Optra : For A Special Journey Called Life

Brand : Optra
Company: Chevrolet (General Motors)
Agency:McCann Erickson

Brand Count: 199

Chevrolet Optra was the brand that lifted the fortunes of General Motors in India. The brand Chevrolet was not a new brand forthe Indian market. The brand was present in the pre and post independent days in India. Chevrolet Impala was the preferred brand of car of the rich and famous during the late 40's. Chevy left India during the 60's in the wake of the nationalist movement.

Although General Motors was in the Indian market with its Opel range of cars, neither Astra or Corsa was considered as blockbuster brands in terms of volume.The company in 2003 introduced the Chevrolet brand in India. Globally Chevrolet was positioned independently with a personality on its own. The brand is considered to be a symbol of American culture.
In India when Chevrolet was introduced, the company considered it as a relaunch rather than as a new brand.The first brand from Chevrolet was the SUV branded Forrester. The brand had a lukewarm response from the market. The purpose of Forrester launch was to showcase the premiumness of the brand rather than to build volume.

In 2003 the company launched its blockbuster brand Optra in the market. The brand was in the D segment which is the premium sedan segment. During the launch , GM had two tasks, first was to establish the credibility of the Chevrolet brand then to establish the Optra brand.
To establish the Chevrolet brand, GM started a series of campaign connecting to the culture of the Indian consumers. The ads were the example of localising of a global brand. Chevy in those campaigns never talked about its American roots. The campaign showed glimpses of Indian culture and ended the ad with the tagline : " I am Chevrolet" .The purpose was to become close to Indian consumer.This was a bold move because the company decided to relinquish its secondary association of the Nation of origin of the brand.
The launch of Optra started with the series of Ads appealing to the rational mind of the customer. Typically the ad talked about the luxury and the features and functionality. This stage is very important in campaigns of high value and complex products to establish the points of parity.
The brand gained instant popularity because of the opulence and the luxury that the car provided. Although the customers new that Optra was the relaunch of Daewoo 's Nubira, the design and the package was so good that the product was a hit in the market.Optra was designed by the well known Italian design house Pininfarina.
At this point Optra launched its campaign aiming at an emotional positioning platform . The brand had a highly acclaimed campaign featuring the event " Karva Chauth". This ad gave the needed differentiation for the brand. The brand had one of the best taglines " For a Special Journey called Life". The TG for Optra was Executives in the age 30-45. The brand tried to communicate Love, Care and Warmth as its core values. These campaigns together with reasonable performance ensured the brand, 24% share in the D-segment.The brand faced heavyweights like Honda City and Sonata in this segment.
But during 2005-06, the company shifted its focus to new product launches like Aveo and U-Va. I don't remember any campaigns for Optra during this period. This lack of marketing support put the brand out of the race in the D segment. The leader in the segment Honda City redesigned the entire product and reinforced its leadership position.The brand also changed its tagline to " Its everything you have wished for".

Although this brand was doing well in the market, the sales slump was the result of the company losing focus on the brand. The emotional platform gave the brand a good start but the brand was not able to find a sustainable differentiation for itself. More over the brand faced competition from different categories rather than the sedans. For example a customer having a budget of 7-10 lakhs have the option of buying a Scorpio or a city or an Optra. Hence creating a meaningful positioning becomes paramount .With Honda city commanding the market, Optra should have to add/ show more value to the customer.
Some effort is now started in rejuvenating the brand. Let us wait and see how it succeeds.

source: indianauto,iitb,agencyfaqs,businessline
imagesource:chevrolet website, agencyfaqs

Brand Update : Alpenliebe

Perfetti has introduced a new candy brand Chocoliebe. Although this is a new brand, the brand has strong secondary association with the blockbuster candy Alpenliebe. Chocoliebe is the chocolate filled caramel candy and will be taking on the Cadbury's Eclairs.Perfetti has a chocolate brand Chocotella.Chocoliebe is being positioned on the emotional platform of Love. Cadbury's has a product line extension of Eclairs Crunch which will take on Chocoliebe. Chocoliebe uses the tagline " Pyar Do Pyar Lo" which translates to " Give Love ,Take Love".

image courtsey: agencyfaqs

Related Brand
Alpenliebe

Dairy Milk Eclairs : Sweet With Heart on the Inside

Brand : Dairy Milk Eclairs
Company: Cadbury's
Agency:Contract

Brand Count : 198

Cadbury's came to India in 1948 and from there has been in a dominant position in the Indian confectionery industry. Indian confectionary which is worth Rs 23 billion, is divided into following segments:

Chocolates,Hardboiled candies(20%), Eclairs and Toffees(18%),Chewing gums(13%),Lollypops(1.5%),Bubblegums,Mints and Lozenges(13%).

Eclairs was first introduced in London by Pascalls confectioneries : a local confectionery firm during 1960's. In 1971, Pascalls was acquired by Cadbury's and the brand became international during 1980-96.
Cadbury's Eclairs was launched in India in 1971 and became an instant hit among adults,teens and kids alike. The brand was known for its quality and the chocolate content. It was a really soft candy. In a way Eclairs was a candy and a chocolate. Wrapped in a dark brown wrapper with golden inner wrapper, Cadbury's Eclair was synonymous with the category. This has created problem for the brand. Many local competitors imitated the packaging and the brand faced the issue of differentiating with the imitators and the fake ones.
In 1994, the brand went for a repositioning exercise with a changed content and packaging. In a bold move, the brand changed its name to DairyMilk Eclairs and drew the strength of the parent brand into it.The packaging was changed to a Purple and Gold wrapper with the Dairy Milk endorsing the Eclairs.

Eclairs was positioned on emotions. World wide the brand is known for its chocolate heart. A sign board outside the Nigerian factory reads : Sweet with Heart on the Inside". In India too, the brand is positioned as some thing close to the heart. The tagline is " Kar Do Dil Pe Jadoo" which roughly translates to " Do magic on the heart". The ads also talks about the person forgetting themselves after taking the eclairs.

2006 saw a product line extension of Eclairs. The new product is Dairy Milk Crunch which has a thick caramel on the outside and the Dairy Milk Chocolate on the inside. The extension is in response to the threat faced by the brand from Alpenliebe. Cadbury with its new Crunch has taken the battle to Alpenliebe's turf in response to the new launch of Chocoliebe from Perfetti. The new Crunch is targeted at kids (9-12) and teenagers /youngsters( 15-24). The brand is making loud noise in the media and takes a energetic humour theme to drive the point.
The tagline is " Ab Ek Nahi Do Do" which translates to " Now enjoy two tastes" referring to the caramel and the chocolate.
Eclairs has so far being successful in the market and has shown growth even when the entire market had degrown. The quality and the brand equity of Cadbury's has been the driving force behind the success of Eclairs because the company has not invested much on this brand during the last 5-6 years compared to Dairy Milk. The brand has now risen up to the challenge posed by the competitors and Crunch is a brand to watch for.

source: Cadburyindia.com,agencyfaqs,

Hamam : Trusted Family Soap

Brand : Hamam
Company: HLL
Agency: Lowe

Brand Count: 197

Hamam is one of the oldest soap brands in India. The brand came into existence in 1934 and over this 73 years has successfully built a space for itself in the consumer's mind.The brand has successfully fought the competition and the changed environment. The brand was owned by Tata Oil Mills ( TOMCO) and later became the HLL brand when HLL acquired Tomco.

Hamam is a natural soap .Although many reports put this brand as a herbal soap, Hamam is more of a natural soap than herbal. The brand have a market share of about 9-10 percent of the Rs 4000 crore Indian soap market.The brand has a huge market share ( more than 25%) in the Tamilnadu market.
When HLL implemented the Power Brand strategy, Hamam survived the axe because of the strong equity it had among the consumers. Hence the axe fell on Rexona which was also a natural soap with the same positioning as Hamam.
Hamam was positioned initially as a complete natural family soap.The brand was built on the Trust factor. The earlier ads typically showed Mother and child with mother explaining the meaning of Trust using the example of Hamam.The brand may have acquired this quality from its original creators TATA.
Although the brand was able to manage the PLC, it had its share of problems. At one point, HLL was facing the competition from Herbal/ayurvedic soaps. HLL tried to position Hamam as a herbal soap by changing the composition by adding Neem ingredient and reducing the TFM. But that reduction of TFM disqualified Hamam as a soap and the brand lost many of their loyal customers.
2005 saw HLL repositioning the brand by adding more ingredients. The brand now talks about having a Perfect Balance of Neem, Tulsi and Alovera Extracts. The packaging also has been made more contemporary and the shape of the soap has been made oval.2006-07 saw a change in the communication of the brand. The brand no longer talks about trust but now positioning itself as a beauty enhancing soap.The brand has now come out with a variant that contains green gram, turmeric and sandal .The color of the soap also has changed to sandal from the traditional green color. This move is a marked deviation from the age old positioning of the brand as a natural green soap.
Hamam for years has been able to sustain its market position because of the strong brand loyal customers .The brand now wants to be relevant to a new consumers ( younger generation). The brand also faces stiff competition from a plethora of brands offering the same ingredients and benefits. The latest repositioning exercise is aimed to keep the brand relevant and also leverage the brand equity it had built up over these years.

source: hll.com,businessline

Marketing Funda : Socio Economic Classification (SEC)

Funda#3 : What is Socio Economic Classification ( SEC) ?

A common classification that is used by marketers to describe the Indian population is the Socio Economic Classification ( SEC). SEC is the classification of Indian consumers on the basis of two parameters : Occupation and Education of the chief wage earner (Head) of the households.The SEC classification,created in 1988 ,was ratified by Market Research Society of India (MRSI) ,is used by most media researchers and brand managers to understand the Indian consuming class.

According to SEC, the Urban Indian households are classified on the basis of the two parameters Education and Occupation into

SECA1,A2,B1,B2,C,D,E1,E2

In urban households, SEC A1 include those with graduation/post graduate holding senior positions like CEO’s and Middle level managers and also those entrepreneurs having some college education and employs more than 10 staffs. The chart is self-explanatory.
While the Rural Indian Households are classified into SEC R1,R2,R3,R4.
In the rural classification, the parameters are Education of the Chief wage earner and the type of the house.

The SEC classification helps the marketers to identify segments tha t has high consuming potential.The high potential types : A1,A2, the medium ones and the bottom of pyramid ones. The SEC classification is used by Media planners to decide the media which gives the client maximum effectiveness. The research team at the me dia houses uses the NRS and IRS surveys' raw data to identify the reach of the media in these SEC segments and uses this input for pitching their campaign to large advertisers.

Although this classification is popular for over 18 years, the classification has its negatives also since it takes only two parameters: education and occupation .This is based on the assumption that higher education leads to higher income thus higher consuming potential. But we know that this may not be true always. A trader or a retailer with no qualification can earn more income than a Post graduate executive, but SEC will categorize the traders/retailers not as SEC A1or A2.

Hence Market research users council ( MRUC) has devised another classification called New Consumer Classification System( NCCS) which calculates a Household Premiumness Index ( HPI) which takes parameters like ownership and consumption of media services and products with other demographics.

All these classifications create jargon that we teachers lecture and brand managers are still searching for the White Light that provides the key to understand the Indian consumer.

Source: cks.in,readbetweenps.blogspot.com,agencyfaqs

Tata Indigo : Spoil Yourself

Brand : Indigo
Company: Tata Motors
Agency:FCB Ulka

Brand Count : 196

Tata Indigo is a super brand in the Indian car market. The brand is my choice as a Super brand not only because it was successful, but also because this is India's own brand. In a segment where the World's "Who is Who " is present luring the customers, Tata Indigo is the only truly indigenous presence. With the government exiting Maruti, Indigo and Indica represent the only domestic car manufacturers having their presence in the car market.

After the success of Tata Indica, Indigo was a riskybut bold move from Tata motors. Indigo is a sedan in the C-segment of the 600,000 new car market in India. C- segment represents around 20-25 % of the total cars sold that makes the c-segment market size around 1,50,000 units.

Indigo was launched in 2002.The car was developed on the highly successful Indica platform and was targeting the entry level C-segment. The brand was positioned as a truly value for money car in line with Indica.The brand from the launch itself wanted to pamper the customers. The car offered more space and comfort than even its high priced competitors.

The C-segment is one of the fastest growing and most competitive segment . The brand competition include Accent,Sienna,Esteem, Ikon,Corsa and the like.
Indigo did not compare itself with the immediate competition but wanted to offer what the premium brands in the D segment offered. The car was known for the space and the accessories it offered as a part of the standard equipment was seen only in premium segment cars. Indigo (like Indica) came out with different variants at different price points. One variant even had DVD player and Screen attached to the seat -a feature that you see not even in luxury cars.All these at a very affordable price.

The brand adopted the tagline " Spoil Yourself" and all the ads, highlighted the goodies that came with the product. Another series of ads promised the customers, business class experience. The basic focus of the brand was to drive home the fact that Indigo has more legroom and space compared to most of the C-class sedans.
This campaigns and the reasonable performance of the car with the tempting price tag ensured the brand's success in the market. Indigo has now 33% market share in the c-segment.

2004 saw the launch of a product variant of Indigo : Marina. Marina was the estate version of Indigo. The brand harped on the extra space that the Estate version offered and was promoted with the baseline " We like to carry our world with us".

In January 2007, Tata motors surprised everyone by launching India's first stretch limousine - the Indigo XL. Indigo XL marked the entry of Tata into the premium segment. Indigo XL has a longer wheel base that gives the rear passengers legroom comparable with the Limousines. Even the premium sedans in the E segment do not offer the leg space that XL offered. So Tata chose to call it a stretch Limousine. This straight comparison has irked some auto watchers who could not believe an Indian automaker calling their car a Limousine. XL has already created enough buzz in the market. Indigo XL as usual is positioned as a value for money car. The car offers comfort and accessories that is seen only in super luxury cars and comes with the price of a luxury sedan.

Despite all the right things that Tata Motors has done, the brand faces issues regarding its image. Whether be it Indica or Indigo, the brands does not carry the image of a Hyundai or a Honda. The main reason is that this brand does not get the support of the media. The media has only tried to degrade these brands and most of the time tried to find fault with these brands. I saw an Indian author berating the Indigo XL 's positioning as a stretch limousine by comparing Cadillac and the like with XL. But the comparison showed that Indigo has a comparable Wheel base with these super brands. Even in the auto shows, the anchors are blinded by the glamour of global brands. I am not stressing on being patriotic (am not a swadeshi jagron manch member) but Indica and Indigo should be treated at par with the global giants because they have proved their worth ?

Indigo is another classic example of Masstige product and is a proof that we also can make world class product.

Source: businessline,agencyfaqs