ITV

Tag: Honda

  • Automotive brands struggle to differentiate themselves in India

    Automotive brands struggle to differentiate themselves in India

    MUMBAI: The automobile industry of India has always been a favourite among consumers, but according to the recent JD Power Asia Pacific 2014 India Brand Influence and Positioning Study (BIPS), very few automotive brands in the intensely competitive India passenger-car market are able to establish a distinct position in car buyers’ minds.

     

    In India, brands with the highest brand influence scores (on a 1,000-point scale) are Maruti Suzuki (837), Hyundai (758), Toyota (729), Honda (723) and Tata (703), while Mitsubishi (565) and Fiat (586) are amongst brands with the lowest influence.

     

    According to the study, strong brand influence may have a positive effect on purchase intent for a particular brand, as brand influence scores correlate highly with brand consideration rates. The study also segments the market using psychographic, demographic and behavioral attributes to help automakers identify and understand who their best prospects are in the new-car market.

     

    “Brand image and reputation have gained significant importance over the last five years for consumers in the Indian auto industry and are key purchase criterion,” said JD Power Asia Pacific Singapore executive director Mohit Arora. “Brand Influence scores measure the impact a brand has in the market, which is critical for automakers to track and measure,” he aaded.

     

    As per the report, in the Northern and Eastern regions of India consumers in India have substantial difficulty distinguishing between many of the larger European and US automotive brands such as Fiat, Ford and Renault. In contrast, Japanese brands, such as Honda and Toyota, are able to more effectively differentiate themselves from other brands.

     

    Despite its Japanese origin, consumers view Maruti Suzuki as an Indian brand, less modern than other brands but distinctly positioned as offering affordable and fuel-efficient cars. Similar to Maruti Suzuki, Tata is also seen as a brand primarily positioned on affordability and fuel efficiency.

     

    Consumers in India perceive these Japanese brands to be more contemporary, offering the latest technology and engineering and perceive them to have a more global image than their European, Korean and US counterparts.  

     

    Explaining the brand positioning, Arora elaborated, “Understanding their current positioning relative to the competition from a consumer’s perspective as well as the type of messaging themes that appeal most to a target segment helps automotive manufacturers sharpen their marketing efforts. Generally, consumers are able to differentiate more effectively on vehicle features they can see, touch and feel than on intangibles.”

     

    The 2014 India Brand Influence and Positioning Study is based on interviews with 8,009 car owners who have owned their vehicles from 30 to 42 months and who were asked to compare two vehicle brands. The study was fielded from January through April 2014 across 30 cities in India, a period when Indian car industry was at an all time low in sales and spirit.

  • ‘Dare 2 Dance’: A step further to dance

    ‘Dare 2 Dance’: A step further to dance

    MUMBAI: Ever imagined grooving to music, with no dance floor? Giving the audience a break from the usual dance based reality shows, Life OK is all set to give the format a twist.

    Moving away from all the common theories of a huge stage where contestants showcase their talents, the show will have no dance floor to perform. Christened Dare 2 Dance, the contestants will be challenged to perform in the most difficult situations on land, water or air.

    Produced by SOL Productions, it is all about taking risks and re-inventing oneself. The Khiladi Akshay Kumar will take the mantle of a host, while he would also be seen playing a mentor to the contestants as he challenges contestants to dance on a narrow wall or even under water. Kumar will first demonstrate the format to each contestant with a commitment of a ‘first of its kind’ show.

    The channel has got Micromax on-board as its presenting sponsor and Honda as the powered by sponsor along with eight associate sponsors. According to a media planner, the title sponsorship is pretty high and would be around Rs 15 crore and powered by sponsor will be 15 per cent less.

    Life OK EVP and general manager Ajit Thakur states that getting Kumar on-board was the perfect choice. The channel wanted somebody who has been both seen as a dancer and a stunt hero. He adds, “Kumar has successfully managed to challenge the status quo with his constant need to push the envelope and move beyond the common. It was this need to challenge the norms and do something different that brought us together.”

    Thakur says that for a very long time the channel wanted to tap into the dance space, but couldn’t come up with an idea which could act as a differentiator. “But then we found Dare 2 Dance which went one step further with no stage or a set, but in open air on different locations.”

    Sharing his sentiments on coming on board for Dare 2 Dance, Kumar says, “What I like the most about the show, is the fact that it puts the contestants out of their comfort zone and challenges them. I’ve been so excited about it, right from the word go, and it’s been an amazing experience.”

    It has got 10 challenge takers on-board. Out of the 10, only two are actors, while the others are choreographers who have made a name in the fraternity by winning several dance reality shows. There are three international contestants as well, namely Emille Callion, a professional dancer from Paris, Scarlett Wilson, a British model and dancer and Karan Pangali a trained Kathak dancer originally from U.K. Among the actors are Ritwik Dhanjani who also got to fame as a winner of Nach Baliye, Sayantani Ghosh and Kunwar Amar, who shot to fame after Zee TV’s dance reality show Dance India Dance. The choreographers include Sanam Johar, Prince, Alisha Singh and Mayuresh Wadkar.

    “We needed people to dance at heights and inside water. So where you can’t even stand, they have to dance. We needed only accomplished dancers and that is why roped in dancers who had won many reality shows and became choreographers,” reasons Thakur.

    The highlight of the show is that it will see no eliminations for the first four weeks. “Contestants have rehearsed and worked very hard for it and so we thought it wasn’t fair from our part to eliminate them in the first week itself. So the eliminations will happen only after the fourth week,” informs Thakur.

    Moreover contestants will be given green or red card every week and the ones who will accumulate more number of green cards will have the chance of winning the show. The contestants will be challenged to prove their mettle as ‘Extreme Dance Ke Heroes’ in a hope to rise above all odds. Thakur reveals that many have walked out of the show after being told of the challenges. The lucky winner of the show along with a cash prize will get a Honda CBR 250R motorcycle.

    Except for the finale, all the other episodes have already been canned in Cape Town in South Africa. The show will spread for 16 episodes. While it has been choreographed by Sanjay Shetty and his team of professionals, the stunts have been designed by stunt co-ordinator and performer Francois Grobbelaar, who has earlier worked on a number of Hollywood and Bollywood projects.

    It has also left no stone unturned to ensure that contestants are left unhurt, and have taken a lot of safety measures into consideration. For every round, every platform has a safety auditor who would make his team of professionals go through the entire round and give an ok to it. Moreover, an ambulance was always kept on a standby.

    It took six months for the channel to plan and get things into place. Deciding the location was a tough task for the GEC. “You can’t shoot this anywhere in the world. You need to have that level of safety and different geographical elements which allows you to use different things,” opines Thakur.

    Thakur informs that around 30 per cent of the budget of the series will be spent on marketing. Since there are several foreign participants, apart from advertising on channels, newspaper, hoardings and radio announcements, social media will be used heavily to reach to the viewers overseas.

    Though Thakur refused to divulge any financial details regarding production cost of the show, sources close to the development reveal that the production cost per episode is anywhere between Rs 2-3 crore, this includes Kumar’s fee. The show will be aired from 6 September, every weekend at 8.30pm.

     

  • Honda unleashes wave 2.0 of its business expansion

    Honda unleashes wave 2.0 of its business expansion

    MUMBAI: After a positive business result, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) has decided to go all out with its marketing activities.

     

    It was in May, this year, when HMSI announced that it saw a 55 per cent growth in total sales at 3,55,726 units. The company’s total sales stood at 2,29,143 units in the corresponding month of the previous year. Motorcycle sales registered a rise of 76 per cent to 1, 60,295 units in May 2014 from 91,280 units in the same month a year ago, HMSI had said in a statement. 

     

    According to various media reports, it is also learnt that over the past two years, HMSI has narrowed the gap with its competitor, Bajaj Auto, which from the last five years has shifted its focus on motorcycle. In May, for instance, Bajaj Auto sales dropped 17 per cent to 176,277 units, against 212,129 units in May 2013. This is when the motorcycle sector posted growth of 12 per cent. Honda’s new launches in the economy segment have helped the brand take the leading step.

     

    The auto brand has now taken a step further to scale up its marketing initiatives. It has commenced its latest corporate campaign titled ‘Honda is Honda’ in two phases. In phase one, there was a splash of teaser activities across various social sites and blogs from 14-18 July. This was followed by the TV teaser which was on-air from 15-18 July.

     

    In the phase two, the brand will break 360 degree campaign blitzkrieg starting from 19 July across TV, print, radio, outdoor to even cinema. Engaging with his 10 million fans, Honda’s brand ambassador, Akshay Kumar, too is promoting the campaign through his social page.

     

    The corporate campaign aims to unambiguously demonstrate that firstly, Honda is the partner of choice for Indian two-wheeler customers in pursuit of their dreams. Secondly, to firmly embed Honda’s Wings as the metaphor/symbol of HMSI’s commitment to enable people to achieve the lift they seek.

     

    Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India vice president-sales and marketing YS Guleria said, “Honda is Honda’ is not just another campaign but an important one to announce the start of a new era as ‘Only Honda in Indian two-wheeler industry’; Honda has unleashed wave 2.0 of its business expansion. As its next move, Honda is strategically reinforcing its solo and empowered identity – the ‘wings’ as it makes inroads into rural environs. ‘Honda is Honda’ is our most ambitious 360 degree campaign and the first ever launched from the digital platform followed by other media.”

     

    Dentsu Marcom has executed the campaign. Dentsu Marcom NCD Titus Upputuru mentioned that HMSI’s first corporate campaign with ‘Hamein Jaldi Hain’ campaign showcased how the country was in a hurry and how Honda can help the countrymen and women in their hurriedness to their dream destinations.

     

    “In its second campaign, we wanted to establish clearly that this ride is not just a ride but a flight. It is interesting that when we ride a motorcycle or a scooter, we lift our feet off ground. When birds fly, they lift their feet off ground. The brand had this incredible symbol, which we hadn’t leveraged. So it all came together in ‘zameen se jab hum paanv uthate hain, pankh apne aap lag jaate hain’ brand Honda gives an experience no other brand can,” added Upputuru.

     

    According to Dentsu Marcom vice president account management Abhinav Kaushik, “This campaign is a salute to the million wing-riders who are soaring on the two-wheels of Honda. So no matter who you are, or what your dreams are, the wings of Honda will make sure you reach your desired destination.”

     

  • Honda Cars India registers 30% growth in April 2014

    Honda Cars India registers 30% growth in April 2014

    MUMBAI: Honda Cars India (HCIL) recorded a monthly domestic sale of 11,040 units in April 2014 registering a growth of 30 per cent owing to the success of the all new Honda City and strong sales momentum for Honda Amaze. The company sold 8,488 units in the corresponding month, last year.

     

    Expressing delight on the company’s performance, Honda Cars India sr vice president marketing & sales Jnaneswar Sen, said, “We have started the financial year 2014 – 15 on a positive note and would like thank our customers for the fantastic response to the all new Honda City. We also celebrated the 1st anniversary of Honda Amaze by introducing the anniversary edition and we are confident of its good sales in this fiscal as well.”

     

    HCIL also exported a total volume of 402 units during April 2014. 

    The company’s product range includes Honda Brio, Honda Amaze, Honda City and Honda CR-V. Honda’s models are strongly associated with advanced design and technology, apart from its established qualities of durability, reliability and fuel-efficiency. The company has a strong sales and distribution network with 170 facilities in 107 cities spread across the country.

  • Chhota Bheem, Honda to promote road safety among kids

    Chhota Bheem, Honda to promote road safety among kids

    MUMBAI: As the leading two-wheeler manufacturer to inculcate safe riding habits in India since 11 years, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd – the Only Honda in Indian 2Wheeler industry today announced its latest step for promoting responsible riding and road safety.

    Partnering with POGO, Brand Honda has associated with Chhota Bheem – India’s most loved animation character for safety promotion among kids along with their families.

    Honda wanted to promote safety riding among kids in a fun manner, as educating young minds on road safety is an effective way of spreading message to the entire family. As a next step, Honda saw perfect synergy & brand fitment in Chhota Bheem who is the role model to not just small kids but entire family. In his exploits with his friends in Dholakpur village, Chhota Bheem character conveys all the aspects of a superhero – be it strong values, might, courage, discipline or learning.

     
    Very soon ‘Honda Safe Riding with Chhota Bheem’ will be organized in 11 cities across India where Chota Bheem will engage and interact with kids and people at large. The national inaugural event at Delhi will be followed by Jaipur, Indore, Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Greater Noida and Nagpur.

    ‘Honda Safe Riding with Chhota Bheem’ will provide an opportunity for kids to learn safety riding tips, meet ‘Chhota Bheem and get clicked with their favorite Super Hero. Fun and interactive activities like understanding road sense in CRF 50, painting competitions etc. will drive home the message of road safety through fun times with family.

    Further, all Honda dealerships will carry new POP material for spreading road safety message amongst kids suitably supported with free distribution of Road safety education material in schools. We will also be running a Chota Bheem TVC on Pogo to spread road safety messages backed by aggressive digital media campaign.

    Excerpts from Company officials-

    “As HMSI expands in production capacity, the social responsibility of the company is getting bigger. HMSI has further built it’s commitment towards road safety by associating with Pogo and Popular character Chhota Bheem. Honda together with Chhota Bheem shall spread the message on importance of road safety across the country”, said Mr. Keita Muramatsu – President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India

    “Safe riding is Honda’s priority worldwide and in India too. Research showed us that not just 73% kids between 4-14 years but also a high percentage of parents regularly watch Chhota Bheem.  Hence, it was an obvious choice for Honda to align with POGO & we are delighted to welcome Chhota Bheem. With his lively presence, Honda will spread safety message forward among kids and their families”, said Mr. Y.S Guleria, Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India

    Juhi Ravindranath, Vice President, Ad Sales, South Asia, Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. said, “POGO is excited to partner with Honda two wheelers on this noble initiative. Chhota Bheem’s immense popularity and   admiration with kids and parents only helps us reinforce the message of road safety.”

     

  • Dentsu Marcom flies away on Hondas’ Activa

    Dentsu Marcom flies away on Hondas’ Activa

    MUMBAI: In a bid to reinforce its market leadership, Honda, launched a new campaign for its first personal compact scooter offering under the brand name ACTIVA-I.

    The campaign was conceptualised by Denstu Marcom on the brief that the customers desire an automatic scooter for daily commute, which is lightweight, compact and easy to handle yet comfortable for both genders. 

    Dentsu Marcom NCD Titus Upputuru said, “As children, most of us have played the chidhya udh, totha udh, maina udh game. It’s when we become adults and start leaving our homes and begin earning that we actually start udhna. The game combines with young men and women setting out of homes with optimism to inspire young people to come out of homes and fly. This also brings alive the iconic symbol of Honda, the wing mark, in a refreshing manner.”

    Added, agency’s account management VP Abhinav Kaushik, “Today’s young generation is not ridden by any past baggage. They are supremely confident, they think differently, they have a can-do attitude and they are charting new territories. They are willing to ride into the future knowing fully well what they want out of life. This expression udh or ‘ready to fly’ captures the mindset of this generation that has the desire to excel, follow their own direction and happily take on the challenges of the life ahead.”

    The campaign works on the approach that Indian youth today finds new ways to show the world that ‘I am standing on my feet, and powering myself on my own dreams and ambitions’. They are affirmative and seek identity independence, in everything they do.

    Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India VP Yadvinder S. Guleria said, “From its first family scooter Activa, Honda has always understood the pulse of the nation in its journey as undisputed leader in automatic scooter industry. Addressing the need of today’s customers, Honda has now brought the next revolution in personal lightweight mobility. The new Activa-i empowers Indian customers to be “Ready to Fly”. The Dream mileage of 60kmpl powered by the revolutionary Honda Eco Technology, features like combi-brakes, lightweight and compact design ensures that Honda is the customers trusted partner for every empowering ride.”

  • Dentsu Digital bags duties for Honda and Indo-Nissin

    Dentsu Digital bags duties for Honda and Indo-Nissin

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Digital, a digital marketing solutions company of the Dentsu India Group, has added two new businesses to its kitty.

    Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) has appointed Dentsu Digital as its digital agency to develop a complete digital ecosystem for the brand. Starting with the launch of an integrated social media campaign via various platforms to expanding the footprint across different touch points, the digital agency will also help drive Honda’s search and optimsation efforts with the help of media campaigns and search engine optimisation.
    We’ve also invested in technology and tools that allow us to deliver a great online experience says Glen Ireland

    Dentsu Digital recently worked on a unique brand engagement campaign using iButterfly – a proprietary platform, to launch HMSI’s new Activa-i. iButterfly is a the mobile platform that allows people to virtually catch branded butterflies and redeem them for discount coupons, branded merchandise and many more exciting takeaways.

    The second win for Dentsu Digital is Top Ramen (instant noodles), from Indo Nissin. The mandate given to the agency is to find a digital expression to Top Ramen’s offline campaign – ‘More Masala, More Maaza’ by creating consumer engagement and interest with its core target group.

    This is Top Ramen’s first serious foray into the digital world. The plan is to start by developing an engaging brand conversation followed by a more immersive experience through the website and other digital points of contact.

    Commenting on winning these prestigious accounts, Dentsu Digital CEO Glen Ireland said, “These wins directly reflect the hard work and effort put in by the entire agency.It also bears testimony to our understanding of the client business, their challenges and goals. Winning these accounts also helps demonstrate our competencies and strengths especially in social media, where we have invested a lot of time in developing a best-in-class approach to content, conversation and community building. We’ve also invested in technology and tools that allow us to deliver a great online experience.”

    With these wins seems Dentsu Digital is to creating a unique digital service offering within the Dentsu India Group.

  • Dentsu Digital bags duties for Honda and Indo-Nissin

    Dentsu Digital bags duties for Honda and Indo-Nissin

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Digital, a digital marketing solutions company of the Dentsu India Group, has added two new businesses to its kitty.

    Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) has appointed Dentsu Digital as its digital agency to develop a complete digital ecosystem for the brand. Starting with the launch of an integrated social media campaign via various platforms to expanding the footprint across different touch points, the digital agency will also help drive Honda’s search and optimsation efforts with the help of media campaigns and search engine optimisation.

    We’ve also invested in technology and tools that allow us to deliver a great online experience says Glen Ireland

    Dentsu Digital recently worked on a unique brand engagement campaign using iButterfly – a proprietary platform, to launch HMSI’s new Activa-i. iButterfly is a the mobile platform that allows people to virtually catch branded butterflies and redeem them for discount coupons, branded merchandise and many more exciting takeaways.

    The second win for Dentsu Digital is Top Ramen (instant noodles), from Indo Nissin. The mandate given to the agency is to find a digital expression to Top Ramen’s offline campaign – ‘More Masala, More Maaza’ by creating consumer engagement and interest with its core target group.

    This is Top Ramen’s first serious foray into the digital world. The plan is to start by developing an engaging brand conversation followed by a more immersive experience through the website and other digital points of contact. 

    Commenting on winning these prestigious accounts, Dentsu Digital CEO Glen Ireland said, “These wins directly reflect the hard work and effort put in by the entire agency.It also bears testimony to our understanding of the client business, their challenges and goals. Winning these accounts also helps demonstrate our competencies and strengths especially in social media, where we have invested a lot of time in developing a best-in-class approach to content, conversation and community building. We’ve also invested in technology and tools that allow us to deliver a great online experience.”

    With these wins seems Dentsu Digital is to creating a unique digital service offering within the Dentsu India Group.

  • Discovery Science’s treat to gadget lovers

    Discovery Science’s treat to gadget lovers

    Mumbai: Discovery Science, the network dedicated to making science programming accessible, will air a new series for gadget lovers- The Gadget Show World Tour.

    The series will premiere on 15 October every day at 9:00 pm.

    Tech-loving presenters, Jason Bradbury and Pollyana Woodward pack their hi-tech cases to sniff out the freshest consumer gadgetry across the globe. With each of the 16 episodes set in different locations, they review latest and future technology – to give you an insight into tomorrow’s gadgets.

    Starting with the first episode Jason and Polyanna reach the tech-filled streets of Japan to hang out with Honda’s Asimo robot, before shooting their own Japanese-style pop videos by testing the latest HD-camcorders. Followed by this, they use the latest 3D TV technology in the Mediterranean, test tablet computers in New York and tour Dubai on the lookout for the newest gadgets on the market, before returning to the UK to undertake their biggest consumer technology test yet.

    The programme aims at giving viewers an insight into the gadget world and has got a lot in stored for its techie viewers.