Marketing In Practice : When Celebrities de-endorse !

Pepsi was in a soup recently when the celebrated endorser Amitabh Bachchan publicly told the media that "  he stopped endorsing Pepsi some years ago, after a young girl asked him why he was advertising a drink her teacher said was “poisonous " ( Source ET)

The brand was obviously embarrassed since Bachchan was endorsing Pepsi for more than 8 years.  Although the media took the  sensational issue initially, the issue died down thanks to the clout of Pepsico. 

The problems that brand faces when celebrities turn rogue is nothing new. There has been a spurt in the recent past on these kind of mishaps because more and more celebrities are being roped in for endorsements. But things are different here in this case of Pepsi where BigB has virtually de-endorsed ( new word) the brand by subtly saying that he made a mistake in endorsing .

Celebrity like Big B is not going to be affected and may even will be praised for saying such things. But for sure this is a thoroughly unprofessional act . It is the brand that suffer when such de-endorsement happens.

What is the lesson learned ?

There is no new lesson but a reminder that brand and not celebrity should be the highlight in campaigns. Although obvious, brands tend to forget this simple dictum. Brands try to derive maximum equity from the celebrity hence would act as a second fiddle in the campaign. 

Brands should try to balance the power sharing with the celebrity. One way to balance is to portray that celebrity is also deriving much benefit from consuming the product. 

 Understand that the celebrity-brand relationship is contractual and transactional. Hence if the entire equity of the brand is going to rest with celebrities, then these events will hurt more. 

There is not much a brand can do when celebrities de-endorse. Just sulk  and move on and pray that no one noticed .And probably build a clause in contract to prevent such de-endorsement.

In the long term,what the brand should do is the plan the nature of engagement and dis-engagement while using celebrities in campaigns.

What's your take ?

TRESemme : For Salon Style Hair

Brand : TRESemme
Company : Hindustan Unilever

Brand Analysis Count : # 539

TRESemme launched in 2012 was an attempt from Hindustan Unilever to prevent the competition from attacking from the flanks. There premium shampoo from HUL was Dove which was more of a Masstige brand rather than a luxury brand. Hence HUL feels that there is a gap in the product porfolio in the premium shampoo segment which is open for competitors. Already the shampoo brands from HUL stable is facing increasing competition from Lo'real, P&G  and the likes. 

TRESemme was born in 1950. The brand name was coined in honor of Edna Emme who was a cosmetologist and a community leader.The brand came to Unilever from the acquisition of Alberto Culver in 2010.Originally the brand is sold only to salons.

The positioning of TRESemme is interesting .The brand is positioned as a salon like experience for the hair. The insight is through a research which stated that ladies feel that they get more satisfaction when they get salon treatment. Also they trust the salon stylists advice when choosing the brands.This insight made the brand adopt the USP of a 'Salon Like Experience '. The brand initially target the salon frequenting  consumers who was usually the opinion leaders in the category. 

The brand which is priced at a premium is positioning itself as an expert in hair-care. The ads are styled internationally and the message is very rational. 

Watch the ad here : Tresemme ad

The brand over the last one year also have used Youtube very effectively . The brand's youtube channel is rich with videos on hair styles and hair care thus reinforcing the positioning as a premium expert. 

TRESemme will force the competing brands to think about launching their own version of professional endorsed shampoos. Right now Lo'real and P&G have salon products which are not sold outside . It needs to be seen whether the competitors will bring in those brands to fight  TRESemme. 

Brand Update : Is Titan's re-positioning worth it ?

The recent campaign of Titan featuring the "farewell to the professor" was very well received by the audience. Across the media, there are columns talking about the brand rediscovering the joy of gifting. As we know that the brand exploded into the market as the perfect gift that you can give to others. 

Watch the ad here : Titan Prof 

Although the theme of students spontaneously singing in the class is a not a new idea ( remember Airtel's HFZ campaign), the execution of the ad was perfect.The re-introduction of the signature tune was also well appreciated and brought in some nostalgic memories about the brand.

The interesting question is- if reports to be believed that Titan has truly rediscovered the Joy of Gifting, then what happened to 'Be More' positioning ?

In the TVC, the tagline of Titan is shown as " The Joy of Gifting" . So one can safely assume that the brand has re-positioned to its old platform based on gifting. 

I initially thought that the campaign which began during Christmas was just for the occasion but news report suggest otherwise.

Was it a right move to discard the Be More campaign ??

Be More campaign which was heavily promoted using Aamir Khan was a good proposition and matched the premium positioning of Titan. Aamir also fitted perfectly in the entire positioning campaign. After building up so much over the positioning, I think it was unwise for the brand to ditch a positioning for which it has invested so much. 

Regarding the gifting proposition, although it had helped Titan to gain a prominent position in the Indian watch market in the past, has lost its novelty.

Be More was a powerful platform which offered the brand lot of scope for creatives and also had helped to connect the brand to a higher order attribute . From that higher order attribute, the brand had slide down to a object that can be gifted. 

While 'Be More' campaign clearly talked about the user - that the user of Titan is one who wanted to grow, suddenly one finds that the brand stopped talking about the user and started talking about the object. Brands investing so much in building a positioning and then ignoring it for no reason has now become a common feature which will hurt the brand in the long-term.

Brand Update : Choclairs says " Fruit of patience is Chocolate"

After the rebranding of Echlairs to Choclairs, Cadburys has launched another tvc for the brand. This time, within a short span, the brand changed its focus to the chocolate part. In the rebranding campaign, Choclairs was giving the message that Choclairs will not stick in the mouth. This time the brand is focusing on the chocolaty core of the product.

Watch the ad here : Choclairs Ummm

The ad is just ordinary and the theme is nothing new. The theme of sudden burst of activity after consuming chocolate has been used plenty of times ( for example Tic Tac) . Even in the execution also, there is no novelty. I would pass it as an ordinary ad with no wow factor. The brand now adopts the tagline " Sabar ka Phal Choclate Hota Hain " roughly translated to " Fruit of patience is chocolate " which is the parody of " Fruit of patience is sweet". The idea is good but when it got executed, the freshness was lost.

I think that to bring in humor, the brand somehow has messed up the whole plot. The exaggeration also spoils the entire ad. Since its Cadburys one expects a certain level of class in ads which was surely missing in the current tvc.

Kwiknic : Freedom from Tobacco

Brand : Kwiknic
Company : ITC

Brand Analysis Count : # 538

Kwiknic is an interesting brand. A nicotine replacement therapy brand from India's leading cigarette maker . Its a paradox of sorts - India's largest cigarette maker promoting a product that helps you break free from tobacco. So at one end, ITC is encouraging people to smoke and then helping them to quit smoking - marketing has come to a full circle.

Sarcasm apart, the business angle is that the nicotine gum market although small is growing at 45% per annum. The market was estimated at around Rs 20 crore in 2013 ( source ET, Business Standard). So it makes perfect sense to launch a product in a market where there is a huge market for cigarettes.Also the increasing demarketing done by NGOs and Governments also ensure that this product category is bound to grow.

Before the launch of Kwiknic, there were other players also . The main players in the nicotine gum category are : Nicorette by Johnson & Johnson

Nicotex and Nicogum by Cipla.

ITC is trying to leverage the distribution strength to push the product to the consumers. 

What is interesting about the brand is the promotion strategy . The product is used as a tool to reduce dependency of tobacco. So one expects the brand to talk about the harm that tobacco causes with graphic details of cancer and other ailments. But surprisingly Kwiknic chose to use humor to communicate the brand's message. 

The brand also has taken a very different approach to addressing the addiction issues. Rather than scaring the people with gory details of diseases, the brand chose a lighter humorous situations to drive home the point.

Watch the ads here : Kwiknic Hospital ; Kwiknic marriage

One of the advantages of using such an approach is that it takes the seriousness or taboo out of the brand. Consumers may not feel inhibited to buy this product because it is not projected as an addiction therapy. One downside is that it is risky to take the seriousness out of the product so the effectiveness of the product may be doubted.

The ads are hilarious, repeatedly watchable and hence would help the brand in building awareness. Its also interesting to note that Kwiknic talks about freedom from chewing tobacco and not smoking.

Related brand : Nicorette

Britannia NutriChoice : Tasty Health Biscuits

Brand : NutriChoice
Company : Britannia

Brand Analysis Count : # 537

NutriChoice ,which was launched in the nineties, is leading the Briatannia's efforts to create a new position of health in the biscuit market. The brand is now worth more than Rs 280 crore . The health and nutrition based biscuit segment in the Indian market is now worth around Rs 500-600 crore and growing at a faster rate ( Business Standard).

NutriChoice although launched in the nineties had its graph shooting up after the relaunch in 2006. The relaunch coincided with the general trend of the market moving towards healthy foods. The brand is credited with the creation of a healthy biscuit segment in the market. 

The success of this brand can be attributed to the timing, persistence and constant improvement. The brand went for a change in the packaging along with the rebranding which made the brand look more up-market and attractive.

Secondly the brand constantly launched relevant variants to keep the interest level high. In 2008, NutriChoice launched 5 Grain biscuits which really caught the fancy of the health conscious consumers. It was then followed by high fibre digestive crackers. 2010 saw the launch of diabetic- friendly NutriChoice variant which really became a hit in the market. These initative saw the brand grow from around Rs 190 in 2010-11 to Rs 280 in 2011-12. 

NutriChoice's positioning was purely based on the health platform. The brand considered itself a cursader for healthy lifestyle. The brand's message was conveyed not only through advertising but also through many innovative below-the-line activities. The brand pioneered India's first health social networking site iHealthU.It also partnered with many agencies in conducting events which promoted healthy lifestyle. The brand had adopted the slogan of a Honestly Good Biscuit which cared for your health. 

The basic premise of the brand is to provide a healthy alternative to snacks. NutriChoice  at a point had Rahul Dravid endorsing it. 

Watch some of the campaigns here : NutriChoice 1

This season, the brand has comeout with a new campaign which is very interesting. In Advertising classrooms, we teach the concept called Two- sided arguments as a message strategy. This is where the brand talks about both the positives and negatives to the consumer. The latest NutriChoice ad is a typical two-sided message strategy executed perfectly.

The brand is now comparing itself with the alternatives like Brown Bread and Pizza or a Salad and Doughnut

The brand says it may not be as healthy as a large bowl of salad but definitely more healthy than a  chocolate doughnut, but the brand has come half-way so asks the consumer to do their part.

I find the ad extremely well executed and more importantly honest.The message is simple and drives home the point that NutriChoice is a tasty alternative to junk foods. 

NutriChoice's success has prompted many players like McVities and Horlicks to enter the market but the distribution strength and the brand's equity has so far stonewalled the attack on this brand.