Brand Update : Amul Macho

So here it is, Amul Macho's sequel to the controversial first ad has been launched.

Watch it here : Amul Macho orangutan

Like the previous one , this one is less spicy but have all the elements to rake up some controversy.But the ad is not raunchy or bad taste as the previous one. Interestingly the first ad involving the newly wed created huge interest among the public with blogs and forums discussing the ad in detail. In that aspect, the first one was a remarkable success.

The second ad features orangutans and the ad is definitely well made. I am not referring to the storyboard but the filming. It would have burned a big hole in the companies pocket to make those orangutans act.
However the brand is sticking to its earlier positioning of " crafted for fantasies " . The idea is nothing new and I remember a couple of Indian innerwear ad like Rupa having ads which shows ladies chasing men in underwears . The difference here is that the protagonist is an orangutan. Some scenes in the ad makes us squirm if we are watching with our family and the intention is to generate some controversy. The lady looks like the same one from the earlier controversial ad and the song is also the same.

Related Brand
Amul Macho

MotoYuva : Aab Apni Suno

Brand : Motoyuva
Company: Motorola
Agency : O&M


Brand Analysis Count : 312

After creating a rage with some smart campaigns for Motorockr, Motorola is back again with another brand MotoYuva. Motoyuva , as the name suggest is a brand targeted at the youth . It is Motorola's latest venture into the fast growing entry level mobile handset market in India.

Indian mobile handset market is huge with an annual sale of any where between 60- 70 million handset. The entry level mobile phones dominate in the volume share . Motorola had another couple of models in this segment like C118 but Motoyuva is different.
The difference is that this is the entry level brand targeting the youth segment ( age 18-29) and also it is a brand rather than a dry model number.
It is worthwhile to note that it was Motorola which had started branding various models deviating from the practice of the market leader Nokia. Nokia followed the model numbering because of the ever changing models and technology.
But Motorola tackled this issue by branding a series. For example Motorazr was the series brand name and there were different models under this series.
Similarly Motoyuva started with the first model Motoyuva W180. The brand was an entry level phone with FM Radio and Hindi dictionary and speaker phone.

The brand was launched with a crazy ad which took me a while to understand when I saw it the first time.
Watch the ad here : Motoyuva 180

Motoyuva W180 had a tagline " Motoyuva aaya to aapka beta gaya " meaning ' when Motoyuva comes you will lose your son to it ' .
The idea is that the phone is fully loaded that the young ones will be lost in the phone.

The success of W180 prompted Motorola to extend the series with a basic music phone. Thus came the new variant MotoYuva W230. 230 comes with MP3 player with expandable memory at a tempting price of around Rs 3100.

What was interesting was the campaign.
Watch the campaign here : Motoyuva 230.

The ad shows a young boy using the music phone to escape from the nagging father. According to agencyfaqs, the consumer insight that drive this ad is that today's youth use music as an escape route. The ad is well made with a catchy score ( Adnan Sami) and a cool dude and a very realistic papa character. The brand uses the tagline " ab apni suno " meaning ' Now hear what you want to hear'

Soon after the ads was on air, one of my students raised a point that this ad will be offensive/irritating to the father and thus may not allow the son to buy this model. The reason he pointed out is that the TG for this brand may have to depend on the father for the money.
I also read a couple of blogs which aired similar views.
So the question arises as to the logic behind such a campaign berating father who can be the sponsor for the purchase of this phone.

The fact is that everything about the ad is realistic. It is a fact that for teenagers and youngsters , fathers are usually perceived to be nagging , complaining and criticizing . Often fathers become a big stumbling block in their quest for freedom. It is a fact that music mobiles are a rage among youngsters and it is a fact that they use music to shut themselves from the external world.
But whether to use these facts for a TV commercial is something that is debatable......

The simple fact that this campaign has become a talking point justifies the purpose of this ad. In this season where almost every brand is making hell of a noise trying to sell a '5 mp mobile camera phone ' to music mobile with a thump, it is not easy to make us discuss Motoyuva .

The company knew that this ad may create some murmurs , but the main purpose was to break the clutter. The ad achieved that to a large extent. The ad makes us chuckle and we watch because the characters look so natural.

The larger question remains whether the PAPA will object to buying this phone.. Some will and some may not. In majority of the cases, Parents leave the choice of the mobile phones to their sons and thus the ad may not affect the sales.
For these segment, it is the value that matters. At Rs 3100, if the customers including PAPA feels that Motoyuva provides value, the purchase will be made and other wise it will not.

Brand Update : Cadbury

India's favorite chocolate brand has launched a new brand of chocolates exclusively for those suffering from diabetes . The new brand ' Cadbury Lite ' is currently test marketed in Tamilnadu and Andhrapradesh.

This is definitely a good news for that 10% of urban population who suffers from this condition. Cadbury Lite comes with no added sugar and has a sugar substitute Maltitol .Cadbury Lite is clear cut in its positioning. It is for those who suffer from/prone to diabetes rather than for the calorie conscious. May be Cadbury does not feel that its products are unhealthy .

On a branding perspective, it is interesting to note that Cadbury Lite is a new brand rather than a variant of Dairy Milk. The question arises as to why did Cadbury resisted the temptation to launch a variant rather than a new brand. Please note that Nestle launched the variant Kit Kat Lite for the calorie conscious.

One reason can be that the market for the sugarfree chocolates is high and unexplored and hence there is an opportunity for a new brand. Second reason is the seemingly conflicting positioning of ' sugarfree ' chocolate with the existing hardcore sweet positioning of Dairy Milk.
But I feel that the primary reason is the opportunity to develop a new category and a new brand. How ever the national launch is expected only after the results from the test marketing.

Brand Update : Minute Maid

This year, Minute Maid has launched a new campaign with a peppy tagline " Where is the pulp " . As discussed in my earlier post on the brand, Minute Maid is being positioned as a pulpy orange drink.
The current campaign is aimed at making the brand more young and also to reinforce the positioning of the brand. The campaign is based on a simple proposition that everytime this drink is consumed, an orange somewhere loses the pulp.

To be frank, although I liked the ad I did not fully understand the idea behind it till I read about it in agencyfaqs. ( i think I am getting old).
However the ad does convey the idea that Minute Maid contains pulp. As a consumer I again admit that I did not understand what it means by a pulpy drink. And that itself is the challenge for the brand. The current ad will definitely intrigue customers like me to try it out.
The ad also hope that the tagline " where is the pulp " will be popular and become a part of the youth lingo. The brand has gone national after encouraging results from the test market. Minute Maid is one of the most successful non-cola brand of Coca-Cola globally. Indian market is skewed towards non-cola drinks and Coke hopes that this brand catches the imagination of the young Indian consumers.
While the brand is reinforcing the ' pulpy ' nature of the drink, it has forgotten the ' refreshing' attribute which was a part of the initial campaign. Coke has to remember that there is no drink that offers ' refreshing ' benefit to the customer. That spot is still vacant. The benefit of being Pulpy can be communicated through the attribute of Refreshing. And a refreshing drink is a proposition that will work well with youth.

With the new campaign, Minute Maid also has stirred up the competition. I remember seeing similar concept of pulpy and orangy in the new campaign of Tropicana from Pepsi.

Related Brand
Minute Maid

Varilrix Vaccine : Suraksha Kawach

Brand :Varilrix Vaccine
Company : Glaxo Smithkline Beecham

Brand Analysis Count : 311

Most of you may not have heard about this brand Varilrix but may have seen the ad for this product. Varilrix is the vaccine for Chickenpox . The brand is owned by the global major GSK and is now marketed heavily in visual media as the chickenpox vaccine.
The vaccine market in India is to the tune of Rs 300 crore ( Businessline) while the website: Express Pharma puts a figure of $ 1o billion. The vaccine business for GSK accounts for around Rs 100 crore.

There is a lot of activity around vaccines for the last two years . The reason for this increased activity is propelled by the increased health consciousness together with the launch of new vaccines . The total vaccine market in India is dominated by the government sponsored/subsidized vaccines. The vaccinations are aimed at children and usually the process ends at around 5 years. Typically the parents go by the immunization chart given to them by the doctors/hospitals when the child is born.
The increased marketing activities of pharmaceutical firms at the end user level has created a new and growing market for vaccines in India. One prominent vaccine is the chickenpox vaccine.

Varilrix is the first marketed chickenpox vaccine in India. The brand is an interesting one to look at because of the nature of the disease. Chickenpox is a disease dreaded by children not because it is dangerous but because it causes havoc in a student's academic career. The typical season for this disease is February- March and this coincide with the annual examination in most academic institutions. Since this is a contagious disease, the patient is kept in isolation for over 20 days which is enough to mess his entire examinations.
According to a study conducted by GSK across schools in India, the findings showed that 59 % of students may be at risk of contracting this disease.
Varilrix is a combination vaccine which can be given to children aged above 1 year. This gives a lifelong protection against this disease. The brand is targeting the parents who have children studying in schools.
Currently the brand is running a campaign promoting this vaccine since this is the exam time. The ads are hardhitting and the storyboard goes like this :

The entire family is waiting to hear the performance of their child in the examinations. The kid tells the marks and the family members ask for the marks of the child's main competitor. For most of the exams the rival scores over the kid but when the marks of the Mathematics paper is asked , the hero says that the rival scored zero because he could not write the exam because of chickenpox. The entire family is shown to bask in the glory of their child's triumph.

Although the ad seems to be too cheeky and blunt it really puts the brand's functionality right on spot.I still remember having nightmares about this disease during exam time, when i was a kid. The reason for this high decibel promotion is that this vaccine is expensive in the range of Rs 1000-1500. Since most of the vaccines are painful, it takes lot of persuasion to sell vaccines for such diseases which are more of a nuisance than life-threatening.

Vaccines are marketed by GSK using a dual strategy: there is ethical promotion involving medical representatives visiting doctors and supplemented by DTC promotions. DTC means Direct- To -Consumer promotion. Varilrix is also cashing in on the fear factor among the TG of losing exam/career because of this disease. Varilrix is a prescription product and should be administered by a medical practitioner. According to Mr Sumer Dheri , GM of GSK, there are two things that motivate consumers for these products : Extreme Shock and Manifold benefits. Vaccines has lot of negative connotations like lack of knowledge , fear of needle etc . ( source : express pharma).The ad for Varilrix aims to propel the consumers into action by invoking the fear of losing out .

Brand Update : Mentos

Mentos has launched a new campaign much in line with the positioning of " makes you smarter " exemplified by the slogan " Dimag ki batti jala de". This time the agency took the idea far into the evolution era.

Watch the tvc here : Mentos evolution

The new campaign is different from the real slice of life type of earlier campaigns. The new campaign is refreshingly new and absolutely funny. In a low involvement category, one has to take this route to stay on top of the mind.
What I liked about this brand is the consistency of the positioning and the message. The brand was able to sustain the positioning all these years. By looking at the animation and the quality of the animation, the cost may have gone through the roof but this ad has the steam to stay longer in the media. Also this ad will be much circulated and discussed.

The brand has moved away from the real life to artificial world ( absurdism) without losing the original positioning, it is important that the brand keep a link with the real world. The earlier campaigns had made this brand 'cool' and attractive to the younger crowd and its important that the brand remains that way.
The current ad definitely has bought the consumers' renewed interest into the brand and the follow up campaigns should make sure that the idea does not go overboard. Too much of absurdism can take the ' coolness ' quotient out of the brand.

Related Brand
Mentos

Barclaycard : You Are in Control

Brand : Barclaycard
Company : Barclays
Agency : Mccann

Brand Analysis Count : 310

When I was a college student, my dream was to flaunt a credit card ( infact more than one) . Then on to my first job, I ran to my bank to rightfully claim for my first creditcard. I was in for an unpleasant surprise. I then realized that not everyone was eligible for one. Then after three years of constant followup and lots and lots of document, I landed up my first credit card ( not exactly because later I found out that it was a chargecard). It was a Cancard with a credit facility for Rs 5000 and credit period of 30 days.

Then after two years, something happened. I would call it the financial sales revolution. The new generation banks like ICICI and HDFC bank began appointing Direct Selling Agents for opening the Savings Account, loans and creditcards. For the first time, customers ( like me) were treated like worthy of a credit card. I remember filling out numerous forms and getting rejected by Citi and ICICI . Infact I remember a bank official saying that they rejected my application because I work with a media. At that time they don't give loans or creditcard to Media or Police officials .

When I was running around after creditcards, wise-owls warned me of impending danger. They said - credit cards can ruin your financial stability so use it wisely. I vouched that I will not take credit for my creditcard and use it wisely. But the fact is that I have taken loans, I have splurged, have bought products on EMI all through creditcard.... I realized that you will never win against the creditcards.
As always the thumbrule in any financial service dealings involving banks or insurance firms is to play by the rules. That is critical in the case of creditcard business. The fact is that only they know the rules and as customers , we don't bother to read the 60 page terms and conditions booklet that is printed in 5 point font size.
I realized this when the creditcard charged me fine and interest for late realization of a cheque owing to a bank strike. I tried to fight but they showed me the rules.
It is in this context that a new bank has comeout with a credit card that says that the customer is in control...
In 2007 Barclays Bank launched its retail banking operations in India. Barclays is the UK based financial services group which boasts of a heritage of over 300 years. The operations of Barclays started in India in 1970's and was more focused on investment banking . Barclays began the commercial operations in 2006 and retail operations in 2007.

The bank is now aggressively pitching for its creditcard business in India. According to Businessweek , the size of Indian Credit-card market is about $4 Billion and growing at 35% per-annum. No wonder global majors are queuing up in the Indian market. But the going is tough because competition is tough with ICICI bank leading the pack.

Barclaycard chose to break into this market with a clear differentiator . The differentiator was ' giving power to choose the billing cycle and fix monthly payment amount ' to the customer. The brand is now running a high decibel campaign in all media

Watch the TVC here : Barclays
Here the idea is that banks treat customers like kids with little or no power in the hand of the customers.
As a customer, I think that this differentiator comes from consumer insights. Infact in my case I have to pay my credit card during the middle of the month and by that time all money would have gone up in smoke. Barclaycard lets you decide which week of the month the customer would like to be billed. That means that the customer can select the appropriate week when his salary is being credited or when he has the maximum cash-flow.

The brand in that way has come up with a meaningful differentiator but I think that differentiator is not sustainable in the longterm since all other players can easily achieve parity with that feature . But the brand has made its presence felt using that meaningful differentiator.

For any new bank, the issue of payment of creditcard bills also act as a significant demotivator for the customers. In the case of Barclaycard, the brand has tiedup with BILLDESK so that the payment can be done online using internet banking of other banks. So one does not have to search for the drop-boxes. For a new brand to break into the clutter, Barclaycard has done the homework right and has made the right moves.

Apart from these differentiators, the other things remain the same, the interest rate is as high as 36% ( annualized) and charges comparable with other players .

As a customer, I have learned a hard lesson of using a credit-card. I still don't understand why these cards charge so much interest on the cards and still want customers to use it. I somewhere read that credit-card companies lose money when the customers pay in time. But these heavy interest rates are charged to make customers pay in time. ( is it not a paradox ?).

Credit-card firms will realize their next path to growth only if they rationalize their interest rate in favor of the customers. In this era of sophisticated CRM algorithms, the banks should be able to give differential interest rates to customers who are credit worthy. Till that time I am gonna pay my bills on time.

Brand Update : Lux

Lux has launched another variant Lux Provocateur. The new variant is the first BLACK bathing soap in the Indian market. Lux Provocateur is being positioned as a soap with bold attitude. No need to say , the color is its main differentiator. The campaign including animated fairyland type TVC is already in air.

HUL has been launching many international variants of Lux in the Indian market. The last one was the Lux Crystal Shine. Lux Provocateur is also an international variant. Like Crystalshine, HUL has made slight modification in its international campaign and put that in the Indian market.
Watch the International campaign here : Lux Provocateur
As you can see from the international campaign, Black Lux is really bold. In India, this boldness is slightly moderated to suit the audiences.
Lux earlier has made lot of excitement in the market with its Chocolate Seduction variant. With Black Lux, the brand is trying to recreate the same excitement. The popularity of Chocolate Seduction has proved that Indian market is mature to accept new experiments with color and fragrance. One has to remember that Black Color does not fit with the concept of cleanliness. However, the Indian consumers targeted by these variants is not bound by such restrictions. More so since Soap is a convenience product and the 'investment' from the customer side is negligible.
Lux Provocateur will see a lot of initial sales because customers will buy it because of novelty. The brand Lux will yet again be back in the consumer mindset and the PLC will show a spike. Whether Black Lux will become a mainstage brand will depend on the product performance.

I think it has been a long time since I saw an ad for the Primary brand Lux . I have a doubt whether there is something like the original Lux soap which was ' Filmi sitaron ka saoundarya sabun '. In the flurry of new variant launches, the Original Lux with milk proteins is lost somewhere. The cumulative brand sale for Lux may be rocking but what about the primary brand ? The logic may be that these variants may help the sale of the original Lux but that logic sounds little too short-term.

I think that HUL has to address the issue of positioning for the Lux brand. We know that this brand has been globally positioned on Celebrity Value. In India, the brand is in a confused state because every other soap brand is also endorsed by stars. Hence the celebrity centered positioning of Lux does not seem to be compelling. Lux has Aishwarya Rai, who is now at the peak of her career, as the brand ambassador and I feel that the brand is not taking advantage of her peak popularity. In marketing practice , one big mistake that one can make is to lose focus on the main brand and run after the variants. I feel that its time for Lux to reinvent itself , look inwards and search for the identity which has been lost among these numerous variants.

Related Brand
Lux

Brand Update : Orbit

Orbit is a brand that never stop experimenting. The brand has been trying two prong approach to brand promotion. For Orbit White, the brand takes a humor route featuring Dr. Bhatawadekar while for Orbit Regular, the brand is taking the rational approach which talks about preventing tooth decay.

This year, the brand takes an unexpected turn in its promotional strategy. The brand is adopting a laddering strategy by taking up a more broader concept of ' Everyday Magic with Orbit' . The brand now have a new slogan " Every Day Magic " which is significant since Orbit did not have a slogan earlier.

Watch the new TVC here : Everyday Magic

The big idea is that a sweet smile creates magic in one's life. The big idea is not new since Close Up also have a series of campaign focusing on Smile. The TVC is well made but nothing new in the commercial to create a WOW factor. Most of the instances showed in the commercial has been used by other brands from time immemorial ( Example : Boy and girl in arm-wrestling) .The smile campaign is also to achieve parity with HappyDent which has its campaign centering around white teeth.

But what I like is the concept of 'Everyday Magic' . The slogan has a depth which can be used to the brand's advantage because it can be extended beyond the ' smile ' factor. The new campaign may be the first of a series of campaigns highlighting the new positioning. Hope that the creative team will put some creativity to this good concept which has lot of potential.

Related Brand
Orbit

Hindalco Everlast : Branding a Commodity

Brand : Everlast
Company : Hindalco

Brand Analysis Count : 309

Everlast is the brand of aluminium roofing sheets from Aditya Birla Group. Hindalco from the Aditya Birla Group is India's largest manufacturer of aluminium products in India.
Aluminium is a commodity driven basically by the price. While there are many marketers who brand the consumer products made of aluminium like vessels and utensils, Everlast can be called the first branded roofing sheet.

Everlast was launched in 2002 after much research. The purpose of launching a brand in this commodity business is to add value. Branding a commodity is a difficult task especially when the customer does not see any significant differentiator between products from different manufacturer. But for a marketer, Brands often translates into more premium and also insulates the company from price competition.
Aditya Birla group is not new to branding commodities. We have seen the high profile rebranding of L& T cements to Ultratech which showcased the branding ability .

Everlast had two pronged approach towards building the brand . First task was to establish the brand name by increasing the awareness. This was done by extensive campaign through print media and hoardings. The brand also was positioning itself as a durable product. Television commercial was used to promote the positioning of the brand which was further reinforced by the brand name ' Everlast'.
Second task was to increase the popularity of aluminium roofing sheets. Now Everlast is running a series of campaigns highlighting the various benefits of having an Everlast roof. The brand is now targeting the urban households.
The campaign of Everlast is interesting because the brand recognizes that it cannot replace the RCC roof. Hence the brand aims to popularize itself as a roof over RCC terraces. The new campaign tells the customer that by covering the open terraces using Everlast, one can use that space for various purposes like Party Area, Garden, Exercise , drying clothes etc. Infact the biggest use of Everlast roof is that one can use the terrace for drying clothes especially during rainy season.
The consumer also gets the benefits of additional closed space without spending too much money on building another roof.
Everlast comes in various colors and hence does not compromise the beauty of the house. The brand highlights the following qualities like
Durability
Corrosion Resistant
Easy to Maintain
and also the trust of Hindalco.
Along with the consumer promotion, the brand also had below the line promotion aimed at the influencers like masons, contractors , architects etc.

Everlast rightfully is reaping the benefits of the first mover advantage in this commodity business. Through heavy promotion, the brand had already established its presence in the market and is in course of establish a strong presence in the market.

Brand Update : Horlicks

This year Horlicks has launched another variant : Women's Horlicks. The brand is being positioned as a health drink for women. Horlicks claim to have formulated this variant conforming to WHO recommendations.

The rationale behind this variant is the understanding that the life of a women is hectic with the responsibilities of both households and career to manage . Most often these heavy responsibilities take a toll on her health.

According to press reports, this new Horlicks variant contains micronutrients recommended by WHO for women aged 19-50. The brand is a health supplement and supplements all the daily dietary requirements of a women just by having 2 serves ( 60gms ) of Women's Horlicks every day.

The brand comes in attractive package which is modern and eye-catching. Women's Horlicks comes in two flavors : Chocolate and Caramel.
Women's Horlicks claims to have HEMOCAL nutrients which is a combination of vital vitamins for healthy bones and blood. The company has done and ingredient branding by registering the ingredient brand HEMOCAL as a trademark.

Although targeted at the urban women, the launch of this variant throws up certain facts which are conveniently forgotten by the male community .The national family survey of 2006 reveals that one out of two women are anemic and 39 % of Indian women suffering from mild anemia. This together with modern work-life pressure is taking a toll on Indian women's health. I got these information from the website : Indianwomenshealth.com which is the website sponsored by the brand. It is heartening to see that this brand has taken up women's health as a platform or base for this variant. The website is being developed as an informative site for the brand's users and contains information about women health and fitness.
Besides these initiatives Horlicks has undertaken an outreach program aimed at Doctors and Nutritionists who are influencer in the purchase of this product.
In Horlicks' Product rage, Women's Horlicks co-exists with Mother's Horlicks which is a specialized nutritional supplement for young mothers.
Women's Horlicks is being promoted using print media initially and according to reports, TVC will soon follow with actress Konkona Sen as the brand ambassador.

Now Horlicks' range has

Horlicks : Ordinary Horlicks for Kids
Junior Horlicks : For young ones
Horlicks Lite : For health conscious adults
Mothers Horlicks
Women's Horlicks.
Horlicks Biscuits
The brand so far has been able to position these variants in their respective segments without diluting the core brand equity. The choice of the media and the message has been made very cautiously that each of these brands were perceived to be individual brands with individual personality. Here in the case of Women's Horlicks, the brand has used different colors and packing to make this variant independent of other Horlicks variants. This was earlier done effectively in Junior Horlicks and Mother's Horlicks.

IFFCO- Tokio : The life you desire

Corporate Brand : IFFCO -Tokio
Agency : Dentsu

Brand Analysis Count : 308

One of my close friend's brand new Santro was stolen weeks after he bought his dream machine. This happened despite all the anti-burglar stuff being loaded to the vehicle. After running from pillar to post and following it up with Police, the hope of getting the vehicle back was slowly fading. We friends began consoling him pointing out the insurance policy he had for the vehicle. Hope again came back and the entire ' process' of getting the insurance and buying a car began taking life.

Now after 5 months and 100 phone calls , only the hope remains. Today I checked my car insurance : I paid Rs 7000 for one year full cover insurance for my car and was feeling secure about the vehicle but this incident shattered my confidence. I now double check the doors and keep my gate secure with big locks because I know that it is not all that easy to get your claims.
I am not blaming the insurance companies for the delay because they play by the rules especially when they have to pay the buck. Here in my friend's case the technical issue is something known as ' Non traceability Certificate ' that has to be issued by the investigating police department that certifies that the vehicle cannot be recovered. Some times Police may give the certificate after one full year. Till then Keep Walking....

This long introduction was necessary because this post is about an insurance company which talks about hassle free claims : IFFCO - Tokio.
IFFCO-Tokio is a joint venture in general insurance between Indian Farmer's Fertiliser Cooperative limited and Tokio Marine which is a Japanese Insurance giant . IFFCO-Tokio was launched in December 2000 and during the initial years, the company was concentrating on the corporate insurance segment focusing on products like Fire Insurance theft insurance etc.
The brand had the task of creating brand awareness during the initial period since IFFCO is a fertilizer company and the consumers had to be educated about the brand's new venture into the insurance sector.
Like any other insurance company, IFFCO-Tokio began to address the issue of accidents like fire and theft jeopardizing your future plans. The brand had a series of campaigns highlighting this theme. The brand had the slogan " Which way life takes you, we will be there " .

After tasting success in the corporate segment, the company began to look at the retail general insurance market. During 2004-05 the company launched its motor vehicle insurance product.
I began noticing this brand when I saw the brand talking about quick claim settlement. At that time no insurance firms were talking about this attribute.
What I liked was the television campaign where a well dressed executive comes to the office in a horse cart . Watch the TVC here : IFFCO Horse cart
The brand was talking about the delay that happens in most insurance claims and promises to provide customers hasslefree claims.

This year too the brand has come out with a new campaign : Deaf Ear
The new campaign talks about the usual attitude of insurance firms when the clients ask for claims. They often turn deaf.
Both these campaigns contains perfect consumer insights. The brand uses the promise of ' Hassle free claims ' as the differentiator. I feel that it is a powerful differentiator provided the brand lives upto the promise.

I strongly believe that the true nature of a company will be revealed when the customer has a complaint. How the firm deals with the customer complaints often reflects the customer focus of the firm .

For an Insurance firm the claim settlement is the final moment of truth which reveals the firm's true face. Often insurance firms delay payments because of the fact that there are many rogue clients who take advantage of insurance claims . But what about genuine clients. When a customer pays a hefty sum of Rs 7000 to Rs 30000, it is the responsibility of the firm to take the responsibility rather than hide behind technicalities.

IFFCO-Tokio talks about settling 90 % claims with in seven days which if it is true , is a remarkable achievement.
Differentiation based on quick claim settlement is also risky. First the brand has to live up to the expectation otherwise the undelivered promise create catastrophic effect on brand equity. Second, the company has to make sure that its claim procedure is robust and secure so that it will not be taken for a ride by rogue clients. The company should make sure that the genuine customers are not taken for a ride. Once the customer is found genuine, the claim should be settled because it is the fulfillment of the brand's promise. A claim which is settled quickly acts as a powerful word of mouth advertisement that can generate lot of goodwill.


To the customers ... Check whether you have locked the gate .....

Brand Update : Tata Indigo

One should admire the engineering team of Tata Motors for their path breaking efforts. Ofcourse the Tata Nano was the ultimate display of their talent but here I am talking about the new variant of Indigo . i.e Indigo CS..... CS means compact sedan.

Indigo has become smaller. The engineers in Tata tweaked the boot of Indigo and squeezed the length of the sedan within 4 meters. The cars which have less than 4 meters length qualifies for an excise rebate. Thus Indigo CS comes with a mouthwatering price of Rs 3.80 + ( ex-showroom) making it one of the cheapest sedans on the Indian roads.
The logic behind the launch of compact Indigo is to pre-empt competition and also to make the sedan more affordable to the consumers.
Recent launch of Logan had the potential to threaten the Indigo's position in the market. Logan - with its low price and good package had met with a good response both from consumers and auto-experts. Indigo CS variant will act as an effective Flanker brand for Indigo. Another reason is the huge potential space between a hatchback and a sedan.

Typically for a middleclass customer Sedan upgrade usually was a difficult dream. The entry level sedan costs anywhere from Rs 5 lakh + ( before the launch of Logan ) .The withdrawal of Esteem from the market also opened up a new opportunity for an entry level sedan. Even now for Indian consumers Sedan is preferred more than a hatchback ( preferences are changing) . Hence these customers opted for a luxury hatchback. Many marketers has used this opportunity to create the luxury hatchback segment which is now growing very fast.
This has affected Indigo verymuch. On one side , the competition from players within the segment and then competition from luxury hatchbacks. With the launch of Compact Indigo, Tata Motors is taking the fight into the hatchback's camp.
Indigo CS is launched with the slogan ' Class starts early '. The brand is eying the first time car buyers to stretch their budget a little and own a sedan rather than a small car. Now a potential Santro buyer have an option.
A usual question that comes to mind is whether the new variant cannibalize the original Indigo. I feel that to a certain extent it will cannibalize . But its better that the customer stays with the Tata models rather than go for a Logan or a i10. By launching this variant, Tata's sedan product range is now complete . In the entry level, there is CS, there are Indigo variants at the middle level and the lengthier Indigo XL at the higher end. Tata has ensured that in all these levels , customers get maximum value for money.
Will Indigo CS cannibalize Indica. The answer is Yes, but Tata will be happy since customers are paying more .

A reader had earlier commented that I am too emotional about Tata Motors and often forget the fact that their products lacks refinement . I know of Indica/ Indigo owners who are delighted with the performance of their cars and even chosen their upgrades from Tata Stable. Also I have seen many owners who had complaints about their Tata cars. I prefer to say that luck plays a part in whether your Tata car's performance. As a marketer, I feel that this should be an area of concern for the brand. Time is now ripe for Tatas to make their brands perfect interms of their performance. If Tata's could deliver Maruti like performance ( in terms of product quality) , nothing can stop them to become global majors.
Related Brands
Tata Indigo

Accenture : High Performance , Delivered

Corporate Brand : Acccenture
Agency : Rediffusion /DYR ( In India)


Brand Analysis Count : 307


Accenture is a unique marketing case study because of two reasons . It is one of the most aggressive corporate brand in the service industry globally and the second reason is the rebranding exercise which it undertook in 2001.

Accenture was formerly known as Andersen Consulting. Anderson consulting was the consulting arm of Anderson Worldwide. Anderson Consulting was established in 1989 when the consulting practice of Arthur Andersen was hived off to form a separate company. Arthur Andersen had established itself as one of the major accounting firms and had a global presence.
The consulting boom of 1990's boosted the image of Andersen Consulting. Soon Anderson Consulting had built a strong brand equity across various consulting domains. Both Arther Andersen and Andersen Consulting was independent business units under Andersen Worldwide.

The fledging consulting business prompted Arther Andersen to enter the consulting domain. This entry of Arther Andersen into the domain of Anderson Consulting started a messy fight between these two units which ended in the arbitrators courts. In 2000 Arbitrator ruled that Anderson Consulting was granted independence from Andersen Worldwide . Andersen Consulting had to forgo the brand in favor of Andersen Worldwide.

This forced the consulting firm to scout for a new brand name and identity. The brand name was selected among 500 alternatives. The process of selection of brand name was itself a unique event. Anderson Consulting had a huge brand equity among various business houses across different domains and geographies . Hence the new brand name had to reflect the existing brand values and should be relevant in the various geographies in which the company operated. More over the brand name and trademark should be available in the markets where the company was operating.

The company made use of legal experts from each country it operates to check whether the list of brand names are viable in respective countries. The process of screening also involved linguistic analysts from 47 countries and 200 languages to check the cultural sensitivities of the brand names considered. The company also checked with senior executives of the clients to get their perspective. All these efforts ended with the name ' accenture' . Incidentally the name was suggested by an employee named Kim Peterson . This fact itself that gave the name more charm.

On January 1, 2001, the rebranding happened. For the first 3 months 6000 TV spots were aired and over 1000 print ads were splashed across the world. The entire campaign cost the company around $ 175 mn. The new campaign highlighted new capabilities in consulting, technology , outsourcing & alliances. The brand took the tagline : High Performance. Delivered. At the end of 2001, the brand achieved the same recall and equity of the earlier name Andersen Consulting.

Now Accenture is valued at $ 6.5 Billion and is a respected consulting firm across the world. Now the entire brand promotion revolves round Tiger Woods who is the brand ambassador. Since 2003, Tiger Woods has been an integral part of Accenture's branding. Tiger Woods is the embodiment of high performance so is Accenture. The latest campaign runs on the theme ' We know what it takes to be a Tiger '

Accenture came to India in 2005. The brand now has serious business in India and the brand is running their campaigns aggressively in the Indian market. The branding campaign is predominantly in print. The brand looks at the following audiences :
a. Domestic and potential clients
b. Potential employees
c. Existing employees.

What is more important in this brand's strategy is that Accenture celebrates performance. The campaign is not restricted to Ads but also lot of events and research. Accenture's research on High Performers and high performing companies are path-breaking. The website is also rich with case studies and insights.
Accenture is a true case of a brand living upto its values and manthra.

Dabur Chyawanprash : Zaroorat Hai

Brand : Dabur Chyawanprash
Company : Dabur
Agency : Mccann Erickson

Brand Analysis Count : 306

Dabur Chyawanprash is an interesting brand for anyone who is interested in marketing. Two factors makes it special. First factor is that this is a truly Indian product and a product which is very close to our heritage and mythology. Second factor is the effort of market leader in rejuvenating the category.
Chyawanprash is an ayurvedic health supplement. The name is derived from Hindu Mythology. The story goes like this. Chyawan was the son of Bhingu and Puloma. He was physically weak and later in his life Ashvini Kumars came to his hermitage and offered him a divine medicine " Prash " which made Chyawan young and healthy. The name Chyawanprash came into existence based on this mythology.
Dabur Chyawanprash ( DCP) is a heritage brand which came into existence in the year 1949. The brand is now ruling the market with a marketshare of around 60 - 70 %. The total Chyawanprash market is estimated to be around Rs 300 crore ( AC Neilsen Retail Audit 2006-07 ).
Chyawanprash is popular as a kid's health tonic. Parents used to rely on this product for their kids especially if the kids are between 6-16. Because the tweens are usually hyperactive and less inclined to taking foods. Hence Chyawanprash offered a solution to the worried parents. The ayurvedic tag also alleviated worries of side-effects .

Over a period of time Dabur Chyawanprash began to face tough competition not from other chyawanprash marketers but from health food drinks market . Infact the generic competition was hurting DCP more than the brand competition. The health food drinks like Horlicks, Bournvita, Complan etc appealed more to kids than the Chyawanprash. The modern lifestyle also made this product look dated. There was also a perception among the consumers that Chyawanprash is something that has to be consumed when you are not feeling healthy.

From my own example, I was not considering this product category for my kid. But when my child had a series of cold and fever, I started looking at this product category. Hence this perception was limiting the potential for a brand like DCP. Another perception in the market was regarding the user profile. The category is perceived to be of use to only 'kids and aged' and not for adults. These issues severely restricted the growth of the category.

DCP although was ruling the market faced the issue of stagnation. The stagnation was a result of category stagnation rather than saturation. The only option left for DCP was to rejuvenate the entire product category.
In 2007, Dabur undertook a major repositioning exercise for this Rs 150 cr0re flagship brand. The purpose of repositioning was to :
Stretch the market for Chyawanprash
Make the brand more contemporary
Reinforce new set of attributes.

The brand identified two segments : Adults and Kids as the focal point in the repositioning exercise. A series of TVC and print campaigns were released to target both the segments. The campaigns were aimed at parents. The consumer insight was that people care about their loved ones than oneself ( source : Hindustan Times).

The entire campaign was based on the theme of 'role reversal '. The ads featured the brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan asking the audience to understand the challenges of being a kid, a father and a mother. The campaign involves mother taking the role of a kid, father and son taking the role of a mother and thus understanding the physical and metal exertions involved in each role. The ads end with the Voice-Over ' Dabur Chyawanprash , Zaroorat hai sabko ' ( meaning - DCP : essential for everyone ).

DCP earlier had the slogan - Zaroorat Hai and was positioning itself as a health tonic which is essential for kids. The new tagline broadens the segments by including every member of the family. In the new positioning the brand retains the core brand manthra of ' Natural health tonic' but stretches the segments to include adults.
By positioning it to adults does not mean that the brand has lost its sight on kids. The brand makes itself relevant to kids by a series of campaigns featuring a new brand ambassador Vivek Oberoi.

By positioning itself to new segments, the brand aims to realize its full potential . DCP now stresses on the new set of attributes : health , stress and diabetes. While the standard Chyawanprash takes the health attribute, Dabur launched Chyawanshakthi to take on the stress platform. Chyawansakthi is positioned as a stress reliever and energizer.

DCP also makes the category attractive to diabetic/ diabetic prone consumers by launching Dabur Chyawanprakash. Chyawanprakash is targeting the high density of diabetic patients in our country which makes a highly lucrative market.To take on the competition from the health food drink market, Dabur is planning a foray into the HFD market with a new brand.

News reports suggest that the new gamble has paid off pretty well. What I liked about the repositioning is the execution of the entire idea. Without making much hue and cry, the brand had very subtly made itself relevant to adults.

Brand Update : Reid & Taylor

Reid & Taylor is currently running a new campaign " Dress Code " .The campaign features Amitabh Bachchan in his usual self. The new campaign is aimed at stretching the usage of the brand. The campaign involves a series of print and TVC. The message is simple : You are constantly being watched. Whether you are in office or enjoying life, there are lot of eyes watching you, hence be in your best always.
The TVC is little difficult to understand but the ' idea' is worthy.
Within a short period of time, Reid & Taylor had made an impact in the market. The brand is perceived to be an expensive one ( it is !!) so there is a chance that the customers will use the brand only on certain 'occasions' . The new campaign aims to counter this perception.
It has to be recalled that the earlier campaigns stressed on occasions like Boardroom , marriage etc. Even in the new campaign some hangover is there since they talk about boardroom, M&A etc.Focusing on occasions to use a brand can severely restrict the usage of the product. Once this is registered with the mind of the consumer, it will take a lot of money to change that perception. However the new campaign brings back the style factor in the brand which was missing in the earlier ads.

Related Brand
Reid & Taylor

Brand Update : Cadbury Dairy Milk

Cadbury has been aggressively promoting the latest positioning " Kuch Meethi ho jaye " . The brand has for a while using Amitabh Bachchan to maximum. The latest story involves BigB craving for Dairy Milk when the car driver mention the word 'Meetha ' or Sweet.
Watch the Commercial here : Diary Milk

The brand want itself to be synonymous with Sweet. The new campaign comes after the successful ' Pappu pass ho gaya ' and ' Miss Palampur " campaigns. Both these campaigns were aimed at generating social acceptance of consumption of chocolate during occasions to celebrate .

The new campaign want to increase the Brand Salience of Dairy Milk. Theoretically Brand Salience refers to the depth and breadth of brand awareness. While depth talks about how easily the brand is recalled. Breadth talks about the range of purchase and usage situations that this brand has been recalled ( source : SBM by Keller). Dairy Milk has immense depth of awareness and now the brand wants the consumer to remember it whenever he/she thinks about sweet.

Through these campaigns , Dairy Milk wants to move above the category constraint of " Chocolate " and spread its awareness whenever the consumer thinks about having something sweet. This strategy is to tide over the limitation that a product category can create regarding consumption of a product. The first two campaigns was to popularize Dairy Milk connecting it to various usage situations while the new campaign is to increase the breadth of the purchase situations by saying that buy Diary Milk whenever you want to have something sweet.

This time the brand has taken a 360 degree approach towards brand promotion. The brand has an interactive website meethamoments.com which contains lot of interactive fields and downloads.

Brand Update : Surf Excel

An SKU is commonly defined as an inventory control count or a unique identifier for each of the products that can be ordered from a supplier ( Wiki). This is a common term used in relation to inventory control and often represented by a numeric. Another definition goes like this ' SKU or Stock-Keeping Unit is actually what is stocked i.e the unique combination of a particular flavor, quality/ price level, packet size , color / model specifications etc and also the identifying brand name ( source - a paper published in South London University by Jaywant, Andrew,Gerald)

But for a marketer, SKU's are something more. It is a tool which is used by marketer to realize some of his objectives. It can be used to
fight competition,
acquire new customers,
provide more choice to the customers
trade pressure
enable sampling etc.

The reason for all these fundas is because of the latest launch from Surf Excel - Sixer Pack. Most often , small packs are used by marketers to make the product affordable to a larger market. We have seen the success of Shampoo sachet and later the rush of the marketers across categories providing smaller packs.
Here Surf Excel is trying to promote the sachet customers to higher volume SKU's.
The logic behind Surf Excel Sixer Packs is simple - Surf Excel now comes with a unique pack of six chota packs (sachets) . Each sachets is for one day's use hence the sixer pack is for a week. The Sixer pack costs only Rs 10.
What I liked most is the way in which the brand communicated this idea to the consumers . Watch the ad here : Sixer Pack
Lowe has once again used the charm of kids in communicating the message.

The question arises as to the purpose behind introducing this new SKU. I think that it is to encourage the current sachet users to buy a convenient sixer pack rather than buying one or two sachets. The price is also psychologically comfortable . Another purpose is to make the brand more affordable to a larger market. The new pack will encourage those who use low priced brands to tryout Surf Excel on a regular basis. Those price conscious consumers may still buy low priced brands but will also buy Surf Excel Packs for their best clothes ( a possibility ! ).

Related Brand
Surf Excel

Book Review : Kellogg on Branding

Book : Kellogg on Branding
Editors : Alice M Tybout & Tim Calkins
Publisher : Wiley India

Price : Rs 399 ( paperback)

Book Review # 5

If you are interested in brands, this is a book that you should not miss. Kellogg on Branding is the first book on branding from the faculty of Kellogg School. One should not forget that the legendary Philip Kotler teaches in that University. The book comes with a foreword by Professor Kotler.
Kellogg on Branding is a collection of 20 articles written by Kellogg's Professors as well as practicing managers. But the editors have made sure that these articles is in line with a common theme.

The entire book is divided into four sections.

The first section titled : Key Branding Concepts talks about the basic nature of the brand, the concept of positioning , meaning and design of brands. For uninitiated, these chapters give a thorough insight into basic branding concepts.

The second section is on strategies for building and leveraging brands. This section covers the areas of brand strategies to combat competition, portfolio strategy and brand extension.

The third section titled : From strategy to implementation dwells on the concepts of implementing brand building strategies. This section is a highly relevant section since it talks about the challenges and methods to branding in diverse domains like Technology markets, business markets and branding services. This section also deals with the relevance of building a brand-driven organization ( internal branding) .

Fourth section is titled : Branding insights from senior managers. This unique section gives seven terrific case studies ranging from Building megabrands to naming a brand.

Kellogg on Branding is a book that will give the readers lot of branding insights. While Kevin Lane Keller's Strategic Brand Management is known for its exhaustiveness and Kapferer's book is known for its theoretical strengths, Kellogg on Branding can be considered as a capsule of branding insights. For a busy executive, this book will be of utmost help since it is easy to read and also since chapters are disjoint, one can read selectively also. There is also an issue with these disjoint articles since there is overlap of concepts . One concept is explained using different jargons by different authors and this can be a little confusing.

What I like most about this book is the thrust it has given on branding within an organization . Not only the authors explained the importance, they have also prescribed methods or guidelines for building internal brand equity.The chapter on Branding in Technology domain deserves special mention since it gives lot of new insights . The final chapters give a practitioners insights into brand building across various domains. Chapter 18 - Branding and Organizational culture is written by Gary A Mecklenburg , CEO and President , Northwest Memorial Healthcare is a memorable read of building a brand - centered organization. Chapter 11 by Mohanbir Sawhney gives a concept of " Vectors of Differentiation " which has terrific application across industries.

Kellogg on Branding is a useful book for the brand managers since it relates the branding concepts to practice . The book should be an essential read for marketing students since it gives a systematic framework for understanding the brand building process.

Power Mosquito Swatter : A worthwhile Hobby

Brand : Power Mosquito Swatter
Company : Tera Impex

Agency : NA

Brand Analysis Count : 304

If you ask me to name the most useful product I have seen in 2007, I would say that it is the Electric Mosquito swatter. I would also say that this product was one of the hottest selling product in Kerala in 2007.
Kerala is facing one of the most severe mosquito menace of recent times. The mosquito density is as high as 95%. This menace caused a severe attack of Chikunguniya ( a virtually unknown disease till 2006)in the state which took lives of many. I live in Cochin which can be termed as the headquarters of mosquitoes in the state.

Cochinites has been experimenting with all sorts of methods to keep themselves protected from mosquito attack. Most houses in the middleclass and above are insulated with Netlon but still these smart intelligent pests enter the houses at will. Mosquito repellents acts as energizer for these devils.

Then came this product : Electric Mosquito swatter. The product is a tennis racket shaped bat with a wire mesh and electrically charged grid inside. The bat when slowly waved traps the mosquito inside and it dies out of an electric discharge when it bridges the terminals of the device. The mosquitoes die instantly with a spark followed by a splitting sound.
As soon as this device was introduced, the entire city embraced this new found savior. During the dawn , just walk through the lanes of Cochin city, one can hear the sound of mosquitoes getting electrocuted .
For many this bat provides a physical exercise and mental pleasure. The pleasure in the sense that you are able to pay back for the irritation that these small creatures give you. For once the mosquitoes are at the receiving end. There are even households where husband and wife plays a game as to who kills maximum mosquitoes. It has also become a favorite time-pass for husbands when their wives are engrossed in those " Kyon Ki " Soap operas.

Mosquito swatters are popular in West as Bug Zappers. Bug Zappers was invented in 1934 by William Folms and Harrison Chapin. Electric Zappers was developed from these Zappers.

These bats are priced anywhere between Rs 225 - 700. The entire market is dominated by Chinese products. While Indian products comes with warranty, consumers prefer the cheap Chinese products only because of the price factor.
The success of this product is without a single ad. The consumers buy this because it offers a solution to one of their major problems . It also shows the threat that Chinese products give to Indian marketers. But it is also an opportunity for marketers to brand this product. So far there is no well known Indian brands in this category.

Searching the internet for Indian brands, I just found one brand - Power mosquito zapper. Although I hav'nt seen any promotion for this brand, the site offers some differentiators like : Twice Speed Recharge, Leak-proof net etc.
A prospective Indian brand can take on the following differentiators :
a. Battery life
b. Safer than the Chinese products
c. Child safe net
d. More quality
e.Better killing power etc.
d. Healthy option compared to repellents.

My take is that the potential for this product is going to grow in coming years. I also feel that there is an opportunity for an Indian brand in this category.

Brand Update : Maruti Esteem RIP ( 1995-2007)

One of India's most reliable sedan is now a part of history. Officially Maruti Suzuki pulled the plug on Esteem on December 2007. According to the reports, Esteem is likely to be replaced by Swift Sedan branded as Dezire.

Suzuki Esteem is a perfect example of a brand moving through its Product Life Cycle. Within 12 years, the brand moved through all the stages. The reason for the withdrawal if Esteem is the fact that the brand is being perceived as dated brand. With high profile competition from brands like Ford Fiesta, Indigo, Verna , Accent, Logan and host of other sedans, the customers are spoiled with choices. Esteem in a sense has lost the esteem value for the customer.

With the price tag of 5-7 lakhs , the customer had a choice of more luxurious sedans that too with diesel options. Maruti could not afford to sell Esteem at a lower price and even after its makeover couldn't attract the buyers.
But I feel that like the good old Zen, Esteem's withdrawal may be a mistake since it could work as an excellent flanker brand for SX4 and the proposed Dezire. The brand would have made a terrific comeback if Suzuki could cut the brand's price to 4-5 lakhs. There is a huge potential for a sedan at the price range of Rs 4 - 5 lakhs ( on road) .
How ever Esteem now does not fit into Suzuki's new scheme of penetrating into the luxury sedan market.Hence the brand is being phased out.

Related Brand
Esteem

Tata Nano : A Promise is a Promise

Brand : Nano
Company : Tata Motors
Agency : Rediffusion ( Rumour)

Brand Count : 303


As a die-hard fan of Ratan Tata , I could not resist joining the euphoria around the Tata Nano. Yes, the world has seen and heard enough of the Tata's one lakh car. Today , every news, talk show talks about this revolutionary new product. Tomorrow newspapers and mags around the world will be celebrating this brand.

Seldom one gets an opportunity to witness a product launch that has the potential to change the dynamics of an industry as such. When the world boasts of an Ipod , we Indians did not had something to talk about. Now we have.
I am a big fan of Ratan Tata because he is someone who could be considered a true representative of Indian management ethos. The way he took the leadership of a whithering empire and the controlled aggression through which he tookover Corus and the way he came out of his initial failures at Nelco all makes him look attainable and inspiring . The dignity with which he handled the situation when his foray into starting an airline was torpedoed by the Government and now the one lakh car exemplifies the qualities that a young mind should aspire for.

The launch of Nano is a valuable lesson for all aspiring entrepreneurs. The brand is a symbol of VISION. In 1998 , Ratan Tata announced his dream of giving a car for one lakh. Many critics scoffed at the mention of the dream . Auto majors around the world questioned the business logic of the dream. Months back, the chairman of Suzuki Motors categorically ruled out the possibility of such a car at such a price. Now the product is now in front of all of us to see. In a sense this product is also a reminder of the vast potential of a human mind. Just like Roger Bannister who broke the four minute barrier, Ratan Tata has broken the one lakh barrier. Ofcourse he had the money but remember he is the first one to do so in the world. The words he spoke on the launch " A promise is a promise " makes a perfect tagline for this car.

The launch had raised thousands of questions about the quality of the car and the performance. But the look of the car silenced many critics. Tata proved that cheap does not always mean bad quality. Nano looks better than most of the small cars that are there in the Indian market. C K Prahlad in his pathbreaking book " Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid " reminds us that Indian consumers at the bottom of pyramid looks for value even at the low prices. Brands which focused only on low prices and produced junk products always have failed in the Indian market.

The new brand Nano will do two major changes in the Indian markets :
a. It will open up a new segment in the Indian Four Wheeler Industry
b. It will inspire many Indian entrepreneurs to have grand vision.

I think Nano will redefine the pricing in the Indian small car market. Either companies like Hyundai , Maruthi may have to cut the prices of existing small cars or they have to comeout with a similar priced car.

Nano will be making cars an affordable luxury for many Indians. To a limited extend it will affect the two wheeler segment but only to a limited extent. The reason is in the running cost and maintenance of four wheelers. At the current oil prices, Cars are still expensive to run & maintain. It cannot in the near future replace the functionality of a two wheeler until cars match the fuel efficiency of two wheelers.

So Nano will be the first car of many Indians who dream of a four wheeler . For those who travel less than 300 km permonth, Nano is definitely an alternative for two wheelers but more kilometers than that will burn a hole in the pocket of an average Indian consumer . Indian consumers will make a careful balance of usage of his two wheeler and Nano to make sure that his budget does not go out of control.There will also be many who could not buy Nano because their flats or houses didnot have parking space ( just joking! ).

Nano also will inspire many to think big. While Ambani brothers make us watch their progress with awe rather than inspire, the success of Ratan Tata will inspire us because he strikes a chord. The fact that Nano was put in reality within four years will also mark a significant turning point in the way we look at our engineering and design talent. The 1700 crore investment that Tata made in this project will be an eyeopener to many who are reluctant to put their money in R&D.

In the marketing front, Nano had the dream start . Infact Nano may need no ads but heavy dose of positive PR during the launch. The brand may have to counter the skepticism surrounding the performance . Another nightmare is managing the initial rush of the customers. Since this is a car for the common man, there is every possibility that the customers could be given a raw treatment at the dealership touch- points. Indian marketers are still to wake up to the possibilities of a good customer service. How Tata and its dealers handle the initial euphoria will be something to watch for in the Customer-relationship perspective .

Whether the car performs or not, Nano is set to change the dynamics of an Industry. I am happy that my favorite business leader is making that change.

Marketing Funda : Building Brands in India

Brands need to have an Indian heart to win the Indian customers. My article on building brands in India was published in 'The Strategist ' of Business Standard on 08/01/2008.
Read the article here : Having An Indian Heart

Brand Update : Parachute

In December 2007, Marico entered the kid's personal care market with the launch of a sub-brand " Parachute Advansed Starz" . Marico believe in extending its brands to new categories. It has done that for entering Men's haircare market by launching Parachute Aftershower . But once these new brands reach a position of awareness and recall, the sub-brands take up the position of a primary brand. Now Aftershower has an independent existence from Parachute.

By launching Starz, Parachute is entering the Rs 2000 crore shampoo market which is dominated by HUL brands. Parachute AdvansedStarz is not restricted to shampoos but positioned as a haircare brand that offers different haircare solutions.

Currently the brand offers
Shampoo
Hair Oil and
Hair Gel.
The brand is taking on a demographic segmentation and is targeting the kids of age group 4-12 Yrs. The Indian shampoo market has not seen a brand focusing specifically on this segment.

Clinic All Clear is a brand that has targeted this segment but the brand is also used by adults.Clinic All Clear has used campaigns to target both adults and kids. For example the Chulbulli campaign is targeting Kids but the Bipasha + John campaign targets the adults. The product is the same. The new brand of Marico is different because it is designed especially for kids.The product, the packaging and the promotions are directly targeting the kids.
Parachute Advansed Starz comes in attractive Pink bottles and features cartoon characters. The brand takes up the tagline " Gentle care for young hair " . Starz takes strength from Parachute and relies on the goodness of coconut to differentiate. The brand also claims advantage of Vitamins , Proteins and Strawberry. The brand essentially takes up Nourishment as the main brand benefit.

has used two "cool" characters whose names are not yet publicized. If properly used , these characters can become powerful brand ambassadors.They look smart enough to appeal to the younger ones. I liked Starz because it shows the use of brand elements to the fullest. Starz. ( infact they remind me of Archies comic characters ). The brand is priced Rs 54 for 100 ml for the shampoo.

Marico intends to develop a new category of specialized hair care solutions for the kids aged 5-10 and even the tweens. This is the age where kids develop lot of hair related problems because of their active & careless lifestyle. So far, Mothers used their own brand of shampoos or may have used Johnson's shampoo for this age group. The success of Starz may seen a new category opening up for marketers.

The question that comes to my minds is whether there is a need for a kids-only haircare products ? The answer lies in the increased exposure of kids towards brands. The new NUF ( Nuclear Urban Family ) structure gives marketer an opportunity to target these segments. The success of Starz will depend on how Marico motivates the younger ones to pester their mothers to buying these products and also on how the brand captures the trust of the mothers. The first task is difficult because mothers are already convinced about Parachute.

Parachute has done a smart work is positioning the brand as a haircare brand and not limiting itself to shampoos of hair oil. This gives more leverage and flexibility to the brand from the start itself.

Related Brand
Parachute

Parle Golgappa : Goli Mein Golgappa

Brand : Parle Golgappa
Company : Parle
Agency : Grey Worldwide


Brand Analysis Count : 302

Parle has launched a new unique confectionery : Parle Golgappa. Parle these days are very active in the confectionery business. Along with Mintrox, Parle has launched Golgappa . Golgappa is a traditional chaat dish which is very popular in North India .
Golgappa otherwise known as Paanipuri is a crispy dough "puri" filled with a watery mixture of potato , tamarind and chilli. This is a famous street snack in the North.
The launch of this flavor is a move by Parle to take on the ethinic route to increase its share in the confectionery market. As we know, confectionery is a low involvement product and often customers make spontaneous decisions rather than a planned purchase decision. Hence to survive in the market, one has to innovate in taste and come out with new flavors at regular intervals. Parle has been successful in its experiment with flavors like Kacchaa Mango ( raw mango).
It is a common trend among marketers to introduce traditional flavors in the market to attract the customers. Maggi introduced Sambar masala flavor for its noodles while Mcdonald also adapted to suit the Indian palate. Lays and Bingo build its popularity around ethnic flavors.

What I liked about this new product is its commercial.
Watch it here : Parle Golgappa TVC

This TVC is a simple one with powerful execution. The message is perfectly delivered and I am sure that the ad will prompt trial purchases. The tagline " Goli Mein Golgappa " ( Golgappa in the candy) also is simple funny and descriptive.
Since the flavors can be easily copied by the competitors, Parle Golgappa if successful will see many competitors launching similar tastes. For example Parle Mangobite Kacchaa Mango saw immediate competition from Candyman who launched a similar taste in no-time The fact to look for in this paanipuri flavor is whether the customer will buy this flavor repeatedly. But it is good to see Parle building its lost glory in the Indian market.

Brand Update : Close Up

Close Up has come out with a unique set of variants with a unique brand name Flavalicious. Close Up was concentrating on its parent brand - the ordinary Red Close Up and was trying to build the core brand. In 2004, the brand had made a decision to limit the variants. It even cut down some of the variants like Tingly red and Eucalyptus blue.

Close Up has been positioning itself on the Freshness + Tooth whitening platform . The latest commercials talks about the brand giving confidence to young people to smile freely ( without thinking about their teeth or bad-breath) .
Close UP Flavalicious - as the name indicates focuses on the flavors . The new variant comes in two flavors : Tangerine Burst and Luscious Lyche .
These variants are launched as Limited Edition products. That means these products will be available only for a limited period of time.

These two flavors are new to the Indian consumer. The packing are also different and more flashy. The brand is targeting the young ones and those who are bored by their usual toothpaste flavors.
The Flavalicious variants were launched in Indonesia by Unilever in 2005. In Indonesia, one more variant is available i.e Chocolate flavor. That has not being launched in India.
According to Businessline,the product is priced at Rs 30 for 80 gm. But I found only bigger pack in stores that costs Rs. 50 .
The new launch is aimed at bringing in the young customers back to the Close Up portfolio. The brand has been facing stiff competition from the market leader- Colgate who has launched successful variants like MaxFresh. Colgate ( Gel variants) also gave itself a younger look by using Saif Ali Khan and Asin as the brand ambassadors.

Close Up off late was not getting its communication acts together. Most of the campaigns are far below average in terms of execution . The brand is now trying to bring back the excitement with these new variants. The campaigns are not yet started in the mass media while instore promotions have already began.

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