Brand Update : Kingfisher

It is very rare to see Indian brands being mentioned for its service excellence. Today I was fortunate enough to to read one such story about Kingfisher Airlines. The story becomes more interesting because it is from one of the renowned management gurus of our times -Tom Peters.

Read the story here : Tom Peters Blog

Kingfisher Airlines has very cleverly used " Moments of Truths " to differentiate itself from the rest of airlines. Infact, the brand took extra care to treat the customers like real guests. The above said story also reveals another lesson - little things matter most in customer service. The biggest job for the service provider is to find out those little things which can create a " WoW" factor. Kingfisher created lot of goodwill when they appointed Ushers who would help carry the luggages of the customers. It could be done by any airline but it was Kingfisher who first thought about it.

A sincere smile, genuine care and happy employees can create a powerful differentiator.

Kudos to Kingfisher Airlines Team.

Brand Update : La Opala

It has been a long time since I wrote an update on La Opala. There was nothing special that was happening about this brand till recently. The brand has been very consistent in its brand promotion focusing mainly on the print media.

Recently La Opala has roped in the Bollywood Diva Bipasha Basu to endorse its premium range of Opalware " Diva " . The brand is currently running a TVC featuring the brand ambassador. Diva is a brand for those consumers who are aware of the need to add style to their kitchenware. The brand has the tagline " Fine Art of Dining".

Watch the TVC here : La Opala

This is the first time that a crockery brand has roped in a brand ambassador. The new range " Diva " is a light weight crockery targeting the SEC A & B segment.( Source)

La Opala as a brand is trying to position itself as a lifestyle product rather than plain crockery ware. All its brand communications has been focusing on the " Style " factor. This has made La Opala ,a leader in the Rs 500 crore luxury crockery market. According to news reports, La Opala has around 25% share in the crockery market. Crockery accounts for about 25% of the Rs 2000 crore luxury utensils market.

The presence of a celebrity will definitely increase the brand recall for La Opala. The brand is operating in a market which is dominated by unorganized players and also cheap imports. In such a scenario, any investment in increasing brand recall and share of mind will not go waste.

Related Brand

La Opala

Pediasure : Complete Nutrition , Complete Peace of Mind

Brand : Pediasure
Company : Abbott Pharmaceuticals

Brand Analysis Count : 422

Pediasure is a leading global brand in the pediatric nutrition segment.The brand is owned by the pharmaceutical giant Abbott. Pediasure was launched in India way back in 2000. But it is only recently that I noticed an ad for this global brand.

Pediasure is a food supplement for children aged 2-10. The brand is fighting for its share in the Rs 0.56 billion pediatric nutrition market in India. But compared to other competitors, the brand was virtually silent in the Indian market.

There is a reason behind this very soft marketing by the brand. Pediasure is basically a therapeutic supplement.According to the brand site, Pediasure is a food supplement for those kids who are picky eaters and those kids who are suffering from some diseases. This is a highly recommended supplement for those kids who are malnourished because they refuse to eat. So most of the sales would have happened through suggestions/prescriptions from doctors and also through word of mouth. A google search indicates that the brand has lot of equity among the consumers.

But by limiting its promotion, the brand had severely undermined its potential to become a popular choice among mothers. The brand has been perceived as a solution for those kids who have chronic problems thus alienating other consumers who are in need of a nutritional supplement.

The brand may have realized the potential now and have started advertising. The ad is projecting Pediasure as a supplement for all those kids who does not like taking food.The current strategy for the brand is to appeal to a larger section of mothers who feel that their child is not getting enough nutrition.

What will be a problem for Pediasure is its price. The brand is priced at around Rs 399 for 400 gm which is almost double the price of brands like Horlicks and Boost. Infact I did not buy this product for my kid ( not malnourished !!!) because of the price. The price is going to make this brand unaffordable for many middle-class customers. The brand could do well if it launches smaller SKUs of 100gms at a reasonable price point .
But for a parent whose child is severely malnutritioned , this price will not be a major issue because of necessity. I recently talked to my newspaper agent whose child was prescribed Pediasure by the doctor . The poor guy was lamenting about the high price of this product. For such consumers, smaller SKUs will make life little more easier.

The price problem becomes a sumbling block when the brand tries to get into the larger market of ordinary consumers. The brand's strategy as of now may be to explore the premium segment of the market.

Brand Update : Parachute

Parachute Advansed Starz has got a new tagline. The brand is currently running a campaign with the new tagline " Choose your avatar " . There is something interesting about the new campaign. When the brand was launched, it was speaking to the mother trying to educate her about the need for a specialized shampoo for kids.

Watch the commercial here : Kya Hoga Mera Avatar

Now the brand is directly talking to the user i.e the kids. And the brand has narrowed its TG to the Tweens and Teens rather than the very young ones.

Starz also has been aggressively promoted across the media. The brand is a pioneer in the Kid's shampoo market and is trying to capitalize on the lack of competition. Starz also is coming out with new products - the latest being the chocolate- shampoo. That signifies the fact that Starz is moving away from its earlier focus on the " Strawberry " ingredient.

The tagline seems to be catchy and focus on fun with hairstyles. The brand has realized that young girls of the new generation likes to experiment with their hairstyles and is trying to provide a healthy solution.

There is something happening for Parachute Aftershower brand too. The sub-brand has launched another extension in the form of a dandruff hair oil. The brand is running a campaign featuring its brand ambassador Yuvraj Singh.

Marico has been extending the Parachute brand too much. Hope that this extension strategy is backed by some clear longterm brand strategy.

Related Brand

Parachute

Brand Update

Halls : Thandi Saans Ka Blast

Brand : Halls

Company : Cadbury India Ltd

Agency : Contract Advertising

Brand Analysis Count : 421

Halls is one of the largest selling cough drops brand in the world. The brand claims to have 50% share in the International cough drops market.Halls brand was born in 1930 when Halls Brothers invented a Metho- Lyptus formula that alleviates throat irritations. Later in 1964,

Warner- Lambert acquired the brand and began to aggressively sell the product in the US market.

Halls came to India in 1968. The brand was initially sold as a therapeutic candy in the cough lozenges market. In 2003, Halls came into Cadbury's fold when it acquired the confectionery business of Warner-Lambert/Pfizer network ( Source : Halls Brand Site).

Halls had a series of ups and downs in the Indian market. At one point of time during the ninetees, the brand was the market leader with a share of over 30%. But at point in time , Warner- Lambert increased the price of Halls from 50 paise to 75 paise. The effect was devastating. The brand began to lose its share because consumers found it difficult to find the change in order to buy the product. It was easy to find a 50 paise but finding 25 paise was not easy. And the shop keeper will never return the 25 paise if given Rs 1. (source ).

Halls was promoted heavily by both Warner- Lambert and Cadburys. Halls is one of the heavy spenders in the category. But despite the heavy share of voice, Halls had a huge positioning problem.

The Rs 200 crore throat lozenges category is an interesting category. With in these category, there are certain subsegments which may not be visible to the consumer. For example, there is a therapeutic lozenges category which are medicinal in nature and sold through chemists. Strepsils belong to this category. While Vicks is perceived to be medicinal in nature, the product can be sold in all kind of shops. Halls belongs to the candy sub-segment within the category.

While most of the throat lozenges products are sold on medicinal platform, Halls wanted to differentiate itself. Hence the brand chose to position itself on the " Cool and Refreshing " Platform. But instead of focusing and establishing this platform, the brand kept oscillating between " medicinal throat relief " and " Refreshing" platforms. If you look at the series of ads of Halls across its lifetime, the brand was confused about its core brand value. In one ad, the brand will be concentrating on " Sore Throat " while in another it is taking about refreshing breath,

The brand was not confident about ditching the " sore throat " and embrace the " cool + refreshing " platform. This confusion eroded the brand's chances to become the market leader in this category. The brand failed to understand that it cannot be everything to everybody. It is commonsense that brands should try to occupy a unique position rather than trying to please everyone.

It was in 2008 that Halls finally decided to focus on the " Cool throat " platform . The brand used hyperbole to communicate this message to the consumer.

Watch the ad here : Halls Airplane Ad

Personally I did not like the ad because the action of the person who took Halls was contradicting the " Coolness " factor promoted by the brand. But the hyperbole or the exaggeration worked to brand's advantage. The brand was able to clearly communicate its core brand promise to the consumer.

It shows when a brand understands its core brand mantra. The decision of the brand to focus on the " coolness " had its impact on the quality of brand communication. Halls came out with its latest ad reinforcing its core positioning.

Watch the ad here : Halls Polar Bear ad

It is again Hyperbole at its height. The message is spot-on and the exaggeration works well to reinforce the core positioning of the brand. The brand has the tagline " Thandi Saans Ka Blast " which communicates its coolness promise.

Halls is facing competition for its positioning also. Recently Parle Xhale also has started its campaign highlighting its 'coolness'. Watch the ad here.

I hope that Halls will stay focused on the current positioning platform. Ofcourse by doing so, it may lose some consumers but in the long run the brand will benefit with the focus.

Brasso : Branding without Advertising

Brand : Brasso
Company : Reckitt & Benckiser

Brand Analysis Count : 420

This post is inspired by an article which came in the Economic Time ( Source). The article mentions the brand Brasso as an example of a brand which has become a 100 crore brand without spending much on advertising.

Brasso is a 105 year old brand from Reckitt & Benckiser . The brand was born in 1904 when a Reckitt official traveled to Australia and discovered the potential of a such a product. In 1905, the company brought the brand Brasso into the market. ( source).

The brand has become almost synonymous with metal polish across the world. The brand became generic after the two world wars. Brasso is heavily used by armed forces across the world . In India too, Brasso is heavily used by the armed forces. According to ET, around 12800 litres of Brasso is used by the armed forces every month.

The brand gained its generic status purely by word of mouth. The very simple fact that this product is used by armed forces gave it tremendous authenticity. In the consumer space, the product has limited usage.The rich heritage and the word of mouth gave the brand enough recall when ever there is a need for a metal polish. Since the brand is selling without any advertising, the company is also happy to let the party run.

But the problem with such a brand is that there is a possibility that the brand misses out in opportunities. Many consumers does not know that Brasso can be used to clean scratched CDs and even repair scratches in plastic products. Unless the brand communicates regularly , there is a chance that the brand will miss out in capitalizing its strengths and in finding new uses for the product.

Marketing Funda : Articles on Marketing -2

Mont Blanc's first Television ad in India http://tinyurl.com/ox5szk II a story to tell..

Use a Human Sales Approach http://bit.ly/3xrSb7 II interesting read

How Corporate Responsibility Can Survive the Recessionhttp://bit.ly/38bpa7 II Nice read

The 7 Deadly Sins of Public Speaking http://bit.ly/2mmQJy II good read for students

Brand Perceptions, Slogans and the Mind http://bit.ly/2nRq7t II absolutely must read for marketers

Why Small Companies Are Better at Customer Servicehttp://bit.ly/D59x5 II sincere empathy & Commonsense..

Understanding business development http://bit.ly/PzeB1 II xcllent insights from Seth Godin

Creating The Brand Halo Effect http://bit.ly/4rmxZM II Must read for all marketers

Putting the Art of Leadership into Practice http://bit.ly/iyqxe

Where's Your Lean? http://bit.ly/4OJ8v excellent article on communication

Putting the Art of Leadership into Practice http://bit.ly/iyqxe nice insights

Creative Strategy Importance: Visual or Verbal? http://bit.ly/aWdVqII great funda

What gets measured must get done http://bit.ly/13J72H very true indeed

A case to spend money on advertising http://tinyurl.com/mc5q68from stanford

Branding lessons from Gillette http://tinyurl.com/klasud

Mastering The Multiple Brand Strategy http://bit.ly/Zslcp important lessons to be learned

The Art of Giving Praise http://bit.ly/9HzIk lessons for professors and salesmen

How to Be Childlike http://bit.ly/QcLTF II inspiring

Time or money, which one rules consumer choiceshttp://tinyurl.com/l28jys excellent article from Wharton

Managing in an upturn, keep expectations lowhttp://tinyurl.com/lmsqth niceone

Future Group's Mythological Marketing http://bit.ly/isF0v II atlast some Indian originated management principles

How to Make Solving Problems Fun http://bit.ly/olkfh II nice read and practical too

Decoding Leadership http://bit.ly/OVzAS II simple insights

Excellent story on 3M , 6σ Vs creativity http://tinyurl.com/26ywre

Sub-Brands & Line Extensions http://bit.ly/9L2ZE II subbrands can create confusion if not clearly defined

How Lakme brand is trying to change itself http://tinyurl.com/r4bpjy

Nice article on Carnation auto owned by Jagdish Khattarhttp://tinyurl.com/qztb5u

Inside Procter & Gamble's New Values-Based Strategyhttp://bit.ly/3wgUJw II excellent article

Understanding Indian consumer http://tinyurl.com/qofyxl by Rama Bijapurkar

Double Branding's Disadvantage http://bit.ly/AXlXV Alries says singlebrands r stronger

Use Salesmanship to Energize Your Organization http://bit.ly/uhlRi II couldnt agree more

Salespeople: Don't Talk About Price on the First Datehttp://bit.ly/Ixv4u xcellent, but will it work?

How to Make Metaphorical Magic in Your Speechhttp://bit.ly/2cUXA1 excellent article on communication

Do Interesting Things http://bit.ly/xXADM This really inspired me

Get off my land! Leading vs. Poacher Brands (Part 1)http://bit.ly/UG3Yi funda

Category Builders vs. Category Killers http://bit.ly/icPKj excellent article from Alries

Citizen Sweety Blouse: Draupadi Cheer Haran http://bit.ly/tzSLEhilarious

Marketing Funda : Articles on Marketing -1

Afaqs article on Sleepwell's ads http://tinyurl.com/yzdl56x nice read

How Strong is Your Business? Can You Pass the 3 to 6 Test?http://bit.ly/17ILuk II good read

Why the Wrong People Get Laid Off — And How to Prevent Ithttp://bit.ly/108nja II I have 2 make my job confusing!

Brand Positioning For A Better Night's Sleep http://bit.ly/KNVEB II

Family values help family owned business survive downturnhttp://tinyurl.com/yb44pjw

Understanding Product Management Role http://bit.ly/rrHJF II nice one on product management

Personal Kaizen: 15 Tips for your continuous improvementhttp://bit.ly/ouQmr II nice read on presentation skills

Shave more, get more, grow the core http://bit.ly/R76Qg II Gillette asking u to shave ur body.

Eight Questions to Assess Your Sales Organizationhttp://bit.ly/a5O8c II must read for sales pros

How Do Innovators Think? http://bit.ly/KDwCv II nice read

Management Consulting: Help or Hazard? http://bit.ly/19QGrD II hitting hard on consulting pros

The platform vs. the eyeballs http://bit.ly/19pjiz II excellent insights for marketers

Actively encouraging cannibalisation http://bit.ly/OCFOT II good read

Saturn’s Marketing Lesson Is One To Rememberhttp://bit.ly/4AhvqR important lesson for marketers

How to Deliver the Talk of Your Life http://bit.ly/NgJE8 II nice insights

A nice brand story of Zodiac http://tinyurl.com/bypx76

How to Pursue Your Passion: Understand the Essence of Your Passion http://bit.ly/2LQh9h nice read

My Best Innovation Advice? Be Promiscuous http://bit.ly/cFoww II nice read

Nike rides high even in recession http://adage.com/u/s3D9xb

Good communication skills outrank other core business competencies http://bit.ly/V6tCC

Brand Update : Wild Stone

Wild Stone has become milder. It is interesting to see a brand evolving and trying to find the right kind of positioning. Wild Stone which started off as a very very naughty brand is now moving to a mature , approachable platform.

In the last few years Wild Stone has been experimenting with its positioning. The brand looking at the huge potential in the deo market created a stir with its "explicit" controversial ads. But those ads were infact doing lot of negative word of mouth in the media space. Although Wild Stone brand got noticed, the image got entangled in the negative mindset. The brand had the tagline of " Wild By Nature " and its ads were nothing but wild.

Later Wild Stone's marketing was taken up by Future Brands ( source) . Then a shift happened in the brand's approach. The brand became subtle but of course it couldn't let go its " sexual overtones". The brand adopted the new tagline " Barely Legal".

Now the brand is running a new campaign for its variant Wild Stone Aqua.

Watch the tvc here : Wild Stone Aqua

The new ad is a refreshing change from the earlier campaigns of Wild Stone. The ad is nicely made and the brand's positioning theme fits in nicely with the ad. What is more interesting is that Wild Stone has adopted a new tagline " It happens". The new tagline is a far better one than the " Barely Legal " . More over " It happens " gives the agency lot of room to work on. And also it gives a message that Wild Stone man doesn't have to " Try Too Hard". Hopefully the brand will retain the new tagline and explore its possibilities.

The positioning of Wild Stone is not a remarkable one. Almost all the men's deo has adopted the same positioning of " Women Chasing Men". Brands like Axe Fuel,Denver, Set Wet Zatak all have adopted the same theme. The advantage that I see in Wild Stone is that the brand has adopted an Indian theme while all the other brands are going for foreign models and settings. This can prove to be a good advantage for Wild Stone. Although the market leader Axe is going great guns with regular product launches, its ads have become little detached with the Indian market ( my opinion). Axe may face the issue of a consume disconnect if it continues to import ads.

Related Brands

Wild Stone

Axe

Denver

Fuel

Fa

Rexona

Yakult : The Kiss of Good Health

Brand : Yakult
Company : Yakult Danone India Pvt Ltd
Agency : Hakudo Percept


Brand Analysis Count : 419

Recently I was intrigued by an ad featuring the bollywood actress Kajol where she endorses a drink in a small bottle. The brand name also sounded strange . The quest after that small drink brought me into an interesting brand - Yakult.

Yakult is a probiotic drink from Japan. The drink is brought to India by Yakult Honsha of Japan in collaboration with Groupe Danone of France. Yakult is a world leader in probiotic drinks and has a rich heritage dating back to 1935.

Yakult was launched in India in the late 2007. The brand was initially available only in Delhi. Now Yakult is being launched nationally in a phased manner.

Probiotic market in India is in a nascent stage. Although many players like Amul, Nestle has entered the market, the category has not yet witnessed a heightened consumer interest.

Probiotics refer to those drinks which contains live micro organisms which are healthy to human body. These micro organisms help the body in digestion and also in fighting diseases.

Yakult is fermented milk that contains healthy bacteria Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota. According to the brand site, a 65 ml Yakult bottle contains 6.5 bn probiotic bacteria ( Source).

Yakult has been testing its marketing strategy for around a year and is now ready for the national roll out. The brand is currently available in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Jaipur. The entry of Yakult is expected to increase the visibility and growth of probiotic category in India.

What is interesting about Yakult brand is its marketing strategy. The brand has adopted a two prong strategy to crack the Indian market.

Yakult has roped in Kajol as the brand ambassador. The brand is also making enough noise in the media. These advertisements are bound to increase the brand visibility and also may prompt consumer trials. The choice of the brand ambassador also gels with the target market. The brand predominately targets the health conscious ladies as the primary consumer. The brand has taken the positioning of a " health enhancer " and adopted the tagline " Daily Piyo, Healthy Jiyo". The brand has the global tagline of " The kiss of good health".

But a product like a probiotic drink may not be easily adopted by the consumer since she may have lot of doubts about the product. It is in this context that the brand adopted its strategy of direct marketing.

Yakult has a strategy of direct marketing where the consumers can order the product through home delivery. Yakult has a DM team of ladies known as Yakult ladies who visit homes, educate the homemakers about the product and also regularly supplies the product. This ensures that the product is being regularly used by the consumers and also the Yakult ladies will be able to answer the doubts of the consumers.Yakult is also available in supermarkets.

Another interesting fact is about the pricing strategy of Yakult. The 65ml bottle is priced at Rs 10 and the product is available in a pack of 5. The price sounds reasonable for those consumers who are health conscious. The main challenge for this product is to make the consumers believe that the product is delivering benefit to them. Most of the health foods have the problem of giving measurable visible results to the consumers.

Yakult primarily targets those consumers who are health conscious and is aware of the importance of functional foods like probiotics. The brand will be initially operating in a niche category and its strategy will be to expand the niche category into a mainstream one. It has adopted the right marketing strategy to educate the consumers and also encourage them to make regular use of this product.

Z3 : Relaxed Luxury

Brand : Z3

Company : Zodiac Clothing

Agency : Draft FCB Ulka

Brand Analysis Count : 418

Z3 is a brand from the house of Zodiac. Z3 is a refreshing brand amongst the plethora of brand extensions that we witness in the Indian brand scenario. Zodiac is one of the most respected premium readymade brands in India. The brand has huge equity and a loyal customer base owing to the excellent craftsmanship and unmatched quality. The brand has a very understated style of promotion and has been able to retain its premium positioning despite clutter in the market.

In the eighties, Zodiac epitomized the premium readymade category but the situation has changed now. The readymade category has changed drastically with the creation of various segments and sub-segments. The Indian menswear market is huge with a size of Rs 40,000 crore. Almost all major fashion labels are in the market right now. Zodiac is very focused in its approach to the market and has been very consistent in its approach toward brand building and promotions.

The Zodiac brand has so far resisted the temptation to go for a volume play. According to a report in Business Standard , this is a brand which is produced against firm orders. I found the fact very very unusual for an Indian brand operating in a tough business environment. The report says that 85% of what the company produces is pre-sold .This is a remarkable achievement by any standards. ( Read the report here).

The market in which Zodiac operates also has witnessed huge shift interms of consumer behavior. The new generation has a very different outlook with regard to fashion. Zodiac has a perception of a very formal brand for the old professionals. It is in this scenario, that Z3 launch becomes relevant.

Z3 is the casual readymade brand from Zodiac Clothing. The brand was launched in 2008. Usually successful brands like Zodiac will have a temptation to extend itself to casual wear. But Zodiac being a smart marketer decided to opt for a new brand rather than extending its formal wear brand to casual wears. Extending a formal wear brand like Zodiac would have easily diluted the positioning of the parent brand.



Z3 is being positioned as a premium casual wear. The brand has the tagline " Relaxed Luxury" which talks about the brand promise. According to a report in moneycontrol , the brand is being differentiated using these qualities :
Handfeel : The brand is promising a luxurious look and feel.
Design
Fabric and
Styling.

Z3 is targeting the new breed of professionals and entrepreneurs who does not have to wear formals to work. Besides this new breed, Z3 will also fill the need of die-hard Zodiac loyals who shopped elsewhere for casual wear.

Like Zodiac, Z3 is also a premium brand. The products are priced between 1599-1699 and aiming those young rich class. (unreachable for poor professors like me !!!).

What I like most about this brand is its communication. Like Zodiac, Z3 is also concentrating on print media. The brand's campaign is cool with a very smart use of space and color . The product is projected in such a way that it creates an urge to purchase. The brand campaigns remind me of the classic print ads run by Color Plus . I think that Z3 is on its way to become another Color Plus.

Related Brand
Zodiac
Color Plus

Print ad source : Afaqs

Brand Update : Onida

Onida has launched its new campaign after putting the devil to rest. The campaign is aimed at repositioning and rejuvenating the brand. The brand is trying for a comeback after years of uncertainty which made this (once) iconic brand lose its share in the market.

Watch the new campaign here : Onida new campaign

In my last post on Onida, I commented that Onida's real problem is not branding but marketing. The brand desperately needed break-through products and embrace new technologies. If the new ads are any indication, the brand is moving in the right direction. The brand is trying to launch products with new features, which is the right thing to do .

Regarding the brand campaign, Onida now has a new tagline- " Tum Ko Dekha to ye design aya" meaning " Designed with you in mind ". The brand replaced the iconic devil with a new-age couple as the protagonists.

Onida is now repositioning on the basis of " Customer Oriented Design". The brand is saying that its products are designed with the new-age customer in mind. The new tagline has nothing new in it and "customer-oriented" design positioning is used by many brands before. In comparison with the classic "Neighbor's envy , Owner's Pride", the new campaign falls short of expectation. ( Another viewpoint here)

In the consumer durable space, it is the product features that attract the buyers not the ads. If Onida can give technologically advanced products at reasonable price, consumers will definitely try it out. But there are issues in such a product oriented strategy. Most of the new features can be copied easily by the competitors unless otherwise protected by patents. When Onida launches a DVD player which plays micro-sd cards, other players are bound to follow. It is in this scenario that branding becomes important. Onida needs to convince the consumers that its products are better designed and technologically superior. It is about managing perception .Features can be copied by competitors easily but changing perception is a difficult task.

Onida needs to work hard on creating and nurturing new perceptions about itself in the mind of the consumers. Long way to go for this brand......

Related Brand

Onida

Brand Update : Quaker Oats

I am a big fan of the concept of brands taking up cause marketing. Although academic research has two opinions about the impact of such cause based promotions, I strongly believe that brands will benefit positively if it can align with a worthy cause.

Recently Quaker Oats launched a new campaign " Make India heart healthy". The brand is trying to promote the cause of healthy heart. The brand has taken up the mission of spreading awareness about the risk of heart diseases and educate the public about healthy living. The campaign is being launched in association with Appolo Hospitals and Times of India.

The brand also launched a portal Goodmorningheart.com where individuals can do an online heart check. Once the person entered the details, he will receive customized diet plans and also his risk profile.

Quaker Oats needs to be lauded for taking up such an initiative. In this fast world where health is compromised for materialistic pursuits, some one needs to take the initiative to educate the public.

For a cause based brand promotion to work, brands need to focus on certain basic requirements.

a. There has to be a worthy cause

b. The cause should be related to the broad solution that the brand offers.

c. The brand should be consistent in supporting the cause.

d.The initiative should be long term.

Quaker has taken an initiative which is worthy and also aligns with the brand's core promise. Quaker is a healthy food and hence it makes sense for the brand to take up the cause of a healthy heart.

Time will only tell whether the brand's initiative is going to be consistent and long term. Currently the brand is spending its energy on awareness building. We have to see whether the brand will further the cause to next level.

Related Brand

Quaker Oats

Brand Update : Calcium Sandoz

Calcium Sandoz is in an over drive now. This 40 year old brand now has a new look and also a new tagline.

The brand is currently running a campaign in television : watch it here

Calcium Sandoz now have a new packaging and the brand has redesigned its mascot- the puppy. According to the company, the redesign is aimed at connecting with the young consumers. The kids used to love the classic white puppy bottle and used to collect them also. But as time passed, the brand and the puppy became disconnected with the young generation. ( Source). The total market for calcium products is estimated to be around Rs 328 crores.(source)

Rightly so, the brand feels that the mascot puppy is the best way to establish a reconnect with the new generation of kids. The new puppy now is colored and also is smiling.

The brand is currently trying to woo the users. Typically the kids resist taking food unless it is junk food or confectioneries. Mothers love to give kids healthy food and supplements .But making the kids eat such products is a Herculean task. Calcium Sandoz is trying to make kids love the brand by launching the product in various flavors . With the new packing and the campaign, the brand expects the kids (users) to ask for the product.

Calcium Sandoz has adopted the tagline " Agdam, Pagdam,Tagdam " whose meaning only kids will understand. The ad campaign centers around the usual theme of kids being overwhelmed by their daily routines and how the brand helps in making their lives easier and happier. The brand wisely uses the mascot puppy to convey the message .

The challenge for the brand is to keep the excitement going . Kids gets bored easily with these types of products and keeping them engaged is no easy task.

Related Brand

Calcium Sandoz

IFB : Set Yourself Free

Brand : IFB

Company : IFB Industries

Agency : Saatchi & Saatchi

Brand Analysis Count : 417

IFB is a major brand in the premium home appliances market. The brand is famous for its washing machine range especially the front loading type. I would say that IFB was a pioneer in popularising the front- loading washing machines into the Indian market.

In the Rs 20,000 crore Indian consumer durable market, the washing machines contribute for Rs 2300 crore.(source). At one point of time IFB was the second largest player in the Fully Automatic category.

IFB is a Kolkata based company which had its origin in 1974. The company was earlier known as Indian Fine Blanks. The company was specialised in manufacturing Fine Blanks and supplied to many industrial multi-nationals. The company later ventured into consumer durables under a joint venture with the German major Bosch in 1990.

The technology collaboration with Bosch gave IFB a headstart. The company was able to give consumers products with exceptional quality. IFB soon became the leader in the premium washing machines in the country. But in 1997, Bosch severed its ties with IFB.

Despite the termination of the JV, IFB was able to hold on its own. The brand was able to maintain its image in the Indian market. It had a share of 23% in the washing machine market in 2002.

How ever, IFB was caught in a serious financial trouble during 2005 where it was referred to BIFR. Later the firm came out of the financial trouble with a debt restructuring exercise.

IFB still holds the premiumness in the mind of the consumers despite maintaining a low key . The brand's share of voice is abysmally low . But fortunately the brand maintains a strong aspirational pull in the mind of the consumers.

IFB is a brand which is priced exorbitantly high. Its washing machines are priced more than 50% compared to the competitors. But the question is whether IFB can maintain the premiumness without adequately spending on brand promotion. Almost all the major global brands are competing for space in the Indian market. Technological differentiation is virtually impossible now since all brands are bringing their latest products to India.

In such a scenario, IFB needs to reinforce its brand equity. The brand is perceived to be a technologically superior but that perception can fade if the brand become complacent .

Book Review : Customer Mania

Book Title : Customer Mania

Authors : Ken Blanchard,Jim Ballard & Fred Finch

Publishers : Harper Collins

Price : Rs 195

Book Review #9

Customer Mania is a small but a highly insightful book. I am a big fan of Ken Blanchard and his inspirational One Minute Manager Series. And this time too, he does not fail to inspire.

The book is the authors' account of Yum Restaurant's customer service strategies. Using the story of Yum! Ken Blanchard tries to hammer in some of the critical customer service principles.

I feel little wary about books focusing on a particular company because we cannot predict what will happen to this company in future. There are best selling books that glorified Enron when everything was hunky dory. So I was little skeptical when I started reading this book.

Gladly the message of the book transcended the example. Ken's insights were powerful enough that makes the ' one company ' focus irrelevant.

Customer Mania gives the readers four key principles that will help to build a customer-focused company. The authors firs illustrate the principle and then uses Yum! to give a practical insight. The four principle that this book put forth is as follows

Step one : Set your sights on the right target.

The principle asks the managers to identify the right set of consumers and then focus on the right way to pamper him

Step Two : Treat your customers the right way .

Here the authors stresses on strategies to create Raving Fans rather than ordinary consumers

Step Three : Treat your people the right way .

In a service business, employees are the key to providing world class customer service. The authors give some very important insights into recruiting and retaining the right kind of people.

Step Four : Have the right kind of leadership

I always believed that customer service initiatives will fail without the right kind of leadership. Infact customer service starts from the top.

Customer Mania is a very simple book but yet packed with powerful messages.

A must read for any marketer

Brand Update : Knorr Soups

Finally Knorr brand decided to do what it does best - Selling Soups.After messing up with extensions and brand name confusions, Knorr has decided to concentrate on soups. The brand is currently running its latest campaign featuring the brand ambassador Kajol.

Watch the Tvc here : Knorr Soups

The ad is interesting because it aims change the way Indian consumers look at Soups. Soup is not a popular part of Indian consumer's cuisine. According to Financial Express, Indian prepared soup market is worth Rs 120 crore and Knorr have a market share of over 70%. But given the size of Indian consumer space, the brand feels that the pie should be bigger.

The new campaign aims to do just that. HUL is a master in building and owning categories. The current campaign is aiming to build the soup category. To build the category, the brand has to bring in new consumers regularly buy and use soups.

Knorr is now being repositioned as a 7'o'Clock snack. Don't confuse the usage of the term Snack. Knorr is not going to compete with Lays or Bingo but aims to give the consumers a valid reason for buying this product by calling it a snack.

As a consumer, I never thought of regularly buying soups at my home. We used to indulge in soups at the hotel but seldom at home. Only some times I bought soups but not regularly because there was no perceived reasons for buying it regularly.

Knorr is giving consumers like me a reason for regularly buying it. It is common for little ones to become hungry at around 7-8 pm. This is a problem that most mothers face. You give something to kids and they will not take dinner .

Knorr is now offering a solution to this common problem.Give soups to the kids as a seven o clock snack. The brand tells mothers that giving soup to kids is a healthy option compared to any other snacks. Such a repositioning will help many non users to try out the product category. Kajol adds more punch to the entire exercise.

The brand now has a tagline " Tummy bhi Khush, Mummy bhi khush " meaning " Tummy is happy and Mummy is also happy ". The only issue whether the kids gets bored with soups.

The current campaign is a marketing lesson. Being a market leader does not make good brands complacent. Smarter brands build categories and end up owning it.

Related Brand

Knorr

Consumer Insight : Customer Loyalty

This post is inspired by the article by Mr Prasad Sangemeshwaran in Brand Equity ( 09/09/09) titled "Goodbye Mr Loyalty". (Read it Here). I feel that the basic premise of the article is wrong.

The article starts with a very bold statement - " The Customer is Infidel" ( which is a nice attention grabbing technique). The author then went on to argue that the concept of customer loyalty is now a thing of past.

I feel that the author made an assumption that all marketers believe in customer loyalty. Customer Loyalty is a concept- an ideal state where the consumers keep coming back for your offering. Marketers know fully well that consumers will keep coming back for the offerings only if it satisfies the need continuously. Marketers are also aware that consumers are looking for new ways of fulfilling their desires.

The moment you think that consumers are permanently loyal to your brand, you are in a state of marketing myopia. Marketing myopia is a condition where marketers become too narrowly focused on the product rather than the consumer & his need. Why Nokia is highly successful in India is its constant endeavour to bring in new products in tune with the changing consumer needs. Even in the case of Nokia, it missed out the " touchscreen" mania and even the " smartphone" trend. Marketers today are more aware about the impact of disruptive innovations which can create havoc in the market. Successful brands today are focusing not only in meeting consumer needs but also in shaping those needs.

It is also wrong to say that in the past consumers were more loyal to brands. The choice before consumers in yesteryear's were very less forcing them to stick to certain brands. That is not an indication of loyal behavior.

Having said that, there are brands which are able to create not only brand loyals but also raving fans. Brands like Harley, Apple,Google,McDonalds, Disney etc are considered iconic because of its ability to create communities and fans. But even these brands needs to keep running very hard to keep those consumers from switching.

If Customer is the King, how can you expect him to be loyal ?

Brand Update : Pears

It has been a long time since I wrote anything about Pears. The fact was that there was no big development about the brand for the past two years. The brand is regularly and consistently promoted across various media.

The brand extended itself to kid's category with the launch of Pears Junior and also into personal care segment with products like face wash. Pears also launched variants like Mint, Aloe Vera,Oil control etc during this period. Although the brand launched these variants, the core positioning of the brand remained the same for the original soap.

Recently I saw the new commercial of Pears

Watch it here : Pears

The brand is very consistent about the positioning strategy. Pears is built on the wonderful relationship between the Mother and

Child. All Pears ads captured this emotion quite perfectly. The brand focused on its " Transparency " and is positioned as a " Pure and Gentle " Soap.

This time too, the brand follows the same theme. The significant addition is that now Pears has a tagline - Masoom.

Masoom translates to Innocence . So Pears now celebrates a new brand value - Innocence.

The new campaign is nice but as a Southie I did not quite understood the dialogue. But the cute child and the theme always work the magic.

I am assuming that Pears brand is serious about the Masoom Tagline. Masoom concept works very well for Pears. The concept of innocence fits with the " transparency " and Pure & Gentle positioning.

Pears was one of those brands which did not have a tagline. With out the help of the tagline , the brand was able to communicate its core positioning. The core brand values of Pears was communicated through visual cues .

The tagline of Masoom seems to gel with the brand. Whether and how the brand is going to use this tagline in future is something to watch for.

Related Post

Pears