TERM PROJECT MARKETING PLANNING

Abhijit Das Abhinav Vyas Arun Ahlawat Khyatesh Chavan Deepti Thakral Parth Khanna

13P181 13P182 13P199 13P202 13P205 13P210

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Contents
Executive Summary................................................................................................................................. 2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 5 SWOT Analysis......................................................................................................................................... 6 PEST Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 8 Consumer Survey and Results............................................................................................................... 10 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis ................................................................................................................. 13 Positioning ............................................................................................................................................ 15 Future Strategies for Bajaj Pulsar ......................................................................................................... 17

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Executive Summary
The Bajaj Pulsar launched in India in 2001 creating a revolution and a market for itself in motorcycle market. Pulsar targeted males from age 18-20 with a tagline ‘Definitely Male’ which was a huge successful campaign. The first big launch of Bajaj after disassociating from Kawasaki, currently Pulsar has 5 variants in the market with varying engine capacity. Analysis into how Bajaj has captured the market shows us that a good mix of high operational standards like having a wide distributing network and a very successful branding campaign has made Pulsar a market leader. With a wide range of engine capacity and high fuel efficiency Pulsar has its strength is embedded in Indian society. Also it has huge growth opportunities in south and east Asian countries and also in the 250cc plus sections of sports biking. It has its drawback when it comes to differentiating in styles. The 135cc and 220cc with similar styling decreases the brand value for the 220cc bike. Its battle within itself due to strikes seem its biggest threat for now. The Pest analysis of Bajaj Pulsar produces some important results. It tells us how the demographics of India has given an impetus to Pulsar as it targets the youth. Further the biggest strength of Pulsar lies in its technology. The rising fuel prices prove to be a plus for them as it deters people from the mindset of using a car. We conducted a survey to analyse how the consumer perceives Pulsar and where does Pulsar gain and lose out to other players. The survey further identified the biggest strength of Pulsar which was it was seen among the people as a high on performance stylish motorcycle. TV ads were the major factor which influenced people’s decision while the frequent maintenance required by the bike as the most bothersome factor of Pulsar. Porters five forces analysis of Pulsar bring out that with an expanding number of players Pulsar needs to adapt quickly to keep its brand value intact. The once technologically sound Pulsar is facing stiff competition as the consumers have become more demanding. With the advent low cost cars, Pulsar faces threat from a new segment which might just eat into Pulsars market share.

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The positioning of Pulsar was done by creating a new category high performance bike in the 150cc section. The tagline “Definitely Male” struck a chord with the youth. How Pulsar differentiated itself from others at the start was through superior performance. However, later it took a different route to position itself as an advanced bike through digitisation of speedometer, twin spark ignition and disc brakes. Bajaj Pulsar had created a frame of reference for itself which was non-existent before and gave people a superior performance bike. The way ahead for Pulsar can be defined from all of our finding above. The biggest need for Pulsar right now is to keep itself with time and reinvent itself. The need for this arises from the threat posed by stylish foreign bikes. At the same time they can use Pulsar and make it an iconic brand. They need to keep the investment in R&D high to make Pulsar

technologically advanced.

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Introduction
Pulsar 150 CC the revolutionary bike launched by Bajaj was a phenomenon as it changed technological and social aspects attached with the motorcycling industry in India till 2001. Before the introduction of the Pulsar, the Indian motorcycle market trend was towards fuel efficient, small capacity motorcycles that formed the 80–125 cc class. Since the introduction and success of Bajaj Pulsar, Indian youth began expecting high power and other features from affordable motorcycles. The marketing strategy of Bajaj with Pulsar was very clear and the target group was males in the age group of 18-30 with taglines like ‘Definitely Male’. It was an important step or Bajaj as it allowed itself to come up with a big launch with the name of Kawasaki. The launch of Pulsar 150 CC changed the Indian motorbike industry forever and also changed the fortunes of Bajaj. A leader in the Indian scooter market. Bajaj was still struggling to get a foothold in the motorcycle market. Currently there are five variants available, with engine capacities of 135 cc, 150 cc, 180 cc, 200 cc, and 220 cc. The changes from 2001 to 2013 have been drastic and have pushed the revenues for the whole motorcycling industry.

The following graph shows the various market players in 2 wheeler industry as of 2013.

(Source: Economic Times)

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SWOT Analysis
The analysis of the above graph shows a particular dominant segment for Bajaj of premium bikes. The growth in this segment is attributed to Bajaj. To analyse the effect of the impact of Pulsar on Bajaj and the market let us use SWOT analysis and PEST analysis. Strengths:   Had the advantage of being the first mover. Before Pulsar came , motorcycles in India were towards fuel efficiency in the range of 80-125. Currently there are five variants available, with engine capacities of 135 cc, 150 cc, 180 cc, 200 cc and 220 cc. This allows Pulsar to have a hold in all categories and segments. Goodwill associated with Bajaj through the Indian scooter market was used by Bajaj. ‘Definitely Male’ tagline helped it combine goodwill and appeal to youth. Widespread Distribution Network The demographics of the country favours Pulsar as it targets males in age range of 18-30. Own credit agency allows Pulsar the freedom to bring in new schemes designed only for its motorcycles. Highest claimed fuel efficiency in its respective categories. Strong R&D departments which have patented a number of technologies and has resulted in the company being able to produce variations and improvements at smaller intervals. Promotional and strategic campaigns have made stunt biking synonymous with Bajaj Pulsar

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Opportunities:  In the target group of 20-40 years which is the target segment for Bajaj pulsar saw an addition of 77 million in the last decade which pushed the sales to great heights, and with the number increasing in the coming decade, the opportunities are great for pulsar to establish itself as the market leader across segments. The market in the range of 200-250 cc largely remains an untapped market with Karizma ZMR the long standing bike. But with 200ns and 220dts-fi Bajaj can give ZMR a stiff challenge as it is more fuel efficient in this category. Various clone versions of pulsar are manufactured and sold in south Asian and south east Asian countries by Chinese and Honk Kong manufacturers which shows the readiness of these markets for pulsar, pulsar can foray in a large scale into international markets especially south Asia and south east Asia. With incomes in urban India steadily rising, more people are turning towards motorcycles with higher capacity rather than fuel efficient smaller bikes which presents a big opportunity for pulsar.

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With Honda drifting away from Hero Moto Corp, times are good for Bajaj to venture into high end bikes (350 cc) in collaboration with Kawasaki.

Weakness:  Bajaj came up with the Definitely Male tagline for Pulsar & it was a huge success. It was not only the performance of the bike, it was also this campaign which appealed customers and made Pulsar a very desirable bike for male. But Bajaj was not able to build on the iconic image of this Campaign. With the launch of the DTSI engine the brand positioning of Definitely Male was changed to Digital Biking. Although the new ads were successful in conveying the technological superiority of DTSI and making that acronym popular, it deleted the most successful tagline from the brand's elements. No substantial styling difference in different variants of pulsar like similar styling of Pulsar 135 cc and Pulsar 220 cc. Long hours driving comfort is missing.

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Threat:    Low priced cars such as Nano are a major threat to Pulsar. The availability of a car in the same price range has a negative impact on its sales. Production at the Chakan plant dipped to a third of its total capacity due to strike by the workers. There is a lot of competition in the market for every segment that Pulsar is in. Major competitors of Pulsar 150 being Honda CB Trigger, Yamaha FZ and of Pulsar 220, Hero motocorp’s Karizma. IPR infringement by Chinese manufacturers in Sri Lanka and South American markets. Pulsar clone versions were sold in Bangladesh.

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PEST Analysis
To further analyse the impact of Pulsar on the Bajaj, Indian 2 wheeler Industry and Indian society as a whole and also the impact of environment on Pulsar, we will analyse the political, economic, social and technological aspects of Pulsar. Political:   Labour union strike halts production at its Chakan plant ,which manufactures Pulsar, causing bajaj bikes a sales dip of 20% in June Year-Over-Year basis Bajaj Pulsar foraying into international market with 200 NS set to launch in Indonesia and Latin American countries.

Economic:  The rise in disposable income of the Indian households has had a considerable effect on the 2 wheeler industry and in turn on Pulsar. Certain categories like 100 CC bikes which existed 10 years ago in the cities are now seen dominant in tier 2 cities and rural areas. With pulsar fighting with its variants in the 135 cc to 220 cc markets, it has tried to cover the whole income range of Indian household. However, the challenge for it will be to sustain in the top end 200+ cc markets. The rise in fuel prices has again put the emphasis on fuel efficiency. This acts as a big positive for Bajaj as it has always been perceived as an economical motorcycle than its competitors. This will however make sales difficult for it in the top end 200cc + market.

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Social:    India which has 65% of its population below 35 yrs. forms the perfect target group for Bajaj Pulsar variants across different segments. The ‘Definitely Male’ tag line appealed to the youth and there was an image shift for bikes from a means of transport to a masculine robust machine. Bajaj has had a market image of fuel efficiency and reliability and when that was combined with the next-gen design and features it was poised to be a success which it turned out to be.

Technological  Bajaj pulsar was a truly revolutionary bike from the technological point of view incorporating several breakthrough technologies unheard of in Indian market  Disk brake was made a standard feature in pulsar making it safer.  Revolutionary DTS-i engine  Bikini head lamp and twin lamps  Exhaustec (Torque expansion chamber)more pickup at lower rpm
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Nitrox shock absorbers(comfortable for pillion) LED tail lights(aesthetically more pleasing than filament bulbs Self-cancelling turn signals(1st bike in the world)

Strong R&D departments which have patented a number of technologies and has resulted in the company being able to produce variations and improvements at smaller intervals. Bajaj will need to keep working to update its technology and be updated with the market due to the strong threat faced from other foreign players especially Japanese trying to gain ground in the market. Use of technology to reduce costs and running cost need to be on the radar of Bajaj as it battles inflation, fuel price and rising interest rates.

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Consumer Survey and Results
We conducted a survey for analysis of consumer behaviour. The preference choices of around 100 consumers was recorded to the following questions:

The source of gaining information about a motorcycle On the basis of survey, we found that a major source of information for bikes is friends who own that particular motorbike. Also 37% of the users form opinions on the basis of reviews on different websites.

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The perception of Pulsar in the minds of customer Performance of the bike was found to be a major factor for purchase of a bike among respondents. Other than performance, 31% of the respondents based their decision for purchase of a bike on style.

The mode of advertisement that impacts the decision of purchase of a bike: The survey revealed that TV Ads influenced buying decision 58% of the people whereas News Paper Ads influenced 22% of the people.

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The distinguishing feature of Pulsar among other bikes: Styling is the most distinguishing feature of Pulsar followed by performance. 46% of the respondents considered styling as the distinguishing feature whereas 33% of the respondents favoured performance.

The major problem faced by a Pulsar user: 50% of the respondents considered frequent maintenance as a major problem faced by them. 34% of them felt low mileage was a major concern.

In addition to this we also recorded responses to various other questions. Some of which were to analyse the impact of the tag line of pulsar ‘Definitely Male’ and the influence of pulsar’s ad campaign on people.
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Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis of Bajaj Pulsar: Threats of new Entrants: When Pulsar was released in 2001, the motorbike market was dominated by erstwhile HeroHonda Motors, being a differently segmented bike rather than the high mileage, less power bikes of HeroHonda, Bajaj Pulsar became hugely successful.  Then the barrier to entry and exit in the market was comparatively more as the market was dominated by three big players HeroHonda, Bajaj, TVS Moto corp.  But Since the Motorbike market is continuously rising with rise in purchasing power of middle class, Higher income and more number of foreign players coming in, threat of new entrants is always there.  The various new entrants across all variants of pulsar include KTM Duke, Yamaha R15,Yamaha FZS,TVS Apache, Honda Unicorn, CBZ extreme.  In recent times the entry and exit barriers have comparatively eased out as can be seen from the number of new players in the market. Bargaining power of customers:  Customers are increasingly becoming more demanding as they are looking for bikes which are technologically superior, are of more value for money, high mileage and of higher power.  Pulsar was basically introduced in many variants (135cc,150cc,180cc,200ns etc) due to customer demands and needs ranging from high power to more mileage.  Various technological innovations like disk brakes,Exhaustec,Digital speedometer, split seat and split grab rail, Unique tail light were a direct result of more customer awareness and customer demands. Threat of substitute products:  Major substitute products for Pulsar can be low priced second hand cars which are getting increasingly popular due to growing online presence & market of second hand cars.  The survey revealed that around 40% customers perceive pulsar as a daily commute vehicle,so with increasing network of metros in various cities and improved public transport system and growing awareness regarding environmental issues people are increasingly moving away from motorbikes  Also various big players like BMW ,Toyota, Honda etc are creating awareness regarding Hybrid and electric cars which is shifting people from motorbikes in general. Intensity of Competitive rivalry:  The major motorbike manufacturers when pulsar was launched were Hero Honda & the same segment bike was CBZ, Hero Honda was in intense rivalry with Bajaj but there was not actually an intense rivalry for pulsar when it was launched. Bajaj should try to differentiate pulsar from other available bikes to increase its sales.
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Pulsar has succeeded in bringing sustainable competitive advantage through various technological innovations like disk brakes,Exhaustec,Digital speedometer, split seat and split grab rail, Unique tail light. It sports a powerful competitive strategy of launching pulsar across all variants to take advantage of the strong pulsar brand.

Bargaining power of suppliers:  Suppliers have low bargaining power due to various input substitutes and competition among suppliers.  Also the number of vendors and suppliers in the country is comparatively low as most of the product is outsourced.  Since Pulsar is technologically advanced most of the inputs are generally imported, like the digital speedometer from Japan. Since number of vendors is quite high, they have low bargaining power.

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Positioning
Market Scenario in the late 1990's and early 2000's::

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High GDP growh Reduction in taxes and duties Higher Disposable income Financing of motor vehicles has become more accessible. Emergence of the uber-cool Indian, who aspired more but had to content himself with the 100cc bikes or scooters. High exposure to foreign media.

2 wheeler scenario in the same period: Generally dominated by scooters and two wheeler motorbikes which are more fuel efficient rather than being more on the Performance side. 100 cc bikes were the norm rather than exception and the only exception was Hero-Honda CBZ which in a way was the only option for the new age but was a costly and not so fuel efficient proposition. People latently wanted a mix of bike which was in the higher performance category.

Positioning: Pulsar in a way not only created a new category i.e. of high performance bikes, but also added a new dimension on which Indian Motorbikes can be judged that of performance. The target customer for Bajaj pulsar was the new improved young Indian (ranging from college goers to Office goers) who viewed a bike as not just a way of commuting but also for its performance and styling. The tagline "Definitely Male" struck a chord with the targeted audience as it emphasized on the core principles the bike stood for. Product differentiation: Bajaj Pulsar's main point of differentiation was its superior power and performance as compared to its peers especially Hero Honda CBZ. Add to that its superior mileage.

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Initially two variants i.e. 150cc and 180 cc were launched which were positioned on the basis of its superior power and performance. Over the years other variants of pulsar(Pulsar UG-2,UG-3,Pulsar 200 DTS-I and 220 DTS-I, Pulsar UG-4,Pulsar 220 NS)were positioned in a similar way as the earlier variants.

Product Differentiation: The other variants of pulsar over the years also had cutting age technology(revolutionary digital twin spark ignition, digital speedometer, self canceling and flexible turn indicators, rear disk brake). Value Proposition: The value proposition added was high speed, superior performance and raw power which was missing in the bikes those days. Over the years various other variants of pulsar have also bought with them cutting age technology which was among the very first to be associated with any bike let alone Indian bikes.

Frame of Reference: Bajaj pulsar created a category in itself which was previously nonexistent i.e. High Performance bikes and it later became the frame of reference for the forthcoming bikes in this category (Herohonda Karizma, TVS Apache, Yamaha FZ-s etc)

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Future Strategies for Bajaj Pulsar

Deriving from the consumer survey, the consumer preference is clearly more weighted towards the Performance and Style Parameters. This implies that the motorbike manufacturers need to aggressively target these aspects in their products as the consumer loyalty is feeble in the current scenario. This calls for path-breaking design and providing a oomph factor which would be instrumental in catering to the insatiable demand for newer designs. Bajaj needs to modify its design in line with the international market as there is higher penetration of foreign made bikes into India which might jeopardize its position. It can repackage the design and look of the motorcycle with a design that can be effectively tweaked into various category sub models. The design should have an over-all appeal which can be carried through different variants it might plan to launch along with it. The current threat it poses is from Yamaha which has launched an array of models in the Sports Bike segment. There has been a lot of cult-following trend in India where the youth has expressed its fascination towards bikes which has a niche appeal. Pulsar has been lagging on this front even after being in the category for a long time. It desperately needs an Iconic Pulsar model which would capture the technological and style brilliance. The technological supremacy of the brand needs to be asserted and cashed upon. The image of the bike will undergo a metamorphosis in the same way as a Yamaha bike is associated with supreme performance.
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This would also require a lot of R&D investment on the part of Bajaj but it would lead to some more of breakthrough technologies like the DTSi and ExhausTEC.

As can be seen from the consumer survey results the greatest impact creating media segments are the TV Ads and the social media. While Pulsar has had a long presence in the TV Ad segment but it has to re-look into the type of advertisements it offers. As can be seen from the above strings of Ads which have been around for a long time, there has been an overdose of stunt biking aspect which it has been highlighting with its advertisements. It needs to come up with a new series of advertisements which would highlight its aspirational value and shrug-off its ‘just-another-bike’ image. The presence of Pulsar in the social media hasn’t been too overwhelming either and it can also be given a boost. It would need to come up with some viral strategy to generate higher number of visitor online that would let the present and the aspiring consumers have greater interactive content. It can also come up with some contests and offers which would give away merchandise which can target the biking enthusiast.
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