Tata Salt: Salt Of The Nation

Brand : Tata Salt
Company: Tata Chemicals
Agency: Bates

Brand Count :155

Tata salt is India's first branded salt. The story of this brand is interesting because the brand came as bye product. Tata salt was launched in 1983. Tata Chemicals has their largest integrated chemical plant in Mithapur. The soda ash plant needed fresh water for their boilers. Hence to supply fresh water, the company started purifying sea water and it created high quality salt as a bye product in the process. This coincided with the government campaign with the support of UNICEF for promoting Iodised salt since iodine deficiency was a serious issue haunting the children's health.
This environment gave birth of one of the super brands and a classic case of branding a commodity in the Indian market.

The Indian salt market is estimated to be around Rs 1 Billion. The market is dominated by unbranded players. Tata salt have a market share of around 40% in the branded segment and 18% in the total market. The product salt is a low involvement and low value product with little scope of differentiation. Tata salt had the first mover advantage and was able to consolidate its position in the market thorough brand building.

1990 saw organised players eyeing the market. Captain Cook salt was launched in the market taking the " free flowing " feature as a differentiating factor. 1996 saw HLL extending its Annapurna brand to salts and positioning its brand on the platform of health and iodine content. 2001 saw the high profile launch of Dandi salt from Kunwar Ajay sari fame.Still 70% of the market is dominated by unbranded players.

Tata salt started its life positioning on the rational platform of purity. Since the corporate brand had the value of Trust engrossed in Indian consumer's mind, Tata salt was eagerly owned by the consumers. One of the major factors that accelerated the growth of branded salt and Tata salt was the effective campaign by the government to promote iodised salt. The campaign penetrated the market to as deep as 20% and the first mover Tata Salt benefited most out of it.

2002 saw the repositioning of Tata Salt on the platform of emotion. The brand owners felt that they should rise above the rational differentiation and try to emotionally influence the consumers. Hence Tata salt adopted its new tagline " Desh ka namak" translated " Salt of the nation". The brand is trying to associate itself to the nationalistic feeling of the consumers and is trying to fill a passion towards the brand. It is a herculean task for a brand that is in a category which is low involvement and low priced. To create involvement in such a category will be a tough task . But the campaign has raised the brand to new heights in terms of market share. Since customers usually are brand loyal and tend to use the same brand of salt every time ( convenience factor) , such high decibel campaigns helps in strong brand recall.

But the long term view of this category is challenging because the scope of differentiation has not been sustainable. There has not been any serious product development these years and this can recommoditise the category.The brand owners may have to think about value additions in the marketing mix to capture the 70% of unbranded segment.

source:tatasalt, superbrand, businessline, agencyfaqs,domainb

Kurl-on : Make Your House a Home

Brand : Kurl-on
Company:Kurlon ltd
Agency: Manipal MarComm

Brand Count:154

Kurl-on is the market leader in the Rs 600 crore Indian mattress market. The brand is a pioneer in branding the highly fragmented market. Founded in 1962, this brand has established itself in the market through its emphasis on quality,distribution and brand building.

Although the brand commanded more than 85% of the market during the eighties,at some point of time the brand lost its share to the price competitors. But the brand maintained its leadership position in the market.The company realised that the lowering of the profitability of the product is due to the inefficient supply chain management and the company went in to a massive restructuring of its SCM. This restructuring is a case study at IIMB.

Although huge, the mattress market is highly fragmented. The market had evolved from cotton mattresses to coir mattress and to rubberised coir mattresses. Even though world over, spring mattresses command 80% of the market, this type of mattress is not popular in India.

Kurl-On was positioned on the platform of 'Comfort for good sleep'. The product is promoted using the statement " Pure Sleep, Nothing Else" .The product category is such that there is limited scope of differentiation. Most of the players focus on Good Sleep and Back Support for their promotions. Duraflex is a brand that is trying to put emotion into the campaigns by positioning their mattress as one that can kindle romance in you.Reports suggests that the product like mattress are not an impulse product. Bought on special occasions like marriage and on new housewarming , this product often involves lot of information search by the consumer.

The market is also segmented along lifestyle and demographics. With higher income group going for well established brands, the mass market is price sensitive and the unbranded and local brand priced well below the branded players have a major share in this market.Another factor that favours the low price products is that by the first look, a consumer can never understand the quality difference. It will be after a year that the real difference comes into open.
Kurl-on is said to have more than 126 different configurations. The brand has been launching many new varieties of mattress like the Spine-care Ortho mattress that is good for those with backpain. The new launch was followed by some smart print ads by the ad agency mimicking the cover page of the famous weekly in which the ad appeared as a front page ad.

With market getting crowded with regional players and margins squeezed because of price competitors, the brand is extending itself into related categories like bed linen and bath market. The bed and bath market is much larger with an estimated size of Rs 1800 crore. The market is dominated by the likes of Bombay Dyeing.
With the aim of extending the equity of the brand, the positioning has changed into a broader theme of " Making your House a Home ". Although the statement is a oft used cliche, it makes perfect fit for a brand that aims to get into furnishing business.

With the strong brand equity built over the past years and with the strong distribution channel, Kurl-on has all the strength to make it big into the new segments. Again the same problem of unbranded players and fragmented market is going to worry this brand. The growing affluent middle-class which spend lot of money on such lifestyle products offer a good potential for Kurl-On in the new areas that it is trying to venture.

source: agencyfaqs,businessline,kurlon.com,magindia.com

Melody : Chocolaty

Brand : Melody
Company: Parle
Agency: Grey

Brand Count : 153

Melody is one the oldest brand in Parle's Portfolio. The brand which has made a place for its position in the market because of its unique quality and taste is making a comeback. Melody is a unique 2 in 1 toffee with chocolate inside and caramel outside. The brand which was premium priced in early days had used its chocolate content as its differentiators.

But somewhere in its life the brand lost its way. The brand was not visible in the media or in the stores. With the entry of high profile aggressive marketers like Perfetti almost pushed Melody to oblivion. Also the brand managers at Parle was not spending enough on this old brand. Confectionery products are bought impulsively and hence the store placement and brand recall performs an important part in the success of a brand in this category. At one point of time , Melody lost on both of these accounts.

The brand thus was slowly forgotten by the customers. Melody had some unique attributes that made it once successful
a. Its unique taste
b. The brand recall and equity
c.The brand elements like its jingle and tagline and packaging.

Melody was famous for its jingle " Melody hai chocolaty" and " Melody khao khud jan jao" emphasising on the rich chocolate core and the high decibel campaigns in the past was so effective that now also people remember the jingle.
But those who remember the jingle and the brand has now become older and the younger ones are not knowing this brand. That is a big problem that this brand faces.
2006 saw this brand coming back to the Rs 1200 crore Indian confectionery market. The brand handled by Grey Worldwide is retaining the famous positioning of "Chocolaty" .The latest ads shows the famous question 'Why Melody is so chocolaty" has made a comeback.

In the analysis of competition, we often say that there is a competition for an Idea among marketers. Brands compete for idea or positioning. Here the " Question" that made Melody famous was hijacked by Chlormint which ask the same question in a different way " Log Chlormint kyon khathe hain". Hence Melody lost the exclusivity of the Q & A that made it famous ( to a certain extent).

But for a consumer who has liked this brand and missed this brand, the comeback is a welcome event. If Parle sustains its product quality and maintains its share of voice, Melody will lift the fortunes of its confectionery business.

source: agencyfaqs,parle.com,businessline

Parry's Sugar : Branding A Commodity

Brand : Parry's Sugar
Company: EID Parry
Agency: JWT

Brand Count : 152

Indian sugar industry is worth a whopping Rs 25000 crore. Although India is the second largest producer of sugar in the world, the percapita consumption is low at 18 kg.Unlike the Salt industry which saw many successful branded players, the branded sugars were not that successful.

Sugar branding was initiated around 6 years ago by players like Mawana sugars and Dhampur sugars. The first movers got the advantage and these players now have a 30 percent market share in the branded sugar segment. November 2004 saw EID Parrys launching their brand Parry's Sugar in TamilNadu which is traditionally a big market for sugar.

Although the market size of sugar industry is large, 75% of the sugar is consumed by large buyers like bakeries, Soft drink manufacturers and confectionery players. Hence most of the marketing is business to business.

The sugar industry has two types of pricing models. One is the free market pricing and the other regulated pricing through public distribution systems. The sugar prices are monitored by the government which sometimes intervene in the market and regulate prices through imports ( if the price increases )

Sugar is viewed by consumers as a commodity and there has not been any initiative from the part of sugar companies to create a differentiation compared to what marketers have done with Salts. Parry's has launced its branded sugar with focus on its quality and purity. It is known fact that the best way to brand a commodity is to focus of these two attributes. Parry's claims to be better refined and pure than the unbranded sugar. Packed in attractive pet bottles, the brand sells at a premium of Rs 4- 6 over the unbranded ones.

The market for sugar is a highly price sensitive one. While in the case of salt, the presence of Iodine was a sufficient differentiation for establishing the brand. The Iodine deficiency could cause thyroid and customers were educated by the government and the salt marketers to prefer iodised salt . But in the case of sugar, those differentiation opportunities were absent. According to a report in Business Today there are different factors that caused the slow start of branded sugars . They are
a.Seasonality : sugar production is seasonal and the entire years productions should be completed within 5-6 months. Hence there is no time for product or process innovations.

b. The sugar play is high volume low margin game. Hence whether marketers are interested in exploring the value added game is another factor that slows down the growth of branded sugar market. While branding involves promotional costs, it will be a tough tradeoff since margin pressure will prevent aggressive brand promotions.
c. The large format retailers have also started selling packed sugar with a premium of 50 paise to Rs 1 making the consumers think that the packed sugars are better refined than the other one.

The main factor behind the branded sugar becoming less popular is the lack of differentiation. The reasons are not compelling for consumers to shell out a premium for branded sugars. Even though Quality and Purity is an issue with the unbranded sugars, even affluent consumers are shying away from paying a premium for branded sugars. More over some branded sugars use sulphur dioxide to refine which is harmful and this type of refining is banned in European countries. It is said that in the west, marketers try to value add this commodity by enriching it with vitamins .
Branding a commodity always has been a challenging task for marketers. Parry's Sugar is a brand to watch and it will be interesting to see how this brand breaks into the consumer psyche.

source:magindia,eidparry,businesstoday,chennaionline,jimtrade,agencyfaqs

Garden : Creating A New Woman

Brand : Garden
Company: Garden Silks
Agency: Ambience Publicis

Brand Count : 151

Garden sari is one of the oldest sari brand in India. Garden Silk Mills was incorporated in 1979 as a public limited company. Garden Saree have unique place in the Indian consumer's mind. Garden and Garden vareli were household names during the eighties and nineties.

The Indian women's wear market is estimated to be around Rs 28500 crore. While the ethnic wears constitute around Rs 17000 crores, the branded saree market is estimated to be around Rs7000 crore.

Garden faced a crisis in the late nineties because it failed to change with the changing psychographics of the Indian consumer. In eighties to nineties, this brand was enjoying a cult status among the upper middle class Indian consumer segment. Garden sari was the choice of the working women in the nineties. The brand was built on quality , affordability and style.
Garden brand was a well nurtured brand and the brand owners were never hesitant in spending on brand building. The ads of Garden were famous for its design and models. Famous models like Meher and Lisa Ray have featured in the campaigns.
But somewhere Garden lost its magic. The brand was not able to foresee the changing lifestyle of its TG. Saree was slowly becoming less popular among the modern Indian women.

The rapid urbanisation and the influence of western wear contributed a shift in the dressing habit of Indian women . Saree had its share of product problems. Working ladies began to look for dresses that are more convenient and easy to wear. Since the urban working class travel long distance to work , slowly Salwar and western dresses began to take the place of the traditional sari. This was not anticipated by Garden. The brand was losing relevance to the new generation which had new lifestyle priorities.
When we look at the new TG for this brand , the working women, the dressing habits especially in the metros and mini metros have changed drastically. Salwar has become the norm and sari has been restricted to occasions. Although this change is yet to trickle down to the larger part of the country, the brand like Garden was affected most. I am not forgetting the fact that majority of Indians live in small towns and villages.

At the lower segment, Garden faced intense competition from the unbranded sari and at the top end from the designer wears. Garden was not able to position itself in the changing market. During this stage, the spend on the promotions were also reduced which further eroded the equity of this brand.During this time brands like Kunwar Ajay and Poonam took the market away from Garden

2006 saw the rejuvenation of Garden in a new form.The brand is making noises in the media and is keeping its old flashy style that made this a big brand. The brand is now trying to create its equity in the young generation. The ads are positioning this brand as a youthful and flashy designer range of womenwear. Reports suggest that this brand is also extending into readywear segment. The introduction of ranges like Cenza has created some excitement among the consumers. At the retail end also this brand is being increasingly noticed by customers. This is a good move by the brand because womenwear segment is dominated by retail brands rather than manufacturer brands. Hence there is a space for a national brand in this segment.
Challenges are plenty for Garden because it has lost touch with the new gen. Hence the brand has to spend more on ads and also keep the brand more exciting by
a. launching new varieties
b. associating with events and
c. creating designer labels

Garden is on its way to rejuvenite and retake its past glory. To transform from " MY Mother's Sari Brand " to My brand is a tough task.

Garden : Creating a New Brand.

Source : economictimes,businessline, agencyfaqs.

Sugarfree : Freedom From Calories

Brand : Sugarfree
Company: Zydus Cadilla
Agency : Rediffusion

Brand Count : 150

Sugarfree is the market leader in the emerging category of Sugar substitutes. The sugar substitute market in India is estimated to be of Rs 60 crore growing at 15%. The market is expected to grow even faster because of the changing lifestyle of Indian elite. Sugarfree has around 70% market share in this segment.
The category will be of interest to marketing practitioners because of its potential. Primarily marketed as a sugar substitute for diabetic patients and diabetic prone middleaged Indians, the market is witnessing a change in the positioning of this products.

The major players in this markets are Sugarfree, Equal and the new aggressive entrant Zero from Alembic. These products are now targeted at the more " Proactive " consumers who are health conscious and non diabetic. This is a risk that the marketers are taking. The rationale is that these proactive consumers have seen their friends and relatives suffering from the consequences of diabetics . Hence will be looking for options to substitute sugar in their daily diet. Hence the product is positioned as a substitute for sugar ( to a certain extent). The rationale behind this positioning is to create a positive image about this category. If these brands are marketed as sugar substitute for diabetic patients, the consumers will hesitant to publicly buy this product. But when these products are marketed as a healthy option to stay fit, there is a positive perception towards this category.

The segmentation for this category will be SEC A1-A2 aged between 30-40. Although marketing campaigns are trying to position this as a healthy alternative to sugar, I feel that the actual buyers will be those who have been diagnosed with diabetics or youth in the risk category who have diabetic parents .

Since this product category is new, the task of the marketers are manifold. The consumers has to be educated about this product. Since the TG is not diabetic patients, the task is more difficult because the competition will be with ordinaryl sugar. Another task is to make the consumer to try the product. Then comes the price, these products are priced at a premium and hence it will be a tough task to convince the value conscious Indian consumer.

Should you spent so much money in repositioning this category away from diabetic patients? The reason for this question lies in the fact that India will have large number of diabetic patients owing to the changing psychographics. It takes minimum effort to convince the diabetic patients to take this product .( I am not sure whether diabetic patients can take this product, correct me if I am mistaken). I feel that there is a good market for a brand that targets this diabetic patients rather than beating around the bush and spending hell lot of money on repositioning. Hence " Enjoy life with Diabetics " will sell more than " freedom from calories".

Sugarfree has the ingredient of Aspartame which is a low calorie sugar substitute. The competitor Zero is having sucrose based sugar substitute.Sugarfree has recently ran into trouble because of some health issues regarding its ingredient Aspartame.

Sugarfree is positioned on its " Low Calorie" attribute and the campaigns promote this brand as a healthy option for consumers who have less time for exercise and targeting mainly at the SEC A category. Lack of product awareness and high price will limit this product category to a niche ( a profitable one) .

Source: agencyfaqs,timesfood,businessline