Amaron is a disruptive brand in the automotive segment.

Launched in mid 2000 , this brand has created some excitement in the rather dull automotive battery market in India. Car Battery replacement is vie ed as a grudge purchase by the car o ners. !o one thinks o" battery until it breaks do n. #his product comes under the category o" $igh Involvement and Lo Interest product. %e can consider this as a slo moving consumer good . Amaron anted to di""erentiate itsel" "rom the existing players in the market. &o the 'uestion is ho to create that excitement. #he Indian automotive battery market is orth around (200 crore. #he "irst thing the company has done as to create the product di""erentiation ith respect to the product "eature. Amaron decided to bringout the )ero maintenance battery into the Indian market * I think it is the "irst company to do so+. #hat means that e needn,t check "or the ater level and so on. Amaron also ensured that the product commands the best 'uality so that the product can be positioned as a premium brand. #hen came the "orm di""erentiation. Conventional batteries ere all looking alike ith a transparent body and blue- red top. Amaron decided on a black body ith "luorescent green logo

splashed over. #h ere as also another reason "or the black body. #here is a possibility o" government regulations stipulating the use o" .ecycled plastics "or battery. Amaron is using such plastics so it need not e""ect the changes once the

regulations are implemented. And since the ater level needn,t be checked, Black body ill have no problem "or the customers. #he purpose o" using "luorescent green as that since our country is very hot, the color should stay in /romotional materials , hoarding and in the product. &o green as chosen. #hen came the di""erentiation regarding the advertising. Amaron decided that it ill do the breaka ay advertising. #raditionally conventional battery ads seldom sells battery. It is the sheer

distribution and the presence o" ell established brand name that does the selling. &o Amaron anted its ads to look di""erent and establish the brand name in this cro ded market. &o 012 decided to have a un3battery like campaign "or Amaron. 4or the "irst time in India 5Claymation5 ie using clay models 6 animation as used "or advertising .Amaron ads ere classic examples o" 5 Clutter busting5. #he ads ere attention grabbing and outright "unny. It on many a ards "or the agency and Amaron grabbed 78 market share in a short span o" time. #he Amaron Campaign /andu 2angal has been ell received by the public and research sho s that Amaron has a top o" the mind brand recall . #he ads coupled ith claymation and hyperbole e""ectively communicates the positioning o" 5 lasting long5 . #he 9ingle 5#ing#ong5 has also been a smash hit.

#his is a brand that is a classic case o" smart marketing and care"ul di""erentiation. I hope this brand 5 Lasts Long, really long5 * I 9ust bought one "or my car :+ #ing #ong

"A car replacement battery is a `grudge' purchase," declares S. Ramachandra, the wiry Executive Vice resident !" Amara Ra#a. A battery is a battery and h!w many car !wners actually l!!$ under their b!nnet t! see what battery is driving their car. %ill, li$e !ther electrical access!ries, it "ails !n them suddenly and they've g!t t! replace it, cursing under their breath. &!nsidering that the battery is m!re than integral "!r the new generati!n cars, explains Ramachandra, it's time that battery ma$ers s!ught m!re mind share "!r their pr!ducts. A"ter all, in the new'gen cars, the battery p!wers everything "r!m wind!ws t! electr!nic steering and l!c$s. "( w!uld say that the battery is a high inv!lvement, but l!w interest pr!duct," he adds. By contrast, high-involvement decisions carry a higher risk to buyers if they fail, are complex, and/or have high price tags. A car, a house, and an insurance policy are examples. These items are not purchased often but are relevant and important to the buyer. Buyers dont engage in routine response behavior hen purchasing high-involvement products. !nstead, consumers engage in hats calledextended problem solving, here they spend a lot of time comparing different aspects such as the features of the products, prices, and arranties.

"hen you run out of products such as milk or bread that you buy on a regular basis, you may buy the product as soon as you recogni#e the need because you do not need to search for information or evaluate alternatives. As $ike ould put it, you %&ust do it.' (o -involvement decisions are, ho ever, typically products that are relatively inexpensive and pose a lo risk to the buyer if she makes a mistake by purchasing them. )uilding a battery brand as a "sl!w m!ving c!nsumer g!!d", as Ramachandra describes it, has ta$en s!me d!ing. Amar!n's brand building exercise began even be"!re the name was attached t! it * at the pr!duct stage itsel". Explains +ay ,alla, Executive -irect!r, "(t started "r!m the design !" the pr!ducts itsel". .e had l!!$ed at all the pr!ducts in the mar$et n!t !nly in terms !" technical "eatures and per"!rmance but als! in terms !" aesthetics. And i" the battery is g!ing t! be per"!rming at such a di""erent level "r!m the existing pr!ducts, it has t! l!!$ c!mpletely di""erent as well. /!t #ust in terms !" c!l!urs but als! designs." At that time when Amara Ra#a was launching its pr!ducts, all existing batteries were transparent with red !r blue t!ps. Amar!n ch!se blac$, with a g!!d reas!n t!!. %here were tw! advantages0 (" g!vernment legislati!n in the "uture re1uires battery ma$ers t! use recycled plastics, it can !nly be in blac$. "Sec!ndly, we d!n't need t! $n!w the level !" water in the battery. %hat's a huge advantage "!r us. (n !ther batteries, the water $eeps g!ing !"" due t! the reacti!n inside and the plates c!rr!de. (n !ur

pr!duct, that happens at such a l!w rate that it lasts m!re than the li"e !" the battery. 2ence there is n! need t! t!p it 3with distilled water4 during the li"e !" the battery. (t d!esn't c!rr!de which means that it `lasts l!ng'," explains Ramachandra. Adds ,alla0 "(t di""erentiates us. At the same time when we d! g! t! recyclable plastics, we d!n't have t! ma$e a change in terms !" aesthetics." %here are !ther things that Amar!n did at the pr!duct stage itsel" t! be `di""erent'. (t put in "ancy l!!$ing `best in class' wends, a charge indicat!r !n the battery, handles as well as side'wall ribbing t! enhance the rugged l!!$ * a"ter all i" it really lasted l!ng, it sh!uld l!!$ the part as well. /ext was the brand name itsel" and the c!l!urs. Ad agency 567 and research agency %/S 7!de researched a brand name and came up with Amar!n * an amalgam !" the 2indi w!rd, Amar, 3imm!rtal4 and `!n' in English. %he c!l!ur ch!sen had t! be distinctive. ".e need this brand !ut there. .e put up big h!ardings !utside "!r pe!ple t! rec!gnise the brand. (t's a h!t c!untry with a l!t !" sun and we needed a brand where c!l!ur can stay and n!t wane. 2ence, the ch!ice !" c!l!ur * "lu!rescent green, pr!mpted als! by the "act that n! !ne else was using it," elab!rates Ramachandra. (t ch!se a `in y!ur "ace' "!nt, a little l!ud and brash, but added t! the battery's rugged l!!$. ".e wanted the brand letters and c!l!urs t! be rec!gnised "r!m a great distance * we were up against a brand which alm!st d!minates the mind space in batteries 3read

Exide4. .e wanted t! be seen as stri$ingly di""erent and that was a very imp!rtant part !" !ur branding," he adds. %he ruggedness leitm!ti" c!ntinued elsewhere as well. (n the early stages !" its branding, the c!mpany ch!se t! ass!ciate itsel" with a rugged sp!rt and r!ped in racer /arain 8arthi$eyan t! end!rse the brand. %he c!mpany actively pr!m!tes g!'$arting as a leisure sp!rt and supp!rts g!'$art c!mpetiti!ns. Says Ramachandra, ".e saw it as internati!nal and glam!r!us and it is in aut!m!tive. (t's ab!ut y!uth, speed, techn!l!gy and endurance, which tied in with !ur branding." 9ranchisee !utlets are called it St!ps, a racing termin!l!gy. %hey all have a standardised design, which "ranchisees have t! strictly c!n"!rm t!. %he it St!p interi!r's re"lect the brand's racing theme and its c!l!urs. %!day, the brand has :;; "ranchisees acr!ss the c!untry and ab!ut <,=>; retailers. (t targets retailers !" alm!st every $ind * plain !ld battery dealers, !r dealers in lubricants, aut! spare parts, service stati!ns, gas stati!ns, access!ries sh!ps, the w!r$s. ".e even experimented with departmental st!res selling !ur batteries. ?!u've g!t t! experiment a l!t. (t's n!t #ust building sales tra""ic t! !ur !utlets but we've g!t t! build brand awareness everywhere." %he brand building als! included s!me brea$away advertising, which br!ught Amar!n s!me t!p h!n!urs at the Abby awards in 7umbai recently 3see allied st!ry4.

(nn!vative mar$eting and advertising has mar$ed Amar!n's pr!gress. Amara Ra#a realised early !n that i" it had t! really stand !ut as a small player with n! experience !" having distributed and mar$eted be"!re, and having t! stand up against established players in the mar$et and t! be able t! ma$e a mar$, it had t! be inn!vative in its pr!m!ti!ns as it did n!t have big budgets t! spend. (n "act, the ad budget "!r the last "inancial was Rs @.> cr!re, n! mean "eat then, that it was am!ng the big spenders as "ar as creative advertising g!es. 5ne such pr!m! it did last year was t! rein"!rce the p!int that its batteries d!n't l!se water. S!, it came up with the mineral water campaign last summer in a "ew cities where its pe!ple st!!d at select petr!l bun$s and gave !ut water b!ttles * the l!gic was at A; -egrees heat "y!ur Amar!n d!esn't need water but y!u certainly d!". (t gave away three la$h water b!ttles last summer, in a campaign that it claimed ensured high recall "!r its batteries.

(n a mar$et characterised by a d!minance !" un!rganised players, Amara Ra#a claims t! have cl!c$ed up a mar$et share !" B per cent, while mar$et leader Exide (ndustries has at least => per cent !" the mar$et. %he battery mar$et in value terms is Rs :,C;; cr!re in siDe, the aut!m!tive mar$et c!ntributing Rs :,=;; cr!re. %he !rganised players w!uld c!ntribute !nly A; per cent !" this, the rest is "ragmented am!ng small re'sellers. .hile the last decade saw bu!yant gr!wth "!r battery ma$ers, the st!rage battery industry currently is drained by dwindling demand, m!unting c!mpetitive pressures, the threat "r!m cheaper imp!rts and climbing input c!sts.

%he Rs :>='cr!re Amara Ra#a, t! wh!se turn!ver aut!m!tive batteries t!day c!ntribute @; per cent, has been n! excepti!n t! these pressures. %here has been a decline in realisati!ns and pr!"itability as a bul$ !" its turn!ver still c!mes "r!m industrial batteries, which has seen stagnant gr!wth. %he third 1uarter !" the last "inancial year saw net pr!"it dr!p by @> per cent due t! reduced price levels in industrial batteries. )ut, Amara Ra#a is enthused by its per"!rmance in the aut!m!tive segment. %he replacement mar$et, m!re than the 5E7 segment, is where realisati!ns are better and it can gr!w its share. resently, its p!rt"!li! stac$s up as C> per cent t! the replacement mar$et and :> per cent 5E7, th!ugh the latter will gr!w as the Amar!n brands gains acceptance am!ng aut! c!mpanies. (n tw! years, b!th segments c!uld be e1ual c!ntribut!rs. "(t may be a l!wer margin business, but the c!st !" mar$eting is much less and it's a g!!d calling card," says Ramachandra. %he l!gic being that car !wners are m!re than li$ely t! replace the same brand !" battery in the car i" it has served them well. Amara Ra#a supplies batteries exclusively t! 9!rd, ,7, -aimler&hrysler, 2industan 7!t!rs and several !ther players. (t als! ma$es batteries !n a c!ntract basis "!r several !ther brands.

Amara Ra#a is als! l!!$ing at exp!rts "!r its aut!m!tive batteries. Exp!rts till -ecember =;;= have gr!wn by "!ur times !ver the previ!us "iscal. (t recently bagged the Singap!re &!m"!rt %axi acc!unt "!r ab!ut @,;;; replacement batteries and an!ther !rder "!r :,;;; batteries "r!m the -ubai %ransp!rt Service. %his "inancial, it is l!!$ing at exp!rting at least B;,;;; batteries. A seni!r executive !" Exide (ndustries, when p!sed a 1uesti!n by Catalyst whether Amar!n p!sed a challenge t! it, said0 "%he 1uesti!n !" g!!d !r bad d!es n!t matter in c!mpetiti!n, certainly n!t in this case. %! Exide, Amara Ra#a is #ust li$e any !ther c!mpetit!r. .e sell =.> la$h batteries a m!nth. .here is the c!mpetiti!nE (" they want t! emerge as an 5E7 supplier, m!st welc!me. S! "ar, they were c!ncentrating m!re !n the trade segment. .e are a ma#!r 5E7 supplier and ma$e hardly any m!ney !n it. Fet !thers c!meG we will be t!! happy t! part with !ur share." %his executive terms Amar!n's "American type branding strategy" g!!d, but as$s whether it is ideal "!r the (ndian situati!n. %rite as it may s!und, time will tellH