Kosh : Keep Your Tummy Happy and Healthy

Brand: Kosh
Company: Future Consumer

Brand Analysis Count: # 571

Kosh is the new brand launch from Future Consumer Ltd. Kosh is oats brand from the company intending to ride the " healthy food" wave. Kosh is trying plug a gap in the Indian market which is in look out for healthy food alternatives. 

Kosh comes in four variants - Instant Oats, Broken Oats, Oats Atta, Wheat+Atta. 

Indian oats market is worth around Rs 350-400 crore. The oats market is expected to grow further owing to the consumer trend towards healthy food. For anyone who is into health, oats have now become a " go to" food. 

The current oats brands come only in one form which different flavors. Kosh has brought in different forms of the grain that will increase the usage situations. According to reports, currently, oats is used primarily as a breakfast product. With multiple product forms like atta, broken oats etc, there is more scope for usage of this grain. Kishore Biyani wants to make oats the third preferred grain in India. 

If you have observed, the atta ( wheat flour) market in India is witnessing a shift towards healthy food trend. Aashirvaad, the market leader in the organized atta market had launched healthy atta variants under it. The organized atta market in India is worth Rs 3500 crore while the unorganized market is worth a whopping Rs 30,000 crore. 

Kosh expects to carve a slice of these market with its healthy positioning. There is a very strong perception among Indian consumers that oats are healthy. With a wide range of product forms, Kosh is expecting a faster adoption and more usage from the consumers. 

As per the reports, Kosh will be a private label sold through the extensive Future Group retail chain. The brand is already making a lot of noise in the media. The campaigns are highlighting three aspects of the products

a) the versatility of product with reference to the form

b) the health factor

c) the taste. 

Watch the campaign - Kosh Home, Kosh Office 

In the pricing front, Kosh Oats is priced at par with the competing brands. The Oats Atta is priced at Rs 170/kg which is much higher than the ordinary atta ( Aashirvaad costs around  Rs 50). However, for the health conscious (not price conscious), the pricing may not be a deciding factor. 

It's obvious that the product is going to get competition soon. This is a product that can easily be copied and if the product adoption is healthy, then competitors would jump in pretty fast. Till that time, Kosh can reap the first-mover advantage. 

Marketing Fundamentals : Branded Content

Concept: Branded Content is a form of advertising where the content is generated by the brand to promote itself. While it is a form of content marketing, the major difference is that the brand takes the center-stage in the content generated. It is a form of storytelling that revolves around the brand. Unlike the advertisements, branded content are more elaborate in terms of content and format. The examples of branded content are the Redbull's events of extreme stunts/sports, Amul's topicals, Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty. 

The popularity of social media has created a huge demand for content that has the power to grab the attention of the audience. While traditional content revolved around the brand, in branded content, the story is on the brand or the values that brand project. The engagement is more direct in the case of branded content. 

Application: While Harvard Business Review calls Branded Content as a digital version of content marketing, the application of branded content strategy involves more investment and involvement than the traditional content marketing. Forbes Magazine in an article suggests that the consumer engagement in branded content is much more than traditional promotional tools like ads. There is a sticky factor attached to a well designed branded content. Also, it helps the brands to move up the value that brand projects ( brand laddering). The task will be to identify meaningful stories that the brand can adopt and deliver. 

Marketing Funda Series # 1

Cadbury Fuse : Chocolatey Feast

Brand :Cadbury Fuse
Company : Mondolez International
Brand Analysis Count : # 570

Mars and Snickers now have competition. Mondolez International, the brand owners of the iconic Cadbury brand has launched a new brand named Fuse in the Indian market. The new brand will be competing in the coated peanut confectionery segment in the Rs 7500 crore Indian confectionery space. 

Fuse was debuted in the UK in 1996. The brand was well received  but was later discontinued in the UK. 

Fuse is now making its second avatar in the highly competitive Indian market. The brand is currently running the launch campaign. 

Watch the TVC here : Cadbury Fuse 

The brand is priced at par with Mars and Snickers. I find the packaging very attractive and instantly conveys the fun attribute to the brand. The endorsement from Cadbury is sufficient to initiate the trial purchase. 

With regard to the promotional strategy, the brand is positioned in the same line as the competing brands. The brand is positioned as a relief to the hunger pangs plus some fun thrown around. So in this front, Cadbury has not really put much thought on differentiating rather it chose to play the " me too " strategy. 

I also felt that the launch TVC is also not something that is unique. After seeing the ad, I had  the feeling of " Saw this theme before also " . 

With the launch of Fuse, Mondolez is trying to plug the gap in the product portfolio. The company may be forecasting a consumer interest towards the product like Snickers which is a convenient way to satisfy the hunger pangs. With the launch of Fuse, Mondolez is in a better position to ride  the consumer interest in this category. 

O'cean Fruit Water : Sail Through Your Day

Brand : O'Cean
Company : Narang Group

Brand Analysis : # 569

O'cean is a relatively new brand launched by Narang Group in the Rs 1600 crore mineral water category . The brand is in an emerging category of Ready To Drink segment largely in the functional beverages category. This category is witnessing some action these days with players like Danone, Tata Beverages etc entering the category.

Narang Group is known for the marketing and distribution of Qua brand of bottled water. The company was in a JV with Danone Group through which they marketed Qua and B'lue. B'lue was the fruit water brand from Danone. In 2015, Narang Group exited from the JV. While Qua brand went to Narang, B'lue went to Danone Group. 

O'cean is a flavored water which contains fruit juice, water, electrolytes, glucose etc. The target market would be health enthusiasts who want something more than just plain water after a workout or hard day's work. 

Although there is a market for flavored beverages, the adoption of these products is a challenge. The brand banks on the nutritional advantages as the main reason for purchase. The positioning of O'cean reflected in the tagline " Sail Through Your Day" aims at highlighting the benefit of the added ingredients. 

However, the pricing of O'cean at Rs 45 for 500 ml is a bit too steep. The immediate category comparison is the mineral water. So I am doubtful whether O'cean has priced itself in line with the value it delivers. In the distribution front, O'cean is widely available in the market. The packaging is nice but the small bottle with a Rs 45 price tag is a deterrent .

It will be interesting to see who would be interested in purchasing such a product. The brand is aiming at health conscious customers who wanted something other than the carbonated drinks. While the intention is good, I am not sure how the price justify the purchase. 

Baby Dove : Johnson's Baby Soap now have a serious competition

Dove, one of the premium soap brands from Unilever has extended into baby care products . The move is expected to give serious competition to the market leader Johnson & Johnson. According to ET, Indian baby care product market is worth Rs 4000 crore. Johnson & Johnson is the undisputed market leader with a share of 74%. The nearest competitor is Dabur with 9.9% share. 

Although many brands tried to break the stronghold of  J&J, none succeeded so far. Now the war has begun with India's premier marketing giant decided to challenge the market leader. Interestingly, Unilever chose to extend Dove to fight J&J.

Dove which was launched in 1993 grows from a soap brand to a Rs 1500 brand which endorses multiple categories of products. 

Dove positioned as mild soap with 1/4 moisturiser is an ideal candidate to challenge Johnson's who has incredible brand equity among the consumers. 

Dove has decided to name its extension as Baby Dove which is a smart choice. The positioning of the extension is the same as the parent Dove brand. Baby Dove was first launched in Brazil in 2015.

Another interesting aspect is the pricing. Unilever has priced Baby Dove almost the same as Johnson's but a little extra. While the 75 gm Johnson's Baby soap costs Rs 45, Baby Dove is priced at Rs 48.

Unilever already started the campaign for Baby Dove. The pitching is similar to J&J - the bonding between the mother and child, purity, skin care etc. The TVC follows the parent brand's comparative advertising strategy of testing the mildness quality of the soap with the competition.

Watch the Tvc here 

The brand also have a different logo for the extension. The logo designed by Dew Gibbons + Partners feature the iconic master brand's  Dove and a golden baby dove besides it. 

Baby Dove has launched a series of products in the category. This include soap, lotion, skin care wipes etc.. 

With the strong distribution muscle and marketing acumen, Baby Dove is expected to give tough competition to J&J. The market with one large player dominating will definitely have space for a competitor. The launch of Baby Dove is not going to dilute the parent brand's positioning since the positioning of Baby Dove is complimentary to the parent brand. 

Milton : Kuch Naya Sochte Hain ( Let's Think of Something New)

Brand : Milton
Company : Hamilton Housewares


Brand Analysis Count : # 568

Milton is one of the leading brands in the Indian home-ware market which includes products like casserole, flasks etc. Milton was launched in 1972 was a humble producer of small plastic items like tumblers. 

Milton's name was earlier synonymous with flasks. Milton and Eagle flasks were the two famous brands during eighties. Later came the casserole craze. Milton was able to capitalize on the popularity of  casseroles. Indian households lapped up the casserole and after functions like marriage and housewarming, homes were flooded with casserole gifts. 

Milton also had the ingredient brand Tuf Puf which was the name the brand gave to polyurethane foam. Tuf Puf became very powerful differentiator for Milton.

Over a period of time , the home-ware market has become a commodity. The products became the same with virtually no credible differentiation. 

In such a market, Milton has devised a two pronged strategy to standout. 

Innovation and Branding. 

The brand Milton already had a very good equity in the market. The company wanted to cement the equity by positioning Milton as a innovation driven brand that is sensitive to the consumer needs. Milton clearly identified the target consumer as an intuitive lady of the house. The brand wants to make life easier for the consumer through innovative products. 

In 2015, the brand initiated its first brand campaign " Kuch Naya Sochte Hain" translated to " Let's think of something new". The brand through the campaign tried to project its innovative products while stressing on the quality. 

One of the innovative product which served as an anchor for the campaign was the World's first microwave safe insulated steel casserole . Watch the ad here  called MicroWow. 

Along with this product, the brand also ran few more campaign TVC highlighting the new products. ( Glasslid casserole). 

Milton is a brand which stood the test of time and has been very proactive in moving to using innovation as a differentiator. 

Raymond Whites : 100 Styles, One Color

Raymond, the premier textile brand, has launched a very interesting marketing move- launching of Raymond Whites. Raymond Whites is a collection of  white shirts and the brand has smartly made it a very interesting proposition. ( Hat tip - blog from my colleague Prof. Padmanabhan).

Now every formal menswear brand has a collection of white shirts. White is a preferred formal wear color and is in every executive's wardrobe. What Raymond has done is to make it a talking point for the brand. The brand has done it by launching the collection with an astounding proposition - 100 styles. Can you believe it ? 100 styles of one color !!  It is not difficult but Raymond has smartly marketed ( and owned) it. 

Now I am not saying that this is going to be a game changer move. But for Raymond, this campaign would help in many ways. 

Primarily this collection and campaign will reinforce the position of Raymond as a very Stylish Corporate wear brand.The emphasis of 100 styles will also project Raymond as a brand which is innovative and stylish - both these traits are very critical in this business. 

The Raymond brand is facing stiff competition from Madura Fashions The competing brands like Van Heusen and Louis Philippe are moving ahead with a focus on innovation. Van Heusen is focussing on innovation and Louis Philippe is positioned as Perfect Shirt. So Raymond has to up the ante. 

The Raymond Whites has definitely succeeded in capturing the attention of consumers. The launch campaign is well made and creates a premium feel for the collection.

 Watch the TVC here : Raymond Whites ad

With a price range of Rs 2500, Raymond Whites is well set to own a very important color in the corporate work wear category. 

Brand Update : Thums Up in a Celebrity Trap

Thums Up which is one of the most resilient brands in the Indian market was in the news recently when the parent Coca-Cola decided to drop Salman Khan as the brand ambassador. ( source). The reports also suggest that the brand is in talks with actor Ranveer Singh

to replace the Khan. That points  to a celebrity trap which this brand has fallen into.

It is true that Thums Up has always been promoted using a celebrity, be it Akshay Kumar or Salman Khan, but the fact is that Thums Up has moved into a position where it cannot think of a promotional strategy sans a celebrity. That is why the news report announcing  Salman's exit also suggest the search for new celebrity.

Soft drink brands are always after celebrity as if there is no existence without a famous personality endorsing it. While there are a lot of advantages of using a celebrity, the fact remains that slowly but surely, the brand and the brand manager loses confidence to go without the support of celebrity. 

It is sad to see the same thing happening for Thums Up. The brand doesn't need a celebrity. In the brand's early years, the equity of the brand was built  from within. Now the brand is trying to find a celebrity so that it can depend on the celebrity for equity which, at least theoretically, is bad for the brand. Thums Up has the innate strength which made it overcome the existential crisis when the owners decided to kill it. That strength was not from any celebrity endorsement but the image of a rough resilient brand. Coca-Cola should at least try making the brand stand on its own rather than going the easy way out. 

Colgate Pain Out : Crafting a New Segment

Indian oral hygiene market is huge with a market size of Rs 7000 crore. Colgate dominates the market with a share of over 55%. The market is witnessing a new wave of competition with the entry of Patanjali brand.

Although the market is live with competition, not much action is happening with respect to product innovation. Except for  some incremental innovations like new flavors/variants, nothing much has happened in terms of new product development.

In this context, the launch of Pain Out stands out. Colgate Pain Out is a new product that aims at express pain relief from sudden tooth pain. The product is a gel form which has ingredients like camphor, Eugenol, and menthol. The product gives a symptomatic relief from tooth pain. 

The brand is interesting because it aims to satisfy an unfulfilled need in the market. Tooth pain comes unexpected and often the fear of going to a dentist forces people to suffer the pain till it becomes unbearable. Then they try using home remedies, then paracetamol and if everything fails , then they go to a dentist. 

So it makes sense to have a product that gives instant relief to pain. The challenge for the brand is to create brand salience where consumers remember the brand when there is a need. It would be optimistic to believe that consumers would stock this product in anticipation of a toothache. So the natural communication choice would be to have top of mind recall which is a costly proposition. 

The brand is currently running the launch ad which focuses on its USP of express relief . Watch the ad here : Colgate Pain Out , The silver line is that the incidence of a toothache is very high and a powerful relief would be welcomed by the consumers.