Sunfeast Dark Fantasy : Escape into One

Brand : Dark Fantasy
Company : ITC

Brand Analysis : 529

Sunfeast Dark Fantasy is the story of a brand which started its journey as a sub-brand and later acquired the status of a standalone brand. ITC forayed into the  biscuit market in 2003 and Sunfeast Dark Fantasy was launched in 2005. It was only after four years, that ITC thought of taking the brand to the next level.

Dark Fantasy's success can be attributed to the careful detail with which the brand was built by ITC. ITC took a risk in positioning Dark Fantasy as a premium biscuit brand. The premium space was vacant in the Indian market and marketers was unsure how consumers would react to a premium biscuit offering. 

To do this, Sunfeast tried to build the brand among emotional platform taking on the proposition of   ' Indulgence'. So here is a biscuit which would appeal to your sensuous self and take you through an experience of indulgence. It was a risky proposition and ITC backed the theme through some heavy campaigns. 

The brand had the tagline " Pure Indulgence " when it was launched. The USP was the packaging. Dark Fantasy in a way assured in a new wave of packaging in the biscuit market. The bold use of colors and calligraphy supplemented the brand's positioning as a premium biscuit. Later the tagline was changed to " Escape into One ". Dark Fantasy had twin packaging - there is an outer cardboard box and individual choco fills had wrapper packaging. That gave the brand a premium feel.

Watch the ad here : Dark Fantasy 

Rather than restricting itself as a premium biscuit, Sunfeast Dark Fantasy tried to create a space for itself by launching a new variety called Choco fills. Choco Fills are essentially biscuits with   chocolate filled inside. Although these types of biscuits were available, through smart packaging, Dark Fantasy brought lot of interest into this category. Now choco-fills are very popular that competitors like Parle had to launch a new brand in this category.

Buoyed with the customer response to Choco Fills, Sunfeast has extended this packaging strategy to its Cookie category by launching Delishus brand of cookies.
Dark Fantasy can be termed as a packaging success story. The brand has showcased the power of packaging and its influence in the positioning and brand image. Its not the first time that ITC has leveraged the power of packaging , it had tasted success in the FMCG category with Fiama and Vivel which differentiated  through smart packaging..The success of Dark Fantasy has created a freshness wave in the biscuit category with lot of colors and forms emerging from the leading brands. For consumers, shopping for biscuits is becoming  a delightful experience.  

Hero Maestro : Such a Boy Thing !

Brand : Meastro
Company : Hero Motocorp

Brand Analysis  : # 528


Maestro, launched in early 2012, was Hero Motocorp's answer to its erstwhile partner Honda's market leader offering Activa. After the break-up of the JV, Hero Motocorp wanted to take the fight into Honda's stronghold in the Indian scooter market.

Maestro looks and feels the same as Activa and comes with the same technology . Maestro was launched not as a unisex scooter but explicitly as a masculine scooter. This was probably inspired by the success of Hero Pleasure which was launched as a girl's scooter.

Maestro has the tagline of " Such a boy thing " and the campaign highlights the features that would appeal to young men. It is interesting to see the strategy of Hero to attack Honda's Activa not directly but through two brands - Maestro and Pleasure which are segmented on the basis of gender.

Watch the tvc : Hero Maestro

Priced at par with Activa, Maestro has generated considerable interest in the consumers primarily because of the long waiting period for Activa.  The launch campaign is surprisingly not masculine and Hero doesn't want to push the product as  masculine although the tagline says so. The brand doesn't want to put-off those who want  a scooter which can be used by all members of the family.

Although I started to write about Maestro highlighting its gender based segmentation, a surprising article caught my mind : read it here

In a classic case of Osborne Effect  , the company had already announced that Maestro will be phased out soon . Its ironic that the announcement is done in the same year of Maestro's launch. Customers who bought Maestro has been left dumbfounded  by this announcement. In many forum's like Team BHP, new buyers has expressed their feelings of being cheated . Obviously when products are phased out, new buyers often feels cheated but this is a product which is in the introductory stage and suddenly the company announces that this product is going to be killed soon .

Having said that, Hero Motocorp which had established itself as a reliable and dependable market leader hopefully will not let the customers of this brand stranded without any support.

In this digital era, it is important for brands to hold on to its common sense while sharing information. Over 80%  of prospective automobile buyers search for information in internet before purchases. And the official press release of phasing out of Maestro will not miss the discerning eye and surely a customer is lost. 

And what business sense does it make to launch a product along with the announcement that it will be phased out ? Its not planned obsolescence where products are phased out in a planned manner and after it reaches some stage in the life-cycle. 

Maestro , as reviews say , is a good product that provided some credible alternative to the market leader Activa. But the company itself has digged the grave for Maestro. How sad !

Cobra Deo : The King of Deos

Brand : Cobra Deo
Company : VI-John

Brand Analysis : # 527

Its raining deo brands in the Indian market. 

Another player,same story. 

VI-John which had made a splash in the men's grooming market with its shaving cream and SRK endorsement has launched its deo branded Cobra. 

I wonder whether there is a conspiracy hatched against the market leader Axe. My conspiracy theory is that all the local FMCG marketers together decided that every deo brand that will be launched in the Indian market will have the same positioning of a " female attraction" . At the end of it, consumers will puke at the sight of Axe and Axe-girls. ( pun intended)

Other wise how can every brand is launching with the same hopeless positioning ? Are all targeted males are begging for a product that can attract females ?

Cobra has found its celebrity endorser in Emraan Hashmi. The brand is running its launch campaign with a television commercial which can easily be rated as one of the hopeless ones in recent times.

Watch the ad here : Cobra ad

The ad is too horrible to be analyzed but it has to be noted that its not these brands that should worry, rather Axe ( the reigning market leader) is the brand that should be worrying.

The plethora of brands that is harping on the ' female attraction' is going to wipe Axe out of the market in the coming years. The brand Axe is already facing heat with Fogg deo matching the market share in certain markets.

The new brands  flooding the market with heavy advertising and huge channel margins will be happy with some share of the pie. My assumption is that these brands outsource the entire production and their main task is to market. And whatever little share will more than make-up their costs. 

Axe has tried to counter by launching new copy-cat campaign featuring Ranbir Kapoor. That shows the desperation coupled with laxity of the leader in responding to the competitor threat. 

Cobra was a name better suited for a condom  or an aphrodisiac brand name.The campaign also was made in he same lines. These brands know that the market leader is vulnerable and it is the right time to strike. 

And it is the right time... 

Brand Wars : Sensitive Toothpastes

Indian toothpaste market is worth Rs 6000 crores ( Source Business Line) and growing at 20%. Colgate has been the undisputed market leader in this market.. Competitors has been trying to make a dent in the share through almost every strategy listed in marketing textbooks.

It was an unlikely player- Glaxo Smithkline Beecham (GSK ) which really broke into the stronghold of Colgate. GSK in 2010 brought its global dental care brand Sensodyne into the Indian market. The sensitive toothpaste segment was very small and almost unknown to the larger Indian market. Colgate had presence in that niche with its variant Colgate Sensitive. 

Sensodyne surprised the market by capturing 10% of the segment within 4 months on launch. The heavy awareness campaign made customers take notice of the brand.The campaign featured " Chill Test " where the customers who had sensitive teeth were asked to tryout chilled products after using Sensodyne. The ads were very convincing and prompted many customers to try Sensodyne.Besides the Above-The -Line ( ATL) promotion, GSK also contacted around 15000 dentists to promote Sensodyne ( Source- TOI). In one year, Sensodyne became a 100 crore brand and the Sensitive toothpaste market was growing at more than 45 % p.a.

Colgate being an agile marketer was not keeping quiet . The brand launched another variant Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief inorder to arrest the growth of the competitor.Both the brands benefited by the growth of the category which has grown to about Rs 500 crore. Sensodyne inched very close to the market-leader and at one point became the leading brand in the sensitive toothpaste category. According to reports, Sensodyne and Colgate Sensitive are now having almost same market share in the category. 

Pepsodent from HUL also got into the fray with its variant Pepsodent Expert.While every brand focused on providing relief from sensitive teeth, Pepsodent differentiated by offering  ' relief and repair'  to the consumer. This move by Pepsodent forced the players to rethink their offerings. In the latest campaign, Sensodyne has added the 'repair' proposition to the brand's positioning thereby achieving points-of-parity with Pepsodent Expert brand. 

Sensodyne success can be seen as the success of a specialist brand's fight with a product-line extension. Consumer's view Sensodyne as an expert in the field and hence the claims are more effective compared to the product-line extensions. However, Colgate and Pepsodent were quick enough to retaliate to the entry of Sensodyne albeit with little success.

The fight in the toothpaste segment became more interesting with the launch of Paradontax by GSK. Another specialist brand against bleeding gums. The war has just began. 

Brand Update : Cadbury Bournville says its "Not So Sweet " but why ?

Cadbury Bournville launched in 2009 created a new market for premium dark chocolate in Indian market. The brand smartly positioned itself as THE premium chocolate with a tagline of " You don't buy a Bournville , you earn it ". The launch and follow up campaign effectively conveyed the positioning.

But the 2013 campaign comes as a shocker. The brand has ditched the " You have to earn it " positioning and took on something very peculiar - the new tagline is " Not so Sweet".

The new tvc is equally intriguing.

 Watch the new tvc here : Bournville tvc

The question is why a brand like Bournville ditch such a powerful positioning statement and replace that with a dud !

Not so sweet !! now everyone knows dark chocolate is not that sweet so in this ad, what exactly the brand is conveying - only the agency and the brand manager knows. I presume that this ad is directly imported from some other market and put in the Indian media without much thought. The ad is totally disconnected with the Indian market and fails to evoke anything in the consumer's mind. At end of it the question remains " What the heck ?

 Saving cost by killing the brand ?

Related brand

Bournville : You have to earn it 

Brand Update : Axe disappoints with Ranbir doing a Ben Affleck

Axe deo is facing the fiercest competition  in its life in India with local and MNC deo brands breathing down its neck. According to certain reports that came in ET Now's Brand Equity show, the brand had lost its leadership position in the Indian market to the new entrant Fogg.

One of the reason for the trouble is that Axe's positioning has been under threat. almost all deo brands has been aping the positioning theme of Axe thereby diluting the brand's uniqueness in the Indian market. Axe was not able to do much about it and continued with its strategy of frequent launches of new variants and importing ads from its global markets.

For a change, Axe decided to go local in its promotional strategy and roped in the current Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor to endorse the brand. The news came as a surprise since Axe never ( in my knowledge) ran a campaign using a celebrity in India.
Axe launched its new variant Axe Blast with the new celebrity endorsement . The ad is currently on air.

Watch the ad here : Axe Ranbir Ad

What was shocking is that the ad is the exact copy of an older ad ( more than 7 years) of Axe Clicker which is a variant available in markets outside India. The Axe Clicker brand featured Ben Affleck .

Watch the ad here : Axe Ben Affleck

Now if the brand Axe can afford to bring Ranbir to the fold, why did the brand chose to just copy an old theme and present it in the Indian market ? 

Its so cheap a strategy to adopt in an era where information is available to everyone. And its a totally a wrong move when the competition is eating away the share. Ranbir will get eyeballs and may in the short-run help the brand to reinforce the existing awareness.The  current approach is sending warning signals regarding the laziness of the marketing department in attempting to find an easy way out rather than brainstorming on developing a differentiation strategy to take on the competition.

Engage Deo : Couple Deodorant !

Brand : Engage
Company : ITC

Brand Analysis # 526

When a company like ITC launches a product, there is anticipation that the product will be remarkable and will make significant impact on the category in which it is launched. Because of the size of ITC and the marketing power it has, most of the time, the brands do make an impact on the category . Brands like Sunfeast, Fiama etc has proved the marketing acumen on ITC.

So naturally when news spread that ITC is foraying into the deo space , such an anticipation is natural. ITC entered the Rs 1400 ( approx) crore Indian deo market with its Engage brand recently. The launch ads are right now on air. The launch campaign however was disappointing because I expected something unique and different from the rest of the deo brands. But surprisingly, ITC chose to play the same theme which the rest of the deo players are following - the so called " Chemistry " between men and women which is apt for an ad for condom rather than a deo.

Engage is being positioned as India's first ' couple deodorant'. I really don't understand the concept initially but the brand's microsite offers some explanation. These deos come in  three pairs ( hence couple)-Rush ( Male & Blush ( Female), Mate ( male ) and Spell ( Female) and Urge ( male) and Tease ( Female). What I don't understand is whether consumer can only buy these in pairs ( pun intended) ?  And what is that the company is intending to convey ? Is it targeting the married couple who would be buying the pair and thus showing love to each other. What happens if husband like Urge and Wife loves Blush ?? 

The launch campaign was a big dampener . The brand is positioned on the bases of " chemistry between the couples " . The ad mentions that " Love Has An All New Language " which probably is the positioning platform of the brand. However, the romance or attraction or chemistry is the most used theme of all the deo brands and Engage sadly failed to differentiate .The focus on " couple deodorant" also will add trouble to the brand since it may restrict the brand's target segment . Another differentiator is the design. ITC has brought in some freshness in the bottle design that will encourage some trial for the brand. 

Watch the ad here : ITC Engage Deo

I think, ITC has rushed into the launch without creating a powerful differentiator. The brand is now launched as an ordinary deo brands that promises  attraction of opposite sex. The Indian deo market is witnessing commoditisation because there is hardly any difference between the brands either in product or in communication. Fogg brand has moved up in the market giving a run-for-money for market leader Axe because it chose to speak in a different language. Engage sadly failed to offer anything new. 

Celebrity Endorsements of Indian Brands- 2013

1. Frooti : Shah Rukh Khan
2. Thums Up : Salman Khan
3. Pepsi Atom : Sushant Singh Rajput
4. Luminous : Sachin Tendulkar
5. Godrej Group : Aamir Khan
6. Olay : Kajol
7. Britannia Tiger : Salman Khan
8. Wheel : Salman Khan
9. Maggi : Amitabh Bachchan
10. Yathra : Salman Khan
11. Shaadi. com : Chetan Bhagat
12. Lux : SRK, Katrina Kaif
13. Revital : Salman Khan
14. Nerolac : SRK
15. Berger : Katrina 
16. Slice : Katrina
17. Kalyan Jewellers : Amitabh Bachchan
18. Parle Goldstar Cookies : Amitabh Bachchan
19. Toshiba : Sachin
20. Panasonic : Katrina Kaif
21. Kent RO : Hema Malini
22. JK Cement : OM Puri
23. Binani cement : Big B
24. Sony Xperia : Katrina Kaif
25. Nokia : Priyanka Chopra
26. Nikon Coolpix : Priyanka Chopra
27. Garnier men :  John Abraham
28. Maaza : Parineeti Chouhan and Imran Khan
29. Tata Tea : SRK
30. Sparx Shoes : Akshay Kumar
31. Hyundai i10 : SRK
32. Dabur Glucoplus C: Ajay Devgn
33. Coca Cola : Sachin
34. Amul Macho : Saif Ali Khan
35. Onn Innerwears : SRK
36. Dollar Innerwear : Akshay Kumar , Prabhudeva
37. Dixcy Scott innerwear : Salman Khan
38. Orient Fans : MS Dhoni
39. Limca : Kareena Kapoor
40. Macroman Innerwears : Hrithik Roshan
41. Mountain Dew : Hrithik Roshan
42. Rado : Hrithik Roshan
43. Titan Raaga : Katrina Kaif
44. Honda Dream Yuga : Akshay Kumar
45. Appy Fizz : Saif Ali Khan
46. Berger Paints : Katrina Kaif
47. Nerolac Paints : SRK
48. Rasna : Virendra Sewag
49. Revital : Salman Khan
50. Cinthol : Virat Kohli
51. Xylys Watch : Farhan Akthar
52. Nescafe : Deepika Padukone, Karan Johar, Purab
53. Gujarat Tourism : Big B
54. Luxor Nano Clean : Big B
55. Colgate : Sonam Kapoor
56. BrookeBond Taj Mahal : Madhuri Dixit
57. Lakme : Kareena Kapoor
58. Bru Coffee : Imran Khan, Anushka Sharma
59. Lo'real : Aishwaria Rai Bachchan
60. Mirinda : Asin
61. Tanishq : Sridevi
62. Danone Milk : Karishma Kapoor
63. General A/C : Sania Mirza
64. 7 UP : Puneeth Rajkumar
65. Parachute Advansed : Deepika Padukone
66. Dabur Babool : Irfan Khan
67. Nutrogena : Prachi Desai
68. Toyota Etios Liva : Virat Kohli
69. Kellogg's : Juhi Chawla
70. Nestle Munch : Virat Kohli, Vijender 
71. Appolo Munich Health Insurance : Sourav Ganguly
72. Wild Stone : Dia Mirza
73. Fair & Lovely : Virat Kohli
74. Snickers : Rekha, Urmila
75. Sugar Free : Akshay Kumar

..... To be continued

Missed out many , please contribute to this list

Brand Update : TVS Wego wants you to Find Your We Time

TVS Wego , launched in 2011, was an earnest effort by TVS to garner a fair share of the Indian scooter market which was dominated by Honda's Activa. The brand had a high profile launch with a campaign pitching on one feature - Body Balance. 

Two years down the line, Wego although had a good start failed to make a significant impact on the scooter market ( source). The customers were not that impressed by the way the company had tried to convey its message through the launch campaign.

In 2013, TVS is running another campaign with a new theme - We Time. The new thinking is probably the result of a new agency ( Dentsu India) handling the account. In India we see the phenomenon of changes in brand positioning as and when the advertising agency is changed.

However, the new agency had thankfully changed the positioning away from the body-balance theme upon which the product was pitched. The new campaign takes a holistic view of the product features and takes the pitch above the features into what they call- We Time. I think the brand wants to convey that the scooter is so agile that the obstacles are easily evaded.

Watch the ad here : TVS Wego We Time

Body Balance is still the USP for the brand however, the brand has sidelined it in the commercials. There is still no WoW factor in the product that will hook customers to it. The new ad is watchable but doubt still persists whether the brand has made a strong case for itself against the leader - Honda Activa ?

Related Brand
TVS Wego : Body Balance

Tata Motors : What ails the brand ?

India's largest automobile company is struggling with its passenger car business. The company which owns best selling ( once upon a time) brands like Indica, Indigo, Safari and the " Iconic" Nano is finding it difficult to sell their cars in a market which is diesel crazy. Isn't it ironic that Tata Motors is not at the top of a market where diesel models are selling like hot cakes ?

I was reading a very critical piece of analysis in Forbes India ( read here) which throws in many pertinent issues. My two cents is that there is a larger issues of marketing in play here. Tata Motors has a big marketing problem and the company is not doing anything on that. It is sad.

Tata Motors virtually changed the Indian passenger car market in 1998 with the launch of Tata Indica. Although Indica faced lot if teething issues , the brand became a trail-blazer creating the diesel car segment which is affordable and durable. But along with the success came the baggage of perception. Indica despite being highly successful was perceived to be a car riddled with nagging problems. The lack of refinement and the not-so-perfect build quality became the hallmark of Tata passenger cars. Consumers accepted those nagging issues because the value offering was so good.

But market began to change with competitors catching up with better quality diesel engines and superior built quality. Tata motors , in my opinion,  was  stuck in the past. Although the company came out with product refinement, it failed to make the quantum leap in changing the perception problem.

Now a time has come where Tata cars are not in the ' choice list ' of the customers. It is a grave problem that needs to be addressed quickly other wise the firm will enter into a league of Ambassadors and Premier Padminis.

 Tata Motors need a new face. The company is desperately trying to improve upon the Indica platform which has a huge perception issue. If the firm wants to get back into the game, it needs a new brand which is distinct from Indica and Vista as a brand has not been effective since it was launched as a sub-brand of Indica. So a new product with a new brand would be the ( expensive) option available for Tata Motors to make a comeback. At the product level, nothing less that a sort of quality revolution is needed to bring consumers back to Tata showrooms. Aria was a leap in terms of built-quality but priced beyond common sense.

The product related drive should be followed by a strong branding campaign for Tata Motors to change the quality perception. This should be  backed by a strong change in attitude of dealers towards Tata Motors ' customers. The dealers still live in the era where there is a beeline of customers for Indica. That attitude needs to be changed and a strong responsive action at the moments of truth touchpoint is needed in this crisis.

Tata Motors need a strong product pipe-line backed by a strategy to change the perception of the market towards its products. This needs to be addressed at the highest level and Tata Motors has the wonderful JLR resource to do this within no time.

Market Statistics : Indian Fitness-Wear Market

Business Standard dtd 17/05/2013 puts the Indian fitness-wear market at a whopping Rs 4000 crore growing at the rate of 25% per annum. The market is dominated by shoe category. The report says that the traditional audience for this market is youth aged 15-35. Marketers opine that the segment now includes older adults because of the increased awareness towards fitness. Global brands like Nike, Reebok, Puma, Fila etc are vying for their share in this market. 

Fiat : It is the Service, Stupid !

Corporate Brand : Fiat
Brand Analysis Count : 525

World's 7th largest automotive company, a company that markets iconic brands like Ferrari , a company whose diesel engine powers the best selling hatchback ( marketed by a competitor) is having a market share of ~0.3 % share in World's 5th largest automobile market. Isn't it ironic !

Fiat had so far three avatars  in the Indian market. In its first avatar , the company licensed its product to an Indian company Premier Automobile Ltd. Premier sold these cars under the brand name Premier Padmini and Premier 118 NE. That was in the early 1990s.

In the next avataar, Fiat came to India as Fiat India Automobile ltd ( FIAL) in 1997 . During those times, the company launched Fiat Uno in India. The product although  had a dream launch with over 30,000 booking , the dream went sour since Fiat's partner PAL couldn't deliver the orders. The lack of delivery created a backlash from the customer. 

Besides once the product was in the market, there was a feeling that Fiat bought an outdated model to India.

In 1997, Fiat formed a JV with Tata Motors to jointly manufacture and distribute cars in India. Under the JV, Tata Motors would allow Fiat to use its dealers for selling the Fiat models. The Fiat engines were inturn used in Tata Motors models like Indica, Manza etc.

Fiat launched Palio during these times. Palio initially gained lot of customer attention. The brand was endorsed by Sachin Tendulkar. The car earned a reputation for being a very sturdy car with a good engine. During this time a sedan brand Sienna was also launched. But yet again, Fiat was not able to build on the momentum generated by the initial launch of these cars. 

In the  early 2010, the company launched two modern models Fiat Punto and Fiat Linea. These cars had drop-dead gorgeous looks and like any other Fiat launches, gained lot of customer interest but again the take -off in sales never happened. 

In 2012, the Tata Motors -Fiat JV collapsed. According to newsreports, Fiat is now on its solo life in India and has incorporated Fiat Group Automobiles India Pvt Ltd as a fully owned subsidiary . 

It is interesting to note that India's best selling car brands run on Fiat's engines. The best sellers like Maruti Swift , Dzire, Indica, Manza all run on Fiat engines but how come Fiat is not able to produce a best-seller. 

Only one reason- commitment. Fiat so far was trying to avoid committing itself to Indian market. It never had a serious intention to build itself in the Indian market. When companies like Ford, Tata Motors, Maruti etc had took pains to establish dealerships and service centres all across the country, Fiat opted to take a short-cut by roping in partners who never delivered. 

Service is a very big component in the decision making process of a car buyer. Its common sense that Indian consumers who typically kept a car for more than five years ( earlier even 15 years) look for a trusted brand who offered good service back-up. That is why despite all short-comings, Maruti still rules the Indian market with more than 60% share
Fiat's biggest mistake was its lack of service support for the consumers. It had all the time to build a robust network atleast in the key markets. But rather than that Fiat outsourced a very critical component of a automobile brand's building block.
Fiat had realised this and is now building its own channels and it is not easy. Concurrently, the brand is trying to build its trust back through campaigns pitching its two models Punto and Linea.
Watch the ad here ; Fiat Corporate campaign
Fiat has taken the slogan " Make the Move" urging consumers to take the leap of faith and buy a Punto or a Linea. But Faith needs to be built in the mind of the consumers through actions and ads only serves to reinforce the faith.

Fiat, due to its lack of commitment  , was never in the choice list in the buying process of an average Indian consumer. The typical reaction was " the car is good but I am worried about service ". It takes lot of time and effort to change that. 

MeriiBoy Ice cream : Fighting Frozen Desserts

Brand : MeriiBoy
Company : Cousin's Group

Brand Analysis Count : 524

MeriiBoy is a brand from my home state Kerala. The brand is an interesting marketing story because it virtually changed the perception about ice-creams in the consumer's mind to a certain extent. The brand was created in 2003 as a part of the diversification of the parent group which was in the plastic moulding business.

MeriiBoy is interesting because it is on a task of educating the consumers about " real" ice-cream. The brand is positioned on the fact that it is made of pure milk and hence it is THE ice- cream. Most of the brands that is perceived to be ice-creams are " Frozen Desserts ". 

So what is the difference between Frozen Dessert and Ice Cream.

According to Prevention of Food  Adulteration Rule 1955 , Ice-cream is a product which contains not less than 10% of milk fat while Frozen Dessert contains vegetable fat ( source Business Line)

Many so called ice-cream brands are selling frozen desserts in the pretext of ice-creams because of the perception factor. No frozen dessert brands have advertised themselves as a part of the frozen dessert category and played on the consumer's inclusion of frozen desserts as a part of the ice-cream category. And till brands like MeriiBoy began to advertise the difference between the ice-creams and frozen desserts, consumers were not much bothered since these tasted quite similar .  

What Meriiboy has done was to run campaigns not only highlighting the difference between these two products and also subtly hinting that frozen desserts are less healthy than ice-creams since it contains vegetable oil (fat). Many frozen dessert's marketers has since then objected to this pitch with complaints to ASCI. 

However, the campaign has  created lot of buzz in the consumer's mind. MeriiBoy succeeded in creating a space in the consumer's mind as a brand which is " real" ice-cream . Ofcourse brands like Amul also was in the fore-front in creating the perception of " real ice-cream" . Infact Amul ice-cream's tagline itself is " Real Milk, Real Ice-cream". But in terms of share of voice, MeriiBoy has been quite vocal about the claim of being a real ice-cream.

Will this strategy work in the long term ? 

Having the positioning of  " real ice-cream " is a credible proposition now since not many brands now can claim that positioning. The task is to convert the awareness generated by the campaigns to real sales. This can be done only with a strong distribution back-end. Now although MeriiBoy has a presence in major shopping centres, it has not been able to built strong dealer network in the state. Given a choice between a frozen dessert and ice-cream, my hunch is that consumers will prefer an ice-cream. But the brand ought to be available to give that choice. That is not an easy task for a small brand like MeriiBoy. 

Monkey 555 Brooms : Branding a Commodity

Brand : Monkey 555 brooms
Company : Vibhava Industries, Hubli

Brand Analysis Count : # 523

It takes lot of guts to venture into branding a commodity. It requires more than guts to brand your product as Monkey 555. Meet a unique brand " Monkey 555 " - brand of broom sticks which the company sells nationwide. 

I was surprised to see the ad of a grass broom brand on the back-page of a leading Malayalam weekly . The brand name was too loud to be missed by anyone. The offer was buy a broom and get a dust-pan free. This evoked lot of laughter from the ladies at home.

The brand name of Monkey555 is very unique and I am sure there will be some story behind that name however when one starts advertising this brand, it evokes some amount of laughter.There was a period in Indian branding scene where companies used the name of animals and birds as brand names. Eg: Robin Blue, Camel, Kiwi, Lion Dates. Even now firms use such names as Mango , LMN etc so why not Monkey !

Probably this Quirky name may benefit the brand in creating " stickiness" or awareness.The logo of the brand is a monkey sitting on a brand with a broom .  The picture of the ecstatic lady with the broom adds to the fun.All these, although seems funny, makes this brand a little different. Sometimes being funny or quirky is the best way to break the clutter.

Brooms are a  commodity. No one really cares what brand of brooms that they buy. Although I have heard ladies at home complaining about the broom's quality, purchase of brooms were never on brands. Ofcourse, there is a new set of household mops from the likes of 3M which is carving a niche in the market.

In my home state Kerala, the popular brooms were made from Coco- sticks. But increasingly the coco-stick based brooms are being replaced by the grass brooms especially for use inside the home.

Monkey 555 brooms are priced at around Rs 55 which makes it expensive compared to other brooms. The brand has tried hard to convince the customer about the quality of the broom through the copy in the packing. One blogger has written a funny piece on the same ( read here)

Monkey 555 boasts that it is made of the finest " Garo Hill Grass" which refers to the place in Assam and North-East where these grasses are cultivated in plenty. Secondly the brand talks about quality handle which is perfumed !. Monkey 555 also claims to be the largest selling grass-broom brand in India .

What ever said and done, Monkey 555 is a bold move indeed. The brand may be releasing one or two such campaigns ( or ads) but it is sufficient to create the awareness and probably the consumer may chose this brand from the market when the need arises.

  

Brand Update : 7 Up , I feel Down !

7 Up's 2013 commercial is undoubtedly the worst campaign I have seen in the recent times. Especially the ad featuring Kathakali - which is a very revered art-form of my state Kerala.

This feeling has been shared by many of my friends who felt that the art-form was cheaply depicted in the advertisement. Ofcourse the creatives who did the ads have every right to do their stuff but it should make some marketing sense . I felt bad not because of any soft-corner for the artform but the ad makes no sense at all. 

Watch the ad here : 7 Up Kathakali

                              7 Up Japanese Ad

The brand has been losing its charm these years and is struggling for finding a meaningful mindspace. The last campaign was featuring the bollywood actor Sharman Joshi . The brand is right now having the tagline : 7 Up : I feel up.

The current campaign is plain amusing than anything else. Both the Kathakali and Japanese ad does not convey what the brands aims to communicate. Its sad that a brand like 7 Up can stoop to such a creative low when competition is too hot.

B'lue : At Your Best , Hamesha

Brand : B'lue
Company : Danone Narang Pvt Ltd

Brand Analysis Count : # 522

Danone, the French foods major has launched a new product in India branded as  B'lue. B'lue is a restorative water drink enriched with proteins and minerals. With the launch of B'lue, the Rs 10,000 crore packaged drinking water market is going to see the emergence of a new segment.

The bottled water segment has more than 3300 registered plants manufacturing this product. The branded segment is lead by Bisleri followed by Kinley and Aquafina. 

 The popularity of the bottled water among the Indian consumer has prompted the market to explore the possibility of fortified water based drinks. These drinks have the advantage of " healthy" tag since it is devoid of any additions compared to the bevarages like colas.

B'lue hence can be termed as the first brand to nationally launch a water based restorative drink. The brand is running a campaign across television channel featuring the celebrity Vir Das.

Watch the ad here : B'lue ad

The ad positions the brand as a drink that makes you alive, restores the freshness naturally. The brand  is  launched in two flavors - Apple and Guava.The brand has the tagline " At Your Best , Hamesha".

The price of B'lue is Rs 30 for a 500 ml bottle.

The challenge for the brand is to convince the customer to see value in spending Rs 30 for a " small bottle" of water. Why because, the brand has taken membership in the category of " Water" hence naturally there will be comparison with the ordinary 1 litre bottle which costs Rs 15.

The USP of the B'lue is that it is water-based and is fortified with vitamins and minerals. The target group would be the upwordly mobile consumers who would like to have something more than just bottled plain water . 

B'lue would definitely create a new segment in the other wise boring bottled water market. The young consumers would take a look at this product although the product is priced steeply. The dampener is that the competitor can kill this brand's first-mover advantage by launching a flavored water at a lower price. The current positioning of B'lue doesn't seem to justify the premium and offers room for competitors to move in and kill this brand by predatory pricing. " Fortified with minerals and vitamins " is a claim that can be made by any marketer and thus B'lue lacks a defendable sustainable advantage against competitors. B'lue could have invented some formula or ingredient brand and promoted that as the USP rather than the generic 'vitamins and minerals 'stuff.

With many major beverage marketers have announced interest in the value-added bottled water segment , this will be an interesting segment to watch.

Parodontax : For people who see blood when they brush

Brand : Parodontax
Company : GSK Consumer Healthcare

Brand Analysis Count : # 521

After the success of Sensodyne, GSK has launched another specialist toothpaste in the Rs 6000 crore Indian toothpaste market. While Sensodyne was a specialist for sensitive teeth, the new launch is in the gum-care category. GSK launched its global niche brand Parodontax recently in the Indian market.

The emergence of the niche products like sensitive , gum-care shows the new phase of the evolution of  Indian toothpaste market. According to ET, Sensodyne which was launched two years back is already a Rs 100 crore brand in India. The niche segments are growing at a faster pace than the core segment and marketers are rushing to cash in on this evolution.

Parodontax is a gum-care specialist. The brand is targeting those who are already suffering from bleeding gums. According to newspaper reports, the incidents of gum-related issues is as high as 33% which itself is a huge market waiting to be tapped.
The brand is now promoting awareness about the gum-related issues and advising customers to take bleeding gums seriously. The brand is now running its standard global TVC in the Indian market.

Not to be left behind , the market leader- Colgate has already launched its Pro-gum variant -Colgate Total Pro-gum health . The leader was quick to spot the threat of this GSK to its stronghold in the Indian market. Sensodyn has infact created a dent in the market position of Colgate. Pepsodent also has Pepsodent Sensitive and Pepsodent -G for the sensitive and gum-care segment respectively. Bu the share of noise of Pepsodent is abysmally low in these segments and I feel that Pepsodent has lost out in the race atleast for now.
Alries and Jack Trout had argued that line-extensions tend to be less effective when fighting specialist brands. Here the market leaders are fighting the specialist brands using variants. It remains to be seen how effective these defense would be .

Brand Update : Slice ditches Aamsutra under competitive pressure

The summer of 2013 is witnessing a mega war in the mango drink segment. With Frooti launching their campaign with SRK, Maaza roping in Imran Khan, Slice is facing the heat. The brand has responded with a taste-challenge in their new campaign featuring the celebrity Katrina Kaif.

Watch the campaign - Slice 2013

The new campaign has ditched the earlier positioning of Aamsutra and has gone retro with the blind taste test - literary !. The ad shows Katrina along with the competing brand's model taking a hunk in to the middle of the forest ( why ??) , blind-folded him and perform the taste-test. I didn't knew that Katrina was a market-researcher. The ad finishes with a heavy Hindi tagline " Iske Saamne Sab Pheeka Padh Jayega " which a South Indian like me find it hard to decipher. 

From the ad, I understand that Slice is particularly worried about Maaza rather than Frooti. My assumption is based on the visual showing bottle similar to Maaza in the new Slice TVC.

Maaza and Slice are both positioned based on the " real mango taste". Here through the new campaign Slice is desperately trying to convince the customer that it tastes better than the competitor. How ever, while Slice is telling that it tastes better than competitor, Maaza says it is having the real mango taste. So Slice has made a strategic error in the message. "Real taste of mango " is a powerful positioning than " tastes better than the competitor". So by ditching the Aamsutra, Slice has conceded a valuable space to its competitor especially Maaza. 

Related brand

Slice

Brand Update : Frooti gets juicy with SRK

In a surprising move Frooti, the mango drink from Parle has roped in none other than Shah Rukh Khan as the celebrity endorser. The brand has also brought back the classic tagline " Fresh N Juicy".

Watch the ad here : SRK Frooti

SRK will bring in the boost that the brand needs this summer. The brand owners over the last few seasons were seriously pushing the brand to make it more relevant amidst the clutter. Over the last few years, the brand has been targeting the new generation through some clutter-breaking campaign.

There is no need to say that SRK will take the brand back to the limelight. The agency should be credited in making the ad fresh and interesting. 

 For a brand like Frooti , the challenge is not to build awareness but keep the consumer interested in the brand. Brands like Frooti which was launched in 1984 enjoys tremendous recall and recognition. But over these years, consumers can lose interest in the brand due to various reasons. For a brand which is more than 22 years old, staying relevant and interesting is a herculean task. Since there is limited scope of innovation in the product-front, the only scope for innovation is in the promotion. 

This time around, Frooti was able to keep the interest level really high . 

Related Brand

Frooti - Fresh N Juicy

Brand Update : Virat says Alive is Awsome

Move over Hrithik Roshan, welcome Virat Kohli. In its struggle to stay relevant to youth, Cinthol has now a new celebrity endorser in Virat Kohli. The tvc featuring Virat is now on air

Watch the new ad here : Cinthol Virat Kohli

The ad is different and very well executed. I liked the twist in the ad and to the credit of the agency, the ad does justice to the new positioning of Alive is Awesome. But like the previous campaign, the character should avoid saying the tagline because it looks very artificial when someone says Alive is Awesome. Rather, a powerful visual with the voice-over of the tagline would have been perfect.

What Cinthol needs is not a heavy dose of celebrity but some serious execution of its positioning. Celebrities ofcourse add a little attraction to the campaign but its not the celebrity that matters.

Cinthol seems to have stumbled upon a sustainable positioning platform of " Alive with Cinthol". The new campaign although singularly focuses on the celebrity rather than the brand ,will help in keeping Cinthol alive for now

Related Post

Cinthol - Alive is Awesome

Brand Update : WildStone gets classy with Dia Mirza

The deo brand Wildstone which has been promising guys that " It Happens" is getting better. This year's campaign features the Bollywood diva Dia Mirza in the latest TVC.

Watch the ad here : Wild Stone Red

The presence of the celebrity gives a class to the ad but the stereotype still is intact. 

The new campaign is for the variant Wild Stone Red. The ad has matured a lot since its raunchy launch campaigns. The current theme of an older , married lady next door getting attracted to the fragrance of Wild Stone is indeed a powerful story . ( interesting analysis at Livemint)

Most of the deo brands are towing the line of seduction and Wild Stone is not different. Now the brand is able to standout because of its execution  in a more sensible manner compared to the rest and more importantly Indianized. 

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Wild Stone

Skore : There's Lot To Be Won !

Brand : Skore
Company : TTK- LIG

Brand Analysis Count : # 520

Skore is the new brand of condoms from TTK group. The brand which aims to be the " Stylish" condom in the Indian market is vying for a share in the Rs 600 crore market . The market is broadly classified into commercial and social segments. Social segment consists of brands which are subsidized/freely distributed by Government or social organizations.  

The condom market was dominated by the social segment till 1990. During the early 90's , private players entered the market and redefined the marketing of this product. From a contraceptive, condoms were repositioned as pleasure-enhancers by the marketers.

I think its the first time that a brand is aiming to segment the market interms of demographics and vocally saying that it is targeting the youth. Whatever the logic is, Skore makes an interesting case for itself.

The brand name is derived from the word Score and here score denotes the number of successes in bed , huh ! ( source)

Just like any marketer who try to woo the young consumer, Skore also talks about being adventurous , exciting and inventive. How the brand is able to communicate this is   debatable.

Its very difficult to differentiate a product like condom.  The innovations are  restricted to the flavors and packaging. Skore also tries to be innovative in these areas. The packaging is trendy and the brand has launched around 7 variants. A look into the product section of this brand's website will confuse you in to thinking that you have entered a fruit-shop rather than a condom's micro-site. The flavors or Skore include Banana, Orange, Strawberry, Chocolate, Blue, Shade and Not-Out.

Skore has tried to be adventurous in its promotion also .The brand's tagline is " There's lot to be won" and openly admits itself to be naughty and bad. The brand exhorts the youngsters that its a naughty world and get ready for that. 

Watch the ad here : Skore 

The ad is nothing great and fall in similar lines. The claim that the brand is targeting youth is not seen in the way the brand has executed the campaign. However the brand has gained traction in the distribution with major retailers stocking it. 

Although the brand claims to be different, there is nothing visibly different about Skore. 

Brand Update : Honda Jazz RIP ( 2009-2013)

According to news-reports  Honda has decided to put curtains to their premium hatchback Honda Jazz. Honda Jazz launched in 2009 was the most expensive petrol hatchback available in the Indian market. The brand was priced in the range of Rs 8- 9 Lakh which was at par with lot of mid-segment sedans.

Although the brand had impeccable Honda Quality, the aggressive pricing made consumers give a luke-warm response to this brand. Only the hard-core Honda fans who wanted exclusivity opted for Jazz.

In 2011, Honda decided to rationalize the pricing of Jazz and reduced the price by almost Rs 1.5 lakh. Despite the price -drop, Jazz was quite expensive and the move was little too late. 

The shifting of Indian consumers to diesel cars coupled with new launches and offers from quality brands made Jazz less relevant to Indian consumer. The diesel-focused Indian car market has been giving lot of problems for  Honda . 2013  will see Honda entering the diesel car market with its Amaze brand. Honda is also rejigging its product offering and Jazz did not fit into the new plans. Although reports suggest a relaunch of Jazz in 2014, the brand is now dead for all practical purpose.

Things would have been different if diesel and petrol prices were the same in India. Had it been like that  Jazz would have found some takers . But the huge price differential between diesel and petrol is giving nightmares to companies like Honda who was late in developing diesel engines for India.  I thought that Jazz would come with the diesel version once Amaze is launched but surprisingly Honda decided to kill this brand and concentrate on the new launch.

Jazz is a lesson for marketers who in their aggression turn a blind eye towards value. Brands should first convince the customers about the value  it offers and then take pride in that. But being aggressive just because there is a well respected brand name is a big mistake. 

Related Brand

Honda Jazz

Brand Update : Dettol is also a Dishwash ??

Economic Times reports that Reckitt Benckiser has decided to extend the popular Dettol brand to Dishwash category. This will be one of the bizarre brand extensions I have seen in the last few years. Now we can see supermarkets having Dettol bathing Soap and also Dettol Dishwash  placed near to each other.  ( ET Report)

The reason behind the extension is simple. According to ET, the dishwash category is worth Rs 2000 crore and the category is dominated by HUL with its Vim brand. Reckitt is now pitching Dettol against the Vim brand. 

While Dettol is a brand which was able to leverage the brand's germ killing proposition to various categories like soap, handwash etc, it has not moved into toilets or kitchen. Now we are going to see this brand extending its reach to kitchen. According to the report, Dettol's entry into the dishwash will be using the sub-branding strategy - Dettol Kitchen . Dettol Kitchen will share the same positioning of germ killing and will be competing with Vim and Exo. The first product will be a Dishwashing Gel ( multi-purpose cleaner).

Can a soap brand share its name with a dishwash ?? Dettol seems to think that since the positioning is the same, it may not be a concern to the consumers. My take is that Dettol's entry into Kitchen will affect the premium image of Dettol.  I don't think that a brand which has dishwash gel or a toilet cleaner can retain its premiumness for its bathing soap brand-extension. Since Dettol has a very strong equity, erosion will be felt slowly. Secondly the message for a dishwash product would also talk about strong cleaning ability . So if Dettol is going to claim that it will remove the toughest of the dirt/stains, how would a consumer of Dettol soap perceive that message ? 

If Dettol can extend to Dishwash, can Vim extend to bathing soap ?? 

How about Pril Bodywash ??? 

Harpic Beauty Soap ??

I hope HUL will not react by launching Lifebuoy Dishwash gel. 

Brand Update : Sprite continues its Bakwaas

If ads are any indication of brand's strength, Sprite is in deep trouble. Ever since the brand discarded its 

 "N o Nonsense " positioning , the brand has been struggling with its message. In that process, Sprite has just become another softdrink brand which promises instant attraction of females.

This summer of 2013, Sprite again went one notch down in the creative execution of the core brand mantra . The tvc is a huge disappointment and virtually kills all the equity that the brand gained through is previous campaign which talked about Sprite quenching thirst and nothing else.

Watch the new ad : Sprite 2013

 And just look at the totally boring tagline " Chalo apni chaal " which virtually puts the protagonist as a schemer or a trickster which is just opposite to the earlier positioning of the brand as a no-nonsense drink.

The brand owners should have put some kind of quality standards for India's biggest non-cola softdrink's campaign. These kind of campaigns and taglines are ultimately going to make the brand go down interms of  its uniqueness. Now these brands are advertising like deodorants and aphrodisiacs and the primary aim of the protagonist is to get the girl. 

Grow up guys, Sprite bujhai only pyaas, baaki sab bakwaas.

Brand Update : Santoor Extends to Baby Soaps ?

I stumbled upon a commercial for Santoor Baby soap in Facebook, thanks to the tip from Bhatnaturally. I was surprised to see this move from one of India's biggest soap brands - Santoor.
Watch the ad here : Santoor Baby 
A search in Google yielded no results. I assume that the ad is real and Santoor is now test marketing this brand extension in select markets. Since the ad features the South Indian actress Jyothika, Santoor is serious about the new launch.

Indian baby care market is huge with a size of  Rs 3000 crore expected to grow at a rate of 20% according to ASSOCHAM.The baby skin care market is valued at Rs 400 crore and toiletries valued at Rs 380 crore.
Johnson and Johnson has a huge stronghold in this market with a share of over 70% . Many brands like Sparsh from Marico and Babysoft from Wipro tried unsuccessfully to dethrone J&J . It is in this context that Santoor's move becomes relevant and interesting.
Santoor has been very consistent in its positioning. Santoor's core brand's positioning is " for a younger looking skin". The brand through all its campaign effectively reinforced this positioning and became India's second biggest soap brand.
Santoor Baby soap will be trying to leverage this equity . The problem is that Santoor is perceived to be a soap for adults. So when such a brand launches a baby soap, inevitably doubts arises with regard to the mildness of the soap. Wipro earlier tried the Baby Soft brand but couldn't succeed so it is now trying to extend its best brand's equity. The ad shows not an infant but a 2-4 year old kid. So the brand will be trying to target the segment which is slowly growing out of the Johnson and Johnson's baby soap. More over since the child is growing , mothers will not be much bothered about trying out a baby soap from Santoor's portfolio.

Brand Update : Tata Safari rejuvenates through Storme

Tata Safari  which is in a critical stage of its lifecycle has launched the much awaited Storme recently. The new Storme is a completely updated Safari and is expected to bring back the much desired consumer interest .

Tata Safari which is a true-blood Indian SUV failed to capitalize on its long innings and a hard-core fan following. The brand although came up with some wonderful brand campaigns however failed to address the quality issues that nagged the brand from its earlier days. Safari did not have any big mechanical issues but many customers opined that the brand failed to rise itself to the higher standards of quality that the competitors were delivering. But still there were lovers for the brand because Safari had a character which was unique and appealing to certain customers.

Despite the fact that Safari had a distinct brand character, the marketing minds of Tata Motors failed to address the quality issues which was creating a negative perception among the consumers. The laid-back approach of Tata Motors in addressing the nagging issues of Safari virtually put Safari in  to the sidelines .
Safari also failed to see the changes happening to the SUV market in India. The brand failed to see the rise of more compact SUVs and was less aggressive in addressing competition from Scorpio. The laid-back attitude of the brand owners has virtually made Safari a nominal player in a category which it once pioneered.
Although the brand tried to come out with newer versions, most of the changes were cosmetic rather than a radical one.

The new Safari Storme is reported to be a 100% new vehicle rather than a modified Safari. The entire product has been changed for the better. One can only hope that Storme will change the quality perception that is haunting Tata Motors ever since it ventured in to passenger segment.
What is sad about the new Safari is the promotion. Tata Motors has decided to do away with the " Reclaim Your Life " positioning of Safari. Instead, the brand has the tagline " The Real SUV" which I think has undone what ever brand equity which the earlier campaigns has built.
The new " Real SUV " campaign does not give any power to the brand.The promise should be believed by the consumers. In the new market where all global SUV brands are present, Safari's claim to be the Real SUV is only a joke. I don't understand why and how a brand can just discard a powerful story like " Reclaim your life " .
Watch the new campaign here : Safari Storme
The new tagline is big downer for the brand. The brand suddenly switched to a functional positioning from a highly abstract positioning . This sudden shift may confuse the brand's positioning in future.

Tata Motors should be appreciated for investing in Safari and making it survive for the last 15 years. The brand is now pinning its hope on Storme for delivering results. As a die-hard Safari admirer, I too hope the same.

Brand Update : Vespa slashes prices but is it enough ?

According to newsreports, Vespa has slashed the prices of its newly launched scooter by around Rs 6700. Vespa was launched as a premium scooter which is according to the company is  ageless, iconic and timeless. The arrogance that Vespa globally is considered an icon was reflected in the pricing. Vespa launched its 125 cc scooter with a price of Rs 66,600 which was way above the average category price range of  Rs 40,000-50,000.

One would expect that with high price will come all the high-end features but Vespa decided that the premium is for the brand and nothing else.So what was offered to the Indian market was an ordinary scooter with excellent looks, funky colors and a brand.

Despite the high price and ordinary features, Indian consumers gave a warm response to the offer. Newsreports suggest that Vespa was able to sell around 30,000 odd scooters after the launch.

Then came the price cut. Vespa has cited operational efficiency as a reason for the price decrease. The price cut amounts to around 10% and still the scooter is the most expensive in the market . 

Although I don't disbelieve the clam of operational efficiency for the price-cut, I think there is an inherent confusion in the brand regarding its approach to the Indian market. There are also rumours of a mass-market launch from Vespa  aimed at volume. If that is the case, then how will the brand justify the premium for the current offering which is not feature packed.

India is a market where the utilitarian point of view of consumers are very high. Even if consumers splurge crores of money in luxury , the mental accounting regarding the value proposition is very strong. In this information age, it is surprising that Vespa overlooked the value proposition. 

The current price rationalization is not enough to excite the consumers because the value proposition of competitive offerings are more compelling. Ofcourse there is a niche segment who look for exclusivity but going by the noises made by the brand, it looks at volume rather than niche.

Having said that, the current launch can also be viewed as a test dose ( an expensive one) for gauging consumer response to a Vespa offering . The brand can take solace that consumers have viewed the brand in a positive light and has showed genuine interest in  what is being offered. The positioning based on the brand's iconic global status has also well received. May be the brand will reduce its arrogance and offer a better value proposition in future.

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Vespa 

Odomos : Play it Safe

Brand : Odomos
Company : Dabur

Brand Analysis Count : 519

Odomos is a 40 year old brand which has a generic status in the mosquito repellent cream market in India. The brand which was originally from Balsara came into Dabur's fold after the acquisition  of Balsara Hygiene Products  in 2005. 

The household insecticide market in India is worth around Rs 1600 crore. The smallest of the segment in this market is the mosquito repellent cream segment which is of size Rs 50 crore. The largest segment of the insecticide market is that of mosquito coil which is worth Rs 900 crore. Odomos has a virtual monopoly in the cream market.

The small size of the mosquito repellent cream market is the problem that the brand faces. The major challenge is to make the segment grow. Having said that, creams have found lukewarm response from the consumer. The major reason being the questions regarding the efficacy and safety of the product which needs to be directly applied to the skin. 

As a consumer , I too had these questions regarding Odomos. But should say from my experience that Odomos is very effective. But mosquitoes are smarter lot and they know to search and bite on places where Odomos cream is not applied. 

Odomos as a brand has  tried to address this safety issue by getting endorsement from medical associations. The brand prominently displays the message of  being "Skin Friendly " in their packs. Another bold step that the brand took was to target kids. The move is risky because parents would think twice before using Odomos regularly on kids because the perceived risk is too high.

Odoms now has product forms of Cream, Lotin and Oil. Odomos mosquito repellent oil was created to target rural market because oil product form has more acceptance in that market. More over oil applies better on the skin and is more effective in the job.

The brand owners have invested consistently on the brand. The distribution reach is very good for this product. Earlier, one inhibiting factor was the price which has now being resolved. Odomos have come out with smaller packs of Rs 5 and Rs 10 which I would say will encourage more buys.

The challenge for the brand is to make consumer consider Odomos as the primary defense option against mosquitoes. The product  is has maximum utility outside the house and that is why the brand is promoting it for kids who wants to play outside. The brand is also trying to promote its safety aspect through a variant Odomos Naturals which contains Aloe Vera. 

As a user of this brand, these questions are still  there regarding safety. Odomos despite running so many campaigns so far has still not convinced me that it is safe for regular use. The dilemma for the brand is that it cannot harp too much that it is safe because consumers then will think that it is mild and hence may not be effective .

In times where mosquitoes are now immune to coils and vaporizers , Odomos has proven to be a best bet for a good night sleep.