Brand Update : Sprite Ditches University of Freshology

University of Freshology has closed down. All the students now can take the road because " Rasta Clear Hai"..

How sad that a brand like Sprite struggling to find a sustainable positioning . The brand which made its presence felt in the Indian market with a very clear and simple positioning based on the core benefit of  softdrink - Quenching Thirst. That positioning made Sprite the market leader in the category and  in 2009, the brand was the second largest soft drink brand in India.

Over the last few years, the brand ditched its focus on thirst and went after other positioning ideas. The struggle continues till date with the brand changing its communication themes every year. Last year , the brand introduced a much hyped concept of University of Freshology with some un-creative campaigns which in my opinion failed to excite the market. It may be because of that reason , the brand decide to bring back its positioning based on its erstwhile " Clear Hai " theme.

This summer, the brand is running a campaign with the new tagline " Rasta Clear Hai "

Watch the TVC here : Sprite Rasta Clear Hai

A campaign which further deteriorates the core brand identity of Sprite. The tagline Rasta Clear Hai means the "road is clear " which means what for the brand ? What is the value that this tagline or positioning is giving for the brand ? The brand owners may have wanted to convey that Sprite drinkers know their way ( how to get their things done )  but this positioning lacks the sustainability factor. 

The question is from this ad to what ? How is the brand going to build on this concept of  " Rasta Clear Hai " . My guess is that this theme will be for the summer of 2012.Then there will be another quick fix formula. 

Sprite has already lost its charm as a very clear, no-nonsense brand. Thankfully the competition 7UP is doing much worse... Solace.

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Sprite : Teaching Gyaan

Best Marketing Practice : Uncle John's iDrive

It feels good when a brand innovates on an idea that benefits not only the brand but also the community. One such innovation is the children's park which was created by Cochin ( Kerala) based ice-cream brand Uncle John. Uncle John is a famous local brand of ice-creams marketed by M/S Jojo Frozen Foods Pvt Ltd. The brand name is coined from the name of its founder MC John.

Uncle John's I-Drive is a small children's park located near the NH Byepass at Cochin. Cochin which is the business capital of Kerala only has two well maintained parks for the residents. Both these parks are located in the heart of the city which makes it difficult to reach thanks to the heavy traffic. The launch of this small park which is away from the traffic of the city has proved to be a big boon to Cochinites. The park is modeled as a traffic park for kids with cycles, battery operated cars etc and other standard outdoor plays like slides, see-saw etc.

Pic Courtesy : The Hindu

What is interesting is that the whole concept of the park is ideated and executed by the brand. According to reports, the park is the idea of Mr.Joseph Simon who is a Director at the company which owns the brand. Another interesting fact is that the park charges Rs 25 as the entry fee ( per person) and the users can purchase ice-creams for that amount. The park already is a big hit among the residents of Cochin.

This park  is a classic case of smart marketing practice where the brand takes an initiative to offer something that is useful for the community ( also the target market) at the same time benefiting itself in the process. The investment of the park is huge but it is going to benefit the brand in the long-term. The brand through this idea is able to attract the TG and also makes them experience the products and at the same time provides enjoyment to them. This is a classic case of experiential marketing. 

However, the brand despite being innovative in the concept somehow was not aggressive in promoting its itself  in the park. Except for a hoarding there is not much OOH media inside the park that enhances the brand's visibility. In a typical Sunday, around 700 families visit the park and that is an audience a brand will die for.  There is lot of scope for innovation for the brand inside the park.Hope that the brand is able to sustain the park and gain its true return in terms of brand equity. The brand could have done lot of things inside the park that will enhance the brand's awareness and equity like

• Events
• Memorabilia
• Merchandise
• Contests

In the long term factors like safety, new games/rides, courteous staff, parking facilities, support of the corporation authorities will play a critical role in the success of this unique idea.

Brand Update : Lays Wants to Make Your Moment Magical

This year, Pepsico has brought about another positioning change in its most successful snack brand- Lays. The brand  never really found a sustainable positioning platform ever since it ditched its " No One Can Eat Just One " tagline. The last tagline of the brand was " Be Dillogical " which was introduced in 2009. So for around two years, the brand managers tolerated the positioning. 

This year, the brand decided to experiment yet again with the tagline , bringing in the new one -  "Pal Banaye Magical " meaning " Making Moments Magical ". The brand is running the new campaign featuring the brand ambassador Saif Ali Khan.

Watch the ad here : Lays Pal Banaye Magical

The ad follows the usual theme of group of friends or protogonist ( disappointed because of  cancellation of some event, boredom, etc)  and how brands liven their moments. The idea ( theme) is not at all new and has been used by brands across the world. Recently Titan Raaga used similar theme using Katrina Kaif , Tic Tac also used similar theme and Nano has used somewhat similar idea for their new positioning effort. The expectation of something different was not met by Lays in the current campaign.

Regarding the tagline " Pal Banaye Magical " sounds good and the creatives can work on this theme with a variety of stories. But I would say that it never comes anyway near to the brand's original tagline.And these frequent changes in the positioning doesn't augur well for the brand's overall strength. 

The brand which started its journey by positioning on taste later moved on to occasion based positioning ( har program ka main food) then moved to a higher attribute like Dillogical and then finally to celebrate friendship and togetherness. How ever in the execution front, the brand was not able to bring in any magic to these concepts.

On the other marketing practices, Lays innovated on its range of flavors using customer co-creation. Through a nationwide campaign , the brand solicited ideas of new flavors from the consumers and was able to create lot of buzz in the market. This move also gave the brand lot of innovative flavors to work upon, engage with the customers and also strengthen one of its core attributes - taste and flavors. The move was the blunt or in other words establish points-of-parity with its competitor - Bingo. ITC's Bingo was highlighting its " variety of flavors "  as its USP. Through the co-creation campaign, Lays was able to convince the customers that it is able to innovate on flavors too.

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Lays : No one can eat just one

Brand Update : Lays Dillogical

Brand Update : Will Airlines' Failure Affect Kingfisher's Brand's Equity ?

The much hyped and celebrated Kingfisher airlines is in big trouble. UB group decided to extend its beer brand to airlines and executed the branding in perfect style. The beer brand and the airline brands gelled with each other in terms of positioning and brand attributes. The airlines further reinforced the fun and exciting attribute of the parent beer brand.

Kingfisher Airlines failure is  the failure of its business model. The business tried to grow too fast burning its cash in the process. Now the brand has been criticized by the same media which once sang its glory as the poster boy of extravaganza and customer delight.

Now Kingfisher as a brand is facing its worst PR nightmare. The Airlines failed to honor its schedules resulting in a series of cancellations which led to customers getting stranded. Whatever equity that the brand had built-up seems to be gone down the drain.

So the interesting question is whether the whole issue of Kingfisher Airlines will affect its parent brand " Kingfisher beer " ? Often in marketing classes, we used to talk about the negative effect of a brand extensions failure on the parent brand. Will the same apply to the beer brand ? 

Branding literature suggest that the failure of a brand extension will affect the parent brand only if there is a strong perceived fit or similarity between the extension and the parent brand.The damage to the parent brand is more if the extension is in the similar category. In the case of Kingfisher, the similarity is only in the positioning and the categories are poles apart - one is beverage and other is a service. Another instance of the damage to parent brand occurs when there is similarity in the customer groups that use the extension. Generally literature suggests that parent brands are not much affected by the extensions' failures. ( Reference : Brands and Branding  : Research and future implications, Lehmann & Keller,2006, Marketing Science)

So it can be safely argued that the equity of Kingfisher beer will not be much affected by airline's failure. Further , the absence of competition, the ban on advertising will help the beer brand and competitors cannot take advantage of the current issue.
The extension - Kingfisher Airlines is going to have a tough time getting back the credibility of the consumers if it survives the current crisis. Consumers have a short memory and Kingfisher Airlines can find solace in that.

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Kingfisher : The King of Good Times

Brand Update : 7UP Wants You to Feel UP

Certain brands change its taglines at the drop of a hat. 7Up, the lemon flavored softdrink brand from Pepsico is one such brand. The brand which re-energized the lemon flavored softdrink market in India after the demise of Limca is in a way struggling to find a sustainable positioning.

The brand which was launched in 1990 quickly gained traction in the Indian market largely due to the branding exercise centered around the mascot Fido Dido. The brand , for some reason or the other, decided to drop the famous mascot and began to concentrate on the " lemon " factor. The brand then adopted the tagline " The lemon drink'.
Later the brand decided to focus on the brand benifit - refreshing taste and adopted the tagline " Mood ko do lemon ka lift ". Then yet again in 2010, the brand went into anger management mode using the  tagline " Bheja Fry, 7Up Try " . In 2011, the brand roped in bollywood actor Sharman Joshi as brand ambassador and  adopted the positioning strategy centered around the coolness factor . The brand had the tagline  which was then changed to " chill machao " .

The brand couldn't find a tagline which really worked or established a sustainable positioning platform . One saving grace is that the brand however kept revolving around the coolness factor in these brand communications.

This summer , 7Up again changed its positioning and had a rebranding exercise whereby the logo has been changed to reflect the brand's international persona. Along with the new brand logo, 7UP is also running its 2012 summer campaign.

The new campaign is around the theme of "optimism" or upliftment.. The brand uses the " UP" term in the brand name to further reinforce the current positioning of optimism

Watch the new campaign : Sharman Joshi ( 7UP)

The brand has adopted yet another new tagline . The new tagline is " Dil BoleI Feel UP " . The positioning theme is that the brand lifts your optimism ( mood). The new ad features Sharman Joshi shaking a leg with a penguin. Other than that , there is not much wow in the new campaign. Another interesting fact is that 7UP decided to bring its Nimbooz brand also in the current campaign thus saving on the cost.

According to a report in ET, lemon flavored drinks were growing at 16-17% in the last year making it the fastest growing category in Rs 10,500 crore Indian softdrinks market. This season is expected to witness lot of action in this segment.

7UP in my opinion is struggling to find its positioning. Frequent changes in the slogan and advertising theme reflects this confusion. That confusion is not good for the brand in long-term. How ever practitioners argue on this citing freshness and rising sales . But to create a sustainable brand equity ,consistency in the positioning theme is a must. Otherwise the sales of the brand depends purely on the promotional spend and every year the brand needs to reinvent the wheel. Globally, the brand has the slogan " Be Yourself, Be Refreshing " is a wonderful positioning platform. But 7UP however chose to ignore it and the eternal search continues.,

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Brand Update : 7 UP Anger Management

Brand Analysis : 7 UP

Mahindra XUV 500 : Inspired by Cheetah

Brand : Mahindra XUV 500
Company : Mahindra

Brand Analysis Count : # 508

Mahindra launched its first product from its first global SUV platform branded as XUV 500 in the Indian market. The launch was witnessed with great interest by motor enthusiasts since XUV 500 was perceived as a successor to the iconic Mahindra Scorpio. Mahindra virtually shook the SUV market in India when it launched its Scorpio brand in 2002. Auto enthusiasts were expecting something similar this time too.

And Mahindra did not disappoint at all.

XUV 500 excited the market with its bold masculine looks and a very aggressive pricing. The brand which priced itself at Rs 10.81 -12 Lakh for its two variants literally sent shock-waves to the  competitor landscape. The price was juicy for the C-segment car customers to think about XUV as an option. The company has rightly nailed both the product and the price.

According to the newsreports , through XUV 500, the company intends to create a category in the Rs 10-15 lakh segment. There is a gap that exists between Scorpio and the premium SUVs and this brand is expected to fill the gap.

Right from the brand's launch announcement, the company has been presenting the idea that XUV 500 was inspired by Cheetah. Cheetah which is known for its speed and agility was a perfect metaphor for the attributes that XUV wanted to project. 

The teaser ad for XUV launch was bang on with the idea of being Cheetah Inspired.

Watch the teaser ad : XUV Teaser

The idea of using the Cheetah as the metaphor is really smart because of the ease with which that convey's the brand's projected attributes. But all those build-up got wasted when I saw the launch campaign of this brand.

Watch the launch campaign : XUV ( I don't like Carrots)

This launch campaign would easily be one of the horrible ads in recent times. The client brief would be something like " Let us build a horrible ad and see whether a good product would sell despite bad advertising".

There is nothing much to talk about this launch campaign. The campaign neither has a big idea nor has some newness in execution. Jungle, hunk, scantily clad man-eating ladies and XUV... There is no trace of any logic or marketing thought behind the ad. To add to the insult, there are some phrases like " I hate Carrots " I am Hungry etc . May be the agency thought XUV 500 was a deo with some fruit and vegetable flavors ! What a waste !

Having said that, in the automotive market, it is the product that build brands and not the other way around. Despite this hopeless ad, consumers will buy this brand and may even evangelize it  if the product proves itself . Ads mainly play a supportive role in most cases. But there are brands which create an aura with smart advertising which later transforms the product dominated brand ( tangible attributes) to an intangible dominated brand. That is how iconic brands are created.  

XUV 500 wasted a terrific opportunity to build a brand using promotion. The brand was thinking about linking itself with adventure stories of its users but the execution killed that idea. There is no connection between Cheetah, the brand and the current advertising theme. Cheetahs are hunters but in the current ad, the brand user gets hunted.  Its just an ad but more than a poor ad, the brand lost a very crucial brand building opportunity.