Mahindra Gio : Potential Category Killer

Brand : Mahindra Gio

Company : Mahindra & Mahindra

Brand Analysis Count # 441

This is the decade of Mahindra Group. Ever since the success of Scorpio, Mahindra is on a roll. Lead by the dynamic Anand Mahindra, Mahindra group was quick to spot market opportunities and to tap them. The Satyam acquisition and Kinetic motors buy were all efforts to plug those gaps they found in the market.

Gio is one such initiative of M&M to cash in on a latent demand in the goods carrier market. Mahindra Gio is a 0.5 tonne four wheeler goods carrier. Infact Gio is India's first 0.5 tonne four wheeler goods carrier. This product is a classic case of a successful product development in the Indian context.

Gio is a potential category killer. This brand is going to burn the three wheeler goods carrier market . The three wheeler category will slowly shift to the new category since Gio is addressing a latent demand in the category for a better looking & comfortable goods carrier.

The 0.5 tonne goods carrier market is basically a three wheeler market dominated by Bajaj and Piaggio . The category is discarded by the players who focused only on volume and not on product development. The three wheelers lacked the comfort and was rustic. The brands competing in the segment was suffering from marketing myopia. They thought that the competition can come only from three wheelers. So we see the same type of noisy shaky rustic three wheeler goods carrier. Its time to change.

Gio is going to be a winner from the word Go ( Just like Maruti Eeco). The product is a four wheeler and that makes a big difference for the existing three wheeler users. One factor that is going to make Gio a winner is the price. Gio is priced at Rs 1,65,000 which means by paying a premium of Rs 20,000 , a potential three wheeler buyer can own a mini truck. Aspirationally, it is a big leap to the buyer.

Tata Ace is priced at around Rs 2,50,000 + and three wheeler goods carriers are priced at Rs 1,45,000. There is a significant price gap between these two product categories. Gio is aiming at filling this price gap. Also more than price gap, the brand is filling the need gap for a better goods carrier. Ace showed the need for a 1 tonne carrier and Gio took a lesson from Ace in this new segment.

According to the brand website, Gio name was derived from the Hindi word " Jeeyo" which means long and happy life. The brand is targeting the last-mile market where the intra-city transport of fmcg,durables, agriculture produce etc are involved.

Gio looks strikingly different from the existing vehicles that ply the Indian road. Gio has a peculiar look which looks little odd for a goods carrier. There is a reason for such a look.M&M wanted to make Gio look trendy and different which is another way of adding value to the product. The brand is breaking the myth that goods carriers should not be glamorous. Another vital marketing lesson from the brand. The brand sports an engine from the American Engine maker Kohler. The brand claims a mileage of 27 Kmpl which is equal to that of a three wheeler.

Another interesting fact is that M&M has developed a good website for Gio . It is unusual for such a goods carrier brand to have a significant presence in the web but Gio feels that there will be business owners who will look for information about the brand in the web. Another interesting move by the brand.

Gio has the looks and a mouth watering price that makes it a potential winner. A lot of marketing thought has gone into the making of this product. It is surprising to see that Tata was not able to identify this gap. Tata Ace is a highly successful product which virtually created the sub 1 tonne goods carrier market. I expected that Tata Motors would think about replicating the success of Ace in the three wheeler category. But instead of Tata, M&M grabbed the opportunity with Gio.So it is an opportunity lost for Tata Ace.

Kudos to Gio and M&M.

Related Brand
Tata Ace

Maruti Eeco : Happiness Family Size

Brand : Maruti Eeco

Company : Maruti Suzuki Ltd

Brand Analysis Count # 440

Maruti has launched a new Multi Purpose Vehicle - Eeco. Eeco is the rebirth of the Late Maruti Versa. Versa was a big flop despite the high profile celebrity endorsements from Amithabh and Abhishek Bachchan. Maruti messed up that

practical car with a ridiculous pricing.

And what a way to come back.

Eeco is built in the same platform of Versa. The brand has the famed KB series of engine that powers the new Maruti offerings like the Ritz. The company also squeaked the exteriors of the old Versa, discarded the high roofing and added little more graphics in its new avatar.

More than anything else, it is the price that makes Eeco a potential winner in the ever value conscious Indian market. Priced from Rs 2,60,000 - Rs 3,10,000, the brand comes in a mouth watering price . At this price,Eeco is a winner from the word " Go".

Maruti Eeco fills an important gap in the automotive market. There exist a need for a entry level vehicle that can carry a large family . The small cars can never satisfy that need. Infact most of the cars are ideal for a family size of 4. Eeco is fulfilling that need and that too at a irresistible price.

Eeco is priced at a premium to Omni. Omni , although found takers in the Indian market suffered because of concern of security and lack of comfort. The future of Omni is bleak since the van cannot be fitted with A/C and A/C is becoming a part of the expected product.

Eeco offers all these comforts. It has an A/C variant and comes in 7 seater & 5 seater offerings. For a large family , Eeco makes immense practical sense. Backed by Maruti reliability, Eeco is expected to boost up this new segment of entry level MPVs. Eeco will be popular both at rural and urban markets.

I expect this brand to create a new segment of entry level MPV . Eeco will definitely cannibalize Alto, Omni and to a certain extent Wagon- R by luring large families into it. But more than the limited cannibalization, this is a product that Indian families were waiting for. The predicted success of Eeco will also open up a new market segment for comfortable mini vans. Now we have only have such large carriers at the premium segments like Innova. Eeco has the potential to disrupt the market structure . Most car makers assume that the typical family structure in India is of the size 4 and thus turning a blind eye towards many large families. Eeco can change the way automakers look at this segment .

The brand has the tagline " Happiness , Family Size " . Eeco is running a tvc across various channels. The ad is very basic and nothing much to talk about. It does't need a highly creative ad for such a wonderful offering.

The only factor that Eeco will have to deliver is the promise. If Eeco as a product performs on parameters like comfort, A/C cooling, safety, stability and mileage, it is a winner.

Related Brand

Maruti Versa

Listerine : Pioneering a Category

Brand : Listerine
Company : Johnson & Johnson
Agency : Contract Health

Brand Analysis Count # 439

Listerine is a brand that pioneered the mouthwash category globally. The brand which is 100 years old was named after its inventor Joseph Lister. The brand over these years changed hands many times. The original brand owners were Warner- Lambert which was later acquired by Pfizer. In 2008, the brand again changed hands to Johnson & Johnson.

Listerine is one of the first mouthwash brands to enter India. The brand pioneered the Indian mouthwash segment which is now estimated to be worth around Rs 45 crore. Listerine is having more than 90% share in the Indian market.

Mouthwash category is still very small in the Indian market. Mostly these products are considered to be medicinal and that perception inhibits lot of consumers from buying mouthwash product.

The category penetration is still restricted to a small segment of consumers. The mouthwash is bought by
(a) those who are aware of the efficacy of the product like germ killing etc
( b) those who are conscious about their bad breath
(c) those prescribed by dentists.
A normal consumer may not look at this category as a normal regular purchase.

Another major issue that inhibited the growth of Listerine brand was its bad taste. Why should one tolerate bad tasting mouthwash every morning ? Unless the need is grave , consumers may not tolerate such an attribute. Understanding this issue, Listerine changed the flavor so that bad taste will not be a stumbling block for using this product. But still Listerine is associated with bad taste among lot of consumers.

Listerine globally is positioned on the germ killing plank. According to reports, when the brand was first introduced in USA, it got a lukewarm response. To pep up the sales, the brand owners devised an innovative strategy whereby they introduced the medical term for bad breath. The advertisers introduced a faux term Chronic Halitosis to describe bad breath ( Source) . Consumers fearing that bad breath is a medical condition ran for the mouthwash cure.

In India too, the brand started off as a cure for bad breath. Watch one of the earlier campaigns here.
Although the brand had excellent recall , the promotions for the brand was erratic. The brand went on and off in the media and there was no significant effort from the brand to penetrate the market. The brand usage was severely restricted to certain consumer segments and the usage was also not regular.

Listerine is currently running a campaign positioning itself as a " Freshness Bomb". The new campaign is featuring MTV VJ Cyrus . The ad is strikingly similar to the " Chocolate Bomb" ad of Cadbury Eclairs. I am not sure why the agency went on to copy a famous ad rather than spend some grey cells on some new creative idea. ( I don't have the listerine ad, will link it once I get it)

Listerine is right now facing a crisis also. According to Business World report, the use of mouthwash which have alcohol content can increase the chances of oral cancer . The report is quoting some Australian research report to prove its point. It is surprising to see the brand not responding to such serious allegations. The Johnson & Johnson website does not even mention this brand in their product list.

Listerine at this point needs to desperately develop the mouthwash category. It needs to expand the market by
(a) educating consumers about product attributes and importance
(b) encourage consumers to use the product on a regular basis.
(c) focus on attributes like convenience, confidence etc.
Take the example of handwash category.Marketers has successfully developed this category in India through high profile advertising campaigns.

Globally Listerine has variants like Teeth Whitening mouth wash which I think is the best product to increase the brand penetration. More than bad breath, consumers are likely to be attracted by the whitening attribute which has the potential to increase the overall category usage.

Listerine has a potential in Indian market. Indian consumers have become more networked and socially active. In such a highly interactive environment, mouthwash has lot of relevance because it is convenient. 30 seconds is only what is needed to get your breath refreshed and that is a useful and appealing proposition especially to youngsters.

Brand Update : Idea

Idea cellular is running another series of campaigns under " An idea can change your life " theme.
This time, the brand is evangelizing " save the trees " idea.

Watch the tvc here : Idea

Idea cellular should be commented for its consistency in their positioning. It is very easy for the brand managers to become bored at harping on same theme again and again. This can prompt some managers to change for the sake of changing thus undoing the entire work done so far. In that way, it is good to see Idea cellular milking the maximum out of its big idea.

Coming to the campaign, as usual the campaigns are catchy, humorous and has a message which is miles away from where the brand stands.

According to reports, the brand is planning a 360 degree campaign to take the concept to the masses.
I have been closely watching the unfolding of Idea's branding strategies for a while . The brand had wisely taken a strategy which acted as an effective clutter breaker. No one misses the campaign but after a while no one remembers it too . Although the campaigns talks about various issues, I felt a sort of disconnect somewhere. If we look at similar consistent campaigns like Fevicol or Gillette, there is a strong string which connects their campaigns together. That connecting string is missing in the Idea cellular campaigns.

This is my hypothesis about the brand's campaign :

Even though the brand uses the same set of brand elements like the taglines in all their campaigns, normal audience often discounts the idea as utopian or imaginative. Unlike Fevicol, Idea mixes hyperbole with real issue which makes the viewer "dismiss " the idea of the campaign. I have never seen anyone discussing the concept proposed by Idea campaigns.
In Fevicol, there is only hyperbole without any mixing of real issues and audience "discuss" the exaggeration and does not dismiss .

Having said that, in telcom market, the purpose of advertisement is largely creating brand salience. Idea cellular has become a master in creating brand salience and the campaigns serve this purpose very well.

Vanish : Trust Pink, Forget Stains

Brand : Vanish
Company : Reckitt & Benckiser

Brand Analysis Count : 438

Vanish is a category creator in the Indian market. This is a brand that pioneered the stain removal fabric care product category in India. Infact this category was carved out from the broader detergent/fabric care market in India.

Vanish is a global leader in the fabric stain removal fabric care product category. This Rs 2700 crore global brand came to India in 2005 after an extensive test marketing phase which started as early as 2001. Vanish was launched in India as Vanish Shakthi . The brand is in the "specialist fabric care "product category which is a subcategory of fabric care market.

Vanish is a stain removing product. This product has to be added with the ordinary detergent inorder to remove the toughest of stains. The brand has been actively promoted across various media .
One of the interesting feature about this brand is the usage of the brand element -color of the packaging- as a differentiator and as an anchor. Although Vanish powder is white in color, the brand uses pink packaging as a powerful brand element. The brand even uses the color as the element that anchors the brand to the customer's mind. Vanish uses the tagline " Trust Pink, Forget Stains ". Infact this is one brand that uses color to increase the brand salience . Globally too Vanish uses the same strategy to create distinctiveness .

Pink and stain removing detergent are seemingly unrelated attributes. Some may say these attributes are negatively associated. But Vanish established that Pink can remove Stains. By creating such an association, the brand has created a powerful differentiator. The brand uses its " Active Oxygen" property to rationally convince the customers of its effectiveness in removing tough stains.

Vanish has achieved this through powerful advertising. The ads are full of pink color bombarding the consumers about the message " Trust Pink, Forget Stains ".

Watch the ads here : Vanish 1, Vanish 2.

The brand follows the global advertising strategy in India too. The ads have the same theme of product demo/ stain challenge coupled with pink dressed models doing the demo.

It has to be said that these ads increase the brand recall among the viewers because it has lot of powerful brand elements.
But more than these high profile promotions, Vanish became globally successful because of product efficacy. Many friends who used this product has vouched for its effectiveness. A good product with strong brand elements backed by a heavy load of ads should be a sure winner .

Having said that, Vanish has a tough task ahead. First difficulty is to establish the usefulness of the brand in everyday life of the consumer. Since this brand is a specialist, consumers may use this product only on occasions where they have to deal with tough dirt. So there is a chance of this brand remaining niche because of that perception. The new campaign is aimed at convincing the consumers that using Vanish everytime can remove stains which were left unnoticed by the consumers. So less risk when used regularly. It is a smart move indeed.

Another issue is the price. Vanish is an expensive product and since this is not replacing the ordinary detergent, Indian homemakers may think twice before including Vanish in the regular purchase list. Although Vanish has introduced economical packages, it may have to go through the sachet route if it wants to drive volume. In the ever value conscious Indian consumer mindset, Vanish still remains as a ' luxury'.

Third issue is the competition. Although Vanish is a specialist, it is facing competition from ordinary detergents which also claims to be stain removers. It is logical for a consumer to choose a detergent that claims to have stain removal property rather than buy two products .

Vanish is India for long term. It has the backing of a global fmcg giant, a rich global success background and a potential consumer market to tap. It will be a brand worth watching.

Related Brand
Comfort Fabric Conditioner

Marketing Strategy : Don't Enter a Market Without Strategy

Marketers of iconic brands often find themselves in a difficult spot when entering Indian market. It is no doubt that India offers a huge marketing opportunity for such iconic brands.Indian consumers are well connected to the global branding trends and are ready to splurge themselves into those aspirational iconic global brands.

iphone was a brand which was one of the most awaited brand launch in Indian mobile phone market and look at how that brand priced itself out of the market. At a price of over Rs 35000, the brand was virtually out of reach of many aspiring consumers. For those who could afford such a price, iPhone did not match their value proposition. The result was a lukewarm response to one of the world's largest selling smartphone brand by Indian consumers.

After the liberalization in 1991, many global brands came to India lured by the huge potential but blinded by aggression. These brands priced themselves aggressively thinking that Indian consumers will open up their purse strings just to own those 'phoren' brands. But they went for a rude shock and realized that aspirational or not, value drives the Indian consumers to buy.

After 20 years, some brands never learned the lesson. Recently Volkswagen announced the price of their iconic brand Beetle at Rs 22 lakhs. I bet that you are going to see very very few Beetles in the Indian market. It is not going to have the iconic status it commanded elsewhere because in India, this product will be viewed as a 'pompous' product rather than an icon.

Although not iconic, Kindle brand is considered to be a game changer in the global electronics/publishing market. The brand is considered to be a serious threat to the physical book publishing industry . Kindle which announced its India foray disappointed many consumers by pricing it at Rs 18000-Rs 250000 virtually killing any chance of mass adoption. It is a skimming strategy that will potentially go wrong in the Indian market.

Harley Davidson which is going to be launched in the Indian market if priced steeply will open up a market for a reasonably priced cruiser bikes in the Indian market.

Compare it with the strategy of BMW. BMW entered Indian market with a robust strategy. The product were priced extremely sensibly and the result is that it became the leader in that segment dethroning Mercedes.

For most of these global iconic brands, they enter a market like India without much strategy. The only reason for entering India is to have a presence. One of the reason for iPhone's pricing is that the brand is not interested in capturing Indian market since it is too busy with its other markets. It is in India for " Nam ke Vaste" ( Name Sake). Same is the case with Kindle.

There is a larger issue for such name sake launches. These launches often creates opportunities for other players. In the case of iPhone, its much hyped entry virtually exploded the smartphone and touch screen mobile phone market in India. Brands like Nokia , LG, Samsung etc capitalized the frenzy of touch screen smartphones thanks to the launch of iPhone. In value terms, iPhone will have a tough time beating these players in the Indian market when it want to get serious about India.

Kindle and Beetle also will have the same fate in the Indian market. The hype and aspiration created by these brand will be satisfied by other brands which are serious about the Indian market.

The only way out is to enter a market only with a strategy. If there is no strategy, it is better not to enter it. Sometimes, doing nothing is a better strategy than doing something for namesake...