Brand Update : Ceat

The rebranding bug has caught Ceat too. The brand is now sporting a new logo. The saddest part is that Ceat has done away with the famous mascot ( Rhino) and the golden tagline " Born Tough".

The Rhino mascot has been with Ceat for almost 50 years. The tagline was also deeply etched in the mind of the public. According to Harsh Goenka , the reason for changing the mascot is that there is a general perception that Rhinos are getting extinct and is a sloth. ( Source : Financial Express). Hence the brand wants to change into something modern. I think it is one of the most unconvincing reasons for changing such a blockbuster mascot .
Currently the brand is promoting the new logo. The new logo is being promoted in the same way as Vodafone. Both TVC and print campaigns scream " Change is inevitable" and " Change is here ". No wonder the agency is O&M which handled the Hutch - Vodafone rebranding. The current campaign is a cut-copy-paste of the " Change is Good " campaign for Vodafone.

The brand also denounced its tagline " Born Tough ". The current re-branding campaign is only talking about the logo and the new tagline is not revealed.
The question now remains as to why a brand would want to change a mascot and slogan which is deeply embedded in the consumer's mind. It has to be noted that Ceat has never invested in the brand. Except for some occasional bursts of campaigns, Ceat never invested in the brand. If people still remember the brand, its because of the power of the mascot and the slogan and not because of any sustained campaigns. By denouncing the most powerful brand elements, Ceat has taken a big risk.
I think the current rebranding exercise is not going to be sustained over time. After the rebranding, the brand will again go in for a silent mode and also may be forgotten by the consumers.

Related Brand
Ceat

Yera : Think Glass, Think Class

Brand : Yera
Company : Shreno Ltd ( Alembic Glassware)


Brand Analysis Count : 322

Yera is a brand that has redefined the glassware market in India. This brand can be credited with popularising glassware in Indian households . Yera is a brand which came into existence in 1965. The brand now holds a lions share in the Indian glassware market in India. The brand can be said as the pioneer in promoting glassware in India

The emergence of glassware as a serving-ware came through the restaurant route. My assumption is that the first glass serving -ware was the glass tumbler that is still used in restaurants and hotels. It is interesting to note that still 80% of Yera's turnover is from the no-frill tumbler ( source:HDFC securities)
Now Yera has almost 150 different designs of glassware ranging from tumblers, icecream bowls to dinner sets.

Yera became popular household name mainly as a gifting item. At one time Yera was the most sought after gifting item for the 'gifters' . The main factor being the Price. From a range starting as low as Rs 100, Yera made gifting easy. But yera was a nightmare for the gift-receiver. After the ocassion, the house will be full of different types of Yera products.The institutional segment also boosted the turnover for this brand . Now in Kerala, many textiles uses Yera products for gifting the customers.

The brand now faces two issues :
a. Cheap glassware products from local players and also cheap imports have hurted Yera most. Yera now operates in the low-price segment and the flooding of products has commoditized the category .

b. Although Yera had some campaigns for brand-building, the brand was primarily playing the pricing game. Although the brand has made glassware popular, it has not been able to upgrade itself into a premium player in the segment. This is the typical ' class or mass' dilemma. I am not advocating that Yera should be targeting the premium segment and forgo the volume. But the doubt is whether Yera can command some premium over the rest of the players in this market.

The brand also failed to see the emergence of Crystalware as the preferred category for the premium customers. Now this segment has foreign players and La Opala's Solitaire.

To be fair to the brand, the glassware market is very small. I got a 2001 figure putting the glassware market in the range of Rs 25 crore. Now I estimate this market in the range of Rs 60 crore.
The glassware market is also moving towards ceramic wares which are more stylish and up-market looking. Yera has the power of its brand equity to take it through the price competition from cheap imports and local players. But the brand is silent in the media and I don't remember any campaigns for this brand in the last 2-3 years.

In a market full of price-competitors, Yera cannot afford to rely on past glory . The brand may fade from the memory of the new generation. What the brand needs now is a measured dose of brand- building campaigns . According to the brand's website, Yera boasts of having a brand recall of 84%. The brand must consistently build on the existing platform.

I would even suggest a complete makeover for the 'brand'. The brand should think of upgrading itself to a premium player. The brand should exit from commodity mindset and start its journey towards a value-added player. The brand has the tagline " Think Glass, Think Class ". It should be focusing on the class part.

The brand is now having commanding mind-share. Now is the time for the brand to ladder-up.
Laddering is deepening the meaning of the brand to core brand values or other more abstract considerations. ( Kevin Lane Keller)

The brand should ladder-up to some higher attribute like enjoyment, togetherness etc. The laddering-up will help the brand to move a notch higher from the price-players. And such a focus on non-glass attribute will bring back the interest of consumers to the brand. A heavy dose of campaigns and some celebrity can boost the image of this pioneer.

Brand Update : Peter England

Yesterday, the outgoing students of the Public Relations Stream of my institute presented me with a Peter England shirt in appreciation of all the branding funda I taught them. It was long time since I happen to get my favorite brand of shirt. Ever since my marriage, my wife has been experimenting with a whole lot of shirt brands on me ( except Peter England ) . It was good to see my favorite brand again .

I began noticing subtle but serious changes with the brand over the last year. The brand is having a very slow and steady makeover. The makeover is not cosmetic but may result in a complete change in the entire brand DNA.

From the year 2003 itself, Madura Garments has been toying with the idea of taking the brand away from the mass market segment .As we know, Peter England is one of the largest selling readymade brand with a steady focus on the value segment.

Madura Garments - now a part of Aditya Birla Group has been trying to raise the image & premium of this brand but could not let go of the intense equity that Peter England has made in the mass market segment.
In my last post on this brand, I had mentioned that the brand has changed its slogan from " The Honest Shirt ' to " Honestly Impressive " . The idea was to bring in a new set of brand value : creating impressions.

This year , the brand has fully changed its DNA from the Value Brand to an Aspirational Brand. Aspiration not like the expensive Louis Philippe ( aspiration to own ) but the aspiration to impress. The brand has the new slogan " Impressions Everyday " .

The entire communication of the brand has changed. The brand now has Foreign Models, Foreign Locations and a new image. The brand is running a heavy-duty print campaign for its Summer/Spring collection. Needless to say, the ads are honestly impressive.

Peter England is now projected as an ' everyday use ' brand but that which creates impression. So in a sense, the brand has not forgotten its Value proposition.
Along with the change in the communication, Peter England also has made a confident foray into the premium segment with a sub-brand :Elite. Peter England Elite competes with the likes of Louis Philippe and Van Heusen .

I liked Peter England because it is a no-nonsense shirt. I can wear it everyday and can buy it with confidence . An occasional tea spill or ink spill will not make me grimace . I don't need to because I can always buy another one.

Now with the brand moving into a premium segment offers new challenge to its marketers. The brand may leave a large void in the mid-segment of the market. This segment is very price sensitive and even a couple of 100 bucks can tilt the decision. My argument is that for this segment there is a big difference between a shirt retailing for Rs 595 and one that is costing Rs 795 although the difference is only Rs 200. The brand may have the strategy of offering the range at price points between Rs 600 - Rs 1000.

There are lot of brands like John Players are waiting to grab that space if Peter England decides to go premium.

Brand Update : Lux

I cannot but watch this brand with a sense of awe. Lux and the brand's sustenance at the top of the product lifecycle.

There is never a dull moment for this brand. Be it the Chocolate Seduction or the Black Provocateur. Now Lux has launched two exotic variants : Lux Strawberry & Cream and Lux Peach & Cream.

The new variants are the fruit based soap which is now the flavor of the season. Lux has always been in the forefront of identifying and creating new trends in soap flavors.
What is interesting about the two new variants is that these are not promoted using sub-brands. As you may recall , most of the new launches in the recent past for Lux has been using sub-brands.

We had Lux Crystal Shine, Lux Provocateur , Chocolate Seduction etc. I had commented on my last post that HUL may have forgotten the Core brand Lux.

My fears are now found addressed as the new variants represent the core brand . My argument is substantiated by the fact that both these variants contains Cream which is the essence of the Original brand Lux.
The new launch also assumes significance in the light of heightened competition from ITC brand Vivel Di Wills. Vivel has been promoted with Film Stars and also comes in new exotic flavors.

Strawberry is going to be a new trend in the personal care market. I think it was started by Parachute Starz which is heavily promoted as having strawberry extracts.

Soap is a product where loyalty of customers lie not in a single brand but a basket of brands. Since the investment for the product is negligible, consumers are not averse to trying out new flavors or brands. Hence the task for any soap brand is to keep engaging the consumer at either the product lever or at the promotional level.
Brands like Santoor has been investing in promotions while the product essentially remained the same. Lux is taking the product route where consumers are engaged with new flavors and variants.
The new Lux variants are promoted exhaustively in women's magazines. What I liked about both these variants is that it is tempting. Both Strawberry and Peach has a tempting effect to it and I am sure that many consumers will try out these variants.

Feels Good

Three of India's celebrated bloggers considered Marketing Practice blog worthwhile to be featured in their " The best of Indian Business Blogs : Weekly Digest by your trusted business bloggers ".

Mr Gautham Ghosh , Mr Rajesh Lalwani and Mr Gaurav Mishra has put their valuable comments on my analysis of Tata Sumo Grande .

Thanks A lot.

Also Marketing Practice has been included in Adage Power 150 . Adage Power 150 from Advertising Age ranks the best of World's Top marketing and media blogs. The ranking is done by Todd Andrilik and managed by Charlie Moran. Marketing Practice is ranked #317 in the current list. Hope to break into #150 one day :)

Marketing practice is also featured in Alltop's new India centric single page aggregator site.

It really feels good.

A big thank you to all the readers .

LML Vespa :RIP 1960-2006

Brand : Vespa
Company : LML


Brand Analysis Count : 321

Vespa is an interesting brand firstly because it was a brand which was once bestselling and now dead and secondly because of its unique history in India.
Vespa first came to India in 1960 with a collaboration with Bajaj Auto. The technical collaboration ended in 1971 and Bajaj and Vespa parted ways. Vespa at that time was considered an iconic scooter brand globally and the brand was owned by Piaggio. Piaggio then joined hands with the Kanpur based Lohia Machines Ltd ( LML) in 1983 and started to roll out the Vespa range of Scooters. By that time Bajaj was ruling the market with the iconic Chetak .
Vespa came to India with a more powerful 150 cc scooters but could not met with success in the Indian market. But launch of LML Select in 1993 was an instant success. The company also revamped the NV series which began to shore up the volumes. during 1991, LML was facing its worst financial crises and the company was referred to BIFR. It was Vespa NV that brought the company back to black . By 1998, LML was the second largest scooter manufacturer in India with a market share of over 28 %.
But the JV between LML and Piaggio did not last long. In 1999 the JV was called off with LML buying Piaggio's stake. LML decided to go alone with the scooters. It dropped the brand name Vespa and continued selling LML NV and LML Select brands .

But during these times, the entire two wheeler industry was redefined . Scooters made way to Motorcycles . Sensing this shift, LML ventured into motorcycles. In 2003, LML launched its first bike in India branded as Freedom. But the entry into motorcycles was a disaster.

LML was falling into severe financial crisis. A labour unrest at the Kanpur plant proved to be the last nail. In 2006, LML closed down the operation of its Kanpur plant. And it was the end of Vespa Scooters.

When scooters was considered a work- machine, it was Vespa which redefined the market. Vespa was stylish and contemporary. It was elegant, youthful and more balanced compared to the sturdy Chetak. While Chetak was the price warrior, Vespa was always the premium scooter. Vespa was commanding the premium for the looks since the technology that drove both Chetak and Vespa was the same.

But like Chetak, Vespa was also myopic. It failed to see the sweeping changes that was happening to the two wheeler market. LML was not able to upgrade the scooters since the JV with Piaggio was called off. It was also reeling under severe financial crisis. These coupled with the shift in focus to motorcycles paved the way for the death of this stylish scooter. LML still manufactures and exports Vespa to US where it sells as Stella and also to UK.

LML could not emulate the success of TVS in launching indigenous technology and surviving the aftermath of a failed technical collaboration. The company also could not replicate the success of Bajaj which reaped rewards by entering the Motorcycle segment. The failure of LML Vespa is a bitter lesson to all Indian business who depend on foreign partners for technology. The problems with most JV's happen with the issue of control. While Indian partners want technology, seldom does Indian entrepreneurs want to lose control over their companies. During the licence raj , foreign partners used to succumb to this because there was no other way to enter the Indian market. But post - liberalisation, Indian market is a level playing ground. Indian business either have to shore up their investment in R& D or may have to negotiate hard with the JV partner on power-sharing.

Piaggio have a presence in Indian market in the three-wheeler segment. The resurgance of scooter market has inspired Piaggio to re-enter the Indian market with the Vespa brand. According to news reports, 2008 may see the re-entry of Vespa once again to India.