Jaquar which is one of the premium bath fittings brands has extended itself to lighting products and in an interesting move, the brand self-trolls for this move. The brand had ventured into light fittings as early as 2018 and is now very vocal during the latest IPL season with some clutter-breaking ads.
The latest ad is interesting because the brand very much highlights the consumer dilemma when they encounter brand extensions. When consumers hear about Jaquar, the products that come to their mind are bath fittings and then the brand extension of lightings. Having said that marketing academicians are in two groups as far as brand extensions are concerned. There are contradicting research and real market evidence of brand extensions' success and failures. The driving force behind the decision is the savings on the cost of building a new brand.
Jaquar needs to be appreciated for making fun of itself and through this campaign, the brand has made its communication clear and sticky.
In a smart and interesting move, Colgate has launched a variant for diabetic patients - Colgate Diabetics. Actually, the brand name runs long like - Colgate Toothpaste for the oral health of Diabetics. The somewhat interesting name is to prevent any legal issues arising out of the product. The launch is a natural extension of the brand to capture a largely untapped market in the oral health space- diabetic patients. India is considered a diabetic capital of the world with a large incidence of this lifestyle condition.
According to the brand's press release, oral issues such as gum decay, and tooth decay are prevalent in diabetic patients and as the leader in the oral care market, Colgate aims to cater to the needs of this large segment with a variant. Another reason is the possibility of entrants into this segment and Colgate doesn't want to concede a market as it once faced such an issue with GSK's Sensodyne. Another interesting fact is that Colgate chose to go the ayurvedic route as a solution to this issue. It seems that the brand is predicting a shift from the consumers toward natural products. For promotion, the brand chose the celebrity route through the famous Indian cricketer R. Ashwin. In fact, the brand has hit a bullseye with a testimonial theme from Ashwin and his father. It is very difficult to get such a combination.
Colgate has been very proactive in launching new products and also promoting the brand to ward off the threat from the competition. The current launch is such an example of the market leader.
Atomberg is a relatively new brand in the highly competitive consumer durable market in India. The company was started by two IIT Bombay Alumnus who had a passion to creative high quality innovative products for India. The first product was in the fan category launched in 2015. The brand has come a long way since then creating a space for itself in the fan category.
Atomberg is competing for share in the Rs 10,000 crore fan market in India. The brand is pitching for the premium fan segment accounting for about 15% of the total market but the silver lining is that this segment is growing very fast.Atomberg has also recently diversified into other small appliances category like mixer grinders.
The marketing of a consumer durable brand is a tough task because the nature of the product demand developing a USP and sense of trust among the consumers. The consumer durable market is crowded with large powerful national and international brands at the top and numerous small regional brands at the bottom. Further, these product require service support across the market which is not an easy task to achieve.
Atomberg has decided to play it in the premium segment because the best way to build a brand which will endorse a range of products is to create an aspirational flavor although there are lot of risks in that strategy. The rist is to justify the premium that these products command. Atomberg has chosen the platform of innovativeness as the USP for the brand. In the fan segment, the brand has positioned on the "power-saving" benefit for the consumer through the BLDC (Brushless DC Motor) technology.
The brand is currently running a major campaign for the fans featuring two kids Atom & Berg. The premise for the ads is the corporate brand's tagline - Why Not ? which is a good representation of the brand's focus on innovativeness.
There is not a large number of advertisements that feature kids as the protagonists for brands which are not essentially kid's products. Kids are now seen recommending products like toothpastes to even life insurance. I am not sure what is prompting ad makers to believe that kids are the best people to recommend the products. Same is followed for Atomberg campaign. They have used kids are the representative of the brands. I personally feel that kids reduce the seriousness of what the brands has to say except for the brands that has kids as consumers.
Here also the brand may have to continue these characters across various new product launches if they are to maintain continuity of the message since this is an umbrella brand for multiple product launches. The only advantage of using kids in ads is that some may view the ads as cute.
Atomberg has chosen to build itself around the idea of innovativenes. The challenge is to demonstrate that innovativeness in the products.The brand has been aggressively promoting across various media and this has definitely an impact on brand awareness and likely brand trials.
In their new campaign, HUL owned Domex has changed the brand's long-standing focus from germ-killing to fragrance. Prompted by competitor's pitch on foul-smelling bathrooms as a customer's problem area, Domex has decided to add fragrance to its benefits which in a way is moving away from the earlier positioning of germ-killing toilet cleaner. It is not a big deal since brands try to offer a bundle of benefits to the consumer. But what I have found interesting is Domex's way of communicating the new benefit to the consumer.
In the new campaign, the brand features the famous actress Revathy as the protagonist. The brand has a new tagline - Don't Argue, Just Domex.
The brand has done well in reacting fast to the competitor's pitch on good-smelling bathrooms and has quickly achieved points of parity with the competing brands. However, I feel that Domex is a bit overbearing on the consumer in the latest ad. If you look at the brand's advertisement, the brand represented by Revathy is just bulldozing the consumer by saying Don't Argue, Just Domex which has left me in a bad taste. The way the celebrity is cutting off the consumer and forcefully enforcing the brand is also a reflection of the brand's personality whether intended or not. I know I am reading too much into the ad but it is my perception of the brand's arrogance.
Domex has been very aggressive in recent times. The last campaign was a direct attack on Harpic which was later challenged by Harpic and the ads were taken down. My opinion is that a brand's arrogance should be directed towards the competitors and not at consumers. Consumers have the right to argue and not just Domex !!!
