Marketing Funda : Determinants of Brand Extension Success

Professor Franziska Volckener and Professor Henrik Sattler of Institute of Marketing and Retailing, University of Hamburg, published a very insightful article  titled Drivers of Brand Extension Success in Journal of Marketing in 2006 which spoke about critical success factors that drive brand extension success. The authors through extensive empirical research distilled five factors that determine whether a brand extension will succeed in the market place. 

The study which was conducted in German FMCG industry gives valuable insights for marketing managers across the world.

The five factors that determine the success of brand extensions are as follows

1. Fit between parent brand and brand extension : Whether the extension is in line with the parent brand's positioning and consumer perception

2. Parent-brand conviction : The brand equity of parent brand , the trust of consumers on the parent brand's quality are critical factor that help extension success.

3. Parent-brand experience : The previous experience of the consumer towards the parent brand will affect the consumer's response to the extension

4. Retailer acceptance of brand extension : Retailers play an important role in the brand extension's success.

5. Marketing support : The investment in brand promotion also has a strong role to play in the success of the brand extension.

My Two Cents : The above cited research throws important light into the critical determinants of brand extension acceptance by consumers. Marketers should view these factors holistically because all these factors collectively contribute to the success of extensions. These factors like parent-brand experience and parent-brand conviction take time to develop. Hence haste in extending a brand without these factors can be risky.

 While I am personally critical of brand extensions, market pressures and opportunities make brand extensions a vital element in the marketing strategy . The research of Professors Volkener and Sattler is very relevant in this context.

Force One : Be The Force

Brand : Force One
Company : Force Motors

Brand Analysis Count : # 506

Force Motors which is well known for its commercial vehicles like Tempo Travellor, Trekker etc has made a significant entry into the SUV market in India. The company recently launched an SUV Force One in the Indian market.

Indian SUV market is now appearing lucrative to auto majors. Indian car market is skewed to small cars. The market is dominated by small cars. SUVs were a niche. But recent trend is that consumers are purchasing more SUVs despite the poor infrastructure conditions and rising fuel prices. According to newsreports, 324000 SUVs were sold in India during 2010-2011. The growth of SUVs were infact more than the car segment. 

The Indian SUV market is dominated by Mahindra with its flagship brand Scorpio. Toyota Fortuner is the second largest brand but dominates the premium segment of the SUV market. The market has witnessed a slew of launches from all major brands in the world.Hence the launch of  a brand in this segment is very risky and difficult. Force One has took this challenge seriously and has done some serious homework before going for the launch.

Force Motors took a very smart step  by collaborating with Mercedes Benz for the engine of Force One. The company has already understood the benefits of tying up with a brand like Mercedes before in the success of its Traveller. So by sourcing the most critical element of the car from World's most respect company, Force One has almost negated the risk of Engine complaints and the Mercedes engine will give confidence to consumers about this newcomer's claims.

Second smart move was the design part. Indian SUV consumers like big mean machines. Frustrated by poor roads and rash and arrogant driving of larger vehicles like trucks and buses, most Indian consumers love to have a large vehicle to tame the arrogant truck and bus drivers. Hence Force One deliberately designed itself to look larger and meaner. 

The third and most important move was the promotion part. The brand almost shocked the entire auto world by roping Amithabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador. The brand knew that it is fighting with large and powerful brands like Scorpio, Fortuner, Safari etc and needs a trump card to get even with these established  brands. The roping in of Big B was a masterstroke and has given a terrific boost to the launch.

The fourth factor was the price. Force One has priced itself at around Rs 10 lakh. I am not sure about the effectiveness of the pricing strategy because it seems little pricey compared to Indian counterparts but not that much as compared to foreign brands. But my gut feeling is that it has not hit the sweet spot in the pricing and would have excited the market had it started of with a price of Rs 8 lakh. However, the Mercedes engine may be the reason for this confident pricing of Force One. It is to see whether Indian consumer is willing to pay that much for a new Indian SUV.

With Bachchan as the brand ambassador, one would wonder how the brand is going to structure its message. Force One had to convey a feel of ruggedness and premiumness inorder to gain consumer interest. The presence of Big B will assure eye-balls but if the communication is not right, people are going criticize the effort.

In the advertising front, the approach of Force One was surprising. I expected something that would project an international look and feel , something of the sort of a Reid and Taylor campaign highlighting the brand ambassador. But Force One took a very different route.

Watch the campaign here : Force one Kids, Force One Clean

The ads are very Indian and focuses on one aspect- Force. The brand has adopted the tagline " Be The Force " . In the ad, Big B says "India mein sirf Force hi Chalta Hai " meaning " In India only Force will work " . This message really strikes a chord with the consumers mind since everyone have felt this at some point in his life in India. 

With regard to the brand promotion, it is interesting to observe that the brand deliberately chose not to project itself as a premium. The brand I think is targeting those consumers who are pissed off by Indian roads. The brand is talking to the prospective sedan buyers and telling them that only a beast will survive in Indian roads.

The brand has started on a rugged communication route hence it has virtually closed its doors on premiumness. Infact this soundness of this strategy is validated by the launch campaign of Mahindra's X500 which calls itself a Cheetah. The brand has chosen  " Powerful " as its USP and uses the analogy of " Force " to communicate its positioning. The role of the ads for automobiles serve as a bait for the consumers for a test drive. No on buys a car just because of the ads. The product will sell itself if it excites the consumers and the influencers. 

Force Motors is a new entrant to the passenger segment. Like its peers Tata Motors and Mahindra, Force will also be perceived as a commercial vehicle manufacturer and the lack of expertise in the passenger car market will be the Achilles' heel for this company.Product Quality and quality  of its after-sales service is going to be very critical in the success of this brand. The brand has got its basics correct. This will be an interesting story to watch.  

Brand Update : Katrina is the new face of Titan Raaga

Titan Raga has got a new face in Katrina Kaif. In continuation with its celebrity endorsement centered brand strategy, Titan signed the reigning Bollywood Diva Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador for its sub-brand Raaga. The brand is currently running the campaign featuring the brand ambassador.

Watch the ad here : Katrina Titan Raaga

Titan Raaga which was born in 1992 was able to carve out a space for itself in the Indian watch industry. The brand is targeting the Sec A/B segment with a value proposition combining elegance and quality. 

Regarding the brand communication, there is nothing great about the new advertisement. The ad follows the standard theme and except for a small glimpse of the brand, celebrity rules the entire campaign. The ads featuring Katrina also sports a tagline  " Stay New " . 

 The brand has fallen into the celebrity trap where celebrity gains more importance than the brand. Remember that in most of the Titan ads featuring Aamir Khan , the brand was carefully placed with equal importance as the celebrity. 

Another interesting factor I noticed in the new ad was the absence of any mention of the sub-brand Raaga except for the half-a-second glimpse of the watch. Infact I mistook the campaign for the parent brand. This is another classic case where the agency underplayed the brand in favor of the celebrity. Further there is not much connect between the sub-brand and the theme of the ad. May be the brand is trying to economize by promoting the umbrella brand Titan rather than Titan Raaga. 

Even in the print ads, there is no mention about the sub-brand. This may be a part of the strategy where the Above-The- Line campaigns will be for the parent brand Titan and the Raaga will be relegated to a sub-brand visible only in the product. More clarity will come only after the rolling out of further campaigns.

Does it make a big difference ? 

Related Brand

Titan 

Brand Update : 5 Star Lost in Amnesia

5 Star has a special place in the Rs 2000 crore Indian chocolate market. The unique caramel filled chocolate has been a favorite among kids who wanted a legitimate break from the usual chocolate bars. Over the last few years, 5 Star has been adopting a consistent message of " Lost in the taste " but losing the bigger picture as far as positioning and targeting is concerned.

It was in 2009  that 5 Star adopted the positioning of " Jo Khaye , Kho Jaye " meaning "lost in taste " where the basic plot is that the 5 Star lover suffers a temporary amnesia after eating this delicious product. The idea was good as the brand was always claiming superiority in taste and its USP was always the taste. One major change the brand was made was regarding the target group. 5 Star began addressing the adult chocolate lovers just like its counterpart Dairy Milk. All the characters in the ads of 5 Star was grown-ups while the message was universal. 

Then came the two protagonists ,Ramesh and Suresh, who were long-lost friends meeting in a small shop. From then on, 5 Star's entire brand was centered around these two characters. Sadly the quality of the creative has gone alarmingly down and in the name of humor, the entire brand personality was projected akin to idiotic. 

Watch the latest campaign here  : 5 Star Tailor ad

Although the ad was meant to tickle your bone, the protagonists here being  projected as sort of idiots is sad for the brand. In pursuit of humor, the brand forgotten what it wants to convey with respect to brand persona. 

The brand needs to be congratulated for its consistency with the message but it should not get carried away with the message .

Why I am concerned about the portrayal of the main characters is that in the first ad featuring Ramesh and Suresh, both were normal guys meeting each other and unknowingly lost in the taste of 5 Star. But now both these characters are portrayed as idiots ( by their look and behavior) and I feel that without eating 5 Star, they would behave in the same way. 

If these guys reflect the 5 Star users, then the brand has landed itself in a bad position. Although the ordinary consumer may not think as cynically as the author of this blog does, the brand needs to careful in the portrayal of the main characters of the story.

And why forget kids ? 

Related Post

5 Star

Stop Not : Whatever Happens !

Brand : Stop Not
Company : Perfetti van Melle

Brand Analysis Count : # 505

Perfetti Van Melle ( PVM) the leader in the Indian confectionery market and a master marketer who built brands like Alpenliebe, Centerfresh etc has ventured into Indian snacks market. In its biggest diversification, PVM launched its first brand Stop Not in the Indian market. 

Indian snacks market has been a lucrative market thanks to the impulsive great Indian middleclass. Indian consumers has always pampered themselves with  homemade snacks and marketers lured them to switched to packaged snacks. ET has pegged the Indian snack market at Rs 12000 crore ( source) and Hindu Business line puts a figure of  Rs 3000 crore for the packaged snack market . The market is highly competitive and has seen many brands burning out because of intense competition. 

Stop Not is launched in two formats - Stop Not FOFS - which is a filled snack and Stop Not GOLZ which is in the form of rings.The product is made for India using rice and wheat flour and comes in Indian flavors like Yummy Tomato, Khatti Meethi, Spicy South etc.

The main differentiator for  the brand is its packaging and product attribute of   "filled and not fried ". The packaging really is clutter-breaking and gives lot of visibility to the brand.The packaging can also repel many  consumers. The brand has tried to emulate the packaging strategy adopted by Hippo brand of snacks.

Naturally a product launch from a company like PVM evokes lot of interest among the marketers. Marketing enthusiasts look forwards to some clutter-breaking campaigns from a star marketer like PVM. 

Stop Not brand is currently running its launch campaign for its GOLZ variant.

Watch the ad here : Stop Not Golz

The launch ad is nothing but a complete letdown from PVM. Nothing is new in the ad that will create any meaningful impact for the brand. The concept of " taste to die for " has been raped many times by many brands. Wonder why PVM chose to air such a commoditized idea  as its launch campaign.

Stop Not has chosen the tagline " Whatever Happens " relating to addiction to taste. It is interesting to note that the brand is trying to take the earlier positioning - " No one can eat just one " of Lays. Lays had discarded this position and Stop Not is trying to capture that vacant space. But the creative was a big letdown in this regard . 

The clutter-breaking packaging may induce lot of trials by the consumers but the sad fact is that the brand campaign has failed to create any excitement about the brand. Let us wait and see " What ever that happens " to the brand.

Brand Update : Your Time, Your Place, Your Moods

Moods, the Rs 40 crore brand from Hindustan Lifecare Ltd , is back in media with a clutter breaking campaign. The campaign " Your Time, Your Place, Your Moods "  has  already being well received among the marketing community.

Moods' last campaign  " My Man " had also received rave reviews from marketing analysts across the country. The only doubt is whether the brand  hurriedly took the previous positioning platform without extracting maximum juice out of it.

The new campaign shows various characters like a plumber, mountaineer, museum care-taker discovering evidence that moods users were there  in those 'most unlikely ' places . The surprised look of these characters give the punch to the new tagline " Your Time, Your Place, Your Moods ".

Watch the ad here  : moods 

The advertisement campaign is an attempt by the brand to bring humor into its communication. A drastic change in the brand's approach since most of the earlier campaigns were sensual in nature. The ads are refreshing and fun to watch and also gives lot of creative headroom for future campaigns . According to reports, the brand campaign is also aimed at the global markets which is a key focus for this brand. Moods is exported to more than 40 countries and in some middle east nations, the brand is a market leader. 

Condom brands are lazy marketers. The brand campaigns are sporadic and it seems that no brand is specifically interested in becoming a category leader.Gone are the days when brands like Kamasutra blazed the category with some bold advertising.

The current campaign of Moods is aimed at improving the brand recall . Although there is a significant change in the brand's personality, it does not warrant further analysis since the brand is not aggressive in the promotion front. Positioning strategy lacks relevance if it is not backed by consistent promotional activity. The changes in the positioning of Moods will not help in developing a lasting impression in the consumer's mind. How ever the condom marketers now are more interested in promoting brand recall rather than developing a powerful positioning. 

To be fair to the brand, the new ads are clutter-breaking and watchable. Without venturing into sensuality, the brand is able to convey its message. The elderly couple creates a definite iconic picture to this new idea. The new tagline is also good and packs lot of scope for further creative executions. Hope the brand stays with this idea for some time.The new campaign does its job of increasing the brand's visibility and recall which will be there till the brand decides to go back into hibernation. Kudos to the creative team behind the job.

Related Brand

Moods : My Man