You must have come across Bajaj XCD advertisement while watching IPL. The advertisement talks about free bike challenge. The free bike challenge goes something like this - “test ride the new XCD 135 DTS-Si. Thereafter if you buy any bike we will pay for it”
Having a good product is no longer enough. You also have to be able to tell the story of your product and gain trust of your customers in a world where nobody trusts anything.
But surprisingly, story telling is not so easy and specially to the Indian middle class and youngsters in the middle segment, to whom the bike is being targeted. The advertisement tries to sell aspirations when in reality; consumers of this segment are rationale buyers.
The marketing campaign cracked by O&M is very conventional which will not work because the terms and conditions are scandalous.
There are 13 terms and conditions mentioned on the Bajaj auto website which are not shown on the advertisement. After reading the terms and conditions you will realize how deceptive is the free bike challenge. Few of the decisive terms and conditions are as follows:
1. The test-ride challenge offer is made by Bajaj Auto and its select authorized 2-wheeler Dealers
2. The offer is valid only after taking a test ride on the Bajaj XCD 135 DTS-Si and on purchase of either the Bajaj XCD 135 DTS-Si or any motorcycle model of any manufacturer in the 100-135 cc engine capacity within 15 days of the test-ride.
3. (Most stirring) The decision of the Bajaj Auto Dealer based on the result of the draw shall be final and binding and is non-contestable. No correspondence will be entertained on the same.
The same product’s advertisement by O&M of Bajaj XCD 135 DTS-Si where the ad opens with two girls in a house, dressed in leather, fighting sleekly against each other in filmly style martial arts to be the pillion rider. Marketers think women are dumb enough to fight over a pony 135 cc bike. Or the consumers watching the advertisements are dumber…I think the marketers are the dumbest of all. Storyline is not really bad but this ad would have been more appropriate for some huge and premium segment bike.
Mistri diagnosis: All marketers tell stories. And if they do it right, we believe them. No marketing succeeds if it cannot find an audience that already wants to believe the story being told.
An advice to marketing team of Bajaj and O&M- "Make your story bigger and bigger until it's important enough to believe."
Author: Sanjay
Hey this is a nice concept. Great works are often.... liked it.
ReplyDeleteMake the story too good to ignore. Good analysis. Keep posting.