Though companies call the association with celebrities as a long-term brand-building strategy, there is no clear evidence of that as sales continue to go downhill
In October 2018, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan was chosen to be the face of Datsun’s new campaign in India. This was done to give some lift to the sagging fortunes of the Nissan-controlled Japanese automobile brand.
Five months later, Datsun’s sales have only headed south. As per available sales data, volumes of Datsun branded cars have fallen to a monthly average of 2,173 units between October 2018 and February this year. This is a 29 percent fall compared to the average monthly sales 12-months prior to his appointment as brand ambassador when it stood at 3,045 units.
Datsun sells the hatchback Go, its elongated version called Go+ and a mini hatchback called RediGo in India. The brand was revived from the dead as a rival to Maruti Suzuki since Nissan, which is struggling even more, wished to stay at the premium end.
Peter Clissold, Vice-President Marketing, Nissan India, said, “We view the partnership with Aamir (Khan) as a long-term strategic collaboration, intended to help us grow the brand, in conjunction with building the network and introducing new products. We don’t view this partnership as a short-term tactical sales activity.”
“Aamir is associated with Datsun and we expect that to continue. We have further campaigns that are in the planning phase for execution in the next several months. We have shot a TVC (TV commercial) with him, lots of video content and print photography,” Clissold added.
But Datsun’s is not an isolated case. During October last year, actor Hrithik Roshan was brought on-board by Tata Motors to market the Tigor, a compact sedan rivalling segment leader Maruti Suzuki Dzire.
As per available data, average monthly sales of the Tigor during the October to February period declined to 2,091 units, a 10 percent fall year-on-year.
Sources at Tata Motors, however, said bringing on-board Roshan was in the larger interest of boosting the overall image of Tigor and not just for short-term volume gains. A mail sent to Tata Motors did not elicit a response at the time of publishing the article.
Though companies call the association with celebrities as a long-term brand-building strategy, there is no clear evidence of that as sales continue to go downhill.
For instance, actor Ranbir Kapoor’s association with French car brand Renault, where he endorsed models like the Duster, Kwid and Captur has had little effect on Renault’s fortunes in India.
As per available data, Renault’s sales during the April-February FY19 stood 23 percent lower YoY at 72,527.
Similarly, Mahindra Two Wheelers, the motorcycle and scooter making arm of the Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) had roped in Khan and Kareena Kapoor to endorse the Stallio (motorcycle) and Rodeo (scooter), respectively. The company is on the verge of shutting down its Mahindra-branded two-wheelers business and instead focuses on Jawa, BSA and Yezdi brands.
Other companies associate with celebrities to bring in youthfulness to the brand and keep it relevant. For instance, Maruti Suzuki appointed actor Ranvir Singh to campaign for Ciaz and recently for Baleno. The market leader also brought on board actor Varun Dhawan last year for promoting Arena, a modern showroom concept that looks to entice the young buyer, aided by a digital buying experience.
