The world is slowly limping back from the effects of COVID-19 which had completely shutdown businesses, educational institutions and much more. At this point, Srinivasu Allaphan, Director, Sales and Marketing head of leading Indian tyre manufacturer JK tyre and industry in an interview mentioned that it may spend more than Rs.700 crore in advertising as a strategy to get back into the game. After all they are the leading Indian Tyre manufacturer.
According to Allaphan, though the personal transport sector is seeing growth, commercial vehicles segment is lagging behind even though 2021 is said to be a good time for growth of this sector.
Allaphan plans to use a marketing strategy wherein increasing spends by 25% in the next fiscal across TV, digital and print would mean growth in business. He added that newspapers will make a comeback next year with better readership numbers.
Other than increasing spends on digital, JK Tyres is seeking digital solutions to routine problems, which otherwise was being done outside the digital space. According to Allaphan , short videos on digital will gain more prominence which will indeed benefit the business. The brand also plans to strengthen its presence in motorsports next year from the marketing point of view.
In an interview, Allaphan mentions, "I think overall some segments are doing well now; if you talk about two and three-wheelers and passenger vehicles. Because of a change in consumer behaviour, the preference for personal transport has gone up and I expect this trend to continue in 2021. So they will be positive in terms of growth. But if you look at commercial, the segment is lagging behind. Farm is doing very well on the back of the early demand."
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He added, "I think we're all looking at getting back to normalcy. We are looking for extra spends coming in terms of consumer spending. So some sectors, which are still trailing behind, such as travel, tourism, restaurants, will definitely see a flurry of activity once normalcy comes in. And I hope that normalcy will come in by quarter two, mid next year. This should increase the level of spending, which will spur demand. Otherwise, as a marketer, I'm looking at a stronger digital ecosystem. And, of course, there will be better budgets, supported with topline growth.
Allaphan also talks about the marketing strategy of the prestigious brand, "There should be at least about a 20-25% increase in marketing spends next year, compared to this year."
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"Digital media obviously is important to us at JK. We've been pretty active in the digital space. And as per the industry standards, we spend a fairly disproportionate amount on the digital space. Having said that, the conventional medium is also important to us, especially television. Newspapers will also come back, hopefully next year, with better readership.
" I don't have the exact number but my guess is that the entire industry may spend close to Rs 700 crore."
Find the whole interview sessionhere in which Allaphan talks about JK tyre and their advertising strategy
