Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Marketing Funda : The cost of Hype

October 6 ,2014 could have been a historical day for Flipkart but in reality, that day proved to be more of a PR nightmare than a marketing success. It may be true that on that day, the company would have emptied its inventory of many products but at the cost of a lot of goodwill .

The huge hype created by Flipkart and the subsequent backlash forces us to refresh some basics in managing expectations. 
One of the classic theories related to expectation and subsequent satisfaction is Expectation-Confirmation Theory ( ECT) . The theory is no rocket science . It simply states that during the pre-purchase stage, the consumer forms expectations either by the conscious act of the marketer or through other means. After the purchase or service encounter, the consumer's satisfaction is decided on the perceived performance of whether the original expectations are confirmed.
Because of the equity established by Flipkart, the consumers expected that on that day 
  • They would get a fair bargain .
  • The site would work perfectly.
  • Orders would be fulfilled.
  • Deal would be fair.
Getting a big bargain is a game. Consumers know that and wouldn't mind if the deal is taken by someone else - its a competition. That's why for many consumers, getting discounts is an ego-satisfying process. But when there are news about price tampering and deliberate price increases     preempting the sale, the issue of fairness becomes dominant. It's here that Flipkart got the stick. Consumers were furious not because they didn't get the deal, they felt cheated because of the fairness- factor. 

Here Flipkart simply took the billion day offer to stratospheric levels that even to the best of the intentions, it cannot be matched. Then in reality the entire sale became a nightmare. 
The lessons learned has to be that marketers need to set realistic expectations ( common sense !). But some times common sense need to be emphasized. 

Sunday, October 05, 2014

Brand Update : Wagon R Teaches How to Manage Product Lifecycle

The festive season of 2014 saw the launch of  limited edition Wagon R Krest. Wagon R which was launched in 1999 is still the 4th largest selling car brand in India. The product is a classic example of how consistent performance + value-for-money positioning will achieve long-lasting success in Indian market. 
Wagon R has become a success because it is one of  the most practical car in the Indian roads. Be it space, comfort or reliability, Wagon R has delivered consistently over the last 15 years.
On the product front, Maruti has been very smart in ensuring that the product and the brand is kept relevant to fit the changing consumer needs.
The brand went for relaunches and modifications in 2003, 2006 and 2010. 
In 2013, Wagon R launched another variant- StingRay with a new positioning to attract the young consumers. 

This year, the company is keeping the PLC rejuvenated by launching a limited edition product branded as Wagon R Krest. The new variant has new front grille, audio system, reverse parking sensors, new seats and some sticker jobs. The new limited edition is priced at a premium of Rs 22000 over the original Wagon R. 

From 1999 to present, the brand has sold around 1.3 million units and counting.  In the branding front, the company had tried to maintain the brand's visibility . Earlier it used the actor Madhavan as the celebrity endorser effectively. More than the brand's campaign, it is the practicality of the product that has made it a best-seller.
Maruti has plans for a diesel version and an AMT version for this brand. This brand will be here for a long time for sure.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Schmitten Chocolate : Love to Love it

Brand : Schmitten
Company : Rajhans Group


Brand Analysis Count : # 550

The Rs 4500 chocolate market has a new player- Schmitten. Schmitten is a Swiss chocolate made in India ! or to be fair, this chocolate is positioned as a Swiss chocolate. The new brand comes from Rajhans group which is a Rs 3500 crore real-estate developer. 

The new brand- Schmitten is positioned as a premium brand competing with the like of Cadbury Silk and Temptation. Schmitten is the mother brand which is being launched as a moulded chocolate like Dairy Milk. Schmitten also has another product - Hoppits which is a bar-chocolate like 5 Star.

According to newsreports, the chocolate although made in India is made with machine imported from Switzerland, Denmark and Germany and uses Ghanian coco beans and Swiss recipe.

Priced at Rs 80 for 70 mg pack, the brand resides at the premium end of the chocolate market.It is priced competitively for a luxury brand.

Schmitten is launched with the endorsement from Priyanka Chopra. The launch campaign is styled as a musical and the brand has the tagline " Love to Love It ".
Watch the ad here : Schmitten 

The basic premise of the brand's launch message is that its a crime to ask for a bite of Schmitten. The brand had a launch teaser campaign where various punishment for taking a bite of  Schmitten is shown.

The musical ad has some kind of a novelty in it but doubt whether the packaging and the ad has succeeded in creating the premium image for the brand. The ad purely talks about the story and doesn't convey any message regarding the USP of the brand.
My take on the launch campaign was that it could have been much better and the premium factor is missing in the ad.

Further the tagline " Love to Love it " is a confusing tagline. What does it actually mean !!
Having said that, since chocolate is an impulse purchase, Schmitten , with its celebrity endorsements would get consumer trials and eventually it is the product performance that is going to be the key. 

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Brand Update : Xcent ropes in Shah Rukh Khan

Xcent launched by Hyundai in the sub-meter category has been well received by the customer. According to newsreport, the brand has sold around 35000 units since its launch. To boost the existing success,the brand now has decided to leverage its prized asset- the brand ambassador- Shah Rukh Khan.  

SRK has been the brand ambassador of Hyundai for the last 16 years. According to NDTV, this 16 years association is a record for any brand-celebrity in India. From the launch of Santro to the i10, SRK has been the integral part of the brand campaign for Hyundai. 
But more than the brand promotion, it is the performance of the products that create success in the Indian auto market.

SRK in the new campaign for Xcent amplifies the brand's promise of " more value for money ". 
Watch the ad here : SRK Xcent
In the new campaign, the brand had added an additional claim of " The real family sedan ". The well made ad pitches the brand against the tough competition from the likes of Honda Amaze, Tata Zest, Maruti Dzire etc. 

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Zorrik 88 : Why this great product is not promoted?

Brand : Zorrik 88
Company : Pidilite
Brand analysis count : #549

There are some very useful products in the market which has great usefulness  and potential but seldom promoted by the brand owners. Zorrik 88 is one such product from Pidilite. I have neither heard of this brand before nor remember seeing any ad. I came across this brand when suggested by a hardware store.
I faced a nagging problem of a rusty and squeaky garage gate. Come rainy season,the gate become rusty and the wheels stuck. Putting lubricating oils seldom gave relief.Then one hardware store suggested Zorrik 88. The pack of the brand says it is a quick maintenance spray that cleans,protects lubricates and displaces moisture. Costing ₹60  for a 32 g bottle I thought of giving a try. A couple of spray into the wheels of the gate and bingo the gates began to roll smoothly without any noise.
A nagging problem solved in a minute.
Zorrik 88 was launched in 2006 and is positioned as a quick maintenance spray.  
I was left wondering why this brand was not promoted because rustiness and squeaky hinges and doors are a common problem in many households. This works better than the messy lubricating oil and has more convenience and ease of use than the oil. The problem with these type of products is that consumers search for these products only when the problem surfaces. There is little chance of consumers stock these product anticipating these issues. However in my opinion,this is a really useful product worth promoting. 

Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Brand Update : Axe finally respond to competition through Axe Signature

So finally a response from HUL to competition. After being relegated to No.3 in the deo market by Fogg and Wildstone, Axe finally launched its answer to the competition- Axe Signature Collection Deo.
It was surprising that HUL which is supposedly the best marketing machine in India took so long to respond to competition. Its almost a replay of the Nirma- Surf episode where the market leader was slow in responding to local competition eventually to find itself dethroned as  the market leader. HUL (in my opinion ) was very slow in reacting to Fogg's entry into the market with the No-Gas proposition. The result is that Axe has been beaten down to number 3 in the market.

Now HUL has responded with a variant branded as Signature Collection. The basic USP is the variant is 3X times more perfume. The brand has the tagline " Don't Fade Away" 

Axe Signature is running its campaign across the channels. The television commercial retains the seduction proposition but is now subtle with that message. The message the new variant is pushing is the long-lasting fragrance. 
Watch the ad here : Axe Signature

The " Don't Fade Away " proposition is smart because that idea is different from the current market leader Fogg's no-gas USP. So Axe is now telling the consumers that it is better than others because other fragrances fade away. The packing resembles Fogg Black Collection cannot be wished away as a coincidence.
Although the message is nothing new, Axe has executed the campaign nicely.
Priced at Rs 225, Axe has priced this variant lower than the competition. 
The entry of Axe into the no-gas segment has market as shift in the market dynamics. The no-gas segment is now growing at 30% and is already worth around Rs 250-300 crore in the Rs 2500 crore deo market. This segment which is now named as body-perfume segment is where all the action is. 

The launch of Signature is expected to arrest the growth of Fogg and Wildstone. Since this is a launch from Axe, old loyalists are bound to try it. Rest is all dependent on the delivery of the promise. 

Positioning Sharing : Axe Signature's long lasting fragrance proposition is not new, the brand Set Wet deo already has the same positioning ( Watch the ad). 
Long-lasting is a widely used positioning. Across various categories brands has been using this positioning and the novelty and believe-ability of this positioning has come down drastically. Pepsodent ( dishum-dishum) , Amaron ( lasts long really long) Colgate Total are some of the brands that share the same positioning.