Lessons in Marketing from Vivel Body Wash

Lessons from Kashmir Day Twitter Controversy for Marketers

On February 2022, brands like Hyundai, Kia, Dominos landed up in trouble over some tweets from Pakistan over Kashmir. There are lessons to be learned from this controversy.

Why Ford India is Advertising After Deciding to Quit ?

Refresh Tears : Golden Years Ahead

 Brand: Refresh Tears

Company: Allergan India ( ABBVie )

Brand Analysis Count: #615

Indian Pharmaceutical industry is huge in size estimated to be around $42 Billion. One of the major growth areas in this industry is the OTC ( over the counter) products which can be bought without a prescription. This OTC rush has even created a new category called FMHG - Fast Moving Health Goods.

OTC ophthalmic products is another emerging area in this industry and one of the major brands in the market is Refresh Tears. Those who are using computers for a long time may have never missed this brand which is used as a relief to mild dryness in the eyes. The dry eye strain market is estimated to be around Rs 400 crore and Refresh Tears is a prominent player in the market. Although an OTC product, this product is rarely advertised and often the first purchase is through a doctor prescription. 

With the incident of eye-strain is rampant with the heavy use of mobile and laptops, a whole lot of eye care products have entered the market and most of them are natural/ayurvedic in nature. The market is expected to grow manyfold because digital device usage is only going to grow. So then why is the brand owner is restraining from heavy advertising? One reason I can think of is the role that influencer play in this market. Allergan is a company that plays an important role in the ophthalmology space and usually, a consumer will have the first encounter with the brand through the doctor. 

In my observation, usually, doctors tend to avoid prescribing OTC brands once they are heavily advertised. I have seen this in the case of cough syrups. Now Refresh Tears is sold at a premium of rs 150 and when the doctor prescribes it, the patient will have to buy irrespective of the MRP. In the OTC that is not the case. Once the consumer starts using these brands, then the continuous purchase is done without prescription. So this is a dilemma that many pharma companies face when they put a product under the OTC category. For now, I think the brand owners are happy with the way Refresh Tears are fairing and probably comfortable with the margin too. Another reason is the nature of the product. Eyes are so precious that consumers may ask the opinion of the doctor before going for self-medication.

This brand is in a category that will see huge growth because of the evolving consumer behaviour and digitization and Refresh Tears is all poised to reap the benefit of this natural growth. 

Malkist : Can't Resist

Brand: Malkist

Company: Inbisco

Brand Analysis Count: #614

The Indian biscuit market is estimated to be around Rs 37000 crore and is characterized by high penetration and intense competition. The market has all the major brands vying for a share but is dominated by Brittania and Parle. This is also one market that stood its ground even in the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In 2021, a new brand entered the market by the name Malkist which is from Inbisco which is a subsidiary of Indonesia based Mayora group. Inbisco is well known for its confectionery brand Kopiko which has carved a niche for itself in the confectionery market. Malkist is a brand from Indonesia from  Mayora's portfolio.

Malkist is not an ordinary biscuit. It is in the sub-category of crackers which is a biscuit usually preferred by adults who are diabetic or health conscious. Usually, crackers are taken with added toppings to make them consumable. This is where the brand has identified an opportunity. Malkist wants to redefine the cracker category in favour of the larger set of young consumers by making it different and palette friendly. 

Malkist has done this by adding flavours to it. It is a 7 layered crackers that come in flavours such as cheese and chocolate. The brand which was soft-launched a year back is now launched nationally. The brand has also given a big boost to the launch campaign by getting none other than Amitabh Bachchan. Bachchan has brand pull across demographics and getting him to promote the brand was a big plus for Malkist.

The launch campaign featuring Big B is also a delight to watch and the ad makes use of Big B to the fullest. The theme is " can't resist" is one of the most used themes in the food-related ads, but the ad is never boring thanks to the presence of Big B. What is good about the ad is that it persuades the customer for product-trial which is the primary and paramount objective for any new brand in the market. The rest of the success depends on how the product performs. 

Malkist is positioned as a premium cracker and is now pushing the brand solely on the taste factor which cannot be termed as a clear differentiator. However crackers with irresistible taste is a nice value proposition to have at least at the launch phase. The brand will be looking at bringing more flavours to the portfolio in the coming months thus catering to the variety-seeking needs of the target market. The brand is also an example of a competitive strategy of niche marketing where the company aims at carving a niche in a highly crowded market away from the competitors.

Aquaguard: Paani Ka Doctor

 Brand: Aquaguard

Company: Eureka Forbes

Brand Analysis Count: 613

Launched in 1984, Aquaguard was one of the pioneers in the water purifier market in India. The brand from Eureka Forbes created and led the water purifier market for more than three decades now. Aquaguard was launched after the success of the vacuum cleaner products from Eureka Forbes. The company used the direct selling model to sell the water purifier also. Like any pioneer, Eureka Forbes had to do the hard work in convincing the market, the need for a water purifier at home. 

Slowly the market warmed up to the category and the growing awareness of water pollution and the need for better drinking water accelerated the adoption of this product especially in the middle class. When the market grows so does the competition. Aquaguard got a worthy competition in Kent. Kent approached the market in a different way by launching a premium water purifier with an advanced technology called Reverse Osmosis (RO). 

Through heavy advertisement campaigns featuring Hema Malini, the brand quickly gained traction and virtually owned the RO water purifier product line. Kent successfully communicated its claim that RO purifiers are better than the ones marketed by Aquaguard. Despite being the market leader, Aquaguard struggled to counter Kent's RO based marketing push.

Over a period of time, Aquaguard launched its own range of RO purifiers. One of the chunks in the brand's armour was the advertisement support for Aquaguard. Kent was heavily promoted and the communication was consistent and targeted. While Eureka Forbes was not that aggressive on the promotional front. 

Later the brand wake up from lethargy and followed the celebrity endorsement strategy of Kent by roping in Madhuri Dixit. Aquaguard is positioned as an expert in the water purifier domain communicated through the tagline " Paani ka Doctor" meaning - Doctor for Water. The water purifier portfolio has three extensions - Aquasure which is aimed at the lower-priced segment, Aquaguard which caters to the bulk of the market and Dr Aquaguard aimed at the premium consumers. 

While Aquaguard initially was following a catchup strategy with Kent in terms of technology perception, the brand took an aggressive stand in recent years. The brand launched variants with advanced technology and features such as Aquaguard Ayurfresh that gives taste and aroma to the water through a herb diffuser. Another launch was the copper and stainless steel variants taking the features ( augmentations) to the next level.

Recently the brand launched a veiled attack on Kent RO purifiers in the campaign for the Aquaguard active copper variant. The market leader claims that RO has become an outdated technology and the new technology is the active copper feature. The move is a smart one but a tough call. Kent has spent a huge amount of resources to convince the customer that RO technology is a superior version. Aquaguard may have to match that share of voice to claim technology superiority over the rival. It needs to be seen how Kent will react to this move by Aquaguard.