Brand Update : Orbit

Orbit is a brand that never stop experimenting. The brand has been trying two prong approach to brand promotion. For Orbit White, the brand takes a humor route featuring Dr. Bhatawadekar while for Orbit Regular, the brand is taking the rational approach which talks about preventing tooth decay.

This year, the brand takes an unexpected turn in its promotional strategy. The brand is adopting a laddering strategy by taking up a more broader concept of ' Everyday Magic with Orbit' . The brand now have a new slogan " Every Day Magic " which is significant since Orbit did not have a slogan earlier.

Watch the new TVC here : Everyday Magic

The big idea is that a sweet smile creates magic in one's life. The big idea is not new since Close Up also have a series of campaign focusing on Smile. The TVC is well made but nothing new in the commercial to create a WOW factor. Most of the instances showed in the commercial has been used by other brands from time immemorial ( Example : Boy and girl in arm-wrestling) .The smile campaign is also to achieve parity with HappyDent which has its campaign centering around white teeth.

But what I like is the concept of 'Everyday Magic' . The slogan has a depth which can be used to the brand's advantage because it can be extended beyond the ' smile ' factor. The new campaign may be the first of a series of campaigns highlighting the new positioning. Hope that the creative team will put some creativity to this good concept which has lot of potential.

Related Brand
Orbit

Hindalco Everlast : Branding a Commodity

Brand : Everlast
Company : Hindalco

Brand Analysis Count : 309

Everlast is the brand of aluminium roofing sheets from Aditya Birla Group. Hindalco from the Aditya Birla Group is India's largest manufacturer of aluminium products in India.
Aluminium is a commodity driven basically by the price. While there are many marketers who brand the consumer products made of aluminium like vessels and utensils, Everlast can be called the first branded roofing sheet.

Everlast was launched in 2002 after much research. The purpose of launching a brand in this commodity business is to add value. Branding a commodity is a difficult task especially when the customer does not see any significant differentiator between products from different manufacturer. But for a marketer, Brands often translates into more premium and also insulates the company from price competition.
Aditya Birla group is not new to branding commodities. We have seen the high profile rebranding of L& T cements to Ultratech which showcased the branding ability .

Everlast had two pronged approach towards building the brand . First task was to establish the brand name by increasing the awareness. This was done by extensive campaign through print media and hoardings. The brand also was positioning itself as a durable product. Television commercial was used to promote the positioning of the brand which was further reinforced by the brand name ' Everlast'.
Second task was to increase the popularity of aluminium roofing sheets. Now Everlast is running a series of campaigns highlighting the various benefits of having an Everlast roof. The brand is now targeting the urban households.
The campaign of Everlast is interesting because the brand recognizes that it cannot replace the RCC roof. Hence the brand aims to popularize itself as a roof over RCC terraces. The new campaign tells the customer that by covering the open terraces using Everlast, one can use that space for various purposes like Party Area, Garden, Exercise , drying clothes etc. Infact the biggest use of Everlast roof is that one can use the terrace for drying clothes especially during rainy season.
The consumer also gets the benefits of additional closed space without spending too much money on building another roof.
Everlast comes in various colors and hence does not compromise the beauty of the house. The brand highlights the following qualities like
Durability
Corrosion Resistant
Easy to Maintain
and also the trust of Hindalco.
Along with the consumer promotion, the brand also had below the line promotion aimed at the influencers like masons, contractors , architects etc.

Everlast rightfully is reaping the benefits of the first mover advantage in this commodity business. Through heavy promotion, the brand had already established its presence in the market and is in course of establish a strong presence in the market.

Brand Update : Horlicks

This year Horlicks has launched another variant : Women's Horlicks. The brand is being positioned as a health drink for women. Horlicks claim to have formulated this variant conforming to WHO recommendations.

The rationale behind this variant is the understanding that the life of a women is hectic with the responsibilities of both households and career to manage . Most often these heavy responsibilities take a toll on her health.

According to press reports, this new Horlicks variant contains micronutrients recommended by WHO for women aged 19-50. The brand is a health supplement and supplements all the daily dietary requirements of a women just by having 2 serves ( 60gms ) of Women's Horlicks every day.

The brand comes in attractive package which is modern and eye-catching. Women's Horlicks comes in two flavors : Chocolate and Caramel.
Women's Horlicks claims to have HEMOCAL nutrients which is a combination of vital vitamins for healthy bones and blood. The company has done and ingredient branding by registering the ingredient brand HEMOCAL as a trademark.

Although targeted at the urban women, the launch of this variant throws up certain facts which are conveniently forgotten by the male community .The national family survey of 2006 reveals that one out of two women are anemic and 39 % of Indian women suffering from mild anemia. This together with modern work-life pressure is taking a toll on Indian women's health. I got these information from the website : Indianwomenshealth.com which is the website sponsored by the brand. It is heartening to see that this brand has taken up women's health as a platform or base for this variant. The website is being developed as an informative site for the brand's users and contains information about women health and fitness.
Besides these initiatives Horlicks has undertaken an outreach program aimed at Doctors and Nutritionists who are influencer in the purchase of this product.
In Horlicks' Product rage, Women's Horlicks co-exists with Mother's Horlicks which is a specialized nutritional supplement for young mothers.
Women's Horlicks is being promoted using print media initially and according to reports, TVC will soon follow with actress Konkona Sen as the brand ambassador.

Now Horlicks' range has

Horlicks : Ordinary Horlicks for Kids
Junior Horlicks : For young ones
Horlicks Lite : For health conscious adults
Mothers Horlicks
Women's Horlicks.
Horlicks Biscuits
The brand so far has been able to position these variants in their respective segments without diluting the core brand equity. The choice of the media and the message has been made very cautiously that each of these brands were perceived to be individual brands with individual personality. Here in the case of Women's Horlicks, the brand has used different colors and packing to make this variant independent of other Horlicks variants. This was earlier done effectively in Junior Horlicks and Mother's Horlicks.

IFFCO- Tokio : The life you desire

Corporate Brand : IFFCO -Tokio
Agency : Dentsu

Brand Analysis Count : 308

One of my close friend's brand new Santro was stolen weeks after he bought his dream machine. This happened despite all the anti-burglar stuff being loaded to the vehicle. After running from pillar to post and following it up with Police, the hope of getting the vehicle back was slowly fading. We friends began consoling him pointing out the insurance policy he had for the vehicle. Hope again came back and the entire ' process' of getting the insurance and buying a car began taking life.

Now after 5 months and 100 phone calls , only the hope remains. Today I checked my car insurance : I paid Rs 7000 for one year full cover insurance for my car and was feeling secure about the vehicle but this incident shattered my confidence. I now double check the doors and keep my gate secure with big locks because I know that it is not all that easy to get your claims.
I am not blaming the insurance companies for the delay because they play by the rules especially when they have to pay the buck. Here in my friend's case the technical issue is something known as ' Non traceability Certificate ' that has to be issued by the investigating police department that certifies that the vehicle cannot be recovered. Some times Police may give the certificate after one full year. Till then Keep Walking....

This long introduction was necessary because this post is about an insurance company which talks about hassle free claims : IFFCO - Tokio.
IFFCO-Tokio is a joint venture in general insurance between Indian Farmer's Fertiliser Cooperative limited and Tokio Marine which is a Japanese Insurance giant . IFFCO-Tokio was launched in December 2000 and during the initial years, the company was concentrating on the corporate insurance segment focusing on products like Fire Insurance theft insurance etc.
The brand had the task of creating brand awareness during the initial period since IFFCO is a fertilizer company and the consumers had to be educated about the brand's new venture into the insurance sector.
Like any other insurance company, IFFCO-Tokio began to address the issue of accidents like fire and theft jeopardizing your future plans. The brand had a series of campaigns highlighting this theme. The brand had the slogan " Which way life takes you, we will be there " .

After tasting success in the corporate segment, the company began to look at the retail general insurance market. During 2004-05 the company launched its motor vehicle insurance product.
I began noticing this brand when I saw the brand talking about quick claim settlement. At that time no insurance firms were talking about this attribute.
What I liked was the television campaign where a well dressed executive comes to the office in a horse cart . Watch the TVC here : IFFCO Horse cart
The brand was talking about the delay that happens in most insurance claims and promises to provide customers hasslefree claims.

This year too the brand has come out with a new campaign : Deaf Ear
The new campaign talks about the usual attitude of insurance firms when the clients ask for claims. They often turn deaf.
Both these campaigns contains perfect consumer insights. The brand uses the promise of ' Hassle free claims ' as the differentiator. I feel that it is a powerful differentiator provided the brand lives upto the promise.

I strongly believe that the true nature of a company will be revealed when the customer has a complaint. How the firm deals with the customer complaints often reflects the customer focus of the firm .

For an Insurance firm the claim settlement is the final moment of truth which reveals the firm's true face. Often insurance firms delay payments because of the fact that there are many rogue clients who take advantage of insurance claims . But what about genuine clients. When a customer pays a hefty sum of Rs 7000 to Rs 30000, it is the responsibility of the firm to take the responsibility rather than hide behind technicalities.

IFFCO-Tokio talks about settling 90 % claims with in seven days which if it is true , is a remarkable achievement.
Differentiation based on quick claim settlement is also risky. First the brand has to live up to the expectation otherwise the undelivered promise create catastrophic effect on brand equity. Second, the company has to make sure that its claim procedure is robust and secure so that it will not be taken for a ride by rogue clients. The company should make sure that the genuine customers are not taken for a ride. Once the customer is found genuine, the claim should be settled because it is the fulfillment of the brand's promise. A claim which is settled quickly acts as a powerful word of mouth advertisement that can generate lot of goodwill.


To the customers ... Check whether you have locked the gate .....

Brand Update : Tata Indigo

One should admire the engineering team of Tata Motors for their path breaking efforts. Ofcourse the Tata Nano was the ultimate display of their talent but here I am talking about the new variant of Indigo . i.e Indigo CS..... CS means compact sedan.

Indigo has become smaller. The engineers in Tata tweaked the boot of Indigo and squeezed the length of the sedan within 4 meters. The cars which have less than 4 meters length qualifies for an excise rebate. Thus Indigo CS comes with a mouthwatering price of Rs 3.80 + ( ex-showroom) making it one of the cheapest sedans on the Indian roads.
The logic behind the launch of compact Indigo is to pre-empt competition and also to make the sedan more affordable to the consumers.
Recent launch of Logan had the potential to threaten the Indigo's position in the market. Logan - with its low price and good package had met with a good response both from consumers and auto-experts. Indigo CS variant will act as an effective Flanker brand for Indigo. Another reason is the huge potential space between a hatchback and a sedan.

Typically for a middleclass customer Sedan upgrade usually was a difficult dream. The entry level sedan costs anywhere from Rs 5 lakh + ( before the launch of Logan ) .The withdrawal of Esteem from the market also opened up a new opportunity for an entry level sedan. Even now for Indian consumers Sedan is preferred more than a hatchback ( preferences are changing) . Hence these customers opted for a luxury hatchback. Many marketers has used this opportunity to create the luxury hatchback segment which is now growing very fast.
This has affected Indigo verymuch. On one side , the competition from players within the segment and then competition from luxury hatchbacks. With the launch of Compact Indigo, Tata Motors is taking the fight into the hatchback's camp.
Indigo CS is launched with the slogan ' Class starts early '. The brand is eying the first time car buyers to stretch their budget a little and own a sedan rather than a small car. Now a potential Santro buyer have an option.
A usual question that comes to mind is whether the new variant cannibalize the original Indigo. I feel that to a certain extent it will cannibalize . But its better that the customer stays with the Tata models rather than go for a Logan or a i10. By launching this variant, Tata's sedan product range is now complete . In the entry level, there is CS, there are Indigo variants at the middle level and the lengthier Indigo XL at the higher end. Tata has ensured that in all these levels , customers get maximum value for money.
Will Indigo CS cannibalize Indica. The answer is Yes, but Tata will be happy since customers are paying more .

A reader had earlier commented that I am too emotional about Tata Motors and often forget the fact that their products lacks refinement . I know of Indica/ Indigo owners who are delighted with the performance of their cars and even chosen their upgrades from Tata Stable. Also I have seen many owners who had complaints about their Tata cars. I prefer to say that luck plays a part in whether your Tata car's performance. As a marketer, I feel that this should be an area of concern for the brand. Time is now ripe for Tatas to make their brands perfect interms of their performance. If Tata's could deliver Maruti like performance ( in terms of product quality) , nothing can stop them to become global majors.
Related Brands
Tata Indigo

Accenture : High Performance , Delivered

Corporate Brand : Acccenture
Agency : Rediffusion /DYR ( In India)


Brand Analysis Count : 307


Accenture is a unique marketing case study because of two reasons . It is one of the most aggressive corporate brand in the service industry globally and the second reason is the rebranding exercise which it undertook in 2001.

Accenture was formerly known as Andersen Consulting. Anderson consulting was the consulting arm of Anderson Worldwide. Anderson Consulting was established in 1989 when the consulting practice of Arthur Andersen was hived off to form a separate company. Arthur Andersen had established itself as one of the major accounting firms and had a global presence.
The consulting boom of 1990's boosted the image of Andersen Consulting. Soon Anderson Consulting had built a strong brand equity across various consulting domains. Both Arther Andersen and Andersen Consulting was independent business units under Andersen Worldwide.

The fledging consulting business prompted Arther Andersen to enter the consulting domain. This entry of Arther Andersen into the domain of Anderson Consulting started a messy fight between these two units which ended in the arbitrators courts. In 2000 Arbitrator ruled that Anderson Consulting was granted independence from Andersen Worldwide . Andersen Consulting had to forgo the brand in favor of Andersen Worldwide.

This forced the consulting firm to scout for a new brand name and identity. The brand name was selected among 500 alternatives. The process of selection of brand name was itself a unique event. Anderson Consulting had a huge brand equity among various business houses across different domains and geographies . Hence the new brand name had to reflect the existing brand values and should be relevant in the various geographies in which the company operated. More over the brand name and trademark should be available in the markets where the company was operating.

The company made use of legal experts from each country it operates to check whether the list of brand names are viable in respective countries. The process of screening also involved linguistic analysts from 47 countries and 200 languages to check the cultural sensitivities of the brand names considered. The company also checked with senior executives of the clients to get their perspective. All these efforts ended with the name ' accenture' . Incidentally the name was suggested by an employee named Kim Peterson . This fact itself that gave the name more charm.

On January 1, 2001, the rebranding happened. For the first 3 months 6000 TV spots were aired and over 1000 print ads were splashed across the world. The entire campaign cost the company around $ 175 mn. The new campaign highlighted new capabilities in consulting, technology , outsourcing & alliances. The brand took the tagline : High Performance. Delivered. At the end of 2001, the brand achieved the same recall and equity of the earlier name Andersen Consulting.

Now Accenture is valued at $ 6.5 Billion and is a respected consulting firm across the world. Now the entire brand promotion revolves round Tiger Woods who is the brand ambassador. Since 2003, Tiger Woods has been an integral part of Accenture's branding. Tiger Woods is the embodiment of high performance so is Accenture. The latest campaign runs on the theme ' We know what it takes to be a Tiger '

Accenture came to India in 2005. The brand now has serious business in India and the brand is running their campaigns aggressively in the Indian market. The branding campaign is predominantly in print. The brand looks at the following audiences :
a. Domestic and potential clients
b. Potential employees
c. Existing employees.

What is more important in this brand's strategy is that Accenture celebrates performance. The campaign is not restricted to Ads but also lot of events and research. Accenture's research on High Performers and high performing companies are path-breaking. The website is also rich with case studies and insights.
Accenture is a true case of a brand living upto its values and manthra.