McVitie's : Taste Ki Nayi Language

Brand : McVitie's

Company : United Biscuits

Brand Analysis Count # 445

Another global brand has come to India. United Biscuits which is World's third largest biscuit manufacturer has launched its flagship brand McVities in India recently. United Biscuits is a $1.6 bn giant which has brands like BN, McVities, Jacob's, Phileas Fogg, Hula Hoops etc. United biscuits has already acquired a manufacturing facility in Himachal Pradesh .

McVitie's is a whole wheat based digestive biscuits. The brand is currently running its launch campaign in various channels.

Watch the launch ad here : McVities

United Biscuits has entered a highly fragmented fiercely competitive Indian market. The biscuits market in India is around Rs 6000 crore with major players like Britannia, Parle , ITC, Unibic etc fighting for the share. Along with these players, there is also a fair share of competition from private labels and local players..

McVities has a rich heritage. The origin of the brand dates back to 1892. The brand derived its name from the original owners McVities & Price Ltd.

The first product to be launched in India by the brand is McVitie's Digestive. Infact McVitie's digestive is worlds first digestive biscuit ( source) created in 1892.

McVitie's is positioned as a healthy biscuit . Worldwide, the brand is positioned based on its " Whole grain " content. Globally, the brand has the slogan " Whole Wheat At Its Heart".

Regarding the launch campaign, I feel that the ad was not able to do justice to the brand. I came to know about this only after some desktop research for this blog. For an ordinary consumer, the advertisement conveys nothing much about the rich legacy of this global brand.

McVitie's positioning in India is based on two attributes . It focuses on Health ( whole grain) and Taste. The brand has adopted the tagline " Taste Ki Nayi Language " translated to " The new language of taste ".

In my personal opinion, the ad was poorly made. The concept of people speaking caves as maves, thank you as Mhank you , Wow as Mow etc after eating McVitie's was little overboard and out of woods. I feel a total disconnect between the brand and the current communication. The segmentation and targeting of the brand is also unclear. The products like Digestive biscuits will not appeal to all customers. The brand may be thinking that taking a positioning platform like taste will bring in all customer.

The brand wanted to bring in some humor in the ad but failed miserably. At the end of it, the launch ad was a very hastily made poor one which failed to do justice to this global brand. Regarding the positioning, McVitie's choice of taste as the major platform is also flawed. I don't think that taste can act as a powerful differentiator for McVities. All brands talk about taste at one time or the other. The powerful differentiator for McVities would have been its global image and the quality factor which made it one of the most respected brands in Britain. The brand could have projected itself as the REAL Digestive biscuit which invented this product category. The packaging mentions the brand as " The Original " , the brand should have focused on that.

Having said that, the critical factors for success in this business is the distribution reach and the shelf space. Since biscuits is largely a spontaneous purchase, retailer support is the key. McVetie's has the back of a global major. So marketing support may not be an issue. But it will take a long time for the company to reach to the nook and corner of the market. It will be interesting to see the subsequent launches of United Biscuits also into the Indian market.

Brand Update : Rin Vs Tide

Rin Strikes Again. But for the better or worse ?

Last day, I saw the latest ad for Rin , a comparative ad directly against the competitor Tide. It was a shocker.

Watch the ad here : Rin Vs Tide

This is the first time that HUL has directly compared Tide with Rin. The ad even have the tagline " Rin offers better whiteness than Tide".

According to ET, P&G has took HUL to court over this ad. The ad was timed to coincide with the long weekend so that HUL could play the ad before the Court hearing.

HUL is currently under severe pressure from its aggressive competitors. The market share of most of HUL brands has come down drastically over the last few years. The brands are facing pressure at all price points. Along with the domestic pressure, HUL is facing the heat from the parent Unilever. The Indian operations is under direct scrutiny by the Unilever CEO Paul Polman.

Last year, HUL tried to restructure its brand portfolio and increased the adspend on most of the core brands. But it could not arrest the decline of the shares of some key brands to the competitors like P&G , Godrej and ITC.

This desperation has clearly manifested in the latest ad for Rin. What on earth do a brand like Rin get into a direct comparative spat with its competitor. The ET report mentions that the ad was created because HUL executives feel that Tide is slowly neutralizing the whiteness (point of difference) USP of Rin. Hence Rin is trying to tell the consumers that it has more whitening property than Tide using a direct comparison.

In my personal opinion, Rin chose a wrong way of telling its superiority to the consumer . Last time I saw a direct comparative ad war was between Horlicks and Complan. Horlicks started the direct comparative ad and got a very very aggressive reply from Complan. The current status is that Horlicks stopped the comparative ad and Complan is continuing its aggression against Horlicks. It was an unnecessary move from Horlicks which woke up a laid-back competitor like Complan. I think that in that ad war, Complan won over Horlicks ( not in sales terms but in share of noise ).

The same thing is going to happen with Rin. It is going to lose this war primarily because there was no need for a direct comparison with Tide atleast in the ads. . If you observe the ad, 22 seconds of the 30 second ad is dedicated to Tide alone. That means in around 75% of the time, the ad talks about Tide. Interestingly the ad even mentions the USP of Tide as " It has fragrance and has whitening property". Then the rest of the 8 seconds talks about Rin. So if HUL has blasted some 30 lakh in the current promo, 22.5 lakh of it was spent on promoting Tide. Why should you ever mention your competitor in your ads ???

Watching the ad, one homemaker commented " I never knew Tide and Rin was from the same company, otherwise how can they show these two brands together in the same ad ? " .

The current campaign lacks any long term objectives. The brand is chosing a short-term path when the issue was a long-term competitive threat.Instead of spending such money on this crap ad, HUL could have run some serious sales promotional campaigns which could have prompted consumers to opt for Rin . It could have filled the retail outlets with Rin POPs. It could have run retailer campaigns to fill the shelves with Rin rather than Tide. HUL still has a huge distribution reach and strength compared to P&G, it could have won the war hands down had it capitalized on the retailer support alone. If Rin was too worried, it could have bought back Big B as the brand ambassador which could have added punch to the tagline " Chamakte Rahna".

Now the outcome of the ad war will be that HUL will be retrained by ASCII or the Court from further playing the ad . It means that Rin had adapted an unethical means against the competitor which will cause an unwarranted blemish on the brand reputation. Second outcome is that it will encourage Tide to be more aggressive in the market. Tide now has been officially and publically acknowledged as the competitor for Rin. Third outcome is that an ad war will start which will benefit the respective advertising agencies and the media.

Related Brands

Rin

Tide

Brand Update : Maggi

I recently saw an ad featuring Maggi Sauce. The ad was commemorating the 25 year celebration of the Maggi sauce brand. The ad was a collage of all the ads of Maggi Sauces that features Javed Jaffery and Pankaj Kapoor. The duo was instrumental in making the Maggi sauces famous through the intriguing tagline " Its Different".

But the new ad also had a shocker. Maggi Sauces has decided to change the tagline ' Its Different ' to " Make A Difference ". Regular readers of this blog will be knowing that I despise when brands changes their famous tagline. This time also, its true. Maggi over this 25 years has built consistently the tagline " Its different " and the tagline has been very famous. Now how in the world should the brand change its famous tagline ?? Who was bored with the tagline- is it the customers or the ad agency or the brand manager ??

There is a lot of positioning difference between " Its Different " and " Make a difference ". "Its different" is a tagline that directs towards the product characteristics. The brand had earlier changed the tagline " Its different " to " Enjoy the difference " but later reverted back to the classic tagline. The tagline was able to act as a differentiator for the brand without clearly mentioning the difference. But " Make a Difference" is something that is directed away from the brand. I am not sure how the brand is going to communicate the new idea . What I have seen is only a teaser announcing the change of tagline.

What ever said and done, changing a tagline which has become an integral part of the brand and which has become a powerful brand element is not at all a good idea.

Marketing Strategy : For God's Sake, Sell Ethically

Business to consumer selling in India is at cross roads. If the sales professionals and leaders ,who engage in the business to consumer sales, does not change their approach to selling they would be killing one of the most powerful promotional tool.

Last week, my colleague went to take a fixed deposit from India's second largest private sector bank. He talked with the customer service personnel about the deposit, gave the cheque and signed the forms that the personnel asked him to sign. After one week, he received the premium receipt of an Insurance Policy ( from the Bank's Insurance Arm) instead of the FD receipt. Enraged, my friend went to the bank manager and complained about this mis-selling.The event had a happy ending with the bank apologizing for the "error" and assuring that the money will be recovered and put in the FD.

Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware .

But this is 21st century... it should be Sellers Beware.

It is true that my colleague should have filled up the form himself, made proper checks and ensured that he is sold the right product. But he trusted his bank of 10 years. He trusted that the bankers would do what he had instructed them to do. Every one of us do that.

This scenario is repeated again and again in many banks these days. This over zeal on selling to everyone without understanding customer needs is going to have a very negative effect on the sales profession as such.

10 years back, there was a similar wave of high pressure selling which ranged from vacuum cleaners to books. These poor sales guys roamed around cold calling on customers which prompted very defensive reaction from the customers. Many housing colonies, flats and townships began to impose restrictions on these visiting salesmen and customers began treating these sales guys rudely. The day of foot- in- the- door approach is over.

The same wave is now seen driven by the financial institutions trying to sell anything from mutual funds to insurance products. There is no doubt that these products demand a direct selling approach. But not in the way sales is being done now.

Why direct selling ?

The major purpose of direct selling is that the company is able to convince the customers directly through identification of needs and matching the right kind of products to the identified needs. During the interaction, the sales person needs to identify the needs of the customer, present his product, handle the customer queries and close the sale. How many sales guys we meet ever ask any relevant questions ?

The brunt of the lack of professionalism and empathy displayed by some sections of sales force is faced by the entire sales community. Getting customer appointments has become difficult than ever before. Consumers' trust on sales persons has come down drastically. Objections and rude behavior has increased considerably.

Another trend is to take students as project trainees to sell insurance. These students are absorbed as summer project trainees for three or four months and given the target of selling insurance policies. Neither these poor lads are given product training nor any sales training. These lads end up selling insurance policies to their uncles and aunts and ultimately hating a sales career.

Take the case of banks selling financial products other than banking products. The purpose is to gain the commission from the sales and taking advantage of the captive prospective clients. But the main objective of the bank is to provide banking solutions . Now most private banks has become selling shops. Targets are given to every staff for both insurance and banking products. These staffs are neither trained in those products nor in selling techniques. Recently I had an argument with a banker who proclaimed that ULIPs are always better than Mutual Funds and FDs and called me a fool for choosing a FD ( I answered back with a four letter expletive). If banks try to convert FD to ULIP, it is actually harming the bank rather than helping it.

It is time that these B2C businesses restructure their selling strategies. This may require a culture change also. Focus on high speed growth and short term results will not aid in quality selling. Firms should focus more on quality of sales rather than quantity of sales . The trend to maximize sales numbers rather than on the quality or customer satisfaction should stop. Sales Professionals should focus on long-term customer relationship or atleast match the products with the customer needs.

Selling is a specialized function. It is an important moment of truth for customers. The way a sales person behaves have a great impact on the company image. Not every one in the organization should do sales. These people has to be trained in selling skills and given adequate product knowledge before asking to meet the prospect. But what is happening right now ? In pursuit of blind growth, targets are given to every employee. Then there is this sales jamboree. Running after prospects and suspects, madly trying to force down products .

The outcome is that consumers will become more defensive to sales people. Calls will not be entertained and appointments will not be given to sales force. Sales Professionals may have to work harder even to get an entry. Why mess up a good profession for myopic growth ????

I may sound utopian, but I think it is time that Sales leaders should think hard about their current sales practices. Targets have to be there, pressure needs to be there but selling right product to the right customer should be the priority.

Sell but please sell ethically..

from

an Ex-Sales Guy.

Marketing Strategy : Branding With A Cause

Branding With a Cause

Originally Published here in Adclubbombay.com

Last year, Colgate celebrated October as Oral Health Month. During the month, the company conducted free dental camps across the country in association with Indian Dental Association (IDA). Besides these camps, Colgate conducts regular Oral Hygiene awareness campaigns and oral health educational programs across India. These programs are conducted with the aim of achieving Colgate’s mission of Zero Tooth Decay in the country .

In December 2008, Nokia announced a unique initiative in India called the Take-Back Recycle initiative. Under this campaign, the brand intends to take back used/ damaged mobiles and accessories for recycling purpose. According to the company, consumers are not aware about the possibility of recycling such unused gadgets. These gadgets can create a huge environmental hazard in near future. Nokia, as a market leader is taking the initiative in creating awareness as well as create a green logistics framework to recycle this potential wastes.

There is no doubt that the primary objective of a brand is to make money for its owners. But there are brands which try to see higher level objectives for themselves. Broadly termed as Cause Branding or Cause Related marketing, these initiatives have long term impacts on brands which may not be visible in quantitative terms. Hence for those managers who view their brands’ performance on a quarterly basis will not find this strategy attractive.

Academic research has established that consumers may develop a unique positive association with companies that take efforts which are beyond economic transactions. Our very own Tata brand is proof of such a positive association. Tata brand is built not based on their products but based on their commitment to social responsibilities.

The question for marketers is whether to spend their precious resources on a non-profit cause which may not have a direct impact on profit or sales. In this era where brands are expected to be built in 3 months, this commitment may seem to be extravagant. But it is often forgotten that brands are seldom built over quarterly sales figures. It is built on the mind of the consumers. And consumers love brands which makes a difference to their lives.

Companies are often confused over the extent to which they should involve in cause related marketing. This has resulted in an unfocused erratic approach towards such initiatives. The short –term initiatives often referred to as Cause Marketing and high involvement activities where the firm or brand is highly involved is referred to as Cause Branding.

Cause Branding as a Strategy

There are two approaches to cause- related marketing .Firms can look at a short term association with a cause with minimum involvement. This can be in the form of a donation to a charity work.

HUL conducted such a short-term campaign for its Surf brand ( known as 10/10 contest ) where for a sale of every 1 kg pack, a fixed amount was donated to certain NGOs operating in the area of child-education for the deprived section of the society. These initiatives may give some positive responses to the brand for a short term.

Another approach is to take cause marketing as a long term brand building strategy. Global cosmetic major Avon has been associating with Breast Cancer Awareness programs since 1993. The brand has raised and contributed $500 millions in support for this cause. In India , HUL supports a long – term cause-branding initiative for its Lifebuoy brand ( Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetana) with the objective of spreading the awareness of importance of washing the hands with soap in rural India.

There is a big difference between these two approaches. Brands have a personality; brand is like a living being with a character and personality. The fact is that consumers are looking at a brand in its entirety – as a whole person. Hence it is important for marketers to take a long term view of Cause Related Marketing initiatives. This calls for a dedicated set of resources both money and men for such a venture.

Identifying a Cause

The success of a cause branding initiative depends heavily on the selection of the cause. An arbitrary one-time charity work is not going to give any positive impact on brand in the long term. Hence the selection of the cause will have to be done in the same seriousness as the selection of the positioning strategy.

The cause selected should appeal to the consumers of the brand and the cause should be relevant to the consumers. In the case of Colgate, oral hygiene and health is a cause that is highly relevant and connected to the brand. Hence such causes have more impact on building the brand’s image.

The cause selected should also make a difference in the society. In the long term, the initiative should be able to produce impactful results for the society.

Involve

Most of the cause- branding initiatives are done in partnership with NGOs who operate in that domain. It is important to partner with the right organisation for the implementation of the initiative. But often firms outsource the entire work to the NGOs thus effectively distancing themselves from the cause. It is important for a brand to fully involve in the cause. This could be done by encouraging the employees to offer their expertise or by creating a dedicated team of company professionals to monitor the implementation of these initiatives.

Communicate

It is important for the brand to communicate this initiative through all possible avenues. Colgate runs a series of media campaigns for its Free Dental Camps and is supported by an exhaustive web-based informative page in their website. The Cause-Branding also gives the brand opportunity to experiment with a wide range of media vehicles to promote both the brand and the cause.

Walk the Talk

In this information intensive era, it is important for the brand to be truthful in its intensions while championing for a cause. Cause-Branding is a double-edged weapon. Consumers will evaluate such initiatives thread-bare to see whether the brand is taking them for a ride.

Hence consider cause-branding as an option only if the brand can sustain it till the cause is achieved. A half-hearted cause branding initiative will damage the brand‘s prestige. It is also imperative for the brand to convince the customer that these initiatives are not done for selfish motives alone.

This could be done only if the firm involves itself into the cause rather than just sponsoring it.

Brand Update : Titan

Titan Industries has ventured into the prescription eyewear category with the brand Titan Eye+. The launch was pilot tested in 2007 and now is on the advanced stage of national roll out.The Indian prescription eyewear market is worth around Rs 1800 crore and is dominated by the unorganized sector.

Titan Industries is trying to corner a big pie in this huge untapped market. Titan Eye+ is currently running a campaign across the various channels,

Watch the TVC here : Titan Eye+

There is no question about the opportunity that Titan Industries is trying to tap. Organized eye wear market offers excellent potential for a company like Titan. There is a latent need in the consumers for a trust worthy branded outlet.

The question here is whether Titan Industries made a branding mistake in extending Titan brand into this product category. Does this brand extension augur well for the parent brand Titan or will it erode the intrinsic brand value of Titan ?.

I am always wary about brands extending themselves to unrelated categories. How ever large the potential may be, these brand extensions run the risk of diluting the brand value of their parent brand's equity.

Titan Industries had the opportunity to build a new brand in this category. It could have launched Eye+ as the standalone independent brand rather than launching Eye+ as a sub-brand of Titan.

The only one reason for launching Eye+ as a sub-brand of Titan is to gather the initial momentum in terms of acceptance . Eye+ wants to ride on the huge brand equity of Titan. And it will. As a consumer, I will naturally be tempted to opt for a Titan Eye+ showroom rather than a local store. So without spending huge amounts of money, Eye + will quickly gain acceptance in the market.

Another argument in favor of such brand extension is that over a period of time, the sub-brand will gain independence from the parent brand. Like the Fastrack brand which was launched as a sub-brand of Titan now has an independent status. So over a period of time Titan Eye+ will also be a standalone brand.

What about the parent Titan brand ?

Does this brand extension add value to the Titan watch brand ? Does it support the core positioning of Titan ?

Looking at the launch campaign, the ad is neutral in terms of the effect on the parent brand. The agency had tried to put in the " Jingle" of Original Titan brand in the Eye+ ad. The similarity ends there.

Eye+ is being positioned as a style enhancer .The brand follows the basic positioning that wearing Eye+ makes you attractive. Compared to the brand laddering of Titan ( Be More campaign) the positioning of Eye+ is nothing but very very basic. Eye+ has the tagline " Kuch To Hua Hai" meaning " Something (new) has happened to you".

This is the issue with brand extensions. What ever the ad agency do, the extensions seems to drift away from the core positioning of the parent brand. Titan with the endorsement of Aamir is perceived as a premium brand . Eye+ cannot afford to concentrate on the premium positioning as of now since it will repel many consumers and create a negative perception of " over- pricing".

Is it not a better option if Titan Industries launched Eye + as an standalone brand endorsed by Tata rather than Titan ? That would have given Eye+ lot of room for its promotional strategy. It could easily move across various price ranges. More than that , Eye + could afford to have its own positioning rather than being constrained by the parent brand. About the equity, endorsement by Tata could have been equally good in terms of bringing in consumers.

Eye + has lost a chance of creating a place for itself .The brand will have to move through a series of promotional experiments before gaining independence from Titan. With in the constraints of the parent brand, Eye + needs to prove itself successful in order to gain freedom.

Related Brand

Titan

Essilor

Fastrack