Marketing Funda : Brand Rituals

A Ritual is defined as the combination of rites and rite is defined as a ceremonial act. According to BBDO rituals are defined series of actions that move people emotionally from one place to another.Rituals are sequences that are developed over time. Rituals are usually used in religion. We perform many religious rituals and some of these becomes an integral part of our life.

Brand ritual is the performance of an act by the consumers as defined by the brand ( Owners). These days brand rituals are a common strategy adopted by marketers. Some rituals become a part of our behavior over time.
A classic case of such a ritual is the checking of breath . The Ha Ha which we do with our hand was taught by Close- Up. The ritual in breaking the Kit Kat wafers is another successful brand ritual.
A global brand known for the ritual is that of Corona beer, the beer is to be taken through a lime kept at the neck of the bottle. Another famous one is the James Bond induced ritual for Martini " Shaken not Stirred" .
Not all brand rituals are successful. Munch is trying to recreate the success of Kit Kat with no success. Horlicks is also trying out a similar Hip rotating ritual.The latest Pepsi My Can also features a special way of holding the can which can be termed as a ritual.
Rituals are used as a brand element because of its stickiness effect. A popular brand ritual can make the customer remember the brand and stick to it. The ritual also involves the customer with the brand. It also creates a pattern in the consumer's mind which can trigger loyalty.

Another important advantage of brand rituals is that it acts as a differentiator. When product features become standardized, marketers look for non feature differentiation. Brand rituals often differentiates the products from the rest.

Marketers has to be careful while creating brand rituals. Some important guidelines for an effective brand ritual are given below:
Brand rituals should be

Simple : Complex rituals are failure for sure. Consumers should be able to do the ritual easily.
Relevant : Although this is not a rule, rituals will work better if its relevant to the brand.
Fun : Customers should enjoy performing the ritual.
Consistent : An important factor in the success of a ritual. Once the ritual is finalized, the marketer must ensure that there is consistency in promotion of the ritual.
Meaningful : The customers are not going to own a ritual unless it makes some sense for the customers.
If carefully created , brand rituals can be a powerful brand element. The ritual can be a double edged sword, if not created properly , the ritual can often diminish the brand's equity too.

Brand Update : Frooti

Frooti has been running a new campaign these days. The new campaign is significant because it reflects the return of the original tagline of Frooti " Mango Frooti , Fresh N Juicy ".

Watch the Tvc here : Frooti
Remember that Frooti had earlier changed the tagline to " Piyo Bindaas " . The new campaign gives the message that India has changed but the favorite fruit juice drink is still Frooti. Frooti has been facing lot of competition these days from brands like Maaza. With global beverages majors turning their attention to Non cola drinks, Frooti has the challenge of retaining its current market.

According to a report in Agencyfaqs, the brand is aiming to target the youth ( 15-24) which is considered one of the most toughest class of customers in India. The new campaign is the beginning of an image makeover of this heritage brand. Frooti has a strong customer base among kids. But with the TG growing up, the brand has the tough task of being relevant. The brand has also launched a below the line promotional series " Thank you Mango Lovers" .The campaign aims to express the brand's gratitude to both the trade and consumers for its support over these years.

I like the fact that Frooti has realized the need for a change and its a difficult task that it has undertook. I also like that Fresh N Juicy tagline is back. Somethings never change.......

Related Brand

Frooti


Source : agencyfaqs

Celebrations : Riste Pakne Do

Brand : Celebrations
Company : Cadbury's
Agency :Contract Advertising

Brand Count : 273

Celebrations is a unique brand. Actually Celebrations is a collection of brands which makes it more special. Celebrations is the gift packet from Cadbury's having an assortment of its chocolate brands like Dairy Milk, 5 Star, etc. In a lighter vein,using a brand Cadbury's is trying to sell a collection of its brands.

Celebrations is unique because its the first time that a organized confectionery brand is trying to cater the festive gifting segment on a mass market scale. Please note that Amul has built its chocolate brand using the positioning " A gift for someone you love " . In the case of Celebrations, the segment is different.

Celebrations was launched in 1990. During these 17 Years, Celebrations was focusing on Occasions like Raksha Bandhan, Diwali etc. The brand was trying to capture a slice of the market which was dominated by traditional Mithai and dry fruits.
This year, Celebrations is trying out a new strategy. From occasion focus , the brand is trying to look at segments outside the festive seasons. The reason is that Occasions limit the usage of the brand. People never look at the brand during non-festive seasons. Hence the brand loses relevance during non festive seasons. One option for the brand is to increase the occasions of usage of the brand ( example of Archies Cards popularizing various occasions of giving Cards can be noted in this scenario).
Here in the case of Celebrations, the brand moved out of festive based gifting to Social Gifting. That is a complete repositioning that the brand has embarked upon.
The new exercise is based on certain consumer insight. The company research has shown that usually gifts are hurriedly pulled out , dusted and rewrapped. That is the reason why we get so many Glass sets, clocks, casseroles. Most of the gifts are insincere. There can be many reasons for this - lack of time, lack of choices, forgetfulness etc.
Thus from this insight, came the big idea : why not position Celebrations as an effective Any Time Gifting Option. A gift which is sincere and easy to select.
The brand is now running a heavy duty promotion for the brand in the visual media.

Watch the TVC here : Celebrations
The ad is well made and the concept is simple : An insincere gift going full circle and coming back to the people who gifted it.The ad uses the song from the film Tohfa to great advantage. The brand is trying to tell the customer to chose Celebrations because it is a sincere gift. Ultimately the brand is positioned itself as one that facilitates strong relationships.

So a big idea backed by good advertising. Will it work ?
There are danger zones. The brand is trying to alter the social gifting behavior of the Indian customer which is not easy. Giving flowers and gifts are the accepted norm but will the Indian consumer accept Sweets as a Social Gift is something to watch out for.

For sweets / chocolates as gifts, there are premium foreign brands like Ferrero Rocher, Hershey's and Lindt already available in the market. Cadbury's is never considered as an "Aspirational " brand because it is affordable . And consumers are going to think " What will he think when he finds out that the gift is Chocolates ? "
Guess who wins the race ?

Clock or Celebrations ?
Tea set or Celebrations ?
Curios or Celebrations ?

Although I am skeptical about the success of this initiative, Celebrations is definitely a relief for me as a consumer, now there is an easy choice. This gift is useful when visiting a a friend who has kids. For giving it to adults ...... I need some more convincing.

Nestle Munch : Can't Stop Munching

Brand : Munch
Company : Nestle
Agency : JWT

Brand Count : 272

Munch is the second largest brand in the chocolate based confectionery segment in India. It is also the largest selling SKU in the industry. Munch was launched in 1999 by Nestle to counter the brand Picnic from Cadbury. But now Munch survived and Picnic is dead.

Munch is positioned as a tasty brand. The brand is a result of the intense war between Kitkat and Perk. When Kitkat was launched, Cadbury launched Perk to flank its flagship brand Dairy Milk. The war between Kit Kat and Perk resulted in a stalemate and the category itself became stagnant. Then Munch was launched by Nestle as a price warrior. At Rs 5, the brand became a blockbuster success cannibalizing Kit Kat and forcing Perk to launch a low priced variant.

Munch is an any time consumption product. The product is a wafer layer covered with delicious chocolayer. The brand is positioned based on its taste. Munch uses the tagline " Can't Stop Munching" to promote its taste as the USP.
In 2004, the brand roped in the Bollywood actress Rani Mukharjee as the brand ambassador. The brand is promoted heavily across the visual media.

Watch the TVC here : Munch

Personally I never liked any of the commercials of Munch. All though Rani Mukharjee is perceived to be smart and full of energy, I always felt a touch of artificiality in the ads. ( compared with Perk and Priety Zinta) . And I never believe that the brand succeeded because of the commercials. The prime factor behind the brand's success was the price factor. Rs 5 always enthused the customers to make that impulse purchase. The quantity was just right for the price and parents will have a feeling that kids are not eating too much chocolate.
Munch is brand which has been innovating to keep the excitement going. Munch earlier had come out with a Coconut variant . Another major innovative variant was the Munch Pop Chocs. Pop Chocs are chocolaty nibbles in the form of wafer cubes. This variant is also promoted by Rani Mukharjee.
There is another interesting fact about Munch . Like Kit Kat, Munch is also trying to create a Brand Ritual. The ad asks the customers to Take a Munch Pop Chocs, Twist it and Pop it into the mouth. I feel that this attempt of creating a Ritual is not going to meet with the success that Kit Kat had.
Although I have serious reservations about the campaigns, the market has given a thumbs up to the brand. The company has also invested heavily into the brand which has reaped rich rewards.

Coca Cola India : Little Drops of Joy

Corporate Brand : Coca Cola India
Agency : McCann Erickson


Brand Analysis Count : 271

Coca Cola India for the first time has came out with corporate campaign in India targeting its stakeholders. The multimedia campaign " Little Drops of Joy " is aimed at raising the corporate brand image of the company which took a heavy beating with a number of controversies it faced in different domains.

The new campaign is a part of a complete restructuring exercise in the Indian arm of this global change. Coca Cola recently announced its new corporate strategy called the " 5 Pillar " strategy. The company has identified the 5 pillars as

People
Planet
Portfolio
Partners &
Performance.

The Little Drops of Joy is a part of the communication strategy aimed at projecting the company as a responsible Corporate citizen whose main aim is to bring JOY into people's life. The main idea of this campaign is to lift the corporate brand from a single brand focus to a multi brand company ( a portfolio of brands). Little drops of joy campaign also aims at a image make over. The company plays down its size ( multinational ) and becomes more humble and approachable. The concept is communicated through the manifesto which now becomes the guidelines for future company operations. The manifesto is given below

A mighty ocean we’re not.
But we are the little drops that make one.
Because small things go a long way. At Coca-Cola India, we believe that there’s more to a little sip. It’s the moment of truth. A second of satisfaction. An instant of happiness. A bubble of hope. Because we don’t quench your thirst. We recharge your soul. For one moment. One drop at a time.

The new direction reminds me of the former Chairman of Coca Cola , Robert Goizueta who asked the company managers to capture the Share of Fluids taken by a customer rather than bothering about the competition from Pepsi.Likewise Coca Cola is trying to capture those little moments of joy.

Watch the TV Commercials here : Coca Cola Corporate

I cannot say that this commercial has a Big Idea. The idea is a copy of Mastercard 's Priceless campaign . The execution of the commercial is OK but for me its too much of Hindi (Havn't seen an English/Malayalam version.
The new campaign makes lot of sense for Coke since it has faced issues of pesticides , groundwater exploitation controversy at Plachimada in Kerala which hurt this brand more than the rival Pepsi.
Through this campaign , the company aims to gel with the Indian consumer as its own rather than a western one. Its sad since Coke has been more local in advertising than Pepsi but had to bear the brunt more than Pepsi in these controversies.

But will these campaigns help the makeover, I guess not. It will be actions that will speak louder than ADS in the case of Corporate Brand Image. Trusted corporate brands like TATA , Infosys and the likes has built its reputation through its actions rather than ads. Coca Cola globally is respected as a highly ethical corporate citizen. Its sad that in India, the company had to face unexpected setbacks from some of the stakeholders. The company has now identified its mistakes and these campaigns ( I hope ) are just a signal of the beginning of a new era for Coca Cola India.

Source: agencyfaqs.cocacola website

Sony Vaio : All Eyes on You

Brand : Sony Vaio
Company : Sony
Agency : JWT

Brand Analysis Count : 270

Sony Vaio is making lot of noises in the media with its latest repositioning campaign. Vaio is Sony's subbrand in the Laptop segment . Viao was created in 1996 and is a major player in the Notebook/Laptop market across the world. The brand came to India only in 2004. The delay is owning to the restriction in using Wi-Fi 802.11g by the government till 2004.

Vaio is the acronym of Video Audio Integrated Option which denotes the brand's positioning as a product that performs on both video and audio front. Like any other product from Sony, Vaio is also positioned ( and priced ) as a premium brand. Vaio launched its first series of Notebooks with a price ranging from Rs 80,000 - Rs 1,25,000 making it one of the costliest laptops available in India.
Sony has a market share of around 5.4 % of the Indian Laptop market which is estimated to touch a volume of 1.6 million units this year. It is this phenomenal growth of around 40 % that forms the basis of the latest launch of Sony Vaio CR range.
The Indian laptop market is dominated by HP ( 40 %) followed by Lenovo ( 17 %) and Toshiba. There is lot of activity in the notebook segment because of the lowering of the price barrier. Earlier the price of a typical laptop was costing upwards of Rs 45000. Now the entry level laptop price is anywhere between Rs 22,000 - 26,000. This has fueled the growth of this segment. The lowering of prices has attracted a whole set of new customers into this segment. Students , executives and businessmen began looking at laptops as a productivity enhancement tool. Companies began giving laptops to executives to keep them working when mobile. These happened without seriously hurting the sale of Desktops.
The interest of marketers in this segment is evident when we look at the promotions of leading brands in this segment . Most of them has signed up celebrities to endorse their brands. Acer has Hrithik Roshan, Compaq has Shah Rukh, Lenovo has Saif Ali Khan to promote the brand.

Sony Vaio has always tried to promote itself as an aspirational brand and resisted the temptation to get into the volume game. But here in this scenario , Vaio succumbed to the temptation. With technology no longer a major differentiator, Vaio understood that unless the brand repositions itself , it may be ousted by the feature rich rivals.
Viao CR was Sony's take on the new segment. Vaio targets the hip hop Indian youth aged 18-26 with the variant CR. The brand is now positioned as a fashion accessory rather than a learning/working tool. The new variant comes with attractive color options :
Blazing Red
Indigo Blue
Pure White
Beauty Pink and
Aroma Black. The new variant has some attractive features like Luminous Trim that reflects light which gives the laptop a shining look. Lustrous coating, custom Keyboard, and a personalized illumination LCD. The brand is now repositioned to reflect a playful spirit and a zest for life.
The brand now aims to catch the imagination of the youth market who looks beyond the speed and memory into design and aesthetics. At Rs 55000, Vaio tries to integrate aesthetics, brand image and technology to get into the minds of the young customer.


The brand is now running a high profile TV campaign now.

Watch the TVC here : VAIO

Viao now has the tagline " All Eyes on You" clearly spelling out its positioning based on the design or aesthetics. That is a clear shift from the rest of the brands in this segment who concentrates more on technical specs. So Vaio campaign breaks the clutter effectively.
Having said that the new campaign is definitely nice to watch but the positioning is nothing new. "All eyes on you " is used by many brands in various categories. There is no big idea in it. But the execution makes this old formula look pretty. To be more specific, I watch the ad to hear the music. Even the visualization is not something great compared to the blockbuster Bravio campaigns. Some sites say that the song " Look at me know " is sung by Anushka of the VIVA girls - V-channel fame ( to be verified) . Anyway the song make the ad sticky.

Aesthetics and design and obviously the more attractive price tag has helped Vaio a headstart in the new repositioning. But these factors are not sustainable over time. Soon the competitor will follow with vibrant colors and options. But Sony has the legendary brand equity that may help Vaio to take on the challenge. The war for Young Minds is definitely hotting up.
As of now Vaio can confidently say " Look at me now "