Marketing Funda : Articles on Marketing -1

Afaqs article on Sleepwell's ads http://tinyurl.com/yzdl56x nice read

How Strong is Your Business? Can You Pass the 3 to 6 Test?http://bit.ly/17ILuk II good read

Why the Wrong People Get Laid Off — And How to Prevent Ithttp://bit.ly/108nja II I have 2 make my job confusing!

Brand Positioning For A Better Night's Sleep http://bit.ly/KNVEB II

Family values help family owned business survive downturnhttp://tinyurl.com/yb44pjw

Understanding Product Management Role http://bit.ly/rrHJF II nice one on product management

Personal Kaizen: 15 Tips for your continuous improvementhttp://bit.ly/ouQmr II nice read on presentation skills

Shave more, get more, grow the core http://bit.ly/R76Qg II Gillette asking u to shave ur body.

Eight Questions to Assess Your Sales Organizationhttp://bit.ly/a5O8c II must read for sales pros

How Do Innovators Think? http://bit.ly/KDwCv II nice read

Management Consulting: Help or Hazard? http://bit.ly/19QGrD II hitting hard on consulting pros

The platform vs. the eyeballs http://bit.ly/19pjiz II excellent insights for marketers

Actively encouraging cannibalisation http://bit.ly/OCFOT II good read

Saturn’s Marketing Lesson Is One To Rememberhttp://bit.ly/4AhvqR important lesson for marketers

How to Deliver the Talk of Your Life http://bit.ly/NgJE8 II nice insights

A nice brand story of Zodiac http://tinyurl.com/bypx76

How to Pursue Your Passion: Understand the Essence of Your Passion http://bit.ly/2LQh9h nice read

My Best Innovation Advice? Be Promiscuous http://bit.ly/cFoww II nice read

Nike rides high even in recession http://adage.com/u/s3D9xb

Good communication skills outrank other core business competencies http://bit.ly/V6tCC

Brand Update : Wild Stone

Wild Stone has become milder. It is interesting to see a brand evolving and trying to find the right kind of positioning. Wild Stone which started off as a very very naughty brand is now moving to a mature , approachable platform.

In the last few years Wild Stone has been experimenting with its positioning. The brand looking at the huge potential in the deo market created a stir with its "explicit" controversial ads. But those ads were infact doing lot of negative word of mouth in the media space. Although Wild Stone brand got noticed, the image got entangled in the negative mindset. The brand had the tagline of " Wild By Nature " and its ads were nothing but wild.

Later Wild Stone's marketing was taken up by Future Brands ( source) . Then a shift happened in the brand's approach. The brand became subtle but of course it couldn't let go its " sexual overtones". The brand adopted the new tagline " Barely Legal".

Now the brand is running a new campaign for its variant Wild Stone Aqua.

Watch the tvc here : Wild Stone Aqua

The new ad is a refreshing change from the earlier campaigns of Wild Stone. The ad is nicely made and the brand's positioning theme fits in nicely with the ad. What is more interesting is that Wild Stone has adopted a new tagline " It happens". The new tagline is a far better one than the " Barely Legal " . More over " It happens " gives the agency lot of room to work on. And also it gives a message that Wild Stone man doesn't have to " Try Too Hard". Hopefully the brand will retain the new tagline and explore its possibilities.

The positioning of Wild Stone is not a remarkable one. Almost all the men's deo has adopted the same positioning of " Women Chasing Men". Brands like Axe Fuel,Denver, Set Wet Zatak all have adopted the same theme. The advantage that I see in Wild Stone is that the brand has adopted an Indian theme while all the other brands are going for foreign models and settings. This can prove to be a good advantage for Wild Stone. Although the market leader Axe is going great guns with regular product launches, its ads have become little detached with the Indian market ( my opinion). Axe may face the issue of a consume disconnect if it continues to import ads.

Related Brands

Wild Stone

Axe

Denver

Fuel

Fa

Rexona

Yakult : The Kiss of Good Health

Brand : Yakult
Company : Yakult Danone India Pvt Ltd
Agency : Hakudo Percept


Brand Analysis Count : 419

Recently I was intrigued by an ad featuring the bollywood actress Kajol where she endorses a drink in a small bottle. The brand name also sounded strange . The quest after that small drink brought me into an interesting brand - Yakult.

Yakult is a probiotic drink from Japan. The drink is brought to India by Yakult Honsha of Japan in collaboration with Groupe Danone of France. Yakult is a world leader in probiotic drinks and has a rich heritage dating back to 1935.

Yakult was launched in India in the late 2007. The brand was initially available only in Delhi. Now Yakult is being launched nationally in a phased manner.

Probiotic market in India is in a nascent stage. Although many players like Amul, Nestle has entered the market, the category has not yet witnessed a heightened consumer interest.

Probiotics refer to those drinks which contains live micro organisms which are healthy to human body. These micro organisms help the body in digestion and also in fighting diseases.

Yakult is fermented milk that contains healthy bacteria Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota. According to the brand site, a 65 ml Yakult bottle contains 6.5 bn probiotic bacteria ( Source).

Yakult has been testing its marketing strategy for around a year and is now ready for the national roll out. The brand is currently available in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Jaipur. The entry of Yakult is expected to increase the visibility and growth of probiotic category in India.

What is interesting about Yakult brand is its marketing strategy. The brand has adopted a two prong strategy to crack the Indian market.

Yakult has roped in Kajol as the brand ambassador. The brand is also making enough noise in the media. These advertisements are bound to increase the brand visibility and also may prompt consumer trials. The choice of the brand ambassador also gels with the target market. The brand predominately targets the health conscious ladies as the primary consumer. The brand has taken the positioning of a " health enhancer " and adopted the tagline " Daily Piyo, Healthy Jiyo". The brand has the global tagline of " The kiss of good health".

But a product like a probiotic drink may not be easily adopted by the consumer since she may have lot of doubts about the product. It is in this context that the brand adopted its strategy of direct marketing.

Yakult has a strategy of direct marketing where the consumers can order the product through home delivery. Yakult has a DM team of ladies known as Yakult ladies who visit homes, educate the homemakers about the product and also regularly supplies the product. This ensures that the product is being regularly used by the consumers and also the Yakult ladies will be able to answer the doubts of the consumers.Yakult is also available in supermarkets.

Another interesting fact is about the pricing strategy of Yakult. The 65ml bottle is priced at Rs 10 and the product is available in a pack of 5. The price sounds reasonable for those consumers who are health conscious. The main challenge for this product is to make the consumers believe that the product is delivering benefit to them. Most of the health foods have the problem of giving measurable visible results to the consumers.

Yakult primarily targets those consumers who are health conscious and is aware of the importance of functional foods like probiotics. The brand will be initially operating in a niche category and its strategy will be to expand the niche category into a mainstream one. It has adopted the right marketing strategy to educate the consumers and also encourage them to make regular use of this product.

Z3 : Relaxed Luxury

Brand : Z3

Company : Zodiac Clothing

Agency : Draft FCB Ulka

Brand Analysis Count : 418

Z3 is a brand from the house of Zodiac. Z3 is a refreshing brand amongst the plethora of brand extensions that we witness in the Indian brand scenario. Zodiac is one of the most respected premium readymade brands in India. The brand has huge equity and a loyal customer base owing to the excellent craftsmanship and unmatched quality. The brand has a very understated style of promotion and has been able to retain its premium positioning despite clutter in the market.

In the eighties, Zodiac epitomized the premium readymade category but the situation has changed now. The readymade category has changed drastically with the creation of various segments and sub-segments. The Indian menswear market is huge with a size of Rs 40,000 crore. Almost all major fashion labels are in the market right now. Zodiac is very focused in its approach to the market and has been very consistent in its approach toward brand building and promotions.

The Zodiac brand has so far resisted the temptation to go for a volume play. According to a report in Business Standard , this is a brand which is produced against firm orders. I found the fact very very unusual for an Indian brand operating in a tough business environment. The report says that 85% of what the company produces is pre-sold .This is a remarkable achievement by any standards. ( Read the report here).

The market in which Zodiac operates also has witnessed huge shift interms of consumer behavior. The new generation has a very different outlook with regard to fashion. Zodiac has a perception of a very formal brand for the old professionals. It is in this scenario, that Z3 launch becomes relevant.

Z3 is the casual readymade brand from Zodiac Clothing. The brand was launched in 2008. Usually successful brands like Zodiac will have a temptation to extend itself to casual wear. But Zodiac being a smart marketer decided to opt for a new brand rather than extending its formal wear brand to casual wears. Extending a formal wear brand like Zodiac would have easily diluted the positioning of the parent brand.



Z3 is being positioned as a premium casual wear. The brand has the tagline " Relaxed Luxury" which talks about the brand promise. According to a report in moneycontrol , the brand is being differentiated using these qualities :
Handfeel : The brand is promising a luxurious look and feel.
Design
Fabric and
Styling.

Z3 is targeting the new breed of professionals and entrepreneurs who does not have to wear formals to work. Besides this new breed, Z3 will also fill the need of die-hard Zodiac loyals who shopped elsewhere for casual wear.

Like Zodiac, Z3 is also a premium brand. The products are priced between 1599-1699 and aiming those young rich class. (unreachable for poor professors like me !!!).

What I like most about this brand is its communication. Like Zodiac, Z3 is also concentrating on print media. The brand's campaign is cool with a very smart use of space and color . The product is projected in such a way that it creates an urge to purchase. The brand campaigns remind me of the classic print ads run by Color Plus . I think that Z3 is on its way to become another Color Plus.

Related Brand
Zodiac
Color Plus

Print ad source : Afaqs

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