Brand Update : Cinthol wants to re-invent deo

In an interesting move, Cinthol is trying to change the deodorant game by focusing on the form factor. In the latest campaign, the brand is trying to bring back the focus on the stick form of deodorant. 

During the formative years of the deo market, the deo stick was the popular form of the product. But later the spray form took over the market and the stick faded away.  Although the stick product form was less priced, the spray was perceived to be convenient. The spray did not have that soapy feeling which the stick had. And the deo marketers prompted the consumers to trade up to the spray form.

Cinthol wants to change that game. The new campaign which focuses purely on the form-factor highlights 3 advantages of the stick form -  less priced, skin friendly and 3 times long lasting. 

Watch the ad here : Deo Reborn

The new campaign has used the slogan - Deo Reborn for the new initiative. The brand has taken a risk in pushing for the form-based differentiation since it has the spray form factor in the portfolio. 

The Indian deo market is crowded and confusing with a lot of brands and promises. So the Cinthol's stick form factor push stands out from the crowd at least for a while. Another advantage is that the stick form factor effectively negates the " gas vs perfume " war that is currently going on in the Indian deo market. After Fogg stormed the market with No Gas proposition, every deo brand has joined the bandwagon. In this move, Cinthol has taken the gas out of the spray form-factor. 

It has to be seen how the consumer behaviorally reacts to the new initiative. Marketers had taught the consumers to use the spray and bringing back to the stick form is not easy. 

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

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Cinthol - Alive is Awesome

Brand Update : Cinthol says Alive is Awesome

It is very easy to kill a brand or weaken its positioning. Ignore it, reduce investment and within no time, the brand will fade away from consumer's mind. But to bring a brand from obscurity to stardom is a Herculean task. 

Cinthol is one such iconic brand which now has the daunting task of bringing the old glory back. The neglected 60 year old brand from Godrej's stable saw some activity in 2008 when the brand was re-packaged and Hrithik Roshan was introduced to endorse the brand.  The brand also saw a new tagline " Don't Stop" . Some hope was restored about the brand's future. But alas, the enthusiasm was temporary and the campaign died down. For the last couple of years, the brand went again into slumber except for some sporadic campaigns.

Now with much hope, the brand owners have decided  ONCE AGAIN to reposition Cinthol. The brand will be launching the new campaign soon .

Watch the new ad here : Cinthol campaign

The brand has hit upon a new idea " Being Alive is Awesome ". The ad is targeted at the younger consumers who wants to live their life to the fullest and the brand has tried to squeeze itself in the entire scheme of things. In a sense, the tagline represents the brand essence of  a very active lifestyle. But the question is did the brand used the earlier positioning of  " Don't Stop" to the maximum ? These frequent changes in the tagline and the positioning has affected this brand by confusing the consumers with different messages and brand promises. 

I feel that in the new campaign , the brand is trying little too hard to relate to the new generation. For a brand like Cinthol, it need to resist from trying hard to convince. The lyrics and the singing ( rather screaming) gives me a feeling that the brand is desperate to connect to the new generation consumers. That desperation is sadly visible in the campaign. For example the term awesome is a very visible  and obvious attempt to show that the brand is young. But why try hard ? 

To be fair to the brand, it is a smart idea for the brand to go back to the classic form factor and  packaging.  The classic Cinthol comes in the rectangular bathing bar form while the variants came in the usual  soap form with rounded edges. The brand had earlier retained the traditional paper wrapper to the Classic Cinthol and used the common plastic pack for the variants. Here in the new avatar, the brand uses the  rectangular bar form in all the variants and the packaging is also same as that of Classic Cinthol soap. The form factor can give the brand a unique identity.

Alive is Awesome as a positioning platform makes sense. I hope that in subsequent campaigns, the brand will take this concept to a higher level. Sadly the experience so far suggest that after the initial spurt, the brand has a tendency to go to hibernation. And when it rises again, then there will be a new agency and a new positioning. 

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