Evion 400 : Nourish Your Cells

 Brand: Evion 400

Company: P&G Health Ltd

Brand Analysis Count: #605

Evion 400 is a vitamin tablet which is a market leader in its category. It is one of the most popular vitamin E tablets around. The products like vitamin and mineral tablets used to be marketed as drugs and in medical marketing terms- through ethical route. Around 2000, there were moves from the government and regulators to regulate the pricing of these drugs. To circumvent the price capping, many medical marketers began to sell products through OTC ( Over The Counter) route which means that these products can be bought without a doctor prescription. 

The challenge in such a move is that these brands will lose doctor's patronage in many cases. Doctor's tend to prescribe products which are classified as a drug rather than an OTC product. 

So brands in the OTC route needs to build all brand-related assets because, in OTC, it is the consumers that take the purchase decision. The strategy adopted by Evion is interesting in this regard. Rather than promoting the brand as a vitamin E supplement, Evion has positioned itself based on the benefits platform. One of the key benefits of vitamin E is the effect on the skin. Evion has smartly positioned itself as a provider of glowing skin rather than a vitamin supplement thus broadening the scope of the promotion. The advertisement of Evion looks like that of a skincare soap or a cream. In that way, the brand aims to increase the usage among the target consumers. 

The problem or challenge with most of the vitamin or health supplement is to ensure continued usage of the product. While consumers will start consuming such products because of some trigger or advice, often this enthusiasm wears down over a period of time. Evion believes that skincare proposition is something that may prompt consumers to use this product on a regular basis. 

Dabur Sanitize : Complete Family Protection

 Brand: Dabur Sanitize

Company: Dabur

Brand Analysis Count: 604

It was a launch that had to happen one day. The Covid pandemic accelerated the product entry into the new hot category- sanitizer. Dabur which is one the respected FMCG and health major in the country did not let the opportunity wasted. In March 2020, the company accelerated the product launch of its range of sanitizers and antiseptic liquid product range into the Indian market.

The corporate brand Dabur is associated with herbal/ayurvedic products and true to its heritage, the new product launch also has herbal ingredients like Turmeric and Aloe vera inside. What is interesting about the new product launch is the brand name. Dabur has decided to use the generic name Sanitize for the product range endorsed by Dabur brand. Under the brand name Dabur Sanitize, the company has launched a range of products like hand sanitizers, antiseptic liquid and soap. Another interesting thing is that it has another variant Dabur Sanitizer Plus which is an antiseptic liquid promoted in South India using the actress Simran. 

Dabur Santize antiseptic liquid is challenging the market leader Dettol. The USP of Dabur Santize is the properties such as antibacterial, antiseptic and no-burning (which takes on the Dettol ) along with natural ingredients like turmeric and Aloe vera. 

The market is currently flooded with products such as santizers, antiseptic liquids, creams, sprays and what not. The market now has the demand owing to the relentless spread of pandemic and fear. So the market is able to contain the supply of these products to a large extent. In that way, Dabur also will ride the wave of this category growth. The buzzword at this point in time is the ability of these products to reach the point of purchase. According to the news reports, Dabur Santize is available initially in online platforms. The brand will benefit from trend once it is available offline at a large scale. 

In a branding perspective, Dabur had chosen not to launch these products under a new brand or even a sub-brand. Rather it has used the generic product descriptor route for the new products. In one way the company has missed the opportunity for a new brand which could've offered more individuality and flexibility in terms of positioning and promotion. 

Brand Update : In 2020 ad, Horlicks subtly reinforces its positioning

 Great ads need not shout its message, the viewers without any effort will understand it. Such an ad was created by Horlicks this season. The new ad of Horlicks featuring mother and daughters very cleverly and powerfully reinforces the brand's message of making you stronger thus confident and empowered. The new ad of Horlicks under the new brand owner HUL takes the campaign to next level of brand laddering. What is beautiful is that the brand comes only at the end credit. The purpose of these kinds of themes is not promoting purchase intention but to reinforce the brand's message and positioning which will have a powerful influence on brand outcomes. In that sense, the current ad of Horlicks ticks all the right boxes. 

Brand Update : Surf Excel takes forward Dirt is Good campaign during pandemic

While all brands are trying to use germ-killing or protection feature in their product in one way or the other, Surf Excel has a different take on the pandemic. In the latest ad, the brand takes the time tested "Dirt is Good" campaign to a different level linking the lockdown effect on the pandemic. In a clever move, the brand has used a family bonding theme to further the brand's positioning. 

A powerful positioning platform helps the brand to mould it to suit various environmental changes. Be it consumer behaviour changes or changes caused by the external environment. Dirt is Good is such a positioning platform which offers excellent creative flexibility to the agency to respond to these changes. The agency has done exactly that with Surf Excel. Surf is in a position where it need not talk about its functional attributes. That is the reason why the brand has taken an emotional position. The current ad brings the brand's relevance in this tested times aiding awareness and salience factors. 

Ariel Detergent : Firing All Cylinders

Brand: Ariel

Company: P&G

Brand Analysis Count: #603 

The Indian detergent market worth over Rs 29000 crore is a fiercely competitive market with a whole lot of organized and unorganized players, global and local players vying for a pie of the market.HUL commands the detergent market with around 39% share with its power brands like Surf, Rin, Wheel, Sunlight etc. 

P&G has been fighting the market leader with Ariel and Tide pitching these brands against Surf and Rin respectively. Ariel is a global brand which has a history dating back to 1967. The brand came to India in 1991 and ever since, the brand has been fighting Surf head-on. 

Ariel has always positioned itself as a stain-fighting detergent, thus directly challenging Surf. In the marketing journey, it had used all possible strategies in challenging the market leader. While Surf although a premium-priced detergent tried to appeal to the value, Ariel steadfastly focused on performance in terms of stain-removing. For this, Ariel launched a series of product enhancements and form variants.

In the promotion front, the brand used every trick in the book. While Surf moved from value-based pitching to an emotional " Dirt is Good" theme, Ariel focused on the logic of stain removal. The brand is using the celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor in the last two to three years in their campaigns. The theme is revolving around food-stains which are toughest and in a sort of challenge format shows that Ariel cleans the stains better. 

Last year, the brand also used Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor in their campaign again highlighting the brand's core promise. 

Not to be left behind in the emotional positioning, Ariel in 2016 launched a campaign Share The Load with the hashtag #sharetheload. The theme focused on the fact that women in households are often deprived of basic necessities of life such as sleep because they are forced to take an entire load of managing the households. Hence Ariel decided to be their voice and launched a campaign asking everyone in the house especially men to share the load. The campaign was there for one year and then stopped. In 2020, the campaign was again restarted and was well received by the audiences. The campaign is nicely done and is relevant to the brand since it is talking for its customer- the women of the household. 

In 2020, the brand also came out with product innovation - The Pod. Pod is a unique detergent capsule where there are three components of detergent packed using a thin film. One is a stain-remover, another detergent and a whitening element. This capsule has to be put into the washing machine along with the clothes and the capsule breaks to release the detergents. 

The USP of this pack is the convenience and more than that this product also showcases the brand's focus and innovative character. As a consumer, there is a novelty value and added convenience but how it fits the laundry budget is something debatable. 

Despite all these efforts, Surf still rules the premium laundry segment. Ariel should be credited with a single-minded focus and consistent positioning and also its ability to come out with new product innovations. The brand has remained premium over its competitors and resisted a price war with the competitors. It is patient and focused and I think the brand is letting customers patronize the brand based on the merit than anything else.

Brand Update : Tide gets Ayushmann Khurrana as the brand ambassador

 P&G's detergent brand has now a brand ambassador- Ayushmann Khurrana. The brand which is pitching for the leadership position in the detergent category is fighting the whiteness battle with Unilever's Rin. Tide cleverly uses " Surprising Whiteness" as the theme while Rin uses the lightening mnemonic to reinforce the brand's promise. 

The new campaign featuring Ayushmann Khuranna follows the time-tested theme. The interesting part is that the brand ambassador plays all the character in the ad including that of the lady. According to reports, Ayushmann is now the hot pick for brands in Bollywood as he has delivered back to back hits and has a next-door person image and is relatable. Around 7 years ago, Rin had roped in none other than Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador. 

With washing machines getting into many homes, detergent brands have launched their own variants for machine use. The current campaign is for Tide Ultra variant which is for the machine wash segment. 

Related Post

Tide Vs Rin 

Berger Breathe Easy Safe24 : Stay Safe 24 Hours

Brand: Breathe Easy Safe24
Company: Berger Paints
Brand Analysis Count: 602

 The huge demand for any product that protects us from the COVID-19 virus has created an unprecedented demand for sanitizers and surface disinfectants. While surface disinfectants were existing in the market for quite some time, it was in the form of floor cleaners. The pandemic has created a new opportunity for this product as a tool to clean all surfaces which have a chance to be infected by the virus- that makes almost all surfaces.

Many brands have their own version of surface disinfectant sprays and encourage the customers to spray on every surface every time so that their banks keep on sprayed with money. In fact, in one of the ads, the character is spraying the disinfectant on the pages of the book he is reading. As I have mentioned in my previous posts, a lot of firms have entered the market of sanitizers and the like and paint companies are not left behind. Along with Asian Paints, the paint major Berger Paints also have entered the market with their own brand. 

Berger has extended one of their paint brand - Berger Silk Breathe Easy into this new product category. The main USP of Berger Silk Breathe Easy was the germ-killing feature and the company decided to extend the brand to the new category. The brand extension ( although not 100% technically) is done with some tweaking with the brand name. The surface disinfectant spray is branded as Breathe Easy Safe24 and is endorsed by the corporate brand - Berger. 

Three elements make this brand interesting. The first element is that this product is marketed in association with IIT Guwahati. Scientists from IIT Guwahati lead by Biman Mandal has created this product. What it does to the brand is that it builds tremendous authenticity to the claims. The product is one of the few instances in India where a consumer product is created in association with an academic institution. The second element that makes this brand interesting is the Unique Selling Proposition( USP). While the sanitizing products that exist in the market are based on alcohol which will easily get evaporated from the surface within a few minutes thus reducing the duration of the surface protection. It will get contaminated within no time. According to the media reports, this product has a nano-silver coating which stays active in the surface for a longer time thus offering extended protection. This is a very powerful differentiator for this brand. 

The third element is the presence of a brand ambassador- Kareena Kapoor for this new product. Kareena was also the brand ambassador for the paint products and the company is using her in the new initiative. 

Although the brand name Breathe Easy Safe24 seems a long brand name, it does convey the brand's promise in a no-nonsense fashion. One brand which may not be happy would be the Kerala based brand Pankajakastri Breathe Easy which is an ayurvedic formulation for breathing-related problems. 

The IIT association along with a powerful USP has made this brand a serious player in the market. The challenge is to expand the market for disinfectant sprays and also to expand the product's range to a volume delivering market like surface-cleaners. 

Brand Update : Thums Up struggling to taste the thunder

 The latest ad of Thums Up featuring the brand ambassador Ranveer Singh is a classic example of (Hyperbole)^2. The stunts make James Bond movies look very realistic. Over the last few years, the brand ( in my opinion) is struggling to find a way to convey the positioning - taste the thunder. The current interpretation of the iconic tagline is coated with unrealism which in a way have diluted the charm of the tagline. 

While the positioning of Thums Up was initially based on the taste, later the brand unnecessarily dropped the tagline and went on experimenting with the positioning and later brought it back. The current positioning is based on the theme of " anything for thums up". The idea was well executed where the celebrity would do anything for the brand. Now also the theme is the same but the focus has shifted to the celebrity rather than the brand.

More and more, the ads have become too unrealistic where consumers will be tempted to discount the brand's message. The same thing happened with Axe with its unrealistic campaigns in the long run took consumers away from believing the brand. Hyperbole or exaggerated advertisements serve the purpose of novelty but should not be at the cost of losing authenticity. Positioning should have some amount of believability and should not be compromised for short-term eyeballs. 

Thums Up now is in a celebrity trap and is not alone. The rival Pepsi now has the erstwhile Thums Up, brand ambassador vouching for it. The brand is now in a position where they cannot afford to think of a campaign sans a celebrity. I think Thums Up, if serious about the survival should reset its current campaign trap and do something different to bring the thunder back. 

Nature Protect : Harness the super power of nature

Brand: Nature Protect
Company: Hindustan Unilever
Brand Analysis Count: #601

After a long time, the market is witnessing a brand launch from HUL. So far, HUL has been playing around with its existing power-brands through brand and line extensions. However, HUL is facing this pandemic rather aggressively with a new brand- Nature Protect. 

The COVID-19 pandemic had a different kind of effect on businesses. While most businesses faced a serious existential crisis, some category showed strength and resilience. One category which had the most advantage during the pandemic was products related to hygiene. Hygiene products raced to take advantage of consumer fear and products were tagged with germ-killing propositions across product-ranges. 

HUL found this time to be ripe for a product launch. Nature Protect, as the brand name suggests, is in the "natural" space of the market. The brand is in the hygiene category with products such as surface disinfectants, sanitizer wipes, vegetable wash etc. 

The basic promise of Nature Protect is its natural ingredients and the USP is the neem content. Nature Protect is heavily banking on the efficacy of the neem ingredient as the selling point. While HUL has similar natural/ayurvedic brand like Ayush, that brand has not taken off as expected. Ayush is now pitched as a fighter brand against Patanjali and the likes. Nature Protect is expected to boost HUL's brand portfolio in the naturals space where there are strong consumer interest and future potential. 

Another advantage of having a natural-based brand is the Unilever's fight with Dettol dominated hygiene category of disinfectants and related products. So far, Unilever has not been able to fight Dettol which is slowly expanding its product range. Lifebuoy is fighting it in multiple categories and Nature Protect is expected to open another flank in the fight for supremacy in this category. 

Nature Protect will help HUL to further expand the hygiene category especially appealing to consumers who are worried about chemical-based hygiene products. Right now, the HUL has been covering the hygiene market with brand extensions and now it has created a focal brand for all products in this category. That gives a lot of freedom for the brand managers to explore new emerging categories like vegetable-wash, laundry sanitizer, sanitizer wipes etc. 

The launch ad ( in my opinion) is a disappointment for such a high-profile launch. There is a trend of using kids in all things related to germs. Nothing worthwhile in the ad to write about. The brand name in a typical textbook-style conveys the brand promise. The USP of neem ingredient is relevant but can be copied by the competitor and thus negate the point-of-difference. 

Although HUL is known for its marketing finesse, it has a tendency to abandon their brands after the initial hype. Hope that will not happen with Nature Protect. 

TT Asafoetida : A Heritage Brand Celebrating 125 years.

 Brand: Tasty Tasty Asafoetida
Company: Mahesh Value Group

Brand Analysis Count: # 600

The trigger to this post is a television ad of TT perungayam ( Asafoetida) I saw recently. A quick search found something interesting and new to me so thought of putting this as my 600th brand analysis. The most interesting fact about this brand is history. This brand born in 1895 is celebrating 125 years of existence and it is something to be celebrated. In this ever-changing world, how many brands, big or small can boast of such a history? 

This brand is not from a glamorous industry but from a commodity - common asafoetida which is an integral ingredient of South Indian cuisine. This brand may have survived this long because of this close connection with culture. In marketing, we learn about the interaction of culture with the choice of products. Most likely, these brands have become an integral part of the kitchen. 

It is not that the brands selling these products are not promoted. Brands like TT, LG are promoting heavily in their respective regional markets. In fact, a search for asafoetida ads can throw up a lot of brand advertisements in this category. Another interesting information was regarding the brand name TT stands for Tasty Tasty. 

Although TT as a brand is famous for asafoetida, it had launched brand extensions like appalam ( pappad) and also into the highly competitive spice masala market.

To commemorate the 125 years, the brand has recently upped its promotions across various channels. The brand is focusing on the health benefits of asafoetida as its USP. As we know about the commodities, its very difficult to find and establish a sustainable point-of-difference since the characteristics or benefits are common for all marketers of these commodities. However, TT is trying to own the health benefits platform through its claim that the product is made from the natural first extract of the latex from the plant. 

These brands will remain as long as there is a major shift in consumer preference from traditional food choices. Some brands are blended deeply with the culture which is often enduring. The challenge comes when these ingredients become a part of a package and customers need not buy these ingredients separately. Till that time, these brands will be around.

Related Brand

LG Asafoetida

Zed Black : Prayers Will Be Answered

Brand: Zed Black
Company: Mysore Deep  Perfumery House
Brand Analysis Count: #599

Zed Black is an unusual name for an agarbatti and perhaps that has contributed to this brand's success. Zed Black is the brand of premium agarbattis from Mysore Deep Perfumery House ( MDPH) which is an Indore based company. The location of the firm is relevant because it is reported that the agarbatti market is usually dominated by Karnataka based brands. 

Zed Black was launched in 2000 aimed at creating a space in a market dominated by numerous players both in the organized and unorganised sector. The overall market for agarbatti in India is estimated to be around Rs 2000 crore. 

What made me look at this brand were two things - the brand name and the brand ambassador. Zed Black is a name one would not associate with a traditional product like agarbatti. I searched for the story behind the brand name but no avail. However, in an interview with the directors of the company, they mention that the founder wanted a unique English name for the product that will catch the fancy of the consumer and help the brand stand out from the rest. Most of the agarbatti brands are connected with tradition or god's name. Of course, there are exceptions like the market leader Cycle Agarbatti. The founder wanted to have a name that would also showcase the premium image of the brand. Hence the brand name was chosen. 

MDPH knew that agarbatti was chosen based on the perfume. Consumers smelled the pack before purchasing and often sticked to a brand he liked. Rightly so, the founder travelled across the market to gauge the consumer's tastes and also in search of perfumes that could hook the consumers to the brand. The focus on perfume helped Zed Black gain consumer acceptance quickly.

In 2017, Zed Black roped in Dhoni as the brand ambassador. The company uses a traditional tagline " Prayers will be answered" for the promotions. In regional markets, the brand uses regional celebrities. While the perfume acts as a powerful cue for purchase, the brand drives the consumers towards trying the brand. In that aspect, MDPH has cracked the code for a category like incense sticks which are very cluttered. 

Brand Update : SugarFree launches chocolates under D'Lite brand

SugarFree, the market leader in the Rs 350 crore Indian artificial sweetener market has recently launched a brand extension much to the delight of calorie-conscious and diabetic patients in the form of dark chocolates. India which is considered to be the diabetic capital of the world is yet to see a boom in the artificial sweetener category and sweets made up of artificial sweeteners. This is largely due to lack of awareness and fear of risks in consuming such products. 

However slowly and steadily, the market is warming up to such alternatives to non-sugar delicacies. To take advantage of such potential, most of the confectionery brand has one or two variants in the sugar-free category. For example, Amul has one variant of sugar-free dark chocolate but is rarely available in offline stores.

Zydus Wellness, the owner of SugarFree is sensing such an opportunity and with a brand which has a strong generic name and market leadership, it would not be wise not to take advantage. The company has chosen to launch its range of dark chocolates under the sub-brand D'Lite. D'Lite is not a new brand, earlier, SugarFree had attempted to launch a range of beverages such as fruit punch under this brand name. 

In the new avatar, D'Lite will be initially a digital-focused brand with the product available in online stores such as Amazon, BigBasket etc. The sugar-free chocolates come in four variants - Dark Rich Cocoa, Dark Zesty Orange, Dark Hazelnut flavour with roasted almonds, and Dark Crispy Quinoa with roasted almonds. All these have 50% cocoa content. The sugar-substitute is maltitol. 

The brand is positioned as a premium healthy alternative for calorie-conscious consumers. Priced at Rs 99 for 40g, the brand is a premium offering. The packaging is excellent and reflects the premiumness of the range. The brand has a soft-launch and I think it is promoted initially through digital platforms. The brand is promoted with the hashtag #Twogood. 

I strongly feel that the market for such products has huge potential. The one factor that prevents growth is the negative feedback from a key influencer - doctors. Most of the doctors whom I talked to have expressed a negative opinion about the artificial sweeteners. Except for Stevia, all sugar substitutes carry some form of side-effects is usually what doctors say. It would take some persuasion from these marketers to change that influencer- narrative. However, for a consumer, these products are welcome alternatives to sugar and help keep check of sugar-cravings. 

Related Brand Story

SugarFree

Brand Update : Ceat Urges You Not To Be A Dummy

 Ceat tyres is one of the most visible brands during IPL 2020. As the main sponsor and through a very clutter-breaking campaign featuring Aamir Khan, the brand, in my opinion, reaped a lot of eyeballs during this IPL season.

Other than the fact that IPL, especially during this pandemic, was a welcome relief to a lot of viewers in terms of entertainment value, Ceat was successful in milking the investment of being a main sponsor through a very clever campaign featuring Aamir Khan. Usually, when you are onboarding a celebrity of the calibre of Aamir Khan, the challenge is to use his persona effectively, reduce the chance of eclipsing the brand in the campaign and make the ad interesting. Ceat was successful in all these counts.

The IPL campaign was for SecuraDrive sub-brand of tyres and the focus was on safety. Over these years, Ceat was trying to own the platform of secure driving for its range of tyres. This campaign also is in the same line. The choice of the brand name SecuraDrive also conveys the brand's intended purpose. 

What makes the campaign interesting is how the celebrity was treated in the ad. Here Aamir is a car crash test dummy which in itself is a novel idea. The fact that this dummy is afraid of his life is another twist. This campaign is also a classic example of anthropomorphism in advertising. The concept of giving human-like characteristics to non-human entities is called anthropomorphism. The two campaign is spot on in conveying the brand's message to the viewers.  Good Job. 

Brand Update : Pond's Brings Back" Googly Woogly Wooksh" Jingle

 In the run-up to the winter season, Pond's has brought back its famous jingle ' Googly Woogly Wooksh" in an emotional pitch featuring a grandfather ailing from memory loss and his beloved granddaughter. The ad touches upon an emotional chord in the viewer at the same time cleverly delivers the core message of the brand in a beautiful way. Pond's always communicated its value proposition of " smooth skin". 

The popular jingle " Googly Woogly Woosh" was first launched in 2009 campaign was the brand's way of communicating the brand's value proposition of soft skin. The brand used the campaign in multiple ways using celebrities and the like. Later, Pond's began aggressive extensions and no longer the brand was focusing on just cold-creams and skin related products. At one time Pond's even launched men's personal care products.  This probably made the jingle out place in the brand's campaigns. I would even say that Pond's was a kind of under-promoted by HUL in the last few years compared to other brands from the company's portfolio. 

The new campaign is well executed and again reminds marketers not to discard their proven brand elements just for the sake of change. 

Related Brand Post

Pond's 

Brand Update : TVS Apache reaps the benefit of racer sharp focus

 This October, Apache which is the indigenous performance bike from TVS reached a milestone of 40 lakh sales. Although this figure may be dwarfed by the sales of the likes of Bajaj which sells more than 1 lakh bikes a month while Hero sells around 3-4 lakhs two-wheelers in a month. However, as a student of marketing, the story of Apache is of persistence and continuous improvement that made this performance bike reach such a good sales milestone. 

Launched in 2006, the brand had a good start with its launch of 150 cc bike but later dwarfed by the competition which created multiple segments and dominated those segments in the higher cc performance bike market. In the game of volume sales, it is often easy to get deluded by the race for volume which has seen a lot of good brands biting the dust, TVS kept its patience and incrementally upgraded this brand with new variants and performance improvements. More importantly in the branding perspective, Apache kept its focus on the Racing DNA which forms that backbone of its promotions. The brand took a giant leap when it entered the 250-350 cc segment in 2017 with its RR 310. The tie-up with BMW helped with a refresh on the brand's pitching as a performance-oriented bike. 

In my personal opinion, one of the factors that inhibited the brand's large scale user adoption was the style. The brand had a particular stance which was either liked or hated. With the brand offering no variety in styling, the brand limited its sales to hard-core fans. In the new avatar, Apache comes with different variants, the brand began to appeal to a broader set of consumers. In a way, Apache had missed the bus in the premium performance bikes but the slew of launches in the recent years are helping Apache to break into the performance segment. 

Brand Update : Kent transforms to a multi-product brand

 Kent or rather Kent RO System is known for its RO based water purifiers but not anymore. From 2016 onwards, the brand has been on its way to becoming a consumer durable brand. Slowly and steadily, the brand has been launching products in the small appliances category leveraging on the success of its water purifier product range. Kent RO based water purifier was launched in 1999 challenging the UV based water purifier products which were ruling the market. Although expensive compared to UV based purifiers, RO based purifiers slowly gained acceptance due to its superior purifying ability and also backed by powerful promotions from the brand owners.

Now Kent has a number of product lines which are very diverse. The product line consists of water purifiers, vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, water softeners, kitchen appliances, security camera systems, and attendance systems. Kent brand is built on the positioning platform of purity. The founder of the company, Mr Mahesh Gupta calls the company's core as House of Purity. While the initial launches were in line with the " House of Purity" platform, later the firm began to launch unrelated extensions like a security camera and niche small appliances. 

Mr Mahesh Gupta in an interview talks about the logic of concentrating on niche product categories. One advantage of niche is that there is not much competition. The niche products also will help Kent to display its innovative side to the consumers. If the brand is able to come out with innovative products, it will enhance the brand image and thus help brand launch mainstream products in the future. 

As with all brand extensions, Kent also faces the problem of equity stretch. When a brand launches its extensions, the new products rely heavily on the parent brand's equity. Unrelated products create a lot of pressure on the core brand equity because there will be a disconnect between the core brand's positioning and the unrelated product's positioning. The solution is to identify a core brand positioning which allows for multiple brand extensions across diverse categories. For example, House of Purity positioning of Kent may not support a product like a mixer grinder of a camera security systems. 

Hygienix : Be Super Safe

 Brand: Hygienix

Company: Wipro Consumer Care

Brand Analysis Count: #598

When the coronavirus pandemic struck India this year, during the initial days, there was a huge scarcity of sanitizers in the market. The sanitizer category was nascent at that time with only a few players like Lifebuoy and Godrej Protekt and the product stocks were minimum in the stores. The market size at that time was around Rs 10 crore. The scenario changed drastically after March with the panic over the pandemic grew, so as the demand for products like sanitizers. The market grew four times during the pandemic with around 152 manufacturers producing the product. 

There was a scramble among firms to cash in on this new opportunity. Firms across industries as varied as paints, industrial manufacturers like paint thinners, SMEs all rushed to fill the gap in the market. Not to be left behind, FMCG firms either launched product extensions or new brands into the growing market of personal hygiene fuelled by the pandemic.  One such launch is the new brand Hygienix by Wipro Consumer Care. Wipro had powerful brands like Santoor, Chandrika, Yardley etc which had their own extensions of hygiene products like sanitizers.

Along with these extensions, the company found a space for a pure hygiene brand which can compete with brands like Dettol and Savlon. The brands like Santoor and Chandrika are primarily beauty products and it is risky to stretch the positioning to hygiene.

Hygienix is a brand acquired by Wipro when it bought Philippine's firm Splash Corporation in April 2019. I think Wipro is lucky in the sense that the timing of the purchase was spot on and the pandemic gave the brand a headstart in the market. 

Hygienix is launched with the obvious brand promise of germ protection. The brand as usual promises to kill all but the lone survivor of the germs. What is striking about the brand is the white and blue brand colours in the packaging which gives it a clean mild look. Hygienix launched a range of hygiene products like sanitizers, soaps, handwash, cleaning wipes etc. The brand name also gives the company leverage to launch further hygiene-related products in future. 

Established brands like Lifebuoy, Dettol and Savlon have one more competitor to live with. 

Brand Update : Colgate Launches Mouth Protection Spray Under Vedsakti Brand

 When consumers are scared, take advantage of the opportunity and offer to help. In this era of COVID-19 where consumers are scared as hell, many opportunities have popped up in the market in the form of health protection. From hand sanitizers to paints, brands are trying to cash in on the opportunity to take advantage of the opportunity to reassure the consumers' health concerns. This is the market which has products like paints, laminated plywood boards and even electric bulbs promising to kill the deadly bacteria and virus with a condition that 0.01 of the germs will be left behind to protect that species. After all, these are the gods' creations. 

In that scenario, how can a toothpaste brand be left behind? Everyone knows that the virus has its entry point through either mouth or nose in most cases. Since the mouth is the domain of the toothpaste, they too have jumped into the bandwagon of saving humanity from the deadly virus. How? Launching of a new product - mouth protection spray. The market leader Colgate has grabbed the first-mover advantage by launching a spray that kills the germs ( sans the 0.01 lone survivor ) at the entry point itself. Mouth sprays have existed in the market but for a different functionality- fresh breath. So although the launch is not an entirely new category creation, the brand is pioneering a new functionality to the mouth spray product-line. I predict that it will not be too long for Close-up brand to launch a mouth protect spray with mouth freshener to counter this launch.

It is also interesting that Colgate chose to launch this product under the Vedsakti sub-brand to take advantage of the Ayurveda tag which has a chemical-free perception to rely on. 

The brand is running a launch campaign for the new product. Unlike the typical Colgate ads featuring dentists, this time, the brand is banking on a child to teach their parents, benefits of using this spray. The brand I think over the last few campaigns is preferring cuteness over authenticity. 

In another similar development, Colgate Vedsakti has come out with a new campaign this time focusing on germ-killing and labelling mouth as the entry point of germs. With the new campaign, the market leader is directly challenging the position of Pepsodent which was focusing on the germ-killing promise attaining point of parity with Pepsodent.

 

Pee Safe : Your Personal Hygiene Expert

 Brand: Pee Safe 
Company: Red Cliffe Hygiene Private Ltd

Brand Analysis Count: # 597

Pee Safe is a very bold brand. Look at the brand name itself. Its ticks most of the boxes in the theoretical way of looking at the qualities of a good brand name. The brand was launched in 2013 and quickly became a pioneer in the development of a market for branded female hygiene products other than the sanitary napkins.

The Indian personal hygiene market is huge. pegged at around 85000 crore INR ($11 Bn) and growing very fast aided by the recent pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of many hygiene products and created opportunities for many players in this segment. The female hygiene category is small at about Rs 2500 crore and the category is dominated by sanitary napkins which are around 3600 crores.  

Pee Safe entered the market with a unique product - toilet sanitizer. The brand correctly identified a need in among the women who often travel as well as those office goers who have to use common toilets. The unhygienic toilet seats are a common cause of urinary tract infection which is common in India. The brand quickly gained adoption and became the world's largest selling product within a short period of time. 

Buoyed by the success of the seat sanitizer, the brand launched a series of products in the hygiene space like bio-degradable sanitary napkins, menstrual cups, sanitizers, intimate wash, tampons etc. The company uses digital marketing as the main promotion tool. The brand also has television star Anita Hassanandani as the brand ambassador. 

Pee Safe has positioned the brand as a hygiene expert and is aiming to be a one-stop solution for all hygiene needs of women. The brand is trying to cement its positioning through educational and informative videos about hygiene. In line with the current trend of brand laddering, the brand has also taken up cause marketing like women empowerment. 

One aspect that strikes about the brand is the name. The brand name Pee Safe obviously is constrained by the connection to intimate hygiene.  The company has circumvented this issue by following a family brand name brand architecture. The current brand architecture is that all products in female hygiene are named as Pee Safe. Other family brand names are Raho Safe, Palm Safe, Mosquito Safe etc.

 The company has launched other products like mosquito repellent, hand wash and under  Mosquito Safe brand, cleaning products under  Raho Safe brand, hand sanitizer under Palm Safe brand etc.

The smart idea is that " Safe" name is retained to link it to the current famous brand Pee Safe. The only challenge in this brand strategy is the increased cost in developing and nurturing the family brand names. The advantage is that the company is not constrained by the brand name in the launching of new products. 

Marketing Lessons From FOGG Deo

 This video explains the lessons in marketing from the success of Fogg beating the market leader Axe in the Rs 3500 crore deodorant market. Unilever is not a small player to beat and a relatively unknown company has changed the market dynamics humbling the market leader is an interesting story to learn.