Brand Update : Tata Salt

Tata salt has introduced a new brand of salt in South India named " i-shakti". Although no TVC is aired, the brand is being promoted through ads in regional magazines. The ad in this post is in the regional language- Malayalam. Surprisingly the website of Tata Chemicals do not have any information about this brand. There is a possibility that i-shakti is test marketed in Kerala.The brand is being positioned as Iodised Free Flow salt that will help your child to become smart. Tata Salt do not have that much popularity in South India . That may be the reason for the new brand launch.The packaging and the color usage seems to be eye catching . Although the ads are in place, the product is yet to reach the supermarket -it seems.The brand is also endorsed by ICCIDD which stands for International Council for Control if Iodine Deficiency Disorders. i-shakti will take the competition head on from HLL's Annapurna brand. Annapurna is positioned on the iodine platform

Related Brand
Tata Salt

Pedigree : We're For Dogs

Brand : Pedigree

Company: Effem India
Agency: TBWA India

Brand Count: 188

Pedigree is world's largest pet food brand . The brand is owned by the Mars group which also manufacturers confectionary products. In India Pedigree is marketed through a 100% subsidiary Effem India Pvt Ltd. Pedigree was launched in India in 2001. The brand is all set to cater to the boom in pet food market largely accounted to the changing lifestyle of Indian consumers.

The Indian pet food market is large estimated to be in the tune of Rs 1500 crore. It is estimated that India has around 4 million pet dogs and the consumption of petfoods is at 4 lakh tonnes per annum. That is a big market and is expected to grow at around 35% per year.
Although many players are already there in the market, Indian petfood market is still in its nascent stage. Almost all global players like Nestle,Royal canine,Hill, Lams, Ralston are fighting it out in the market. Pedigree is considered to be the brand that is expected to lead this market.

The petfood market is seeing comeptition not among the brands but these brands are competing with the home food that is given to the dogs. Unlike the West, Pet owners seldom look( aware) at the nutritional needs of their pets.
According to the petfood marketers, the nutritional needs of dogs is 5- 8 times higher than the humans. Hence giving the same food that we eat will create nutritional deficiancy in the dog. But there are vetenarians who argue that commercial petfoods are harmful for the pets. The fight goes on..

Pedigree has embarked upon a comprehensive marketing campaign for developing its brand. Although well known across the globe, this brand has new challenges in the Indian market. The main challenge is to educate the pet owners that Pedigree offers more nutritional value for the dog than the ordinary food. Second is to convince spending a premium on petfoods. The cost of giving Pedigree to a dog works out to be Rs 25 per day.

Pedigree is positioned on the nutritional platform and the ads try to educate the consumer that ordinary food can make the dog lazy and inactive. Globally the brand is positioned using the tagline " We're For Dogs" while in India this has been modified to " We care for the Dog".The company have ensured a strong distribution network and is also trying to get the retailers to influence and educate the pet owners. The brand is also tapping events to popularise the brand.
Although now purchases are yet to pick up, the brand is now in a position to tap the growth curve once the market becomes positive towards petfood.

source: businessline,magindia,pedigree.au
image:pedigree,agencyfaqs.

Marketing Funda : Masstige

Marketing Funda is a new series from Marketing Practice. A lot is happening in the marketing field which has created new JARGONS. " Marketing Funda" series is aimed at keeping you and me updated on the new fundas.

Funda #1 : Masstige

Masstige is a term introduced by Michael Silverstein and Neil Fiske to refer to a new category of products aimed at providing "Luxury To the Masses". The term Masstige is derived from the words Mass + Prestige. Silverstein and Neil published a wonderful article in Harvard Business Reveiw (April 2003) titled "Luxury for the Masses" explaining this concept in detail.

Due to a variety of reasons, the luxury market has evolved into different types like
a. Accessible Super Premium products which are priced in such a way that middleclass will be able to afford it.
b. Old Luxury brands extending downwards to catering to mass market
c. Mass prestige brands or Masstige brands which occupies the sweet spot between Mass and Class.

The term has great relevance in the Indian context because Indians are more value conscious and the market for masstige is very large. According to the authors, several factors have caused the evolution of masstige brands. The causes are in the Supplier side, Company side and in the Customer side.
The rise of the income and the change in the retail sector ( discount retailing ) and the emotional awareness has sparked the consumption of such brands. This has forced many firms to look at tapping this market. The accessibility of global resources and efficient supply chain helps the firms to control the cost thereby offer more value. The customer also has evolved in the sense that they began to demand more for less. Indian society is moving towards NUF (Nuclear Urban Family ) where each individual has their own tastes and preferences.

The marketers also find ways to make the brand stand out as a prestige product without the 'expensive ' tag. Brands like Peter England has succeeded because of the prestige image and the value delivery. Pond's has moved to cater to wider mass without compromising the image.The authors point out that inorder to successfully implement the concept has to make sure that they create a ladder of genuine benefit to the customers. The firm should have a passion for innovation on the marketing mixes. More over an outsider ( outside-in)view of the category should be encouraged to ensure that managers are not myopic to the changing marketing environment.

Related Brands
Peter England
Pond's
Tata Indica

Speed : High Performance Petrol

Brand : Speed
Company: BPCL
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi

Brand Count : 187

Speed is India's first branded petrol.Launched in 2002 by Bharat Petroleum Corporation ( BPCL) , the brand assured in the concept of positioning and differentiation in the Petroleum marketing which was by nature a commodity.

Speed is marketed as a high performance petrol. Speed is the blend of petrol with high speed additives sourced from Chevron Texaco. The additives are expected to increase the performance of the vehicle.
The branding of petrol is more difficult than any other products because of the following reasons:
a. The customers are very price sensitive. With the petrol prices moving upwards always, spending a premium for branded petrol is a tough call for a customer.
b. There is no tangible benefit that branded petrol can offer to the customer. The advantage of using Speed will not be visible to the customer at the outset. The change may have to be noticed on the performance of the vehicle .

In that sense, Speed has been very successful in creating a niche in this market. The brand is said to be contributing 25% of the total petrol sales of BPCL. Speed is said to have 50% share in the branded petrol segment.
BPCL has carefully nurtured this brand. The brand name itself gives a headstart to the acceptability for the brand since Speed is linked to Performance. Speed is positioned as High Performance Petrol. The company has roped in Narain Karthikeyan as its brand ambassador. The TVCs and the print and outdoors reinforced the positioning of the brand as a performance booster. Narain's was a right choice for the brand since he personifies performance driving in India.

Speed has competition from Indian Oil brand: Extra Premium. Besides using Narain as its brand ambassador, BP also has other campaigns promoting the brand on performance . Speed also extended itself to include Diesel fuel under the Hi-Speed diesel brand.

Even before the launch of branded petrol, BP had initiated a corporate campaign " Pure For Sure" to position the company as one that provides the Purest Petrol/Diesel.The campaign was aimed at promoting retail outlets selling fuels. Another corporate campaign was " Energising Lives" aimed at raising the corporate image beyond fuel retailing. These moves were to preempt the competition arising out from private players like Reliance Industries entering the fuel retailing segment.
With fuel prices touching new heights and with customers looking for alternate fuel options, it will be tough for Speed to convince the customer to pay a premium for the brand.

Related topic
Branding a commodity

Source:agencyfaqs,businessline
image source: agencyfaqs

Market Statistics : Volume 3

This is the third volume of Market Statistics.

Airfreshner market size :Rs 50 crore

Pressure cooker market size : 6 million pieces

Non stick + cookers market size: Rs 600 crore

Smart Kitchen market size: Rs 3000 crore

LPG market market size :Rs 9 billion

Small Appliances market size : Rs 15 Billion

Pressure Cooker market size: Rs 6 Billion

Branded Indian breakfast market size : Rs 300 crore

Lavatory Care market size : Rs 320 million

Indian cosmetic market size : Rs 2.2 Billion

Leather Goods market size : Rs 1000 crore

Branded Leather market size : Rs 100 crore

Diaper market size: Rs 110 crore

Chocolate Bar market size : Rs 350 crore

Powder market size : Rs 600 crore

Baby Cereal market size : Rs 300 crore

Tyre market size : Rs 10,000 crore

Sewing machine market size : 1.1 Million units

Eye Care market size : Rs 1000 crore

Ice cream market size : Rs 1000 crore

Cigarette market size : Rs 10,000 crore

Desktop market size : 4 million units

Sugar substitutes market size : Rs 60 crore

Branded Sari segment : Rs 7100 crore

Ethnic dress segment : Rs 17000 crore

Women’s wear market size: Rs 28500 crore

Salwar market size : Rs 1800 crore

Sugar Market : Rs 25,000 crore

Iodised Salt Market : Rs 10 billion

Burn Care market size : Rs 30 crore

Over All balm market size : Rs 200 crore

Bus Market :Rs 10000-12000 bus per annum

Casual wear market : Rs 4500 crore

Apparel market : Rs 6000 crore

Branded garments market size : Rs 2500 crore

Toy market size: Rs 2500 crore

Taps & Fittings market : Rs 1000 crore

Organised Bath Fitting market : Rs 500 crore

Wound care market : Rs 520 crore

Bandages market : Rs 20 crore

Pain Balm Market : Rs 100 crore

Related Links

Market Statistics :Volume 1

Market Statistics : Volume 2

Crocin : Your Trusted Paracetamol

Brand : Crocin
Company: Glaxo Smithkline
Agency: O&M

Brand Count: 186

Crocin is a three decade old heritage brand. The brand was once generic to the antipyretic category in India . The brand is currently sold through Over The Counter (OTC) route. The brand is the market leader in the paracetamol category.

Crocin was launched in India 30 years ago by the company Duphar Interfran Ltd. During the early years, the brand was marketed through the ethical route. The brand was bought by Smithkline in 1996. The brand was so successful in the market that GSK bought it for a consideration of Rs 45 crore. There was a logic behind the brand acquisition. GSK had the brand Calpol in the prescription market and was a market leader in the Ethical segment. Crocin was proving to be a major threat for Calpol. So the brand was acquired inorder to safeguard the position of Calpol.

The Indian Pharmaceutical market is huge with a valuation of $45 billion. The OTC segment accounts for a value of $ 1 Billion i.e Rs 4500 crore. Crocin is in the analgesic/antipyretic market. The analgesic (pain Killer) market is a large market with a size of Rs 900 crore and the mild analgesic market is worth Rs 300 crore. With in the analgesic market there are two types : Aspirin based and Paracetamol based. Paracetamol based formulations constitute a major part of the market. Crocin formulations has a 5% share in the total market.

Crocin although a generic name in the paracetamol segment faces an interesting problem. 65% of the brand usage is for its antipyretic i.e fever related use. The antipyretic segment in the OTC is very small with a size of Rs 30-40 crore. In the painkiller market which is large, Saridon leads the pack in the OTC segment.

Crocin's market became limited sadly because of its efficacy or popularity as a drug for fever although it had pain killer properties. Sometimes success can become a limiting factor for further growth. The paracetamol segment is witnessing competition from the generic tablets. Most of the time the druggist has the influencing power in the sale of OTC products. During the 1990's if Crocin was a generic name for paracetamol tablets, the situation is different now with consumers asking for Paracetamol rather than Crocin.
Crocin was in the maturity stage of its product lifecycle in 2000 with the sales stagnating.There was intense competition from generic products and other brands.Paracetamol became a commodity with little scope for differentiation. The brand then went into Market Development Mode in 2003 by repositioning the brand as an analgesic. The brand roped in Kapil Dev to endorse the brand. The high profile ad campaign gave a new life to the brand. The brand also came out with variants like Crocin Quik that boasted of faster relief . Quik was essentially a concentrate of the classic Crocin. Crocin also came out with Crocin 1000 aiming at patients having arthritis. Crocin is promoted as an ethical product.

Crocin had its fair share of problems from the " Watch Dogs". Typically when a brand moves from Ethical to OTC and embarks on brand building , there is going to be someone who will cry foul. Crocin faced objections from FDA for some of its campaigns but those were later sorted out.

As far as a customer is concerned, Crocin is still perceived as a drug for fever( antipyretic) rather than as a pain killer(analgesic). It will take a lot of money and time to change that perception.

Related Brands
Gelusil
Vicks
Hajmola

Source: walletwatch,agencyfaqs,pharmabiz