Campaign Planning Avijit Lahiri | Words Shiv Arora | Photos Rajeev Bhendwal
Energy is always in motion — and the good news is that you get to decide the direction. Let yourself sink slowly into the quick sands of the Go Extra campaign, leap out of the fog and on to your upward path, eager to embrace the winding road. It’s time you choose boldness. It’s time you choose to begin. We bring you the first leg of the pan-India campaign of travelling in a truck to create awareness about Bridgestone V-STEEL Mix M721 – the 15% extra mileage tyre – and a host of other class-leading products for the CV fraternity
Hold on to your seat belts tightly! We are going on a rollercoaster ride across national and state highways filled with so many turns, ups and downs but in all great fun. The Go Extra campaign, an initiative by MOTORINDIA, was powered by Bridgestone India as Title Partner, Ashok Leyland as Trucking Partner, Delux Bearings as Bearing Partner, Jamna Auto as Suspension Partner and Excelite – DH Lighting India as Lighting Partner. The prime focus of the campaign was to create awareness about the all-new Bridgestone V-STEEL Mix M721 – the 15% extra mileage tyre – along with solutions from all partner brands with the main aim of helping fleets reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO), and making the lives of drivers, operators and mechanics easier and better. During this entire journey, encompassing more than 8,500+ km and 35+ locations, the truck travelled on national and state highways, covering and impacting major transport hubs, truck fleets, tyre dealers and truck drivers.
The ‘Go Extra’ truck – a 5-axle Ashok Leyland AVTR vehicle, made pre-planned stops at key truck terminals where transporters, drivers and mechanics were engaged in an awareness session, live product demonstrations and experiences with loads of games and fun activities. Interviews were conducted with large transporters, presidents and heads of the transport associations and unions along the planned routes. Our journey to criss-cross the country was flagged off from Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar in New Delhi. It was a different feeling altogether for me to travel by truck.
Our first halt was Agra, the city of love and architecture. On January 28, 2021, we travelled on the Yamuna Expressway which is a six-lane, 165 km long, access-controlled expressway, connecting Greater Noida with Agra. It is one of India’s longest six-lane controlled-access expressway stretches. There was poor visibility due to foggy weather so even the drivers were a bit extra conscious on the route. We did a photoshoot on the expressway around midnight which marked the start of our campaign. Soon, we reached the magnificent city of Agra at the heart of India. The entire team rested in a hotel. We were a bit tired but highly excited as Agra would be the location for our first event of the campaign. Early morning, on January 29, we left for the event location. We did the set-up and then went for breakfast at Shri Ram Sweets. There we had ‘aloo puri’ and ‘kachori’.
Unfolding the Events
Later we went to the location for our event which started at 10:00 am. We started with some games and fun activities with my colleague, Yogesh. All our partners demonstrated their products at their respective stalls. We presented shawls to the dealers as a small token of appreciation. Later, we had an introduction session with the truck fleet owners and also a round of interviews regarding the difficulties they have been facing of late and the improvements required. After meeting the fleet owners, we had our lunch and then immediately left for Kanpur. After six hours of a straight drive, we finally touched base at Kanpur. Our entire team rested in a hotel.
On January 30, we had our breakfast at the crack of dawn. At 10:00 am we all reached the city’s transport hub and began with our event. We started with some games and fun activities while interacting with our partners. There we met the truck fleet owners, operators, mechanics as well as drivers and discussed about Bridgestone V-STEEL Mix M721 and its benefits. We had an interview session too that got extended, due to which we had to skip our lunch. But the positive thing is that we got to meet so many fleet owners and understood their point of view on how the trucking community can be made better. After a long day, we finally had our dinner.
The City of Nawabs
That evening we left for the royal city of Lucknow where ancient culture merges so well with modernity. Along our journey from Kanpur to Lucknow, the team rested at Chauhan hotel opposite the Ashok Leyland workshop. Early morning, on January 31, we left for the event location. We began with our event at the city’s transport hub with a games session followed by live product demonstrations, display of products by our partners and interviews with truck fleet owners. There we met the president of the local transport association who had come specially for the event.
We had a discussion with the president on how he handles the transport association and updated him about our campaign. He also shared his views regarding Bridgestone tyres. We also met Amit Behl, state head of Bridgestone for Lucknow and discussed with him our campaign and the salient features of his company’s new drive axle tyre for commercial vehicles. We had an interview with truck fleet owners and enquired if they had any expectations from the government. As such, we got to know that there has been a steep increase in toll tax. Fleet owners have therefore requested the government to reduce the toll tax so that it becomes easier for them to travel on long routes. In Lucknow, the transporters and drivers showed keen interest in the V-STEEL Mix M721 product and appreciated our campaign.
In the evening, we shot video clips on the busy streets of Lucknow with our team and had an amazing session interacting with our driver bhaiya Sukhpal. Later we visited Lucknow’s famous Tunday Kababi Restaurant. We took Sukhpal with us to make him feel special. He had been nursing a long desire of visiting this place but had not been able to do so due to his work responsibilities and busy schedule. We had a small chit-chat session with Sukhpal and enjoyed the famous Tunday Kabab. We had ‘muglawy parantha’, ‘mutton galawaty kabab’ and ‘kheer’. We really had an amazing time with Sukhpal and he too enjoyed so much. Lucknow treated us admirably as if we were royal guests – that being the culture of the city.
Onward to Jhansi
On February 2, the Go Extra campaign left for the historic city of Jhansi. The journey was a long one since we had to cover a distance of 313 km. During our journey from Lucknow to Jhansi we took a lunch break. We saw two trucks there with bamboos. Out of curiosity and also for creating awareness about our campaign, we engaged in a brief discussion with them. They informed us that they had been travelling from Siliguri and were going to Rajasthan and that it would take another two days to reach their destination. We introduced them to our campaign; they seemed very interested in it and said they would talk to their owner about it.
It was a long journey of about 7-8 hours and we reached Jhansi at midnight. We went to our hotel immediately and crashed on our beds, such being the exhausted state we were in. Early morning on February 3, we left for the transport hub of Jhansi. We completed our set-up with our truck ready for display and soon began our event. As usual, we began with announcements to get the audience’s attention, followed by games and fun activities post which we introduced them to our Go Extra campaign and its purpose. We interacted with our partners and met truck fleet owners for an interview session. Whenever we met truck fleet owners for one-to-one interaction sessions, we mainly asked how many trucks they had, their drivers’ perspectives, views regarding truck maintenance, impact of GST, etc. Here we got to know from them that GST has benefited them and impacted their business very positively.
Gwalior Beckons
On the same day after our event, we left for Gwalior. On our way to Gwalior, we took a break and our entire team had lunch together and most importantly, we accompanied Sukhpal to a very fine restaurant near a farm. After travelling a distance of 105 km we finally reached Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. We then had our dinner and went to the hotel.
Next day, on February 4, we reached the transport hub of Gwalior. We began with our event with the dashing red ‘Go Extra’ truck all set to hog the limelight. It was so benevolent to have Ram Niwas Singh Tomar, Vice President of the local association and Ashok Leyland representative Sanjay Saxena with us at the event. After having a discussion with them we got to know more about the preferences and practices of transporters in the city. It was evident that whichever brand was more active and had created more awareness had easily captured the market.
Ashok Leyland representative Sanjay Saxena introduced us to the new customization feature with which one can customize a truck as required. He made this interesting by giving an example of pizza – the way we can customize pizza as per our choice. The same can be done with Ashok Leyland’s AVTR range of trucks as well. We met the truck fleet owners, mechanics and operators and had interviews with them. In Gwalior there was only one truck fleet owner who had two models of BS-VI. That apart, the others were still hesitating to go for BS-VI vehicles because of the steep prices.
On the whole, Gwalior’s fleet operators, mechanics and drivers welcomed us with open arms. Spending time together and having hot crispy samosas in the cold weather was like cherry on a cake.
The City of Foodies
Later, in the evening we left for Indore. It was a distance of more than 500 km that we managed to cover quite smoothly. Travelling with Sukhpal in the truck was a really astonishing experience. During our interaction he said that the DH Lighting lamps that they used were really powerful. According to him, the lights provided good throw and focus which ensured he didn’t face any problem during night driving. DH Lighting is a South Korean company which sells its products under the Excelite brand in India. The company is yet to enter the truck segment in India as most truckers are still quite hesitant to switch over to a new technology.
On our way to Indore on the Gwalior-Indore highway, we saw a place which was crowded. We took a halt there. It was a street food hub where we had ‘pav bhaji’, ‘gajar ka halwa’, ‘masala dosa’ and ‘rabri’. They were so heavenly and delicious! We leave you here for now!
—
We are delighted to partner with leading commercial vehicle magazine MOTORINDIA for the ‘Go Extra’ campaign, aimed at promoting our all-new V-STEEL Mix M721 tyre. The ‘Go Extra’ truck has covered 35+ locations and travelled over 8,500 km across the country, introducing our tyre to key CV industry stakeholders including fleet operators, truck drivers and mechanics along the way, while also offering valuable tips, suggestions and solutions to help them improve their business. We are excited with the enthusiastic response for the on-ground events held at the transport hubs and are confident this campaign will help us make major in-roads into our target segment for the M721.
– Tushar Bansode, Head Marketing – Commercial Business, Bridgestone India
—
We are in an industry where the total cost of ownership defines the success of a brand and its customers. As stakeholders of this industry, we must continuously strive to help our customers to improve their total cost of ownership (TCO), through education, by sharing important insights and also by helping them successfully adopt newer technologies. Our BS-VI trucks, based on the modular AVTR platform, have the latest in tech and innovation, significantly helping to reduce the operating costs, while bringing efficiencies and overall superior ergonomics for the drivers. The ‘Go Extra’ Campaign by India’s leading commercial vehicle magazine, MOTORINDIA, has immensely helped all our customers, regardless of what vehicle they own or drive. We are glad to have been a part of this 8,500 km journey and are happy to have met as many truckers as possible. We showcased our AVTR truck and also highlighted the many innovative features that will help us take our industry forward.
– Anuj Kathuria, Chief Operating Officer, Ashok Leyland
—
The ‘Go Extra’ campaign, a MOTORINDIA initiative, has created powerful impact and awareness among the transport sector with the drive covering 30+ locations across major transport hubs in India. We at Jamna Auto Industries are delighted to be associated with this campaign as ‘Suspension Partner’ as it has given us a chance to meet key industry stakeholders – fleet operators, retailers and mechanics – in one go. Mechanics and retailers are the backbone of CV industry. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a lack of timely communication between them and our company. This drive has given us an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with our channel partners. As a suspension partner, we are educating the masses about our world-class leaf springs and allied parts, lift axle parts and trailer components. All our products are made using high grade raw material that meets the international quality standards. Our high technology suspension parts not only provide great ride comfort but are also highly reliable under any kind of road & load conditions. Our partners’ trust and support has made us the No. 1 leaf spring brand in India and I am sure we will get same support for all our suspension components as well.
– Sunil Laroiya, President, Jamna Auto Industries
—
We are pleased to be a part of ‘Go Extra’ campaign, initiated by leading commercial vehicle magazine MOTORINDIA. It was a 60-day campaign, covering all major states of the country. This road trip was a good medium to disseminate product information and approaching the electricians and retailers in the commercial segment across the route. Due to the ongoing pandemic situation, such trips are curtailed. This campaign served the purpose not only in reaching the customers, but also in conducting a pilot study for product demand. It also assisted in creating the market by arousing curiosity among buyers. Important highlights were posted on Facebook by the MOTORINDIA team which was strategically effective for product promotion. I am thankful to MOTORINDIA for creating such an opportunity to create awareness about our brand ‘EXCELITE’ and our product range to the target customers.
– Harish Sharma, Director, DH Lighting India
—
Delux joining with Motorindia for the Go Extra campaign was our first such association with any publication for a sustained campaign travelling the length and breadth of the country, touching and exposing different brands directly to the customers. During the previous year, as our teams were not able to travel to most areas, the Go Extra campaign was an opportunity to reach out to ours customers across the country. It was a well thought out and planned campaign where the brands could be exposed to the end users and fleet operators. We were able to depute our teams at all the 30+ locations where the events were held. Local excitement was created and coordinated by the Motorindia team with excellent advance planning. The campaign was beneficial as we were able to communicate directly and showcase our new products and also display the technological advancements at Delux. We look forward to more such campaigns in the future.
– J S Khurana, Vice President (Aftermarket), Delux Bearings
—
‘Go Extra’ in numbers
Overall Distance Covered: 8,500+ km
Duration: 60 Days
No. of States Covered: 9
No. of Events Held: 35
—
Stay tuned for interesting updates from the rest of the journey in our upcoming editions. To know more about this spectacular campaign, check out www.goextra.in.