Citizen Watches : Beyond Precision

Brand : Citizen
Company: Citizen
Agency: Hakuhudo Percept
Brand Count : 106
The brand came to India initially with a collaboration with HMT in the late 1960's. Later the brand re- entered India in 1998 as a joint venture between the Japanese Watch maker Citizen and Doshi Time Industries. In mid 2003 Citizen hiked its stake to more than 95%.

During the initial years Citizen failed to understand the Indian consumer correctly. It misread the price-value perception of the ever value- conscious Indian consumer. The watches during the initial years were in the price range of 1600-2500 and 6000-20,000. The company thought that with the brand name, it could sell the watches at any price. That was a huge mistake and the product bombed in the market. The reason was that the discerned Indian consumer show no value in those watches although they were impressed with the brand name. This created lot of issues for the company. In a panic move, in 2000 the company went for a major price cut and that further eroded the brand equity of Citizen.

The Indian watch market is about 30mn units and in that the branded watch market is estimated to be around 12mn units. Most of the action is happening in the mid price category.

Citizen is now trying hard to regain the lost brand equity. The product that they chose to be the white knight was the " Eco Drive". Eco Drive had the technology of producing its own power from light. Hence it does not need a battery. Citizen effectively used this technology to position the brand as a high-tech one . Although the " No need for a battery" is not a highly preferred attribute to a consumer, Citizen used this feature to differentiate itself from the rest.

EcoDrive was positioned as the ultimate tech-watch and was smartly premium priced. Although the " No Battery" was the key differentiator, the product was very well styled and the promotion was effective in projecting the premiumness of the brand.

With EcoDrive, Citizen was able to recapture its brand equity to certain extent. Still the pricing of the watch makes it unreachable to the middle class.

With the regaining of the equity, the brand went into an overdrive with a slew of new product launches. In 2005, the brand roped in Kareena to endorse the ladies range of watches. Citizen believes strongly that Celeb Endorsement works wonders for the brand. Hence following the positive response to Kareena endorsement, in 2006 Citizen roped in Rahul Dravid to endorse its men's range of watches.

With the smart advertising and differentiation , Citizen survived a near death in the Indian market. In this new avatar, the brand with a market share of 15% is going great guns. But it is worth noting that Indian consumers still have to stretch a little too much to own a Citizen.

With the International brands scaling up their plans in India, Citizen may again have to relook on their value proposition.

Gelusil : Ye kam kare to aap kam kare

Brand: Gelusil
Company: Pfizer
Agency: Contract

Brand Count:105

Gelusil is one of the major brands in the 220 crore antacid market in India . A brand once owned by Parke-Davis came into Pfizers hand when the two companies merged. Gelusil was promoted through ethical route where the drugs are to be sold only through prescription. This 30 year old brand had a strong support from the medical community and is worth Rs 20 crore.

In 1999 Gelusil became the first antacid brand to shift from ethical route to OTC. It was a risky move since there was a chance of alienating the medical practitioners and also doubts about the ad spent that is needed to promote such a mass market product.

The antacid market in India is crowded with lot of products fighting for their share of the pie. The market leader is Digene from Abbot Pharma with a market share of 35% followed by Eno from GSK with 24% , Gelusil with 21% and Pudin Hara with 14%. Digene is still sold through the ethical route and are available only at the Chemists. Eno and Pudin Hara are available in all shops since they are ayurvedic products.

Globally antacids are sold as OTC products. The market is expected to grow faster in India because of the " changed" lifestyle of less exercise and more junk foods. Right now in the OTC segment, growth is now taken more by the ayurvedic products rather than products like Gelusil because of the association of " no side effects" with ayurvedic products.

Gelusil faced a setback in 2004 when Pfizer had to recall its liquid form because of odour problem. Gelusil have some issues with its taste as it may not be liked by some of the customers ( including me). For that matter all antacids tastes bad. Since this product is now sold through OTC, the share of mind and share of voice is crucial for maintaining and building market share. The creatives of Gelusil were critically acclaimed with one ad winning at the ABBY's.

With a huge potential for antacids in the future, Gelusil has to get more aggressive to leap from the solid foundation it had created .

Source: Businessline, agencyfaqs, magindia, companywebsite.

Gatorade: Tested In The Lab, Proven On The Field

Brand: Gatorade
Company: Pepsi
Brand Count : 104

Gatorade, the $ 3bn Iconic brand is in India.Launched in 2004 , the brand is keeping a low profile in the Indian market. This global brand is dominating the world's sports drink market for more than 35 years.

The brand came in to existence as a result of a research by the University of Florida. The researchers was trying for a drink to help their football team called the Florida Gators to beat the dehydration. That year the Gators became champions because of this drink.

Gatorade came into Pepsi fold when Pepsi acquired Quaker Oats. This brand have a market share of over 70% in the US market.
The brand had a soft launch in India. One factor is that the market for sports drink is in its nascent stage in our country. While in US and the west, Sports coexist with the studies while in our country it is mutually exclusive.
But reports suggest that Gatorade have users from across ages and is not confined to athletes. With increasing popularity of health and fitness activities, there is a growing market for such drinks. Gatorade is not a product for the mass market since it is a functional benefit led drink catering to a niche ( but a growing niche). The drink is being promoted by a " special sweat team" from Pepsi who will be meeting potential clients at the various " Points of Sweat" like gyms, sports centers etc.

Pepsi has roped in Kaif and Pathan to endorse the brand. Priced reasonably at Rs 45 for 500 ml, this is a brand to watch for.

Skoda: Obsessed With Quality

Brand : Skoda
Company: Skoda Auto
Agency: IB&W
Brand Count : 103

Skoda came to India and conquered. The brand now holds around 25% of the luxury car market in India. That too without much advertising. This is a classic case of Slow Skimming in marketing theory. The brand also proves that good products sells itself.

Skoda came to India in 2001. A Czech brand owned by Volkswagen, the launch of Skoda was a low profile one. It would not be an exaggeration to say that no body knew about this brand being launched in India. The only source was the news items and the auto reviews.

Soon, people seem to be noticing a beautiful sturdy car that bear a logo that was not seen before. The brand slowly began gain popularity and that too through word of mouth. The brand is known for its ruggedness and high value and quality. No wonder Indian consumers took this brand to their hearts. The first brand from the Skoda stable was Octavia in the C-class category. In 2004, Skoda launched its flagship brand Superb which is a luxury sedan that is to compete with Mercedes Benz.

The company baseline say about their "obsession with quality" and Skoda customers will vouch for that. Built with care, this car is known for its comfort and surprisingly " Mileage". This has greatly boosted the popularity of this brand since the value for money proposition was too good to resist.

The company follows it strategy of being Measured, steady and Understated. And time has proved that this equation has worked in India. The brand tried to create some noise by advertising but the brand is selling for itself. One of the ad was intended to create some controversy but it did not. However with or without these campaigns, the brand was bought by the TG.

When the Skoda says that " We make cars that last for ever" , I believe that they really mean it.

Dove : The Mildest One

Brand : Dove
Company: HLL
Agency: O&M
Brand Count: 102
Dove is a $2 bn brand waiting to spread its wings in the Indian Premium soap market. Dove was globally launched in 1957. This brand came to India in 1995. Internationally this brand has a cult status and is a major player in the global premium soap market.

The brand is positioned as the Mildest Soap. Dove is PH neutral and this makes the soap soft on all kind of skin types. Internationally this brand is positioned as a brand that celebrates the " Real Beauty" . Dove defines real beauty as " beauty is not about how you look but about how you feel". The Dove's official site " campaignforrealbeauty.com" highlights this brand value. I think this is one of the best brand values a beauty product can have.

In India, the brand did not had the success of its global counterpart. One reasons are the small " Premium " market and another is the price barrier. Dove's initial price was around Rs50 that put off even the premium customers.

The brand has undergone some repositioning in recent times. Earlier the brand was positioned on the platform of " Trial for Results" idea. Later it was changed to the moisturizing platform.
The brand is claiming that it is milder than the 25 leading soaps thus proving its legitimacy to being the mildest soap in the country. Globally also this brand is positioned not as a soap but a cream bar.

Although the "Campaign For Real Beauty" and the mildness are excellent selling points, the brand is still not able to catch the fancy of Indian beauties. With lot of sales promotions happening with the brand like 1+1 free , there is a possibility of brand value erosion.With the brand now priced at Rs 28, the price has somewhat become reasonable.

I feel that still the brand does not fit into the " value for money" proposition for the Indian consumer. It is a truth that Indian consumer looks for " Value " even in premium products. Dove have a negative point in that the soap usually does not last enough ( partly because of our bathroom habits). This have reduced the value proposition for this brand.

With the emergence of an attractive market in the premium cosmetic market in India, Dove have lot of potential to become a key player, it has got the positioning right, now it has to set the " Value" right for the Indian consumer.

Taj Mahal Tea : Wah Taj

Brand : Brooke Bond Taj Mahal
Company: HLL
Agency: O&M

Brand Count : 101
TajMahal tea is the market leader in the 15,000,000 Kg Indian Premium leaf tea market. This 40 year old brand is constantly evolving to the changing times. The brand which is estimated to be worth Rs 200 crore, so far had a consistent promotional strategy which placed itself in the top league. But with the competition catching up in the form of Tata Tetley and the fear of young consumers moving away from the brand is causing a concern to the brand owners. The brand has already undergone 4 makeovers.

This July saw the relaunch of Taj with a new baseline and world class packaging. The new makeover comes after a change in the communication strategy in 2002-03 . Tajmahal tea was positioned by HLL as the best tea. This " hazaron me ek" tea was promoted using the baseline " Wah Taj " and endorsed by the tabla maestro Ustad Zakeer Hussain.

The brand was consistent in using the same promotional strategy and the baseline. But in 2003 the much popular baseline was changed to " Sabse Khas Taj Ehsas" from the famous and simple " Wah Taj". 2006 saw the brand going back to the same famous positioning " Wah Wah Taj" with an additional "Wah".

HLL is cautious about the brand because Tata Tea has serious plans to capture a major chunk of the premium tea market. Taj cannot rest in its laurels. The problem with highly successful brands are that over a time , the brand fails to understand the changing demographics of the customer. So after some years, the brand will surprisingly find itself redundant. It happened with old favorites like Chetak and Iodex. HLL is careful that it does not happen to Taj.

The brand still uses the same brand ambassador and is concentrating more on North India (I suppose because it is long time since I saw an ad of Taj while the Tata Tea brand ' Kannan Devan" is having higher "share of voice " in South India esp. Kerala. )

I feel that Taj Mahal tea need some more " share of voice". Some times I feel that if Bachchan says "Wah Taj" it creates more impact at this point of time, although Big B endorses anything from underwear to paints.

This brand is with India's best marketing minds :the HLL, they know better isn't it?

Wah Taj..