Sparsh :Long Lasting Goodness

Brand : Sparsh

Company: Marico
Agency: McCann Erickson

Brand Count : 116

Sparsh is a bold move by Marico in the baby care market dominated by none other than Johnson &Johnson. The brand which was rolled out initially as baby oil has extended itself to Baby Soap.

Indian Baby care market is estimated to be around Rs 3 Billion and in the oil, cream and soap category, the market is dominated by J&J. In the soap category, the Johnson's Baby Soap commands over 68% market share and 100% mind share.

Many companies have in the past tried to break in to this market. Wipro with their Baby Soft tried to break into J&J but is now looking at alternative segment by reducing the price. Wipro is now building the brand in the price conscious segment. Other players like Himalaya,Dabur and HLL is trying to enter the segment which has a huge potential to grow.

Marico entered this segment with the launch of Sparsh Baby Oil. The baby oil category is estimated to be around Rs 350 crore. The brand was launched after a careful market study and prototype testing in Andhrapradesh which is a huge market for baby oil. Buoyed by positive results, the brand was nationally launched this year. Also came in to the market Sparsh Baby soap posing a direct competition to the market leader J&J.

The greatest obstacle for Marico in this segment is the brand equity that Johnson's Baby soap enjoys. For over 59 years, this brand has been the favorite of mothers world over. The brand has already a generic status in this category. This equity is something that is a hard nut to crack. Infact J&J has a virtual monopoly over the Baby Skin care segment. Sensing this difficulty Wipro have changed the segmentation of their Baby Soft by reducing the price to attract the non users rather than directly competing with the leader. Sparsh is directly competing with J&J and Sparsh oil and Soap is priced at par with Johnson's.

Sparsh is initially banking on the equity of highly successful Parachute oil. Sparsh is endorsed by Parachute and the brand value of the Parachute : " Long Lasting Goodness" is extended to Sparsh also. Sparsh is based on the Naturals Platform . The oil is having natural ingredients of turmeric , tulsi and coconut oil . This gives the brand a clear differentiation to Johnson Baby oil which is more synthetic based or Non Natural. The baby massage oil market in India is dominated by Dabur with its Lal Tel with 22% value share. So the fight here is between Dabur and Marico.

Sparsh Baby Soap is also based on the Natural Ingredients like Turmeric and Natural moisturisers . The brand is positioned as India's only " No Tear " baby bath soap. The soap has a unique shape and is transparent and looks like Pears. So through Attribute and Appearance, Sparsh is differentiating itself from the market leader.

To promote Sparsh in South, Marico has roped in the Southern film diva Simran and for their national launch Ms Sonali Bhindre. Both are famous Young Star Mothers. Along with the high profile brand building, Sparsh is trying to influence the " Influencers" of these products like Doctors & Paediatricians through different campaigns.

Marico is an accomplished marketer who knows how to build a brand. Here in this market, this skill will be tested to the maximum.

Source: Marico website, Businessline, Agencyfaqs,

Moods Condoms : My Man

Brand : Moods

Company: Hindustan Latex Ltd
Agency: Lowe

Brand Count : 115

Moods is a major player in India's Condoms market. Moods was the first major branding exercise to happen in this market. The Indian Condom market is estimated to be around 130 crores.

Moods was launched by Hind latex in 1987 with much fanfare . It was a bold initiative and the campaign was regarded as one of the marketing success stories. Indian condom market is divided in to
a. Free segment
b.Subsidised segment
c.Popular segment
d. Premium segment
Moods is a major player in the popular segment while brands like Kamasutra, Kohinoor and Durex are in the premium segment.

Condoms are considered to be a taboo product. Just like the sanitary napkins, People don't want to discuss these products in public let alone be seen buying it. Hence marketing of this product is a tough call for any marketer. Hence during the 80's the major challenge for HLL was to break the taboo. Moods did to the condom market what Whisper has done with the sanitary market. Now marketers are trying to market these taboo products with "Look good, feel good , do good" message strategy.

Moods was launched with classic ad featuring a hunk asking for " Moods Please" at a store where a shy person was struggling for asking for the same " Can I have a pack of ......mmm..". We as the audience were shocked and surprised at this blunt campaign. The words "Moods please" struck the consumer so hard that even small kids used to tell the shop keeper " Moods Please" much to the embarrassment of the parents.

The brand was positioned for taking this product category out of closet. The baseline " Act With Confidence" exhorted men to confidently ask for this brand at the shops. The campaign created by RK Swamy was a classic success story.
The success of Moods prompted many bold launches in the condom market. At that time Nirodh was the popular brand because of the support from the government. Moods created a category of branded condoms. Next to follow the Moods brand wagon was Kamasutra. KS created lot of talk with its bold ads featuring Pooja Bedi and Marc Robinson. These efforts helped to a certain extend to take this category out of closet.

According to a report on the site Foolonahill.com, the condom use in India is only a mere 5%. The product is still perceived to be a Pregnancy prevention tool. Indians never have looked it as a tool for pleasure enhancement. Although the brands are now highlighting the pleasure aspect with the launch of Dotted and Scented variants, the market is yet to catch up.

The major factor being the cultural psyche of Indian consumer. Unlike in the west, couples seldom talks about sex. We are still a land of hypocrites. Hence it is difficult for a marketer of condom to talk openly about pleasure enhancement and sex without getting the wrath of the so called Culture Evangelists. Kamasutra brand faced lot of such problems when they tried to talk sex. The question is " Without talking sex, how can you sell condoms?" or should I say " Why should I sell condoms with out talking sex? ( debatable point !).

Even with these marketing efforts the product category is still not out of the closet. The product is still bought secretly and we can see the shopkeeper hurriedly packing the product so that others don't see it. Seldom do customers buy it from supermarket and the sale happen through medical shops. So more efforts are necessary to take this product out.

One of reasons why there is a sluggish growth in the condom market is the demand supply gap. Since there is lot of money and demand in the "Social marketing" initiatives of govt and UN sponsored agencies because of AIDS scare, the manufacturers are flush with orders hence where is the time left to create the market.

Moods brand after its success with the " Act with confidence " campaign is now back with the new campaign " My Man". The ads with the old song background " Ye Kya Hua" is interesting. But I have some reservations about the message of the ad ( frankly I don't know). The baseline " My Man" is also little confusing. But any way the ad execution is OK but with a poor message.

Source: Magindia.com, foolonahill.com,hindlatex.com

Ceasefire: RIP 1989-2002

Brand : Ceasefire
Company: Real Value Appliances
Agency: Grey

Brand Count : 114


Ceasefire was India's first domestic fire extinguisher. It was one of India's best and worst marketing stories. A brand that virtually created and ruled a category faded out after12 years.

Fire extinguishers comes in the category of unsought goods and it is difficult and expensive to create and survive in such a product category . Real Value Appliances owned by Mr. Pheroze Engineer started operations in 1989 bringing to the country a new concept - a domestic fire extinguisher. The fire extinguishers were not uncommon to Indian consumers. We see it in large malls and theaters. But a domestic one was unique. Indian consumers never thought of having one in their homes.

The product made perfect sense in Indian market ( infact every market). Our households deal with fire all the time and the risk of fire being getting out of control is very much there. Hence a marketing mind would easily see the prospect of cashing in that need : the need for protection from fire. Thus came in to market Ceasefire. The product was compact, unique had a catchy name, looked good and boasted of extinguishing all sorts of fires.

Ceasefire was halon 1211 based fire extinguisher that was very compact and was handy and easy to use ( with minimum effort). Much more than the efficacy of the use, it gave a certain peace of mind to the Indian consumer against the possible fire mishap.

The product was well received in the market. The ads were focusing on building in the consumer a fear about a possible fire mishap . The ads were backed by a sales campaign. The company focused on direct marketing for promoting the product . Since the " Fear of Fire" is so basic to human psyche, the success was imminent. The product was priced at a premium and the customers never complained.

Fire extinguishers , like Insurance is one kind of product where customers are not unhappy if it is not being used. Hence the success is in keeping the " Fear " alive in the customer's mind. The success of Ceasefire was much discussed in Management classes those days.

Then buoyed by the success, the company diversified to Vaccumizer and " rest became history". From a brand that was among the top ten fastest growing brand in the country to a company referred to BIFR, things moved very fast from 1997 onwards.

It happened not because the brand failed the company but it was because the company failed the brand. The unsuccessful new product like vaccumizer and the alleged mismanagement failed the brand once gloried as a marketing success story.In 2002, Real Value Appliances closed down

its operations. May be the brand / company tried to grow very fast without consolidating, may be because of mismanagement.

It was a brand that lost its life because of faults not of its own. But surprisingly, no other brands have come forward to take that position. The product category that was created by Ceasefire is still void. May be the category may not be appealing to the other marketers. But the potential is there and the fear is also there.

Source: magindia, indiainfoline, estrategicmarketing.com

HDFC Standard Life Insurance: Respect Yourself

Brand: HDFC Standard Life Insurance
Company: HDFC Standard Life Insurance
Agency: Leo Burnett

Brand Count :113

India is one of the most lucrative financial services market in the world. The insurance market in India is estimated to be around 400 bn growing at an astounding rate of 30% p.a. Still the experts believe that the potential is largely untapped.

The insurance market is dominated by the public sector giant LIC with a market share of around 71.4%. With the private players leading the growth story, this sector is witnessing more marketing actions than even the FMCG sector.

Traditionally insurance are sold through direct selling. The reason being purely the nature of product warrants direct communication with the consumer. Kotler categorizes Insurance as an "Unsought" product . Unsought products are those which are ranked lowest in terms of consumer interest. Consumers may not be even aware of either the need or existence of such products.

Historically, Indian insurance products are sold for wrong reasons. People buy insurance to avail the tax benefit and not to ensure protection and LIC was happy to oblige. Hence most of the sales talks start with the question " How much do you pay tax?" . Little money was spent on brand building because there was no competition for LIC.

Things have now changed. With the increasing financial literacy, volatile economy and uncertain future are prompting Indians to look seriously at insurance as a means for protection rather than tax saving instrument. With more private players entering the domain, the issues of differentiation and branding became important.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance (HDFCSL) is one of the major players in the insurance market. One of the first private insurers to enter the market, HDFC SL entered the scene in 2000. It is a joint venture between the housing finance major HDFC and the UK insurance giant Standard Life.

Now a days we are seeing a lot of media action from this company. Although a slow starter HDFC SL was having a small share of the pie. It was eclipsed by ICICI prudential with its media and sales blitz making it second largest player in the Insurance market. 2006 saw a shake up in this market with Bajaj Allianz edging out ICICI from the second spot . Bajaj have a market share of around 8% and HDFC SL and ICICI fighting at 3rd place with around 7.5%.

HDFC is currently focusing on The Pension Plan and the Child Plan aiming to cash in on the potential of these segments. The pension market in India is estimated to be around 1000 crore with a huge potential for growth in the future.

The change in the demographics is going to drive the pension market in India. Traditionally in a Joint family, there was an inherent protection for elders. With the urbanisation and the evolution of Nuclear Urban Family ( NUF) , elders are often forgotten. Out of the 314 mn workers in India only 11% has some sort of old age security. People earlier depend on social security products like EPF and PPF to build a corpus for their golden years.

It is this potential that has encouraged HDFC to promote its pension plans. Introduced in 2002, this product has been well received by the consumers. The ads are well executed and revolve around the positioning of "Respect Yourself". The target segment being the 30 year old family man. The basic theme of the campaign is to appeal to the self respect of these men who are in their prime of their career. "Even after retirement let your hands give rather than receive" is one of the best themes for a pension plan. Since I am in that category , these ads strike a chord in me and reminds me of the need to plan for my retirement. The same theme is carried to the Child plan also.

Although these campaigns will help to invoke an interest in TG, the market is in its nascent stage and lot of convincing has to be done to crack this huge market. One of the stumbling block being the expensive annuity plans. For example , it takes a 2 lakh corpus to generate Rs 1000 per month pension. Also if you put 10000 per month in a pension plan if you are 30 yrs old, what you will get after 20 years is a monthly pension of 10000. ( correct me if I am wrong). So it looks unattractive in the first look compared to MFs.

HDFC Standard Life has correctly identified the pulse of the target market and is all set to reap the benefits.

Source: Businessline, HDFC SL website, indiainfoline.com, agencyfaqs

L'Oréal : World Of Beautiful Brands

Brand :L'Oréal
Company:L'Oréal Paris

Brand Count: 112

L'Oreal is one of the most successful International premium brands in India. This French brand came to India in 1991 with its Ultra Doux range of Shampoo through its Agent Laboratories Garnier. In 1994 Laboratories Garnier became the 100 % subsidiary of L'Oréal. In 2000 Loreal launched its range of cosmetics in to Indian market.

L'Oréal is a global giant in the cosmetic industry with a presence in over 120 countries. Its brand is based on the values of Innovation and developing formulations unparalleled in quality and performance.

The Indian Cosmetic and skin care market is estimated to be around $300 Million. In this market the Color Cosmetic segment is around Rs 250 crore while the Skin care segment is estimated to be around Rs 400 crore.

In India the brand is having its presence with three international signatures: L'Oréal Paris, Maybelline Newyork and Garnier.

While L'Oréal was focusing on hair color market in the initial stages of its launch, Maybelline was in the premium color cosmetic segment ( Lipstick and nail enamel) while Garnier in the "naturals" segment.

L'Oréal came to India with its International range of hair colors. At that time hair colors were in the nascent stage with hair dyes dominating the market. The major player being Godrej. The consumers were thagingng lot who had startegrayingng.

L'Oréal changed the way Indian consumers viewed the hair color. The target consumers were not the older lot who want to blacken their grey hairs but the younger ones who want to make a fashion statement.

It was a tough call and to change the Indian consumer's mindset required a good marketer with hell lot of money. L'Oréal had all that. Globally this brand is endorsed by who is who in the fashion world like Claudia Schiffer. In India, the brand is endorsed by none other than Aishwarya Rai. The campaigns of L'Oréal had international models and the Indian models like Isha Koppikar and the ads were positioning this brand as a premium brand. Indian premium class who used to be a globetrotter knew this brand and there was no problem in accepting the Indian version. L'Oréal has garnered a market share of 38% in this segment.

Garnier concentrated on the Natural Hair care market with the main USP of strong hair. The brand positioned as a Unisex brand mainly used its international campaigns in India to appeal to the Indian consumer.

Maybelline is in thcolor cosmeticic segment and is targeting the premium class of customers. This global brand is famous for its tagline "May be she is born with it. May be its Maybeline". This segment is a tough call for Loreal since the global brands and our HLL is fighting for its share.

L'Oréal has now introduced their skin care products in to the Indian market. They have two divisions , one catering to consumer and other to the institution ( beauty saloons). I think the strategy to concentrate on the beauty saloons with specific products is one of the smartest marketing moves. Beauticians acts as influencer in the purchasing decisions regarding skin care as well as hair care. Last week when I asked my hair care specialist ( barber) about a good hair cream, he suggested L'Oréal hair cream. Another advantage is that the beauty saloons acts as a medium for showcasing the L'Oréal brands which can generate interest in the consumer. The saloons also benefit by using L'Oréal brands . Hence it is a win-win situation for the brand and the influencer.

With its smart campaigns and careful brand building L'Oréal has emerged as a winner in the Indian market which has seen lot of International brands biting the dust.

Source: ibef.org,Businessline, Loreal.co.in,agencyfaqs,

Live-in Jeans: Can't Live Without

Brand : Live-in
Company: Microtex
Agency: Contract

Brand Count: 111

The Live-in Brand of jeans come from Microtex Ltd which is the part of Maxwell group which is famous for their VIP brand of Innerwear. Live-in is a leading brand in the Rs.1500 crore denim market in India. According to a report on imagesfashion.com, the jeans wear market is growing very fast across various categories.

Live-in jeans is competing in the mid segment of the jeans market. The product was a bold move by the innerwear marketer into a market dominated by unorganised sector. The main target segment for Jeans are of the age group 16-35 ( although we find many 60 yrs old "young at heart" freaking out in jeans).

Live-in was launched with smart clutter-breaking ad campaign. It used the super model Dino Morea which added a touch of class to the brand. The brand was positioned as the ultimate comfortable brand which you will " Keep Them On and On and On". The baseline and the positioning was an instant hit and the brand had a good run ( I don't have the market share numbers).

The name "Live-in" is the most appropriate for a brand for jeans. The name came it being with a consumer insight that the youth these days virtually are living in their jeans for 18 hours a day.(magindia.com)

Later the brand extended into trousers and shirts. The Live-in shirts were using the baseline " Above All Else". The trouser range was using the baseline " Meet Your Lighter Side" . The campaigns of the trouser range was a flop because the company tried to add humour to the brand which failed. The flops eroded lot of equity of Live-in and the brand is back after a restructuring.

The primary reason for the extensions to fail because it deviated from the successful positioning of the Jeans brand. I can vouch that Live-in trousers are one of the best in terms of fit and quality in that price range. It could have given the Peter England Brand a run for its money, but it did not happen.

The latest relaunch of Live-in has done away with the famous " Keep them on" may be because it has been taken by batteries like Amaron. So Live-in is now with the tag " Can't Live Without", which is a smart baseline. The brand is now making lot of noises across the media with some good campaigns.

Pricing is a major factor in this market where the growth is happening most in the sub 500 category where Newport and Ruf N Tuf are the major players. It is said that even Pepe have a brand in this segment.The entry of all major global brands in to India have provided a bonanza for consumers. But for a marketer it is a nightmare to find the right place with the right product with the right price.

Live-in is a brand with good recall and a good product. Most of the Live-in users will agree with me that Live-in have huge potential to be a readymade brand especially in the trouser segment.

Live-in let me hope it will go on and on and on.....

Source: magindia.com, agencyfaqs,indiatodayplus.com, imagefashion.com,magindia .com