Q] BKT Tyres has travelled from being an Indian off-highway tyre manufacturer to a global player present in over 160 countries. What has powered that journey?
BKT, today, is one of the leading global players in the off-highway tyre business, with a presence in over 160 countries. It has been a gradual journey, and certainly not an easy one. As an Indian brand, we entered global markets before other off-highway tyre brands, and over time, built recognition and credibility. Branding has played a significant role in that journey. It has been the backbone of how BKT is positioned today.
Q] BKT recently launched YouForward, a 24x7 roadside and journey assistance program for two-wheeler riders across India. What was the consumer insight behind the initiative?
As a brand, we constantly try to understand consumers and identify gaps in the market. While consumers expect a great product and assurance of quality, their expectations increasingly extend beyond the point of sale. Product functionality is important, but when everyone in the category is talking about similar benefits, the question is: how do you differentiate? We realised that consumers were looking for a broader ecosystem around mobility, safety and service. That led to ‘BKT YouForward’, a 24x7 journey assistance programme for our two-wheeler riders.
Q] Does this signal a shift from being a product-led brand to a service-led one?
I would not call it a shift from a product brand to a service brand. The intent is to evolve from being a tyre manufacturer into a comprehensive mobility brand—one that can create an ecosystem that is meaningful to consumers. Great tyres that perform across conditions will always remain fundamental. But if a consumer is stranded, faces a breakdown or is involved in an accident, what role can the brand play beyond the product? That is the thought behind ‘YouForward’. Over time, this ecosystem will evolve into something much broader and more meaningful.
Q] As BKT expands its consumer business, how is its brand positioning evolving?
Now that we are moving into the on-highway segment, it also means moving from largely functional communication towards more purpose-led communication. ‘Elevate Your Drive’ campaign is the new brand purpose we have introduced as part of our overall brand architecture refresh. What was earlier ‘BKT Growing Together’ is now the corporate identity. Both the off-highway and consumer businesses are unified under BKT Tyres and the proposition of ‘Elevate Your Drive’. That forms the foundation of what we are communicating to consumers. We have also launched two campaigns featuring Ranveer Singh around the same philosophy.
Q] With digital and AI reshaping marketing, how are they influencing BKT’s media and marketing plans?
We cater to an extremely diverse consumer base—from farmers and industrial customers to two-wheeler riders, passenger vehicle owners and commercial vehicle operators. Therefore, our media choices depend on who we are speaking to, what we want to communicate and how that audience consumes media. Whether it is digital, television or print, the medium is a function of the audience and the communication objective. At the same time, our marketing playbook is evolving. We are increasingly looking at digital not just as an advertising medium, but as a platform for deeper consumer engagement.
For instance, during our sixth association with the T20 league, we wanted to go beyond studio presence and jersey branding. We launched the ‘Sound of BKT’ campaign, a participation-led contest that allowed fans to engage with and respond to the brand’s sporting identity.
Q] Sports sponsorship has been a defining part of BKT’s brand-building strategy. What role does it play beyond visibility?
Sports has been an integral part of our marketing playbook from the beginning. Today, we have partnerships across more than 40 global sporting associations, including LaLiga, MasterChamps and the T20 league. For us, sports is not a one-off activation that we enter for a year and then exit. Our philosophy is to build meaningful and consistent associations over time. The sports we choose must also align with our brand philosophy. Sports stand for values such as resilience, teamwork and confidence—values we believe resonate with BKT as well. It also gives us a platform to connect with a diverse set of communities. But consistency is critical. We want these associations to become meaningful not just for the brand, but also for fans.
Q] Beyond cricket, what are the key factors BKT considers while evaluating a sporting property?
The first question is always: what does the sport help us achieve as a brand? Can it help us reach our diverse consumer base—from farmers to a two-wheeler rider? The second is whether the sport is passionately followed by communities. Since we believe in being present meaningfully and consistently over a period of time, that becomes an important consideration. The third is how the association can help us communicate and engage across our ecosystem—socially and digitally, while also involving dealers and distributors. For us, the end consumer is important, but so are our channel partners. They are an integral part of the ecosystem we build around these associations.
Q] How are self-serve advertising tools, AdTech and AI changing the way BKT plans and measures its digital marketing?
We are still evolving when it comes to AI and automated tools. We are evaluating opportunities with multiple partners to understand how we can automate parts of our marketing and bring greater efficiency to campaigns.
However, it is still at an early stage for us. As we learn and experiment, we will assess how best these tools can be deployed and, importantly, what kind of ROI they can deliver.
Q] Tyres are a highly technical category. How important is emotional storytelling in a category driven largely by functionality?
Tyres are largely a replacement-driven category. Consumers do not wake up thinking, ‘Let us go shopping for tyres today.’ It is a need-driven and relatively low-involvement category, with infrequent purchase cycles. That makes it important for brands to remain top of mind even when consumers are not actively thinking about tyres.
I believe brands in this category need to balance emotional and functional storytelling. Emotional storytelling allows the brand to communicate what it enables consumers to do. With ‘Elevate Your Drive’, we are saying that while we offer quality and performance, we also want to empower consumers to do more—to go further, achieve more and have a better journey.
PROFILE
Mahesh Koppad is Chief Marketing Officer–India at Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT), a role he has held for just over a year. At BKT, he oversees the entire marketing value chain, driving cross-functional collaboration to build a cohesive brand architecture and strengthen BKT Tyres’ awareness and consideration in India. His career spans FMCG and e-commerce, with experience across large portfolios as well as launching and scaling disruptive innovations, giving him strong strategic and executional depth in the consumer space.
ABOUT THE BRAND
Established in 1987, Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) is an Indian multinational and leading Off-Highway tyre manufacturer headquartered in Mumbai. Its portfolio of 3,600+ specialised products serves agriculture, industrial, construction, mining, earthmoving and material handling sectors across 163 countries. BKT has also entered India’s two-wheeler, passenger car and commercial vehicle tyre markets, backed by integrated manufacturing and in-house R&D.
FACTS
Media Agency: Prachar Communications
Creative Agency: Infectious Advertising
Social Media Agency: Schbang
PR Agency: Ruder Finn
