In a very thoughtful move, Quaker oats have launched a series of advertisements advising customers not to skip their breakfast. Drawing from consumer insights that in this era of busy life, consumers, especially young consumers, often skip their breakfasts which can, in the long run, become problematic for their health and energy.
Brands like Kellogg's and Quaker have long been trying to get consumer preference towards their products, replacing traditional breakfasts. The success has been limited. In the new campaign, the brand is again appealing to the convenience factor of its product.
The product in question is the Quaker Oats Muesli which is a ready-to-eat cereal. The product boasts five grains and comes in two flavors - fruit and nut and berries and seeds. However, the major selling point is the convenience of quick preparation and balanced meal.
One should appreciate the brands like Quaker and Kelloggs for being tenacious and open to experimenting with product variants. The new campaign will help the brand gain more traction in the breakfast space, which is witnessing a change of sorts.
In an interesting move, baby diaper brand Snuggy introduced a feature called Susu meter which is a blue strip that tells mothers that it is time to change their baby's diapers. The feature comes as a result of the customer insight that it is worrisome for mothers to check frequently whether the diaper is wet and needs change. The brand is solving the problem through a yellow strip on the diaper which turns blue indicating the diaper needs change.
Snuggy was the pioneer in the baby diaper market in India. The brand changed hands from the founder R Mohan to Godrej consumer products to Noble Hygiene. The change of brand owners resulted in the brand losing its share in the market from a market pioneer to a laggard. The new brand owner is trying to revive the once-market leader.
Many brands have used this technique to tell the customer to replace the product. Oral B had used a color fading strip in the toothbrush and Gillette had it in their shaving blades. The concept comes under the broader strategy called Planned Obsolescence. Planned obsolescence is the strategy where the brand is designed in such a way that it becomes obsolete after a limited time. Many brands like Apple and Intel make their products obsolete by launching new versions even when the older versions are selling well.
However, the Susu meter is a toned-down version of planned obsolescence and is helpful for mothers. The brand is running a campaign highlighting the feature in the Southern part of India. From being a laggard, Snuggy needs a clutter-breaking feature like this to regain the lost mindshare as well as the market share. The brand has succeeded in breaking the clutter for sure.
This has to happen one day in India! India now has a homegrown pleasure product store in the form of an online store. TTK Healthcare has launched Love Depot which is an online store selling pleasure products ( Sex toys to be precise). The changing consumer landscape, preferences, and cultural changes have brought about new opportunities for marketers.
The Indian sexual wellness market is estimated to be around $1153 million growing at a CAGR of around 6%. Currently, there is no organized player in this market. The pleasure product market will be an interesting case study for marketing enthusiasts because of the nature of the market and the taboo attached to the products, especially sex toys. For TTK Healthcare, it would be a repeat of the efforts they had to make for making the condoms category popular among Indian consumers.
There is no doubt that there is a huge market for such products in such a populous country. But the way of the Indian culture is that we are not very open to such products on the outside. Sex is seldom discussed in the open but all of us know the reality.
Love Depot is trying to fill in a gap that I think can result in a gold mine of opportunities for the company to make money. It all depends on how well the company is able to break through the taboo.
TTK is marketing the new D2C initiative through digital platforms. The launch of Love Depot was through a digital-only campaign in line with the brand's promise of private pleasure.
One of the major factors that will inhibit a consumer from trying out such products is privacy or in plain language - fear of getting caught while receiving the product. TTK is handling that issue by promising discreet packaging and even the option of self-pickup. However, it will take some time before the consumers trust the promise of discreet delivery. With the society getting more open to these categories, Love Depot will have the first mover advantage.
Little Trees was a brand I happened to purchase quite accidentally. I happened to browse through my usual online grocery app and saw this brand of car fresheners. I have seen this car freshener earlier and thought of checking it out. Then I found that it is " Made in USA". That hooked me and I bought the product. Again one more anecdotal example to prove the existing research findings that country of origin has a significant influence on brand preference and purchase intention.
Research on this brand threw a lot of interesting stories about the brand. The brand is from New York USA and was created by Julius Samann. Samman was a chemist and he created this product in 1952 to solve a problem faced by his friend who is a milkman. His friend was bothered by the smell of spilt milk on his truck. Samman took on solving this problem and he extracted aroma from pine trees and designed a freshener in the shape of a pine tree with a string attached to it which can be used to dangle the freshener onto the car's rear-view windscreen mirror. He applied for a patent for this unique product.
The product was a success in the market and later the company followed it up with a lot of related product extensions.
There are a lot of lessons that can be learned from this brand. The most interesting lesson is with regard to product design which is the most powerful brand element of Little Trees. The product is designed in the abstract form of a pine tree which differentiates itself from the rest of the car freshener brands. The strategy of using the visual appearance of the product or packaging to signify the source of the product is known as Trade Dress. Another example is the coca-cola bottle. Trade Dress comes under the protection of intellectual property rights which makes this a powerful differentiator.
Another lesson is that the very nature of the product design where the car freshener visibly dangles in front of the car gives this brand immediate promotion. Another factor is that this product is priced very reasonably given its rich branding history.
Indian car freshener market is worth around Rs 250 crores and looking at the growth of the automobile market, the potential is there for many such brands. Recently the government has allowed the import of non-burning fresheners in India which may have opened the doors for these brands into the Indian market.
Jaquar which is one of the premium bath fittings brands has extended itself to lighting products and in an interesting move, the brand self-trolls for this move. The brand had ventured into light fittings as early as 2018 and is now very vocal during the latest IPL season with some clutter-breaking ads.
The latest ad is interesting because the brand very much highlights the consumer dilemma when they encounter brand extensions. When consumers hear about Jaquar, the products that come to their mind are bath fittings and then the brand extension of lightings. Having said that marketing academicians are in two groups as far as brand extensions are concerned. There are contradicting research and real market evidence of brand extensions' success and failures. The driving force behind the decision is the savings on the cost of building a new brand.
Jaquar needs to be appreciated for making fun of itself and through this campaign, the brand has made its communication clear and sticky.
In a smart and interesting move, Colgate has launched a variant for diabetic patients - Colgate Diabetics. Actually, the brand name runs long like - Colgate Toothpaste for the oral health of Diabetics. The somewhat interesting name is to prevent any legal issues arising out of the product. The launch is a natural extension of the brand to capture a largely untapped market in the oral health space- diabetic patients. India is considered a diabetic capital of the world with a large incidence of this lifestyle condition.
According to the brand's press release, oral issues such as gum decay, and tooth decay are prevalent in diabetic patients and as the leader in the oral care market, Colgate aims to cater to the needs of this large segment with a variant. Another reason is the possibility of entrants into this segment and Colgate doesn't want to concede a market as it once faced such an issue with GSK's Sensodyne. Another interesting fact is that Colgate chose to go the ayurvedic route as a solution to this issue. It seems that the brand is predicting a shift from the consumers toward natural products. For promotion, the brand chose the celebrity route through the famous Indian cricketer R. Ashwin. In fact, the brand has hit a bullseye with a testimonial theme from Ashwin and his father. It is very difficult to get such a combination.
Colgate has been very proactive in launching new products and also promoting the brand to ward off the threat from the competition. The current launch is such an example of the market leader.
Atomberg is a relatively new brand in the highly competitive consumer durable market in India. The company was started by two IIT Bombay Alumnus who had a passion to creative high quality innovative products for India. The first product was in the fan category launched in 2015. The brand has come a long way since then creating a space for itself in the fan category.
Atomberg is competing for share in the Rs 10,000 crore fan market in India. The brand is pitching for the premium fan segment accounting for about 15% of the total market but the silver lining is that this segment is growing very fast.Atomberg has also recently diversified into other small appliances category like mixer grinders.
The marketing of a consumer durable brand is a tough task because the nature of the product demand developing a USP and sense of trust among the consumers. The consumer durable market is crowded with large powerful national and international brands at the top and numerous small regional brands at the bottom. Further, these product require service support across the market which is not an easy task to achieve.
Atomberg has decided to play it in the premium segment because the best way to build a brand which will endorse a range of products is to create an aspirational flavor although there are lot of risks in that strategy. The rist is to justify the premium that these products command. Atomberg has chosen the platform of innovativeness as the USP for the brand. In the fan segment, the brand has positioned on the "power-saving" benefit for the consumer through the BLDC (Brushless DC Motor) technology.
The brand is currently running a major campaign for the fans featuring two kids Atom & Berg. The premise for the ads is the corporate brand's tagline - Why Not ? which is a good representation of the brand's focus on innovativeness.
There is not a large number of advertisements that feature kids as the protagonists for brands which are not essentially kid's products. Kids are now seen recommending products like toothpastes to even life insurance. I am not sure what is prompting ad makers to believe that kids are the best people to recommend the products. Same is followed for Atomberg campaign. They have used kids are the representative of the brands. I personally feel that kids reduce the seriousness of what the brands has to say except for the brands that has kids as consumers.
Here also the brand may have to continue these characters across various new product launches if they are to maintain continuity of the message since this is an umbrella brand for multiple product launches. The only advantage of using kids in ads is that some may view the ads as cute.
Atomberg has chosen to build itself around the idea of innovativenes. The challenge is to demonstrate that innovativeness in the products.The brand has been aggressively promoting across various media and this has definitely an impact on brand awareness and likely brand trials.
In their new campaign, HUL owned Domex has changed the brand's long-standing focus from germ-killing to fragrance. Prompted by competitor's pitch on foul-smelling bathrooms as a customer's problem area, Domex has decided to add fragrance to its benefits which in a way is moving away from the earlier positioning of germ-killing toilet cleaner. It is not a big deal since brands try to offer a bundle of benefits to the consumer. But what I have found interesting is Domex's way of communicating the new benefit to the consumer.
In the new campaign, the brand features the famous actress Revathy as the protagonist. The brand has a new tagline - Don't Argue, Just Domex.
The brand has done well in reacting fast to the competitor's pitch on good-smelling bathrooms and has quickly achieved points of parity with the competing brands. However, I feel that Domex is a bit overbearing on the consumer in the latest ad. If you look at the brand's advertisement, the brand represented by Revathy is just bulldozing the consumer by saying Don't Argue, Just Domex which has left me in a bad taste. The way the celebrity is cutting off the consumer and forcefully enforcing the brand is also a reflection of the brand's personality whether intended or not. I know I am reading too much into the ad but it is my perception of the brand's arrogance.
Domex has been very aggressive in recent times. The last campaign was a direct attack on Harpic which was later challenged by Harpic and the ads were taken down. My opinion is that a brand's arrogance should be directed towards the competitors and not at consumers. Consumers have the right to argue and not just Domex !!!
On February 2022, brands like Hyundai, Kia, Dominos landed up in trouble over some tweets from Pakistan over Kashmir. There are lessons to be learned from this controversy.
Indian Pharmaceutical industry is huge in size estimated to be around $42 Billion. One of the major growth areas in this industry is the OTC ( over the counter) products which can be bought without a prescription. This OTC rush has even created a new category called FMHG - Fast Moving Health Goods.
OTC ophthalmic products is another emerging area in this industry and one of the major brands in the market is Refresh Tears. Those who are using computers for a long time may have never missed this brand which is used as a relief to mild dryness in the eyes. The dry eye strain market is estimated to be around Rs 400 crore and Refresh Tears is a prominent player in the market. Although an OTC product, this product is rarely advertised and often the first purchase is through a doctor prescription.
With the incident of eye-strain is rampant with the heavy use of mobile and laptops, a whole lot of eye care products have entered the market and most of them are natural/ayurvedic in nature. The market is expected to grow manyfold because digital device usage is only going to grow. So then why is the brand owner is restraining from heavy advertising? One reason I can think of is the role that influencer play in this market. Allergan is a company that plays an important role in the ophthalmology space and usually, a consumer will have the first encounter with the brand through the doctor.
In my observation, usually, doctors tend to avoid prescribing OTC brands once they are heavily advertised. I have seen this in the case of cough syrups. Now Refresh Tears is sold at a premium of rs 150 and when the doctor prescribes it, the patient will have to buy irrespective of the MRP. In the OTC that is not the case. Once the consumer starts using these brands, then the continuous purchase is done without prescription. So this is a dilemma that many pharma companies face when they put a product under the OTC category. For now, I think the brand owners are happy with the way Refresh Tears are fairing and probably comfortable with the margin too. Another reason is the nature of the product. Eyes are so precious that consumers may ask the opinion of the doctor before going for self-medication.
This brand is in a category that will see huge growth because of the evolving consumer behaviour and digitization and Refresh Tears is all poised to reap the benefit of this natural growth.
The Indian biscuit market is estimated to be around Rs 37000 crore and is characterized by high penetration and intense competition. The market has all the major brands vying for a share but is dominated by Brittania and Parle. This is also one market that stood its ground even in the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2021, a new brand entered the market by the name Malkist which is from Inbisco which is a subsidiary of Indonesia based Mayora group. Inbisco is well known for its confectionery brand Kopiko which has carved a niche for itself in the confectionery market. Malkist is a brand from Indonesia from Mayora's portfolio.
Malkist is not an ordinary biscuit. It is in the sub-category of crackers which is a biscuit usually preferred by adults who are diabetic or health conscious. Usually, crackers are taken with added toppings to make them consumable. This is where the brand has identified an opportunity. Malkist wants to redefine the cracker category in favour of the larger set of young consumers by making it different and palette friendly.
Malkist has done this by adding flavours to it. It is a 7 layered crackers that come in flavours such as cheese and chocolate. The brand which was soft-launched a year back is now launched nationally. The brand has also given a big boost to the launch campaign by getting none other than Amitabh Bachchan. Bachchan has brand pull across demographics and getting him to promote the brand was a big plus for Malkist.
The launch campaign featuring Big B is also a delight to watch and the ad makes use of Big B to the fullest. The theme is " can't resist" is one of the most used themes in the food-related ads, but the ad is never boring thanks to the presence of Big B. What is good about the ad is that it persuades the customer for product-trial which is the primary and paramount objective for any new brand in the market. The rest of the success depends on how the product performs.
Malkist is positioned as a premium cracker and is now pushing the brand solely on the taste factor which cannot be termed as a clear differentiator. However crackers with irresistible taste is a nice value proposition to have at least at the launch phase. The brand will be looking at bringing more flavours to the portfolio in the coming months thus catering to the variety-seeking needs of the target market. The brand is also an example of a competitive strategy of niche marketing where the company aims at carving a niche in a highly crowded market away from the competitors.
Launched in 1984, Aquaguard was one of the pioneers in the water purifier market in India. The brand from Eureka Forbes created and led the water purifier market for more than three decades now. Aquaguard was launched after the success of the vacuum cleaner products from Eureka Forbes. The company used the direct selling model to sell the water purifier also. Like any pioneer, Eureka Forbes had to do the hard work in convincing the market, the need for a water purifier at home.
Slowly the market warmed up to the category and the growing awareness of water pollution and the need for better drinking water accelerated the adoption of this product especially in the middle class. When the market grows so does the competition. Aquaguard got a worthy competition in Kent. Kent approached the market in a different way by launching a premium water purifier with an advanced technology called Reverse Osmosis (RO).
Through heavy advertisement campaigns featuring Hema Malini, the brand quickly gained traction and virtually owned the RO water purifier product line. Kent successfully communicated its claim that RO purifiers are better than the ones marketed by Aquaguard. Despite being the market leader, Aquaguard struggled to counter Kent's RO based marketing push.
Over a period of time, Aquaguard launched its own range of RO purifiers. One of the chunks in the brand's armour was the advertisement support for Aquaguard. Kent was heavily promoted and the communication was consistent and targeted. While Eureka Forbes was not that aggressive on the promotional front.
Later the brand wake up from lethargy and followed the celebrity endorsement strategy of Kent by roping in Madhuri Dixit. Aquaguard is positioned as an expert in the water purifier domain communicated through the tagline " Paani ka Doctor" meaning - Doctor for Water. The water purifier portfolio has three extensions - Aquasure which is aimed at the lower-priced segment, Aquaguard which caters to the bulk of the market and Dr Aquaguard aimed at the premium consumers.
While Aquaguard initially was following a catchup strategy with Kent in terms of technology perception, the brand took an aggressive stand in recent years. The brand launched variants with advanced technology and features such as Aquaguard Ayurfresh that gives taste and aroma to the water through a herb diffuser. Another launch was the copper and stainless steel variants taking the features ( augmentations) to the next level.
Recently the brand launched a veiled attack on Kent RO purifiers in the campaign for the Aquaguard active copper variant. The market leader claims that RO has become an outdated technology and the new technology is the active copper feature. The move is a smart one but a tough call. Kent has spent a huge amount of resources to convince the customer that RO technology is a superior version. Aquaguard may have to match that share of voice to claim technology superiority over the rival. It needs to be seen how Kent will react to this move by Aquaguard.
It is always good to see how brands leverage good ideas and use them as a platform for product innovation. Prestige had struck a smart idea of Svachh ( clean) products probably inspired from the highly lauded Svachh Bharat Abhiyan. The first product was the Svachh pressure cooker which had a deep lid with spillage control that prevents froth from flowing down the cooker. Although I was sceptical, I found the cooker very useful at home. Spillage is a common problem is a pain point in the kitchen.
The brand has not extended the idea to gas stoves with the invention of Svachh gas stoves where the burners can be lifted so that the entire stove platform can be cleaned. It is a simple idea but very useful especially since homemakers are often troubled by unclean gas stoves. I guess that Prestige will be looking to expand the ideas to multiple products under its umbrella.
These small ideas are incremental, simple but make sense for the consumer. Although these ideas can be replicated by the competitors, Prestige now has the image of being a very innovative and thoughtful marketer. Vidya Balan as the brand ambassador brings more authenticity to the brand campaigns. The brand is well poised to harness the power of little ideas.
Recently Cadbury Dairy Milk did the unthinkable; it recreated the iconic advertisement of the girl dancing during a cricket match with a twist. The marketing and advertising community was thrilled to see the recreated ad and the creative prowess of the agency O&M.
The ad evoked a lot of nostalgia among the consumers who not only liked the chocolate but also enjoyed the brand's advertisements. Nostalgia is defined by marketing academicians as a preference for objects that were common when one was younger. Marketers use nostalgia both in products as well as communications. Recently Mahindra brought back the Jawa brand as an example of nostalgia-based product development and launch. Nostalgia is also used in brand communication in different forms. It can be in the form of themes, music, imagery etc. Parachute Advanced used an old Hindi song in their campaign evoking old memories, some brands bring back the old jingles, taglines evoking nostalgia among the consumers. Research has indicated that consumers have a preference over products that are more aesthetic in nature which has strong associations with their youthful days. Another set of researchers have found that there is an increased tendency of spreading the brand through word of mouth.
The recreated Dairy Milk ad is a brilliant move by the brand rekindling the interest and love for the brand. The ad also strikes a chord with the new generation because it ticks all the right boxes in terms of gender equality and empowerment. More than that this is yet another brilliant example of brand storytelling.
Cadbury 5Star seems to have hit a jackpot theme - Eat 5 Star, Do Nothing. The brand has launched a new campaign extending the theme in a new situation. And just like the last one, the ad is funny and not boring. To find a campaign theme that can be used as a platform for multiple ad campaigns is a priceless moment for marketers. It gives the much-needed juice for consistent marketing campaigns without boring the viewers. I think that 5Star got such a platform. Kudos to the campaign team.
Over the last few years, there has been a serious attempt by the milk chocolate brand - Milkybar to chart a new path through activity-based brand engagement. It can be broadly classified as gamification where the game elements are incorporated into the brand and consumption.
In the earlier campaigns, Milkybar has been focusing on the benefits from its milk ingredient and highlighting the calcium content and the health benefits associated with it. Later there has been a strong focus on bringing in activities through games/puzzles bundled along with the chocolate. This along with celebrity endorsers like Shilpa Shetty is expected to boost the brand's preference. Interestingly, the brand's communication is primarily targeted at the mother rather than the child. The brand has the tagline - Play Eat & Learn.
The brand hopes that the activity bundling will encourage mothers to choose Milkybar over others because of the added benefit ( like children getting smarter !). Milk chocolates are a small segment of the market and it is purely an individualistic choice whether people like this category or not, so marketing makes it much harder since it lacks the universal likeness of ordinary chocolates. The concept of such gamification is good since it engages the consumer ( kids) with the brand beyond just consumption and makes the kid play with the brand longer than usual. It has the potential to create more brand-related outcomes.
It takes a lot of guts to launch an FMCG brand in the time of a pandemic like this. In that sense, what a group of entrepreneurs has done in this pandemic by launching a toothpaste brand is indeed very courageous.
Little is known about the brand Good Day Toothpaste. In fact, a google search has not yielded many results. I came to know about the brand from a television advertisement and thought that Brittannia got crazy and launched a brand extension of Good Day biscuits.
A search indicated that it is not the case and the brand is from Kerala.
As a marketer, the first question that comes to mind is the brand name. While Good Day is obviously a nice brand name for toothpaste, why should a firm take a famous biscuit brand name from a big business house?
Technically it is possible that the Good Day brand name is available for the toothpaste category but there may be litigation on the use of such a brand name. Brands like Amul and Lux are indeed used by hosiery marketers overcoming the legal challenges over trademarks.
Having such a brand name is very helpful because of instant recognition and recall and may prompt some initial adoption because it carries a reputed brand name. But those are very short-term advantages.
The brand doesn't talk much about the key differentiators against its competitors like Colgate or Closeup. The ads just talk about the tagline - Start your day with Good Day.
Good Day toothpaste comes with three variants - Milky White, Herbal and Meswak.
The brand also is having Xylitol and hence the brand does not contain sugar. That brings a question as to whether other toothpaste brands have sugar? ( Need to check on that).
The brand may be testing the waters in some test markets, which may be why information is not there on the internet.
However, the toothpaste market is a highly cluttered and competitive market and an ordinary product will not do any good in this market. To launch a brand in such a market needs a lot of guts and let us see how the brand pans out in the future.
In a very interesting move, HUL's toilet and surface cleaner brand Domex has launched a direct attack on the market leader Reckitt & Benckiser's Harpic brand this season. According to LiveMint, the Indian hygiene market is worth around Rs 38000 crore and the toilet-cleaning market is alone worth Rs 1600 crore. Harpic is the market leader in this segment.
Domex has been trying to counter the market leader by positioning itself as a germ-killer. With the pandemic scare in place, the hygiene market is expected to grow because of increased customer perception of cleanliness and hygiene.
This year, Domex has launched a direct frontal attack on Harpic that too with a direct comparative advertisement. The campaign had both print and television commercials. In the campaign, the brand takes the route of additional benefit of the Domex in terms of removing the bad odour caused by germs. This campaign helps the brand to create a powerful point of difference. The current campaign is made for the Domex Freshguard variant.
The ad will likely be challenged by Harpic but Domex will be riding on the benefit of the punch delivered by this comparative advertisement until that time.
Research on comparative advertisement effectiveness has suggested that such advertising is effective in generating favourable responses in terms of attitude and brand consideration for the sponsoring brand. Comparative ads can be positive and negative. Positive comparative ads try to convince the customers about the superiority of the sponsor brands while negative comparative ads try to tell the consumers what they lose by using the competing brand. Research suggests that in the case of direct comparative ads, the negative comparison works better.
For Harpic, the logical next move would be to neutralize the Domex claims quickly rather than wait for the ads to be taken down.
Building Trust online is not easy because the platform is not tangible. The session explains the lessons learned from reputed researches as to what are the factors that determine Online Trust and how to build.
Cadbury's new brand of chocolate-covered wafer finger product- Crispello has launched a new campaign. What is interesting about the campaign is that there is a subtle shift in the positioning of the brand. If you remember the launch ad for the brand, the theme was that five young persons were driving the car and they hatch a plan not to share the chocolate with the fifth person since there are only four Crispello fingers.
The new ad takes the theme forward with a twist where the three robbers wake up the dude so that Crispello can be shared since the brand says that equal sharing is a must. Not sure whether this positive twist is intended, however positively always helps in branding. However, the creative quality (IMHO) is below par when compared with the usual Cadbury ads. With the market leader KitKat running high decibel campaigns with celebrities, Crispello has to up the game to a different level.
Marketing Agility or Agile Marketing is a concept from Project Management adapted to the marketing domain. The concept talks about the ability of the firm to make sense of the environment and rapidly iterate the plans from the feedback after execution.
Cadbury's Gems has always been a timeless brand with lovers across all age groups. The brand which is almost 53 years old in India has created a unique place for itself. So it makes sense when the brand thought of a theme of being ageless. But alas, the campaigns that the brand had created will destroy the brand's image and likeability. The campaigns with the tagline" Raho Umarless" which mean stay ageless was promoted on the premise of adults displaying their love for the brand in a bizarre manner.
In my opinion, these campaigns are nothing but disgusting. Firstly the brand is a bit confused about the target. Is it adults or kids or all? and what the ad does is that it repels everyone. Especially the way these adults in the ads eat Gems is repulsing. Then comes the worst of the lot- the 2021 ad. The new campaign marks the refreshing of the product with more chocolate. But the same outrageous campaign theme execution continues. I and my mother was watching the ad and at the end of it, both of us were saying - Yuck!
Nike is an iconic brand because of the power of advertising. The brand over its existence since 1971 has created some iconic advertisement epitomizing its brand mantra of " Celebrating Atheletisim". While spending big on getting the iconic athletes and sportspersons to endorse the brand, Nike was always careful to be grounded by communicating to ordinary people. So their brand campaigns always had advertisements that tend to motivate the ordinary you and me to try out something. 2021 saw a similar approach from Nike in their new campaign " Play New" which celebrates trying and failing.
Celebrating failures is nothing new in the motivational world but the way the agency Wieden & Kennedy executed the theme is nothing but brilliant. These ads testify to the power of storytelling and the power of advertising.
WhiteTone is a brand of face powder and cream which competes in the fairness segment of the Indian market. The brand is from Vini Cosmetics which is famous for the Fogg brand of deodorant. WhiteTone was launched in 2010 initially as a face powder and later extended into a face cream.
Indian talcum powder market is estimated to be around INR 1300 crore and is shrinking owing to the shift in consumer behaviour towards creams and other cosmetics. WhiteTone tried to differentiate itself in the talcum powder market by positioning itself as a face powder that enhances skin tone.
Despite the slowing popularity of powders, WhiteTone is banking on three benefits to lure the customers to the brand; oil-free look, even skin tone and fairness. The brand extension cream also follows the same promises.
What makes the brand interesting is the recent rebranding of the market leader in the fairness category- Fair & Lovely to Glow&Lovely. The rebranding was very well received by the media and consumer activists as a gesture endorsing skin colour neutrality. However, I feel that WhiteTone gains from such a move from the market leader. The fairness market is worth around INR 5000 crore and Fair&Lovely owns more than 42% share. While the basic positioning of the rebranded Glow&Lovely remains the same, WhiteTone may gain from the sheer brand name which talks about the brand's promise in a way Glow & Lovely may not be able to communicate. It is true that Glow &Lovely caters to a different segment than WhiteTone.
WhiteTone has increased its media presence and in my State- Kerala, the brand is spending heavily on the face powder promotion.
Nu-Shakti is an interesting brand trying to create a category in India. The brand is from the house of Royal DSM which is a Dutch-based company dealing with nutritional products. The company was not in the consumer space and Nu-Shakti is the first brand in this space.
Nu-Shakti comes under the category of nutraceuticals which broadly constitute all products that offer additional nutrition to the consumers. Nutraceuticals are further classified into functional foods and functional beverages. The global market for nutraceuticals is estimated at $250 billion and the Indian market constitutes around 2% which itself is a huge market at $5 billion. The market itself is poised for huge growth because of the lifestyle diseases and convenience factor.
Indian nutraceuticals market is primarily focused on nutritional supplements and drinks. It is where Nu-Shakti becomes interesting. The brand has a range of products that comes under the category of food-fortifying products. Nu-Shakti has two such products - Nu-Shakti Powermix for rice and wheat. The idea is that by adding a prescribed quantity of the product, the rice or wheat becomes rich in nutrients that are otherwise not present or lost in cooking. Along with these two products, the company has also launched a powdered beverage under the sub-brand Mixme.
The idea of fortified products is very relevant because consumers are now more sensitive to the nutritional value of the food and would be willing to invest in a solution that takes care of the nutritional needs which are non-chemical. The advantage of Nu-Shakti Promix is the convenience of the product in that one need to add a prescribed amount to get the desired nutrition ( as promised by the brand).
The brand was test-launched in Tamilnadu with the actress Remyakrishnan as the celebrity endorser and now has launched across the Indian market. In my state Kerala, the brand is promoting its Mixme powdered beverage on television channels.
The brand is priced at Rs 250 for 250 gram which is adequate for 25Kg of rice.
For a consumer, the promise of the brand seems to be interesting. The challenge for the brand is to create the believability of the promise of nutritional fortification and to encourage trial. In the launch phase, the brand tried to do that through celebrity and also through social media influencers. At Rs 250, the consumers need to be thoroughly convinced to create a sustainable sales pipeline. According to reports, the brand has identified the right promotional mix strategy in Tamilnadu and would be trying to replicate the same in the entire market. The launch time is also ripe since consumers are looking for multiple solutions to stay healthy.
Inspired by pandemic, Dettol, the market leader in the antiseptic category launched a liquid laundry sanitiser. The launch is the brand's sort of entry into the laundry care segment. Indian laundry care market is huge with the size of INR 29000 crore and because of the low entry barriers is a tough market with both big brands and unorganized segment vying for a piece of the market. The market is dominated by detergents and slowly other segments are opening up. According to a report, the category of fabric-softeners is worth only INR 115 crore while stain removers are pegged at INR 400 crore.
The Covid pandemic has literally scared the hell out of the customers and marketers were quick to offer solutions that provide relief. Sanitisers were the category that benefited the most. However, after the first wave subsided, the market for sanitisers show a sharp dip but thanks to the second wave, the sanitiser makers can breathe easy.
Dettol has entered into a very nascent category of laundry sanitisers. The brand argues that there is a possibility of virus in the clothes ( very likely) and it's better to kill it while washing using laundry sanitisers. Most of the brands like Lifebuoy, Dabur, Lysol all have their own products in the category.
The issue is that whether the product category is sustainable or not. The case of sanitiser is in front of us. The market went down once the scare is over. Further, this product adds one more step into the laundry process which itself is cumbersome. This one of the reasons why fabric conditioners have a very slow adoption. I have only started using fabric softeners only recently. The problem is with regard to the evidence of performance. While the brand promise that there is virus-killing, what is the evidence, the only evidence is the belief that it may have worked. The same is the case with fabric conditioners/softeners, as a consumer, the only evidence is the fragrance. Also for Covid, it is already known that soaps kill the virus, so naturally, detergents also work against the virus ( I don't know, my assumption). So why bother to buy another product?
To add to this, brands like Comfort has already added the property to its product. It will not be long before the detergents adding this virus/germ killing property in them thus eliminating the need for another product.
Although odds are against this, brands are not leaving anything to chance. Who may have forecasted that there will be a situation when everyone will be using sanitisers and wear masks. So it is a part of marketing agility to experiment with new products/categories and learning from failures.
JSW group belonging to the Sajjan Jindal family which is known for JSW Steel and JSW Cements has forayed into the highly competitive but lucrative Rs 50,000 Crore paint industry. In 2019, the company soft-launched its paints branded as JSW paints in the South and later expanded to a larger national footprint.
Indian paint industry dominated by Asian Paints is lucrative with its sheer size at the same time is extremely competitive and a difficult market to crack. While the organized market is dominated by Asian Paints, Berger, Nerolac, there is a large unorganized market too dominated by the price competition and middlemen ( influencers/decision-makers) like painters and contractors.
Asian Paints is credited with building a brand in this category and breaking the stronghold of painters and contractors in the consumer decision-making process and making the brand choice a consumer prerogative.
When a conglomerate like the JSW group enters the market, everyone will look up to the launch and a possible threat to the long-standing market-leader Asian Paints. The market is large enough to accommodate such a large player at the same time, the existing players are known for defending their market shares.
JSW Paints was launched into the market with a positioning based on colour and price. The key differentiator for JSW paints is the 1808 colour options it provides to the consumer. The choice of the differentiator based on the colours is intriguing since that positioning platform is already owned by Asian Paints. When a challenger brand takes the same positioning as the market leader, there is a risk of consumers failing to associate the colour based positioning with the new entrant. There is a classic example of Nerolac ad featuring Amitabh Bachchan which was focused on colour and later when consumers were asked to recall the brand which Bachchan endorsed, they recalled Asian Paints.
JSW Paints has roped in two celebrities to endorse the brand - Alia Bhatt and Ayushmann Khuranna. The launch ad is well made but the issue of a very close similarity with Asian Paint's positioning lingers.
The brand has also put a number 1808 colour options to give credibility to the range of colours value propositions and this can easily be countered by its competitor and technically it is not a sustainable differentiation. JSW Paints has four brands under its paint portfolio Halo, Aurus, Pixa and Halo Aquaglo. Each brand offers different attributes like Halo is focused on its anti-bacterial property.
Another differentiator for the brand is the One Colour, One Price guarantee by the brand. Usually, brands charge differential pricing for the various colours and in my opinion, JSW paints have identified a good value proposition in this. In a sense, the large number of colour options together with the one price for all colours make a sensible value proposition for this new brand. If promoted this combined value proposition, JSW paints will force the other players to offer one price for all colours in future.
The tagline for the brand is Har Rang, Har Kisi ka which translates to Colours for All. The brand is targeting the young couple ( 25-50 years) and the choice of the brand ambassadors reflects the intent.
I am not sure whether the launch campaign was able to give a proper push to the combined value proposition. Subsequently, more rational campaigns highlighting the combined value propositions will cement a significant position for this brand in the market. If the market accepts this one price formula, it will not be difficult for the competitors to catch up and for JSW Paints, a new hunt for new differentiator will begin.
In my earlier posts on the brand, I had talked about how the Oreo brand is being used as a platform to launch variants by collaborating with other brands in Modolez's portfolio like Dairy Milk. Oreo is now experimenting with yet another launch this time with the 5Star brand. Recently the company launched a new product Cadbury 5 Star Oreo which combines the caramel of 5 Star with Oreo. Mondolez has rightly realized that their products both in the chocolate and biscuit categories are no longer water-tight compartments but the consumers perceive these as a part of the snacking category which is much broader than chocolates and biscuits.
This realization has given rise to the new strategy of cross-pollination ( as mentioned in some business news reports) of brands giving rise to new variants. The advantage of such collaboration is that there are instant awareness and motivation for trial. For snacking category success, a trial is a pre-requisite to success. When two familiar brands come together for a new variant, consumers don't have a reason not to try the variant and the product efficacy then will decide the fate of the new variant. For snacking category, consumers look for variety and novelty. So these experiments are a necessity if one wants to succeed.
Mondolez should be credited for thinking beyond their products. How many brand managers would agree to their iconic brands to be cross-pollinated with other brands within the brand line for creating new variants?
These experiments will encourage marketers to think beyond the products thus eliminating the occurrence of marketing myopia. It is not about whether the new variants succeed or not. This example also resonates with the advice given by Roberto Goizueta to the Coke executives who were rattled by Pepsi Challenge. Goizueta told the executives to focus on what percentage of fluid intake of an individual can Coke capture rather than be worried about the growing share of Pepsi. This changed the mindset of Coke executives encouraging them to rise up to the Pepsi Challenge. In the same manner, Mondolez is trying to gain a larger share of the whole snacking market rather than being narrowly focused on individual brand share. This probably is encouraging the company to launch this type of products.
Astral Pipes one of the leading player in the CPVC pipes category. The company has around 25% market share in this category. The plastic pipe market in India is estimated to be around Rs 21500 Crore. Astral pipes came into existence in 1998. At that time, the market was dominated by GI pipes. After many attempts, Astral pipes were able to pivot the market towards CVPC pipes which now has become a mainstream choice.
It was not an easy task for the company to change the market's preference. It found that although the engineers and supervisors were convinced about the superiority of CVPC pipes, plumbers who were the major influencers were not taken aboard. Since the CVPC pipes were expensive, the company approached this issue on two fronts. At the influencer level, it pursued an outreach program for the plumbers convincing them about the product superiority and at the product level, the company made efforts to reduce the price differential betting on the volume play.
Then the company did the impossible, it ran a very striking branding program. Just like what Asian Paints did to the paint market by branding, Astral tried the same in the pipe category. For that, it chose two platforms- Bollywood and Cricket. Astral in a way behaved like an FMCG company trying to associate with movie stars. And success came with the product placement in the hit Salman Khan movie- Dabangg. The product placement in the movie earned the brand a nickname- Dabangg pipe. Buoyed by the success, the brand went on to associate with many Bollywood blockbusters thus increasing the awareness of the brand. Along with this, Astral pipes roped in Salman Khan to endorse the brand and there was no looking back.
On the cricket front, Astral Pipes associated with IPL by sponsoring teams like Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad which further helped the brand in building awareness. As we all know, one of the fundamental building blocks of brand equity is brand awareness and Astral Pipes were able to create a strong foundation.
In 2020-21, the brand has roped in Ranveer Singh as the brand ambassador. The brand is currently running a very interesting campaign themed " Who thinks about Pipes? "
What is interesting about this campaign is the thought process and the issue that the brand is trying to address. The theme " Who thinks about pipe" rightly captures the issue that Astral pipes try to address. Actually who think about pipes anyway?
For a brand, this question is a make or break for brand. If the consumer doesn't think about pipes, then the purchase will be a commodity purchase with price as the deciding factor. So the current campaign in a way urges the consumer to think about this product category. Further, the brand assures the consumer that as a company, they are constantly thinking about building excellent pipes hence the consumer can trust the brand. With a touch of humour, the ads deliver the message very effectively.
Astral has also explored various promotional options other than ads. In 2017, it launched a much-acclaimed video #Everywomensright promoting the concept of toilets in every house.
The types of above-the-line marketing efforts are rare in a product category like pipes where the energy and investment are more on dealer relationships and margin management. Astral has paved a new path of marketing in this otherwise dull category.
Launched in 2019, Amul's foray into the highly competitive and fragmented Rs 37000 biscuit market has become national. The ads for Amul Butter cookies are now streaming across various markets. Although the brand is not yet in stores in Kerala, I guess it is a matter of time that the brand will be in the stores. Amul has been on a roll in the last couple of years with a slew of launches in various categories. The brand has decided to leverage the full potential of the equity and is experimenting with various products and categories.
Biscuits is a tough market to crack owing to the low entry barrier and fragmentation. The consumers in the category have fleeting brand loyalty and are swayed by new variants and innovative flavours. So it will not be an easy walk even for Amul. Just like what it did with the ice cream market with its " made with cow's milk" proposition, in the biscuit category, the brand is pivoting the market with the proposition of " 25% Amul Butter" ingredient. In a subtle way, the brand is referring to the presence of vegetable oil in the competitor's products creating jitter among the competing brands. The powerful narrative it created in the ice cream market with the education of consumers about ice-cream and frozen dessert made Amul a strong contender in the category. The same narrative is applied in the biscuit category also. For a consumer, the very Amul brand name is enough to enthuse trial and rest will depend on the product efficacy.
The challenge for Amul will be to create the variants and innovate in the product category. Sunfeast, Parle and the likes are bringing in new flavours, variants and new products and getting into the market quite fast. Amul is known for its distribution prowess and marketing muscle, it will be tested to the fullest in this category.
Covid-19 has made some category like sanitisers, handwash etc penetrate the market very fast and became a part of the consumer basket within a short span of time. In a way, consumers were forced to adopt those products. Along with these essentials, marketers are trying to push their luck in some other categories taking advantage of the new normal of fear and personal hygiene. One such category that is witnessing a lot of product launches is the vegetable and fruit wash category
The category of fruit and vegetable wash is not a new one, in fact in 2008, I had written a post about a brand Bio-Fresh which is in the same category. The difference in 2021 is that many brands from famous companies are in the fray. One such big launch is Nimwash from ITC.
The interest behind such new launch in this category is to take advantage of the general sentiment of the consumers towards personal hygiene and fear of getting sick. While sanitsers have reaped the benefit of direct connection with the pandemic, the fruit and vegetable wash category is trying to go with the flow.
Having said that, there is a very real benefit that these products are offering. It is real that the fruits and vegetables that we consume are laden with pesticides and chemicals and these are potential threats to our health. So just like the santisers, it makes immense sense to clean the vegetables from the chemicals and pesticides.
Nimwash is pitched as a healthy vegetable wash with natural contents like Neem. The proposition seems to be very logical and attractive. The brand has chosen a celebrity endorsement route with the celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor as the endorser. The brand has smartly put the tagline as " The First Step in Recipe" highlighting the importance of cleaning the vegetables and fruits before confusing.
Nimwash along with the competitors like Marico's Veggie Clean, Raho Safe are already available across various supermarkets and consumer offers like 1+1 free also have started coming highlighting a sense of panic selling by the marketers.
As a consumer, I was also tempted to purchase such a product because I am aware of the core issue that this product is solving. So the issue is not the need-identification or problem recognition, the challenge is the repeat purchase and continuous adoption of this category. That continuous adoption requires a change in consumer behaviour in terms of cooking and eating fruits. These marketers need to teach consumers to use this product to wash the fruits and vegetables before cooking/ eating. That is not a small task. The same issue was faced by sanitisers before and Covid was a good teacher in that aspect. For a brand like Nimwash, despite the product being beneficial, it is a challenge to shore up the volume by making these products a part of the daily life. The benefit of washing the fruits and vegetables daily with such products does not offer any visible pieces of evidence other than a mental satisfaction. Products like floor cleaners, sanitisers have already created that mental feeling of germ-free/ cleaning picture in the mind of the consumer, it is now the task of Nimwash and others to replicate the same.
Under Mondolez, Cadbury as a brand is on a roll. The fans of the brand are seeing a host of thoughtful product launches which are thoughtful and unique. What is so good about Mondolez's approach towards its product is to look at each brand as a platform through which new products( variants) can be launched. The company is not afraid to launch variants which are unique and often risky. These launches make the brand look sophisticated and interesting.
This season, Cadbury under the popular brand Silk has launched a new variant- Mousse. Mousse is a french food which is in a soft and aerated form. Cadbury has successfully incorporated this popular dissert inside the Dairy Milk Silk. The mousse seamlessly integrates with the soft nature of Silk chocolates.
Consumers are looking for indulgence and unique experiences everywhere. A brand succeeds when it gives a unique experience with product consumption. It is vital in the snacking category that is growing leaps and bounds among young consumers. Mondelez game plan is to capture the snacking market with unique variants launched under its power brands like Cadbury and Oreo.
Silk Mousse is promoted across the various platforms with the proposition of " heavenly indulgence". The variant has the tagline - Scoop into Chocolate Heave" which reflects both the product form and the nature of the variant.
Silk has always being promoted in the platform of romance. For this variant too, the brand is banking on the romance and a very young couple. As usual, the advertisement ticks all the right boxes.
Bumberry is a brand of cloth diapers for infants and kids which wanted to give an environmentally friendly alternative to the usual disposable diapers that are popular in urban India. Started in 2013, the brand is currently selling through online e-commerce platforms.
The diaper market in India is worth around $800 million and is characterised by high growth and low penetration. The market is dominated by P&G and concentrated on the urban market. The earlier players like Huggies, Snuggy, Pampers created the market by educating the consumers about the benefit of diapers in terms of convenience and health. The market is growing owing to the demographic nature of India and the fact that the entry barrier in this category is only the brand power has encouraged many players who import these products from manufacturing hubs like China and brands it and sell in India.
While disposable diapers are cheap and convenient, it is not without problems. Although the unit price is affordable to the middle-class, there is a cost in the long run because of the disposable nature of the product. Another big issue is the environmental cost of these disposable diapers. Further, these diapers can create skin-related allergy if used for a prolonged period of time.
It is these problems that encouraged the founders of Bumberry to find an alternative. A chance encounter with cloth diaper imported from the ave the idea of a home-grown brand which is less expensive than the imported ones.
Thus brand Bumberry was created. The brand is now an online-only brand and is marketed through influencers and other digital promotions. The product is basically a durable diaper with removable inserts. The cover diaper is cloth-based and hence environment friendly and re-usable. The USP of the brand is re-usability and comfort and design. Priced at around Rs 740, the brand is trying to offer value compared to expensive imported products.
The brand with its value proposition will appeal to a section of consumers who are looking for a healthy organic alternative to the synthetic diapers.
So the initial market will be niche and with the diaper market growing, the potential for such diapers will naturally grow.
The challenge for a brand like Bumberry is similar to that of the brands which created the diaper market in India -educating consumers to change. While the pioneers wanted the consumers to change from using cloths to diapers, Bumberry wants the ordinary diaper buyers to change to cloth diapers. That requires an investment on a large scale in terms of promotion. To make these products mainstream will be a mammoth investment in terms of promotions. A startup brand like this can at this point can only rely on digital tools and influencer marketing. While the brand's main talking point is its environment friendliness, I think that attributes like fashion, comfort, image are more attractive at a consumer point of view.
This season was a washout season from most product categories. The pandemic forced many firms into crisis mode with no money or energy left for brand promotions. After the massive lockdown has been lifted, things are limping back to normal so is brand promotions.
Coca-Cola during these periods was steady in its brand promotions. During Diwali 2020, the brand was running a popular campaign featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Paresh Rawal and the theme was focused on relationships.
The best thing about the ads was that the focus was on the brand rather than the celebrities despite the presence of two powerful celebrity brands. Then came the new campaign featuring Ranbir.
The problem with celebrity endorsement is that there is always a chance that the celebrity will eclipse the brand in terms of screen presence. You have to be very bold and creative to make the brand stand out in the presence of a celebrity. In the current campaign themed Turn Up Your Day, the focus is on the charm of Ranbir rather than the brand even if it is the brand that makes him dance. It is all celebrity when you show the girls head over heels over Ranbir and the poor Coke brand is just rattling in the fridge.
The new brand tagline is Turn Up Your Day which is a sort of confusing! Internationally the brand is running a campaign Turn Up Your Rythm which links the brand to music. However, we get a dancing Ranbir here in India.
It's happy news for Tata Safari fans. Tata Motors has decided to relaunch the iconic Tata Safari in a new platform. The brand which created the premium SUV market in India was languishing in the sidelines when the Indian market was gravitating towards SUVs. After 2016, there was no product improvements nor any campaigns. The only saving grace for the brand was that it was chosen by Indian armed forces to replace Maruti Gypsy.
Then Tata Motors did a coup. It began to launch a range of products under a more refined platform. Harrier was launched in the Land Rover platform quickly began to impress the customer with its road presence and refinement. I almost believed that Safari will be silently killed and the new era belonged to new brands. Tata Motors then began its work on a 7 seater SUV which was showcased as a new brand Gravitas.
But then the twist happened. The 7 seater Harrier was decided to bear the name of Safari. The teaser ad is now on air and what is interesting is that the brand is retaining the tagline Reclaim Your Life.
The advantage of launching Safari is the immediate adoption by Safari fans. Although many have migrated to other SUVs, still Safari brand commands a lot of traction among the auto-enthusiasts. Since Harrier has already established itself as a reliable machine, Safari will not have to worry about the mechanical issues which were the Achilles heel of the brand in its earlier avatar.
Evion 400 is a vitamin tablet which is a market leader in its category. It is one of the most popular vitamin E tablets around. The products like vitamin and mineral tablets used to be marketed as drugs and in medical marketing terms- through ethical route. Around 2000, there were moves from the government and regulators to regulate the pricing of these drugs. To circumvent the price capping, many medical marketers began to sell products through OTC ( Over The Counter) route which means that these products can be bought without a doctor prescription.
The challenge in such a move is that these brands will lose doctor's patronage in many cases. Doctor's tend to prescribe products which are classified as a drug rather than an OTC product.
So brands in the OTC route needs to build all brand-related assets because, in OTC, it is the consumers that take the purchase decision. The strategy adopted by Evion is interesting in this regard. Rather than promoting the brand as a vitamin E supplement, Evion has positioned itself based on the benefits platform. One of the key benefits of vitamin E is the effect on the skin. Evion has smartly positioned itself as a provider of glowing skin rather than a vitamin supplement thus broadening the scope of the promotion. The advertisement of Evion looks like that of a skincare soap or a cream. In that way, the brand aims to increase the usage among the target consumers.
The problem or challenge with most of the vitamin or health supplement is to ensure continued usage of the product. While consumers will start consuming such products because of some trigger or advice, often this enthusiasm wears down over a period of time. Evion believes that skincare proposition is something that may prompt consumers to use this product on a regular basis.
