Balkrishna Industries Ltd.’s (BKT). brand BKT Tyres recently launched ‘BKT YOU FORWARD’. This is a 24×7 Journey Assistance Programme for India’s two-wheeler riders, supported by a digital-first storytelling campaign featuring veteran actor Rakesh Bedi.
Aligned with BKT Tyres’ Elevate Your Drive philosophy, the initiative reflects the brand’s evolution from a product-focuSsed player to a more consumer-centric mobility partner.
MediaNews4U.com caught up with Mahesh Koppad, Chief Marketing Officer, Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT)
Q. For decades, Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) has been a global leader in the Off-Highway Tyres (OHT) segment. As you expand your On-Highway portfolio, how does introducing a service-led initiative like ‘BKT YOU FORWARD’ signal your transformation into a purpose-led consumer brand rather than just a product manufacturer?
BKT’s growth has been driven by engineering excellence and leadership in highly specialised Off-Highway tyre segments, however, the biggest shift we are witnessing in the tyre industry is that product performance alone is no longer enough to build long-term preference. Consumers today expect brands to be visible, accessible, and relevant throughout their ownership journey, not just at the point of purchase.
For BKT, this evolution coincides with an important transformation of our own. Historically, BKT was recognised as a brand with strong leadership in specialised Off-Highway tyre segments. Today, through our new brand architecture, we are evolving into a portfolio of purpose-driven brands with BKT Tyres and BKT Carbon.
As part of our strategic expansion into the on-highway segment and the introduction of our new brand architecture, we are evolving our approach to create stronger, more meaningful connections with customers. As we expand into consumer-facing categories, success is focused on build trust, familiarity, and meaningful consumer relationships over time. At the heart of this evolution is ‘Elevate Your Drive’, our brand purpose built on the belief that when confidence replaces doubt, every journey becomes a step toward progress.
BKT YOU FORWARD is an extension of this purpose and reflects our commitment to empowering customers with confidence and purpose throughout their journey. It reflects our belief that lasting brand preference is created not only through quality products, but also through the confidence, convenience, and support consumers experience throughout their journey with the brand.
Q. Your overarching brand campaign, ‘Elevate Your Drive’, was launched with a strong performance-led narrative. How does the rollout of a 24×7 Journey Assistance Programme broaden this messaging to focus on emotional reassurance, rider safety, and post-purchase customer value?
Consumer expectations today extend well beyond product performance. While quality remains fundamental, consumers increasingly value the overall ownership experience, including the assurance that support is available when they need it most. This is particularly relevant in mobility, where unexpected situations such as breakdowns, accidents, or emergencies can quickly turn a routine journey into a stressful experience.
This evolving consumer expectation is at the heart of our ‘Elevate Your Drive’ philosophy. We believe mobility is not only about performance, but also about confidence. It is built on the belief that when confidence replaces doubt, every journey becomes a step towards progress.
BKT YOU FORWARD, our 24×7 Journey Assistance Programme brings this philosophy to life by extending support beyond the tyre itself. Through services such as towing, repairs, ambulance support, cab assistance, legal guidance, and accommodation support, the programme helps reduce uncertainty and enables riders to continue their journey with greater peace of mind. More importantly, it reinforces our commitment to creating value beyond the point of purchase and building stronger, more meaningful relationships with consumers over time.
Q. With BKT YOU FORWARD plans starting at just ₹99 for a two-year validity, is the programme intended to operate as a self-sustaining business unit, or is it primarily a strategic brand-building initiative designed to strengthen long-term consumer trust?
Tyres are a replacement-driven category with relatively long purchase cycles. In such a category, the challenge is not only to win at the point of purchase, but to remain familiar and trusted between replacement moments. The BKT YOU FORWARD programme helps us create meaningful touchpoints across the consumer lifecycle, and is focused on building familiarity, trust, recall, and long-term affinity for our consumers over time. We see it as a strategic platform that helps keep the brand relevant, visible, and connected to consumers over time.
Q. While BKT’s flagship communication features high-energy personalities such as Ranveer Singh, you have chosen veteran actor Rakesh Bedi for the BKT YOU FORWARD campaign. What consumer insights or everyday anxieties were you seeking to address through his relatable persona?
The campaign was built around a simple insight: when consumers face unexpected situations on the road, whether it is a breakdown, accident, or emergency, they are looking for reassurance. At those moments, confidence comes from knowing that support is available and that help is within reach.
This meant the communication had to feel authentic, familiar, and grounded in everyday realities. The objective was to tell the story in a way that consumers could immediately relate to, while still clearly communicating the practical value of the service. For a proposition like BKT YOU FORWARD, emotional storytelling and functional relevance needed to work together.
We chose Rakesh Bedi because he brings warmth, credibility, and relatability that resonate across geographies, generations, and demographics. Over the years, he has earned the affection and trust of audiences through characters rooted in everyday life, making him a familiar and reassuring presence.
His persona helped us bring the proposition to life through familiar, everyday situations that consumers could instantly relate to. By combining warmth, humour, and authenticity, the campaign makes the service easier to understand while reinforcing the confidence, reassurance, and peace of mind it is designed to deliver during unexpected moments on the road.
Q. Tyres are often considered a low-involvement category where purchase decisions are influenced by dealers. Do you believe that services such as puncture assistance, fuel delivery, and towing support can help generate stronger direct consumer affinity for BKT?
In a replacement-driven category like tyres, brand affinity is built when consumers repeatedly associate a brand with positive experiences, reliability, and confidence. While dealers and mechanics continue to play a critical role in influencing purchase decisions, their recommendations become even more powerful when consumers already recognise and have confidence in the brand. This is why building direct consumer engagement is becoming increasingly important.
For BKT Tyres, initiatives such as BKT YOU FORWARD help create additional touchpoints that reinforce what the brand stands for beyond product performance alone. They allow consumers to experience the values of reliability, support, and dependability in a more tangible way, helping build stronger recall, familiarity, and affinity over time. Over time, this consistency of support builds the kind of familiarity and emotional connection that naturally translates into stronger brand preference and recall at the point of purchase.
For BKT, this initiative reflects our commitment to creating value beyond the product and building stronger relationships with consumers throughout their ownership journey.
Q. Television continues to play a significant role in BKT’s media strategy. What were the key considerations behind adopting a digital-first approach for the BKT YOU FORWARD campaign?
Television continues to be a powerful medium for BKT, delivering unmatched reach and mass visibility across diverse geographies and consumer segments. At the same time, India’s consumers are increasingly digital-first, turning to online platforms not only for entertainment, but also for discovery, learning, and decision-making. This creates an opportunity for brands to engage consumers in a more interactive, contextual, and meaningful way.
For BKT YOU FORWARD, our digital strategy was built around two equally important objectives: awareness and engagement. Our focus was to introduce the programme to consumers at scale through platforms such as Meta and YouTube, while bringing the proposition to life through relatable scenarios that highlighted its relevance and value. Digital platforms allow us to bring real-world situations to life through richer storytelling formats and more targeted communication.
Influencer partnerships have been an important part of this approach. By working with creators who are trusted by their communities, we are able to share relatable experiences and practical perspectives in a way that feels authentic and accessible. A digital-first strategy enables us to combine reach, engagement, and education, helping consumers better understand the programme while strengthening their connection with the BKT brand.
Q. How do media investments differ when launching an experiential service platform compared to a physical product?
The communication strategy for a service platform is inherently different from that of a physical product. Service-led propositions enable brands to build deeper consumer relationships by bringing their purpose and values to life through experiences that are relevant, useful, and meaningful.
As a result, the media approach becomes more content-driven and contextual, leveraging digital platforms, creator partnerships, and relatable narratives to build familiarity, understanding, and long-term brand connection.
Q. BKT has successfully leveraged regional sports partnerships across India. Are there plans to utilise dealer networks, regional activations, and sports platforms to drive awareness of BKT YOU FORWARD across Tier II, Tier III, and rural markets?
Regional markets are extremely important to BKT as our business serves a diverse set of consumers across both urban and rural markets, each with distinct mobility needs, purchase behaviours, and engagement preferences. As we expand our footprint, we will continue to leverage a mix of dealer engagement and regional activations to ensure that we are connecting with our consumers.
Sports partnerships play a complementary role in this strategy. For BKT, sport has long been a global platform for building brand visibility, trust, and emotional connection with audiences. Through cricket in India, football in Europe, and other sporting associations across international markets, these partnerships help us engage with consumers at scale while reinforcing the values of performance, reliability, teamwork, and progress that define the BKT brand.
Q. Beyond cricket, how do you see indigenous and regional sports contributing to BKT’s consumer engagement strategy as the brand expands its mobility-focused initiatives?
Cricket continues to be an important platform for BKT because of its unparalleled reach, passion, and ability to connect with audiences at scale. Our association with the sport has helped us build strong visibility and engage with consumers across urban and rural markets, diverse geographies, and demographic segments, enabling us to create deeper connections with audiences at scale.
As BKT continues to evolve, we remain open to exploring other sports and platforms that align with our brand values and help us connect with relevant audiences in meaningful ways. Our approach to sports partnerships is guided by their ability to create authentic engagement, strengthen brand affinity, and help us reach consumers across diverse markets and communities.
Q. Delivering nationwide assistance services is operationally intensive. What kind of backend partnerships, technology, and support infrastructure have been established to ensure reliable service delivery across geographies?
BKT YOU FORWARD is supported by CROSSROADS for assistance services and BI Worldwide for programme management and customer engagement. The programme is backed by a dedicated 24×7 call centre, real-time case monitoring, service coordination, and defined escalation processes to ensure a seamless and consistent consumer experience.
The support infrastructure covers a wide range of mobility situations, including towing, roadside repairs, ambulance support, cab assistance, legal guidance, and accommodation support. Our objective is to ensure that whenever a rider requires assistance, support is just a call away and delivered in a dependable, accessible, and timely manner, reflecting the confidence and reliability associated with the BKT brand.
Q. Given that tyre purchases are infrequent, how will dealer networks leverage BKT YOU FORWARD at the point of sale to maintain ongoing engagement with consumers?
Our dealer network plays a critical role in bringing BKT YOU FORWARD to consumers and ensuring its benefits are effectively communicated at the point of sale. To encourage participation and adoption, dealers are supported through a loyalty programme, creating a shared incentive to drive awareness and engagement.
Alongside product quality and performance, it provides an additional layer of support and assurance, helping differentiate the BKT offering in a highly competitive market. The programme also helps us maintain an ongoing connection with consumers beyond the initial sale.
Q. Looking ahead over the next 12–18 months, what key initiatives can we expect from BKT Tyres as it continues to strengthen its position in the Indian two-wheeler market?
India remains one of the fastest-growing automotive and tyre markets globally, and our entry into the on-highway segment is a strategic step towards capturing this opportunity. Alongside expanding our market presence and strengthening our product portfolio, we are equally focused on building a stronger consumer brand.
Programmes such as BKT YOU FORWARD are an important part of this journey. Looking ahead, we are focusing on the programme evolving into a broader consumer platform that brings together product innovation, meaningful services, and consumer engagement under a single brand philosophy. Our ambition is to create experiences that add value beyond the point of purchase and help us build stronger, more enduring relationships with consumers.
Under our broader ‘Growing Together’ philosophy, we aim to build BKT Tyres into a familiar and aspirational brand by combining world-class technology, a strong ‘Make in India for India and the world’ approach, and meaningful consumer experiences.
Our goal is for consumers to associate BKT not only with quality tyres, but also with confidence, reliability, and a commitment to supporting their mobility needs.
