Nutan Stove :Brand with a difference

Brand : Nutan
Company: Indian Oil Corporation
Brand Count : 98

Nutan is a major brand in the Kerosene stove market in India. Nutan was a part of an energy revolution in India. The brand was launched in 1977. Developed by CSIR with funding and marketing support for IOC, this brand was a rage in Indian households during the 70's.

Now also the older generation will vouch for this brand. During the 70's the stove market was dominated by inefficient wick stoves which wasted fuel in soot or smoke. Nutan, developed by CSIR was a sootless stove that saved more than 20% fuel, less smoke producing and more efficient. It soon became the darling of households.

The production of Nutan was outsourced with IOC looking at the marketing of this brand as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. Since the product is made as per ISI standards and the quality pegged high, the price is put at a premium over the other brands .

Nutan is in the midst of another revolution. 1990's saw the rise of LPG as the better fuel for households. Indian middleclass shifted to Gas stoves in no time. Further LPG eliminated many negatives that Kerosene stoves had especially on ease of use. With the rising kerosene prices and availability of low priced stoves has now impacted the sale of Nutan stoves ( it is a guess, I don't have market share figures).

I am not sure whether Nutan has a LPG stove, but this brand is slowly vanishing from Indian middle class consumer's mind. It is sad to see an ubiquitous brand slowly losing its relevance. My view is that Nutan had huge potential in the LPG stove market which is valued at Rs 9 Billion is dominated by like Butterfly and a host of unbranded players, it was an opportunity missed by Nutan.

Since Nutan is not a serious brand for IOC, may be no one was thinking about this brand.

If that brand was with a marketer, it would have realized its full potential.... Any one listening?

Tata Ace : Small is Big

Brand : Ace
Company: Tata Motors
Brand Count : 97

TATA Ace is the classic case of marketing success in India. What ever factors that Kotler have spoken about to successfully launch a new product, it is there in this product. Ace is Tata's answer to the marketing myopia of three wheelers.
Ace is a .75 ton truck in the commercial vehicle segment which is dominated by large trucks. It can be called India's first mini truck . Launched in May 2005, Ace has become a blockbuster and is expected to create a huge dent in the three wheeler goods carrier market.

Till the launch of Ace, the sub one ton loads were transported by the three wheeler goods carriers. Although the quality and performance of these three wheelers are less than desirable there was still huge demand for these vehicles. It is this market that Ace is trying to capture. It is the transportation at the " last mile" market that Ace has captured.

Ace had all the qualities of a winner. It is cute, the engine is good interms of mileage and performance, the comfort factor is very much there and more over it is a Truck and not an Auto. Priced competitively at 2.25 lakh to 2.40 lakh, Ace is a value proposition that no one can refuse.The brand was launched at a point where there was a need for transportation of good speedily and conveniently and in a cost effective manner.

The target segment are those who want to upgrade from these three wheelers. The brand Ace has its own limitations. Hence Tata was careful not to overhype the product so that it will "under promise " and " over deliver".

Although the product took around Rs180 crores to develop, the brand is giving rich returns for Tata Motors. The company is working overtime to deliver the orders and is looking for expansion of production of Ace. Even Ace is looking at overseas and is exporting to Srilanka and Bangladesh.

The success of Ace has opened up a new category in the commercial vehicle market. It is reported that Ace had already captured 65% of the small commercial vehicle segment and is expected to contribute an additional turnover of Rs 2500 crore.It is again a sign that Tata Motors have identified the DNA for marketing success in Indian market.

Tata Ace : Small is really BIG......

Tea Board of India : Absolute Crap campaign

Brand : Tea
Company : Tea Board of India
Agency: O&M
Brand Count : 96

If you want to see how government money can be wasted, look no further, it is there in your idiot box in the form of the Tea Board of India's campaign to increase the popularity of tea. The domestic consumption of tea is largest in India to the tune of 700 mn Kg. But the Board feels that there is still immense potential left for this commodity. Another problem anticipated by the board is that the younger generation is moving away from this drink to carbonated drinks. More importantly Coffee is considered " Cool" by the next gen , thanks to marketing efforts by Branded Coffee outlets like Barista, Coffee Beans etc.

So Tea Board wants to replicate the success of campaigns like Operation Flood and National Egg Coordination committee. The budget was fixed and the task entrusted to the most creative agency in the country ( rather world) , O&M.

The Outcome was a damn Squibb. The directionless campaign is a sheer waste of money and in any angle you look at it, the campaign will be given the award of the " Hopeless campaign of the year".

The idea behind the campaign is to promote the image of tea drinkers as being " Cool " to appeal to the younger generation. So the ad " dreadfully" tries to compare tea drinkers and " definitely not a tea drinker" and exhorts that tea drinkers are " cool". The baseline of the campaign says " Chai Piyo, mast Jiyo" has no connection with the message of the ad.

The apathy of O&M in executing the idea is evident may be because they feel that anything goes for a " Government board". But the agency has virtually damaged its reputation ( atleast in my mind) as a " serious creative agency". A demanding client will squeeze the creativity out of any damn agency, but it takes a "serious creative agency" to deliver creative output even for a small client.

WorldSpace : Unlimited Music

Brand : WorldSpace
Company: Worldspace India Ltd
Agency: Enterprise Nexus
Brand Count : 95
WorldSpace is a pioneer in the satellite radio business.
Worldspace was launched in India 5 years back is now getting their act together. This brand is all set to revolutionize the way Indians listen to music ( provided they make the right moves).

During the initial launch phase Worldspace faced lot of problems with regard to all the 4 P's of marketing. Since it was an entirely new product, the customers had to be educated about it and it is never easy. The fact that Indians was new to the concept of Paying subscription for a radio service made it more difficult for this brand to make headway.

With regard to the pricing also WorldSpace was launched with exorbitant price both for its receiver and the subscription which putoff the "value conscious" Indian consumer. Reports also say that initially the company faced problems in sourcing receivers for Indian market. All these factors virtually killed the future if this brand.

Last year saw the relaunch of WorldSpace . The brand was relaunched with aggressive marketing using TV Print and outdoor campaigns. The company rightfully reduced the entry price barrier by bringing in receivers that costs less than Rs.1500 . The subscription rates was also rationalized. This created a huge wave of interest in the Indian market. With 35 channels that offered unmatched range of entertainment with an affordable price tag was an offer that was too good to resist.

The first set of consumers who took the product was the retail shops. Worldspace offered an alternative to the conventional CD players. Now even a small retail shop can afford to have channel music without bothering about CD's.

Although the retail Shops have embraced this brand, it is still a tough call for Worldspace to enter into households. Although the ads have generated lot of interest among the music lovers, the subscription rate ( although it is reasonable) is playing spoilsports. This calls for much more than Non Personal promotions. It will be better if WorldSpace also look at meeting consumers directly and convince them about this beautiful service.I feel that since this product is new to Indian consumer, it needs some personal selling efforts. Once the brand breaks into the Indian households, the brand can sit back and relax.

This is a brand which has great potential and is going to create ripples in Indian entertainment industry.

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.