Yamaha : Not truly Yamaha !

Brand: Yamaha
Company: Yamaha
Agency : Dentsu

Yamaha which once ruled the mind of Indian youth is now in dire straits. The company which is the second largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world is having a market share of 5% in the booming Indian two wheeler market which is growing at a rate of 12-15%.

Why?

Yamaha is a performance bike manufacturer which recently celebrated its golden jubilee of its existence . In India Yamaha was present in a joint venture with Escorts which brought out the blockbuster Yamaha RX 100 and the cult Yamaha RD 350. Yamaha and Hero Honda had during the late 80's beat the hell out of scooter manufacturers , but Yamaha now has lost its edge. Yamaha broke the partnership with Escorts and started its India operations as a 100% subsidiary of Yamaha Japan from 2001 onwards.

Yamaha was not able to sustain the momentum it had generated during 1990's with RX100. RX100 was a bike that had style and substance. The product was powerful, gave no mech problems and was embraced by the youth. But after the tight environmental regulations introduced in 90's , RX100 had to be shelved. RX100 was replaced by RX135 which was no where near RX100. The ride was terrible and the product had nothing to boast about. It was the beginning of decline of Yamaha.

Yamaha was not able to bringout a blockbuster product in the recent past. It is unfair if I don't mention that there were lot product launches from Yamaha but nothing clicked. The reason being that the company was focused on Utility segment ( true that money is there only in that segment). Yamaha did not try to look at the changing profile of the Indian consumer.

Yamaha also thought that it had the same premium image in the mind of the customer . It failed to realise that the brand equity has eroded because of failed product launches. It had no product to showcase its superiority as a bike manufacturer. While Bajaj demonstrated its arrival in to the bike segment with Eliminator and Pulsar, Yamaha still tried its luck in the executive segment which was dominated by Splendor from Hero Honda.

Yamaha should have realised that inorder to break the Splendor's dominance, It had to build a brand in the premium segment and using that image, try its luck in the mid segment. Bajaj launched Eliminator to show the technical superiority. We drooled at the cruiser and then grabbed Pulsar. Yamaha failed to do that.

Yamaha tried to shock the market with a low priced Cruiser Enticer at an unbelievable price of 49000 but the product failed because the company wanted to play the volume game. Enticer could not sustain the huge initial it got because the market for cruiser was only emerging and the product did not live up to the expectation. Cruiser with only a power of 125 cc was itself a failing proposition. Now that there is a trend towards low priced cruiser pioneered by Bajaj Avenger, Enticer relaunch may succeed.

Yamaha then launched Crux and Libero and Fazer in the executive segment but could not set the market on fire . The company says that it is moving away from utility bikes to performance bikes. The launch of Fazer was towards this direction. The product had an unusual look hence failed to catch the imagination of Indian bike enthusiasts. Here again the company made a mistake of not making a statement.

Yamaha is having big plans for India. The company is earmarking 200 crores in revamping its operations. On the marketing side, it has roped in John Abraham as the brand ambassador.

I am no expert in Motorcycles but I feel that Yamaha now needs to make a STATEMENT. A powerful statement that will force the consumers to look up and say " Its a Yamaha".

Just compare the Fazer launched in India and the Fazer which is showcased internationally, the Indian Fazer is no where near the international one. Why did Yamaha which wanted to play the lifestyle game launch a stripped down Fazer ? Had it launched a chunky masculine Yamaha in India, the brand will move miles ahead in the mind of the consumer. Forget the price and the volume, bring the best bike to India and make a statement.

What we have in India is not the Yamaha but only a shadow. Yamaha if it wants to emerge from the shadows will have to shed the volume game and seriously build the brand.

To become Truly Yamaha , Change the rules...

Chevrolet Tavera : Family car or Taxi?

Brand : Tavera
Company: Chevrolet ( GM)
Agency : Enterprise Nexus? or McCann?

Chevrolet Tavera was launched in 2004 by GM to tap the emerging segment in the Indian Automotive market : the SUVs. The brand has a good start and helped GM to project the much needed growth interms of volume.

Tavera was pitted against Qualis when it was launched. Tavera was better in styling and other features, while Qualis was the ugly duckling. So naturally Tavera with its aggressive pricing became the choice of families.

Tavera was initially positioned as a comfortable family car. It was slated to dominate the Multi- utility vehicle segment with a potential even to eat into the C-class segment dominated by Hyundai Accent, Ikon and City.
But nothing happened. The sales of Tavera was dipping and contrary to expectations, this product is not setting the market on fire.

India is a good market for MUV or rather large vehicles. Although parking can be a major problem, the psychographic profile of Indian families need such a large mode of transport. We Indians like to take the family together on trips, films outing etc. Most of the cars can accommodate 4 or maximum 5. If you have kids, they need more space to enjoy the drive. Iam not kidding because we think that kids need less space so we cram them up in small cars . Really they are uncomfortable sitting in Mom's lap or fighting with the sibling for the window view.

Tavera sought to eliminate all that. The car is large, price is good, reviews about handling and comfort is also good, but something somewhere is missing. The part which is missing is right positioning.

The car which was initially positioned as a family car is now marketed as a Taxi. The baseline is now changed from ' The comfortable family car" to " To drive your business ahead". GM wants to play the volume game. It is perfectly working and I am seeing lot of Tavera Taxis. It is the same story as Qualis.

GM needs to learn from Toyota, how they position the Innova as the family car despite the vehicle being used as taxis. Tavera is yet to decide on the strategy. It wants to be a family car and taxi? Can a brand be every thing to every one?

The dilemma is evident in the new campaign with Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan playing cricket in Tavera. One of the most ridiculous thing I have seen in promoting the product. If you are talking to family, then cricket is not the right media. If you are talking to business people, then talk about car features not cricket. Any way you look at the campaign , it is absolute waste of money. The company is also changing its agency and when ever the agency changes, expect the positioning also changes.

Tavera have to decide where it want to go. Family or business. If it is family, then the volume will take time to come and if it is business, spent money on direct selling rather than spending money on Irfan or Zaheer.

With excellent product qualities and price, Tavera have all the potential to survive in Indian market If only .......

Polo : Mint With A Hole

Brand : Polo
Company : Nestle
Agency : Lowe


Polo is the market leader in the mint candy category in India. This is a brand that has created lot of excitement in the market with its smart advertising and promotion.
The history of Polo dates back to 1725 when Rowntree opened a tea and coffee shop in York. In 1948, they began selling Polo Mint candy. The company changed hands and in 1988 Nestle bought the company over. Polo was launched in India in 1994.

The word Polo is said to be derived from the word Polar . The word points to the cool and fresh feeling gained after taking a freshener like Polo.
Polo comes under the Adult confectionery market which is estimated to be around 1100 crores. Polo is the market leader in the mint based lozenges category.
Polo is famous for its positioning as a " Mint with a Hole " which created lot of excitement for the brand. The campaigns portrayed the unique shape as a differentiating factor. The campaigns was humorous and the product gained instant market.

The category is now facing lot of competition. Big players like ITC and Perfetti is eyeing this category seriously. ITC have acquired MintO from candico in 2002 and aggressively promoting the brand with the positioning " unusually Cool". Candico earlier pitted MintO as a Mint without a hole thus challenging Polo headon. Then ITC repositioned Minto as a cool brand. There are other players like Chlor-Mint getting aggressive in this market.

Nestle recently have done away with its successful positioning based on the Hole. The brand changed the agency to Lowe. The current campaign talks about the cosmetic benefit and value addition. The ads talks about whistling while eating Polo with the baseline " Polo ghao seethi bajao" which does not create any meaningful impact on the TG.

Polo was successful in the market because of smart ads and some innovative product strategies like Polo holes in sachets at a very low price point. But recently the company has discarded the age old positioning of Mint with a Hole . This shift together with some ineffective ads can prove to be a watershed for the brand. The fresh breath proposition is already taken by the competitors.The competing brands are also making innovations in the products like coming out with flavours other than mint, sugar free variants etc.

Polo will have to work hard on its product strategy to keep the market it had created.

Fair & Lovely : Chand ka Tukda

Brand : Fair & Lovely
Company : HLL
Agency: Lowe


Fair & Lovely ( FAL) is the brand that revolutionized the Indian Skin care industry. This brand is World's first and largest Fairness cream brand with a presence in 40 countries and a value of around Rs. 6 billion

Indian skin care market was dominated by conventional beauty care products like Bezan,Multani Mitti etc. FAL changed all that. Launched in 1975, FAL is the product born in the Unilever research center. In 1988 the brand went international. FAL commands a market share of over 70% in the Rs 1000 crore fairness market in India.

FAL virtually created and owned this category for long. In the fairness market, FAL enjoyed monopoly till Cavin Kare entered this lucrative segment with Fairever. The success of Fairever prompted many players like Godrej to tap the market.

FAL sustained the pressure from the competitor by careful branding and new product launches. The brand never failed to emulate and learn from the competitor .When Fairever launched the ayurvedic variant, FAL launched a much better variant. Then came the competition from Ozone Ayurvedics with their brand No Marks trying to carve a niche. HLL countered with FAL Antimarks and launched a controversial comparative ad that took the steam out of No Marks.

When Fair ever launched the soap, FAL also responded with soap. FAL never allowed the competitors to gain an upper hand in the market which it created.

FAL achieved such tremendous success because of careful branding and ad campaigns. Initially HLL to do some ugly talking about fairness. Some of the ads were controversial because of gender inequality and stuff like that. It was necessary at that period because the category was new and the brand should first talk about the need to be fairer.

Now the brand has laddered up to more aspirational values like "Transformation of Women" The insight is that the transformation will be more than skin deep. The ads showing a girl achieving the ambition of being a cricket commentator ( a male bastion) were very much effective in connecting with the TG.

HLL has also extended the brand to more aspirational values by launching Fair& Lovely foundation that works for Women Empowerment achievement and Transformation which are the qualities for which FAL stands for.

FAL have also launched a premium subbrand Perfect Radiance to tap the premium segment of the market.

Fair & Lovely was able to dominate the fairness market because of careful marketing and is a showcase of the marketing genius of HLL.

Ultratech Cement : The Engineer's Choice

Brand: Ultratech Cement
Company : Ultratech Cemco ( Aditya Birla Group)
Agency : Leo Burnett


2005 saw one of the high profile brand launches in the country. The launch was significant and different because it was the launch of a cement brand. Another uniqueness was that it was a rebranding exercise. L&T's cement business was acquired by Aditya Birla Group in 2004 for Rs 2200 crore making Grasim the 8th largest cement producer in the world.

Grasim was having cement brands like Birla plus and Birla super in the 150 mn TPA Cement market in India. L&T was a leading brand in the premium segment of the cement market. The acquisition gave Grasim an entry into the premium segment of the market.

L&T cement which enjoyed leadership position in the premium cement market epitomized engineering prowess , technology quality and modernity. This has enabled the brand to command a premium over the other cement brands. Grasim was allowed 8 months to use the L&T brand.

Grasim was faced with a tough task. The time was short and there were two choices, merge the L&T brand with existing Grasim brands or launch a new brand . The company decided on the later and did it with style.

The name Ultratech was chosen after careful marketing research. Since L&T does not mean anything by virtue of the brand name, Grasim wanted the new brandname to portray significant intrinsic value of the brand. Hence the name Ultratech was chosen. Since Grasim didnot want to dilute the premiumness that L&T enjoyed, a high decibel ad blitz was launched to announce that L&T is now Ultratech. The campaigns was backed with direct marketing where the company officials met the 5500 odd stockists and authorised dealers explaining the new brand and company policies.

The campaign had lot of significance.

1. It had to make sure that the new brand did not lose the qualities of L&T

2. The new brand should be able to command the same level of premium of L&T.

3. Time was short

4. It was a risky affair.

Cement is basically viewed as a commodity and the industry is fragmented with around 50 players. So inorder to command a premium, the brand had to show a significant differentiation.

Ultratech was positioned as the ' Engineer's choice" cement emphasizing on the qualities such as Quality, Modernity and technology. The gamble has paid off well for Aditya Birla group and Ultratech was able to carry the legacy of L&T cement.

Ultratech is a classic case of Marketing a commodity.

Parle Digestive Marie : Can u build a brand on Bullshit?

Brand : Parle Digestive Marie
Company : Parle
Agency : Everest


Parle digestive Marie is the new launch by Parle in the 600 crore Marie biscuit segment. The brand is being promoted heavily across the mass media making it one of the high decibel product launches in 2006.

The brand is endorsed by Kajol who according to media reports charges around 80 lakh per endorsement. The brand according to the company is first of its kind in the segment. The product claims to have five times the fiber and low calorie. The campaign is also revolving on this platform. According to the agency the idea of the campaign comes from the insight that " the biscuit is so healthy, it is criminal not to consume this biscuit".

Having raved about the product qualities, let me come to the brand promotion. I feel that the campaign is crap. I may buy the product because the product is good but not because some Anti Marie bureau has ignited the passion in me.

The celebrity endorsement and the crap ad have caught the attention of the market for sure ( may be for the wrong reasons). But where will the brand go from here?. The competition will have their version within no time, so what is the future of Anti-Marie bureau? Did the brand highlighted any significant positioning. ' Yehi Marie Sahi Marie " and the Anti-Marie bureau are self contradictory. Is Digestive Marie not a Marie?

I think the target audience are not kids but adults who are health conscious. And the ads may have amused the TG. But should you promote such a good product with some seriousness?

With the teaser ads and the 60 minutes TVC may have burnt a hole in Parle's pocket and Iam sure that the initial sales will justify the cost. But Parle may have to spent that much money too often to sustain the sales.

Is short termism becoming a disease among brand managers?

No one have ever built a brand over a Bullshit.....