LG Asafoetida : Branding a Commodity

Brand : LG Asafoetida
Company : Laljee Godhoo & Co

Brand Analysis Count : 263

Laljee Godhoo (LG) Asafoetida is yet another offbeat heritage brand . You may have never seen an advertisement of LG asafoetida in any of the media. But check out your kitchen, there is a chance that a pack of this brand has been there for a long time.

LG brand is almost 110 years old. The company started its operations in the year 1894. Today this brand of asafoetida commands a market share of over 70% in the Indian market.
Asafoetida is a a resin like gum extracted from the dried stem and roots of a herbaceous perennial plant Ferula Assafoetida found abundant in Iran. Laljee imports the raw latex from Afghanistan and prepares the compounded Asafoetida which is adding spice to the popular dishes across the country. Asafoetida is a popular spice used in many Indian dishes.
For ninety years, LG was selling Asafoetida in the lump form later, the brand began selling the powder form of asafoetida. This is a brand which became a dominant player through word of mouth. Asafoetida was earlier selling as a commodity. LG differentiated by a unique package and the emphasis on quality. More over this was the first brand to bring this product in the powder form which increased the popularity of the brand.
But the brand faces certain issues because of the commodity nature of the business. The major issue that this brand faces is the counterfeit threat. There are innumerable brands which mimic the logo and package of this brand. Since it is a commodity , many a times customers take other brands which looks similar to this brand. The second threat is from the private labels. Now most of the organized retailers have their own Private Label brands of spices. Since LG has not developed any point of differentiation, there is a chance that its share will get hurt by private labels.

For a heritage brand like LG asafoetida, the future offers lot of challenges. The brand has never invested in brand building except for occasional ads cautioning customers about counterfeits. The threat from private labels is real and huge. The brand has no option but to spent more in reinforcing its equity built over these years.

i-pill : Get Back To Life

Brand : i-pill
Company : Cipla

Brand Analysis Count : 262

i-pill is an offbeat brand that has just being launched in Indian market. i-pill is an emergency contraceptive pill which prevents unplanned pregnancy. Although emergency contraceptives pills ( EC Pills) were earlier available in the market, its only in 2005 that Government has allowed the sale of this product over the counter ( OTC). i-pill is special because it is the first brand which has been promoted heavily in media after the government has allowed the OTC sale of this drug.
EC pills were also popular as Morning After Pills because this drug is taken the morning after the " Accident " has occurred. Before 2005, the product was available only with a doctor's prescription.

This product category has lot of social significance in the Indian market. Out of more than 50 million conceptions that happen in India , 30% end up in abortions. There are also reports that suggest that 75% of pregnancies are unplanned ( My Goodness !). And an estimated 20,000 deaths happen because of complication during abortion. Hence EC pills offer a safe and effective second chance for those unprotected events and also a second chance for those contraceptive failures.

In 2005 Government has put this product under the Government Reproductive and Child Health Program. That means , there is going to be a reduction in the price of this drug. According to reports, the product price is expected to come down from Rs 40 to Rs 5. Government will also undertake advisory as well as awareness creating campaigns to promote this product category.

Coming back to the brand i-pill, this brand was existing in the ethical market as Pill 72. The company has relaunched pill 72 as i-pill in the OTC market. Although Government is taking steps to promote the product through campaigns, Cipla is not aiming the social class that government is aiming at.

i-pill is targeting the urban class SEC A & B. The campaign is already aired in the media.
Watch the TVC from the brand website : i-pill
Although it took a little time for me to understand the ad when I saw it the first time, I feel that its a cool ad that captures the essence of the brand. The brand uses the tagline " Get Back to Life" .

The tagline indicates the core idea of the brand which is explained by an advertorial :

" Take a pill as soon as you know that things have gone wrong . And you can prevent an unplanned pregnancy . That's it. And do be little careful the next time. Now there goes the alarm.Switch it off and begin a new day "

I think its cool way of communicating a concept that most of the marketers find difficult to express. The brand has got it right in terms of communication. And I like the packaging.
Although worldwide , EC pills has been popular, it also has its share of controversies. Some argue that these pills are abortion pills , encourages unsafe intercourse , immorality and so on and so forth. But Government of India has recognized the importance of this product category.
This category also is relevant in the modern context where the new generation has different ideas about morality . When India is aligning toward the west interms of Culture, such safety valves may prove very valuable.
i-pill is a smart move by Cipla because the brand aims to piggyback the government initiative to promote this category. When the category growth is taken care by the government and NGO's , Cipla can concentrate on skimming the cream of the market through this brand.

Brand Update : Kent RO

Kent RO has landed its brand ambassador in deep trouble. Today Hema Malini who also is a Rajyasabha MP asked a seemingly innocent question in Parliament. " Whether government has any plans to reduce the excise duty of RO purifiers ? " This question has created a controversy which may snow ball into a terrible headache for Hema Malini.

According to the Parliamentary ethics, a member should not raise a debate or an issue which has a conflict of interest ( personal interest). Since Hema Malini is the brand ambassador of Kent which manufactures Reverse Osmosis (RO) based water purifiers, the war cry has already began.

Politics apart, I was aghast when I watched Hema Malini sweating in front of a seemingly soft journalist in Headlines Today. If the interviewer was Karan Thapar, Hema Malini would have got a heart attack. The actress is not a politician for sure and she messed up the entire interview

This brand ambassador was asked the following question.

Journalist : Madam, Can you please explain to us what RO system means ?
Hema Malini : mmmmm........ Helloo
Journalist : Madam, Can you please explain to us what RO system means ?
Hema Malini : I don't know the technical details.
Journalist : Madam , You endorse this brand and can you explain..?
Hema Malini : See the advertisement for more details...

( this is not a verbatim transcript)

The scrolling now says : Hema does not know about Reverse Osmosis.

Well..........

When I write about brands and celebrity endorsements, many readers and students ask for my opinion about the importance of celebrity endorsement in a marketing strategy. This episode highlights one of the pitfalls of celebrity endorsements. These occurrences can be rare. But it can happen.
In this case , Reverse Osmosis is the differentiation that Kent tries to project with the brand ambassador and now in a high profile controversy, the brand ambassador admits that she knows little about what she says ( along with her daughters) in the advertisement .

Embarrassing for the brand and for the brand ambassador.

Will it create any problems for the brand?
Only for the short term . Because customers are wise enough to understand that a brand ambassador does not know any thing about the product which he/she endorses. This episode is just another proof.

Will this create problem for Hema Malini ?
I think so. She may have a lot of explanations to do before the ethics committee.

This celebrity goof up is just a warning signal for all marketers. Make sure that your brand ambassador knows a little bit about your product. Atleast the Meaning and Spelling......

Related Brand
Kent RO

Source : Headlines Today

Kit Kat : Have a break , Have a Kit Kat

Brand : Kit Kat
Company : Nestle
Agency : JWT

Brand Analysis Count : 261

Kit Kat is one of the world's largest selling chocolate brands. I am little nostalgic about this brand because when I was doing the management degree course, the war between Kit Kat and Perk was at the peak. I still remember doing a retailer survey to find out who was winning the fierce marketing battle at that time.

Kit Kat was born in 1935 as Chocolate Crisp. The company which manufactured this brand was Rowntree Ltd of York, England. The brand was renamed as Rowntree Chocolate Crisp in the year 1937 and acquired the brand name Kit Kat shortly after Worldwar II . The brand was acquired by Nestle in the year 1988. According to Wikipedia, Kit Kat derived its name from the Kit- Cat Club which was a literary club located in Christopher- Catling (Kit- Cat) Pie House. Except for US, Kit Kat is marketed by Nestle while in US the brand is marketed by Hershey's.

Kit Kat was launched in India in 1995. The brand was an instant hit because of smart marketing as well as the novelty of the product. Kit Kat is wafer covered in chocolate. During the time of the launch , there was no such kind of product although wafer biscuits were available in the market. The high profile launch of Kit Kat and Perk created a new segment of Wafer Chocolates. Though a new segment was created, none of the brands were able to sustain or grow this segment.

Kit Kat was launched as a young vibrant snack . The brand was positioned as an anytime snack ( similar to Perk). Kit Kat differentiated itself based on its finger shaped wafer bar( product form). More than the shape, Kit Kat differentiated itself by a ritual. We all know that to teach an Indian consumer new way of doing things is one of the most difficult tasks for a marketer. Nestle has proved to be a master in that. Using smart advertising, Kit Kat taught Indian consumers a new way of eating this product. Kit Kat used advertisement to promote a ritual for eating a Kit Kat. The ritual has the following steps:

Remove the wrapper.
Separate a finger bar using your finger
Break the bar
Eat it.

Surprisingly customers accepted this ritual. Even now, after over 12 years of this campaign, still customers follow this ritual. That shows the power of smart advertising. And I think that the campaign succeeded because
It made sense. ( Its first time customers are seeing such a product form)
&
The ads were cool.

The brand used the world famous campaign " Have a break, have a Kit Kat". I think it is one of the best taglines a brand can have. From the tagline itself, its obvious that the brand is positioned as anytime snack. The brand targeted the young crowd and the ads were in line with the TG. The segmentation is based on the Usage Occasion.

Surprisingly , during the 2004-05, the brand changed its famous tagline of Have a break to " Kit Kat Khao Khush Ho Jao" translated to Eat Kit Kat , Be Happy. I am not sure why brands change their famous and successful taglines. Kit Kat is currently running campaigns based on this tagline. I have seen some reports of legal hindrances faced by Nestle in copyrighting the tagline " Have a break " , but for a successful tagline like this , Nestle already have taken copyright from the customers. Even if the competitor uses this tagline, only Kit Kat benefits. But Kit Kat is now struggling with establishing the new tagline.

In 2007 , the brand made a smart move by launching a new variant Kit Kat Lite , which is a low sugar low calorie variant. The launch is in line with the trend in the Indian market for healthy foods. The brand is now promoted with a cool commercial. I am sure the ad will appeal to the hip -hop crowd.

Watch the commercial here : Kit Kat Lite
Kit Kat lite is promoted as a healthy option for all the calorie conscious. The variant uses the tagline " 50% less sugar, 100 % taste, don't think Just bite" . There is also a brand site justbite.com. I am little skeptical about the attractiveness of " 50% less sugar" : whether it is compelling enough for a calorie conscious to take the bite. However, the brand has to be lauded for the initiative.

Kit Kat faced tough competition from Perk during the nineties , but now Perk is also struggling to find the right positioning after discarding its original positioning. Both the brands have struggled to expand the market for this segment. I personally feel that Kit Kat may do well if it gets back its original positioning based on the tagline " Have a break".

source: wikipedia, nestle.in

Brand Update : Polo

Nestle's Polo has got back its original tagline " Mint with a Hole ". The brand is running a new campaign featuring the world famous tagline. Remember that Polo had discarded the famous Hole campaign and took another tagline " Polo Ghao seethi Bajao " . I think it had cost the brand dearly. Competing brands like Mentos ( industry competition) and host of other mint based chewing gum brands like CenterFresh and Happydent has eclipsed this brand which was a pioneer in the mint segment.
The new campaign revolves round the question " Where is the Hole " and the TVC ends with the voice over " The mint with a Hole "

Read the complete story board here : Agencyfaqs.

Although the brand has lost valuable time by messing up with a successful positioning, its good that the brand finally got its acts together. The agency has done well in introducing the old tagline in an interesting manner. But the brand has to understand that the industry is moving towards the " Sugar Free " products. Worldwide Polo has a sugarfree variant and I think its time the brand brings such a variant here because the competition from Happydent and Orbit is eating into the Ordinary Mint segment.

Related Brand

Polo

Book Review : Know- How

Title : Know -How
The eight skills that separate people who perform and those who don't.

Author : Ram Charan

Publisher : Random House
Book review # 4

Know-How is a must read for all business students and professionals. After reading this book , I must admit that I became a fan of the author Ram Charan. Ram Charan is known for making complex business concepts simple and this book is a classic example of that skill.

Know-How is what separates leaders who perform from those who doesn't, the author says. He defines this quality as follows

" Know- How is about what you must both do and be to lead your business in what is shaping up to be the most challenging business environment in decades." ( page 2)
He also cites certain personal traits that is an absolute must in developing and deploying Know-How. They are
Ambition, Drive and Tenacity, Self Confidence, Psychological Openness, Realism and Appetite for learning. ( P.17)
The author then spends the rest of the book explaining the eight know-hows that will guide the leader to greatness. The eight Know-Hows are listed below:

1. Positioning and Repositioning : This refers to finding a central idea for business that meets customer demands and that makes money. This was one of my favorite chapters where Ram Charan emphasis indirectly that Marketing is a strategic function. He cites innumerable examples to stress the fact that a customer focus is important when trying to position /reposition your business. He uses the simple example to cite the importance of customers " If the dog does not eat the dog food , You will lose money ".
   
2. Pinpointing external change : Detecting patterns in a complex world to put the business on the offensive.The author warns the corporate leaders to look for signs of impeding changes that can either disrupt your business or provide new opportunities.
3. Leading the social system : Getting the right people together with the right behaviors and the right information to make better , faster decisions and achieve business results. In the HR perspective, Ram Charan exhorts the leaders to understand the social system in an organisation .
   
4. Judging people: Calibrating people based on their actions, decisions,and behaviors and matching them to non-negotiables of the job. Do you have a right succession plan in place ? In this segment, the author gives invaluable guidelines to spot the future leaders of the business. He cites the examples of Jack Welch, Nardelli ,Jeff Immelt to substantiate the importance of getting and retaining good people.
   
5. Molding a team : Getting highly competent , high-ego leaders to coordinate seamlessly.
6. Setting goals : Determining the set of goals that balances what the business can become with what it can realistically achieve.
7. Setting laser-sharp priorities : Defining the path and aligning resources , actions and energy to accomplish the goals
8. Dealing with forces beyond the market : Anticipating and responding to societal pressures you don't control but that can affect your business.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book.

• Will the dogs eat the dog food ? p.44
  

• The key element of positioning Know-how- the mentality to dissect which new or already existing market segments would contribute to moneymaking and which would detract, and the psychological inclination to confront reality sooner rather than later. p.50
• Detecting changes in the external environment and linking them with the positioning of your business is what I call business acumen . p56
• The know-how of pinpointing and taking action on changes in the external environment is one of the most important skills you must master in your job. p58
• The greatest challenge today is finding new opportunities for profitable and sustainable growth in the complex and tough environment. To achieve and objective like this, you have to be psychologically comfortable to go beyond traditional thinking about an industry and sense what is happening on the outside, connect the dots and discover what the new opportunities are. p68
• Jeff Immelt has the capacity to take in huge amount of detail and sift , sort and select it to make sense of it. p69
• Seven questions to make a sense of world around you . P71
  
• What is happening in the world today?
• What part of my frame of reference has worked for me? What hasn't worked for me?
• What does it mean for anyone?
• What does it mean for us?
• What would have to happen?
• What do we have to do to play a role?
• What do we do next?
• Every company has a social system.Social system describe the various ways people come together to do their work. Managing social system has two parts : determine what critical decisions and trade-offs must get made and by whom, to accomplish your business goals. Then use that insight to design disciplined ,routine regularly scheduled meetings. p80
  
• The defining qualities /behaviors that companies would need for the future : Collaboration, candor, informality, accountability and realism. P 105
• Selecting leaders is not risk free but paying attention to whether the person is making the transition lets you address problems quickly. P 138
• Principles involved in molding a team of leaders
• Share numbers, reasoning and results to share a common view of the business and its context.
• Have the psychological courage to confront behaviors that harm the team's effectiveness.
• Anticipate, surface, and resolve conflicts.
• Pick the right people.
• Provide prompt feedback and coaching.
• Recognize and avoid derailers.
• Its the people who must bring the priorities to life. Therefore whenever you set new priorities, you have to ask, Do we have the right people to carry them out? P 221

Know-How is a remarkable book which is lucid and easy to understand. What differentiates this book from the rest is the innumerable examples which the author has distilled from his vast experience .