Brand Update : L'Oréal

L'Oréal has been aggressively promoting the men's range of personal care products in India. Loreal uses the brand name Men Expert for its men's range. The company expects a

big boom in the personal care products targeted at men. Although there are no exact figures on the size of the male grooming market, one report in cosmeticsbusiness.com puts the figure between Rs800-1100 crores($0.25bn) and growing exponentially. Men Expert was launched in India in 2006. The company has been using the Slow Skimming strategy in India till now. The products are advertised in selected magazines and the product range is amazing: which Indian men may not have seen before. The company has been using its international ads here also.For example one ad in a leading English magazine was for Pure & Matte (?) Anti Regreasing Moisturising gel with anti sebum complex. The gel promises long lasting hydration, non greasy, non sticky texture. If used after shaving, it soothes razor burn...Cool isn't it? The ads are tempting and appeal to the rational mind unlike the ads of " fair and handsome".

Indian men has not seen anything like these before... Check out their website lorealmen.com, you will amazed by the range..
Globally Men Expert is positioned rationally using taglines :" The best skincare technology for every man's skin". In India, the brand uses the tagline " You're worth it too" taking a cue from Loreal Paris' tagline " Because you are worth it".
Loreal men expert is premium priced and the print ads convey the message of premiumness. The brand is looking at the increasingly beauty conscious Indian male who doesn't shy from spending on grooming.

Related Brand
Loreal

Kristal Dtsi : Intelligent Scooter

Brand :Kristal Dtsi
Company:Bajaj Auto

Brand Count :215

Kristal is Bajaj Auto's latest offering in the ungeared scooter segment in India. It is a unique situation with the erstwhile king of scooters struggling to find place in the scooter market which it once ruled.
Kristal is a 95 cc ungeared scooter targeted at college girls. The product was first showcased at Auto Expo 2006. This month the company has launched this new brand in the Indian Market. Kristal takes on the market leader TVS Scooty in the increasingly competitive Ladies' scooter market. Kristal is somewhere in the middle of the 75 cc Scooty and 102 cc Pleasure.

Kristal Dtsi is positioned as an "Intelligent Scooter". The brand boasts about lot of innovative features. The website of this brand focuses on 7 features that makes Kristal different. The seven features are
1.Front Fuel tank: the company says that it is the first in this segment to offer this facility.The fuel tank is in the front hence the rider needn't step out and lift the seats to fill in the petrol. Also the fuel flap opens with the turning of the ignition key that is also a great convenience to lady riders.
2.DTSI: No body knows what it means but every one has see this technology delivering in the Pulsar. Bajaj has put this technology into the new scooter and hopes that it does the magic .
3.Extra large storage space: Kristal boasts about 22lts storage space and lot of additional hooks aimed at making the product user friendly for the TG. The storage below the seat also has an automatic light (like a fridge) .
4.Pentalock: The brand has one key that opens many doors. The company has made use of the ignition key to the maximum. With a single knob , the rider can open the fuel flap,open the seat, accelerator lock ,steering lock and ignition.
5.Smart Lamp: The brand has sensors that look at the lighting conditions outside and will adjust the front and panel lights. The front light will be automatically on when you go through a tunnel or when the lighting conditions become low.
6.SNS suspension: Kristal also features Spring in Spring suspension to deliver more comfort to the riders.
7.Low battery /fuel indicators: The scooter also have battery and fuel indicators.

Bajaj has put in lot of thinking behind Kristal. The failures of earlier scooter brands like Wave, Saphire & Sunny may be still haunting the company.So they have put in all out effort to regain the lost empire. According to reports, Bajaj is planning another Male Scooter branded Blade and may launch it this year.

As a scooter with all those thoughtful features, Kristal has done it right at the product front. The brand is now being promoted through television ads that calls this brand as an Intelligent Scooter. To a certain extent, the communication is able to catch the attention of the viewers. About the size of the scooter, I have a feeling that the brand is smaller than its peers. If it is so, then Kristal will have a huge problem.
But the issue is with the price. Kristal is priced stiffly at Rs 35000 and I think if that is the price , Kristal may not succeed in the market ( my view). Why because , the features that the brand talk about doesn't justify the heavy price put on this brand. Another issue is that except for the DTSI,all the features can be copied by the competitors. Kristal may have to spent too much money convincing the customers about the value proposition. Why I am skeptical is that the TVS Scooty has strong brand equity and to match that , Kristal has a long way to go.

source: bajajauto.com

Brand Update : Pleasure

Pleasure has started using Hrithik Roshan in a latest marketing move. The latest ad is aimed at promoting the Just4her showrooms. Just4her is the all female showrooms for giving personalized service to Pleasure customers.
The latest ad offers Pleasure customers to have a date with Hrithik. 21 lucky customers will dine in style with Hrithik. Hrithik is the brand ambassador for Hero Honda group as such and had been endorsing Karizma. Pleasure is now trying to leverage the celebrity in breaking the stronghold of TVS Scooty.
Pleasure is Hero Honda's take on scooters. Aimed at the fairer sex, the product is advertised heavily in media with the tagline " Why should boys have all the fun". Just4her showroom are first of its kind in India. The showrooms are promoted using the tagline " Where every girl is a celebrity". Hero Honda has also created an Exclusive Lady Rider Club taking a lesson from the success of its Passport programme.

Related Brand
Pleasure

Marketing Funda : Indian Readership Survey (IRS)

Indian Readership Survey or IRS is one of the largest readership survey conducted in India. Conducted by Hansa Research for Media Research User's Council ( MRUC), IRS covers readership for newspapers, internet usage, television veiwership .
Established in 1995 IRS data is widely used by media planners for finalising the media strategy. Besides giving the readership habits, IRS also provides valuable insights into the consumption habits of the Indian consumer. According the Hansa Reaseach, the information coverage of IRS is as follows

Media data study includes the following :
Press Readership: 350 + Publications
TV: 150+ channels
Cinema
Internet
Radio Listener ship: 15+ Radio Stations

Product data for the following is captured
70+ FMCG products usage and consumption habits
30+ Durable products ownership details
Financial Services
Urban & Rural Lifestyle Indicators
Telecom Data ( Source: Hansaresearch.com)

IRS uses sample from 24 states 91 cities covering a 250,000 respondents.The sampling details can be found here
IRS survey results are dissected by the media executives to prove their reach and cost advantages.
IRS is done twice a year and right now IRS round 1 2007 is out.
According to IRS Round 1 :
The top English Dailies are as follows (readership in 000's)
1.Times of India :6781
2.Hindustan Times:3331
3.Hindu : 2209
4.Deccan Chronicle:1311
5.Telegraph:919
6.The Economic Times: 774
7.Mumbai Mirror:735
8.DNA:539
8.Tribune:539
9.Midday:509
10.Deccan Herald:498

The Top Indian Newspapers are (readership in 000's)

1.Dainik Jagron: 17114
2.Dainik Bhaskar:12514
3.Hindustan:9052
4.Malayala Manorama:9052
5.Daily Thanthi:8351
6.Amar Ujala:8255
7.Eenadu:7233
8.Mathrubhumi:6961
9.Rajastan Pathrika: 6946
10. Lokmat:6874

Top Indian magazines are : (readership in 000's)

1.Saras Salil Hindi Fortnightly 4760
2.Vanitha Malayalam Fortnightly 3067
3.India Today English Weekly 2786
4.Grihshobha Hindi Monthly 2486
5. Malayala Manorama Malayalam Weekly 2294
6.Kumudam Tamil Weekly 2130
7.Balarama Malayalam Weekly 2124
8.India Today Hindi Weekly 1943
9. Anandavikadan Tamil Weekly 1898
10.Reader's Digest English Monthly 1869 ( Source : agencyfaqs)

Although IRS is used by most of the media planners, there are always some controversy surrounding the results. Since this is a sample based results, one can always question the statistical inferences. Every time the survey results are out, there are bound to be objections and blaming. To counter IRS, another survey is also there in the readership domain i.e National Readership Survey ( NRS).Combining both the results help media planners to chose the right media across markets. But all these surveys give only approximations. There is no guarantee that a 100 cc ad at the front page of the best daily in India can deliver the desired results. Hence marketers invent a new term : Opportunity to See ( OTS).. By putting an ad in the front page you are giving the reader an opportunity to see the ad .. how wise.

What is the front page ad of today's newspaper? Do you remember?.........

Bingo : A Challenger Brand

Brand : Bingo
Company: ITC

Brand Count: 214

Bingo is ITC's challenge to the monopoly of Frito Lays. This March ,ITC launched Bingo in the highly fragmented Rs 4500-5000 crore ($1 Billion) snack food market.Indian snack food market is dominated by unorganised sector. The organised snack foods market is only Rs 2000 crore and is dominated by the iconic Lays brand with over 77% market share. Having tasted success in Biscuits, staples and Ready to eat market, Bingo will be another test for ITC's marketing muscle. It fights in this segment with none other than Pepsi.

Indian snack food market is divided into : Traditional Snacks ( bhujiya, Chanachur etc) Western Snacks and the newly created Finger snacks segments.
Bingo is entering both the potato and finger snacks market. According to the company press release, Bingo comes in 16 flavors. Its potato snack has 4 innovative variants taking into consideration the taste difference across Indian market. The Finger snacks line has six variants.The TVC's are now on air and the company intends to position this brand as a fun brand targeting at the youth. The brand tries to differentiate from Lays by focusing on innovation (in flavors). Snack foods : because of the low financial risk (low price) for the customer, new tastes will be a key in marketing success. Lays succeeded by offering great quality, variety and brand to reach the leadership position. Bingo it seems is following the leader.
The task is very tough for ITC to fight with Lays. The golden line is that the market is so large that every player will have a space provided, the brand keeps the promise. The high profile brand launch of Bingo will see the market expanding thus benefiting all the players . ITC is aiming at a 360 degree brand building effort to boost the new launch. The exit of Indian team from worldcup may force a re- look on the media strategy for this brand since the company was trying to leverage the worldcup fever in India.
The brand takes the tagline : No Confusion Great Combination. The brand is promoted through a series of funny ad which I feel is little too complicated. The ad tries to be funny but fails to make the audience laugh. The poor execution can create problems for the brand.
Watch the TVC here; Vango Pongo
The launch of Bingo is going to see a fight between two marketing giants in the Indian market.It will be a treat for marketers and consumers .. Bingo....

Source: itcportal.com

Brand Update : Mysore Sandal Soap

In a unique marketing move, Karnataka Soaps and Oil which markets the famous Mysore Sandal soap has gone in for creating a new super premium segment in the highly cluttered soap market. The company is launching the costliest (most expensive) soap in the Indian market Mysore Sandal Platinum. Priced at Rs 200, the soap is 4 times expensive than the current premium soap brands like Dove.

Mysore Sandal Platinum make sense for the company since it will add more equity for the existing product line. Rs 200 is quite a price for a soap but Mysore Sandal may not have volume in mind when it is launching such an expensive soap.
Now Mysore Sandal has following variants:
Mysore Sandal Soap
Mysore Sandal Classic Soap ( for overseas market)
Mysore Sandal Baby Soap
Mysore Sandal Rose
Mysore Sandal Gold
Mysore Sandal Herbal Care.
The new launch is also aimed at the overseas market. Mysore Sandal with its heritage and quality will create a good market in the west. The new brand Platinum although expensive in India will be affordable in the western market (less than $5).
In India too, the brand may adorn the super rich households. This could also have some positive effect on the Parent brand.
Along with Platinum , the brand is moving to mass market ( downmarket stretch) with a non sandal soap branded Wave. Both these initiatives can be cited as an example of Two Way stretch of a product line.

Related Brand
Mysore Sandal Soap

Source: Business standard