Brand Update : Onida

Onida has launched its new campaign after putting the devil to rest. The campaign is aimed at repositioning and rejuvenating the brand. The brand is trying for a comeback after years of uncertainty which made this (once) iconic brand lose its share in the market.

Watch the new campaign here : Onida new campaign

In my last post on Onida, I commented that Onida's real problem is not branding but marketing. The brand desperately needed break-through products and embrace new technologies. If the new ads are any indication, the brand is moving in the right direction. The brand is trying to launch products with new features, which is the right thing to do .

Regarding the brand campaign, Onida now has a new tagline- " Tum Ko Dekha to ye design aya" meaning " Designed with you in mind ". The brand replaced the iconic devil with a new-age couple as the protagonists.

Onida is now repositioning on the basis of " Customer Oriented Design". The brand is saying that its products are designed with the new-age customer in mind. The new tagline has nothing new in it and "customer-oriented" design positioning is used by many brands before. In comparison with the classic "Neighbor's envy , Owner's Pride", the new campaign falls short of expectation. ( Another viewpoint here)

In the consumer durable space, it is the product features that attract the buyers not the ads. If Onida can give technologically advanced products at reasonable price, consumers will definitely try it out. But there are issues in such a product oriented strategy. Most of the new features can be copied easily by the competitors unless otherwise protected by patents. When Onida launches a DVD player which plays micro-sd cards, other players are bound to follow. It is in this scenario that branding becomes important. Onida needs to convince the consumers that its products are better designed and technologically superior. It is about managing perception .Features can be copied by competitors easily but changing perception is a difficult task.

Onida needs to work hard on creating and nurturing new perceptions about itself in the mind of the consumers. Long way to go for this brand......

Related Brand

Onida

Brand Update : Quaker Oats

I am a big fan of the concept of brands taking up cause marketing. Although academic research has two opinions about the impact of such cause based promotions, I strongly believe that brands will benefit positively if it can align with a worthy cause.

Recently Quaker Oats launched a new campaign " Make India heart healthy". The brand is trying to promote the cause of healthy heart. The brand has taken up the mission of spreading awareness about the risk of heart diseases and educate the public about healthy living. The campaign is being launched in association with Appolo Hospitals and Times of India.

The brand also launched a portal Goodmorningheart.com where individuals can do an online heart check. Once the person entered the details, he will receive customized diet plans and also his risk profile.

Quaker Oats needs to be lauded for taking up such an initiative. In this fast world where health is compromised for materialistic pursuits, some one needs to take the initiative to educate the public.

For a cause based brand promotion to work, brands need to focus on certain basic requirements.

a. There has to be a worthy cause

b. The cause should be related to the broad solution that the brand offers.

c. The brand should be consistent in supporting the cause.

d.The initiative should be long term.

Quaker has taken an initiative which is worthy and also aligns with the brand's core promise. Quaker is a healthy food and hence it makes sense for the brand to take up the cause of a healthy heart.

Time will only tell whether the brand's initiative is going to be consistent and long term. Currently the brand is spending its energy on awareness building. We have to see whether the brand will further the cause to next level.

Related Brand

Quaker Oats

Brand Update : Calcium Sandoz

Calcium Sandoz is in an over drive now. This 40 year old brand now has a new look and also a new tagline.

The brand is currently running a campaign in television : watch it here

Calcium Sandoz now have a new packaging and the brand has redesigned its mascot- the puppy. According to the company, the redesign is aimed at connecting with the young consumers. The kids used to love the classic white puppy bottle and used to collect them also. But as time passed, the brand and the puppy became disconnected with the young generation. ( Source). The total market for calcium products is estimated to be around Rs 328 crores.(source)

Rightly so, the brand feels that the mascot puppy is the best way to establish a reconnect with the new generation of kids. The new puppy now is colored and also is smiling.

The brand is currently trying to woo the users. Typically the kids resist taking food unless it is junk food or confectioneries. Mothers love to give kids healthy food and supplements .But making the kids eat such products is a Herculean task. Calcium Sandoz is trying to make kids love the brand by launching the product in various flavors . With the new packing and the campaign, the brand expects the kids (users) to ask for the product.

Calcium Sandoz has adopted the tagline " Agdam, Pagdam,Tagdam " whose meaning only kids will understand. The ad campaign centers around the usual theme of kids being overwhelmed by their daily routines and how the brand helps in making their lives easier and happier. The brand wisely uses the mascot puppy to convey the message .

The challenge for the brand is to keep the excitement going . Kids gets bored easily with these types of products and keeping them engaged is no easy task.

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Calcium Sandoz

IFB : Set Yourself Free

Brand : IFB

Company : IFB Industries

Agency : Saatchi & Saatchi

Brand Analysis Count : 417

IFB is a major brand in the premium home appliances market. The brand is famous for its washing machine range especially the front loading type. I would say that IFB was a pioneer in popularising the front- loading washing machines into the Indian market.

In the Rs 20,000 crore Indian consumer durable market, the washing machines contribute for Rs 2300 crore.(source). At one point of time IFB was the second largest player in the Fully Automatic category.

IFB is a Kolkata based company which had its origin in 1974. The company was earlier known as Indian Fine Blanks. The company was specialised in manufacturing Fine Blanks and supplied to many industrial multi-nationals. The company later ventured into consumer durables under a joint venture with the German major Bosch in 1990.

The technology collaboration with Bosch gave IFB a headstart. The company was able to give consumers products with exceptional quality. IFB soon became the leader in the premium washing machines in the country. But in 1997, Bosch severed its ties with IFB.

Despite the termination of the JV, IFB was able to hold on its own. The brand was able to maintain its image in the Indian market. It had a share of 23% in the washing machine market in 2002.

How ever, IFB was caught in a serious financial trouble during 2005 where it was referred to BIFR. Later the firm came out of the financial trouble with a debt restructuring exercise.

IFB still holds the premiumness in the mind of the consumers despite maintaining a low key . The brand's share of voice is abysmally low . But fortunately the brand maintains a strong aspirational pull in the mind of the consumers.

IFB is a brand which is priced exorbitantly high. Its washing machines are priced more than 50% compared to the competitors. But the question is whether IFB can maintain the premiumness without adequately spending on brand promotion. Almost all the major global brands are competing for space in the Indian market. Technological differentiation is virtually impossible now since all brands are bringing their latest products to India.

In such a scenario, IFB needs to reinforce its brand equity. The brand is perceived to be a technologically superior but that perception can fade if the brand become complacent .

Book Review : Customer Mania

Book Title : Customer Mania

Authors : Ken Blanchard,Jim Ballard & Fred Finch

Publishers : Harper Collins

Price : Rs 195

Book Review #9

Customer Mania is a small but a highly insightful book. I am a big fan of Ken Blanchard and his inspirational One Minute Manager Series. And this time too, he does not fail to inspire.

The book is the authors' account of Yum Restaurant's customer service strategies. Using the story of Yum! Ken Blanchard tries to hammer in some of the critical customer service principles.

I feel little wary about books focusing on a particular company because we cannot predict what will happen to this company in future. There are best selling books that glorified Enron when everything was hunky dory. So I was little skeptical when I started reading this book.

Gladly the message of the book transcended the example. Ken's insights were powerful enough that makes the ' one company ' focus irrelevant.

Customer Mania gives the readers four key principles that will help to build a customer-focused company. The authors firs illustrate the principle and then uses Yum! to give a practical insight. The four principle that this book put forth is as follows

Step one : Set your sights on the right target.

The principle asks the managers to identify the right set of consumers and then focus on the right way to pamper him

Step Two : Treat your customers the right way .

Here the authors stresses on strategies to create Raving Fans rather than ordinary consumers

Step Three : Treat your people the right way .

In a service business, employees are the key to providing world class customer service. The authors give some very important insights into recruiting and retaining the right kind of people.

Step Four : Have the right kind of leadership

I always believed that customer service initiatives will fail without the right kind of leadership. Infact customer service starts from the top.

Customer Mania is a very simple book but yet packed with powerful messages.

A must read for any marketer

Brand Update : Knorr Soups

Finally Knorr brand decided to do what it does best - Selling Soups.After messing up with extensions and brand name confusions, Knorr has decided to concentrate on soups. The brand is currently running its latest campaign featuring the brand ambassador Kajol.

Watch the Tvc here : Knorr Soups

The ad is interesting because it aims change the way Indian consumers look at Soups. Soup is not a popular part of Indian consumer's cuisine. According to Financial Express, Indian prepared soup market is worth Rs 120 crore and Knorr have a market share of over 70%. But given the size of Indian consumer space, the brand feels that the pie should be bigger.

The new campaign aims to do just that. HUL is a master in building and owning categories. The current campaign is aiming to build the soup category. To build the category, the brand has to bring in new consumers regularly buy and use soups.

Knorr is now being repositioned as a 7'o'Clock snack. Don't confuse the usage of the term Snack. Knorr is not going to compete with Lays or Bingo but aims to give the consumers a valid reason for buying this product by calling it a snack.

As a consumer, I never thought of regularly buying soups at my home. We used to indulge in soups at the hotel but seldom at home. Only some times I bought soups but not regularly because there was no perceived reasons for buying it regularly.

Knorr is giving consumers like me a reason for regularly buying it. It is common for little ones to become hungry at around 7-8 pm. This is a problem that most mothers face. You give something to kids and they will not take dinner .

Knorr is now offering a solution to this common problem.Give soups to the kids as a seven o clock snack. The brand tells mothers that giving soup to kids is a healthy option compared to any other snacks. Such a repositioning will help many non users to try out the product category. Kajol adds more punch to the entire exercise.

The brand now has a tagline " Tummy bhi Khush, Mummy bhi khush " meaning " Tummy is happy and Mummy is also happy ". The only issue whether the kids gets bored with soups.

The current campaign is a marketing lesson. Being a market leader does not make good brands complacent. Smarter brands build categories and end up owning it.

Related Brand

Knorr