footprint had moved way ahead of our brand perception: Sumeet Narang, Bajaj

In the first half of the 2018-2019 financial year, Bajaj Auto for the first time ever, saw its export volumes crossing the coveted mark of 1 million units - over 80 per cent of this was contributed by the motorcycle segment. As per the company’s latest annual report, it exported 1,394,757 motorcycle units in 2017-18, making up for 41 per cent of its total annual sales. The company is, in fact, the leading exporter of two-wheelers in India and has been holding its pole position in the market for a while now. 

The company has gone from giving countrymen the two-wheeler India rides on, to now crafting a range of two-wheelers that makes the company the ‘World’s Favorite Indian.’ “Our business has undergone quite a journey over last three decades since the last Hamara Bajaj campaign came out,” says Sumeet Narang, Head of Urbanite Business Unit. It is to celebrate this journey that Bajaj Auto recently launched a new advertising campaign establishing it has the preferred choice of two-wheelers for people around the world.

Tracing the trajectory of brand Bajaj Narang says, “Hamara Bajaj very beautifully summarised what Bajaj had achieved over the seventies and eighties in India. It is an iconic campaign and goes beyond just being an advertisement. One of the other reasons why it stuck on very well and consumers loved it a lot was because it wasn’t a claim or a promise based on insufficient facts. The brand has achieved a position by being the first mobility solution for most Indians and the campaign very beautifully summarised what the brand meant to every Indian family.” 

Since then Bajaj has undergone quite a journey in two-wheelers. The ubiquitous Bajaj Chetak which was the mobility solution for every average Indian home gave way to Bajaj Pulsar, a masculine bike, around the turn of the century. With the Pulsar, Bajaj moved its focus away from scooters to motorcycles. “It was a very differentiated product to what was being sold in the market at that point in time which were 100cc commuter bikes. Pulsar created the sports segment in a way. Even today it is the largest brand in the entire sports segment,” Narang points out.  

After Pulsar Bajaj launched the Discover, Avenger, Platina, AT 100 and now ‘V’ and Dominar. “Each of these products occupies a very unique place in the market and talks to a different consumer segment; addresses different riding needs which are truly universal,” Narang says that creating this differentiated brand helped Bajaj spread its global footprint. “What it required was brand building, product design, and technology to make the products truly world-class so that they could be competent and stand up against Japanese and European brands,” he adds. 

In the seventeen years since the launch of Pulsar, Bajaj Auto has mustered presence in 70 countries across the globe. “In these 17 short years, we are already the world’s third largest motorcycle manufacturer. All of this is news to the Indian consumer. This journey of the brand had to be communicated to the consumers who have grown up very fondly with Hamara Bajaj,” explains Narang. The insight behind the campaign was a mix of consumer and business insight. “We found that our business footprint had moved way ahead of our brand perception. And talking to our consumers we found that they took a lot of pride in the achievement of the brand,” reveals Narang. 

“Both the campaigns operate at very different levels,” points out Narang. “Hamara Bajaj very clearly worked at the hearts of people and touched a certain chord, and the World’s Favourite Indian is trying to earn a lot of awe and respect from consumers.” 

In due course of time, a version of this campaign will be introduced in international markets. The biggest challenge with establishing a brand in a foreign market “is that you are a new brand in that country, you need to establish your brand through the delivery of your products, you need to understand the local usage patterns and consumer habits.” “In a category like ours, this can vary very dramatically from one country to another. So we need to decide which offering to go with, who to pick up as competition,” Narang said.  

Bajaj has succeeded where many brands have failed - winning consumer trust and creating a niche for itself in international markets. Narang says it is the company’s vision to move out of Indian shores that has helped the company create a strong product portfolio for India and other markets. “Belief and commitment towards continuing to invest behind your products, technology, and brand building. Bajaj is a living example, where despite all the foreign brands coming to India, we continue to hold our position as the number two motorcycle manufacturer in the country and we have been able to grow beyond. It is a result of our vision - why should our market be confined only to India. Because of that mindset, it has helped us strengthen our position in India but also globally competitive.” 

The company which currently has a strong presence in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia plans to now focus on growing in its market share in the ASEAN region.