Pureit : As Safe as Boiled Water

Brand : Pureit
Company : HUL


Brand Analysis Count : 297

Pureit is the first foray of the FMCG major into the consumer durable market. Pureit is the water purifier appliance from HUL. Pureit made its test marketing debut in 2005. The brand was initially launched in Chennai. During the test marketing, the result was pretty encouraging and the brand was launched nationally in 2007.
The domestic water purifier appliances market is estimated to be Rs 450 crore ( HBL may 03/07) and is dominated by Aquaguard from Eureka Forbes. As discussed elsewhere in the blog, this category was not growing very fast because of the high cost of the product. The entry level water purifier was costing anywhere between Rs 5000- Rs10,000 .

Pureit is a battery operated purifier . The company uses the following differentiation points against the main competitor Aquaguard by claiming that the product works without gas/electricity thus the cost per litre of pure water is very less. More over the brand is priced at a tempting Rs 1600 which makes it the lowest priced purifier compared to Aquaguard or Kent.

Pureit is being positioned on the basis of its performance. The brand claims that the water from the purifier is ' as safe as the boiled water ' . By claiming that it purifies water as safe as boiling water, Pureit is trying to achieve Points of Parity with Aquaguard and Kent which also claims the same feature. Along with this POP, the brand tries to differentiate on the following points :
a. no electricity/gas
b. Cost per litre low
c. Price of the product is also low

Pureit works on different cleaning layers to ensure purity. There is a fibre mesh layer which removes visible dirt. Then comes a unique carbon trap that filters harmful pesticides and dirt. Then comes the USP - Germkill processor which kills all the bacteria and virus. Then there is a polisher which gives clear odorless water and a battery life indicator which tells you when to replace the battery. The product has a capacity of 9 liters in the upper chamber and 9 liters in the transparent chamber. According to the product website, the battery lasts for 1500 liters and the replacement battery costs Rs 250.
Pureit is now being promoted through all media. There are ads in local print as well as TV. Being the FMCG major, HLL was able to place the product in most of the supermarkets and key consumer points. The brand uses the tagline " As Safe as Boiled water'. The brand is mainly targeting households (mothers ) which have small kids.

Apart these common above the line promotions, what has struck me was the below the line promotions that HUL has undertaken for Pureit. A visit to my doctor proved it. There was a product displayed prominently in his clinic with all necessary brochures and inquiry forms.The brand is using the influencing power of the medical fraternity to its advantage. For the doctor , it just means that his patient has access to pure water while waiting but for the brand this small gesture adds lot of authenticity. HUL has done pretty good homework on this product. The brand is available in shops and also sold through direct marketing associates.
Although the low price of this product will help it to penetrate many households , there are certain issues also.
Pureit is a consumer durable that requires after sales support. When even specialist consumer durable companies are blamed for offering poor after sales support, can an FMCG company deliver efficient customer service.
Another issue is the replacement battery. Will HUL be able to offer this spare without delay ?
At the consumer side, the problem is with the battery. It is crucial that the consumer replace the battery at the right time and use this product. A delay in the supply of battery can cause non-usage for Pureit at households thus causing bad word of mouth. May be it is because of this fear that HUL in its website tells the consumers to buy an additional spare battery.
The brand has more chance of longterm survival if it is promoted through the direct marketing venture ( Hindustan Lever Network) of HLL .

Pureit is a product that is a boon to Indian consumers. Its a boon because it has helped making a category more affordable. More than that, the quality of potable water in our country is deteriorating day by day creating health hazards especially for kids. By making a product at an affordable cost, HUL has made another positive impact in its consumer's quality of life.

Brand Update : Santoor

Santoor has launched a new variant : Santoor Glycerine. Through this variant, Santoor is entering the turf of Pears . Glycerin soap market size is estimated to be around Rs 280 crore ( BS dtd 21/11/07). Pears in a sense is owning the market for glycerin soaps.

Santoor Glycerin is being positioned as a moisturizing and nourishing soap. The launch is in line with the winter season when the skin needs moisturizing. The campaigns are already on air .

Watch the TVC here : Santoor Glycerin
The brand is following the same " Younger Skin " positioning. The new variant is trying to differentiate itself with the Sandal + Glycerin formula where as Pears is a pure glycerin soap. Santoor has also not used either Saif or Madhavan in the campaign for this variant.It is interesting to note that Pears is also using the mother- daughter equation.Santoor Glycerin may not hurt the position of Pears but may create a space for itself .

A normal doubt that arises is whether the launch of this variant will hurt the parent brand . Pears was not successful when it launched some variants ( mint blue) because it was strongly associated with glycerin and also the brand element ( color). But in the case of Santoor, the brand is closely associated with Sandal and turmeric. The new variant also has sandal which is in line with the parent brand. The new variant has all the brand elements of original Santoor. The protagonist is same and interestingly the Color is also the same. Hence there is a better chance of this variant adding value to the original Santoor. The variant gives a chance to the loyal customers to experiment new product within the brand portfolio and also encourage new consumers to the brand.

Related Brands
Santoor

Brand Update : Kingfisher Airlines

Kingfisher is right now running a print campaign in major business publications. To be frank , the campaign did not catch my eye because it is too ' Un-Kingfisher " ads. I expected the Kingfisher ads to be flashy, glamorous but these ads were totally against my perception.

The new series of campaigns are focused on the functional attributes of the airlines. Deviating from the usual flashy ads, Kingfisher is now appealing to the Left- brain of the consumers. The ads are targeting the three segments of users i.e Children, Ladies and Males but the ads are talking to Men who are the key decision makers .

The ad for the young travelers talks about special kids meal,wide seats and games. The ad ends with an appeal to the father that " Your little prince deserves to feel like a King ".

The ad for the lady travelers talks about the seats that bend all the way back, the footrest that will pop up , life valets when your lady lands at the airport at midnight and helping hands that lift her bag. The ad ends with the message " Queen of your heart deserves to fly like one ".

The third in the series aims at the decision maker itself. The ad aimed at male traveler as usual talks about the ' flying models ", the smile that tastes better than the icecream, spectacle cleaner and the air-boutique. The ad ends with the message ' Every man's seat feels like his throne'.

The new campaigns aims to reinforce the service differentiation of this airline. Kingfisher has humbled Jet Airways through its clever service differentiation. But to sustain the service differentiation is not easy because the competition can easily emulate or even make good on your service strategy. Also the brand should keep its costs under control when offering service differentiation. That requires a clear understanding on the consumer expectation regarding the service quality .
With regard to the quality of campaign, it may miss some eyeballs because of not being an eye catchy ad. But the message surely is smart. The basic premise in this ad campaign is that Men are the decision makers with regard to this service. May be a campaign aimed at lady executives may also come in the future.

One strategic reason behind this campaign is to broaden the user base for this brand. Kingfisher has been a hit with the young ( at heart) male fliers and the 'flying models ' , inflight service were well taken by this segment. May be the brand managers feel that Kingfisher is not perceived as a airline for " Family " . The campaigns, the positioning , the hostess all make the brand to be perceived as an airline for men. This can create certain issues in the future and there is a potential problem of the brand restricting itself to a specific gender. The new campaign tries to address this issue and is wooing the non-business travelers as well as the family members of the TG. By way of addressing the larger audience , Kingfisher is trying to take on the Jet Airways' main customers.

On the promotional front, Kingfisher has signed up the latest diva of bollywood Ms Deepika Padukone as the brand ambassador.


Related Brand
Kingfisher

Brand Update : Power Soaps

In one of my earlier posts I had severely criticized the positioning and differentiating strategy of Power brand from RKN group. 'Nature Power " is the company's brand in the bathing soap segment. The brand is now running its promotional campaign in the visual media. It is interesting to see the evolution of marketing strategy of such small brands. Like the brand Dyna ( from Anchor) 'Nature Power ' also has identified its core differentiation strategy. The differentiator is same as that of Dyna - the TFM content. ' Nature Power" soap boasts about 76% TFM content and is positioning itself as 'best soap' in the category.
The brand in its campaign has used Miss India Niharika Singh as the model.
Related Brand
Power Soaps

Brand Update : Lays

Lays has relaunched itself in the health platform. This December, Lays has launched the concept of Snack Smart which talks about a healthy snack. Now Lays is with 40% less saturated fat. That means same taste and more healthy.
The latest launch is in line with the announcement made by Pepsico's Global Chief Ms Indra Nooyi that the Company is moving towards a healthy platform. This initiative is intended to silence the critics that Potato Wafers are junk food. Ofcourse it is ... but now 40% less junky.
Watch the TVC here : Lays

Together with the relaunch, Lays has introduced new flavors : Lay's Chaat Street, Mint Mischief and Wafer Style. The new variant which are Indian flavors is a result of the tough competition from Bingo. Its interesting to note that Bingo has forced Lays to relearn its own lessons. Lays had captured the Indian consumer's mind through Indianisation but later somewhere the brand lost its focus. Bingo to a certain extent beat Lays in its own game.
The latest health positioning is definitely going to give Lays some additional leverage in the market. But Bingo is not sleeping either, if you have noticed the pack of Bingo , it says " Baked , Not Fried " to remind the consumer that no oil is used.

The "Healthy " competition has started....
source : Business Standard.

Kandamkulathy Eladi Lehyam : Making Ayurveda Popular

Brand : Eladi Lehyam
Company : Kandamkulathy Vaidyasala


Brand Analysis Count : 296

The brand that is featured today is offbeat and unique. Those readers outside Kerala ( South India) may not have heard about a brand known as Eladi Lehyam. But this small brand from Kerala has lots of lessons for a marketer.
Eladi Lehyam is a brand of Kandamkulathy Vaidyasala. Kandamkulathy is a well known ayurvedic company in Kerala. The Vaidyasala ( traditional name for ayurvedic clinic ) has a rich tradition of over 150 years . The firm which was started by late Shri K P Pathrose Vaidyan has now grown into a company with over 500 product ranges and over 20 patents.

India boasts about its rich tradition of ayurvedic way of treatment. The ayurvedic treatment has been a permanent feature in most of the campaigns that highlight India as a tourist destination ( example : Incredible India campaign). But within India, ayurvedic marketers are facing difficulty in attracting the new generation into this system of medicine. In my opinion Ayurveda is fighting hard to sustain the competition from Allopathic system of medicine. Since Indians have strong roots in their traditions, this system is still in the Consideration Set of the prospective customers. But Ayurveda is considered only after modern medicine by most .
But the real problem lies in attracting the new generation into this system . There is no doubt about the effectiveness of the treatment system, but the issue is with regard to convenience. It is in this area that Allopathy scores over Ayurveda. Usually youngsters are put off by the lengthy healing time and the strict dietary regime which is a part of the treatment system in Ayurveda. Most of the Kashayams ( syrups) taste very bad which adds to the unpopularity of this system among youngsters. What today's customer looks for is a single pill that cures all very fast ( Panacea !)
Modern Ayurvedic practitioners has tried to adapt to the changing times. Now the sour tasting syrups are available in capsules. Practitioners have also liberalized the dietary regime to fit the modern lifestyle. It is estimated that the total size of the ayurvedic products is about $1 billion. It is in this context that brands like Eladi assumes significance.
Eladi Lehyam is a propriety medicine of Kandamkulathy for the treatment of sore throat & coughs. It has expectorant properties and also provides immunity against common cold and cough. Kandamkulathy has the patent for the Eladi Lehyam combination.
Eladi Lehyam was initially launched in the Lehyam product form. Lehyams are thickened and sweetened semisolid extract of a single herb or a combination of herbs. The product form made this brand less popular because consuming lehyam may not be possible during work . It is often messy and you have to wash your hands after taking it or use a spoon . So people preferred the easy to use lozenges like Vicks and Strepsils.
chewable tablet became highly popular. In this segment, the brand faced competition from Understanding this problem, Kandamkulathy launched Eladi Lehyam in chewable tablet form which became highly popular. Since the brand was proved effective in soothing the throat, Eladianother similar ayurvedic tablet branded as "Thalees" from SD Pharmacy.

The innovation did not stop at that . This year , Kandamkulathy launched a granule product form of Eladi Lehyam. What attracted me was the new packaging which was modern and user friendly . The pack looks similar to Tic Tac breath mints pack. What is interesting is that the new variant looks totally Un-Ayurvedic.The granules are more powerful than the tablets and it seems that this version is aiming at those who liked the lehyam form.

Right now the granule variant is heavily promoted in the media across the state. The positioning is based on the ease of use and the packing acts as the key anchor.
I am not commenting on the future of this brand . The brand faces competition from the likes of Vicks which have a strong equity in the market. But I am thoroughly impressed by the efforts of a small company to make its flagship brand sustain in this market. Eladi is an example of how brands change in tune with times. It also shows that even small firms can make meaningful customer centric innovations. The new variant may fail or succeed but this brand should be an inspiration for all smaller brands who wants to make it big.