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IIM-Kozhikode • Auto • Hero Honda Motors Ltd.

Supported by
 HERO HONDA PLEASURE CASE STUDY

Background
In January 2006, Hero Honda, the market leader in motorcycles, designed and developed a 100cc gearless scooter-Pleasure.
It was a late entrant in an already crowded category that was dominated by strong brands like Honda Activa, TVS Scooty and
Bajaj Chetak. Most existing brands were positioned on the family platform and so the normal thing to do would have been to
position this scooter either as a unisex scooter or for men; but Hero Honda chose to look at the opportunity differently and
positioned it distinctly for women. Hero Honda’s belief was that women need as much mobility as men do. Mobility is not only
physical but liberation of thoughts and spirit as well. Brand Pleasure was targeted exclusively at liberal women who believe in
living their life on their own terms. It was almost to the point of being ‘exclusionary’ to the predominant and traditional users of
two wheelers, i.e. men. This attitude was encapsulated in the baseline ‘Why should boys have all the fun?. ‘Why should boys
have all the fun?’ had come out of a comprehensive insight. Boys have had all the reasons to cheer and have fun. They were the
ones who could go out as and when they liked, they were the ones who were not dependent on anybody as far as their
transportation needs were concerned. However, the world treated girls differently and they had to depend on male members of
their family for mobility. Such cases were more pronounced and were common especially in smaller towns where girls did not
have a personal transport.
Hero Honda launched Pleasure as a means of women empowerment. However it was not enough to merely position it as a
women’s scooter, Hero Honda had to deliver on its promise in terms of the product, service and relationship. The proposition
has been met by a specially designed vehicle, keeping the women rider in mind. There are many special features in the scooter.
Pleasure has an ABS body which makes it light and zippy. It also has a puncture resistant tuff-up tube and a stand that is
extremely easy to remove and put on. Most importantly, Pleasure also comes with a power start in addition to a kick start. All
these features contribute to the ease of riding and comfort of handling. Women would no longer be required to ask their fathers
or brothers for help while riding the scooter. Pleasure has a range of young and vibrant colours that appeal to women. The next
step was to enhance the purchase experience and make women feel comfortable. Hero Honda launched “Just4her”, an
exclusive showroom for women intending to buy scooters. This was a first in the Indian automobile industry. This came from
research that suggested that most women feel very uncomfortable going into an all-male two-wheeler showroom. J4H has all
female staff showroom to provide a unique purchase experience to women. Hero Honda has always had a strong focus on
relationship building and after-sales service. A CRM program “The Lady Rider Club” was launched for women customers,
ensuring that the post purchase experience continues to remain a delight by giving her preferential treatment be it during
service of the vehicle or reward points and discount. Additional benefits of the program are tangible gifts such as passes to
movies/ events etc. ‘Anytime Service’ was launched to reassure the owner that there’s someone always ready to take care of
the scooter Pleasure across the country, anytime.
The brand was well accepted and notched 6% market share in the first year. To up the ante, Hero Honda signed up Priyanka
Chopra as the Brand Ambassador for Pleasure in 2007. Priyanka was seen as an epitome of a confident girl, who wants to
make it big, is independent and can hold her own in the male world. The association of Priyanka Chopra has apparently helped
the aspirational imagery of the brand.

Current Situation
Hero Honda Pleasure grew at a rate of 54%, far ahead of the scooter industry and has emerged as the number three player with
a market share of 14%.

Competitive Landscape
The market leader is Honda Motors and Scooters India Ltd. (HMSI) with a market share of 50% in FY 2009-10. In the HMSI
stable, Honda Activa is the strongest brand and is seen as a family scooter with Honda’s superior technology being the main
advantage. It has a distinct leadership advantage. TVS Scooty is the no. 2 scooter brand, with a market share of 20%. It has two
 HERO HONDA PLEASURE CASE STUDY

extensions – TVS Scooty Pep, and TVS Streak. Scooty boasts of a range of eye-catching colours.
Suzuki Access, a recent entrant, is growing at a very fast rate and has a share of 9%. Suzuki Access has been positioned as a
family scooter.
Mahindra and Mahindra has entered the two wheeler space with the launch of three scooter brands - Rodeo, Duro and Flyte
and has garnered a share of 4.6%. The scooters have an engine capacity of 125cc and are positioned as power scooters.
(Source: SIAM 2009-2010 Data)
Drivers of Growth of Scooter Industry
The Indian economy is doing very well and has fuelled the growth across the automobile industry- cars, motorcycles, scooters
etc. Pleasure, in particular is a shining star because of its sharp focus on women. Women are getting importance in society and
India is witnessing a socio-cultural revolution. And there are very few brands that talk to women.

Communication of Pleasure
Pleasure was launched with a film that was a montage, with women from all walks of life enjoying their ride on the scooter. This
was a platform for the Pleasure brand to announce its positioning as “Why Should Boys Have All the Fun?”. The film’s creative
hook was a catchy jingle on the positioning of the brand. This was followed by a thematic communication wherein the
protagonist, Pleasure’s brand ambassador Priyanka Chopra refused a marriage proposal from an eligible NRI boy. This was an
expression of her empowerment and the setting of the film was small town India.
In the sequel to this communication, Priyanka Chopra expresses and asserts her independence. She outsmarts her brother in
her unique style.
The latest campaign of Pleasure has taken the brand to another plane altogether. The communication rests on a very strong
and pertinent insight that unlike boys, girls are always asked questions for everything that they do. Here Pleasure’s brand
ambassador drives away all the questions by riding on the scooter. And again Pleasure becomes a companion and enabler for
girls to live a more empowered life.

Ground promotions done for Pleasure

The brand strength of Pleasure can be attributed not only to the mass media communication but also to the intensive ground
support. All campaigns have had a 360 degree component to them. Several unique and interesting initiatives have been
undertaken for Pleasure. Just4Her outlets were opened since women are generally averse to visiting showrooms and service
stations that are managed solely by men. We made sure that women in key scooter towns where the Just4Her showrooms
were set up knew about them and visited them. This was achieved by making a special campaign for the Just4Her outlets
where every woman was special - ‘a celebrity’.
To increase penetration even at regular showrooms, Pleasure corners were made, where women sales executives deal with
customers. To have greater engagement with women, Hero Honda invited them for test rides. Test rides were important as
women are generally scared of riding scooters and it was important that Hero Honda break this barrier. To lower this barrier
further, Hero Honda did a dinner and date with Hrithik contest. It was a simple contest aimed at women coming for test rides and
participating in a lucky draw so as to win the dinner and date with Hrithik. The result of this activity was that 20 lucky women got
this opportunity and have become very strong brand advocates for Pleasure.

The Challenge
• Pleasure currently sells 25000 units per month. Hero Honda has planned to make Pleasure the no. 1 scooter brand in the
country by September 2012 with average volumes of 50000 per month.
• Please suggest a strategy to achieve the same.
 HERO HONDA PLEASURE CASE STUDY

Appendix
1. Source: SIAM Sales Data
FY 2009-2010
Category
Segment/Subsegment
Manufacturer North Zone East Zone West Zone South Zone Govt & Others All States Nepal Bhutan Grand Total
IV Two Wheelers
A: Scooters/Scooterettee
Bajaj Auto Ltd 595 998 1,237 889 - 3,719 40 - 3,759
Hero Honda Motors Ltd 30,623 24,537 102,202 43,932 - 201,294 3,537 - 204,831
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (Pvt) Ltd 181,861 32,094 306,775 219,154 - 739,884 - - 739,884
LML Limited NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd 12,485 8,703 27,406 18,587 - 18,587 - - 67,181
Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd 23,042 5,448 63,087 49,406 - 49,406 144 - 141,127
TVS Motor Company Ltd 24,351 25,980 107,812 141,768 - 141,768 - - 299,911
Total A: Scooter/Scooterettee 272,957 97,760 608,519 473,736 - 473,736 3,721 - 1,456,693

APRIL 2010 AUGUST 2010

Category Domestic Sales (in Numbers)
Segment/Subsegment April - August
Manufacturer 2009-10 2010-11
IV Two Wheelers
A: Scooters/Scooterettee
Bajaj Auto Ltd 2,507 27
Hero Honda Motors Ltd 82,220 123,397
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (Pvt) Ltd 296,331 376,603
Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd 12,948 54,270
Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd 46,150 83,884
TVS Motor Company Ltd 119,197 169,819
Total A: Scooter/Scooterettee 559,353 808,000

1. Product shots of different products in market

HERO HONDA PLEASURE TVS SCOOTY PEP

 HERO HONDA PLEASURE CASE STUDY

TVS SCOOTY STREAK TVS WEGO

SUZUKI ACCESS MAHINDRA DURO

MAHINDRA RODEO MAHINDRA FLYTE

 HERO HONDA PLEASURE CASE STUDY

HONDA ACTIVA HONDA AVIATOR

HONDA DIO BAJAJ KRISTAL