Sunlight : Sunset?

Brand : Sunlight
Company: HLL
Agency: O&M

Sunlight is the oldest brand in the HLL’s portfolio. Launched in India in 1888, this brand is a heritage brand. Sunlight came to India as a detergent brand.
Indian fabric wash market is expected to be around 5700 crore. Sunlight over these 118 years had its life cut out in the “power brand strategy” of HLL.
Sunlight was famous as a detergent or laundry cake which was very popular in the early times. The change in the customer lifestyle has tilted the market towards powder detergents. HLL focused its efforts on the powder detergents market and Sunlight was lost in the woods. Detergent cakes are losing consumer preference because of the advantages of powder detergents. Earlier, powder detergents were considered to be premium and with the rationalizing of prices, consumers have shifted towards powders.

Under the “Power brand “strategy, HLL decided to phase out Sunlight brand and focus on Wheel and Rin. But in 2004, Sunlight came with the new avatar as a Powder detergent. What made the company think about this brand is unknown. Sunlight detergent is now positioned as an affordable detergent with differentiation of “Color Guard” feature. The detergent also has the Pure Clean Technology that minimizes the “Insoluble” in the detergents. Sunlight is priced above Wheel and below Rin. The brand is promoted more in Eastern India and Kerala.

Why a brand that have such a heritage become a liability for HLL. It’s because HLL failed to use Sunlight to counter the onslaught of Nirma. Instead it chose a new brand Wheel. With the introduction of Wheel as a powder detergent and with the decline of the detergent cake market, Sunlight lost its relevance. HLL also extended Wheel and Rin to Detergent cakes so further sidelining the Sunlight brand.

Now Sunlight is used as a brand to effectively fill the gap between Wheel and Rin, so that no competitor can come in that price point. It is also interesting to note that this brand does not feature in HLL’s website. The brand have a very relevant brand name which denotes brightness and cleanliness, it is a brand name you cannot afford to lose. Sunlight should be positioned as a " Value for Money " brand. This segment is vacant in the Indian Detergent market. Wheel is perceived as a low priced brand, Surf Excel is a midsegment brand while Rin is for whiteness. Sunlight with its colorguard and Pure clean technology is in a position to create a market for itself.

Hercules : Ride Your Passion

Brand : Hercules
Company: TI Cycles India Ltd
Agency : Mudra

Indian Cycle market is estimated to be around 2000 crores. Hercules is one of the oldest cycle brands in India. Hercules was launched in India in 1949. The Indian cycle market was a growing market those days because it was the main mode of transportation while motorcycles and cars were not affordable to Indian consumers.

The cycle market can be broadly divided into
1. Kids cycle
2. Adults cycle (old roadster type)
3. Youth’s cycle (girls and boys versions)

The cycle market was skewed towards rural market and the market is very price sensitive. The leadership position of TI cycles was taken away by Hero cycles in the nineties. TI cycles have brands like Hercules and BSA to its fold.

Indian cycle market is facing a major crisis now. The opening up of economy has changed the psychographics of Indian consumers. With the advent of affordable motorcycles and cars, the industry which was hit hard was the cycle industry. Since consumers have shifted to more sophisticated mode of transportation, the cycle market was shrinking and became confined to rural market. In the urban market the cycles were used mainly by kids aged 6-17.
The market for cycles for youth is virtually killed with the entry of mopeds and low end motorcycles. The rural market is also facing pressure with more mopeds and motorcycles exploring that market.
The two major brands of TI cycles were Hercules and BSA. While Hercules was the ordinary adult cycle, BSA focused on the youth segment with more cotemporary look.

With Hero cycles claiming the leadership position in the mid segment of cycles in India. TI cycles were in a tight spot.TI cycle had two choices,
1. To focus on Kids cycles and rural market
2, To focus on urban market.

TI chose to tap the urban market which was virtually at the decline stage. It chose the age old Hercules brand to revive the urban cycle market. Hercules brand is originally owned by Raleigh UK. TI decided to change the brand Hercules as an Urban brand. In 1992 it launched the Hercules MTB ,the first mountain terrain bike of India. The new product was backed by some cool ads from Mudra. The ads raised the stature of Hercules brand to an aspirational level and was targeted at youth aged 14-19. The consumer insight was that the youth prefer cycle which is more masculine and the positioning also was in tune with this insight.

But a problem with cycles is that it is easy for the competitor to clone your product innovations. Hero cycles matched TI in all product launches with their own version. In 1998-2000 Hercules MTB was relaunched as a more adult like cycle.
TI hit upon the idea of tapping the adult while launching the Hercules MTB range. Since there is no incentive for adults to use cycles, the task was to create a cycling culture in the market. First the product has to appeal to adults and there should be a need to use this product. Thus came the idea of promoting cycles for leisure and exercise. This idea enabled Hercules to come out with lot of new products and value additions. The cycles were made more masculine, more comfort and promotions aimed at creating a cycling culture.
TI used the multi brand strategy to counter the threat of Hero cycles, Using BSA and Hercules, TI was able to command the premium segment of the cycle market. The geared cycles, BSA ladybird for girls, BSA city for 30+ city rider, BSA i bike designed in Italy, cycle with shock absorbers, cycle without chain etc ensured that Hercules and BSA is known for innovation and created some excitement in the otherwise dull cycle market.The latest BSA Foldman is India’s first foldable cycle . Hercules has roped in Yuvraj Singh to endorse the cycle. Although I have criticised celebrity endorsements, using Yuvraj singh makes perfect sense for a sagging market.

These innovations have helped TI to still hold 30% market share and a major share of premium value added cycle segment. But the path is not so easy to survive. One of the major task is to create the culture of cycling in India. In the West, there is a cycling culture while in China and Japan it is a major mode of transportation. With the increasing fuel prices, congested roads, increasing health consciousness are indicators that there is going to be a reinvention of cycling in India. It takes patience and money to ride that reinvention and Hercules is all set to ride that wave.

VIP : Bye Bye, Bye Bye !

Brand : VIP
Company : VIP industries ltd
Agency :Lowe


VIP is the undisputed market leader in Rs 1200 ( some say it is 600 crore) crore Indian Luggage industry. Launched in 1971 VIP aimed to capture the market dominated by unorganized sector. Indian Luggage market is largely consisting of soft luggage and moulded luggage.

The luggage market is going through a tough time with low demand and stiff competition from unorganized sector. In India since the frequency of travel is low, the luggage manufacturers are facing a unique problem. The product is a high involvement product at the time of purchase but after the purchase the interaction with the product is limited. Hence marketers find it tricky in keeping their brand at the top of the mind of customers.

VIP has established itself in the Indian market using product innovations, stress on quality and brand building. VIP was the first to introduce “non reversible multi safe lock”, soft grip handle, dual action lock and central locking system. These innovations together with brand building made VIP a market leader.

Then VIP faced the problem faced by most of the giants: the brand becoming generic to the category and local brands eating into the share of the company.
In 1997 came a formidable threat to VIP – Samsonite. With in short time Samsonite established its presence in the luxury segment of the market. While VIP was very dominant in the mid- segment, it had no presence in the luxury segment. Samsonite posed a major threat to VIP and garnered a market share of about 35% in the luggage market with in a short period of time. This forced VIP to seriously reconsider its marketing strategy. To counter the threat of Samsonite, VIP launched Elanza range of premium luggages. Samsonite meanwhile also wanted to enter the popular segment ( 800- 2000 range) . It launched the brand “American Tourister “ to enter this segment posing a major threat to the market leader. More over Samsonite had an international contemporary look and appealed to the new generation than VIP which was not perceived as a vibrant brand.

Inorder to attract the new generation and create a new brand identity, VIP embarked on a rebranding exercise. The usual ads of VIP was appealing to the middle class and focusing more on emotion. The “ Kal Bhi, Aaj Bhi” ads were very powerful and appealed to the middleclass. But since the consumers changed, inorder to succeed, the brand had to have a contemporary look.

The new strategy of VIP is focusing on capturing or owning the concept of “Travel”. The logo was changed to a more contemporary logo and the ads were changed to communicate the new positioning. The agency thought of the most appropriate moments of travel and decided that the “ time of departure “ is the most critical constituents of travel. The ads aimed to tie the brand to Travel. Thus originated the “ Bye- Bye “ campaign with a very youthful imagery that appealed more the new generation travelers. The baseline was changed to “ Happy journey” thus attempting to own the concept of traveling.

The new campaigns were supported by new ranges of products. The sub brands of VIP include Delsey (international brand from France) to capture the premium segment, Footloose: the trendy bags for the youth, Buddy: school bags and Alfa: value for money segment.
VIP is a market leader that is trying hard to retain its leadership position. It had failed to create barriers for competition by keeping many categories open for competition to enter. Now also leather bag category is now seeing lot of action with big players like Hidesign taking the lead. VIP does not have a presence in this segment.

But with its strong brand equity and ability to change with the consumer trends will help VIP in its future battles.

VIP : Happy Journey

Rexona : Won't Let You Down.

Brand : Rexona
Company: HLL
Agency: JWT

Rexona soap was launched in India in 1947. It is one of the well known brand in the 4500 crore soap market. Although the brand does not have any significant market share, it has a loyal customer base. Rexona soap was positioned as natural skin care soap for a silky glowing skin. With its excellent quality and good communication, initially the brand was well received by Indian consumer. In 1989, the brand came out with Coconut based ingredient which was one of its kinds at that period.

But over the period this product lost its way and was competing with HLL’s own brand Hamam. In 2003 HLL as a part of the “ Power Brand “ strategy decided to merge this brand with Lux. Thus came the variant “ Rexona with Lux cream”. In 2005 HLL again decided to make Rexona independent. All these measures ensured that a good product like Rexona be battered to pulp in the Indian market. Rexona is an indigenous brand created by HLL to market in India.

Rexona deodorant is a different story altogether. Rexona was originally created in Australia in 1900. Rexona is the largest deo brand in the world and the brand is estimated to be worth around Rs2000 crore and is available in 90 countries. Rexona is the brand that created the deodorant market in India. This brand is a classic case that proves the marketing ability of HLL. Deodorant market was virtually non existent in India till 1995. Some international brands were available but the market was virtually non existent. Indian consumers were not bothered by their own odor. Infact we believed that body odor was the other person’s problem. So HLL had the task of build awareness of the need of the consumers to smell good. For that Rexona ads educated the customers the main source of odor is armpits which generate 90% of odor and only 1% sweat. When the other brands like Baccarose talked in terms of aspirational features, Rexona talked about the rational benefits of the product. It was positioned along the baseline “ har pal sath nibhaye” . Rexona was introduced initially in the form of Roll On and Stick and later to aerosols. The sticks were priced smartly to induce the customers to try the products.The effective campaigns and smart pricing created a category of Deo in India. The deo market zoomed from 0 to 70 crore in less than 3 year’s time.

Rexona faced competition basically from grey market international brands like brut. Rexona was perceived by Indian consumers as an Indian brand because of its presence in the soap category. Ironically, the Rexona soap is available only in India. Because of the low pricing and its local association, Rexona could not be positioned as a premium deo.

There are three type of deos
1. Body spray
2. Alcohol based germ fighters
3. Antiperspirant
Rexona falls into the third category.

Rexona deo introduced lot of variants in order to block competition from entering the category it has created. HLL also introduced AXE and Denim to further consolidate the position.
Rexona Deo is now positioned as a unisex brand with the baseline “ Won’t let you down”. It is highlighting the brand as world’s largest selling deo and the rational benefit of 24 hr protection.

While Rexona deo is enjoying its leadership in the deo, the soap is wandering around in the market like an orphan. Since the soap brand is now disassociated with Lux, I hope that it will get some oxygen.

I personally feel that Rexona should be positioned as a natural soap and variants like cucumber etc will create a niche for it.

Cinthol : Get Ready, Get Close

Brand : Cinthol
Company: Godrej consumer products ltd
Agency ; Orchard Advertising

Cinthol is a 54 year old soap brand from Godrej Consumer products ltd. This brand features in the Interbrand;s Super Brand 2004-05. This is a brand that has withstood the so-called MNC onslaught. This very own Indian brand has been carefully nurtured by the company and owns a special place in the Indian consumer’s mind.

Cinthol was launched in the year 1952. The original Cinthol comes with a red pack (still the old Cinthol is available in the market) and the unique Fougere perfume became a big hit during its launch itself. Cinthol have a market share of about 2.5% in value terms. The brand is contemporary and positioned as a masculine soap with USP of protection from body odor.


Godrej have always tried to experiment with this product, trying out new things and coming out with different variants. This has enabled the product be in tune with the changing consumer trends.

Cinthol heavily promoted the product using celebrities of the likes of Vinod Khanna and Imran Khan in 1986 . In 1989 Cinthol tried to catch the lime freshness trend using Cinthol Lime which was a big hit. During 1992 it came out with Cologne. The brand went for a major overhaul in 1993-1995 with a new pack. But there was a customer outcry for the old Cinthol. Eventually the company had to relaunch the original Cinthol and the new range was branded as Cinthol International.

Original Cinthol have the usp of deo + complexion is said to be the first of its kind in India. Cinthol is also made of vegetable oils and not animal fats and was popular for this quality. Cinthol name is derived from SYNTHetic + phenol ( SYNTHOL)
In 2004, the brand embarked on a new positioning of “ Get Ready ,Get Close” The brand also have extensions like Talcum powder and Deo but these extensions were not as successful as this brand.

Cinthol was promoted using smart ads and the product quality was perceived to be excellent. But now Cinthol is lying low with virtually no advertisements. This is a great brand with huge potential. I feel that Cinthol Deo if promoted heavily can easily beat the likes of AXE. But these products are seldom available in the stores.

Cinthol have to Get Ready to Get Close with the new Generation.

Sprite : Ban Gaya Bakwaas !

Brand : Sprite
Company: Coca Cola
Agency : O&M

Sprite is one of the fastest growing brand in the 7000 crore carbonated soft drink (CSD) market in India. Taking the place of the erstwhile Limca, the brand is positioned as a basic thirst quencher. The brand in India is competing with Mountain Dew.

Sprite was launched in India in 1999 has caught the attention of Indian consumer by positioning itself as a plain soft drink. The initial baseline have rightly captured the essence of Sprite as “ Bujaye only pyas, Baki All Bakwas “. The protagonist in the campaigns also have that “ cool “ attitude thus breaking clutter of high decibel Cola ads. While Mountain Dew which have a cult status in the west so far did not achieve such a status in India. Analysts say that the protagonists in Mountain Dew does not have the mass appeal as that of Sprite. Mountain Dew world wide is positioned as an icon blaster. In India, Coca Cola was able to capitalize on that positioning better with Sprite.

With the war in this segment hotting up , Dew tried to directly attack the Sprite by portraying the protagonist as a dumbass. But not with much success.

Sprite changed the baseline of “ Baki all Bakwaas “ to “ No gyan only Sprite” and tried to further build on the successful positioning. But some of the ads went too far with the protagonist portraying a larger than life image. Then again the baseline changed to “ Clear Hai “ .
I feel that the baseline “ Baki all Bakwaas “ was changed too soon because it had immense potential for further communication and clearly states the brand’s essence. The subsequent baseline had to be scrapped because it offered limited substance to the creative team to work on. The latest baseline is also have limited flexibility compared to the Bakwaas baseline.

It is evident that the brand is going to lose its soul by having a celebrity endorsement in the form of Sania Mirza. I have no idea why a brand that is positioned as a plain thirst quencher, promoted as an icon blaster, go after a celebrity? By using the celebrity, the brand has diluted what ever equity it had created over these years. Just think about a consumer who have used Sprite because he is bored by all the hype of colas ( they are the defined TG of Sprite isn’t it?) by seeing the brand towing the same line as the other brands, will he be impressed?

Now Mountain Dew is serving for match point….

Sprite : Ban Gaya Bakwaas