Iodex : Ooh Aaah Ouch

Brand : Iodex
Company : Smithkline Beecham
Agency : Enterprise Nexus

Iodex is a classic example of a generic brand being dumped by consumers because it did not change with changing consumer expectation. Another classic case of marketing Myopia. A brand which once commanded 70% market share is now languishing at 20%. Moov have moved Iodex from the first place.

How can this happen to a brand owned by a gaint like Glaxo commanding a market share in excess of 50% suddenly become a laggard?

Iodex like Chetak, Robin, did not change with times rather these brands were resistant to change. May be blinded by the success of the brand, the managers did not care what a smaller company named Paras was doing.In the 400 crore pain and rub market, Iodex have left the position of a leader to a follower. David have humbled a Goliath.

Iodex although a quality product had certain shortcomings
1. Greasy
2. Bad smell
3. Unattractive packaging

Moov looked at that shortcomings and projected itself as a product which is white, nice smelling and no greasy. Iodex could have retaliated with a white version but did that only after the battle is over. Too late.

Iodex have a great legacy, a history of 86 years but all lost because company thought about themselves as invincible. The campaigns were good and the brand was accepted by the consumers.But that never means that customers will stay with you for life.

ooh aah ouch...

Tata Safari : Reclaim Your Life

Brand : Safari Dicor
Company: Tata Motors
Agency: O&M


Safari is the first luxury SUV in India. Launched in 1998 Safari have around 23% market share in the booming SUV market in India. Although Safari has been dwarfed by the success of homegrown Scorpio, it is an example of the guts of Tata to invest and built a brand.

Although Safari has been there in the market for 8 years, it has not been able to excite the market in the way Scorpio did. One of the major factor being the product quality.With the failures of Estate and Seirra, Tata motor's image had took a beating .
Safari is India's first full bodied luxury sport utility vehicle is known for its comfort and luxury. Launched as an off roader, the positioning of Safari has been changed thrice. Initially Safari was positioned as an offroader. the ads had jungle as the main locale and the baseline said " Make your own road". The ads created by O&M were catchy and rightly positioned the premiumness of the brand. Later consumer research revealed that Safari is used by urban folks and perceived as a City vehicle and not an offroader. Hence Safari shifted its positioning as a " Car for the urban Jungle".Tata projected Safari as a lifestyle product and promoted Safari using all media including Placement in Film ( ROAD) , sponsoring events and high decibel media blitz.

Safari recently did a major overhaul and launched it with new look and new engine DICOR and a new positioning. The new DICOR says " Reclaim your life" taking the campaign to a higher level and trying to connect with the customer at a higher plane ( Oops ! Am I becoming philosophical?).

It can be called as Laddering where initially you start taking about functional aspects but later when the brand awareness is high you connect with the need of the customer at a higher level. Here Safari dares you to break from your past and go after your dreams.

Personally I was really impressed by the ad, the message and the product. Going by the new strategy of Tata Motors to load their products with value, Safari is also loaded with all the hightechs that is seen usually in high end SUV's.

Safari has all the potential to Reclaim its Rightful Place .

Vicco : Lost in the woods?

Brand : Vicco turmeric
Company: Vicco lab

Vicco Turmeric cream is India's first fairness cream although it is not positioned as a fairness cream. The product which is based on turmeric have a 54 year old history. The product was launched in 1956 missed the liberalisation era all together.

Although the product is successfully exported, the potential of Vicco Turmeric is not fully utilized in the Indian market. Vicco was marketed as a skin care cream . Over the years this product is stereotyped as a brand for " would be brides" . The ads which was aired for a long time had this theme.

In olden times this theme perfectly works since marriage is the most important occasion in a woman's life. But Vicco failed to understand the changing consumer trends which Fair & Lovely correctly sensed. Women have changed and their attitude towards life have also changed. Instead of marriage, now there are many occasions where women celebrate . Infact the stereotype of marriage now don't work. In simple terms the TG changed.

Vicco never was aggressive. It continued with its conventional traditional strategies while HLL marched away with the market.

Vicco Turmeric ayurvedic cream is in the naturals segment of Indian skin care segment which is estimated to be around 1300 crore. Except for Vicco there are no pure naturals brands in this segment . All major brands have a naturals extension some of them have failed miserably.

Vicco had huge potential because of its excellent quality , brand recall and more importantly the ingredient "Turmeric". It should have owned "Turmeric" factor. Now we see lot of local manufacturers selling turmeric powder to women to be used as a cosmetic. That was a market that Vicco should have concentrated. Fairever succeeded because of the ingredient saffron. Vicco could have made a killing with turmeric which is one of the best ingredient you can ever have. But alas....

Although there is lot of concentration on fairness market, there is a market for pure beauty creams which can give a wholesome solution to the consumers, Vicco turmeric had all that to be a leader.

A brand is built only if there is a clear strategy and support . Vicco failed to understand the changing value system of the customers. What it needs is a repositioning strategy based on the wholesome properties of turmeric and lot of noise in the market.

What a potential to be wasted.......

Wagon-R: For a Smarter Race

Brand: Wagon-R
Company: Maruti
Agency: Hakudo Percept

This is one of the successful brands from Maruti portfolio in the premium segment of compact cars. Wagon R was launched in February 2000 and has gone through several makeovers during these 6 years.

Wagon-R which was priced very steeply during the launch did a drastic price cut to appeal to the customer. Initially Wagon-R struggled with the value proposition. The quality of the car was excellent and Wagon-R was rated as a top quality compact car by JD Power Quality surveys. Once it got the price right and with the demise of Zen, Wagon- R had a jolly good run.

Wagon-R has a unique Tall Boy shape is one of the original tall boy cars although the credit for tall boy design popularity goes to Santro. Wagon-R was initially positioned on the basis of the functionality platform. Initially promoted as a family car with the baseline “Feel At Home” Wagon-R is yet to find the right message to be given to the customer

Maruti calls Wagon-R as a Multi- Activity vehicle t with a unique look, more space and excellent drive quality. Maruti likes Wagon-R to be perceived as an Off-beat car.

Maruti struggling to find the right fit for the car in the minds of the customer,changed the positioning from “ Feel At Home “ to “ Inspired Engineering” to “ As Interesting as You Are “ and finally to " For a Smarter Race " to project the unconventional design and the off beat persona of the car. These changes have not so far affected the sale of the car either positively or negatively. The car sold very well because the product was good. Since the competitor Santro has really bored the customer, Wagon-R gave a choice to the customer.

Recently Wagon-R changed the positioning again. The new baseline says “For a Smarter Race”. The campaign shows the young man doing the unconventional act like starting his own business and the chick getting really impressed by that. Very unlikely fit; such kinds of guys drive a Scorpio or a Safari. Also the locale of the ad is a riverside; Wagon-R is not an off-roader!

Maruti is still confused.

Wagon-R has the record of a brand which has changed the positioning so frequently like a baby changing its diapers. The sale is going north because the product is good contrary to the fact that the positioning is going south (We may have to test whether positioning affect the sales of a product. Wagon-R proves it doesn’t). Personally I don’t think that Wagon-R is bought by unconventional offbeat thinking yuppie. All my friends have bought this car because of its functionality as a compact city car: nothing more,nothing less.

As long as the product is selling, anything goes …..

Domex : 100% germ killer

Brand : Domex
Company : HLL
Agency : Lowe

This is a brand that is trying to challenge the unorganised sector. The household cleaner market is estimated to be around 400 crore and the phenyl market is around 200 crore. Domex is a major brand in the floor cleaning and disinfectant market in India.

Domex was launched in 1997 targeting the premium end of the market . Initially the brand was marketed as a premium specialist floor cleaner. Floor cleaners are less popular in the Indian households. Only 3% of the households use floor cleaners. 97 % use proxy products which are the combination of phenyl, detergents ,acids and bleaching powders.The purchase of floor cleaners depends on the demographic factors and the type of floors.

HLL realising the potential in this segment reduced the price of Domex from Rs 42 to Rs 22 to appeal to the mass market. Hll also tried to woo the hospital segment for Domex. It launched a co branded certification program called Domex Clean hospitals. This project was later put on hold.

Domex has a 30% share in the Rs 30 crore specialist floor cleaner market neck to neck with Lizol from Reckitt & Benckiser. How ever in the Rs 40 crore toilet cleaning segment Domex is lagging behind the market leader Harpic which have a market share of 75-80%.

While most of the players in the household cleaning segment focus on the cleaning ability, Domex is positioning itself as a germ fighting cleaner. It promises 100% germ kill ( if Domex is used undiluted) and is targeted at households where there are kids. Domex is also trying to fight Harpic using the " germ kill" platform. Harpic is focusing more on cleanliness. The ads are catchy and right on target.

Although the market for specialist cleaners is small the ultimate objective of Domex is to capture the unorganised Phenyl segment which is a larger segment. Domex launched a Domex + phenyl variant to capture this segment.

Domex also launched a direct to customer initiative named " phenyl Khallas" to educate the consumers about the virtue of using Domex comparing it with local phenyl.

Domex is a bold brand trying to capture a commodity market

Vimal suitings : Where art Thou ?

Brand : Vimal Suitings
Company : Reliance Industries Ltd
Agency : Mudra


One of the oldest and most respected iconic textile brand of India is languishing some where in the attic of the mega corporation Reliance. The brand which started of as a Saree brand developed itself into a mega textile brand for women , men and even for furniture ( Vimal Harmony is one of the largest furnishing brand).

Vimal suitings was launched in 1980 after the successful Vimal range of sarees. At that point of time Reliance was a predominantly a textile company. This brand was carefully positioned as a premium men's suitings brand. The brand which was handled by Mudra, was promoted heavily by Reliance. At that time the major competitors being Bombay Dyeing and Raymonds.

According to the case study of Vimal available in Mudra Website, the Vimal Suitings brand was developed in 4 stages . The first stage involved convincing the customer about the quality of the brand explaining the technology behind the making of Vimal in advertisements. The second stage involved creating a personality of the brand using living legends. In the ads, living legends like army veterans, experts in various fields were used as models to build the character of the brand as a credible brand. The third stage involved promoting the brand as a fashion brand or Style guru. The ads showed Kabir Bedi and the likes catched the imagination of the TG. The 4 stage used cricketer as models to appeal to larger crowd. May be Vimal was one of the first brands that used cricketer as models ( correct me if I'm wrong).

I would add the fifth stage as letting the brand die without giving it any marketing support.

The brand was targeted at the young ambitious who are challengers to the CEO's . The brand personality was stylish, and aspirational. Vimal was promoted using the famous tagline " OnlyVimal " created by Late Frank Simoes. The tagline is said to be personally approved by Dhirubai himself. The brand was a premium brand and the ads were catchy. Reliance also opened exclusive Vimal showrooms as a part of promoting the brand.

Later in the 1990's the Reliance business model changed. The company changed from textiles to petrochemicals and Vimal was not fitting into reliance business plans. It was the only retail brand of Reliance ( now we have RIM) and company never focused on Vimal.

As far as a marketer is concerned, Vimal was a great brand with huge potential ( whether it fits into Reliance plan is another issue). 90's also saw the shift in the consumer's preference towards readymades. Although reliance had a readymade brand "Reance" it was a half hearted move which resulted in a flop.

Vimal was known for its quality and style. Still people remembers its simple baseline " Only Vimal". Lack of marketing support had virtually killed the brand. Now the position that Vimal occupied is now owned by Raymonds and Reid & Taylor.

News reports suggest that Reliance may revive the Vimal brand owing to their retail foray and the opening of the textile sector to the global markets. Vimal have already being messed itself up with the launch of V2 brand which is cheap and available even in grocery stores. What a way to mess up a brand ! Vimal have stopped marketing sarees and is said to be concentrating on suitings. Suitings are becoming more popular because of the increasing globetrotters and professionals.

Reviving Vimal will be very difficult since this brand has lost its touch with the new Indian consumer.

Oh Vimal!