Sting : Electrifying Energy, Ultimate Taste

Brand: Sting
Company: Pepsico India

Brand Analysis Count: #586

Sting is the Pepsico India's challenger brand in the Rs 200 Crore sports and energy drink market in India. According to Livemint, Indian sports and energy drink market are in a nascent stage with a consumption of 45.2 Million Liters in 2016. Redbull rules the market with a share of 64%.

The size of the Indian market and the growing interest of the consumers towards non-carbonated and less sugary drinks has made this a very attractive market for these products. Moreover, the government has come out with norms for energy drink market which makes a clear regulatory framework for the players. 

Sting is launched with the positioning of product performance. The tagline of the brand is " Electrifying Energy, Ultimate Taste". The launch ad is effective in communicating the positioning but cannot be claimed as anything creative because it reminds of the Center Shock ads of the past. The ad is targeting the health conscious young Indian consumers. 

The brand is priced almost 50% less than the market leader Redbull. I have not seen this brand in my city. I guess, the national rollout has not happened yet for the brand. 

Indian sports and energy drink market is still a niche market. Although there is a shift towards healthy drinks, consumers ( in my opinion) is little confused about the product usage. In marketing terms, the category lacks salience. The brands in the category need to educate the consumers about the product usage and usage situations in order to expand the category. Although we can argue that the product descriptor ( energy drink) is there in the product label, that will only help in category identification. If the category needs to expand, it should make more usage situations for the product. Currently, the category is popular among sports enthusiasts which restrict the growth of the market in terms of market size. 

The low price of Sting may induce more product usage for the brand and thus offer a challenge to the market leader. However, Sting needs more than the quirky launch campaign to challenge Redbull. 

Brand Update : Is Santoor testing a new positioning ?

Santoor, one of India's largest brand has been on a roll these days. Recently, the brand became the second largest selling soap by volume, toppling HUL's Lux ( Source). The success of the brand is attributed to the consistency and focus in brand building.

Recently an interesting twist has happened in the brand's approach to positioning. The brand relaunched its Santoor Gold in a new avatar. Santoor Gold was launched in 2015 as a premium variant differentiated by the presence of Sakura extracts and saffron as the ingredient. The product was launched initially in the southern states like AP. Three years later, the variant is relaunched. This time the sakura extract is missing and prominence are given to the saffron and sandal ingredient.
More importantly, the ad of this variant does not follow the core positioning of the parent brand - the mistaken identity.

This is a drastic change in terms of the brand's positioning strategy.

Watch the old ad of santoor gold here










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The earlier campaign of Santoor Gold followed the mistaken identity theme. The question remains as to why the brand chose to tread a new path for its variant? One scenario is that the brand is testing a new positioning different from the age-old one with the new variant. The second scenario is that the brand chose to have a new positioning for the variant targeting a much younger crowd.
However, theoretically, it is always better to have the variants following the positioning theme of the parent brand otherwise the synergy of the brand-line promotions will be lost.

Prepair : Be Prepared

Brand: Prepair
Company: Vini Cosmetics

Brand Analysis Count: #585

Recently Vini Cosmetics Ltd, which is famous for the Fogg brand, launched a new brand Prepair ant-ageing segment. The Indian anti-aging market is worth around Rs 1500 crore ( as per Business Standard) and around Rs 2600 crore as per IIFL. The market is at a nascent stage but is expected to grow owing to the aging population and expansion of the category by marketers. 

The market already has seen global brands like Olay in the past. However, Olay was skimming the market with its premium positioning. Later the market witnessed the entry of HUL with Ponds Age Miracle range and Nivea with Q10 Plus. But these global brands tried their luck in the premium space of the segment. 

Vini Cosmetics has probably spotted the gap in the market and has launched the brand Prepair aiming at the larger pie of the segment at a lower price point. Prepair is created as a family brand endorsing multiple products in the anti-aging segment. The company has launched Prepair regenerating skin cream for women as Prepair 4050. For men, the company has launched Prepair 40+; probably men won't mind if the brand says openly that it is for the age group of 40 above. The brand name is a compound brand name or Lexical brand name combining Prepare and Repair. The tagline is Be Prepared. 

The brand is launched with ads that are aimed at category development. The ads are plain-vanilla informative in its execution. 

There are separate campaigns for male and female segments.
The large FMCG market in India offers a lot of opportunities for niche products. The Indian market is such that these niche markets often grew to become large segments. Vini Cosmetics is betting on the anti-aging personal care segment as one which has the potential to grow big.

Too Yumm! : Eat Guilt-Free

Brand: Too Yumm!
Company: Guilt Free Industries ( Sanjiv Goenka Group)

Brand Analysis Count :# 584

Too Yumm! is a brand which created a lot of interest during the IPL 2018. This is a new brand from the RP-Sanjiv Goenka group. It's for a long time such a big ticket launch is happening in the FMCG space. 

Indian salted snacks market is worth Rs 23000crore as per Economic Times. The salty snacks market is further divided into following sub-segments; India namkeens valued at Rs 9500 crore, Potato Chips valued at Rs 5500 Crore, Extruded snacks valued at Rs 4300 crores and Bridges valued at Rs 3400 crore. (Read the ET report here)

Too Yumm! is positioned as a healthy alternative to the existing potato-based chips dominated by Lays. As India moves towards more healthy snack options, the new brand aims to take advantage of this trend. 

Since Too Yumm! is fighting the giants like Pepsico, the brand has taken an aggressive stance. It has roped in the Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli as the brand ambassador. Virat was recently in news for declining to renew the Pepsi contract. He has taken a stance that he would endorse only products which are promoting good health. (Source: NDTV). So getting Virat to endorse Too Yumm! is a big coup of sorts. 

The brand is positioned as a guilt-free healthy tasty snack. The introductory advertisement was very loud in conveying the message of a guilt-free snack. 

The brand uses the tagline " Eat Lot, Fikar Not"  and the terms " Fikar Not" is retained in the subsequent campaigns which means worry not. The brand later followed up with the launch of multi-grain chips which has the proposition of baked not fried benefit. 

The ads also had some shock value with a fitness icon like Virat endorsing chips and also the visuals showing him non-stop munching. In the later part of the ads, the endorser clarifies on the healthy nature of the product. 

In a marketer's perspective, the brand has ticked all the right boxes. The company has enough cash to burn in promotions. The brand has chosen the right brand ambassador and the positioning is also relevant in this environment. The brand is also priced at par with the going rate. Currently, the brand is available only in select cities. 

The challenge for the brand is to sustain the differentiation. The proposition of a healthy snack is not defendable since the competitor can easily launch their own versions. Secondly, the momentum contributed by the high profile brand ambassador is also not a long-term solution. 

Too Yumm! is all poised to ride the healthy snack food trend for now. 

Brand Update : Patanjali is making Colgate Confused !

Patanjali's Dant Kanti has really made the market leader Colgate in a tight spot. The aggressive promotions and the positioning based on Ayurveda has slightly dented the market share of Colgate. More than the market share, the Ayurveda push may shift the parameters on which the consumers decide on the toothpaste purchase. 

During the initial phase, Colgate tried to counter the Dant Kanti's challenge by strengthening the existing variant  Colgate Herbal and Colgate Salt. But that did not make an impact on the forward march of Dant Kanti. 

Colgate then used the flanker brand Cibaca to fight the challenger. Earlier, when the price warriors like Anchor and Babool challenged Colgate, the market leader used Cibaca to neutralize the threat effectively. This time, the same strategy was used by launching Cibaca Vedshakti which boasted of the natural content. The flanker brand was priced at almost 30% lower than Dant Kanti. 

The strategy seemed to have failed. Recently Colgate launched another variant Colgate Swarna Vedshakti in the Ayurveda space. This time the market leader is launching a direct attack on the competitor with the flagship brand. 

The variant is priced at a premium to the challenger brand. The new variant is positioned as a toothpaste that combines traditional with modern. 

The ads follow the testimonials from mothers to build authenticity to the brand. The current campaign is aimed at increasing the adoption of the brand. 

Now Colgate has two variants with the similar brand name ( or part)- Colgate Cibaca Vedshakti and Colgate Swarna Vedshakti with different prices. My hunch is that Colgate is migrating Vedshakti to the parent brand and may discontinue Cibaca Vedshakti in near future.

Colgate has realized that Dant Kanti is not about fighting on price. Patanjali is making the Ayurveda segment of the toothpaste market which was a niche in to a mainstream segment. If such a shift happens then Colgate's leadership position will be under threat. Colgate probably had done the right thing by fighting Dant Kanti with its flagship brand. 

Kaytra : Interesting case of co-branding

Brand: Kaytra
Company: AVA Group

Brand Analysis Count: #583

Kaytra is an interesting brand story. The brand is from the AVA Group which is the owner of the famed Ayurvedic brand Medimix. Kaytra is a brand jointly created by AVA Group and the celebrity hairstylist and makeup artist Ambika Pillai. 

This is an example of co-branding and if you observe the logo, you can see the name of Ambika Pillai along with the Kaytra brand. It is not a unique case since Indian market has witnessed many such co-branding exercises. 

As a professional, Ambika Pillai commands a lot of respect in the market. Kaytra's brand promise is that it is created using the expertise of Ambika Pillai. The brand is positioned as a premium product with the personal endorsement from the celebrity hairstylist. 

The brand is now testing the waters in the Kerala market and according to media reports, the brand will be launched in other markets soon. Having said that, I have not seen the products in any of the supermarkets so far. Probably the brand is very selective in the distribution.

The advantage of Kaytra is that AVA Group has expertise in FMCG market and through Medimix has sufficient distribution reach. The second factor is that Ambika Pillai is personally vouching for the brand which adds a lot of power to the authenticity of the brand. The source of the brand equity for Kaytra is Ambika Pillai and her reputation.
On the promotion side, the creator has been able to get the endorsement from many of her celebrity clients and the brand is generating content about personal care in social media. Ads featuring Ambika Pillai is also aired on various television channels.

According to the brand website, Kaytra is the Sutra of good skin and good hair. Interestingly there is no tagline for this brand.

For a product in the hair-care space, the survival of the product solely lies on the tangible performance. Hope that the brand will live up to the expectations set by the creator. 

T-Shine : 100% Organic

Brand: T-Shine
Company: Jyothy Laboratories Pvt Ltd

Brand Analysis Count: 582



In 2017, Jyothy Laboratories ( JLL) launched a new product in the small but growing toilet cleaner market in India. Branded as T-shine, which probably is shortened version of Toilet-Shine, JLL is entering into a market dominated by Harpic.

JLL always launches the products with some uniqueness which has helped its brand beat large competitors. It launched Ujala in the liquid form, Exo with anti-bacterial properties which forced the market leaders to scramble for points of parity.
In the case of T-shine also, the USP of the brand is that it claims to be 100% organic. The Point of Difference is based on the allegation that the existing players in the toilet cleaner market use harmful acids which can cause respiratory issues.


 T-Shine claims that since it is 100% organic, it is safe. The market leader Harpic's USP is the cleaning capability. Harpic has been effective in communicating that to the consumer. Having a sparkling toilet is something of pride - as per the brand communication. Domex, the other major player has been focusing on killing germs. T-Shine is trying to create a separate identity focusing on the organic nature of the product.
With Patanjali also aggressively entering the space, we will see a slew of organic variant launches in this segment.                                                         

Brand Update : Thums Up in a Celebrity Trap

Thums Up which is one of the most resilient brands in the Indian market was in the news recently when the parent Coca-Cola decided to drop Salman Khan as the brand ambassador. ( source). The reports also suggest that the brand is in talks with actor Ranveer Singh

to replace the Khan. That points  to a celebrity trap which this brand has fallen into.

It is true that Thums Up has always been promoted using a celebrity, be it Akshay Kumar or Salman Khan, but the fact is that Thums Up has moved into a position where it cannot think of a promotional strategy sans a celebrity. That is why the news report announcing  Salman's exit also suggest the search for new celebrity.

Soft drink brands are always after celebrity as if there is no existence without a famous personality endorsing it. While there are a lot of advantages of using a celebrity, the fact remains that slowly but surely, the brand and the brand manager loses confidence to go without the support of celebrity. 

It is sad to see the same thing happening for Thums Up. The brand doesn't need a celebrity. In the brand's early years, the equity of the brand was built  from within. Now the brand is trying to find a celebrity so that it can depend on the celebrity for equity which, at least theoretically, is bad for the brand. Thums Up has the innate strength which made it overcome the existential crisis when the owners decided to kill it. That strength was not from any celebrity endorsement but the image of a rough resilient brand. Coca-Cola should at least try making the brand stand on its own rather than going the easy way out. 

Brand Update : How Colgate is fighting Patanjali

Colgate holds around 54% market share in the Rs 6000 Crore Indian toothpaste market. Of late, the brand is facing tough competition from Patanjali Ayurveda. Patanjali which is a brand which is closely associated with Yoga guru Baba Ramdev is touted to be a disruptive force in the consumer products market.

Patanjali which recently got aggressive in the market has garnered around Rs 5000 crore within a short span of time. It has overtaken firms like Jyothi Lab, Emami etc in the turnover. 

According to business news reports, Colgate is expected to face the toughest challenge with Patanjali's Dant Kanti cornering a Rs 450 crore turnover in 15-16. 

Colgate is a very aggressive marketer and is not expected to take competition lightly. Even with a market share of 54%, the brand is not known to be complacent in the addressing of competition. This case also Colgate took pro-active steps in countering the onslaught of Patanjali Ayurveda.

Colgate chose to fight  Dant Kanti using the variant Colgate Active Salt Neem. It is interesting to see that Colgate Herbal was not aggressively promoted rather it chose the Active Salt variant. Secondly, Colgate chose to rope in Priyanka Chopra to endorse the variant.

Watch the ad here : Colgate Active Salt Neem

While the neem + salt combination brings the brand parity with Dant Kanti, the celebrity endorser enhances the strength of the counter attack. 

Since Dant Kanti's main positioning is the Natural Platform, Colgate now has three variants - Herbal,Active Salt , Active Salt Neem in its portfolio. 

With the aggressive counter attack, Colgate expects to arrest the growth of  Dant Kanti. Some damage will be done since Patanjali uses price as the major strategy for market growth. But with the natural attribute neutralised, Colgate expects to retain its current customer base  with the Colgate brand portfolio. 

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. 

Crisp and Shine : The fabric Enhancer

Brand: Ujala Crisp and Shine
Company: Jyothy Laboratories

Brand Analysis Count: 562

Ujala Crisp and Shine is the re-branded version of Ujala Stiff and Shine. Ujala launched its fabric conditioner Stiff and Shine in 2005. The brand was an addition to the post-wash fabric care product line of Jyothy Lab which was dominated by the liquid whitener Ujala. 

Although launched in 2005, Stiff and Shine was a regional brand. The brand did business around Rs 25 crore in Kerala where it is concentrated ( Source). The post-wash category of fabric care is now witnessing a lot of interest among FMCG companies and HUL is upping the ante with the high profile promotion of its global brand - Comfort.

When launched, Stiff and Shine was primarily viewed by consumers as a product that would offer the convenience of a fabric stiffener ( starch) like Revive. The brand name also reinforced the perception.

HUL launched Comfort not as a fabric stiffener but as a conditioner. Through sustained promotions, the brand has continuously grown in the market.
Probably this growth of the brand Comfort may have led to the re-branding of Stiff and Shine.
The new brand name Crisp and Shine is backed by a product - descriptor  - Fabric Enhancer. Through the product descriptor, the brand is trying to position itself as a complete fabric care product rather than a stiffener.
Jyothy Lab is trying to pitch Crisp and Shine nationally and the re-branding releases the brand from the constraint of " Stiff and Shine " proposition.

Brand Update : Cycle Agarbatti ropes in Big B as Brand Ambassador

Cycle Agarbathies has roped in Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador. The organized agarbatti market in India is worth around Rs 2400 crore, and Cycle has approximately 20% share of this market. The move for a high-profile celebrity endorsement is a strategy to take the brand to a national level. 

The brand also changed its slogan to “ Purity of Prayer”. The new commercial is well made, and BigB was able to pack an emotional tone to the brand. According to reports, the ads were created by Soojith Sirkar of the Piku movie fame. 

Watch the tvc here: Big B Cycle 

The agarbatti market that is highly fragmented is witnessing intense competition with the entry of ITC with the Mangaldeep brand.  In a market like this, distribution is the key since customers tend to experiment with new fragrances and brands. Cycle wants to play the game of branding and with a high profile endorser like BigB, the brand stand a good chance of gaining more share of mind in the market. 

Brand Update : Slice Downgraded to Sub-brand of Tropicana

In an interesting move, Pepsi has demoted its mango drink brand Slice into a sub-brand of Tropicana. Slice which was launched in 1993 , came in to limelight with some good advertisement campaigns. The notable is the Aamsutra campaign featuring the brand ambassador Katrina Kaif. Tropicana was launched in 2004 as a healthy juice brand. 

What Pepsi has done with Slice is to migrate the brand to Tropicana by launching Tropicana Slice . The first launch being the variant Tropicana Slice Alphonso. The new product is being launched with the TVC featuring Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapur.

Watch the ad here : Tropicana Slice Alphonso

While Katrina Kaif stays to provide continuity to the Slice brand equity, the Aamsutra has been taken off. The focus of the variant still remains the " Taste + Indulgence " proposition. 

In many aspects, Slice as a brand is dead because the individuality is lost. It now has to follow the Tropicana's positioning. And it will remain a second fiddle to Tropicana till the Pepsi brand managers get further confused.

I am not privy to the logic behind this brand merger. According to ET, Slice has a second position in the mango drink segment trailing behind Maaza. 

The advantage I see behind merging Slice with Tropicana is that Slice will get the healthy tag associated with Tropicana. While Tropicana brand architecture will be confusing since it has a non-healthy sub-brand Slice attached to it. All the more, Tropicana also has a mango juice variant ! 

Frankly, I am little confused about this move by Pepsi, probably they will have some logic behind this move. It can be a rationalization of their portfolio. More marketing focus on Tropicana rather than Slice. 

However , as a marketer, Slice will be missed. 

LuvIt Chocolates : If Someone Shares, Ushaar !

Brand : LuvIt
Company : Global Consumer Products

Brand Analysis Count : # 558

LuvIt is new brand from Global Consumer Products - a startup in the FMCG space. Global Consumer Products was started by A Mahendran who was the Managing Director of Godrej Consumer Products. The fact that an entrepreneur is trying to take on the giants like Mondolez and Nestle makes LuvIt an interesting brand.

According to Economic Times, the Indian chocolate market is worth around Rs 6800 crore. The market is lead by Mondolez with a share of over 70% and distantly followed by Nestle with 18% and Ferrero with 8 % market share. 

What makes LuvIt a brand to lookout for is the sheer ambition to fight the giants. The brand has huge ambition and it is seen by the way it was launched. It is reported in the news that Global Consumer Products has the backing of  Mitsui Global and Goldman Sacs 

.

LuvIt  has launched 9 variants with prices ranging from Rs 4 to Rs 45. The brand is essentially targeting the adults especially the youth. The brand has invested considerable thoughts in its packaging and stands out as a very vibrant young brand and distinct from the competitors like CDM.

LuvIt has been launched in South India with the actor Sidharth as the brand ambassador. For the launch the company has gone the musical route by launching a one minute music video featuring the actor. The Southern India accounts for 30% of chocolate sale.

Watch the ad here : LuvIt

The basic positioning theme of LuvIt is focused on the taste. The brand says that it is too good to be shared. This is conveyed through the ads which says that if someone shares LuvIt then Beware. There is a hidden agenda behind sharing of the chocolate because the best way to enjoy chocolate is to enjoy it alone. 

The brand is using the term " Ushaar " which means Beware in its campaign in South India. The ads are pretty, however, the theme is not new, The recently launched Schmitten Chocolate too had a similar message - it is a crime to ask for a bite.

It is interesting to note that while the market leader Cadbury Dairy Milk says chocolate is to be shared, the new competitors are focusing on being selfish with the chocolate, so it is to be seen whether the challenging brand's pitch on selfishness will find favor with the consumers.

What makes LuvIt different is the brand elements. The brand has used lively and loud colors and the ad is also flashy. So the brand has definitely all the elements to encourage a trial purchase. 

Brand Update : Sada Sexy Raho with Set Wet !

Set Wet has now a brand ambassador in the form of Aditya Roy Kapur. Since the take over of the brand by Marico, this is the first major shift in the strategy for Set Wet brand. According to media reports, Marico intends to position this brand for the youth and concentrate on hair styling products. The brand now has the endorsement from the upcoming star Aditya Roy Kapur.

Watch the ad here : Set Wet Aditya Roy Kapur

The brand has retained the " Be Sexy " positioning but added some more class to the brand campaign.  The brand has also changed the tagline from " Very Very Sexy " to  " Sada Sexy Raho " meaning be always sexy.

Despite the much used Sexy positioning, I liked the way Set Wet has used this theme. The brand is perceived to be a cool brand and the latest campaign emphasizes this coolness. I liked the execution of the ad and brings in a freshness to the brand. 

Brand Update : This summer, Frooti gets a major makeover

This summer, the 30 year old Frooti has got a bold makeover. Frooti has re-branded itself with a new logo, new packaging and ofcourse new brand communication. Frooti has a commanding 80% + share in the tetra-pack segment of the Rs 3500 crore Indian mango drink market. But the overall market share of the brand is only 11% in the total market. This is because the market is dominated by PET packs

The brands like Maaza and Slice dominate the market with their PET bottle variants. More over, the company feels that Frooti is perceived to be a kid's brand thus alienating the young/teen consumers who now form the majority of the consuming class of these products.

So along with the re-branding, Frooti has also changed the product formula with more juice pulp added to it. The re-branding also saw a change in the advertising agency . The company has roped in Sagmeister  & Walsh for this exercise.

The result is a bold logo, new color for the packaging and a new campaign.

Watch the tvc here : Frooti life

The brand has retained SRK as the endorser.

The ad uses the stop-motion animation and frankly I didn't get the plot until I read the detailed story line in an article. 

The theme revolves around the tiny people in a tiny world living a Frooti Life.

The brand which brought back the classic " Fresh'N'Juicy " tagline has dropped it in the new scheme of things. The new tagline it seems is " The Frooti Life".

The packaging is bold and refreshing. The ad is amusing because of the stop-motion animation but I am not sure whether it has the wow-factor enough to cause the youngsters to flock to it. The brand has attempted a laddering up from the highly functional FreshNJuicy proposition. But I feel that the plot is not that clear. 

While the brand has made a refreshing change, I am wondering what next for the brand ? How is the brand going to take the " Frooti Life " forward ? Just being amusing is a dangerous goal in a re-branding and re-segmenting exercise. 

The 2013 campaign was so good and bought back the freshness to the brand with SRK boosting the presence. A drastic change in the whole branding and segment is something which is quite intriguing.

Some how I feel a disconnect between the tiny people and SRK and Frooti Life ! May be  because I am out of the TG. 

Brand Update : Fair & Handsome ropes in Hrithik Roshan

Indian men's grooming  market is estimated to be  Rs 4300 crore market ( Source - Euromonitor). The skin care market is estimated to be around Rs 700 crore. The fairness segment for men was created and dominated by Fair and Handsome . Launched in 2005, FAH became hugely popular. The brand rode to fame with the endorsement from Shah Rukh Khan.

After 8 years of association with SRK, FAH has now roped in Hrithik Roshan as the brand ambassador. Hrithik is featured in the new ad for FAH Face wash. The men's face wash category is worth to be around Rs 250 crore. The 8 years association with SRK has helped FAH to be the leader in the category.

The new brand ambassador is expected to rejuvenate the brand and bring in freshness. The brand is currently airing the TVC featuring the new brand ambassador.

Watch the TVC here : Hrithik FAH

The ad highlights the functional benefits of the FAH facewash with brand ambassador as the user. The reports suggest that Hrithik would be one of the ambassadors and does not indicate that he has replaced SRK. 

Brand Update : Sunfeast Brand Architecture

Launched in 2003, Sunfeast has come a long way. The brand has become an umbrella brand endorsing a wide range of biscuit and other products from the ITC stable. It is interesting to see the brand architecture of Sunfeast.

Brand Architecture refers to the strategy in which the company decides on how to use the brand elements and how these elements are shared across products. So Sunfeast's brand architecture refers to the strategy on the usage of Sunfeast brand elements across various products.

ITC has used Sunfeast as an Umbrella ( Family ) brand name for biscuit and snack products from its stable. Sunfeast endorses the following products - biscuits, noodles and pasta. 

Within each category, the brand architecture of Sunfeast is interesting.

According to the brand's website, ITC has divided the biscuits into four sub-categories - Cookies, Cream based biscuits and  Light and Fun biscuits and Healthy biscuits.

In the brand architecture , the company has used sub-brands for various types of products .

In the cookie sub-category, Sunfeast has following sub-brands - Delishus, Special Cookies and Mom's Magic . 

In the healthy biscuits sub-category, Sunfeast has Farmlite, Marie Lite, Glucose and Milky Magic sub-brands.

In the cream biscuit sub-category, Sunfeast has Dark Fantasy,  Bounce , Bourbon Bliss and Dream Cream  sub-brands.

In the light and fun biscuit sub-category, Sunfeast has Sweet'N'Salt, Nice and Snacky sub-brands.

Within the Dark Fantasy brand, there are three modifier brands - Choco Meltz and Choco Fills and Luxuria.

Besides the biscuit category, Sunfeast is also extended to Noodles and Pasta . For noodles category, Sunfeast uses Yippee  sub-brand and for pasta, it has Pasta Treat sub-brand. 

Recently Sunfeast launched a competitor for Choco Pie in the form of  Yumfills which is not a biscuit but a cream filled cake. 

It is interesting that ITC is investing in not only Sunfeast but its sub-brands because it has lot of cash to spend. These sub-brands are differentiated through packaging and other brand elements like color. 

In this brand architecture, the parent brand  Sunfeast is present as a logo in most of the products. In all the packaging and brand related communication, the primary driver is the sub-brand. ITC expects that over a period of time, these sub-brands will acquire equity and Sunfeast would just be a token endorser. 

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. 

Layer'r Shot Deo : Pure Fragrance, Nothing Else

Brand : Layer'r

Company : Adjavis Venture Ltd (AVL)

Brand Analysis Count : # 547

Layer'r was launched in 2013 by AVL which was founded by Mr Devandra Patil. Mr Patil was a co-founder of Paras Pharmaceuticals and later the brothers of Paras decided to start on their own after selling Paras to Reckitt.One of the brothers, Darshan Patel started the Fogg brand under the company Vini Cosmetics which recently became the market leader in the deo category. Devendra Patel entered the deo market with two brands- Layer'r Shot for men and Wottagirl for women.
In the highly cluttered market for deos, the key success factor lies in the differentiation. The market is hotting up with majors like ITC entering the market with its Engage brand which gobbled up around 6% share within a short span of time.
Taking a cue from the success of Fogg, Layer'r has put in some thought with regard to the differentiation. The brand has rightly decided to move away from the " seduction" theme and has gone for some rational approach.
Layer'r differentiation is on the packaging. For the first time in the deo category, the brand has gone in for a transparent packaging. While most of the fragrance products like perfumes comes in transparent bottles, its is the first time that a deo has chosen to be packaged in a clear bottle.
With the USP of transparency, Layer'r has decided to position itself on the bases of " Pure" attribute which is presented in the form of transparent bottle. The brand has adopted the tagline " Pure fragrance , Nothing Else"
Another interesting fact is that the brand calls it a fragrant body spray rather than a deo. Hence the brand is also trying to create a product category different from deo ( in a way) saying that  deo is old style. So the brand is saying to the consumers to ditch the deo and adopt fragrant body spray. Although body spray products are already there in the market, but it is the first time that a brand has pitched itself against the deos.

Along with the packaging, Layer'r has gone in for a celebrity endorsement by the bollywood star Imran Khan. The campaign featuring Imran Khan take a dig at brands like Fogg by saying that  one cannot know what is inside the bottle of deos since you cannot see it.
Watch the campaigns here : Layer'r 1, Layer'r 2
With regard to the USP of the brand, the transparency of the bottle cannot be sustained because anyone can come with a deo in a transparent bottle.
Another differentiator that Layer'r tries to bring is in terms of a  product category of fragrant body spray. But Layer'r is not trying to say why a fragrant body spray is different /better than the usual deo.
The transparent bottle seems to be a good proposition as far as the brand trials are concerned. The added strength of the celebrity endorser will help the brand get trials at the retailer end.
While the competition has almost killed the Axe's positioning of   " seduction" , the Fogg's proposition of  " No gas " bottles has become the next target. New deo brands are now targeting Fogg. Envy brand is already talking about 1000 sprays and now Layer'r talking about transparent perfumes.
Attaining Points of Difference  in the deo market has now become a herculean task for marketers.