Essilor : Seeing The World Better

Brand : Essilor
Company: Essilor International
Agency: Orchard

Brand Count : 142

Essilor is a Euro 2.4 billion company which is a world leader in Ophthalmic products especially lens. India is a big market for ophthalmic lens. With an estimated population of more than a billion people and more than two billion eyes, this is a market that cannot be ignored.
As discussed in the RayBan case , the Indian eyecare market is estimated to be around Rs 1200 crore.
The ophthalmic lens category is different because these are prescription lenses and is mostly unbranded. Usually the customers are unaware of the brand of lenses which they are wearing and it is decided by the opticians as to which brand need be used. Hence this category is a B2B category and the influencers are doctors and deciders are the opticians. The users have no idea about the lens.

Essilor came to India as a joint venture between Essilor and SRF in 1998. Later the joint venture was converted into a 100% subsidiary of the French parent. Essilor ,as reports suggest has been able to garner a fair share of the Indian market.
Essilor came into the User's radar during the high profile campaign for Varilux range of progressive lens; lenses used by people aged above 45. Essilor used the famous cricketer Shrikanth to endorse the brand. The company is using TVC, print and outdoors to promote this brand.
Essilor was also marketing savvy in developing a corporate brand. The ads were catchy and I would say it is a bold initiative to brand a B2B product at the userlevel.
There are certain issues as far as marketing person is concerned.
a. Should Essilor needs to go in for consumer marketing? Mainly because the users till now does not have a role in selecting the lens brand. Essilor is trying to make the consumer ask for this brand ( at a premium price) . That calls for a significant investment in brand building.

b. Will the consumer believe the Ads or the Optician who is considered to be an expert?

Essilor is trying to bridge a huge gap that the users face in this category. ie the issue of quality. We all know that we don't know what we are wearing over our eyes . We are not sure about the price of the lens or the price of the frame ( they say that the margin for the frames can be upto 1000%) . Hence there is a space for a branded player to establish standards and set prices. Essilor is doing just that. The brand is trying to take the power from the opticians to the company. It may not happen that consumer will ask for this brand just as you do it for FMCG products, but over a period of time , the consumer may perfer paying a premium for this brand.
It will take some time before the effect of this branding effort to show results. Varilux is already established in the TG's mind ( premium customers). But the task is tough. Essilor has a range of brands in this category like
Crizal: Hard multi coated lenses & Airwear: New generation polycarbonate lens and many more.

The corporate brand is positioned as the best in the category with the tagline " Seeing The World Better" talks about the quality of the brand.This brand should be in the watchlist of any persons interested in Brands

Source: essilorindia.com, businessline,agencyfaqs,magindia, indiainfoline

Zeiss : We Make it Visible

Brand : Zeiss
Company : Carl Zeiss India
Agency : Modern Medtech

Brand Analysis Count : 367

Carl Zeiss is a respectable name in the global lens' market. This decade old German company is named after its founder Carl Zeiss who was an optician. His company first started making lenses for microscopes and later extended his product range to cameras .

The company began its Indian operations in 1998. Although present in different verticals, the brand came into consumer space during 2005.

Carl Zeiss manufactures spectacle lenses under a joint venture with GKB Hi-Tech Lenses which is a home grown company. The spectacle lenses are sold under the brand Zeiss.

Indian spectacle lenses market is worth around $90 million ( Rs 360 Crore). Looking at the population, the potential is huge. But like many other products, this market is also dominated by unorganized sector which accounts for more than 75 % of the sales.

There are only two highly visible brands in the spectacle lenses category. One is the global major Essilor and other is Zeiss.

Zeiss has been trying to build its brand by consistently investing in media campaigns in India. It has been regularly advertising both in visual and print media.

The marketing of spectacle lenses is a difficult task because so far the category is regarded as a commodity. Consumers seldom ask for a specific brand of spectacle lenses since they are not aware of any brands neither they are aware of any specific advantages of using a branded spectacle lens.

So typically a consumer goes to the optician with his prescription and selects his spectacle frame and asks for the price of the lenses and gives the order. No where in the process , he asks for a particular brand for his lenses..
This offer tremendous opportunity for a marketer but it is not an easy task .
Zeiss has been trying to brand the commodity called spectacle lenses. But I am not impressed.

I have been watching the commercials of Zeiss for a while now. Frankly I did not knew that Zeiss was from the house of Carl Zeiss. I have heard about Carl Zeiss since the brand is famous as a camera lens. More over the latest mobiles from Sony and Nokia is now sporting Carl Zeiss lenses. Cameras which have Carl Zeiss lenses are often sold at a premium.


But the positioning strategy if Zeiss spectacle lenses is far from spectacular.

Watch the commercial here : Zeiss Spectacle lenses

The main USP of this brand is that it is branded...... Sounds funny isn't it ?

Zeiss is positioning itself as a spectacle with brand mark. For non-marketers, Brand Mark refers to the logo or symbol that the brand has.

I frankly does not understand the logic behind this positioning. Brand is defined as a name , term, symbol, logo which are used to identify and differentiate a product from the competitors .
But having a brand mark is never a differentiator. You cannot build a brand over its brand mark.....

Zeiss in their ads try to claim that " Brand nahi hai to style nahi " ( means if it is not branded, then it is not stylish ). It is true also. Consumers try to show off their brands. And successful brands are those where consumers are willing to act as living billboards.
Take Levi's or Nike, consumers are willing to show off. But not because they have brand marks.

First the company has to build a brand on certain core values or attributes . Once this is built, consumers will adopt the brand and act as the brand ambassadors. People does not buy Nike because it has the brand mark SWOOSH . But because they love the brand for its values embedded in " Celebrating authentic athleticism ". Consumers evangelize Apple not because of the brand mark but because of the innovation that is personified by the brand.

Here Zeiss has got it all wrong. Having a brand name or a logo is not suffice for consumers to love your brand. Brands should be built on strong attributes ( tangible or intangible). Brands with out brand values is at best a Label.

Zeiss thinks that its major competitors are the unbranded spectacle lenses. Hence the company feels that having a brand mark is the best differentiator. I was surprised to find that globally also the brand is positioned as a spectacle lens with laser marked brand mark.

Essilor has done a better job in promoting its brands like Transitions and Crizal. Consumers understand that these brands are having quality and certain important attributes.

Zeiss is a powerful global brand which has a reputation of being high quality manufacturer. The brand also has a powerful secondary association with the country of origin - Germany.

It should have taken some important attributes and promoted those attributes. Having a brand mark is an advantage but only after the brand is being built. People like others to see that their sunglass is a Ray-Ban because the brand has an image built on style and quality. Hence the Ray-Ban brand mark on the glasses make sense for the consumers.

First the brand has to understand the important attributes that customers look for in a spectacle lens. Then try to understand which are the most critical of those attributes which influences their decisions. Then develop the brand around those critical attributes. I don't think that the current USP of a brand-mark is considered important by consumers and is a sufficient reason for them to pay a premium for the brand.

Zeiss must go back and learn some basic brand building before investing such huge amount on money on meaningless campaigns.

Related Brand
Essilor

Acuvue : Healthy and Convenient

Brand: Acuvue
Company: Johnson&Johnson
Agency: Lowe

Brand Count:183

Acuvue is a major brand in the Rs 60 crore contact lens market. Although the market is led by Bausch and Lomb with around 70% market share, Acuvue can be termed as the innovation leader in this segment.
Acuvue, the brand of the Johnson &Johnson ( J&J) is a pioneer in the disposable contact lens category. Acuvue was the first disposable contact lens brand in India. The brand is the market leader in the disposable lens category.

Although the eye-care market is estimated to be around Rs 1200 crore, the contact lens category forms a minuscule part of the market. The penetration of this category is abysmally low even in the metros (5%). The changing lifestyle hold immense potential for this category in the years to come.

There are many factors that has inhibited the growth of contact lens. The primary factor being the price perception. Contact lenses are perceived to be priced higher and considered to be out of reach for the middle class. Another factor is the health and maintenance issue. Users of contact lens will agree that regular /prolonged use of lens often causes irritation . Although the marketers talk about convenience, the lens should be cared more and the limitation of its use ( example : you should remove the lens while taking a nap/ cooking etc) makes the consumer averse even to try this category. More over consumers are not aware about this category and its uses. Some reports suggest that most users have a fear of inserting foreign object in the eyes which is termed as Pokeaphobia that further limits the popularity of this category.

The target market for contact lens category is the SEC A B in metros ages anywhere between 15-35. While the consumers aged below 20 will not have their say in the purchase of contact lens, it is the working youngsters who show the maximum potential for a contact lens marketer.

Acuvue is a brand that had tried to make the category popular by addressing the two issues : cost and maintenance. The brand came out with disposable lens that can be used for two weeks and can be disposed thus freeing the customer from maintaitenance hassles. The brand became successful because customers of contact lens use ordinary glass as the primary eye wear and uses lens for special occasions/events. Primary need that these lens satisfy is the need for looking good. The brand is positioned as a healthy and convenient brand stressing the comfort factor. The brand has also embarked upon an e-trial initiative to prompt the potential consumers to try out this category. The consumers can go to the site and register themselves to get a trial pack of lens. The aim is to get the non users to try out this brand. The brand is optimistic that the majority of trial users will turn to be regular users. The brand is also trying to train the opticians because majority of sales happen at the shop and opticians acts as a major influencers.
Acuvue was also an innovation leader by coming out with lens that is bifocal and also color lens. One of the major innovation was the Acuvue 1-day lens that was launched in 2006. The new variant is a use and throw lens. It is the shampoo sachetisation of contact lens. The consumer insights is that people may need to look good on some special situations like marriage or interview or company presentation etc. One cannot afford to spent Rs 1000 just for that occasion. The solution is the 1-day use lens that costs only Rs 90. Theoretically it makes perfect sense.The product effectively seals a gap in the market.

But the larger issue is that the product related issues are limiting the category growth. The inherent product problems limit the popularity of this product category. The target which these marketers aim are those who will be using computers. Using lens while working on a computer will cause irritation in the eyes. This is just one example of how product problems can obstruct growth. Using lens while traveling in a motorcycle also is not advisable which alienates many young men from trying out lens or using it regularly. In such a scenario the 1-day lens or disposable lens make perfect sense. Till the contact lens marketers sort out the product related limitations, the category is going to remain a niche.

Related Brands
Essilor
Ray-Ban

source: businessline,rediffmoney,acuvue.com
image source: agencyfaqs.com,opitek-dietze.de

Brand Update : Titan

Titan Industries has ventured into the prescription eyewear category with the brand Titan Eye+. The launch was pilot tested in 2007 and now is on the advanced stage of national roll out.The Indian prescription eyewear market is worth around Rs 1800 crore and is dominated by the unorganized sector.

Titan Industries is trying to corner a big pie in this huge untapped market. Titan Eye+ is currently running a campaign across the various channels,

Watch the TVC here : Titan Eye+

There is no question about the opportunity that Titan Industries is trying to tap. Organized eye wear market offers excellent potential for a company like Titan. There is a latent need in the consumers for a trust worthy branded outlet.

The question here is whether Titan Industries made a branding mistake in extending Titan brand into this product category. Does this brand extension augur well for the parent brand Titan or will it erode the intrinsic brand value of Titan ?.

I am always wary about brands extending themselves to unrelated categories. How ever large the potential may be, these brand extensions run the risk of diluting the brand value of their parent brand's equity.

Titan Industries had the opportunity to build a new brand in this category. It could have launched Eye+ as the standalone independent brand rather than launching Eye+ as a sub-brand of Titan.

The only one reason for launching Eye+ as a sub-brand of Titan is to gather the initial momentum in terms of acceptance . Eye+ wants to ride on the huge brand equity of Titan. And it will. As a consumer, I will naturally be tempted to opt for a Titan Eye+ showroom rather than a local store. So without spending huge amounts of money, Eye + will quickly gain acceptance in the market.

Another argument in favor of such brand extension is that over a period of time, the sub-brand will gain independence from the parent brand. Like the Fastrack brand which was launched as a sub-brand of Titan now has an independent status. So over a period of time Titan Eye+ will also be a standalone brand.

What about the parent Titan brand ?

Does this brand extension add value to the Titan watch brand ? Does it support the core positioning of Titan ?

Looking at the launch campaign, the ad is neutral in terms of the effect on the parent brand. The agency had tried to put in the " Jingle" of Original Titan brand in the Eye+ ad. The similarity ends there.

Eye+ is being positioned as a style enhancer .The brand follows the basic positioning that wearing Eye+ makes you attractive. Compared to the brand laddering of Titan ( Be More campaign) the positioning of Eye+ is nothing but very very basic. Eye+ has the tagline " Kuch To Hua Hai" meaning " Something (new) has happened to you".

This is the issue with brand extensions. What ever the ad agency do, the extensions seems to drift away from the core positioning of the parent brand. Titan with the endorsement of Aamir is perceived as a premium brand . Eye+ cannot afford to concentrate on the premium positioning as of now since it will repel many consumers and create a negative perception of " over- pricing".

Is it not a better option if Titan Industries launched Eye + as an standalone brand endorsed by Tata rather than Titan ? That would have given Eye+ lot of room for its promotional strategy. It could easily move across various price ranges. More than that , Eye + could afford to have its own positioning rather than being constrained by the parent brand. About the equity, endorsement by Tata could have been equally good in terms of bringing in consumers.

Eye + has lost a chance of creating a place for itself .The brand will have to move through a series of promotional experiments before gaining independence from Titan. With in the constraints of the parent brand, Eye + needs to prove itself successful in order to gain freedom.

Related Brand

Titan

Essilor

Fastrack

Brand Taglines : A - F

A

1. Amaron : Lasts Long, Really Long, Ting Tong
2. Alpenliebe : Lalach Aaha Laplap
3. A Star  : Stop @ Nothing
4. Alto : Lets Go
5. Allen Solly : My World, My Way
6. Aliva : Thodi Sharafat, Thodi Shararat
7. Arrow : USA 1851 / The League of Professionals
8. Acer : Life is busy, Acer makes it easy
9. All Out : Macharoan ka Yamraaj
10. Amway  : We are listening
11. Airwick : Its good to be home
12. Amul : The taste of India
13. Amul Macho : Ye toh bada toing hain
14. Accu-check : Live life the way you want
15. Apache : Racing DNA Unleashed
16. Amrutanjan : Its Gone /Pure Healthy Essence / Kick Out Pain
17. Ambipur : Fragrance Your Imagination
18. Appy Fizz : Cool Drink to Hang Out With
19. Allen Solly : Friday Dressing / Adios Stressing Hello friday dressing
20. Accenture : High performance delivered
21. Airtel : Express Yourself 

B

1. Binani Cement : Sadiyon Ke Liye
2. Breathe Right : Breathe Better, Sleep Better
3. Bournvita : Do you have Bournvita Confidence ? / Tan Ki Shakthi, Mann Ki Shakthi (2011)
4. Boost : Boost is the secret of our energy
5. Big Babool : Bade Kaam Ki Cheez
6. Boomer : Boom Boom Boomer
7. Bournville : You don't buy a Bournville, You earn it
8. Brio : It Loves You Back
9. Bosch : Invented for Life
10. Bru : Happiness Begins with Bru
11. Bingo : No Confusion,Great Combination
12. Belmonte : Suit Your Style
13. Blackberrys Suit : Go Sharp

C

1. Cif : Lets You Shine
2. Candyman : Kucch Bhi Karega For Candyman
3. Center Fresh : Zubaan Pe Lagaam
4. Chlormint : Dobaara Mat Poochna /Chaba Daba Ke
5. Complan : I am a Complan Boy
6. Clear Shampoo : No Dandruff
7. Clean & Clear : Clean Clear and Confident
8. Ceat : Born Tough /Be Idiot Safe
9. Coca Cola : Open Happiness
10. Canara Bank : Together we can
11. Close Up : Taazgi Jo Pas Laye
12. Coffy Bite : Coffee or Toffee /Bachchon Ki Coffee, Badhon ki Toffee

D

1. Dyna : Be a Lady
2. Dairy Milk : Kucch Meetha Ho Jaye
3. Dettol : Be 100 % Sure, 
4. Dabur : Celebrate Life
5. Dominoes : Hungry Kya /Khushiyon ki Home Delivery
6. Dinesh Suitings : Take the world in your stride
7. Doy soap : Clean Skin, Healthy skin
8. Daiken : Complete Silence
9. Domex : 100% Germ Killer
10. Dell  : Power to do more

E

1. Eclairs : Chocolate ka meetha bomb/Dooble Sara / Get Lost
2.  Enfield : Trip
3. Essilor : Seeing The World Better
4. Essenza Di Wills : Your Essence Your Soul
5. Eveready : Give Me Red 
6. Everyday Dairy Whitener : For great tasting tea
7. Eno : Gets to work in 60 seconds
8. Euro Innerwear : Prepare to get assaulted 
9. Eon ( Hyundai ) : India On
10. Economic Times : The Power of Knowledge

F

1. Fa  : Feel Good Freshness
2. Fiama Di Wills : Beautiful You , Today Tomorrow
3. Frooti : Fresh'N'Juicy , Grow Up
4. Fair and Lovely : Chaand Ka Tukda
5. Fastrack : How many you have ?
6. Fair & Handsome : Be fair ,Be Handsome
7. Fem : Beauty With Care
8. Fiesta : Go Fida 
9. Ford : Go Further
10. Fanta : Zyada Fanta Zyada Masti