Brand Update : Scooty becomes Sinful

Last year saw a dramatic change in the brand personality of Scooty- the Scooterette brand from TVS.The brand is attempting a makeover to woo the young Indian consumer. In that process, the brand changed its entire persona to cater to the new target segment.

The change in the brand personality of Scooty also reflects its change in its targeting strategy. The brand is now targeting a much younger consumers. Earlier, Scooty was targeting lady consumers who were looking for a personal transport to office/college. The brand's initial communication was catered to young women who just started going to office. The message of a successful independent women was the positioning platform adopted by the brand.The brand also tried to ladder up using " Empowerment " as the core value. 

Last year, the brand went in for a complete makeover. The brand has become much younger, colorful and naughty. This was a drastic change from the earlier positioning based on style and power. The brand also rationalized its portfolio  to three sub-brands - Scooty Pep, Scooty Teenz and Scooty Streak. 

For Scooty Pep, the brand has made it more youthful and colorful by changing the advertising strategy. The brand has adopted the new tagline " Go Babelicious ". The brand campaign features the new age girl with the so-called bold attitude. The brand message is " Do your own thing, girls ". To support the new positioning, the brand has launched more colorful variants. 

Watch the campaign here :Go Babelicious

The brand is now running another brand campaign for its Streak  sub-brand. Scooty Streak was launched in 2009. The brand was aimed at young girls with more styling and colors. The brand also introduced additional features for the Streak . Scooty Streak used the ( then ) tennis sensation Sania Mirza as the brand ambassador.The styling was the key differentiator for Streak at that time. 

This year, Scooty became more bold for its sub-brand. The brand is currently running a campaign for Streak called " Sinfully Black ".

Watch the ad here : Sinfully Black 

The new campaign is a big shift in the overall brand personality of Scooty. From a positioning based more on rational aspects like features and style, the brand moved to a kind of hedonistic form of advertising. In the Sinfully Black campaign, the brand is featuring seven sins -

Lust

Greed

Pride

Envy

Gluttony

Sloth

Rage.

The brand is running ads for each of these sins. The brand is clearly targeting the new urban youth and is following the clichéd  image of the young urban Indian consumer. Most of the brands are now using a kind of a rebel, indulgent, sexy, naughty, independent image to portray the Indian youngsters. Scooty Streak is no different. So from a " empowered, rational " personality, the brand has moved to a naughty, indulgent, personality. For the campaign , the brand uses foreign models which again is to position itself as an aspirational brand. 

What I liked about the campaign is the use of seven sins in the campaign which makes the ads different and interesting. The use of positioning statement " Sinfully Black " is also different and I think the brand has done away with other color choices for Streak and is now focusing on black Streak with colorful graphics. This also is something that is not seen in campaigns targeting ladies. Earlier Bajaj Pulsar had launched a campaign for Black Pulsar 180cc. 

Another reason for the Sinfully Black campaign is to make the sub-brand relevant and different from Scooty Pep. Since Scooty Pep has also changed its targeting towards younger consumers, the Streak sub-brand will be occupying the same mental space with Scooty Pep. So by relaunching Scooty Streak with focus on black color + new personality, the company has effectively differentiated the two sub-brands from each other ( atleast in image).

The new campaigns of Scooty marks another interesting change for this brand. Scooty has been a market leader in this category for long . The brand is careful in making itself interesting to the TG. This time, the brand smartly uses promotional strategies to keep the interest alive in the market. 

Related Brand

TVS Scooty

Tata Grande : Size Matters

Brand : Grande
Company : Tata Motors

Brand Analysis Count : 501

Another Indian brand has moved from a sub-brand status to an Independent brand. Tata Motors has upgraded the Grande brand to an independent brand status delinking it from Sumo Brand. Tata Sumo Grande was launched in 2008. the brand was expected to raise the sagging fortune of Tata Sumo.

Tata Sumo which was launched in 1994 was a poster boy in the Multi-Utility Vehicle segment. The brand became hugely popular in the Taxi segment .

 But the launch of Innova, Scorpio, Xylo etc soon began to eat into the share of Sumo. Soon the brand began to be perceived as dated. Coupled with the bad PR and image about Tata Cars, the consumer interest began to shift to new MUVs and SUVs.

Tata Sumo Grande was launched as an attempt to shift the consumer's interest back to Tata MUVs. The Grande design was very different from Sumo and the positioning of Sumo grande was also different from the Sumo's positioning. Tata Sumo Grande had the tagline " More than Meets the Eye " focusing on the personality of the brand owner. 

In 2011, Tata Motors decided to make Grande brand independent. The new brand was soft launched and the brand is currently running the launch campaign in various channels.

Watch the campaign here : Tata Grande

The new brand has the tagline " Size Matters ". From the tagline itself it can be assumed that the brand is 

positioning itself as the most spacious MUV ( common sense !). Grande is also hoping to be perceived as a family car , rather than a commercial vehicle. The brand is priced at Rs 7.5 lakh +.

In one of my posts, I had criticized the Tata Motor's strategy of launching Grande under the Sumo brand. Now that that error was rectified, it needs to be seen whether consumers will perceive Grande as different from Sumo. My judgement is that it will be difficult since that association is already being made. So the task for Tata Motors is to put Grande out of the Sumo association as quickly as possible. Interestingly Grande is focusing on the USP - Size which is also the same USP of Sumo.  The brand has been priced competitively but Tata Safari is also priced in the same range so it has to be seen whether these two brands will compete with each other .

The launch of Grande is a move to strengthen the MUV portfolio of Tata Motors which suffered heavily because of sophisticated competing products. Sumo although was a well accepted product was rather getting old in terms of product and image. Tata Motors was not aggressive in making radical product innovations on Sumo or its image to counter competitors like Mahindra and Toyota. Tata Grande is expected to complement Sumo Victa in its fight against the sophisticated competitors. 

Image wise, Grande's launch campaign has done nothing. The ad is very basic and rational and will appeal more to the taxi segment rather than family segment. How ever the pricing and the spruced up interiors will definitely put Grande in advantage over its competitors. The brand could have burned the market if it had priced it less than Rs 7 Lakh. Tata Grande should have aimed at disruption and not incremental value addition since the market is mature and highly competitive. Mahindra is currently doing that with its XUV 500. 

Brand Update : Parachute Extends to Skincare

In a significant move, Parachute - the flagship coconut oil brand from Marico has extended itself to skincare. Recently Parachute launched its new brand extension- Parachute Advansed Body Lotion. This is a major brand extension from Parachute since its After Shower hair cream launch.

According to newspaper reports, this category extension is to de-risk the brand's dependence on the hair oil segment . The move to launch body lotion also marks a significant shift in the brand's positioning and its image. Parachute now will have to shed its close association with hair oil segment and move to another set of brand attributes and image. 

Parachute is currently running its launch campaign across various media.

Watch the Parachute ad here : Parachute Body Lotion

The ad is very sensuous in nature  trying to convey the message of soft skin that tempts you to touch it again and again. The brand extension has used the tagline " Love Dobara ". The idea and the theme of the campaign is not new. The concept of  a husband rediscovering his love for his wife has been used many a times in Indian advertising for various product categories. Parachute body lotion's campaign hence was not able to make any creative distinction in the launch campaign. The ad also raised some eyebrows among certain consumers owing to the overdose of sensuality in this ad. The use of hedonistic advertising is becoming very popular in the personal care category in recent times.

The brand has retained its focus on coconut based ingredient in this product. The brand is claiming to have 100% natural moisturizers promising a smooth skin. More than the promise, Parachute Advansed Body Lotion is using its price to lure the consumers to it. The brand is priced very competitively at Rs 99 for 250 ml which makes it one of the most value-for-money body lotion available in the market. I think the brand has priced itself to success . Smart Pricing + Existing Brand equity  will ensure that consumers will try out this product for sure.

Body Lotion segment is witnessing lot of activity these days with many brands vying for consumer attention. Consumers are also waking up to this product category and the frequency of usage also has increased. Earlier, these products were predominantly used in winter season. 

Marico has used Parachute Advansed ( sub-brand) to launch value added products to the brand line of Parachute. While parent brand Parachute is being used in the pure coconut oil category, Marico has launched many variants under the Parachute Advansed brand-line. 

The launch of body lotion has made Parachute brand  an umbrella brand endorsing a range of products in various product categories like - Skin care, hair oils, hair care , cooling oil etc. This also necessitates a shift in the overall brand positioning of Parachute brand.

Marico may be looking at making Parachute a personal care brand in future. The brand should then come out of its perception of a hair-care brand. It will be interesting to see how Marico makes this transformation for Parachute. The brand had earlier ran a campaign " Gorgeous Hamesha " for Parachute. The tagline seems very apt for a transformation to a personal care brand for this brand. 

Related Brand

Parachute.  

Tata Aria : Luxury That Thrills

Brand : Aria

Company : Tata Motors

Brand Analysis Count : # 500

Game Changer, New Breed, Super Luxury, Most Awaited, Eagerly Awaited, Flagship ... These were the terms that were used during the much publicized launch of Tata Motor's luxury offering - Tata Aria. Aria was launched in 2010 - touted as the most luxurious, sophisticated and most expensive offering from Tata Motors in the passenger vehicle segment. After a year of the launch, Aria is struggling to reach the position where the brand expected it would be. 

Tata Aria was publicized as India's first 4x4 Crossover. Crossovers are those vehicles that combine the attribute of cars and SUVs. Tata motors aimed to create a new segment of luxury crossovers with the launch of Aria. Tata Motors has been trying hard to create new niches in the Indian automobile market the last attempt was through the brand Tata Xenon.

Tata Aria which was expected to create new market and a new image for Tata Motors however is now struggling hard to create volumes. According to news reports, the brand is finding it difficult to convert the interest  and good reviews to sales. 

Tata Aria was launched with an expensive price tag of Rs 12 -15.5 Lakh making it the most expensive model from Tata's brand portfolio ( excluding JLR). To compensate for the high price tag, Aria came with many features, attributes and gadgets which was available only in super luxury segments. Many gadgets was even not present in those expensive sedans. But even with this heavy loading of features and goodies, consumers were reluctant to accept the high price tag.

Blame it on the Positioning.

It is easy to put the blame on the pricing strategy of Tata Aria. There are critics who argue that Aria could have priced at around Rs 10 lakh and  blazed the sales chart. To a certain extent the argument has lot of validity. But I feel that more than the pricing , there is a larger issue of positioning. Not only with regard to Aria, but it points out to the luxury foray of Tata Motors as a corporate brand.

First let us look at the positioning issue. Tata Aria wanted to position itself as a pioneer of a new category - a Crossover between a sedan and an SUV. 

Positioning theory talks about Points of Parity and Points of Difference as the two main focal points of positioning process.Marketers use Points of Parity to establish a membership in a category and also to establish parity with competitors. For brand launches in existing product category, category membership is automatically established because of similarity in product form, pricing, attributes etc. For example a new soap brand need not establish category membership since consumers know that the brand belongs to soap category just by seeing the product. Category Points of Parity is important for "really new products" where consumers are not able to connect any existing category to the new product. In such cases, marketers try to tell the consumers that the new product is related to an existing product category. 

Here Tata Motors failed to understand the perceived points of parity of Tata Aria with brands like Innova and Xylo. It is obvious to any person that Tata Aria looks very very similar to Toyota Innova which is the market leader in the premium Multi-Utility Vehicle segment. So just by looking at Aria, consumers establish its membership in the MUV category of Innova. Whether Tata Motors likes it or not, Aria's category membership is with Innova and not as a crossover. 

What Tata Aria did was to ignore this obvious similarities with an existing category products and tried to establish a new category which it called a Crossover. The brand wanted to use breakaway positioning strategy where by Aria will be positioned as a new category vehicle different from the existing category of MUVs. 

The first launch campaign was expected to identify Tata Aria with the new category - Crossover

Watch the ad here : Tata Aria Crossover 

For a brand that aims to create a new category that too a luxury one, the launch campaign failed miserably to communicate the concept of a new category. A sedan and an SUV colliding ( mating) to form Tata Aria  crossover was too basic , too amateurish communication strategy. The brand initially had the tagline " A New Breed ". The campaign managers failed to understand that just by labeling the product as a crossover does not make it a crossover. The brand should produce sufficient evidence that it belongs to a new breed. In the case of Aria, the campaigns failed to provide a significant reason to be called as a new category pioneer.

For any product aiming for breakaway positioning, the acid test is to differentiate itself from the category from which it is moving away. A classic case of breakaway positioning is that of Swatch brand which successfully positioned itself as a fashion accessory rather than a watch brand. For that the brand created strong identity interms of design, price , distribution etc which convinced consumers to consider Swatch as a fashion accessory rather than a watch.

Here there was no significant WOW factor in Aria which made consumer think that Aria belonged to a different category distinct from MUV brands like  Innova. So when consumers checked out the brand Aria, they began to compare it with Toyota Innova. Innova had established itself  as one of the most reliable and comfortable MUV in India. Innova was priced at around Rs 12 lakh. When consumers began to compare Innova and Aria, Aria was perceived to be expensive despite the presence of many new features and attributes. 

Sensing the mood of the market, Tata Motors launched a lower priced version of Tata Aria in the form of a 4x2 variant. The brand priced the product at par with the competitors and launched it with a different positioning. 

Watch the ad here : Tata Aria Spy ad

Here again Tata Aria was unsure about the positioning. The brand discarded its Crossover positioning and began to focus on features. The tagline was changed from " A New Breed " to " Luxury that Thrills". Within one year of launch , the brand had to make significant positioning changes which again proved to be a disadvantage for establishing a consistent brand image. The plot of the repositioning ad which shows foreign models with an unbelievable storyline and an attempt at humor creates a confused positioning to the audience ( my personal opinion). Along with these campaign in TV, the brand also ran a series of print campaigns highlighting the 36 new features of Aria. Those campaigns helped the brand to create a positive image of a fully loaded premium MUV. But the steep pricing dampened the enthusiasm over the features.

If Tata Aria wanted to be perceived as a new category pioneer it should have looked very distinct from the pack. But since it looked exactly similar to Innova, the brand shouldn't have ventured into creating a new category positioning.

The brand had a better chance of survival had it accepted the similarities and competed with Innova using the features and goodies and a competitive price. Still fighting Toyota's reliability is a uphill task but with better value offering, Aria could have raked up enough volume to keep the enthusiasm up in the market. 

If at all the brand Aria wanted to create a crossover category, it should have created a design which had no similarity with any of the existing product categories in the Indian passenger vehicle market.

Tata  Motors always nurtured an ambition to compete in the luxury segment in the Indian automobile market. It tried with brands like Estate, Safari, Manza etc but couldn't find huge success because Tata Motors was perceived to be a value-for-money brand and consumers were never comfortable with paying a premium for Tata cars. 

A radical move for the company can be to create a separate identity and a division which is not endorsed by Tata Motors. Honda , Toyota and Nissan used this strategy successfully for entering the US luxury car market. Honda used Acura, Toyota used Lexus and Nissan used Infiniti as separate brands ( divisions) and found success in the US market. They used this strategy to tide over the perception that Japanese car brands are utility vehicles rather than luxury vehicles.Likewise Tata Motors can create a luxury division which will not have the Value-For-Money baggage of  the parent brand Tata Motors.

 

I love the Tata brand and always wished that its products met with success. But these brand launches were disappointments because very obvious , fundamentals are overlooked and valuable time and brand equities are lost. But Tata Motors are know for perseverance and resilience. Hope that Aria will clean up the positioning mess and reach its rightful destination.  It needs to redefine its identity by answering this simple question - What exactly is Tata Aria ??

Tri-Activ : Anti-Bacterial Protection

Brand : Tri-Activ
Company : Piramal Healthcare

Brand Analysis Count : # 499

Tri-Activ is an anti-bacterial soap from Piramal Healthcare. Piramal Healthcare has been increasingly active in the OTC and personal care space. Tri-Activ was launched in early 2011 and will be competing against the like of Dettol and Lifebuoy. 

Tri-Activ is positioned as an anti-bacterial soap with germ killing property. The brand is claiming to be India's Grade 1 anti-bacterial soap. The brand belongs to medicinal soap category of the Rs 8000 crore toilet soap market.

The medicinal soap/ hand-wash category got lot of attention in the Indian market recently after the outbreak of H1N1 epidemic. Marketers cashed in on the opportunity by scaring the hell out of consumers and presenting their products as the ultimate protectors of humanity against such epidemics. The medicinal personal care products which was a niche category before these outbreaks suddenly began to be a part of the mainstream category. 

It is in this context that the launch of Tri-Active become significant. The brand is a pure medicinal type soap with strong clinical positioning focusing on germs, protection, doctors etc. The brand is currently available only in medical shops further reinforcing its medical positioning. This restricted availability will reduce the scope of sales of such a product .

The brand will be initially looking at consumers who are too worried about getting sick. Over these years , such kind of consumer segment is increasing in size. Despite the economic growth , Indian cities are prone to such outbreaks. Take the case of my state Kerala which boasts about high human development index and 100% literacy, the state is now reeling under frequent outbreaks of epidemics like Dengue fever, H1N1, hepatitis etc. The fear evoking coverage across media about these diseases force the consumers to scramble for whatever protection that they can avail of. Products like Tri-Activ will benefit from this hysteria.

Indian soap market has always accepted these germ killing soaps wholeheartedly. India's largest selling soap Lifebuoy is ruling with its health positioning so is the mega brand Dettol. Tri-Activ will be vying for a respectable position among these big players.

Having said that, the challenges for Tri-Activ are many. First challenge is the distribution. Piramal Group is well known in the pharma market but its distribution expertise in FMCG market is very limited. This may be the reason for Tri-Activ 's initial retail strategy being done through medical stores. To reach the vast Indian market is not that easy and Tri-Activ may have to leverage its strength in pharma segment to fmcg segment and that is not easy. 

Second challenge is the value proposition. Tri-Activ being a specialist is expensive and it will take lot of effort to convince the consumers to accept premiumness of this soap. Consistent brand promotion is key to such convincing and going by the current promotional strategy, Tri-Activ has gone silent after the initial launch campaign.

Tri-Activ with in a few months of launch, introduced a brand extension - liquid hand sanitizer. That was surprising move since the parent brand was not even well established to support an extension. 

The success of Tri-Activ will largely depend on the brand's ability to garner the retailer support and the investment it makes in brand promotion. Infrequent campaigns will not help for such a product if it wants to fight brands like Dettol and Lifebuoy. 

Alternatively Tri-Activ can thrive as a niche brand which is positioned as a specialist. Such brands thrive on positive word of mouth and attracts that segment of consumers who either is affected by problems or are too concerned about health issues. In a highly competitive market like India, such niche strategy often makes more sense than going mainstream.

Benadryl : Triple Action Formula

Brand : Benadryl
Company : Johnson & Johnson

Brand Analysis Count : # 498

Benadryl is one of the most popular cough syrup brands in India. Benadryl have a high brand recall among Indian consumers and at one point in time was the second largest selling cough syrup brand in India. The brand was originally owned by Parke Davis which later got acquired by Pfizer. Pfizer then sold this brand to Johnson & Johnson in 2008.

These ownership changes have affected the brand to a large extent. The brand virtually had no growth in the past few years. There is virtually no news or noise about this brand in the media. 

When the brand was in the fold of Parke Davis, it was a prescription product. In 1999, the brand became an Over-The- Counter (OTC) brand. Benadryl was known as an anti-allergic cough syrup. Benadryl is the brand name for the molecule Diphenhydramine. The product was created by George Rieveschl and was first prescribed in 1946. ( source) 

The brand had a huge equity in the Indian market. Although most of the cough syrups are prescription products, Indian consumers generally bought these brands over the counter. Most of the sales happen through word of mouth recommendations. Indian consumers have a feeling that consuming cough syrups does not result in any side-effects and hence they buy it without consulting a doctor. This practice has prompted many cough syrup brands to move into the OTC segment. Having said that the largest selling cough syrup brand is Corex which is still sold as a prescription product.

The problem started when Benadryl brand came into Pfizer's product portfolio when Parke Davis was merged with Pfizer. Pfizer owned the market leader Corex . The new owner had the dilemma of having two competing brands under the portfolio. Although technically Benadryl is an OTC and Corex is a prescription product, in effect these brands were cannibalizing each other. The confusion resulted in Pfizer selling this brand to Johnson & Johnson in 2008.

Benadryl was positioned as an anti-allergic cough syrup. The brand talked about a triple-action formula which gave relief to three issues- Cough, Cold and Sneezing. The brand launched several communication highlighting these 1-2-3 action. These campaign was based on the insight that Benadryl was narrowly positioned as a pure cough syrup while in reality cough is the end result of severe cold and sneezing. Benadryl offered relief to the other symptoms also.

Last two to three years, the brand is being virtually silent in the media. Globally Benadryl faced negative publicity for its recall of Benadryl ( for kids). This may be one of the reasons for the brand being silent in the media. The cough syrup market is heavily crowded with both prescription brands and OTC ones. There is a new wave of ayurvedic/herbal cough syrups entering this market. This long silence of Benadryl is going to hurt is position in the market very badly.

Quco Hair Perfume : For Great Smelling Hair

Brand : Quco
Company : Vini Cosmetics

Brand Analysis Count : # 497

Have you ever thought of buying a perfume specifically for hair ? Were you ever conscious of how your hair smells ? If not, then marketers are out there to make you conscious about how your hair smells. From armpits to hair, perfume/deo brands are indeed expanding their horizon !! 

Quco is a hair perfume brand from Vini Cosmetics. Vini Cosmetics was founded by Mr Darshan Patel who was the co-promoter of Paras Pharmaceuticals. In 2010 , Mr Darshan Patel sold his stake in Paras to start on his own venture. Quco hairspray is one of the many products the company has launched in recent times.

Quco is trying to create a new category of hair perfume in the Indian market. The hair perfume products are virtually unheard of in Indian market and the launch of Quco has created lot of buzz in the market . 

There are lot of ! and ? about the scope of such a product category in India. One of the most important challenge that Quco face is to establish its usefulness in the mind of consumers. The brand is attempting to create a new category. The product is virtually unheard of in the market and consumers are not even aware of the need for a hair perfume spray . So even before establishing the brand, Quco needs to educate the consumers about the need for a nice smelling hair. The brand has launched its campaign in Television and is attempting to create awareness about the need in its first TVC.

Watch the ad here : Quco TVC

There are many factors that influence consumer adoption of new products like Hair Perfume . Some of the factors are Perceived usefulness, Perceived risks , attractiveness etc. The brand has addressed the perceived risk by claiming to be alcohol-free and safe for hair.

The fundamental problem is whether this product category has perceived usefulness in the mind of the consumers. Many consumers are not aware about the " hair smell " and even if they are conscious , the consumers depend on shampoo to handle the problem. Another issue is whether the consumer feels compelled to purchase a specific product to solve this issue. 

Quco will be a niche brand because of the nature of the product. It has to be seen how Indian consumers will warm up to the idea of a perfume for hair. Just like Rexona and Close Up taught Indian consumers about odor, Quco will have to educate and convince consumers about hair smell.Will Indian consumer will find the need strong enough to invest in a new product and use it on a continuous basis. These are the questions which the market will answer in future.

Exo : Anti-bacterial DIshwash Bar

Brand : Exo
Company : Jyothi Laboratories Ltd
Brand Analysis Count :  # 496

Exo is a dishwash brand from Jyothi Labs. Exo is a challenger brand in the Rs 10,000 crore dishwash product category in India. The brand currently focuses on South India and is slowly spreading its wings nationally.

Exo was launched in 2000. The brand was launched as a part of the diversification of JLL whose bread and butter was from a single brand- Ujala. Exo entered a very tough market which was dominated by the market leader Vim.

In competitive strategies, theory talks about various strategies like Frontal Attack, Bye-pass attack etc. Exo chose to attack Vim directly and aggressively. When a competing brand chose to attack the market leader, it needs to have a credible differentiator inorderto compete and succeed. Vim have tremendous brand equity in the market and it is a tough task to fight such a leader.

Exo's marketing strategy is a notable example of successful frontal attack. The brand was able to find a credible and sustainable differentiator against Vim. Exo took the position of an Anti-bacterial dishwash bar to fight Vim. 

Exo was India's first Anti-bacterial dishwash bar.As usual, the poor Keedanu ( germs) was at the receiving end. Exo positioned itself as a dishwash bar that killed all the bacteria in the utensils. The positioning was very smart since Vim was positioned on the basis of cleanliness. 

Exo was innovative in creating an awareness about the possibility of germs in utensils. There was also another smart idea from the brand. In theory, we often say that the differentiator should be relevant, sustainable and not easily copied by competitors. Exo's positioning of anti-bacterial benefit can be easily copied by the competitor . In order to counter this, Exo used an ingredient "Cyclozan " to protect its differentiation. The ingredient brand " Cyclozan " ensured that the differentiation of Anti-bacterial benefit cannot be easily countered.

By launching Exo with anti-bacterial property, Exo created both point of parity and point of difference with Vim. The brand talked about cleanliness thus created parity with Vim and then used Cyclozan to establish point of difference thus creating a powerful position in the mind of the consumers.The results was visible . Exo became the second largest dishwash bar in South India. 

To fight the aggressive attack by Exo, Vim launched its own anti-bacterial variant using neem as the ingredient. 

Exo later went into a brand extension mode by launching Exo dishwash liquid and later Exo Scrub. With the acquisition of Henkel in India by JLL, the fate of Exo dishwash liquid appears bleak since  Henkel's Pril is the market leader in the dishwash liquid market. Exo will now be restricted to only dishwash bar category.

Exo is a brand which is promoted exhaustively by Jyothy labs. The brand has very high share of voice and ads keep on driving the USP of germ-killing property. Since the dishwash bar category is not a high involvement category, the brand had benefited greatly by this share of voice. 

With the acquisition of Pril brand from Henkel, Jyothi labs now have two formidable brands in the dishwash category. Vim now faces the most intensive threat to its leadership position. It will be interesting to watch how the fight will turnout to be.

McCain : Fresh Banega , Baat Banegi

Corporate Brand : McCain
Company : McCain Foods India Ltd

Brand Analysis Count : # 495

McCain is one of the World's largest frozen foods manufacturers. This Canadian giant is known for its potato based frozen foods. McCain is a leading supplier of potato based items like French fries to leading quick service restaurants like McDonald. This giant has big plans for India.

McCain came to India in 1998. The brand primarily set up shop in India to cater to the  requirement of its major customer- McDonald's. The company started with the import of potato based products later commissioned its first production plant in India in 2007.

Frozen foods is a category in nascent stage in India.The category is now worth Rs 1000 crore including B2B segment. Bulk of this business is contributed by B2B segment which consists of restaurants and fast food joints. Slowly the B2C category is growing and McCain is making all out efforts to tap this segment.

Frozen foods has low penetration due to many reasons. Firstly the consumers are not open to the idea of frozen foods yet. Another major impediment to the growth of this category is the distribution inefficiencies. The lack of freezer space at retailers, supply chain issues , retailer reluctance to stock this product category has created huge issues for marketers trying to create this category. How ever things have changed. Consumers have started to use frozen foods and the presence of large retailers gave the much required supply chain support to this category.

Although McCain started selling its branded products in India since 1998, the effort was largely restricted to BTL activities. The brands like Smiles existed in the market for long but there was not much promotions for the brands. 

It was in 2011 that McCain launched its first TVC in India. 

Watch the TVC here : McCain 

The first commercial set in a typical modern Indian household is aimed at introducing the brand to Indian consumers . The brand did certain research on Indian consumer's mindset regarding  frozen foods found that consumers doubted the freshness of such frozen foods ( common sense !). Frozen foods were often viewed by consumers as 'Old ' stale foods. The brand also found that this impression changed after they tried out these products. So the challenge was to convince the non-users about "freshness " of frozen foods. 

It is a Herculean task for marketers to convince customers that Frozen foods are Fresh.The first ad successfully managed the difficult task of connecting the two attributes which are poles apart - Frozen & Fresh in a very subtle but effective manner. The ad makers used a story telling approach and by including the entire family unit in the ad addressed the concerns of all stakeholders of the family. 

The brand has the tagline " Fresh Banega , Baat Banegi " which emphasis on the freshness aspect. 

Although McCain's competency is in potato based products, the brand has tried to cater to the local tastes of Indian consumers. Its product range includes Indian dishes like Aaloo Tikka etc.The brand surprised the Indian market by introducing Frozen Idli which can be cooked within 3 minutes. The product is still in the market testing phase. The company has now focused on the snack food market and once the consumers are opened to this idea of frozen foods, more products like frozen meals will follow.

One of the best practice of McCain is its keen understanding of Indian consumers. The brand spent lot of time in understanding the market before entering the consumer segment. It strengthened its distribution and ensured retailer support before launching its promotions. The brand also took care of pricing to ensure that the value conscious Indian consumers are not scared away by the high prices. Usually frozen foods are expensive but McCain launched packs at price points like Rs 25 which entices consumers to try it out. Also the firm introduced its products in smaller packs because Indian refrigerators are usually small or have small freezers. The products like Smiles attract young consumers because of the form factor. So on many fronts McCain has put in lot of thoughts and innovation which will yield positive results.

The Frozen Foods category is now having lot of players including Godrej . The changing lifestyle has further strengthen the potential of frozen foods in the Indian market. It will be interesting to see how these players shape this market.

Xpert : Fast Action

Brand : Xpert
Company : Rohit Sufactants  Private Ltd

Brand Analysis Count : # 494

Xpert is a dishwash bar brand from Rohit Surfactants Pvt ltd (RSPL) which is now on an promotional overdrive. The brand is from RSPL  which is famous for its Ghari detergent brand. Ghari literally made the large FMCG MNCs a run for their money. The Ghari brand is infact larger than the HUL's Surf and is the second largest selling detergent brand in the country ( source). 

Xpert was launched in 2006 by RSPL as a part of its diversification. The brand is now competing in the Rs 800 crore utensil cleaner market. The market is dominated by HUL's Vim with a share of around 60%. The market is characterized by one big player and several small players. The nearest rival is Exo diswash bar  and Pril with a share of around 8% each. As history has shown, fighting HUL's Vim for market leadership position is not an easy task but that is the risk that a challenger brand needs to take.

Xpert has chosen celebrity endorsement as a route to attract consumers towards the brand. For this Xpert chose Madhuri Dixit as the celebrity endorser. The brand is currently running a campaign in TV featuring the celebrity.

Watch the ad here : Xpert  

The brand is using its Aquashine formula as the USP and like any other brand , it is talking about quick and easy cleaning. 

The ad is very basic and rather than using  Madhuri Dixit for testimony, the brand chose to use her as Gangu Thai ( a housemaid character in the movie Ganesha) for the campaign. If one has missed the Ganesha movie, the ad plot will be half lost.  

Xpert is priced around Rs 10 for 200 g bar while Vim around Rs 12. Exo is priced at par with Xpert. The brand hopes that the price differential together with celebrity will tilt the consumer choice towards Xpert. This aggressive pricing + promotional strategy is going to affect the smaller brands rather than Vim in the short-term.

What is lacking in the current strategy of Xpert is the absence of a clear differentiator. While Aquashine formula is the USP, the brand fails to communicate what it means and how it is going to benefit . May be in future campaign, these will be explained. Without a powerful differentiator, Xpert may not be able to break into the market of Vim. Exo tried with its aggressive promotions and anti-bacterial properties with limited success. It is very difficult to create a differentiator in a market like dishwash bar and almost all options has been used up by the players.

It will be interesting to see how this high profile attack of Xpert will play out in the future. In the short-term we will see some action in this dull category . 

Otto : The Symbol of Success

Brand : OTTO
Company : Pothys Group

Brand Analysis Count : # 493

Otto is the readymade brand from Pothys Group. Pothys is one of the most reputed textile retail group in South India. The brand Pothys is a known name in Silk sarees and commands tremendous brand equity across South India. 

Otto brand of men's wear started off as a private label has now moved to become a brand ( theoretically). The brand which was available at various retail stores in TN has now moved to other markets as well. Advertisements of this brand has began showing in various media across markets other than its core TamilNadu market. 

What is striking about the current campaign of OTTO is its celebrity driven brand strategy. OTTO although was in the market since 1997 is now upping its ante across various markets this season. The brand has roped in the Tamil Superstar Vikram as the brand ambassador. Print ads featuring the star is now running across Kerala where the shopping season has started coinciding with the Onam festival.

Watch the television campaign here : OTTO shirts

First it is one of those rare instances where a retailer upgrades a private label to a brand and puts that brand through other retail outlets.In that way Pothys deserves to be appreciated for the risk it has taken to build a brand in the hyper competitive readymade market. 

Having said that , the brand had fallen prey to the celebrity endorsement trap where more than anything, celebrity over shadowed the brand. It is true that celebrities like film stars command huge respect and credibility in markets like TN, AP etc and the endorsement by a star like Vikram will take the brand to new heights, in the long run it is not a good strategy for the brand.

The brand seems to be heavily depended on Vikram to deliver results. There is no mention of product features, USP, positioning or differentiation. The brand also did not try to leverage the equity of its parent Pothys. By not addressing these critical brand building basics, OTTO has lost valuable opportunity to build an image for itself that would sustain even after the contract with the celebrity is over. The brand name OTTO is a German term meaning Wealthy. 

The brand has chosen a positioning loosely on being a success symbol. The brand has the tagline  " Symbol of Success " and uses the celebrity as the proof. But given the power of the celebrity, OTTO could have done better if it had a proper brand building strategy aimed at long-term. Ideally the brand should have done these things 

• Identified a strong sustainable USP 
• Positioning statement 
• Endorsement by parent brand Pothys
• Campaign combining product feature + Positioning 

But the current campaign focus on earning short-term brownies riding on the popularity of Vikram.

Velocit : First Joys of Motherhood

Brand : Velocit
Company: Dr Reddy's

Brand Analysis Count : # 492

Velocit is a unique brand. The product belongs to Rs 1000 crore Indian diagnostic market. Velocit is a Pregnancy Diagnostic Kit launched by Dr Reddy's in 1998. The brand had grown the category and  has built a leadership position in the market.

There has been a significant growth in home diagnostic kits due to the larger incidence of diseases like diabetes, BP etc coupled with increasing awareness among the public about detection and monitoring of such diseases. Doctors also began recommending such home based diagnostic kits which further resulted in the growth of the market. This category of products are called Point of Care ( POC) testing market. POC refers to any testing made outside the traditional testing centers like labs, hospitals etc.

Home pregnancy kits gained popularity in India owing to the convenience and confidentiality it offered regarding testing pregnancy. Gone are the days when pregnancy was guessed with symptoms like Vomiting. Doctors also began advising women to test their doubts using such kits.

Home pregnancy kits like Velocit uses the presence of a hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in the urine to confirm pregnancy. 

Products like Velocit marketed itself through recommendation from doctors during the launch phase. The ethical route to promotion was adopted since consumers was unsure about the efficacy and accuracy of such products. The emergence of competition and the growth of the category prompted these brands to promote itself aggressively through advertisements.

Velocit started its branding focusing on functional benefits. It was positioned as  "3 Minute Wonder " referring to the speed with which the consumer will get the result. Now Velocit has moved to a higher positioning platform focusing on " First Joys of Motherhood ".  The brand says that the news or confirmation of pregnancy is the first joy of motherhood and the campaign puts the brand right at that first moment of joy.

Watch the ad here : Velocit

The brand also runs a print campaign along the same lines in major women's magazines. This emotional positioning will work well for the brand. The insight behind the " first joy of motherhood " should be appreciated since it strikes a chord with the consumers.

The increased number of competitors has made promotions crucial in category like that of Velocit. Most of the sales happen through word of mouth /referrals. But that WOM should be reinforced and complimented using ATL campaigns. Velocit has done this effectively.  

Brand Update : Amrutanjan wants to be Sexy

It has been a long time since I updated about Amrutanjan. A lot has happened with this brand including a rebranding exercise and launch of various variants. Amrutanjan which once had a generic status in the pain balm market is now the third largest player in the Rs 1700 crore pain balm/rub market with a market share of around 10%. The balm which was projected as a one-stop solution for all kinds of pain found it difficult to position itself in the increasingly fragmented market. With more and more specialized brands entering the market, Amrutanjan's positioning of an all-purpose brand became largely diluted.

Realizing this, the brand came out with a slew of variants and a change in the positioning. The brand also rebranded itself with a change in the logo to make it more contemporary and appealing to younger generation. Amrutanjan launched a sub-brand Amrutanjan Relief specifically for Cold management product range. The brand also introduced Roll-On variant positioning it on the basis of convenience in carrying.

In the promotional front, the brand changed its famous " Its Gone " ( Fast Relief) positioning and experimented with various other positioning platforms. In 2010,the brand roped in celebrities like Asin to endorse the brand. 

Another experiment in promotion was the " Be Ready " campaign where ten  ' slice of life ' situations were shown in the TVC where people accidently  got injured. The campaign wanted consumers to be ready with Amrutanjan because one never know when injury will happen. The campaign further asked consumers to share their own videos of such instances. 

When its main competitor Zandu Balm sizzled the market with Malliaka Arora , Amrutanjan followed suit with an attempted sizzling ad for its roll-on variant. According to Soumyadip of Cutting The Chai blog, the ad is inspired by the (in)famous Savita Bhabhi . 

Watch the ad here : Amrutanjan Roll on

The ad also gives a new tagline " Kick Out Pain " for the variant.

In my opinion, the new campaign qualify for one of the worst brand campaigns in India. The ad which is of poor taste neither talks anything sensible about the brand nor it is interesting. The brand thought that this campaign would become viral but that also did not happen. Overall it was a mega flop campaign.

Amrutanjan never found a strong positioning ever since it ditched its " Its Gone " ( fast relief)  platform. There was no reason for the brand to ditch such a strong memorable positioning. Now it is paying price for that mistake. 

Related brand

Amrutanjan

Wella Kolestint : Deep, Longer Lasting Color

Brand : Kolestint
Company  : Wella ( P&G)

Brand Analysis Count : # 491

Competition is hotting up in the Rs 1200 hair color market in India. World's leading hair color brand Wella's Kolestint is upping the ante in the fast growing premium hair color segment in the Indian market. Wella is World's biggest cosmetic company based in Germany. Wella has a rich heritage dating back to 1880 and was  created by Franz Stroher. 

In 2003, the company was acquired by P&G.

Kolestant is the premium hair color brand from Wella. The brand was launched into the Indian consumer market in 2010. The brand is currently on a promotional overdrive with a series of campaigns across the media.

Indian hair color market has seen significant shift over these years. The segment was pioneered by Godrej Ltd with its hair dye products. From hair dye targeting the greying Indian consumer, the category has seen a remarkable shift in the last few years. Hair coloring has now become a part of  urban Indian consumer's personality. From a product used to mask ageing, hair color has become a part of fashion . While hair dye was predominantly used by the greying consumers, hair color has found tremendous acceptance across various age groups. Hair Colors infact has consumed the hair dye market atleast in the urban market.

This product category has found so much acceptance that ET puts the urban hair color market at Rs 600 crore growing at the rate of 25% per annum. This stupendous growth has got the attention of all major cosmetic brands to enter into this segment.

Kolestint is a premium hair color brand directly competing with the market leader Loreal. Hair color market is classified into three product categories - powder/cream/henna. Powder form is popular in the economy segment while premium segment prefers the cream product form. The top end brands target the SEC A segment of the Indian consumers.

The market leader Loreal is positioned on its brand equity and premiumness while the new entrant Kolestint is taking the benefit positioning. Kolestint's USP is that the hair color lasts much longer compared to competing brands. The brand had a consumer insight that most of the time, hair coloring goes unnoticed.Consumers complain that even after spending lot of money on hair coloring , the effect is not noticed and the coloring lasts only for a few days . Kolestint has used this insight to position the brand as a hair color that not only lasts longer but also will get you noticed. The brand has used this proposition very effectively using celebrity testimonials.The brand has used Noticability Attribute in its launch ad with John Abraham and Bipasha Basu.

The brand used popular television/bollywood celebrities like Shruti Seth , Ragini Khanna etc in the subsequent campaigns which talked about their own experience with the brand. In the follow up campaigns, the brand focused on Long Lasting Color benefit as the USP.

Watch the campaigns here : Shruti Seth

Here the brand is using the same strategy of Loreal to break into the market leader's position. Loreal have also used celebrity testimonial ads to boost its image.  Kolestint was wise enough to not to chose high profile celebrities for the testimonial ads because most of the time consumers discount those testimonial ads. The choice of popular cine/television artists like Shruti Seth gave more authenticity to the testimonial ads compared to high profile celebrities. 

In the hair color market, longer lasting colors and noticability are two major attributes that consumers look for. Kolestint has made a major marketing gain by focusing on those two important attributes. The brand has followed up its brand campaigns with a below-the-line activity of running a Switch Event across the markets. Consumers are asked to bring their unused non-Kolestint hair color packet and exchange it with Kolestint hair color. Since hair color products are experiential in nature, getting consumers to try the brand is very essential. These switch events aims at encouraging the users of competing brands to switch to Kolestint.

The premium hair color market is going to witness huge competition in the coming months. The market leader Loreal is not going to wait in the sidelines and will rather fight Kolestint directly . It will be a category worth watching.

Brand Update : Jazz Gets Reasonable

Finally common sense prevails over Honda Jazz. The brand is relaunched with a significant reduction in price marking the end of aggressive market posture by Honda. Honda have a terrific brand equity in the Indian market with its City being one of the most successful product which lead the premium sedan market in India. But with the aggressive product launches from Volkswagen, Toyota and others coupled with Honda's over confidence led to the situation where the brand was dislodged from its market leadership. This over - confidence has blinded the company from understanding the competitive landscape in the market which it operates. Even Honda is not immune to marketing myopia.

This attitude of aggression and over-confidence was evident in the company's attitude towards Jazz. Jazz was launched at a price of Rs 7-9 lakh INR and the attitude was Take It or Leave It. Indian consumers choose to leave the brand and sales floundered. But all through these years, the brand maintained its stance on not reducing its price and depending on the brand's strong image to lure customers towards expensive Jazz.

The sharp decline of the sales of Honda City  in 2011 was a wake up call for Honda. The company realized that a positive brand equity may not guarantee sales. The brand needs to make sense to the customer. It is a surprise that a reputed company like Honda was not able to understand the Psyche of Indian consumer . Honda also failed to see the changes that were happening in the Indian passenger car market. The entry of new players and the shift of consumer interest towards diesel paved the way for the Honda City's dethroning from the leadership position. These factors also made Jazz irrelevant in the Indian market. 

It is in this light that Honda decided to reposition Honda Jazz at the price point. The brand has reduced the price by almost 1.5 Lakh INR and Jazz is now available at price range of 5.5 Lakh to 6.5 Lakh INR . I think this price rationalization is too late too little for Jazz. The market is too negative for a premium priced petrol hatchback. Even at the current reduced price, Jazz is expensive compared to Toyota Liva and even Etios.

Having said that, the brand should be credited with an attempt to create the premium hatchback market in India but the timing was wrong and value proposition of Jazz was not good enough to justify the steep price.

Consumers may adore the brand but to make him purchase , the brand needs to make sense.

Related Brand

Honda Jazz

Brand Update : Horlicks Goes Premium With Gold

GSK's megabrand Horlicks has launched a premium variant - Horlicks Gold in select cities. The new variant is priced around 30% premium over the regular Horlicks. The new variant's USP is the presence of double nutrients and a premium looking packaging.According to news reports, Horlicks Gold has better taste and aroma compared to regular one.

Horlicks has been on an extension spree in the last couple of years launching both product-line extensions and brand extensions. The brand touted itself to be a megabrand which endorses a wide range of products across categories. The latest is the foray of Horlicks into Premium Health Drink market.

Infact there is no such category in the Indian market. Most of the brands are priced in similar lines and it is the first time that a brand is aiming to create a premium segment in the Malted Health Drink market. The move also marks a shift in the segmentation strategy of Horlicks. Horlicks has used predominantly Age based segmentation for all its product development . It used gender as a segmentation when it launched Women's Horlicks. Now the brand has used Income as a segmentation variable. Although Age, Gender , Income etc comes under Demographic segmentation, using Income as a segmentation is first in this category of products.

The challenge for this variant is to convince the customer to pay a premium for Horlicks Gold. In the store shelf both Horlicks regular and Horlicks Gold will be dispayed and what will prompt consumer to chose Gold over Regular is the critical question. I don't think that double nutrients or packaging is a strong enough reason for consumers to pay a 30% premium. Does that mean Regular Horlicks is inferior product to Gold ? Is the brand targeting first-time users or expect the regular users to switch to the premium brand ? These questions will be cleared once the brand starts communicating. 

Horlicks is now in a extension trap. The brand in pursuit of market share is using extensions as a strategy . Too many extensions are bound to confuse the customers. As I understand, Horlicks Gold is aimed at the entire family . But this Premium variant so far fails to offer a very powerful differentiation to justify its premiumness over its own Regular variant. That can be a problem for Horlicks. Its too early to make a prediction but in the store both these variants looks the same except for the price. It is now upto the brand communication to do the convincing.

Maruti A Star : Stop @ Nothing

Brand : A Star
Company : Maruti Suzuki India Ltd

Brand Analysis Count : # 490

A Star was an ambitious brand for Maruti Suzuki India Ltd ( MSIL). The brand was expected to consolidate the massive leadership position of MSIL in the A2 segment of Indian passenger car market. The brand was also expected to penetrate into the highly lucrative demographic market of young Indians.

Launched in 2008, A Star was a global car made in India. The brand was touted as a World Strategic Model and was the first car to be fitted with the famed KB series engine. The brand was expected to fit in between Zen Estillo and Ritz priced around Rs 3.5 lakh to 4,.5 lakh.A1 and A2 segment ( together called as Small Car Segment ) constitutes around 80% of the Indian passenger car market.

A Star was launched with two objectives - to tap the export market and also to launch a model in the premium A2 segment. The first objective was met through a series of strategic alliances with Nissan and Volkswagen. The grand plans for the Indian market however hit a rough patch over these years with A Star failing to impress the Indian consumer after the initial enthusiasm

.

The brand started its journey with an aspirational note positioning itself as an aspirational- loaded- young- car for the successful ones.The brand was also a highly eco-friendly car that met the toughest European emission standards. The brand roped in Farhan Akther as the brand ambassador and adopted the tagline " Stop @ Nothing ". Farhan Akthar was reigning hot with his movie Rock On and A Star tried to capitalize on Farhan's image as a cool successful young man.

Watch the ad here : A Star Farhan 

The brand was projecting itself as a sports car for the youth and was one of the first car brands to show car stunts in their campaigns - Watch another ad here

Despite these attempts to position the car for the youth, the sales started sliding and was not meeting the expectation of the company. One of the major complaint about A Star was the space. Although the car was rated high on drive quality, the interiors was totally cramped even had less space than Alto. The back seat virtually was too crampy and as one of the reviewer commented - the car is suited for a bachelor . This single disadvantage threatened the entire life of the brand coupled with the fact that A Star was launched during the beginning of recession. It is an irony that Zen Estillo sold more car than A Star because it was more spacey although less modern.

In 2010, the brand faced another blow interms of a recall because of a fuel leak. The recall dented the image of A star as a unreliable car. 

To counter the sales decline, A Star tried to change the promotional strategy by adopting a functional thrust to the messages than the earlier emotional take. The brand also began to talk about A Star consumer profile inorder to boost it image as a car for youngsters who believe in themselves. Watch the ad here

2010 also saw a slew of product innovations for A Star. The brand launched an automatic version which was very well received by the consumers. Another innovation was the introduction of personalization option for A Star. The brand launched Wrapping kits using which consumers could personalize their car. The kits was pricey at around Rs 16000 which scared many consumers away from that option. 

2011 was the year when the brand got really aggressive and bold . The brand is currently running a campaign which talks about Whakypedia which is A Star's dictionary of commonly used terms like Stepney ,censored  test drive , etc. The brand uses the tagline " New Definitions for New Generations " for this campaign.

The ads definitely bring lot of youthfulness and energy to the brand and after the campaigns, there are lot of  A Stars on the road ( discounts too are a reason). But the brand's product deficiencies cannot be masked by smart campaigns. 

A Star will do well as a first car for youngsters. The brand will fit those customers who cannot afford a Swift or a Ritz but would love to have a reliable car ( predominantly Maruti choosers). Beyond that , A Star will not be able to impress a family man solely because of lack of space. 

Brand Update : Hole New Fashion from Polo

The new campaign " Hole New Fashion " is one of the best campaigns I saw in recent times. The communication  once again brought back the humor, excitement and freshness into the brand. Polo has always been an interesting brand. The " Mint with a Hole " virtually made mint candy category very popular in the Indian market.

The brand was on a hiatus after the " what is your hole story " campaign which took a different take on the concept of " Hole ". 

The current campaign introduces four new flavors for Polo - Lime Mojito, Watermelon Sorbet, Peach Schnapps, and Cocoa Mocha. The most interesting factor being that these new variants are positioned as signature flavors which are "designed" by the Goa based Designer Wendell Rodricks. The brand achieved new heights in creativity when it partnered with a designer to launch a Fashion Range. The new range of Polo is known as Signature Flavors and is a classic case of a Celebrity - Brand co-creation.

What is most important in the new campaign is the new thinking that Polo brought in to mint candy. It is a great big idea to see variants as a fashion range and the execution is perfect. According to Economic Times, the flavors was such a big hit that the entire stock was sold out in two weeks in markets where it was introduced. 

Watch the ad here : Polo Signature

The new campaign will significantly help the brand Polo to reinforce its positioning as an off-beat interesting fun loving brand. The epitome of the brand's personality is its ability to think out of box which is conveyed by the tagline " The Mint with a Hole ". The brand tied to maintain its personality in most of the campaigns. The current campaign brings in much needed freshness to the brand in every sense. The new variants will also bring lot of new consumers to the brand . It also gives the existing fans of the brand to indulge more of the brand.

I am not sure whether these signature flavors are limited editions or permanent addition to the product-line. What ever be the life of these variants, it has achieved in elevating the brand to a higher level of positioning.

Related Brand

Polo

Vi-John : Building Brand on Celebrity Power

Brand : Vi-John
Company : Maja Healthcare (Vi-John Cosmetics)

Brand Analysis Count : # 489

Do you know that Vi-John is the largest selling Shaving cream in India ? I didn't knew that till I saw Shah Rukh Khan spreading this message across the media. The marketing world is full of surprises. Vi-John which is from the house of Maja Healthcare is an interesting brand. There are lot of interesting facts about this brand which has virtually grabbed attention nationally through the endorsement from none other than Shah Rukh Khan.

Vi-John is not a new brand. The brand has been in existence from 1960 and has a strong presence in the rural market.According to certain reports, the brand has around 60% penetration in the rural market. That makes the claim of " largest selling shaving cram " valid.

Vi-John is also known for its innovation in the distribution strategy. Unlike the usual personal selling brands which focus on retail formats, Vi-John tried to innovate on the distribution by pushing it through saloons. The brand also have huge equity in saloons which has helped the brand tremendously. One of the main reason for the success of Vi-John is the keen awareness about the consumer needs. While global giants like Gillette failed to impress the rural consumer, Vi-John understood that rural consumer needs are different and its shaving cream produced more lather, better fragrance ( strength) than the competitors. 

Vi-John is not only into shaving products but a whole range of personal care products. The company has roped in celebrities like Sonali Bendre, Bipasha Basu etc. 

Vi-John has come into limelight with the endorsement from SRK for its shaving cream range. The brand is currently running a commercial featuring SRK.

Watch the ad here : Vi- John 

The advertisement is very basic with the usual stuff like Women , Smooth Shave and Keedanu (Germs). The brand ambassador stresses the fact that Vi-John is the largest selling Indian shaving cream and that adds lot of power into the brand's plan  to enter the national market.

 The brand has moved from its low-key channel based strategy to a highly aggressive celebrity based pull strategy to cater to the larger market. Although this strategy gives immediate results interms of popularity and trials, the sustainability of such a pull strategy will depend on the investment on promotions. These expensive celebrity based pull has a potential of draining valuable resources over-time and the brand hopes that the market returns will justify the investment made on such promotions.

The high profile campaigns how ever fails to give a brand identity to Vi-John. The umbrella brand Vi-John does not have a positioning on its own. The brand neither has a tagline nor a core positioning which could be extended into various product categories. Since Vi-John is an umbrella brand, the company should have tried to develop a positioning for the core-brand and then used various campaign for its products. But instead, the firm tried to promote its shaving products first. The only issue is that people will start perceiving Vi-John as a shaving product brand rather than a personal care brand.

When promoting a brand which endorses multiple product categories, it is essential to develop a brand positioning hierarchy which shows how each of these products will be positioned and how the umbrella brand will be used to promote these products. It will be wise for Vi-John to think of developing a brand personality for its parent brand and then leverage that across its product range.

Brand Update : Mentos needs Mentos

Mentos recently launched a new variant Mentos Watermelon flavor. The brand is currently running a campaign for the new variant. Mentos has been a very interesting brand because of the unique product features and famously humorous campaigns. The tagline " Demaag Ki Batti Jalao " has been one of the most famous taglines in the Indian context .

The new ad somehow was way off the creative standards that the brand had set for itself.The ad features a young man using a watermelon carved as a helmet to evade a traffic police check really tests the common sense of the audience.

Watch the ad here : Mentos Watermelon ad 

The policeman's expression of  " what the hell " sums up the creative execution of the positioning of the brand in this campaign. The protagonist of the ad looks like an idiot wearing that watermelon helmet and the only saving grace being the " yeh Jawani " song.

I used to look forward to Mentos' ads because there was refreshingly new ideas that were being tested in those campaigns. From the campus to the last animated ad, Mentos ads were bang on the positioning of a " refreshing chewy". The current campaign really lacks the standards of the early campaigns.

For a brand like Mentos, each of these ads are important for two reasons - the brand does not have too many campaigns in an year. Typically it is one or two ads. Those ads usually are very good and is often used again and again throughout the year. Second reason is that consumers expect really high quality creatives from this brand which boasts of being a " brilliant " brand. So in this case of watermelon flavor, the agency failed to deliver a quality creative. 

Related Brand

Mentos