BOSCH in India
Should Bosch have change its name to MICO or should it
have kept it as BOSH MICO?
In the initial phase the change in name to MICO was the right choice as
this give the brand an independence to establish itself as an Indian
brand. It would help the company to connect to the customers very
easily based on nationalism and relate to the customers more easily.
Also, just after independence, if the company would have added there
own brand into the mix then they could have faced more resistance from
the government, because in the year 1951, the government was trying to
make Indian companies grow and develop the market.
As such a completely separate identity of MICO was more helpful then
the name BOSCH MICO.
Out of all the stakeholders which was the most important for changing communication
for Corporate Identity (CI). How did it communicate with the employee?
Out of all the stake holders, Internal stake holders were the most
important for the company as they had a very strong association with the
brand. Only when the internal stake holders had adopted the new brand
identity, could the company present a united message to the external
stakeholders.
In order to communicate with the employees, multi-level, multi-lingual
and multi-cultural communication was planned.
“Power of We” message and anthems were used for audio
communication. Posters added to visual communication. Interaction with
team leaders were used to spread the message as part f the verbal
communication strategy.
Critically analyze Bosch’s strategy for the corporate campaign
Media – It was reserved when it came to media, but it opened it up for B3 – The strategy
was to conduct continuous meaningful dialogue with the media to avoid speculation and
maximize media coverage – Announcements of investments always attracted media
attention and thus it was a conscious PR strategy to attract media attention – It enabled
them to gain the highest share of gain in the industry – Media did not know much about
Bosch and for that Bosch took 14 Journalists to Germany to show their leadership status in
the industry
Employees – Employees were strongly associated with Bosch as they had worked there for
generations – The key concern of the employees was loss of identity owing to brand
migration – They wanted to increase the visibility of the brands within the company to
develop confidence in the brand & a strong W-O-M publicity – Apprehensions like “will I
lose my job”, “will I have to work more”, “will my salary get reduced” – The
Implementation took in 3 Stages: • Audio: Power of We • Visual: Posters of employees in
cultural attire • Verbal: Local team leaders were encouraged to interact with the employees
OEMs and Opinion Leaders – OEMs were the least challenging target audience
– Opinion Leaders were important to spread W-O-M – Strategy was to highlight
benefits of change and gain maximum recall • Direct marketing - Direct Mailers
to OEM • Road shows - Hand’s on experience of Bosch products • Mass media
campaigns – Target audience were automotive industry and trade associations –
Target audience was very niche thus television media was ruled out and
business dailies and magazines were focused on
Customers – The main concern was to not lose customers in the brand
migration process as they were loyal to MICO – Unconventional
communication channels: • Direct contact program – Mindshare studied the
consumer behavior in the aftermarket to prioritize the TA – The most important
TA was mechanics followed by the retailers as the decided which brand to buy –
Truckers & mechanics were found to have lower than average viewership of TV
& press – Mechanics & retailers could be reached at their repair centers and the
truck drivers used to take halts at the dhabas • Sites were chosen on highways
where semi-permanent structures were erected • Contest-based activity/ games
were conducted and people were informed that MICO was becoming Bosch •
Product demonstrations were done • Photos of mechanics were clicked • “Bosch
ka vishwas humesha aap ke saath” • Bosch branded caps, torch, and pillows
were distribulted
Can product and corporate advertising be combined?
Would it confuse customers ?
Despite B3, Bosch awareness was low among truck and tractor
drivers
Introduction of another campaign ‘say Bosch if you want MICO’
Post the heavy advertisements on DD, regional channels, local news
and cable channels and satellite channels; effective reach was seen.
Bosch has invested lots of money, efforts, time in building the brand
Bosch over MICO
So, it should not further the target audiences by using MICO’s name
as new audience will know it as Bosch and old audience have known
this transition due to heavy advertisements
How will you evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign
including PR as a part of promotion mix ?
Aftermarket have limited reach of mass media, while working mainly on
contacts o Direct Contact Program at places where they assembled
Ad Campaign ‘No Fear No Compromise’ and ‘Say Bosch if you want MICO’.
Ad campaigns were effective in communicating the change
Echo advertisement resonated with the change happening
12 week campaign executed through heavy advertising on DD, regional
channels, news, local cable movie channels
Post project B3 was fairly successful as it attained the high reach, But it
should be continued for longer period of time so as to reach more and more
customers.
From Exhibit 12, it is clear that awareness has increased in aftermarket
especially in mechanics and retailers. Also Media, employees, OEMs, opinion
leaders are well aware about brand migration. Bosch should continue to target
retail customers, truck drivers and farmers for another year
