In two separate initiatives, automobile giants Yamaha Motor India and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India have launched on-ground campaigns to promote road safety habits among kids. While Yamaha has unveiled an unnamed brand mascot, Honda has partnered with Pogo for an association with the cartoon character, Chhota Bheem.



Honda to reach out to 11 Indian cities



Honda will be conducting ‘Honda Safe Riding with Chhota Bheem’ in 11 cities in India where the mascot will interact with kids and educate them on the benefits of safe riding. A Honda CRF50 will be the choice of wheels and there will be other activities involved like painting competitions and the likes to engage the children. To further spread the message of road safety, Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India will also distribute related materials in schools.



“As HMSI expands in production capacity, the social responsibility of the company is getting bigger. HMSI has further built its commitment towards road safety by associating with Pogo and Popular character Chhota Bheem. Honda together with Chhota Bheem shall spread the message on importance of road safety across the country”, said Keita Muramatsu – President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India.



To give strength to this campaign, all Honda dealerships will carry new POP material for spreading road safety message among kids suitably supported with free distribution of Road safety education material in schools. The Chota Bheem TVC on Pogo will be aired backed by an aggressive digital media campaign.



Yamaha targeting 300 cities in 2014



Yamaha in turn unveiled its maiden brand mascot to promote its Yamaha Children Safety Program. The mascot has been designed to strengthen the brand connect with kids. Its goal is to reach out to 300 cities in 2014. “Our Yamaha Safe Riding Science Program (YSRS) did not receive exciting response and so we thought of connecting with kids through a cartoon character and that gave rise to an idea of a mascot. Our mascot personifies all the brand attributes, especially innovation and styling, which is synonymous to Yamaha,” said Roy Kurian, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Yamaha Motor India.



With this initiative Yamaha hopes for a deeper engagement with society, and is targeting young audience is a strategic manner. Adds Kurian, “One of our brand visions for Yamaha is to contribute to society. Through this program, we wanted to meet double objectives – one, to teach kids who after ten to fifteen years will be all young riders, so the lessons they learn now will stay with them to make them responsible future riders. Secondly, when we teach kids, they tend to keep a check on their parents or anyone for not abiding by the safety measures, and also stop them from doing wrong.” It has kickstarted a contest to christen the name of the mascot, inviting entries all over the country.



And with a good product line-up, Yamaha is hopeful this will be a significant step towards further strengthening its position in the market.