IPL, SRK, motorsports: Rohit Talwar on multiplier effect of Castrol’s celeb endorsements

Castrol India’s recent campaign featuring Shah Rukh Khan has ignited conversations across the nation, strategically timed to coincide with the fervor of the IPL season. Adgully spoke to Rohit Talwar, Vice President and Head of Marketing, Castrol India Limited, to unpack the strategic thinking behind their campaigns, the role of celebrity endorsements, the expansion into rural markets, and the overall marketing roadmap. With a rich history spanning 115 years in India, the brand is constantly adapting to the dynamic landscape of consumer preferences and technological advancements.

The new campaign featuring Shah Rukh Khan was dropped just before the IPL season. Was this timing intentional, and if so, what was the rationale behind it?

Strategic timing is crucial in marketing, and Castrol India ensured maximum impact by launching the campaign just before IPL. Creative tactics, such as teaser content from digital creators and unique print executions featuring movie-type posters of SRK, built anticipation. The grand reveal during the India-New Zealand ICC Champions Trophy final match ensured widespread visibility; this will be supplemented by our presence on television during the IPL.

Through strategic sports associations, media placements, and a sustained digital push, Castrol India continues to embed itself into India’s passion points - sports and entertainment.

With 115 years in India, Castrol has evolved alongside shifting consumer trends and technological advancements. By embedding Castrol into local motorsports and global sporting events, we continue to build an aspirational, high-energy brand that fuels performance on the track, on the road, and beyond.

Castrol has been associated with various sports sponsorships in the past. What is the overall motive behind these associations, and how do they contribute to Castrol’s brand building objectives?

Castrol India’s high-impact sponsorships, including association with Mumbai Indians (IPL), Valley Run, KTM Cup, and MotoGP, highlight our commitment to high-performance sport and motorsport. These associations reinforce our brand’s alignment with endurance, speed, and performance in the most demanding conditions. The decision to feature Shah Rukh Khan as a brand ambassador stems from his enduring excellence and authenticity, qualities that resonate deeply with Castrol’s values.

What major advertising trends are shaping the industry today? How is Castrol India leveraging these trends to strengthen its market presence and connect with consumers?

The advertising landscape today is shaped by two key trends—authentic storytelling and brand salience. Consumers increasingly seek real-life experiences and relatable narratives, making user testimonials, creator partnerships, and community-driven content more important than ever. At the same time, in a cluttered and highly competitive market like lubricants, achieving strong brand visibility and trust remains essential.

At Castrol India, we integrate consumer-driven storytelling with strategic brand collaborations to build a cohesive and far-reaching marketing strategy. Real rider stories, mechanic endorsements, and user-generated content form the foundation of our engagement efforts, ensuring credibility and local relevance. However, we also recognize the power of a high-impact ambassador in strengthening brand affinity and recall. This is where our partnership with Shah Rukh Khan plays a pivotal role. His unparalleled reach, credibility, and cross-generational appeal allow us to connect with a diverse consumer base while reinforcing Castrol’s market leadership. Rather than choosing between celebrity endorsements and consumer narratives, we seamlessly integrate both—leveraging SRK for visibility and recognition, while authentic user experiences drive deeper connections and trust.

This strategy has driven tangible results. Shah Rukh Khan’s association with Castrol has helped accelerate our two key campaigns: Castrol Activ – #GarmiMeinBhi3XProtection, a relaunch of a consumer-favourite brand that underscores product advancements and our expanding focus on rural markets, and Castrol EDGE – Stay Ahead, reinforcing Castrol EDGE as the go-to brand for high-performance vehicles. These initiatives have significantly elevated our market presence, broadening our appeal among younger, aspirational audiences, and further solidifying trust and loyalty within the mechanic ecosystem. By maintaining a consistent brand presence across product lines with a singular, influential ambassador, we have strengthened Castrol’s position as a leader in advanced protection and superior performance.

Beyond digital campaigns, Castrol India ensures a 360-degree brand presence through a mix of creator collaborations, on-ground activations, trade engagement, and real-world storytelling. We collaborate with biking influencers like Jasminder Singh, Rajini Krishnan, and Shweta Chitrodhe to showcase India’s diverse biking culture, making Castrol more relatable to a broad audience. Our commitment to performance and innovation extends beyond digital with sponsorships of high-energy motorsport events such as The Valley Run, KTM Cup, and India’s Ultimate Motostar. Recognizing the crucial role of mechanics in driving brand preference, we foster loyalty and advocacy through initiatives like ‘Badshah Mechanic Jalsas’.

Additionally, real-world narratives play a vital role in building grassroots brand affinity, with initiatives like Meri Castrol Kahaani spotlighting the journeys of distributors, dealers, mechanics, and truckers. By integrating these initiatives, Castrol India strengthens its brand credibility, consumer trust, and industry leadership in a dynamic and competitive market.

This integrated strategy not only reinforces Castrol India’s market leadership, but also sets the foundation for sustained long-term growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.

How has Castrol India’s marketing strategy evolved over the years? Why was it essential to redefine the approach, and what were the key factors driving this change?

Castrol India’s marketing strategy has evolved significantly to synch with shifting consumer preferences, industry-wide digital transformation and stay ahead of competition. As market dynamics change, it has become essential to redefine our approach to ensure deeper market penetration, drive brand differentiation, and build stronger consumer and trade engagement. The need for this shift was driven by key factors, including the rise of premiumization in the automotive sector, the growing influence of digital and AI-driven marketing, and the need for a hyper-local approach to connect with rural consumers, mechanics, and truckers.

Our 2025 strategy is customer-first, integrating brand-building initiatives with performance-driven marketing to boost awareness, drive sales, and enhance customer engagement. We ensure a balanced media mix, combining traditional channels such as TV, radio, and print with digital-first approaches like influencer collaborations, content marketing, and AI-driven personalized outreach. Authenticity in storytelling and high-impact recall remain core pillars, ensuring Castrol’s positioning as a trusted, high-performance brand.

A key pillar of our evolution is deepening our market penetration, especially in rural India, through on-ground activations and upskilling initiatives. An example is ‘Castrol CRB TURBOMAX Pragati Ki Paathshaala’, launched in partnership with TV9 Network, which aims to upskill 100,000+ truckers across India. Through live training sessions, we educate truck drivers on safety, truck maintenance, financial literacy, and technology adoption, reinforcing Castrol’s role as an enabler of their progress. Similarly, Badshah Mechanic Jalsas’ serves as a key trade engagement initiative, fostering loyalty and advocacy among mechanics which is one of our most influential stakeholders.

To further enhance engagement, we have also leveraged data-driven insights and AI-powered personalization, ensuring targeted outreach across diverse consumer segments. Our partnership with Rephrase AI enables us to deliver customized celebrity video messages to workshops, strengthening relationships with mechanics and distributors. Meanwhile, our detailed mechanic databases allow for hyper-personalized engagement, ensuring our communication remains relevant and impactful.

As India sees strong growth in premium segments, Castrol India has adapted by expanding its high-value offerings, digital innovations, and e-commerce presence. Our focus remains on delivering superior products that cater to both high-performance vehicle owners and everyday consumers, ensuring that affordability and innovation go hand in hand.

In a cluttered media landscape, authentic storytelling and brand differentiation have become more crucial than ever. We prioritize creating compelling narratives that resonate with our audience, ensuring that Castrol India remains a trusted, innovative, and future-ready brand. By maintaining a consistent and omnipresent brand experience across urban and rural markets, we continue to outperform the competition, enhance brand equity, and drive sustained long-term growth.

Expanding reach in rural India is crucial for growth. What are Castrol India’s key marketing strategies to engage Tier 2 and Tier 3 audiences?

Rural India has witnessed double-digit growth in auto sales, driven by the shift from public transport to personal mobility and a rising preference for owning personal vehicles. Recognizing this potential, Castrol has built a strong presence in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, by offering diverse product solutions and strengthening connections within the local ecosystem.

Looking ahead, our roadmap includes expanding localized marketing efforts and trade networks to deepen our market penetration. The recently launched Castrol Activ #GarmiMeinBhi3XProtection campaign serves as a key pillar in our strategy to expand in rural India’s rapidly growing two-wheeler market. With evolving mobility needs and increasing vehicle ownership, rural consumers require superior engine protection, making this campaign highly relevant. By rolling it out in multiple regional languages, we have successfully leveraged SRK’s pan-India appeal to connect with diverse demographics, particularly younger, aspirational consumers.

Beyond consumer engagement, we recognize the critical role of mechanics as key opinion leaders in rural markets. Initiatives like ‘Baadshah Mechanic Jalsas’ have been instrumental in deepening brand loyalty, enhancing product advocacy, and strengthening Castrol’s presence across rural trade networks. By combining high-impact storytelling, strategic celebrity influence, and grassroots-level engagement, this campaign reinforces Castrol’s commitment to delivering superior engine protection while driving brand trust and growth in high-potential rural markets.

What is the core brand intent behind the new campaign featuring Shah Rukh Khan?

Engine overheating is a challenge every commuter in India faces. Two-wheeler engines are tested every day in city traffic, difficult terrains, and hot weather conditions. Castrol Activ’s relaunch was built on a simple yet powerful insight—bikers need engine oil that delivers superior protection even in extreme heat. Hence, we set out to create a campaign that would not only highlight Activ’s cutting-edge formulation, but also strike an emotional chord with India’s bike owners. Conceptualized by Ogilvy, the high-octane TVC features SRK as a cop pursuing criminals in Rajasthan’s blistering desert heat. As the chase intensifies, the true hero emerges—his bike engine, protected by Castrol Activ, which keeps going even in extreme conditions. In contrast, the rival bike, running on ordinary engine oil, succumbs to the heat and breaks down.

More than just an action-packed narrative, #GarmiMeinBhi3XProtection is a testament to Castrol Activ’s unwavering commitment to bikers—ensuring their ride never gives up, no matter how tough the conditions. With SRK’s unparalleled star power, a visually gripping storyline, and a sharp focus on real consumer pain points, the campaign cements Castrol Activ’s leadership as the go-to engine oil for two-wheelers in India.

How do you measure the impact of celebrity endorsements on brand awareness and sales?

At Castrol India, we take a data-driven approach to evaluating the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements, such as our collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan. Our impact assessment spans three key dimensions: Brand power, sales uplift, and market share gains.

To measure brand awareness and recall, we track shifts in aided and unaided brand awareness, top-of-mind recall, and brand affinity through pre- and post-campaign brand trackers, quantifying the direct impact of celebrity associations on these KPIs. Additionally, digital reach and engagement metrics such as impressions, video views, click-through rates (CTRs), and engagement rates help us gauge message penetration and consumer affinity for the celebrity. For instance, our SRK-led Castrol EDGE – Stay Ahead campaign reached 71M+ consumers and delivered 3–4X engagement over industry norms.

For sales uplift and market share gains, we analyze sales trends during and after campaign periods, attributing volume impact directly to the endorsement. Retail offtake and trade feedback play a crucial role, as distributors and retailers often report an increase in consumer demand and brand confidence following celebrity-led campaigns. Additionally, a surge in online search volumes, product inquiries, and website visits post-launch serves as a strong indicator of growing consumer interest and conversion.

From a brand equity and ecosystem synergy perspective, we monitor shifts in key brand attributes such as “high performance”, “trustworthy”, and “recommended by experts” through syndicated brand track consumer panels. Also, celebrity-led campaigns boost participation across our influencer network and trade programs, elevating brand perception across the entire ecosystem.

The Stay Ahead with Castrol EDGE campaign helped us achieve segment leadership in the super premium car engine oils segment in a period of just 6 months.

Ultimately, we view celebrity endorsements as a strategic multiplier rather than a standalone lever. When seamlessly integrated into holistic campaigns, reinforced by credible creator voices and key opinion leader (KOL) activations. This synergy not only enhances brand equity, but also drives sustained consumer engagement and sales growth.

What is the overall marketing roadmap for Castrol India in the coming years?

For a brand of Castrol’s scale, a high-impact, 360-degree activation strategy is non-negotiable. At the core of our roadmap is an integrated marketing strategy that blends on-ground activation with digital innovation and mass media amplification. Consumer voices remain a key pillar – real-life testimonials, rider experiences, and user stories will continue to play a pivotal role in our digital campaigns, fostering authentic community engagement. Our trade partners and mechanics who serve as the category’s key influencers will be central to this approach, with targeted engagement initiatives designed to strengthen brand loyalty and advocacy.

In an increasingly cluttered media landscape, storytelling is our competitive edge. We focus on crafting simple, sharp, and entertaining narratives that seamlessly integrate our brand message, ensuring high recall and impact. Castrol’s marketing investments are unwavering, we do not compromise on brand-building. As we move forward, our commitment to innovation, personalization, and high-impact storytelling will continue to drive growth and reinforce Castrol’s leadership in the Indian market.

Also Read: IPL, SRK, motorsports: Rohit Talwar on multiplier effect of Castrol’s celeb endorsements