Brand Update : Pepsodent

Pepsodent has come out with a new campaign taking the war into the Colgate's main positioning platform. The new campaign has done away with the famed "Dishum Dishum" campaign and is talking to customers in a more rational platform. The Brand is positioned on its capability to fight 10 gum/teeth problem directl y comparing with its arch rival Colgate. The new campaign is using two smart boys betting on the efficacy of their respective toothpastes. Colgate has been in an aggressive mode recently with a slew of new variants and new campaigns. Pepsodent has carved out a niche in this highly competitive market with their "DishumDishum" campaign.The new direct comparison ad is set to make the marketing war hot.

Related Brands

Pepsodent
Colgate
Close Up

ImageSource: agencyfaqs.com

Maruti Esteem : Welcome To The Big World

Brand : Esteem
Company : Maruti Suzuki
Agency: Lowe

Brand Count: 180

Maruti Esteem is one of the best selling cars from the Maruti's portfolio. The car created the C class segment in India is known for its quality and reliability. Esteem was launched in Indian market in 1995.

Esteem is actually the rebadged version of Suzuki Cultus. The previous avatar of Esteem in India was Maruti 1000. Maruti 1000 was the 1000 cc sedan launched in 1989. Although the car was well received by the consumers, there were certain issues interms of Power and ride comfort. This prompted Maruti to take out the model from the market. This paved the way for a much powerful and refined sedan from Maruti with the new brand name Esteem.

True to its name, Esteem was considered an upmarket luxury car during the early ninetees. The car lived up to the expectations of the consumer and delivered excellent performance. The mid nineties turned the tables against this brand. All the global majors began to eye this lucrative segment and the competition became severe for the brand.

The high profile launch of Ford Ikon and Hyundai Accent took the gas out of Esteem. As usual, Maruti was reluctant to make any drastic changes to the best selling Esteem. The car retained its same look for almost 15 years. The entry of the fully loaded Tata Indigo also made the life of this brand very difficult. The car from its position as a market leader in the C segment became " An entry level sedan". The launch of Baleno in the segment further weakened the position of Esteem in the hierarchy. Baleno was launched at the premium end of the segment but the recent price cut and dealer offers put Baleno at the same league as the Esteem.

I am not sure about the previous positioning of Esteem . For customers it was a good car from Maruti. I would say that it was a sedan which anyone can buy with their eyes closed. The brand had tremendous equity and was a natural choice for an Upgrade for a Maruti Loyalist. So this brand was the choice of a Zen owner as an upgrade.The excellent quality ensured high customer satisfaction for this brand. Esteem was always rated high by JD Power satisfaction surveys. The quality of the product was the single reason for the successful extension of the brand's lifecycle.

Esteem was a good package, hence the company was not sure as to the USP or the Point of Differentiation. Whether it was power or comfort or looks or quality , this confusion was evident in the ads of Esteem during the nineties. While the competing brands had their own USP's
Ford Ikon focused on Power
Indigo on Value
Fiesta on Looks etc

The confused positioning diluted the brand equity of Esteem and made it look like a second cousin to Ford Ikon. The value proposition of Esteem was challenged by Indigo and the overall comfort and drive quality was challenged by Hyundai Accent.

2004 saw the reincarnation of Esteem .The entire car got a new look. Taking cues from Baleno, the car was changed completely. The company embarked on a new positioning " Fall in Love Again" on an emotional platform. The car looked better and was a welcome change from the old much seen look of Esteem. But again the ads were little too boring .

2005-2006 saw the brand striking the " Big Idea" .The new positioning was formulated. The brand is a Big Car.... Big on mileage, Big on Power etc. The campaign has the common theme of a father and daughter with the daughter discovering the " Bigness " of the new esteem. Although I have reservations about the execution of the campaign , the " Big" Idea is really a "Big Idea".

The brand is now revealing its true self. The tagline says " Welcome to the Big World" . The TG is those looking for an upgrade. The audience will be the die hard Maruti fans and those who don't want to take risks. The positioning cements the realisation that the position of Esteem will be in the Entry level C segment.The brand faces stiff competition from Indigo interms of value proposition.

Related Brand
Ford Fiesta

Source ; Businessline, maruti.com,wikipedia
image courtesy: maruti website

Louis Philippe : The Upper Crest

Brand : Louis Philippe
Company: Aditya Birla Nuvo
Agency:Contract

Brand Count : 179

If you want to know how to create a brand, Study this brand. Louis Philippe can be termed as a brand which has an iconic status in India. The brand was launched in 1989 and it created the super premium segment in the Rs 5000 crore men's readymade category.The brand originally belonged to Madura garments and was later acquired by Indian Rayons ( now Aditya Birla Nuvo)

The brand has satisfied all requisite parameters for a successful brand. The brand element, the segmentation, positioning and the promotions were perfect. The brand when launched had a clear vision. The launch coincided with the liberalisation although the later played minimum role in the brand's success. Louis Philippe was obsessed with quality from its birth itself.The brand used the finest cloth and the craftsmanship was exquisite. The brand is the first to launch international fashion trends in the Indian market.

The brand is known for its craftsmanship and attention to detail. The brand has a life that beats the other brands by miles. Those ardent fans of Louis Philippe will vouch for the life of the shirt. After repeated washes, seldom this shirt lets you down.It is this value that had captured the minds of the Indian consumer.

Louis Philippe was positioned as an aspirational brand. The brand element, Crest has now become a symbol of success. You wear the shirt with the upper crest, you make a statement of being well dressed. Seldom brands achieve that status.
The brand initially positioned as "Signed Designer wear" later extended the positioning to create a sense of exclusivity. The brand became the symbol of being " Arrived". The premium pricing and the exclusive Brand element reinforced the premium image of this brand.
Louis Philippe also made sure that it offer maximum value for the premium it charges. The brand uses only Suvin, Egyptian or Pima Cotton. The brand is also the first to launch iconic collections. The Black and White Collections (1996) and the super premium Gods and Kings (2003 ) ensured that the fans are excited about the brand. Gods and Kings range is priced 100% premium over the other premium brands.Another blockbuster product from the brand's stable was the PermaPress range of 100% wrinkle free shirts which became a huge hit with the executives.

The brand primarily relies on print ads in magazines for promotions .The first ever TVC was created in 2000 carried the message that the brand is unreachable for " lesser ones". The print ads were carefully drafted and in all the ads, the brand was the star and not the models. Initially the brand was primarily known as the shirt brand but later it easily extended itself to become a complete menswear brand. The brand faces tough competition from the likes of Van Heusen, Colorplus, Park Avenue, Zodiac ,Reid and Taylor and the list goes on. The future for this brand will depend on how it will stay afloat in the increasingly crowded market. Readymade markets have little entry barriers. Any marketer can enter this market with a brand. This can create issues such as sustaining the differentiation and staying in the minds of the customer.

Related Brands

Zodiac
Indian Terrain
Colorplus
Monte Carlo
John Players
Peter England
Reid and Taylor

Source: Superbrands,adityabirlanuvo.com,agencyfaqs
image courtsey: Superbrands,agencyfaqs

Brand Update : Maggi

Maggi it seems have found success with the Atta Noodle variants. Following the success of its vegetable atta noodles, Maggi has come out with another variant Maggi Dal Atta Noodles with Sambar tastemaker.Personally I didnot like the taste of Atta Noodles. The new variants has effectively silenced the criticism that Noodles are bad for health. The new variant is being promoted heavily these days.

source:agencyfaqs,businessline



Related Brands
Maggi

Vanilla Coke : Wakaw

Brand :Vanilla Coke
Company: Coca Cola
Agency: McCann Erickson

Brand Count : 178

Vanilla Coke was touted as the greatest innovation since Diet Coke in 1983. It also has the distinction of the greatest flops after the New Coke. Vanilla Coke came with a bang in the Indian market in April 2004. It went without much noise in 2005.

The history of this product variant dates back as early as 1950's. The mass marketing of this variant began in 2002.The brand went global in 2004.
2004 saw the unusual scream " Wakaw" played across mass media. We all looked up in awe : a brand new variant from Coca Cola : Vanilla Coke. The brand was targeted at the metro youth was different. It was different in taste, promotion, package, price etc.
Vanilla Coke was promoted in retro style. The brand had Vivek Oberoi , the then bollywood flame endorsing the brand in an unusual style. Vivek sported the retro look with typical combination of Elvis style + Shammi Kapoor style in an Old Lamby Scooter screaming Wakaw.

The ads were surely clutter breaking and backed by 360 degree branding efforts that ensured good publicity. The creative done by the famed Prasoon Joshi was discussed in all media and that ensured truck loads of free publicity. The brand also got into viral marketing. The campaign along with Contenst2win asked the customers to SMS Wakaw to 8558 inorder to win goodies. According to media reports, the campaign resulted in 440,000 SMS in just 4 weeks creating a record of sorts.

According to Indiatelevision.com report, the media brief given to the agency was to create a clutter breaking campaign targeted at youth. The campaign should create a dhamaka in the market. And rightly so all the client requirements was achieved with in a short span of time.

But how come a product with such a good start failed so easily. With in one year, the brand has been taken out from most of the Indian states. The brand is said to be available in Gujarat,Kolkatta and Delhi.
As a marketing person, I am also perplexed. Frankly I liked the ad the feel and wanted to try it out. But soon the product was not at all available. The failure of this product line extension may have delighted Alries and Trout .

I am assuming that the following factors may have caused the failure of this brand.

a. The product may have been bad. The TG may not have liked the taste. Although Coke has test marketed this product, there is always a chance that the customers may have disliked the taste.

b.The campaign was not targeted at the right segment. This campaign had its fair share of critics also. I liked the campaign because I have seen the old stars and the lamby etc and could easily relate the old characters and the concept. But for a twenty year old, he may not relate or understand the concept. The brand may have lost out in that respect.

c. The brand was priced at a premium over the ordinary coke. This may have discouraged the TG from checking out the brand. Together with the retro campaign not clicking with the intended audience may have given a double whammy for the brand.
d. Indian SD industry is a duopoly. Pepsi and Coke rule the roast and there are brand loyal on both sides. The new variant will be tested first by the Coke loyal and not the Pepsi loyal. Hence like most of the Product line extensions, the variant will be pitted against the mother brand. Hence the customers may have compared the new variant with the classic coke and not as a new drink. And surely the classic coke won .
These are all assumptions because I am still confused.
The failure of Vanilla Coke is a classic case that proves that Marketing is not a perfect science. There are no formula or theory that can make a brand successful. To Quote Kotler " Marketing is easy to teach and understand but difficult to practice".

source:agencyfaqs,indiatelevision.com,wikipedia,magindia,businessline

Related Brands

Thums Up
Coke
Sprite

Market Statistics : Volume 1

This is the first volume of Market Statistics which will give the market sizes of various categories. The market size numbers are quite confusing because different sources quote different numbers. This is just a collection of market data and not verified. I will try to update it whenever I come across such data.

Pain Balm Market Size :Rs 90 crore

Total Balm Market Size :Rs 250 crore

Tooth Paste Market Size :Rs2700 crore

Events Market Size :Rs 330 crore

Domestic consumption of butter : 45,000 tonnes

Ready to stitch garments market :Rs 1600 crore

Imported wine Market Size: 1.2 lakh cases

Local wine Market Size: 3.8lakh to 4.6 lakh cases

Detergent Market Size :Rs 3000 crore

Popular Detergents Market Size : Rs1800

Premium, compact and Mid range detergents Market Size:Rs 1200 crore

Tea Industry :Rs 3000 crore

Iodised salt Market Size :Rs 500 crore

Toilet cleaners,utensil cleaner, mosquito repellent

& air freshener Market Size :Rs 2000 crore

Cookies Market Size :Rs 3000 crore

Music :Rs 750 crore

Denim Market Size :Rs 1200 crore

Indian Luxury Market :Rs 2000 crore

Ad Industry :Rs10,000 crore

Internet ads :Rs 100 crore

Chyavanprash Market Size : Rs 300 crore

Soap Market Size : Rs 4500 crore

Shaving cream Market Size : Rs 50 crore

Color Cosmetics Market Size : Rs.250 crore ( organized)

Skin care Market Size :Rs 400 crore

Total cosmetic Market Size :Rs 2000 crore

Total skin care Market Size :Rs 1300 crore

Premium Skin care Market Size : Rs 325 crore

Ketchup Market Size : Rs180 crore

Noodles Market Size :Rs 200 crore

Battery Market Size : Rs1800 crore

Automotive Battery Market Size : Rs1200 crore

Men’s innerwear Market Size :Rs 2500 crore

Premium Inner wear Market Size : Rs150 crore

Branded innerwear Market Size :Rs 750 crore

Hair Oil Market Size :Rs 1300 crore

Biscuit market Market Size :Rs 4000 crore

Marie biscuits Market Size:Rs 600 crore

Writing Instruments Market Size:Rs 1500 crore

Branded Writing Instruments Market Size:Rs 1200 crore

Gel pen Market Size :Rs 350 crore

Watch Market Size :Rs1300 crore

Premium watch Market Size :Rs 600 crore

Fast Moving Health Goods (FMHG) : Rs 4500 crore

Shoe shine category size :Rs 65 crore