Power Soaps & Detergents : Complete Satisfaction ?

Brand : Power
Company : The Gold Company ( RKN)

Brand Count : 253

Most often, in this wonderful world of brands, we tend to see only the biggest and the largest brands. We , marketers did not care to look at small brands that struggle for their existence in this fiercely competitive battlefield.

One such small brand that is making lot of noise in the media is Power Soaps and detergents. This brand is from a company Gold Soap company based in Kodai , TamilNadu. This brand is now spending lot of money in advertising basically in South India. Started as a small detergent soap manufacturing unit by Mr. Krishnan Nadar, the company is now handled by the second generation entrepreneur Mr Dhanapal.It is obvious from the series of TVC's across South India that the second generation entrepreneur wants to make the brand to move beyond TamilNadu .

As always, marketing plays the pivotal role in making or breaking any product or services. I feel that in this case also, it will be the branding that is going to decide on the future of " Power" brand. Many of us may not have seen the ads of Power soap and detergents. The brand is being positioned as a soap that gives you " Complete Satisfaction". Taking a very generalized Utopian Positioning means that Power brand is aiming for the mass market. And I feel that by adopting a strategy of trying to be " everything to everyone " is going to harm this highly ambitious brand. The ads actually conveys nothing. As usual there is a homemaker who says the " Power detergent offers her COMPLETE MENTAL SATISFACTION". Thats it.... the TVC for the soap features a gentleman saying " I chose Power soap because it fits my income". There is no Segmentation, No USP, No differentiation.

I am not blaming the company or the agency for its poor advertising strategy. These type of ads may have worked 25 years back when there was limited choice and only brand recall and price was important . But now even at the bottom of the Pyramid, we can see that brands trying to differentiate. As Kotler says, the era of mass marketing is over. Power is going to fight with Wheel , Nirma, Ujala and scores of other brands. It is no longer the PRICE that is going to bring in the consumer.
The high intensity advertising is going to give results to the company in the short term. But once the promotional budget dries up, Power brand may not have anything to hang on... that is typically the case of most of the small brands. Moreover, from the website of the company , I understand that the firm is entering into Skin care , Hair care and detergent care using the same umbrella brand " Power" for all products from the company.

For the detergents, it is Triple Action Power, Super Power, Active Power, Double Power etc
For Skincare and Hair care it is Nature Power.

Using the same brand for its detergent and personal care productline is definitely going to make Alries and Jack Trout very angry. Power as a brand will have a bright future if only it is able to identify a clear differentiator and stick to it rather than trying to be a master of all trades.

Brand Update : Titan

Titan has come out with a new campaign for its thinnest watch Edge.The ad features its brand ambassador Aamir .

Watch the ad here : Aamir and Titan

Launched in 2002, Edge is positioned as World's Thinnest watch. With a thickness of 3.5 mm, Edge is priced between Rs6000 and Rs.12000 . The brand is targeting Business Executives and professionals. According to a report from Television.com, EDGE has so far sold over 75000 watches in 2006 with a brand sales of over Rs 42 crore . Titan has big plans for this subbrand.

The campaign now on air tries to project the brand as something that will catch the attention. EDGE takes the tagline "More Attention that You can Handle". It is true also , since the watch is definitely going to catch attention ( My boss has one ) and the thin watch will not miss your eye. And as the commercial shows - you will notice it as long EDGE is visible. Although You may feel that the commercial is a usual one, I feel that the idea is from a consumer insight.

Related brand
Titan

Brand Update : Apache

Apache is getting bigger and better. Since the launch of the Apache, TVS has been bettering its promotion as well as the Product. This year saw the high profile launch of the new variant of Apache...... Apache RTR 160......

It is the racing variant of Apache. RTR stands for Racing Throttle Response. What essentially this Markonym means is that RTR is the Sporty version of Apache. The new variant is going to take on the high profile launches of Pulsar.

What I like most about Apache RTR 160 is the promotion. TVS has come out with an TVC that made me sit up and watch.

Watch the TVC here : Apache RTR

Apache has become a real macho with this ad. Superbly crafted, the ad relates Newton's three laws of motion with this brand. Ofcourse there is a dude and a dame but the idea is something that stands out and execution perfect. The product has many features that substantiates its calling itself a racing bike, and the ad clearly justify the proposition. I would rate the new ad 10/10.

TVS has a winner at hand. The pricing is not exorbitant and some more blockbuster campaigns can make Pulsar Sweat.

Related Brand
Apache

Axe : The Axe Effect

Brand : Axe
Company : HUL
Agency: Lowe Lintas

Brand Count : 252

I was delaying writing about this brand for the reason that I doubted whether I will be able to do justice to my favorite brand. An Icon for sure Axe is a success story that is so difficult to emulate. One can only marvel and enjoy.
Axe has got every thing perfect for its success, It got its segments correct, the targeting was exemplary and Positioning : something to drool for. And more over Luck was on its side.

Axe was born in France in the Year 1983. 24 years later, this brand is Unilever's Best selling brand worldwide. It has an iconic status in whichever market it has entered. It is also one of the rare brands which can boast of replicating its entire marketing mix across geographical boundaries. The campaigns that you see in India is what the entire world is watching. For those who propound Glocalisation , AXE is an exception.
Axe deo was launched in India during 1999. The brand launch was very quiet and theoretically the brand was having the strategy of Slow Skimming i.e High Price Low Promotion. Axe at that time was the leading men's deo brand in Europe and was popular in India in the Grey market ( available in duty paid shops) .HLL may have launched this brand inspired by the volume of Axe sold in the Grey market. At that time, the deo market was a nascent one with an estimated market size of Rs 72 crore. HLL had the brands Denim and Rexona and was ruling the market. Axe was priced at a premium above the Denim brand which was positioned as a male deo brand.
Axe initially was launched in the fragrance Java, Alaska and Atlantic. HLL did not bother to fine tune its Promotional mix to Indian market but just imported the promotions .... meaning, the company just ran the ads which was popular in the Europe and other markets. At that time , the product was also imported from Europe. And IT CLICKED.... rest as they say is History...
Axe in 2002 was having a market share of over 35% and soon HLL phased out Denim brand to concentrate on this Star.

Axe is the naughtiest brand in the Indian market. The brand is targeted at male aged 16-25 . Internationally this brand targets male aged 15-25. I personally feel that it targets all 'Young at heart" naughty guys. The brand has its brand values of Cool, Fashionable and Stylish. And world over, the brand sticks to its core values. The biggest strength of this brand is the underlying message or the DNA which is that the brand users are High on Confidence and always for the Axe users, Girls Makes The First Move. I think the biggest competitive advantage of this brand is its complete monopoly over this brand proposition. All its campaigns revolve round this central theme of Seduction where Girl makes the first move.
I think it has lot of subliminal implications. The brand assumes that Men wants( Likes) to be Seduced . That feeling ( of being seduced) gives a big boost of self confidence to a man. Although many brands take this proposition, Axe just made it perfect.

I have seen lot of ads where girls are seen drooling over Hunks in Motorcycle or in Readymades, or even in Innerwears, but in most of the Axe ads, there are no Hunks, only very ordinary or even skinny kind of people getting assaulted by beautiful girls. That makes the brand more approachable. Had Axe used a Hunk, the promotions couldn't have been so effective. The brand managers were so wise that when they used a celebrity like Ben Affleck, They ensured that the brand is made approachable
See the TVC here : My Favorite Axe ad
Having said that, The males seen in Axe commercials are not Losers: the ads are careful to show them as confident ( in one way or other) or a better term will be self assured. That is ultimate execution.
The power of this Big Idea has ensured that Indian consumers lap up the foreign commercials without any hitch. I don't remember any India centric ad for Axe especially in Television. And Indian consumers are not complaining either.

Along with these , the brand also ensured that customers are constantly engaged with new fragrances and campaigns. In 2005, Axe had a high profile launch of its new fragrance CLICK and before that there was Axe Land campaign and followed by Axe-Academy then Axe Voodoo and the latest one Phenomenon. I have tried most of the fragrances and not all of them are good, but I try it because I like the brand. That is the power of brand.
Axe is one of the rare brands that has embraced new media to the maximum extent. The brand has started its Internet based marketing initiative in India with Axe Land which involved a virtual trip to the Axe world. Globally also this brand has lot of online initiatives which are almost always naughty.In UK the Axe is marketed as LYNX.Checkout the cool web initiatives of this brand :
Axe- feather
Axe Effect
Axe Phenomenon
and also a blog called Evan and Gareth

Not only the brand uses TVC's to its advantage, the print ads of Axe won several accolades in various ad events. The creatives run amok with the kind of flexibility that they get from the positioning.Besides Print, the brand also uses outdoors to its maximum impact. Axe is a classic example of 360 degree branding effort. Now Axe has a common message in over 70 countries where Unilever sells this brand. Iconic in a real sense.

One of the reports term the marketing strategy of Axe as " Adventurous Marketing" .That is true because its risky because the brand deals with Girls & Seduction. Not always every one may like the theme or the campaigns. In India especially there are self styled Cultural Policemen/Women who cries foul for anything and everything. It is really surprising that so far, Axe has escaped their AXE. That also shows that the ad agency is also careful about the concepts put across the Indian media.
While in a more liberal markets, Axe tests new levels of " Adventures" , here the brand plays really safe. It also ensures the campaigns run in Indian media is accepted because most often its the entire family who watches the TV.
I know I just have touched the tip of Marketing Iceberg called Axe.

For the axe fans, check out a blog dedicated to Axe at Axeads

Brand Update : Alpenliebe

Alpenliebe has roped in Kajol as its brand ambassador.This is the first time in the 14 years of successful existence in the India, Perfetti Vanmelle is relying on celebrity endorsement.

The new TVC featuring Kajol and surprisingly an " Alligator" is right now on air

Watch The Tvc here : Kajol Alpenliebe

The new campaign is a classic example of Absurdism in Advertising . I feel that it is an overkill. The plot is nothing new, Kajol popes the candy at an Alligator at a zoo and the alligator follows Kajol everywhere. The brand now uses the tagline "Lalach Aha Laplap" which is in Hindi language and I couldn't make out the meaning of it. Agencyfaqs says that it means, once you have Alpenliebe, the greed for more increases.
According to a report in agencyfaqs, the company feels that Kajol is the right fit for the brand and will help to take the brand to the next level.I have a doubt?
Can the presence of a celebrity take the brand to the next level?
I think that Celebrity endorsement will work only if used properly ( No brainer isn't it) .Here we can see that Kajol is not being adding any value to the brand as such.There is no Big Idea, no differentiation or positioning. The idea of "greed for more" has been used by almost all the brands across categories. Even Pepsi has used it with its famous tagline " Ye Dil Maange More" ( My heart desires for more). Alpenliebe has used this idea in a subtle form in its earlier campaigns and was highly successful ,but the new campaign is an overkill.

So the expensive celebrity with an equally expensive ad (I feel that the animation may have cost the brand a hell lot of money) is of no use to the brand. It is true that there will be some sticky factor because of the presence of Kajol in the ads, but I doubt whether the ad will take the brand to the next level.The ad agency have taken an easy route by not searching for any refreshing new idea. Playing Safe and using Ideas that are oft used is not going to make any big change in the Brand.

Related Brand
Alpenliebe

Source : Agencyfaqs.com

Knorr : Searching for the Right Flavor

Brand : Knorr
Company: HUL
Agency : FCB Ulka

Brand Count :251

Knorr is World's largest selling soup brand from the Unilever stable. Born in 1838 in Germany,Knorr derived its name from the founder Carl Heinrich Knorr who developed a preservation process for foods which became the basis for the creation of the product Soup.
In India Knorr was marketed by International Best Foods Ltd which was a subsidiary of BestFoods Inc who owned Knorr brands worldwide. In 2000, Unilever acquired Knorr from BestFoods Inc.

Knorr can be said as a pioneer in the creation of Soup market in India. The brand started the category promotion which has now resulted in this category growing at a rate of over 18% ( According to AC Neilsen).But even after these efforts, Soups are still small in terms of category size.
In a marketing point of view, Knorr is a resilient brand because it sustained many crazy marketing actions from HLL ( now HUL). When HUL acquired this brand, Knorr was a pure Soup brand. But soon after the acquisition, the marketing gurus of Levers were confused as to what to do with this brand. Since the Foods business in India is largely unpredictable, is it wise to have a brand that is dedicated to Soups which is a category alien to Indian palate.
Then came the much hyped power brand strategy and something funny happened with Knorr. HLL decided to integrate its local brand Annapoorna with Knorr to create a new brand Knorr Annapoorna. ( This move makes the concept of GLOCAL, funny). Then came the craziest part, Knorr began to move from Soups to Ketchups to Spices and even Salt. I would call it the ultimate product line extension .The company ensured the failure of Knorr Annapoorna by stretching it that far. The period 2000 - 2005 was a period of crisis for this brand. In 2003 , facing the growing clout of Maggi in the foods segment, HLL tried to counter Maggi with the launch of Knorr break-time snack soup under the subbrand Soupy Snack. That failed miserably.

Knorr Annapoorna brand was a failure because those who liked Annapoorna brand was repelled by Knorr and those who like Knorr was repelled by Annapoorna. In 2005, the two brands went in for a divorce.
2005 saw the relaunch of Knorr with the international pack and retaining some careful targeting. The brand wanted its upmarket status and decided to concentrate more on Soups and all the extensions of spices and salt was terminated.
2006 was good for Knorr brand because the brand manager was able to focus on the category rather than spending his energy on variants that does not make sense. During this period, the brand cameout with campaigns that promoted the category rather than the brand itself. Soup and its benefits were highlighted. This together with the efforts of Maggi Soups ensured a healthy growth for this category.
This year saw HUL playing around with this brand again. Knorr again went for a Brand Extension in the form of Ready To Make curry mix.
Watch the ads here : Make a Meal

The move is again little confusing because the primary category of Soups has not been fully developed. Knorr has been successful in ensuring adequate shelfspace and also has positioned itself interms of variety and taste. The brand's USP is the wide assortment of flavors. Knorr boasts of 14 different flavors and the price is also very reasonable. The Soup brand is running a campaign that shows husband making the soup for the family ( refreshing idea) when his wife is busy engrossed in a movie/serial. The ad conveys the qualities of " Ready to make" , Family warmth and taste.

The rationale behind the extension to Ready to Make products may be to make this brand more familiar to Indian households and also a plan to make Knorr an umbrella brand like Maggi. Worldwide Knorr has moved beyond Soups to become a full fledged Food brand. InIndia I feel that the brand has not matured that much. My personal belief is that Knorr will have a better future if it sticks to what it is famous for ie Soups.The brand could have spent its resources to promote Soup Category more and then rule that category.

What do you think?

Source : businessline,agencyfaqs