c







  

RPG Enterprises has unveiled a new campaign for CEAT tyres. After the rebranding
exercise (it changed the CEAT logo in 2008), this is the second -biggest marketing
investment. The positioning, ³Be idiot -safe´, builds on the idea of following road discipline,
and how good tyres can help a motorcycle rider avoid accidents. |

CEAT Executive Director (operations) Arnab Banerjee says: ³The idea behind the campaign
is that the roads are fu ll of idiots who do not follow road discipline. Since these idiots cannot
be taken off the road, the tyres of your two -wheeler should have a superior grip to enable
you to stop when necessary and save yourself. The campaign promotes the ³better road
grip´ feature of CEAT tyres.´

|The thought behind the three TVCs is to educate users about the chaos on the Indian roads.
³Mostly, tyre companies show a mountain or a bumpy road to explain the features. But we
wanted to take a slice of life to align the campaign with our brand strategy. Our target group
is youngsters below 30 years of age: College -goers and first-time job-holders,´ says
Banerjee.|

The first film opens with a man, who is talking on his mobile phone, as he walks on a busy
street pushing a pr am. With total absence of mind, he abruptly turns the pram to cross the
street, and a biker driving on the road stops in no time before the man. The man looks
disgusted, as he yells at the biker for not being attentive. The voice -over: ³The streets are
filled with idiots. CEAT tyres come with an advanced grip and angular grip design.´ |

The second film shows a couple (the wife is expecting) returning after watching a movie on a
bike. As they discuss the plot of the film, a car with youngsters stops right acro ss their path.
The man driving the bike brakes to avert a mishap. The third TVC showcases how four -
wheeler drivers also play havoc by keeping the car in the middle of the road.

While Shyam Madiraju is the director of the films, the production house is Magi c Hour
Productions. The films were shot in Mumbai over one night and two days. Ogilvy India
Executive Creative Director Anup Chitnis says, ³The creative brief was to play around the
grip of the bike, as the biker needs the grip the most. On the Indian road s, people don¶t care
about the bikers, and they enter the road without any hesitation.´

Besides the three TVCs, the company launched a teaser campaign last month where coffee
mugs at Café Coffee Day outlets were branded with traffic pictures and the brand
positioning, µBe idiot -safe¶. Also, it launched its digital campaign through the website,
www.beidiotsafe.com, to showcase rash driving, traffic violations and dangerous riding
habits to support the TV -led campaign. ³While in just 20 days, CEAT acquired 10 ,500 fans
on its Facebook page, 250,000 visitors had hit the site in a month¶s time,´ says Banerjee.

According to Automotive Tyre Manufacturers¶ Association, three dozen tyre manufacturers

operate in the industry, and 10 large tyre companies account for over 95 per cent of the total
tyre production. ³CEAT competes with other players like TVS and MRF in the OEM (original
equipment manufacturer) segment as well as in the replacement tyre market. While CEAT¶s
market share is in single digits in the OEM segme nt, it has garnered 15 per cent share in the
replacement tyre market. We have strong brand equity in the replacement tyre market which
the current campaign aims to strengthen,´ adds Banerjee.