MotoPEBL: Inspired by Nature

Brand : MotoPEBL
Company: Motorola
Agency: O&M


MotoPebl is the new range of handsets from Motorola.

Although Motorola has been there in India for a while , it had not been able to break into the Nokia fortress so far. Nokia is commanding a staggering 78% market share while Motorola is having 4.6 %.Never the less Indian market is growing leaps and bounds.

MotoPebl was launched in April 2006 after the success of MotoRZR and MotoSLVr is set to shake up the Indian market. Moto Pebl is a pathbreaking move by Motorola in many respect. With regard to the product characteristics, promotion and pricing, Motopebl is showing us that Motorola has finally discovered the marketing manthra to succeed in Indian market.

This brand is different from the other Motorola brands in the sense that MotoPebl focuses more on design and aesthetics rather than technology. Motopebl is inspired by nature. The promotion is also a significant shift from the earlier promotions. Motorola is perceived to be a technology company. Most of the ads were busy talking about the features of the product. I remember seeing double spread ads talking about the technology that was a immediate putoff for a non tech geek.

Motopebl talks to the right side of the brain. The ads are simple and so sharp that it provokes the TG to try out the product, that is the success of the campaign. The ads are so short and sharp that it is going to save Motorola lot of money. In the pricing also Motopebl is different because it is priced reasonably at 10990.

MotoPebl by all means have the potential to be a best seller. Nokia better watch out..

Hyundai Getz: Get the positioning right

Brand : Getz
Company: Hyundai
Agency: Innocean

Getz is India's first super mini. Super mini refers to premium hatchback cars which is popular in European countries. These are compact cars which have all the goodies of a luxury sedan.In the highly competitive Indian car market, Getz is an experiment . Hyundai have the guts to take risks. With the success of Santro: India's first tall boy car ,the excellent brand building and successful makeover of Santro gave Hyundai great confidence about its marketing ability.

Getz is positioned as a premium compact car and is priced between Santro/Zen and the sedans like Ikon and Accent. Although it is not in direct competition with sedans, Getz is trying to create a market for itself. The reason why Getz cannot compete with sedans is the typical mindset of Indian consumer who always put Sedans at a higher level (in terms of status) to hatchbacks.

This market is expected to increase in size because of higher traffic and difficulty in getting parking spaces. With the launch of Maruti Swift, this segment is witnessing heavy competition.

Auto reviews suggest that Getz is even superior to many sedans in terms of drive quality and the goodies. But with its pricing, the brand has restricted itself in to a niche player. The price of 4.5 lakhs is going to put off many consumers who will go in for a sedan rather than settle for a "Small car". It will take lot of money for Hyundai to overcome the " Small car " obstacle. With The Tata Indigo and Fiesta offering a " Large" car at the same price, Getz will find it hard on getting volumes.

The brand was launched with some colorful advertising which appeared to be less focused. The initial focus was on fun. Then came the lousy promo involving Sania Mirza endorsing the brand. Hyundai fail to remember that no one is going to buy and expensive car because Sania is driving it.

The recent campaign of Getz talking about its USP of " More Space" was an ideal example of " Poor Execution" of a good concept. The odd looking family members using the hands to send the message that they need more space is not only irritating but creates a bad impression on the owners. Those who travel in crowded trains will notice how bad we feel when someone deliberately push others to make more space for themselves.

Since Getz is a premium car, Hyundai could have created better pictures in the mind of the TG about the product, use better imagery and messages just as what Toyota is doing for Innova.

Yardley : Immense Potential Wasted !

Brand : Yardley
Company: Lornmead

This 235 year old cosmetics brand from England is yet to take off in India(after crashlanding) despite its long life here. The iconic brand was a hit in 1950's among the elite Indians but some how missed the liberalisation bus.

The brand which has a rich heritage was marketed by P&G and since they did not have any interest in the cosmetic market sidelined this brand. The brand was relegated to Talcum Powders and with no promotions and poor pricing has dampened the equity of this brand.

Yardley is now owned by Lornmead which is under the Jatania group : one of the richest Indian family in UK. If reports are to be believed, they have big plans for India and Yardley may fit into their strategies.

Yardley has been positioned as the quintessential English brand with its conservative look and royal touch. Although the brand was appealing to the TG in early nineties, the newer generation has not been kind to this brand ( or this brand is not existing to gennext). The cosmetic market is dominated by the likes of Revlon and Lakme, calls for a major rebranding exercise for this brand.

A look at their website revealed a whole range of luxurious perfume and cosmetic range which was sadly not available in India. Yardley have the advantage of being perceived as a Unisex brand and thus can extend the brand to a larger audience. Since the perfumes market is still undeveloped, Yardley have a huge market waiting for it.

What the company needs to do is to get its marketing mix correct and make the brand contemporary. If it does it fast, the brand has the potential to make it big

Chlormint: Dobara Math Poochna

Brand : Chlormint
Company: Perfetti Vanmelle
Agency: Mccann Erikson

The indian confectionary market is estimated to be around 1200 crore and the mouth freshner market is estimated to be around 40 crore. The mint flavored confectionary market is around 175 crore.
The mint market is now witnessing lot of competition. The market is dominated by Nestle's Polo which commands around 80% share. The other players include the brand Chlorets from Warner Lambert and the brands in the gum category like Happy Dent.

Chlormint was launched in 1997 in its green candy version followed by the gum variant. In 2003 Perfetti introduced the ice candy version. The market for this type of candy are those who wants fresh breath and those who smoke. The age group of TG is 15- 34.

Since confectionaries are impulse purchases and brand loyalty at the lower side, it is a big challenge for the marketers to keep the brand at the top the mind of the consumers. Perfetti knows the secret and Chlormint shows how to keep the brand interesting.

The ads of Chlormint asks the consumers the same question which any marketer asks themselves " Log Chlormint kyun Khathe hain?" . The answer, the ads say, is that it contains Herbasol which provides fresh breath. It may seem intially that the brand is trying to differentiate itself on the basis of its ingredient " Herbasol". But in reality the brand is just trying to say that its different and everyone knows it.

As with most of the brands, the ad agency thinks that the core market for these products is North India, hence the ads are heavy with Hindi and if translated to South Indian Languages will kill its humor and purpose. So most of Chlormint ads fail to click with non hindi speaking consumers.

The ads are outright funny( for those who understands it ) and always brings up a smile . In that way the brand is successful in keeping the excitement on,. There are many versions of " Dobara Math Poochna " campaign and the latest " Puppy beta" series is the funniest. The brand is positioned worldwide with the baseline " get closer".

India Post : Chitti Aayi Hai

Brand : India Post
Company: Government of India

India Post is the backbone of India’s communication structure. This juggernaut reaches the nook and corner of India . The system of carrying messages were said to exist even during the time of Allauddin Khilji in 1296. The first Post Office was established in 1766 by the East India Company . They opened the PO in Mumbai Chennai and Kolkatta. It was Mr Warren Hastings that made the postal service available to general public.

India Post is functioning under the Ministry of Communication. This huge organization haver around 1,50,000 offices and around 500,000 Post boxes. Till recently India Post was enjoying the Sole Supplier Status in this market. With the popularity if E-mail and the competition from courier companies, India Post is facing a crisis.We have long being taking this service for granted. But some point of time India Post have to change other wise it will collapse. India Post has been making loses continuously and is surviving on subsidy from Government.

With the private players taking up major share in the 1200 crore Courier market in India , India Post is left with the unprofitable business.

India Post has a huge advantage over the private players in the reach factor. No one can match the reach of post offices and our very own “ Post man”. Through these postmen, India Post reaches all over India. It is these Post Men who is going to save India Post.

To survive, India Post has to redefine its business. It is a paradox that even with this reach, India Post have not been able to convince the corporate players to give them business. The problem was with the service delivery. This public sector giant has not yet learned the art of marketing. To my knowledge there is no marketing people running around to capture business for this company. With the postmen taking a visit to each locality everyday, India Post has not used this reach to capture any business.

Let us look this business in another angle. Here is a company who knows each lane, each house and each corner of India have its staff visiting the houses and is more often welcomed by the households. If you are in charge of such a business, what will you do?
Would you like to sell some thing to these households? Yes India Post is selling financial services like Insurance and savings. Infact Postal bank is one of the largest savings bank in India with a whopping 120 Mn customers. But I haven’t come across a single person who tried to sell me a Savings account or a Kisan Vikas Patra or a recurring deposit. Yes I get mail from ICICI bank to invest in PO savings scheme through them!!!!!!


Just like the resurrection of Indian Railways by focusing on the profitable freight business, India Post has to wake up and leverage on the massive network they have created. It requires a cultural change in the organization. The cutthroat competition calls for cutthroat selling attitude. With the Postman reaching the houses everyday, India Post has to refocus their business strategy for mere delivery of letters to doing business with the households.

Apache : Mean Machine or Teen Machine.

Brand : Apache
Company: TVS
Agency ; MCCann Erickson

TVS is a company with a resilient attitude. When Suzuki motors decided to severe ties with TVS, most of the market expert wrote off this company. But TVS came into the market with much more strength with their flagship brand Victor. Victor revived the company’s fortune and since its launch, Victor has maintained its position in the executive segment.

TVS was known for the lower priced bikes. When it had a joint venture with Suzuki, the best selling brands were its Max 100. TVS tried its hand in the performance category with its Shogun and Fiero but was not successful in cracking this segment.

2006 saw the bold new initiative from TVS with the launch of Apache. Apache is in the premium performance segment in the market dominated by Bajaj Pulsar. With Apache , the company is trying to reposition itself as a new generation motorcycle manufacturer. TVS is trying to emulate the success of Bajaj with its Pulsar.

Apache has got rave reviews for its performance so far. Most of the auto mags are giving it a positive review proving that TVS have a winner in Apache. Apache is going to compete with the established Pulsar. The recent relaunch of Pulsar 180 Black was a preemptive move by Bajaj to counter the threat of Apache.

TVS Victor has proved the company’s capability in offering excellent value for money motorcycle. Although the subsequent launch of TVS Centra bombed, the company is trying to reinforce the position of Victor with its new variant and the new brand Ambassador : Mahendra Dhoni.

Apache is expected to give serious competition to Pulsar. Since the initial market noises show the acceptance of the brand and the lower price of Apache making it more attractive can either shake the position of Pulsar or will expand the market of premium segment bikes.

TVS has got the product right but how about the promotion. The latest TVC of Apache is a dampener and will erode its positioning as a premium performance bike. The brand is now promoted as the ultimate bike with the baseline “Its now or never”. I feel that Mccann have completely killed the positioning in its TVC. Pulsar was successful because it clearly differentiated itself as a mean machine with its “ Definitely Male” campaign. Although the TG are College students and young executives, the campaign essentially talked to the “Man ” inside. The latest campaign of Pulsar 180 DTSI also is trying to give that Macho appeal.
But the ad of Apache shows not Man but Teens. With some funny Hindi song (which the south Indians are not going to understand) and lot of visuals, which we have seen enough, and with kids riding the bike, the ad is sure to position this brand as a teen machine. The baseline “ Its now or never” also is not creating any impression in the mind of the customer. The ad try to talk about lot of things but if you ask me what this bike stands for (USP) I don’t know.
It is really " Now or Never" for TVS. It has a good product but will have to get its branding straight. There is bound to be initall hiccups but with a product like Apache, TVS can do what Hero Honda could not. For that it have to create a unique position of Apache in the customer's mind. Without a meaningful USP, Apache is not going to give Pulsar a serious competition.