Company : ITC
Agency : Law & Kenneth
Brand Analysis Count : 313
Shortly after launching the up-market personal care brand - Fiama Di Wills, ITC has launched another personal care brand - Vivel Di Wills. Not only that, another two brands
has been launched - Vivel and Superia in close succession .Vivel Di Wills can be termed as a brand for the middle class and priced well below Fiama Di Wills . Vivel Di Wills has been launched even before the brand Fiama Di Wills settled in the market. In a way ITC is flooding the personal care market with its brands.
Vivel Di Wills - as the name suggests shares the term ' Di Wills ' with Fiama and Essenza. Vivel Di Wills comes in two variants : Sheer Radiance and Sheer Creme. Sheer Radiance contains Olive Oil while Creme variant contains Shea Butter.
What differentiates Vivel Di Wills is the ingredient branded Actipro-N which was developed by ITC R & D team. Actipro -N nourishes, protects and hydrates the skin thus enhancing the beauty of the skin.
Vivel Di Wills comes in an attractive carton package with some elegant color scheme. The brand is priced at Rs 16 for 75 gm cake.
Now comes the interesting part. When I was shopping, the attractive packing and display of Vivel Di W
ills prompted me to take one ( for my wife ) . But when I reached the section for soaps, I was surprised to see another set of soaps with the brand name Vivel . This was confusing to me and I thought that it was a fake brand taking advantage of Vivel Di Wills. On closer examination, I was surprised to find that Vivel also belong to ITC. Then I checked the price and it was less that Vivel Di Wills. The packaging was ordinary and there was even a sales promotion offer attached with the soap ( Price off) .So there are two brands Vivel Di Wills and Vivel priced differently and even the brand elements are different. News reports say that Vivel has four variants : Satin soft, Young Glow, Ayurvedic Essence, Sandal Sparkle.
So the natural question is about the logic of these two brands with similar brand names launched simultaneously. In a press release available in the ITC portal, the category head Sandeep Kaul mentions that they are going to use price and positioning difference to separate the brands Fiama and Vivel Di Wills since Fiama also launched a soap recently.
But the question is with Vivel Di Wills and Vivel. I am a little confused but a parallel can be drawn between Vivel Di Wills, Vivel , Lux and Lux International. Lux International is positioned as a premium soap while Lux is a mass market one. ITC may be adopting the same strategy. ITC is looking at two segments within the medium priced soap category and using a small price differential, it is tapping customers who can pay a little more for extra benefits ( Masstige brand). The campaign for Vivel Di Wills will indirectly draw customers ( Value conscious ) towards Vivel.
Vivel Di Wills is being promoted using TVC and the message is that the lady is so beautiful that the husband does not notice any other ladies. My initial impression about the soap is positive and I find the fragrance refreshing and new. The brand name Vivel Di Wills is urban and will definitely appeal the educated urban consumers . The brand also has its advantage interms of the ingredients. Indian consumers will be impressed by the ingredients like Olive Oil, Active Clay, Shea butter which gives this brand a unique healthy natural perception.
The idea behind these fast launches is to provide a complete range of soap brands to the Indian consumer. ITC knew that it is a late entrant to the market. Time is too short for phased launches. Hence the strategy is to offer a full portfolio at one go and then try to manage the differences.
