Snack Break : Creating new Category

Brand : Snack Break
Company : Agrotech Industries ( ConAgra )
Agency : FCB Ulka

Brand Analysis Count : 429

There is a new kid in the market for snackfoods. Agrotech Industries, which is an affiliate of the US food giant ConAgra, has launched Snack Break brand of snackfoods.
There are two interesting things about this new product. The first one is the category. Snack Break is the first major brand that has introduced "pudding " as a snack. Although Indians love pudding, no one has so far ventured into launching a branded pudding.

Snack Break is inspired from the Snack Pack brand from ConAgra. The Snack Break brand shares the same brand /product characteristics as the parent brand.
Snack Break is positioned as a tasty snack with the goodness of milk. The brand has three variants - Chocolate, Butterscotch and Chocolate Mud-Pie. The brand is priced at Rs 25 for 99gm and Rs 100 for a pack of 4.

The brand is currently running a campaign highlighting the " taste " factor and the nutrition. The brand has adopted the tagline " Simply Irresistible".
Launching a pudding brand is definitely a good idea. The brand is aiming youngsters and kids alike and the nutritional value makes a good reason to indulge.

The second interesting fact about this brand is that Snack Break is endorsed by Sundrop. In theoretical terms, Sundrop is the endorser brand for Snack Break. Sundrop is the popular cooking oil brand from Agrotech. It was surprising that a cooking oil brand is endorsing a pudding brand. Frankly it does not make sense. Oil brand and a snack brand doesn't go together . More over it can be dangerous association since Oil is considered unhealthy and so do snacks.
One reason that prompted Agrotech to endorse Snack Break with Sundrop is to familiarize the brand. Since Snack Break is new and the category is also new, the brand owners felt that a stand alone brand will not be able to make consumers try it. By endorsing it with the popular Sundrop, there is an increased chance of trial by the consumers.

Snack Break is priced a little high compared to the competitors. This high price can be a deterrent for regular purchase for this brand. Once in a while indulgence will be what a middle-class customer will feel about this brand. But for the affluent youngsters, Snack Break offers a new product category to indulge.

Brand Update : Sony Vaio

Sony Vaio is currently running a campaign featuring Kareena Kapoor as the brand ambassador for its Vaio range of ultra-portable laptops.

The brand is now running a campaign featuring Kareena.
Watch the tvc here : Vaio

My first question is whether Sony need a brand ambassador for the Vaio brand ?. Vaio had some brilliant commercials and had built in a premium image without the help of any stars. So why now take the help ?

Sony is positioning Vaio not as a netbook but as the ultra-thin laptop and also as a lifestyle accessory. But a discerning consumer will think twice before splurging Rs 85000 for such a product. The brand is fighting for the market along side the competitor Mac Air.

The ad is also not very impressive because the focus is more on the brand ambassador than on the product. According to reports, the brand is trying to cash in on the " Size Zero " rage popularized by Kareena. The brand is feeling that consumers will find a connection between the " thin " Kareena and the " thin " Sony Vaio.

But I think that for a brand like Sony, it could have depended more on the creativity of the ad guys to make the brand popular than piggybacking on some thin stars



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White Ice : Play It Cool

Brand : White Ice
Company : Midas Care Pharmaceuticals.

Brand Analysis Count : 428

The list of deo brands that promises raving girlfriends is endless. We have one more to add to the list - White Ice brand of deos.Like any other brand in this category, White Ice also promises men of girls falling for them and attaining the " Nasal Nirvana".

Frankly I am at loss. Either it is true that girls do get easily seduced by the deo fragrances or men believe that deos work magic with girls. Either way, brands that take on this most "raped" theme of " girls chasing guys" are increasing day by day.

When I wrote a critical post on Denver (another deo with same positioning) , a reader pointed out that the sale of Denver increased many fold after their campaign. In that case , I assume thatthe number of frustrated Indian men is increasing at an alarming rate.

White Ice is a brand from Midas Care pharmaceuticals. Midas Care is a company that specializes on aerosol products and is famous for brands like Climax and Relispray.

White Ice is running a TVC in most of the channels highlighting its positioning as the ultimate women attractor ...

Watch the TVC here : White Ice

The brand joins the bandwagon of Axe, Denver,Setwet and Wildstone in harping on the same promise . I wonder whether there is any relevance in the concept of differentiation ???

It may be true that when a brand advertises, there is going to be a visible spike in the sales. But this may not be sustainable over time if brands doesn't care to differentiate. For example , a consumer may try out this brand after seeing the ad, but if the brand wants him to come back, it should create a distinct place in the consumer's mind. A marketer will not be able to spend huge amount of money in advertising to keep the high brand recall. A highly differentiated brand enable to reduce the advertising expenses over a period of time.

White Ice adopts the tagline " Play it Cool" which is the same tagline of John Players. I wonder if the ad agency ever bothered to check the tagline before making it public.

Most of the challenger brands fail in realizing the importance of investing in the long term. They are happy with the immediate spike in the sales and profits. Brand building can be possible only if the brandowners realize the need for proper differentiation. The more time they spent in identifying or creating differentiation, more sustainable the brand will be.

Bigger is the problem for Axe deo. Its famous and once unique positioning platform is now killed many times. It cannot wish that when other brands use the same positioning, Axe benefits. More than the new entrants, Axe is in a dangerous position and desperately needs to reinvent itself. It will be interesting to see how HUL takes on this ultimate positioning challenge.

Brand Update : Gems

Cadbury Gems is currently running a new series of interesting commercials. The brand has chosen a Giant Panda as the main character in the new set of ads.

Watch one commercial here : Rangeen Panda

Gems has been very consistent in associating with the attributes - color,fun and excitement. Over the last few years, the brand has been concentrating on associating " color" with Gems. The current campaign is trying to further reinforce the association.

Frankly , when I first saw the new Gems ad with the colored Panda, I did not understand any bit of it. Only thing I understood was that Panda became colored when it ate Gems. But my kid seems to enjoy watching the Panda.
Gems now have the new tagline " Rangeen Panda ka Rangeen Pasand". The earlier tagline of Gems was " Meri masti ka Partner ". The new tagline seems to be too tactical in nature focusing more on the Panda rather than the brand.

Gems is targeting the kids of age 8-14 yrs.(source) The way kids look at these messages are way different from how we adults look at the campaigns . Hence I am not venturing into analyzing the new campaign using my adult lens. However I think that the ad could have been more clear so that adults will also understand the essence of the message.

Having said that, the choice of Panda as the main protagonist is a very good idea. The animal evokes a sense of cuteness and stickiness to the ad. When marketing to kids, the presence of such a character will add more punch to the brand. The association of the attribute "color" to Gems also is a class act because it makes Gems unique compared to other brands.

Even though Gems does not have a competitor with similar product properties ( color candies), the consumer does not think in terms of categories while making a confectionery purchase. Most of the purchases are spontaneous and marketers can only wish that their brand is on top of the mind during that moment of truth. Let me hope that the Rangeen Panda helps Gems to capture that moment.

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Blackberrys : Sharp,Smooth & Sure

Brand : Blackberrys
Company : Mohan Clothing
Agency : Arms Crestra

Brand Analysis Count :427

This post is not about the ubiquitous Blackberry smartphone but about an Indian textile brand. Blackberrys is a textile brand from Mohan Clothings. The brand just happens to share a common name with the world famous smartphone brand.

Blackberrys is one of India's leading premium textile brand. Blackberrys is known for its range of suits and trouser clothing. The brand was born in 1991 and was a pioneer in bring in fashion oriented suitings in India.

The brand have a strong presence in the North and East India and only since 2007, that the brand has made its presence in the southern states.

The brand was a silent player in the market so far. Most of the promotions were below the line and seldom did the brand ventured into high profile brand building. Even without much advertising, Blackberrys established a significant place in the premium suitings category. The brand which started off as a suits and jacket company is now offering full wardrobe solution to both men and women.

The intense competition in the premium textile category has prompted this brand to invest more in brand building activities. The brand is currently running a TVC across various channels.

Watch the TVC here : Blackberrys

The brand is targeting the upwardly mobile young executives who are looking for a fashion statement in formals. The brand has identified sophistication,confidence, youthfulness and power as its core brand values.
Blackberrys has adopted the tagline " Sharp, Smooth & Sure " to communicate its brand value.
Blackberrys is also a winner of many accolades and awards including the Lycra Image awards 2007 etc.
Although the brand has proved its credentials, the TVC was not able to communicate all those good things about the brand to the audience. I was not exposed to the brand since it is not available in Kerala. From the perspective of a new customer, the ad communicated very less about the brand.
According to the media reports, the brand wanted to convey the values such as style, confidence and easy-going attributes, but the TVC was not engaging enough. The theme was not fresh enough for a consumer to explore further about this brand.
It is for this reason why textile brands will do much better if they concentrate more on print media because they will be able to talk more effectively to the consumer using the print space especially when entering new markets.

Blackberrys is a brand which believes in capturing the market in baby steps. The brand moves to certain market, consolidates and then move on. It is one of the reason why the brand took so long to cover the entire market despite being launched in 1991.
The Indian premium textile market has witnessed a huge shift in the last decade. The premium category has witnessed segmentation with in itself and most of the global brands have reached the Indian shores. It will be interesting to see how brands like Blackberrys will hold up to the competition.

Mahindra Rodeo : Power Scooter

Brand : Rodeo
Company : Mahindra Two Wheelers

Brand Analysis Count : 426

After acquiring Kinetic Scooters in 2008, Mahindra two wheelers is on an overdrive to capture a fair share of India's emerging scooter market. While retaining Kinetic Flyte, Mahindra has launched two new scooters - Rodeo and Duro into the market.

Rodeo is positioned as a power scooter . The brand sports a 125 cc engine which churns out 8 bhp . Rodeo competes with Honda's Activa, Aviator , Hero Honda's Pleasure and Suzuki Access.

Indian scooter market is a classic example which shows how difficult it is for marketers to predict the market pulse. This is a market which analysts predicted a demise. This is a market which humbled the mighty Bajaj Auto from a position of market leader to a market follower.

When every one predicted the demise of this category, Honda redefined this market through their Activa brand. Now according to press reports , scooter market in India is expected to grow more than 25% in the next 3-5 years.
India produces around 12 lakh units of scooters every year. The market is dominated by Honda which has a market share of more than 55% ( source).

Mahindra is entering a market where there is no powerful No.2. It is common sense that there are always a space for a second player in any market. The million dollar question is how to break the stronghold of Honda brands in this segment.

Marketing wisdom shows that the challenger brands should have a powerful differentiation if it wants to successfully counter the market leader. And it is good to see that Mahindra twowheelers have found a powerful differentiation & positioning strategy.

Rodeo is being positioned as a " Power Scooter". The brand is claiming that it is as powerful as a motorcycle ( in a symbolic sense) and has all the advantages of a scooter. Power looks like a good attribute to differentiate because scooters never are perceived to be powerful. And by claiming that attribute, Rodeo will be able to get the attention of the youth.
The brand is currently running a TVC across channels

Watch the TVC here : Mahindra Rodeo

The important question is whether a typical scooter buyer considers Power as an important attribute in scooters. Scooter is a functional product. The convenience matter most in this category. Honda scooters gave consumers a high quality refined product and consumers loved it.

Rodeo is trying to make a space for itself in the market by attaching it to the Power attribute. The brand at the same time achieves parity with the competitor's qualities like ride quality, storage etc. Mahindra also priced the product smartly at Rs 41299 a tad below the market leader's price. The power proposition + attractive price + Mahindra brand will prompt many potential consumers to put Rodeo into their consideration set.

Mahindra was able to successfully identify a relevant positioning platform for Rodeo. Although Rodeo may not attract the youth segment, it will definitely appeal to those who is looking for a powerful alternative to motorcycles.

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