Brand Update : Coca Cola to Turn Up Your Day

 This season was a washout season from most product categories. The pandemic forced many firms into crisis mode with no money or energy left for brand promotions. After the massive lockdown has been lifted, things are limping back to normal so is brand promotions. 

Coca-Cola during these periods was steady in its brand promotions. During Diwali 2020, the brand was running a popular campaign featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Paresh Rawal and the theme was focused on relationships.

The best thing about the ads was that the focus was on the brand rather than the celebrities despite the presence of two powerful celebrity brands. Then came the new campaign featuring Ranbir. 

The problem with celebrity endorsement is that there is always a chance that the celebrity will eclipse the brand in terms of screen presence. You have to be very bold and creative to make the brand stand out in the presence of a celebrity. In the current campaign themed Turn Up Your Day, the focus is on the charm of Ranbir rather than the brand even if it is the brand that makes him dance. It is all celebrity when you show the girls head over heels over Ranbir and the poor Coke brand is just rattling in the fridge. 

The new brand tagline is Turn Up Your Day which is a sort of confusing! Internationally the brand is running a campaign Turn Up Your Rythm which links the brand to music. However, we get a dancing Ranbir here in India. 

Brand Update : Thums Up struggling to taste the thunder

 The latest ad of Thums Up featuring the brand ambassador Ranveer Singh is a classic example of (Hyperbole)^2. The stunts make James Bond movies look very realistic. Over the last few years, the brand ( in my opinion) is struggling to find a way to convey the positioning - taste the thunder. The current interpretation of the iconic tagline is coated with unrealism which in a way have diluted the charm of the tagline. 

While the positioning of Thums Up was initially based on the taste, later the brand unnecessarily dropped the tagline and went on experimenting with the positioning and later brought it back. The current positioning is based on the theme of " anything for thums up". The idea was well executed where the celebrity would do anything for the brand. Now also the theme is the same but the focus has shifted to the celebrity rather than the brand.

More and more, the ads have become too unrealistic where consumers will be tempted to discount the brand's message. The same thing happened with Axe with its unrealistic campaigns in the long run took consumers away from believing the brand. Hyperbole or exaggerated advertisements serve the purpose of novelty but should not be at the cost of losing authenticity. Positioning should have some amount of believability and should not be compromised for short-term eyeballs. 

Thums Up now is in a celebrity trap and is not alone. The rival Pepsi now has the erstwhile Thums Up, brand ambassador vouching for it. The brand is now in a position where they cannot afford to think of a campaign sans a celebrity. I think Thums Up, if serious about the survival should reset its current campaign trap and do something different to bring the thunder back. 

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 : 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 : Does Limca Really Needs Kareena ?

The summer of 2012 belongs to lemon based beverages. Marketers are all out to woo consumers through high decibel promotions for lemon based beverage brands. These brands ( once neglected) started to be considered as high growth brands. In BCG metrics terms,Question Marks suddenly became Stars ! The reason is the late realization that Indians have a soft-corner for lemon flavor which was long neglected by maverick marketers who wanted the Cola to rule the market.Now lemon flavored segment is growing at 17-20% annually compared to single digit growth for the Cola brands.

The new Star of the block is the iconic Limca brand from Coca Cola. Coca Cola was reluctantly pushing the brand to the forefront through some well crafted campaigns during the last few years. Although the share of voice was less, the sheer quality of the campaigns lifted the brand to new heights. 

Watch some of these ads here : Limca Ads 2006-10

The campaigns used music very effectively and focused on the concept of freshness . All through these years, the taglines keep on changing from

Fresh Ho Jao

Haseen Lamhaon ko churao

Do Pal Taazgi

Maza taazgi ka

Doobo Taazgi mein

The brand conceived a brilliant imagery of water splashing with some soul-warming music which brought back the magic of Limca. 

This summer, the brand mandarins of Coke decided to change everything. The brilliant idea of a celebrity endorser was conceived and executed. Kareena Kapoor was chosen as the celebrity and the brand owners decided to ditch the earlier positioning and imagery and brought in a new higher order attribute to the brand - Pyaas Badhao where the concept is the brand wants its consumers to thirst for more ( success) in life.

Watch the ad here : Limca  Pyaas Badhao

I somehow feel that despite the best efforts and intention, the campaign lacks the magic. The brand seems to be preaching to consumers which was a drastic shift interms of the personality. Earlier campaigns had full of romance and soft imagery. The new campaign completely lacks any romance and is in the backdrop of sports seems so out of touch with the brand's personality. Kareena holding a limca bottle is not going to create any magic for the brand. Infact, Limca's brand equity which survived Coke's assassination attempt does not need to derive any support from celebrities. To be fair to the brand, Limca had earlier roped in celebrities like Salman Khan, Riya Sen etc to endorse it. 

In one of the reports, the brand owners suggested that the change in the brand strategy was warranted by the aggression of competing brands. However, that does not explain the logic of such a drastic shift in the brand's personality.

Brands exhorting the consumers to scale higher heights is not a new concept.Brands like Horlicks, Bournvita etc pitch on similar lines. Hence Limca's new preaching pitch puts it among the usual crowd not different. But the earlier romantic platform was something unique. I don't remember any beverage brand positioning on a romantic platform.

So uniqueness lost, in the clutter , heavily depended on celebrity for power, will be the outcome interms of the branding. Had the brand used Kareena in a romantic mood with water splashing around, Limca would have broken its own Limca Books of Records ! Alas... its preaching time...

Related Brand
Limca : Lime N Lemony 

Brand Update : Thums Up wants you to live the thunder

This summer , the iconic brand in the Indian soft drinks industry has made a significant change in its positioning. Thums Up, rightly said as India's most resilient brand, is now running a campaign which marks a significant change in its positioning.

Over the last few years, Thums Up has been promoted on the theme where the protagonist ( celebrity) would do anything for his Thums Up. In all the campaigns, the protagonist would do unbelievable stunts to get hold of this Thums Up. The brand lived up to its reputation of being a Macho drink was further reinforced by its powerful tagline " Taste the Thunder".

This summer, the brand owners decided to change the winning formula. The entire brand's communication platform has been changed. The protagonist now does not chase Thums Up. But rather, he gets so excited after having Thums Up that he begins to do the stunts. The brand although retains the tagline " Taste The Thunder" now has another slogan " Aaj Kuch Toofany Kartey Hain ". 

Watch the ad here : Thums Up Live the thunder 

It also seems that the brand has dropped Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador. The new ad features the Telugu super star - Mahesh Babu for the all India campaign.

What is significant in the latest campaign is that the brand's definition of context has changed. The protagonist now possess Thums Up and now he is seeking excitement outside the brand . In my opinion, now the brand is no longer the major focus or the goal in the plot. The ultimate goal of the celebrity is now something other than the brand ( like shortcut /time saving etc) . This is a very significant change in the brand's communication strategy  and not a good idea. While the earlier theme of chasing a Thums Up was unique, the idea of doing stunts after consuming a soft-drink is an old idea. For example , Mountain Dew's campaign of Daar Ke Aage Jeet Hain has the similar concept. I don't understand why a brand like Thums Up chose to ditch its unique communication platform and adapt a also-ran communication theme. Who got bored with the old positioning ?

The only solace is that the brand still carries the iconic tagline " Taste the Thunder "

Related brand

Thums Up

afaqs has a relevant article on the subject - Read it here

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.

Related Brand

Sprite : Teaching Gyaan

Brand Update : Sprite Started Preaching Gyaan !

This summer Sprite has launched a series of campaign under the banner of University of Freshology. This heavily invested high decibel campaign is interesting because it has subtly changed the basic DNA of Sprite ( Indian context). 

Sprite belongs to the sparkling beverages segment which is having a market size of 700 million unit cases and the brand has a market share of 14% . ( Source afaqs). The brand had crafted a special place for itself by differentiating itself as a plain thirst quenching drink.

Sprite gained much traction in the market by promoting simplicity. While the other soft-drinks brand including Coke spend lot of time building hype and building castles on air, Sprite did a contra - thinking and projected itself as a drink that quenches thirst . That plain non-reverence take on the other brands made Sprite a huge hit in the market . 

Sprite was launched with a famous tagline "Bhujaye only pyas , baaki all bakwaas" ( Sprite quenches thirst while rest talk nonsense) .Over these years, the brand experimented with different taglines which were not quite successful as the first one. The brand never the less maintained its posture of a no-nonsense softdrink which was its DNA.

The recent taglines were " All taste, No Gyaan " and "Seedhi baat, no bakwaas, clear hai "

The current campaign of Sprite talks about a hypothetical " University of Freshology " . The University presided by the brand and a fictitious professor will teach youngsters to tackle difficult situations like :-

 How to ogle at girls when you are sitting with your girlfriend ?

How to handle difficult questions especially from papa or mom ? 

etc etc.

Watch the campaign here : Sprite roommate

                                          Sprite Girl friend

                                            Sprite ogling 

Even though the campaign looks quite interesting, there is nothing fresh as far as the big idea is concerned . The idea of a University is pretty stale and has been in the market before in the form of Axe Academy and Horlick's Nutrition Academy  etc. The positioning strategy of a brand posing as an expert is old fashioned strategy.

Here there are two significant changes that has happened interms of brand's positioning. The brand has moved from its core positioning as a Thirst Quencher to Freshness Provider. Thirst and Freshness, although related, are two different platforms. Thirst is a basic need while Freshness is a broader concept  ( benefit). So by shifting focus from thirst to freshness, the brand has made a  significant change in its positioning.But the current positioning has a problem. Another brand from Coca Cola stable - Limca has the positioning based on Freshness. The imagery of water splashing is shown in the commercials of Limca also.Limca has the tagline " Fresh Ho Jao " meaning " Be Fresh " . So is Sprite taking the place of Limca  ? Can two brands from the same company in the same market have same positioning ? Which is more fresh  - Limca or Sprite ? Is Limca on its way out ??? Has the company looked at the similarity in positioning of the brands in their portfolio ? 

Another significant shift is with regard to the brand personality of Sprite. All through the life, Sprite has been a ruthless critic of preaching. It had made sarcastic parodies and spoofs of brands which tried to show off or preach to customers. At one point of time, Sprite even had the tagline  "All Taste No Gyaan " means All taste No Preaching. It is saddening to see such a brand starting a university to teach some Gyaan to the consumers. This is a huge backtracking from the much publicized, much liked DNA of Sprite as a plain Thirst Quencher. The new ads of Sprite even shows the professor having a board which shows Freshology Lessons  ( Gyaan) ! What a paradox.

It is confusing why Sprite thought of such a big shift interms of the brand DNA ? The concept of a honest thirst quencher is a platform which is very strong and relevant. The scope of creative execution was also plenty. Since the brand has strongly associated with that platform, it also acted as a clear differentiator for the brand. If a consumer is asked  about Sprite, he would definitely say that its a clear drink that quenches the thirst , which is a powerful place to occupy in the consumer's mind. I feel that the brand has taken a huge risk in diluting the core positioning and altering the brand personality. The damage will be hard to repair.

Another factor which I have noticed is the audience or the TG which the brand is talking to. Sprite, in its commercials has always been male dominated. In all the campaigns except the Sania Mirza ad, main characters were male but the brand was never perceived to be a drink for men because the ladies were not shown in poor light. But in the latest two campaigns of Sprite, the brand has taken potshots on girls directly which is also a risky move for a gender- neutral product like a softdrink. There was no need to show girlfriends as jealous or boring unless the brand decides to target only male consumers. All though these issues may seem petty, its better to be careful.

The brand also has changed its tagline to " First Drink, Then Think " which may not have much relevance to the brand outside the context of the current campaign. The tagline is neither catchy nor worth remembering unlike the earlier taglines.

All those which has been discussed in this post are changes which have long-term effects. The shift in the core DNA of the brand will dilute the brand's equity which was built over the last 12 years. There is a clear sign of confusion in the brand's vision about its Manthra and Positioning. I think the brand should  First Drink and Then Think ... Clear Hai ?

Related Brand

Sprite

Brand Update : Minute Maid

Minute Maid, launched in 2007 is currently running a new campaign this summer. The brand had caught the Indian consumer's attention through its launch campaign " Where is the Pulp ". The launch campaign was so interesting that it encouraged the consumers to try this international brand from Coca Cola.

The brand had the positioning based on its Pulpy Orangy characteristic . You can really feel the orange pulp when drinking this . This makes the brand unique. The uniqueness makes this brand a niche because there will be many consumers who do not like that pulpy nature of the drink which is Minute Maid's USP.

This summer, the brand is trying to further reinforcing the positioning based on its pulpy-factor. But there is a big difference in the current marketing strategy. If you remember the launch campaign , the strategy was to drive home the USP of the brand. The ad was highly successful in communicating this basic differentiating point. the task of the commercial was to tell the consumer that Minute Maid has more Orange Pulp in it. And the ad communicated it prefectly.

Watch the first commercial here : Minute Maid- Where is the Pulp

The new commercial is now translating this USP into customer benefit. The current positioning is based on the benefit that this Orange Pulp gives to the consumer. The brand promise is that Minute Maid gives you the UPLIFTING Feeling. You feel energized and Uplifted when you drink Minute Maid. So the brand is trying out the equation Pulpy Orange = Uplifting Feeling.

Watch the new commercial here : Minute Maid 2009

The ad is simple and directly conveys the brand's promise. When you drink Minute Maid, oranges comes and lifts you up. The ad backed by good music keeps you glued to the screen and ofcourse there is the temptation to pick up a bottle of the product. A brilliant idea and a very good execution. Kudos to the team.

Related Brand
Minute Maid

Brand Update : Coca Cola

Coca Cola has launched their new campaign in India recently. The new campaign features the brand ambassador Gautam Gambhir and comes with a new positioning.

Watch the new TVC here : Coca Cola

The new campaign is a part of the global communication campaign initiated by Coca Cola known as Open Happiness.The Open Happiness campaign is an extension of the Coke Side of Life campaign of last year. Open Happiness campaign is based on the notion that Coke brings happiness to life. The brand tries to communicate the idea of " Enjoying life's simple pleasures".

In the press release, Coke says that " Central to Open Happiness is the notion of enjoying an ice cold coke and taking a small break from the day to connect with others ".
See the press release here : Open Happiness Campaign

The big idea behind this platform is that Coca Cola offers fun and refreshment whenever you need it.

India is also a market where the company has extended the Open Happiness Communication platform.The latest campaign is the first one on this positioning platform.

And a totally disappointing one. The agency has done total injustice to the wonderful idea that Open Happiness envisages.

Instead of connecting Coke with Happiness , the new ad puts Coke in a dangerous position. The central theme of the new ad is that " Coke ke sath Dost free " means " A friend free with Coke ".

The ad shows Gautam helping out the owner of an deserted store by putting a display that " You get a friend free with Coke " and people starts showing up because of the free offer !!!!

I am not being cynical or critical but here are my concerns about the current theme.

In my little understanding about the Indian youth psyche , the new generation youngsters spent lot of time hanging out with their friends. The new gen likes to have lot of friends and is also influenced heavily by their peers.

And having no friends is UNCOOL. Here Coke is somehow telling the consumers that the users of Coke are those who are in desperate need of friends . And the concept of " Free Dost with Coke" is discounting the value of both Friends and Coke. Why should you give something free ( even symbolic) with Coke. And will you accept a " Free " friend ? And the characters depicted in the ads look like lonely desperate guys searching for friends which is also UNCOOL as far as the younger generation is concerned.

The Indian version of Open Happiness platform has failed to understand the essence of this positioning and miserably failed to connect the concept of happiness and Coke.

Brand Update : Sprite

Summer is setting in and beverages companies are upping their marketing ante. Sprite have heavily started their summer campaign by launching two television commercials. Last time Sprite launched a high profile ad blitz for its variant Sprite Xpress.

This time Sprite is doing the campaign for the core brand. Since its launch, Sprite has been experimenting with its tagline ala positioning. It has changed its famous original tagline of " Buchaye Only pyaas, baaki all bakwas" to
No Gyan only Sprite ,
Seedhi Bath, No bakwaas
then to the last one " Clear hai"

The brand had also experimented with celebrities by roping in Sania Mirza as the brand ambassador. All those efforts have created astounding results.

Sprite had a spectacular 2008. According to Economic Times dtd 11.2.09, Sprite has become the second largest softdrink brand in India thus trouncing Pepsi to No.3 .

Quoting the AC Neilsen study, the following are the market share figures of soft drink brands in India
Thums Up leads the pack with a share of 16.6%
Sprite is the second largest brand with a share of 15.6%
Followed by Pepsi with a share of 13%.

This should have shocked Pepsi .
Sprite has reached the top because it delivered its promise of a no-nonsense simple brand.

Sprite now is an overdrive to cash in on the new found leadership position. Currently the brand is running two TVCs.

Watch the tvc here : Sprite Killer
Sprite Wedding
True to the spirit of the brand, the ads are cool and humorous. It is also interesting to note that the brand now have a combination of all taglines it used in the recent past.
The new tagline is :
Seedhi Baath, No Bakwas, Clear Hai ?

I liked the ads because the characters are cool, plot is simple and funny and even after seeing it for more than 10 times, it is not boring.

Pepsi is also not sitting idle, it had rejuvenated the 7UP brand with some new ads. The ads focus on the lemon content. But the problem with 7UP is that Pepsi has not invested in the brand as consistently as Sprite. 7Up have not yet found the correct positioning platform and Pepsi was little confused in terms of focus with their two brands 7Up and Mountain Dew.

Sprite has reached the top because of consistent investment in brand building. Although it had aberrations, the brand was also consistent in its positioning platform.

Kudos for the marketing team.

Related Brand
Sprite

Canada Dry : RIP ( 1995-1999)

Brand : Canada Dry
Company : Cadbury Schweppes ( Later Coca Cola)
Agency : Mudra

Brand Analysis Count : 371

One of my colleagues yesterday showed me a 1989 issue of Business India where he pointed out an ad of a long forgotten brand - Canada Dry . We passionately talked about the brand which we both liked.

Canada Dry was launched in India in 1995 . The brand ,from Cadbury Schweppes ,was a highly popular brand of softdrinks across the globe. Canada Dry was a much hyped brand because it was from the house of Cadbury. Cadbury Schweppes launched Canada Dry and Orange Crush in the Indian market with much fanfare.

Canada Dry was a Champagne Softdrink. The brand has positioned itself as a champagne and the taste was different and refreshing.

The brand was also promoted heavily in various media. The ad featuring the snow and tiger brings back the nostalgia about this brand. The brand was positioned as a premium cooldrink . The brand gained immediate acceptance because of its association with Cadbury. The brand had the potential to become a premium softdrink brand in India .

But alas, the brand did not last too long in the market. In 1999 CocaCola took over the beverages business of Cadbury Schweppes and like GoldSpot and Limca , Coke killed this brand.

It is sad to see such brands being killed for no reason connected with customers. The only reason for Coke to kill these brands was to make way for Coke's original brands. In the case of Canada Dry , the brand only had a negligible presence in the Indian market.

Look at the Indian market now - Is there a premium softdrink brand in India ? Neither Coke or Pepsi was able to create a premium softdrinks category in India. They have not even tried yet.......

Brand Update : Sprite

On September 2008, Sprite launched a new variant Sprite Xpress with much fanfare. The various news reports celebrated this launch as a packaging innovation which Indian market is witnessing for the first time.

Sprite Xpress is the 350 ml Pet bottle from Sprite. The innovation that the company boast is that this is an " On The Go " Pack. That means that you can carry it with you when you are traveling..

What's new in that ?


According to the Press Release,
"
the new pack is a strategic initiative aimed to build strong connect with the youth. It is designed to offer convenience and adapts to the dynamic and on the move lifestyle of the consumers "

Frankly I did not knew that a simple packaging can do lot of strategic " things " to the consumers.

Coca Cola has been heavily promoting the Sprite Xpress. The variant is being promoted using a long peppy television advertisement .

Watch the campaign here : sprite xpress

The ad is catchy with a good background song . The ad revolves around the theme " outwit to outrun " and have a new tagline ' Ghumo Ghumao'.

The issue with this ad is that the entire foundation of the ad is based in Hindi. The song and the taglines are Hindi. When the ad is to be shown in the South Indian market, the agency will have tough time translating these in local language without losing relevance and sounding funny.


After seeing the ads I couldn't understand the innovation. After a little googling, I finally understood.

The innovation is in the pricing. Sprite was available in three packs : 300 ml glass bottle pack, 500 ml Pet bottle and large one litre Pet bottle.

Now the new pack is 350 ml in Pet bottle priced at Rs 15. The new pack is aimed at those customers who want single use packs while on the move. So offering the single use Pet bottle makes marketing sense.

With regard to the pricing, the new Xpress pack is priced Rs15 . Although psychologically seem to be lower than Rs 20 for 500 ml, in actual sense, the consumer is paying more for less.

In that way Coca Cola is gaining more than Rs 1 per bottle as margin. In a business with wafer thin margins, getting Rs 1 more is nothing but innovation.

That also justifies the extravagant promotion for this variant. The ads have been shot in Malaysia and runs for a full 60 seconds which really costs a bomb at the current advertisement rates.
The true innovation is with regard to the use of OOH media by this brand. According to reports, Sprite has launched a series of 3 D outdoor creatives on various outdoor platforms like elevators, buildings, hoardings etc.

Sprite has to create a big hype around Xpress and brand it as a packaging innovation because it is priced high. As customers , we have to pay more for such kind of " innovations ". The paradox is that this is from a brand which says " No Bakwaas " only seedhi bath ( straight talk !)

On a marketing practice perspective, Sprite has done a good job in launching such a variant. There will be lot of customers especially youngsters who want such single serve bottles which can be taken along with them. The problem with the existing 300 ml glass bottle is that one cannot take it on the go.

According to reports, the company is planning to launch Xpress packs for its brands like Coca Cola, Thums Up, Limca etc.

For customers : you have to be clear about what you are paying for... baki all bakwas

Related brand

Sprite

Brand Update : Coca-Cola

This summer, Coca-Cola has launched the latest campaign featuring Hrithik Roshan.

Watch the TVC here : Coke Ad

The new ad has a new theme and a new positioning. According to news reports, the brand is trying to project a new young image to counter its rival Pepsi. Hence this summer , the brand will be using Hrithik for the communication .

The brand is now trying out a new theme endorsed by the slogan ' Jashan mana le ' meaning ' celebrate '.
The concept is that Coca-cola is an integral part of every celebration and with coke , there is celebration. The celebration is often spontaneous . The brand is now trying to project enjoyment and exhilaration. All said and done, the ad is nothing special. The theme and the execution is only average and I remember seeing the same type of ad for many brands. Even Cadbury has done the same theme.
Again Coke can relax because Pepsi is doing much worse. The new ad of Pepsi featuring Ranbir , SRK and Deepika is one of the horrible ads I have seen in recent times.

From both Coke and Pepsi ads , what I make out is the panic that these brands face to project themselves as youthful. Saying that the brand is young will not make a brand young.Creating a new name Youngistan or getting a youth icon to endorse the brand is not going to make the brand young.
To be young needs these brands to develop an attitude and attitude takes good thoughts to be built around the brand. Somewhere down the line Pepsi lost the connect with the youth. Coke is yet to discover that thought.

Brand Update : Minute Maid

This year, Minute Maid has launched a new campaign with a peppy tagline " Where is the pulp " . As discussed in my earlier post on the brand, Minute Maid is being positioned as a pulpy orange drink.
The current campaign is aimed at making the brand more young and also to reinforce the positioning of the brand. The campaign is based on a simple proposition that everytime this drink is consumed, an orange somewhere loses the pulp.

To be frank, although I liked the ad I did not fully understand the idea behind it till I read about it in agencyfaqs. ( i think I am getting old).
However the ad does convey the idea that Minute Maid contains pulp. As a consumer I again admit that I did not understand what it means by a pulpy drink. And that itself is the challenge for the brand. The current ad will definitely intrigue customers like me to try it out.
The ad also hope that the tagline " where is the pulp " will be popular and become a part of the youth lingo. The brand has gone national after encouraging results from the test market. Minute Maid is one of the most successful non-cola brand of Coca-Cola globally. Indian market is skewed towards non-cola drinks and Coke hopes that this brand catches the imagination of the young Indian consumers.
While the brand is reinforcing the ' pulpy ' nature of the drink, it has forgotten the ' refreshing' attribute which was a part of the initial campaign. Coke has to remember that there is no drink that offers ' refreshing ' benefit to the customer. That spot is still vacant. The benefit of being Pulpy can be communicated through the attribute of Refreshing. And a refreshing drink is a proposition that will work well with youth.

With the new campaign, Minute Maid also has stirred up the competition. I remember seeing similar concept of pulpy and orangy in the new campaign of Tropicana from Pepsi.

Related Brand
Minute Maid

Coca Cola India : Little Drops of Joy

Corporate Brand : Coca Cola India
Agency : McCann Erickson


Brand Analysis Count : 271

Coca Cola India for the first time has came out with corporate campaign in India targeting its stakeholders. The multimedia campaign " Little Drops of Joy " is aimed at raising the corporate brand image of the company which took a heavy beating with a number of controversies it faced in different domains.

The new campaign is a part of a complete restructuring exercise in the Indian arm of this global change. Coca Cola recently announced its new corporate strategy called the " 5 Pillar " strategy. The company has identified the 5 pillars as

People
Planet
Portfolio
Partners &
Performance.

The Little Drops of Joy is a part of the communication strategy aimed at projecting the company as a responsible Corporate citizen whose main aim is to bring JOY into people's life. The main idea of this campaign is to lift the corporate brand from a single brand focus to a multi brand company ( a portfolio of brands). Little drops of joy campaign also aims at a image make over. The company plays down its size ( multinational ) and becomes more humble and approachable. The concept is communicated through the manifesto which now becomes the guidelines for future company operations. The manifesto is given below

A mighty ocean we’re not.
But we are the little drops that make one.
Because small things go a long way. At Coca-Cola India, we believe that there’s more to a little sip. It’s the moment of truth. A second of satisfaction. An instant of happiness. A bubble of hope. Because we don’t quench your thirst. We recharge your soul. For one moment. One drop at a time.

The new direction reminds me of the former Chairman of Coca Cola , Robert Goizueta who asked the company managers to capture the Share of Fluids taken by a customer rather than bothering about the competition from Pepsi.Likewise Coca Cola is trying to capture those little moments of joy.

Watch the TV Commercials here : Coca Cola Corporate

I cannot say that this commercial has a Big Idea. The idea is a copy of Mastercard 's Priceless campaign . The execution of the commercial is OK but for me its too much of Hindi (Havn't seen an English/Malayalam version.
The new campaign makes lot of sense for Coke since it has faced issues of pesticides , groundwater exploitation controversy at Plachimada in Kerala which hurt this brand more than the rival Pepsi.
Through this campaign , the company aims to gel with the Indian consumer as its own rather than a western one. Its sad since Coke has been more local in advertising than Pepsi but had to bear the brunt more than Pepsi in these controversies.

But will these campaigns help the makeover, I guess not. It will be actions that will speak louder than ADS in the case of Corporate Brand Image. Trusted corporate brands like TATA , Infosys and the likes has built its reputation through its actions rather than ads. Coca Cola globally is respected as a highly ethical corporate citizen. Its sad that in India, the company had to face unexpected setbacks from some of the stakeholders. The company has now identified its mistakes and these campaigns ( I hope ) are just a signal of the beginning of a new era for Coca Cola India.

Source: agencyfaqs.cocacola website

Brand Update: Coca Cola

Its summer time and things are hotting up ( literally). This is the season where cola majors open their war chest and spent lavishly. But come April, summer has not yet reached Atlanta headquarters yet. Coke has been lying low so far... While Pepsi had bitten the bullet sinking crores of money hoping that Indians spent their nights wathcing World Cup suddenly finds themselves in the same situation faced by Indian team : Out of the World Cup...

Coke had released their new ad featuring Aamir Khan in a new avatar ( watch it here) . The tagline has changed from " Thanda Matlab Coca Cola " To " Sab Thanda Ek hai". That is the only thing that they have done this summer for the brand.( or has summer not reached yet?)

But I feel that Coke is missing out the World Cup and the summer. Remember 1996 World Cup where Coke was the official sponsor and Pepsi did a classic Ambush marketing with its " Nothing Official About it" campaign. That was a campaign that propelled Pepsi to mainstage in India. From that campaingn, Pepsi was closely associated with cricketers and cricket while Coke chose not to associate with the game at all. That disassociation in a way limited Coca Cola's acceptance among the youth.

Coke now has the perfect opportunity to revenge the humiliation of 1996. Pepsi is busy reworking its media strategy since its plans to invest Rs 350 crore in World Cup was called off. The campaigns "Blue Billion" " ooh Aaah India" and " Ladega to jitega" now has to be shelved. Reports suggest that Pepsi is going back to SRK and the likes to tide over the World Cup debacle.

But surprisingly Coke is playing it cool. Isn't it the best time to get aggressive? or

Thanda matlab Coca Cola?

Related Brands
Coca Cola

Gold Spot : The Zing Thing ( RIP 1977-1993)

Brand : Gold Spot
Company:Coca Cola


Brand Count: 217

Gold Spot is a sad story in the Indian Branding world. This iconic brand was killed for paving way for Coke's brands in India. Every one knows the story but still...

Gold Spot was one among the three major softdrinks brand that ruled Indian market along with Thums Up and Limca. The brand was built by Rames Chauhan of Parle after the exit of Coca Cola from India during 1977. Chauhan spoted the opportunity and three mega brands were born.
When Coca Cola came back to India in 1993, it bought out the three mega brands from Chauhan for a consideration of $10 mn. These three brands had a huge market share (combined) of over 69 % of India's SDC market. Then came the expected move. Coke slowly began killing the Parle brands to make way for its own brands. Thums Up was sidelined in favour of Coca Coala. Limca was sidelined and Goldspot was killed to make way for Fanta.

Gold Spot was the orange drink with a Zingy taste. This iconic youth brand was positioned as " Zing Thing" and was promoted heavily through all media. The jingle " Gold Spot.. The Zing Thing" was one of the most memorable jingle at that time ( still that jingle lingers in the mind of old timers).
Gold Spot was positioned as the youth brand and the ads talked about being crazy about the brand . You can watch the Gold Spot ad here .
But the brand was killed. Fanta was launched but till now the brand has not being able to take the position of Gold Spot. Coke was not able to clearly focus on the segmentation of Fanta. Fanta is never perceived as a youth brand. Fanta is not viewed or targeted at college students/youth. This confused targeting may have crippled the growth of Fanta and still it couldn't reach the status of Gold Spot. Coke expected that the users of Gold Spot will migrate to Fanta but it did not happened.
We saw Limca coming back in 2006.. can we ever hope Gold Spot coming back ?

Related Brands
Limca

Minute Maid : Refreshingly Orange,Surprisingly Pulpy

Brand : Minute Maid
Company: Coca Cola
Agency: Leo Burnett

Brand Count:213

Minute Maid is the latest launch from Coca Cola. Minute Maid is the global leader in the fruit juice industry. The brand which was earlier associated with Orange Juice has grown to become a umbrella brand for fruit juices and has even extended it to non soft drinks.

Minute Maid was launched in India in February 2007.The brand assumes significance in the plans of Coke because of the scare it had in the pesticide issue. By launching Minute Maid , Coke is moving towards health drinks. According to Financial Express, the market for Packaged Fruit Juices is expected to be around Rs 350 crore. The market leader is Dabur Real with a share of 57% and Pepsi Tropicana with a share of 30%.

Minute Maid have a rich history. The brand was born in 1945 when Florida Foods Federation developed orange juice powder with a rich fresh-squeezed taste. The name Minute Maid signified the ease of preparation of this product ( "It can be prepared in a minute"). The brand became instant success. The brand later was acquired by Coca Cola. Today the brand spreads across the globe and comes in various flavours and SKU's. Some of the popular extensions include Calcium Fortified, Premium Choice,Heart Wise, Bone Wise etc.

Minute Maid is now being launched in India in a phased manner. The initial launch is in the southern states of Karnataka, TamilNadu and Andhrapradesh. The brand is being initially positioned on the superior taste platform. The brand uses the tagline "Refreshingly Orange, surprisingly Pulpy". The tagline signifies the USP of Minute Maid which is : Pulpy Orange juice drink with real orange pulp. The brand is targeted towards young adults who look at health drinks.The brand is priced at Rs 25 for 400 ml and Rs 60 for 1 litre. (I havn't seen the ad since it is not launched in Kerala, will be updated in due course)

The brand is expected to shake up the fruit juices market in India. The success of Maaza will give lot of confidence to Coca Cola in this segment. And a high profile launch will help increase the category size also.
Watch the international commercial here

Source:minutemaid website,financialexpress