Now that the marriage has been called off, it?s time for someone to celebrate the single status and sing songs of independence and self-sufficiency. Well, we are talking about Hero Group?s split from Japanese automobile major Honda Motor Co. followed by the former unveiling it’s new identity as Hero MotoCorp recently. The two-wheeler maker’s managing director and CEO Pawan Munjal also outlined his vision for the ‘new’ young company.
For obvious reasons, the company left no stone unturned to make this as big as possible. The new global brand identity was unveiled at the O2 Arena in London in August followed by the launch of a new campaign centering around an anthem titled ‘Hum Main Hai Hero’.
The film, conceptualised by ad agency Law & Kenneth, celebrates small and big moments of heroism in lives of different individuals who shake off the fear of failure to achieve something important. Apparently, one can see a radical shift in the brand’s philosophy from its previous collective positioning of ‘Desh ki dhadkan’. The 120-second film has been directed by Anurag Kashyap and Robby Grewal, and produced by Red Ice Productions, while the anthem has been composed by A R Rahman.
Says Rahul Nangia, creative director, Law & Kenneth, ?We wanted to keep the insight universal, but the tone very Indian. The idea is to reflect big and small challenges that we overcome every day, without even realising that we are doing something extraordinary.?
The media mix includes television, press, radio, outdoor and digital media. Global brand and innovation specialist Wolff Olins was handed over the responsibility to create the new brand identity. The new logo with the same old colour scheme of red and black comes in the shape of an angular ‘H’.
Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults finds the logo very simple and believes that the brand could have pushed the envelope with the campaign. ?Hero does not need to engage in all that’s ‘jingoistic’ and ‘generic’. Rather, it needs to address the ‘specific’. For instance, it would have been a good idea to say what the company will do in terms of churning out technologically superior models. Also, the tone of the campaign is very ‘ Hamara Bajaj’ or the one you heard in the ’90s. I was expecting something in sync with today’s age.?
Praising the campaign, Jitender Dabas, senior vice-president and head of planning, McCann Erickson who has worked on the brand previously during his stint with JWT (one of the ad agencies for Hero MotoCorp) says, ?As Hero Honda, the biggest equity that the brand enjoyed was ‘trust’ which I believe beyond a certain level is more emotional than rational. After the split it was important for the brand to appropriate and fortify that part of the equity before it starts building newer values. So I guess it wasn’t an incorrect choice to start from a position where they enjoyed strength. By stoking the ‘individual’ as well as the ‘collective’ pride of Indians the brand will get the emotional ‘approval’ for itself.?
“The response to the campaign has been delightfully heart-warming. We have received a very positive feedback from all our stake holders and a big thumbs-up on our new brand identity which has been extremely well-received as a very youthful and energetic symbol of the new Indian,” said Anil Dua, senior vice-president (marketing), Hero MotoCorp.
The biggest debate since the Hero-Honda split is whether Hero will be able to sustain without Honda’s technology. Currently, India is on the radar of many international automobile companies and most of these have tasted success so far. In this scenario, is the brand right in not addressing the technology aspect in its latest communication?
Dabas is of the opinion that Hero Motocorp will have to address this gap in consumer’s mind but believes that technology is best spoken through products.
?Even if they spoke about technology in their campaign, people will not believe it if they don’t see that in products. So they quickly need to launch technology demonstrator products preferably in the 150-250 cc segments. And I can foresee them doing a ‘technology’ campaign when they launch those new products,? he adds.
For the record, in the next five to six years,the company is eying annual sales of 10 million units and annual turnover of $10 billion with overseas business contributing about 10% to its total annual volume sales. Hero MotoCorp has identified key countries in Africa, South East Asia and Latin America as potential markets. Besides, there will be a focus on enhancing R&D set-up, hiring the best talent, and exploring opportunities for collaborations with international design houses and technology suppliers.