Medimix : Taking Care of Skin Problems

Brand : Medimix
Company: Cholayil
Agency: Grey

Brand Count : 206

Medimix is the second largest Ayurvedic soap brand in the country. This brand is a pure play ayurvedic soap and has been around in the Indian market for more than 37 years. The brand was born in 1969 by a virtually unknown company Cholayil . Over these years , Medimix has grown to become a Rs 140 crore brand.The brand was targeted mainly at SEC BC segment.

Medimix is a pure ayurvedic herbal soap and take pride in its herbal heritage. This brand can be said as one of the pioneer in the herbal soap category. The brand was one of the few brands that had positioned itself as a herbal soap when the market was full of synthetic soaps. The brand had 18 herbs in it and was positioned as a curative/medicinal soap. The brand was even prescribed by doctors for skin diseases.Medimix is the only brand which reveals all the name of its ingredients in the packaging. The name Medimix was derived by combining Medicine + Mix ( my guess). Because of its quality and medicinal properties, the bran has around 30% market share in the d has carved out a place in the Rs 660 crore herbal soap market. Medimixayurvedic soap market and 3.2% share in the total soap market.

Medimix was marketed heavily in South India. But often this brand fell into the trap of Sales Promotion driving the sales. The sales dropped sharply when the sales promotion schemes get over and company had to rely more on the sales promotion activities. The brand also went into totally unrelated Brand Extension into cough syrup category with Medimix cough syrup and also extended into Coconut oil segment : both of these extensions were not successful.

In 2006, the brand took a major initiative to take the brand forward. Medimix has realised competition getting intense in the soap market with brand coming out with variants and also taking the Natural/ayurvedic route. Although Medimix had the heritage, there was the issue of brand not being noticed by younger generation. Brands like Jeeva began to challenge the ingredient theory by promoting its 27 herbal ingredients vs Medimix's 18 herbs.
In 2006 Medimix initiated a relaunch exercise for Medimix. Medimix changed its packaging after 36 years into a new contemporary packaging designed by Bangalore based Ray+ Kesavan Designs.New advertisement campaigns were launched intended to appeal the brand to the younger crowd.According to company officials , the brand wants to be appealing to Mass Urban and younger crowd which is a tough task for any brand.The brand also came out with two variants : Sandal and glycerin to attract the Naturals segment. The brand also is tying to appeal as a beauty soap with out diluting its medicinal curative positioning.The brand also wants to appeal to SEC A segment .
The company wants to take the brand national and make it a rs 500 crore brand.The competition is intense but Medimix has a heritage to bank upon. May be in this case the brand may have to seek a celebrity push to reach the next level.

source:businessline,cholayil.com,agencyfaqs

Chandanam: Power of Brand Name

Brand : Chandanam
Company: SD Pharmacy
Agency: MAA Bozell

Brand Count : 205

Chandanam is an interesting brand. The brand is from SD Pharmacy which is a small player in the traditional ayurvedic medicine market. SD pharmacy came into limelight with the huge success of Manjal Soap( discussed elsewhere in this blog) which notched up an impressive turnover of around Rs 12 crore within a years time . Manjal Soap was later sold to Marico for an undisclosed amount.

Buoyed by the success of Manjal soap, SD pharmacy launched Chandanam Soap in 2006. The brand follows the same strategy of Manjal Soap i.e harnessing the power of brand names. Like Manjal ; which is the Malayalam word for turmeric, Chandanam is the Malayalam term for Sandal. The brand talks about the ingredient Sandalon which has the essence of sandal which will make the skin younger and also acts as a deodorant.
The brand unlike Manjal faces stiff competition from giants like Santoor and the heritage brand Mysore Sandal Soap. Also brands like Hamam has variants with Sandal ingredient.

Chandanam is marketed just like Manjal Soap, the packaging and the TVC's are strikingly similar and the company expects the market to accept this brand also. Another interesting fact is that SD pharmacy has not stopped with Chandanam. In 2007 the company launched its third brand of soap branded Mullappoo which is the Malayalam name for Jasmine. More amusing is the fact that the entire communication and packaging follows the same formula except that in case of Mullappoo the USP is the jasmine fragrance.It raises the question Whether a marketing formula works for all brands ? everytime?

One of the reason cited by the company for selling the brand Manjal was that the company lacked the resources to compete in FMCG segment . But in a report the company MD says he has no plans to sell Chandanam brand and will be marketed by the company itself. According to the website VCcircle.com, P&G has evinced interest in acquiring Chandanam.

The brands Chandanam and Mullappoo are classic case of the pulling power of brand names and these brands draw its strength from the ingredients. The brand names are derived from original generic local names.The brand is an example of a Descriptive brand. This strategy works because the consumers can easily identify the brand and its USP ( a very simple use of commonsense) . The company does not need to tell too much about either Chandanam or Mullappoo to a Malayali . The brand is also following the higly successful sampling strategy followed during the Manjal launch. Chandanam Samples are carried by popular magazines like Vanitha and Grihalakshmi followed by print ads and TVC's.Although the brand calls itself as Herbal soap, the soap is actually a Natural Soap.

The initial reports from the market suggests that Chandanam and Mullappoo has been well received. But the task to create volumes for this brands remains huge. The company may need heavy investment because two new brands were launched in quick succession and that too in a highly competitive market.These brands has to sustain the share of voice because otherwise the scope of these brands will be limited to a niche. Whether the company has plans to take this brand further or will it be sold of at a premium is something that has to be seen.

source: businessline,economictimes

Related Brand
Manjal

Jeeva : The Complete Ayurvedic Soap

Brand : Jeeva
Company: Jyothi Laboratories Ltd
Agency: Situations Advertising and Marketing

Brand Count : 203

Jeeva is a niche brand in the Rs 700 crore Ayurvedic soap market in India. The brand which was launched in 2002 is still restricted to the Southern Indian markets . Jeeva is the first initiative of Jyothi Labs into the highly competitive personal care market. Jyothi Lab which is famous for its Ujala Whitener will be fighting with the giants like HLL in this market. Jeeva competes with Medimix and Chandrika in the ayurvedic category. The market for ayurvedic soap is cluttered with all major brand's having an extension in this category.

Like all the brands of Jyothi lab, Jeeva was launched in the market with a clear differentiation. The brand boasted of 27 herbal ingredients that will smoothen, nurture, soften and deodorize the skin making it younger and beautiful. The brand is the brainchild of Mr Ramachandran MD of Jyothi Lab. According to the company website, the brand is the result of seven years of research by the R&D team.

Jeeva was launched with much fanfare in Kerala. Jyothi Lab always uses Kerala market as its launch market. There is an unwritten law ( my law) that if a brand succeeds in Kerala, there is a surety that it will succeed in the national market.
The company used the famous Southern Film Diva Simran to endorse the brand and the ad talked about only one thing: 27 ingredients. This differentiation was significant because at that time the market was dominated by Medimix which was positioned as a Curative soap. Medimix was well established and to take on that heritage brand, one needs to have one Big Idea.

All though there is no significance about the number 27, Jeeva tried to create a magic around the number. To a certain extent the positioning worked. The ads ensured a fair amount of trail purchase for the brand. Although some marketers say that the focus on 27 ingredients is sustainable because it can be bettered by another player. I feel that to launch the brand, the focus on the number has worked magically. The brand uses the tagline " The complete Ayurvedic Soap" which is further reinforced by the focus on 27 ingredients. The brand is targeting SEC B,C,D segment of the market.
But after a while the brand became silent in the market. Last year saw lot of action in the ayurvedic soap market with the relaunch of Chandrika , Hamam and Medimix. The category moved from pure ayurvedic to Naturals.

Jyothi Lab had big plans for Jeeva brand. According to the company website, the brand is going to be an Umbrella brand endorsing a range of personal care products . The first signs of that strategy became visible in 2007 when the company launched the first extension of Jeeva brand : Jeeva Naturals.
Jeeva Naturals is white soap that has coconut milk and ordinary milk protein extracts as the ingredients. The new product is positioned on the nourishment platform and currently TVC and print campaigns are on in the Southern States. The ads talk about the brand primarily as a beauty soap.

Jeeva is a challenger brand in the Soap market . But to sustain and grow in this market, the brand has to identify a theme or a positioning strategy that is sustainable.

source: businessline,jyothilabwebsite
image :businessline jyothilab

Crocin : Your Trusted Paracetamol

Brand : Crocin
Company: Glaxo Smithkline
Agency: O&M

Brand Count: 186

Crocin is a three decade old heritage brand. The brand was once generic to the antipyretic category in India . The brand is currently sold through Over The Counter (OTC) route. The brand is the market leader in the paracetamol category.

Crocin was launched in India 30 years ago by the company Duphar Interfran Ltd. During the early years, the brand was marketed through the ethical route. The brand was bought by Smithkline in 1996. The brand was so successful in the market that GSK bought it for a consideration of Rs 45 crore. There was a logic behind the brand acquisition. GSK had the brand Calpol in the prescription market and was a market leader in the Ethical segment. Crocin was proving to be a major threat for Calpol. So the brand was acquired inorder to safeguard the position of Calpol.

The Indian Pharmaceutical market is huge with a valuation of $45 billion. The OTC segment accounts for a value of $ 1 Billion i.e Rs 4500 crore. Crocin is in the analgesic/antipyretic market. The analgesic (pain Killer) market is a large market with a size of Rs 900 crore and the mild analgesic market is worth Rs 300 crore. With in the analgesic market there are two types : Aspirin based and Paracetamol based. Paracetamol based formulations constitute a major part of the market. Crocin formulations has a 5% share in the total market.

Crocin although a generic name in the paracetamol segment faces an interesting problem. 65% of the brand usage is for its antipyretic i.e fever related use. The antipyretic segment in the OTC is very small with a size of Rs 30-40 crore. In the painkiller market which is large, Saridon leads the pack in the OTC segment.

Crocin's market became limited sadly because of its efficacy or popularity as a drug for fever although it had pain killer properties. Sometimes success can become a limiting factor for further growth. The paracetamol segment is witnessing competition from the generic tablets. Most of the time the druggist has the influencing power in the sale of OTC products. During the 1990's if Crocin was a generic name for paracetamol tablets, the situation is different now with consumers asking for Paracetamol rather than Crocin.
Crocin was in the maturity stage of its product lifecycle in 2000 with the sales stagnating.There was intense competition from generic products and other brands.Paracetamol became a commodity with little scope for differentiation. The brand then went into Market Development Mode in 2003 by repositioning the brand as an analgesic. The brand roped in Kapil Dev to endorse the brand. The high profile ad campaign gave a new life to the brand. The brand also came out with variants like Crocin Quik that boasted of faster relief . Quik was essentially a concentrate of the classic Crocin. Crocin also came out with Crocin 1000 aiming at patients having arthritis. Crocin is promoted as an ethical product.

Crocin had its fair share of problems from the " Watch Dogs". Typically when a brand moves from Ethical to OTC and embarks on brand building , there is going to be someone who will cry foul. Crocin faced objections from FDA for some of its campaigns but those were later sorted out.

As far as a customer is concerned, Crocin is still perceived as a drug for fever( antipyretic) rather than as a pain killer(analgesic). It will take a lot of money and time to change that perception.

Related Brands
Gelusil
Vicks
Hajmola

Source: walletwatch,agencyfaqs,pharmabiz

Clearasil : For Clear Skin

Brand : Clearasil
Company: Reckitt & Benckiser
Agency: Euro Rscg

Brand Count : 177

Clearasil was a brand that was synonymous with skin care in India. The brand occupied a distinct space in the Indian market as the ultimate cream for Pimples and acne. But over the years this brand is facing the decline stage in its product life cycle. The brand reached this pathetic state because of reasons not of its own.

Clearasil is a global brand famous world wide as a cure for acne and pimples. The brand is 56 year old. Mr Ivan Combe of USA invented the product in 1950. It was the first dermatological brand for curing pimples and acne made especially for young skin. In 1961, the brand came into the fold of Richardson Vicks. In 1985 P&G became the owner of Richardson Vicks. Later the company sold of these brands to Boots Pharmaceuticals in the year 2000. In 2006, Reckitt &Benckiser bought the brand globally. The brand came to India in 1967.

Now you can easily see the reason why the brand failed. The brand went through too many ownership changes. Some companies did not feel that the brand was a part of its core portfolio. For example during the ownership of Clearasil by P&G there was no investment on the brand since for the company, the personal care business was not a core area. Hence during this period the brand was not at all promoted. Even though the other owners had tried to revive the brand, frequent changes made the brand vulnerable.

Clearasil during its peak years had the reputation as a strong cream for fighting pimples and acnes. At that time there was no direct competition for Clearasil although there were many skin creams. For a family having teenage girls, Clearasil was an essential brand. But over the years, because of the lack of brand building efforts, the brand became irrelevant to the younger generation. Clearasil slowly became the brand that “my mother used”. When Boots owned the brand, lot of variants were launched. The brand changed its packaging and was extended to soaps.Rather than limiting to acne control, the brand tried to position itself as a skin care brand. But the effort did not bear fruit because by that time, the market was flooded with modern contemporary brands.

The brand is now owned by Reckitt and marketers expect that the brand will get a new lease of life. The greatest challenge before the new owners is to make the brand contemporary and relevant to the new generation. Reckitt had to find a new differentiation platform for this heritage brand. It has to tap the existing brand equity and try to create a new space for Clearasil. Globally Clearasil is positioned on the basis of Confidence through better skin . The global positioning statement is “Get Clearasil , Get Confidence”. But in India, Cinthol uses this positioning . The brand faces tough competition from the likes of Ponds, Lakme, Loreal and so on .So to find the right space is going to be tough.I think that the brand could take the “ Clear Skin” positioning where by it is not limited to controlling pimples but overall skin care. With the brand Veet from Reckitt is in the same skin care market; the brand managers will have a tough time integrating Clearasil to the portfolio.

source:agencyfaqs,businessline,reckittbenckiser.com

Related Brands

Ponds
Fair&Lovely
Vicco
Loreal
Bodyshop

MTR : Pure and Perfect

Brand : MTR
Company : MTR Foods
Agency:O&M

Brand Count : 173

MTR has a history dated back from 1924. The company started of as a small restaurent in Bangalore named Mavalli Tiffin Room(MTR) is now rated as one of the largest players in the increasingly popular ready to eat foods market. The company first launched its packaged food product during 1976 and the company invented the Rava Idly mix which was the first product by the company in this segment.

It was in 2000 that the company seriously ventured into the ready to eat food segment. Although the reports suggest that the ready to eat food segment excluding snack foods and noodles is worth 50 crore and expected to touch Rs 200 crore with in three years time, I am quite sceptical about it. The report was dated 2002 and now in 2006 the market is still hovering in that range.
The reason for such optimistic projection is based on the changing lifestyle of Indians. With both husband and wife working , there is going to be increased need for such convenience foods that save time. Seeing this opprotunity many players like ITC, Satnam Overseas, Saaj food products etc are seriously into the fray . ITC has launched Kitchens of India brand with much fanfare followed by Aashirvaad range in this segment. Kitchens of India is premium and Aashirvaad is for the mass market.
The basic reason for this segment not taking off as expected is the lack of value proposition of the brands. All the brands operating in this segment is priced at a premium. For example a RTE pack typically costs Rs 35 for a serving of Three ( as the pack says ) but those who have used the packs know that only Two can use this because the quantity is very less. Although we can argue about the convenience and cost saving of cooking gas etc, at the outset, the price is a put off for a middleclass customer ( my experience). Another factor is the perception of quality and taste camparison of home made versus packaged foods.
Hence the use of these packs are limited to occassions and emergencies and not for daily consumption. This can be the reason behind the lack of momentum in the growth of the category. But like all new category , it takes time and investment to create this new category which holds immense potential.
Piggybacking on this category is another emerging category of curry pastes. The product offers curry pastes that added with the vegetables/meat and with little cooking can give your favorite curry. The market for this category is estimated to be around Rs 5 crore.

MTR is positioned based on the Purity platform. The product boasts about the rich heritage and the firms committment to quality. The brand is very strong in Karnataka and has a pan India presence. The brand is moving towards offering complete meal solutions to the time starved Indian consumers. The brand faces the typical issue of changing the perception of Indian consumers towards these convenience foods. Another issue is the scope for differentiation.The ready to eat category offers little scope for sustainable differentiation.The market is already crowded with local players and the heavy weights.

source: businessline,mtr.com,agencyfaqs,

Amrutanjan : It's Gone !

Brand: Amrutanjan
Company: Amrutanjan Ltd
Agency: Dentsu

Brand Count: 168

Gayab,
Poye Poch,
Poyallo,
Its Gone !!!!!
Remember the brand ?

Amrutanjan is one of India's heritage brands. This 113 year old brand is still young and rocking. Amrutanjan is still one of the largest players in the Rs 250 crore balm market.Etched firmly in the mind of the consumer, Amrutanjan sustained competition, generations and maintained its relevance in the Indian market. The brand has a huge equity in the Indian market and all along has been trying to extend its equity to various categories.

Amrutanjan was founded in 1893 by Mr. Nageshwara Rao Panthulu Guru. The company became public in the year 1936 and currently commands 21-23% market share in the category. The yellow colored formulation and the glass bottle has been a part of Indian households. Although a pain balm , the brand was used for cold and head aches. The brand has a huge cache of loyal users especially in South India. Although the balm market including cold rubs and cold reliever market is Rs 250 crore, the balm market is estimated to be around Rs 100 crore.

Although Amrutanjan is famous for its pain balm, the company has successfully diversified into categories like Diabetes cure and bio technology. The company has now a portfolio of brands like Daikyur, Amrutanjan strong, Dragon liquid balm, Cold snap etc.
In the pain balm segment, the company faces tough competition from Zandu Balm which is the market leader. While the overall balm market (including cold) is dominated by Vicks. Vicks commands a market share of over 60% in the cold balm/rub category.
Amrutanjan has positioned its pain balm on its quick relief attribute. The old and famous " It's Gone" campaign is still recalled by most people. Even though many brands have tried to convince the customers about quick relief, Amrutanjan still retains its equity.

In its portfolio of brands, Amrutanjan's Cold snap is an interesting case .The brand was launched in 1997 with much fanfare. The cold snap was pitted against Vicks. The brand was the first gel product in the category. The differentiators for the brand was that it is non greasy . But the brand was not successful. The simple reason is that Cold snap should not be applied to the nose. It should be applied to the chest and the back for Cold relief. This caused lot of confusion in the consumers. Traditionally when we have cold, we rub the balm all over the nose and even apply the balm inside the nose ! Now the brand says not to do it and warns the customers that it is dangerous to apply Cold Snap on nose. I believe that it is the single factor that prevented Cold Snap from being successful. Cold & Nose have strong association and the brand went against that association.

The pain balm has been riding on the equity and the heritage. Although I am not making any judgement about the future of the brand, I feel that the campaign " It's gone" has immense potential. The brand could come out with new series and versions on this platform and keep the brand alive and relevant in the consumer's mind.

source: businessline,amrutanjan.com,superbrands,sify,domain b

Burnol : The Burn Specialist

Brand : Burnol
Company: Dr Morpean Labs
Agency: JWT

Brand Count: 156

Burnol is one of the oldest antiseptic cream brands in India. This 65 year old brand still holds tremendous brand recall among the Indian consumers. Burnol has changed hands many times in its existence in the Indian market. The first brand owner was Boots and the brand the brand was acquired by Knoll. Later Reckitt and Piramal bought the brand from Knoll. In 2002 the brand was acquired by Dr Morpean labs. This constant change over of this brand from one company to another has virtually undermined the equity of this heritage brand.

The Indian antiseptic cream market is estimated to be around Rs 210 crore. The market is dominated by Boroplus from Emami which commands a market share of around 60%. Burns market is specialised market with a size of Rs 30 crore. Burnol had a generic status in this market.

Burnol during the hay days had a strong demand in the market. It was perceived as a " must have" in households and offices in the first-aid boxes. Although in households , there is rare incidents of burns, Burnol was kept as a essential first aid medicine.

The market still remains the same. The homemakers still deal with fire and there is still a perceived need for such a burn specialist at home. Despite the market remaining unchanged , Burnol was pushed to a negligible presence because of reasons not of its own.

Burnol was positioned as a burn specialist from day one ( I think so). Customers also associate this brand with burns. The fact is that Burnol is an antiseptic cream that could be used for burns as well as cuts just like other antiseptic creams. Burnol was positioned so strongly that the association has become embedded in the mind of the customers. Even the name reinforces the positioning of this brand. During its life cycle, the brand had tried to change over from being a burn specialist to an all purpose cream but it was a mistake. Customers refused to accept the repositioning and the whole exercise was a failure.

When Dr Morpean relaunched the brand with the positioning based on being " Burn specialist", the customers reacted favorably to it. Burnol was promoted as a " must have " at every home.
The brand was not able to garner its potential share in the market for reasons related to the brand owners. Either some of the companies who owned this brand was in financial crisis or the brand was not in their core marketing plan. Because of these two reasons, the brand promotion was virtually nil and this apathy reflected in the market share of this brand. Although Morpean labs initially pushed the brand, the financial health of the company is limiting the brand promotion to a great extent. Morpean had initiated major repositioning campaign and even changed the product to a more acceptable cream composition.

The brand will remain a niche brand for the following reasons.
a. Unlike other antiseptic creams, the incidence of small burns are rare and hence the usage of this product is limited thus causing little or no repurchase. This creates stagnation in the sales of this brand.
b. Since Burnol is very much embedded as a burn specialist, the extension of this brand to other uses is virtually non existent because customers will not or may not accept such an extension.

The factors outside the control of the marketer is severely hindering the brand growth. With lot of money for promotion, one can see this brand regaining its lost position in the market.

Source: businessline, agencyfaqs,express4media,

Mysore Sandal Soap: Pure Sandal

Brand : Mysore Sandal Soap
Company: Karnataka Soaps &Detergents Ltd
Agency: MC&A

Brand Count : 149

Mysore Sandal Soap has a unique place in the Indian Soap market. This soap with a history dating from 1918 has survived in a market which is witnessing cut throat competition. Mysore Sandal Soap is manufactured by the Public sector company : Karnataka Soaps &Detergents ltd ( KSDL). Although this is a product from public sector, the brand has been able to create a unique place in the Indian consumer's mind.

Mysore Sandal Soap is made from pure sandal oil distilled in the state government's factory and the soap is devoid of any animal fat. Mysore sandal has the distinction of being the world's only soap with pure and real sandal oil. The sandal range has four products : super premium gold,baby soap,Winter version the normal sandal soap.

In the Rs 4500 crore Indian soap market, this brand has a minuscule share of only 80 crore ie 2%. The brand can be said to be a niche brand in the premium soap category.

According to the media reports, even the company officials feel that the brand has the potential to be a Rs 400 crore brand but since the resources for brand building and some laidbacknes has limited the growth of this brand.The TG of this brand is right now 40 year olds with majority of consumers in the southern state of TamilNadu.

The brand typically faces the problem that all heritage brands faces, that is to stay relevant to the new generation.Mysore Sandal is facing the issue that its loyal users are getting older and the new generations are moving to more visible brands.

2006 saw a very surprising move from KSDL. It roped in an unusual brand ambassador MS Dhoni to endorse the soap. The purpose was to make the brand attractive to the new generation. But whether Dhoni and Mysore sandal will fit is something to be seen. It will take some innovative marketing campaigns to merge the two different personalities: one the brand which is traditional and the model which is so modern and flamboyant. The current campaigns are ordinary which just shows Dhoni endorsing the brand.

This is a brand that does not need a model to endorse but what it needs is tonnes of marketing support interms of advertising campaigns ( in other words lots of money).The brand has a huge brand equity and recall. Those who have used this brand will vouch for its quality and fragrance.I would say that the potential of brand is such that it should look for extensions into perfumes and Deos. The brand is primarily seen a south Indian brand and to have a pan Indian presence calls for some serious investment. I feel that with a superior product like this , every penny spent on this brand will be worthwhile.

source: hindubusinessline,agencyfaqs

Nivea : Gentle Care

Brand : Nivea
Company : Beirsdorf AG (JL Morrison in India)
Agency: TBWA

Brand Count : 147

Nivea is a German brand marketed in India by JL Morrison. This brand has a history of around 96 years. Nivea came into existence in the year 1911. The brand has derived its name from the Latin word Nivius meaning "Snow White".

Nivea has been in Indian market for more than 30 years. But this brand which is truly a global brand has not met with success in India. Nivea globally is the brand that has its presence in around 20 product categories in more than 50 countries. But in the 1300 crore Indian skin care market, the presence of Nivea don't justify its rich heritage.

Nivea is famous worldwide for its face cream. Nivea Creme created by Dermatologists was launched in 1911 . The brand is considered to be the first to take the skin care category from the elite class to the masses. The brand worldwide is known for its Trust, Reliability and Accessibility. Globally this brand is positioned in the platform of "Gentle Care" and " Wellness". The brand has its elements of Color embedded firmly in the minds of the customers. Nivea took its "Blue and White" color as its brand element as early as 1924. From there onwards, this color scheme has been a brand identity for Nivea.

In India, the brand is known for its skin cream. Nivea cream is but perceived as a winter cream because of its thickness and oily consistency. While in other parts of the world, Nivea has successfully came out of this narrow perception, in India, the marketers were not able to effectively take the brand forward. With most of Indian stated do not have severe winter, the market for winter cream is very limited.Nivea has a market share of 19% in the Rs 108 crore skin cream market which is dominated by Ponds.Now Ponds hold the position which Nivea could have taken had it been more aggressive in the market.

Although JL Morrison tried to extend the brand to soaps, the extension has not been successful because of the halfhearted effort. With salespromotion now being used to promote this brand of soaps,further dilution of the brand equity is inevitable.

Nivea face serious marketing issues in India. The brand has not been aggressive enough in this market which is crowded with established brands. Nivea was never bothered about strengthening its positioning as a skin care leader. While Ponds successfully extended itself to other product categories, Nivea is stuck with its cream.This is a brand that failed because of marketing laziness. Nivea have huge brand recall and equity. It has the global parentage, successful positioning opportunity but was not able to leverage the strength because the Indian marketers didnot want to invest in the brand. The problem is that when the brand is licensed to a marketer in a country, the objective of the brand manager will be to milk maximum out of the brand rather than invest in longterm brand building. Every ads and campaigns will be weighed interms of the ROI and sales growth. Successful brands required longterm investment that will yeild results over a period of time. But in the case of Nivea, no such brand building efforts were to be seen.

The potential of the brand is evident from the fact that in the Grey market, the brand is sold well. There is also significant difference in the quality of imported Nivea and the local one. It is said that Nivea Deo is the best selling product in the grey market.

Nivea is sad story of a brand that failed to succeed inspite of having all essential Brand qualities. If failed because of marketing laziness.

source:rediff,brandweek,businesstoday,nivea.com

Charagh Din : CD Rocks

Brand : Charagh Din
Company: Charagh Din
Agency: Network Advertising

Brand Count : 129

Charagh Din Shirts otherwise popularly known as CD Shirts is a unique brand. CD shirts are known as the only One store readymade brand in India. The brand is available in its showroom in Mumbai and nowhere else. The CD showroom in Mumbai is considered as the largest shirt store in the world.

Charagh Din was originally New Lord & Co came into existence in 1947. Two years later this small tailoring company was bought over by the enterprising Mr Arjan Daswani which converted this shop into a wonderful brand. CD has grown from a 800 sqft shop to 100,000 sqft shop because of the owner's never ending passion for quality and marketing excellence.
The brand's fame began to spread from Mumbai to other parts of the country and CD began to figure in the shopping list of those who travel to Mumbai. I have friends who buys 10 shirts when they visit Mumbai and wears only CD shirts.
CD shirt was built on three basic qualities
a. Sophistication
b. Good Taste
c. Special Identity.
The brand was earlier known as the " Shirt that Fits". The word of mouth spread fast with the increasing list of Who is Who began wearing this brand. More over CD was the first branded party wear shirt in India. The brand never failed to experiment with design and it gave the brand a contemporary look even after 60 years of existence.

For every successful brand the challenge comes when the brand begins to expand. CD does not want its USP of one store brand to be diluted by opening multi-location stores. Hence the brand embraced the net to expand the volume. In 2001, the brand was available online. The owners feel that the net will take care of the reach while the brand could be built through the media.

Recently the company have started aggressive promotion for this brand. The baseline of the brand has been changed to " CD Rocks". The ad features Czech models partying in a typical party locale. The ad is poorly made and does not convey any tangible value of the brand. The aim of the campaign was to project CD as a party shirt to the target segment of urban youth . But the execution and the models was a flop ( my opinion).

*****

Dr Keller's Brand Report Card for Charagh Din

Delivering on Customer's Desires: Positive since the brand has been maintaining its quality and design excellence. The product is put through rigorous quality checks and the company makes sure that the new designs are launched every month.

Relevance: The brand still has relevance in today's market. There is still a need for a brand which is young and vibrant

Value: CD shirts are priced quite reasonably and this makes the deal more attractive

Positioning: The brand has made a change in its positioning which I think is a negative factor. The new campaign have failed to convey any values or strength of the brand.

Integrated Marketing Activities: The brand has not fully integrated its activities on the web. Since this brand has an online store, no aggressive online promotions are seen. I haven't yet received a single e-mail from the company promoting its range.

*****

Charagh Din is a brand that has immense potential. It has the heritage, quality, Share of Mind, brand equity and the uniqueness. But the company seems to have forgotten its strengths. The brand is wise to have retained its uniqueness of one store brand by using web as the alternative channel. But still it has not fully harnessed the power of web as a media for brand building.I hope that in the quest to capture the mind of the urban Yuppie, the brand does not dilute the equity that was built over time.

Source: Charaghdin.com

Cadbury's Gems: Nonstop Excitement

Brand : Gems

Company: Cadbury's

Agency: O&M

Brand Count : 124

Cadbury's Gems is one of a kind product and brand. Unrivalled in all these years, Gems hold a special position in the consumer's mind. The brand which came to India in 1968 is still going strong.

Gems is still popular not because of its ads but because of the heritage or should I say nostalgia?

I still remember the excitement I had ( when I was a kid) when my father slowly pushed the Gems through the pack and we used to guess the color of the button that is going to come out. The same excitement I could see in my daughter's face now after almost 20 years. I still buy Gems for my kid not because of the ads but because it is a brand I grow up with. ( sorry for being emotional).

Although 38 years old, Gems managed to stay relevant. A lot can be attributable to lack of competition and the unique taste that the product has. I will say that the brand is still relevant because those consumers of yesteryear's are now the parents and inevitably, Gems will figure in their favorite list of chocolates.

In the recent past I have seldom seen an ad of Gems. A major change in the Product Mix came in the early nineties when Gems reworked on its pricing and packaging strategy. It made a clever move by inventing new price points at Rs 5 making the brand more affordable. In the recent past, Gems pack is available for even Rs 2.

2006 saw the first variant of Gems in the form of Fruity flavours branded as Gems Jungli. The chocolate core has been changed to fruit flavours which is a major change in terms of the brand. Gems is known for its chocolate core with sugar coatings. With this variant, Gems is in a way moving away from its core .

Jungli has given the brand something to speak about. Now lot of promos have started aiming at the target audience ( kids). The ads are OK but not upto the creative standards of O&M. I bought one for my kid but the excessive coloring is a dampener. The color of the sugar coating seems to be too much and caused alarm as to how healthy the color is. The classic Gems do not have that much coloring or the color don't seem to be unhealthy.

I don't remember the old ads of Gems but looking at some of the blogs like Vishalpatel.com , the ads seem to position the brand along excitement. Even during the 80's there was Gems Bond a mascot for the brand. The old ads also talked about creating pictures using Gems. Those campaigns have put this brand firmly on the kids mind that is still making impact.Now Gems has been promoted using events and contests .

Gems have a problem at hand. How to make this brand relevant to today's kids. With lot of action in the confectionery market with lot of brands, Gems cannot rely on the old brand equity. May be the Jungli launch was to make the brand more visible in the segment now but are we not forgetting the classic Gems ?

Although positioned on excitement, right now Gems do not have a solid positioning. I agree that it is one of a kind and there has been imitations that have failed but success should not lead to marketing myopia.

Gems has to consolidate and nurture its core brand to be relevant to the much more dynamic and highly evasive consumer of today. Gems has to make sure that the excitement is nonstop.

Quaker Oats : Tough Task Ahead

Brand : Quaker Oats

Company: Frito Lay ( Pepsi co)

Brand Count : 122

Quaker Oats is the latest entry into the tough market of branded breakfast foods. Indian Branded Breakfast market is worth around Rs 300 crore. In volume terms it is 140000 tonnes. Oats market is worth around 4000 tonnes.

After the Kellogg's foray in to the breakfast market in 1990, Quaker is the only high profile product launch in this segment. Kellogg's grew the market from 1000MT to around 3000MT through heavy spent in advertising. Now Kellogg's is ruling the breakfast market but yet to break even.

Quaker's launch is significant because it comes from the Pepsi stable. With the marketing muscle and deep pocket, Will Pepsi be able to displace Idli from the Indian consumer's breakfast table ?

All through this decade, Kellogg's has been trying to do that: changing Indian consumer' s breakfast habit. With high decibel promotion targeted at adults and kids alike, Kellogg's was able to make a mark in the Crispy Cornflakes category with excellent brand recall and shelf space. But the breakfast habit still remains the same.

Quaker started testing the Indian market in 2005 and in 2006 the brand was launched across India. Quaker is a brand that has a heritage of over 125 years and is world leader in the Oat meal segment.

The Indian breakfast market assumes significance because of the growing " Health Consciousness" among the Indian middle class. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and it accounts for 1/3 rd of all nutrient need of a person. Although Indian consumers were not bothered about the nutritional content of their foods, increasingly a trend is visible in Indian consumers becoming more aware about their nutritional needs.

Taking a lesson from Kellogg's, Quaker has launched their products at a reasonable price range even introducing trial packs for Rs 8. The idea is to induce the consumer to try the product and then make it a habit. The 400gm pack with a price of Rs 70 and 200gm for Rs 35 seems attractive compared to other brands. As a sales promotion campaign, Quaker is selling its 200gm for Rs 25.

All these promotions may cause the existing Oats takers to Quaker but how about our man who takes Idli , Dosa ?. That is a million dollar question.

Quaker is launched with a positioning based on Nutrition , Taste and Easy To Cook. The ads says that it takes only 3 minutes to cook ( same as Maggi) But as in the case of Maggi, that proposition will not work with Indian consumers. Nutrition is an important factor and regarding the taste, Quaker has cleverly came out with Masala and cardamom flavours to appeal to Indian Palate.

The main question is should the marketer try to break the habit or circumvent it. Maggi effectively introduced Noodles in to Indian market by not breaking a habit but come around the habit by targetting kids. Kellogg's is still steadfast in breaking the habit for a decade now.

I can tell from my case that I will not prefer oats for a breakfast because of the perception that it is not filling ! I may eat it for nutritional purpose but may not substitute the breakfast. I have seen people who take oats at night after the dinner for health reasons. So taking a cue from my experience ( disclaimer: I can be wrong) Oats will have a better acceptance as a nutritional component in the Indian consumer's meal. Let Oats be a part of Idli and Sambhar for complete nutrition. Once you get to the table then the brand can easily command the Indian consumer's habit.There will be more takers if this food can be positioned as "any time nutrition" rather than as a breakfast cereal. As an aggressive marketer, Quaker is head on in competition with the traditional breakfast foods.

Since this market is small ,the direct competition is less for Quaker. Bagerry is the other brand in the Oats segment . Bagerry is an Indian company which is in the market for over a decade. They are not aggressive marketer and is more of a regional player.

It is going to be a tough and expensive war for Quakers.

Source : estrategicmarketing, economictimes,magindia, sify.com,agencyfaqs.

Akai : The Original Price Warrior

Brand : Akai
Company: Videocon
Agency:SSC&B

Brand Count 118

Akai is the brand that changed the Indian CTV industry for ever.The 25000 crore Indian consumer durables market survived at one time because of Akai. Akai was brought to India by Baron International , a company floated by the young Kabir Mulchandani.

Akai was launched in India in 1995 and there after the CTV market was never the same. Before Akai, the CTV was a luxury affordable only to the middle class and above. The starting price of CTV at that time was Rs 15000 and above. It was a big task for a middle-income family to afford one at that time.

Players like Videocon, BPL, Philips and Onida dominated CTV market at that time. Akai had to break the stronghold of these players and how they did it is one of the greatest marketing success stories ever.
From 0 to14% market share within 18 months. That was the outcome. Akai did this by going by the advice of Don Corleone “ Make an offer that no one can refuse”.

“ Rs.9999 for a 21 inch color television” screamed full-page ads in newspapers. It was for the first time that a consumer durable marketer took full pages that too frequently. Along with the price, Akai invented the concept of exchange schemes into the Indian market and customers loved it. Nobody could believe the offer and the price. I don’t think anyone now also knew how it worked out.You go to the dealer with an old TV and you could get a discount of Rs 5000 on the new one. WOW…
Akai positioned itself as a price warrior and the heritage factor of being a Japanese company boosted the brand image of the company. The tag “Made in Japan” always impresses Indian consumers and it helped Akai to scale up in the market with in a short span of time.

Baron also took an unconventional distribution strategy by advertising heavily before the product hit the market. This created rush in the market and distributors paid upfront to get the orders and the company had the money before selling its product. The additional margins also satisfied the dealers.

The price and the hype affected the market share of the leaders in CTV market .All the players cut their prices as high as 40% so as to survive. This prompted customers to believe that they were being forced to pay a higher price before Akai came into the market. The price offers expanded the Indian CTV market like a rocket propeller

Akai ran into rough weathers shortly after 1998. Akai globally was owned by Ontario based Semi Tech corporation. Baron ‘s relationship with Semi Tech became rough. Baron, to tide over the probability of severing ties with Akai, forged a deal with Aiwa of Japan for marketing Hi Fi music systems.
Kabir Mulchandani did the same with Aiwa selling the brand at a price unheard of and making the product category reachable to middle class. But Aiwa as an upscale brand ( 51% of the co is owned by Sony) was not happy by this positioning ,however an the brand was looking for an upstart in the Indian market and Kabir’s strategy helped Aiwa to create a brand awareness and expand the market.

Akai thus severed its association with Baron and forged a marketing relationship with Videocon. Videocon was marketing the brands of Semitech like Sansui.

Akai struggled to shrug of the image of a low price brand which was strongly embedded in the mind of the Indian consumer. As Mr Abrahan Koshy of IIMA says ‘ Discounted brands are promotion dependant” so to survive Akai had to spend heavily on Advertisements and it was a difficult proposition.


Baron later tried its luck with another Chinese brand TCL but could not succeed. Once a poster boy in the media and once acclaimed as a marketing whiz kid, Kabir Mulchandani has faded in to history as a one product wonder. He is battling lot of legal issues and nobody talks about him now. But marketing history remembers him as a Disruptive Marketer who made two luxury product categories CTV and Hi-FI systems affordable to the Indian consumer.


Akai expanded the Indian CTV market which is now estimated to be 80 lakhs units per year. The Korean majors currently dominate the market. Since the launch of Akai in 1995, the entry-level models are ranging sub 10000, which was unthinkable in the 90’s. Now all the major players including SONY have a CTV model below Rs 10000. Even Flat TV starts in this range. All these, thanks to AKAI. But the brand has now become a marginal player in the Indian market. Videocon is finding it difficult to fit this brand into its already crowded product portfolio. Aiwa is fighting it out at the affordable TV and Music system category with the backing of SONY.

Source : agencyfaqs, estrategicmarketing,businessworld

Yardley : Immense Potential Wasted !

Brand : Yardley
Company: Lornmead

This 235 year old cosmetics brand from England is yet to take off in India(after crashlanding) despite its long life here. The iconic brand was a hit in 1950's among the elite Indians but some how missed the liberalisation bus.

The brand which has a rich heritage was marketed by P&G and since they did not have any interest in the cosmetic market sidelined this brand. The brand was relegated to Talcum Powders and with no promotions and poor pricing has dampened the equity of this brand.

Yardley is now owned by Lornmead which is under the Jatania group : one of the richest Indian family in UK. If reports are to be believed, they have big plans for India and Yardley may fit into their strategies.

Yardley has been positioned as the quintessential English brand with its conservative look and royal touch. Although the brand was appealing to the TG in early nineties, the newer generation has not been kind to this brand ( or this brand is not existing to gennext). The cosmetic market is dominated by the likes of Revlon and Lakme, calls for a major rebranding exercise for this brand.

A look at their website revealed a whole range of luxurious perfume and cosmetic range which was sadly not available in India. Yardley have the advantage of being perceived as a Unisex brand and thus can extend the brand to a larger audience. Since the perfumes market is still undeveloped, Yardley have a huge market waiting for it.

What the company needs to do is to get its marketing mix correct and make the brand contemporary. If it does it fast, the brand has the potential to make it big

Reid & Taylor : Bond With The Best

Brand : Reid & Taylor
Company: S Kumars
Agency: In House agency

To build a premium Indian brand, start globally and ride locally. Reid&Taylor did just that. This brand had revitalized the India suiting market. Launched in 1998, this brand ranks no.2 in the 2000 crore worsted suit market.

Indian suit market was lying idle for a long time because of the onslaught of ready to wear garments and the lack of any excitement in the category as such which was dominated by established players like Raymonds, Grasim etc.
Reid and Taylor is a Scottish brand created by Alexander Reid along with financier Joseph Taylor. This brand has a rich heritage dating back to 1830.

Reid&Taylor had a dream opening. The strategy was accurate and the icon was non other than Bond... James Bond. The brand was launched just before World cup 1999. The campaign was executed in a military like fashion.There was lot of firsts in their product launch. The brand was the first one to use TV as the primary medium with Print playing the second fiddle.

The positioning was purely as a " Luxury Suiting". The brand owners knew that the brand launch should live upto the expectation of the Indian consumers roped in none other than Pierce Brosnan as its brand ambassador. With the high profile launch and the charisma of Bond worked wonders with the brand . The brand had second best recall during the world cup series.

Later the consumer survey revealed that even though the brand was aspirational, customers perceived it to be expensive because of its international icon. This prompted the company to look for an Indian icon. They did not have to search harder, the choice was our very own Amitabh Bachchan. Big B fitted perfectly to the brand persona. He was the style icon and commanded immense equity with the customers. Amitabh lifted the brand to a much higher level in connecting with Indian consumer. The positioning was not changed but the message was to create an image of affordability. The baseline was " Bond with the Best" was in line with the positioning.

S kumars plan to take this brand to ready to wear segment also where it will be competing with Louis Philippe , Van Heusen, etc. It is where this brand will prove its mettle. With the current positioning and the careful marketing campaigns, this brand will make an impact in ready to wear segment .

Pillsbury : Dil se Khao

Brand : Pillsbury
Company: General Mills
Agency: Leo Burnett

Pillsbury is a global food brand that is trying to replicate its success in Indian market. The brand was launched in Indiain 1998 as a result of a joint venture between Godrej and Selviac Nederland BV ( Pillsbury). Pillsbury have a rich heritage dating back to 1869. It started as a flour milling company named A Pillsbury and is now one of the largest brands in the food products market in the world.In 2002, the company was taken over by General Mills.

When Pillsbury was launched, it had the option of coming in with the blockbuster global "ready to eat products" , but it chose a contra approach heeding to the advice given by Mckinsey “ GO Basic”. So Pillsbury launched Pillsbury Chakki fresh atta ( pounded wheat flour) in the Indian market.
It was a bold move because the atta market is a commodity market and the branded atta market is only 3% of the total atta market in India estimated to be around 23000 crore.

Pillsbury chakkifresh atta was launched in India on the platform of softness. Since ordinary Roti’s lost their softness after some time, Pillsbury claimed that its Roti’s retained the softness for over 6 hours. This appealed to the modern homemakers since Roti’s can be kept in tiffin boxes without worrying about softness.

It was a tough task for Pillsbury to enter into Indian kitchens since the households followed traditional way of buying wheat and giving them to flour mills. Pillsbury realized that food products marketing are more of Repertoire marketing where more variety is the key to success. Pillsbury decided to move up the value chain by coming out with a range of products.
The firs one was the launch of Oven cake mixes in 1999. The product failed in the market because of poor penetration of microwave ovens. Taking a lesson from this failure, came the successful launch of Cooker Cake mixes in 2000 ie cakes can me made using pressure cookers. Ub 2002, Pillsbury launched Pan Fresh Pizza.

Despite these launches, Pillsbury was not happy with the way the atta brand was moving. A marketing research showed that health was a leading attribute that customers look for when they buy food products .

In 2004 the product was relaunched in the health platform with emphasis on “ good to heart” since heart problems are on a rise in Urban market. The idea is to promote the idea that whole wheat atta is good for your family’s heart .The latest positioning is “ Dil se Khao “ reinforces the health positioning.The brand is endorsed by Healthcare foundation.

Using the innovative differentiation and positioning, Pillsbury is having a market share of 8% in the branded atta market. While the market leader is Ashirvad from ITC (40%) followed by Annapoorna from HLL (18%).

Pillsbury globally is famous for its mascot “ Poppin Fresh” popularly known as the doughboy. Although the mascot is in Indian market too, it does not have the same fan following as it is in the west.

Pillsbury despite its foreign origin and brand name is trying to fit into the Indian mindset. Despite having a good product, the brand is lagging behind Ashirvad which was launched much later. With the backing of a global foods giant and with some very smart thinking, this brand has the potential to make it big.The only thing Pillbury needs is lots of money for advertising

Sunlight : Sunset?

Brand : Sunlight
Company: HLL
Agency: O&M

Sunlight is the oldest brand in the HLL’s portfolio. Launched in India in 1888, this brand is a heritage brand. Sunlight came to India as a detergent brand.
Indian fabric wash market is expected to be around 5700 crore. Sunlight over these 118 years had its life cut out in the “power brand strategy” of HLL.
Sunlight was famous as a detergent or laundry cake which was very popular in the early times. The change in the customer lifestyle has tilted the market towards powder detergents. HLL focused its efforts on the powder detergents market and Sunlight was lost in the woods. Detergent cakes are losing consumer preference because of the advantages of powder detergents. Earlier, powder detergents were considered to be premium and with the rationalizing of prices, consumers have shifted towards powders.

Under the “Power brand “strategy, HLL decided to phase out Sunlight brand and focus on Wheel and Rin. But in 2004, Sunlight came with the new avatar as a Powder detergent. What made the company think about this brand is unknown. Sunlight detergent is now positioned as an affordable detergent with differentiation of “Color Guard” feature. The detergent also has the Pure Clean Technology that minimizes the “Insoluble” in the detergents. Sunlight is priced above Wheel and below Rin. The brand is promoted more in Eastern India and Kerala.

Why a brand that have such a heritage become a liability for HLL. It’s because HLL failed to use Sunlight to counter the onslaught of Nirma. Instead it chose a new brand Wheel. With the introduction of Wheel as a powder detergent and with the decline of the detergent cake market, Sunlight lost its relevance. HLL also extended Wheel and Rin to Detergent cakes so further sidelining the Sunlight brand.

Now Sunlight is used as a brand to effectively fill the gap between Wheel and Rin, so that no competitor can come in that price point. It is also interesting to note that this brand does not feature in HLL’s website. The brand have a very relevant brand name which denotes brightness and cleanliness, it is a brand name you cannot afford to lose. Sunlight should be positioned as a " Value for Money " brand. This segment is vacant in the Indian Detergent market. Wheel is perceived as a low priced brand, Surf Excel is a midsegment brand while Rin is for whiteness. Sunlight with its colorguard and Pure clean technology is in a position to create a market for itself.

Peter England : Honestly Impressive

Brand : Peter England
Company: Madura Garments
Agency: Mudra

Can you sell a product without any marketing gimmick, no film actors telling you that the brand is his secret of success, no hypes or hoopla or in other words can you sell a product honestly?

Peter England is a brand that tries to do just that and that too successfully. Launched in the year 1997, this brand has captured the Indian middle class mind. That too honestly.
Peter England as a brand has a rich heritage. It began in the year 1885 when foundation was struck for 5 storied building in Ireland. In 1888 Peter England factory came in to being. It was during 1889-1902 that the company expanded when it got the order for outfits for British soldiers for the Boer war. The order was large and it demanded quality merchandise at Honest –to- goodness price.

The brand came to India in 1997. During that period there was a huge potential for a mid segment shirts in the 60mn pieces Indian shirt market. The industry was dominated by in store brands and the consumers have to painstakingly check for the right shirt. The then owners of Peter England (Indian Rayon) wanted to tap this segment. Thus evolved the idea of a brand that aims to shorten the buying process of the consumer.

Research also revealed that the consumers perceived premium shirts as overpriced and there was a need for such a national brand. Also another insight was that the market had a perception that good things happen to people who wear good clothes.

Peter England was initially positioned as an “Honest Shirt”. It was a very precise campaign that categorically told the TG that the brand is of good quality and honest- to – goodness price. The strategy clicked and has to click because the product was very good and the price was excellent. It just fit in to ones budget. The TG for the brand was the 24-28 ambitious and career oriented youth.
In order to make sure that the excitement remains, Peter England came out with various ranges and varieties of shirts. The brand also extended to trousers with the same positioning. Although some of the variants like English Cottons compromised on quality , the brand still enjoys a good equity in the TG’s mind.

In 2002 the brand made a slight makeover. The positioning changed to “Honestly Impressive”. The aim is to make the brand more than just value for money proposition but also as a lifestyle brand. It has maintained its value proposition unchanged.

Peter England is a brand that clearly shows a marketer that it is possible to sell... Honestly.

Parker : Why use a pen that's not a Parker!

Brand: Parker
Company : Luxor Writing Instruments Ltd
Agency :Lowe

Indian writing instruments industry is worth around 1600 crores . Luxor is a major player in the market with a market share of around 15%.

Parker is a brand that is well established in this market. Parker is manufactured and marketed in India by Luxor Writing Instruments Ltd (LWIL). Parker was launched in India in 1996. Luxor had a joint venture with Gillette which owned the brand at that time. In 2000 Gillette sold the brands to $9 Billion major Newel Rubbermaid. That included the 50:50 joint venture with Luxor. Later the Jains bought the entire stake in the joint venture. Now LWIL have the 100 right to manufacture and market Parker Pens in India.

The writings instruments market can be classified into premium, middle and economy segment. There are many established players in this market like Reynolds, ADD Gel,Todays, Camlin etc.

While the premium segment is dominated by super expensive brands like Mont Blanc , Cartier etc, the economy segment is dominated by local players. All the action is in the middle segment which consists of College students, Executives Businessmen etc.

Parker pen was born in 1888 in Janeswille Wisconsin US. The pen was created by George Safford Parker who was a teacher of telegraphy. He started the business as a source of additional income.

The famous Arrow Clip that is the trademark of Parker was created by Joseph Platt in 1933.

Parker pens have a rich heritage. The treaty of peace ending the 1898 Spanish- American Civil war was inked using Parker pen. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle drafted the stories of Sherlock Holmes using Parket pen. The list contains the Who is Who of American History.

Parker was considered to be a premium brand in India ( before Mont Blanc and Co's landed with rs l lakh and above pens) . The brand had an aspirational value attached to it. Then LWIL decided to shed the premium image to play the volume game.

Earlier Parker was priced above Rs100. Research found that the price put off a large segment of the market. The market was dominated by Reynolds ( again a Rubbermaid brand) marketed by GM Pens. The TG for this segment was the school/ college kids and this segment was growing. Reynolds is leading with a market share of 12% and Luxor umbrella brands are next with 10% market share followed by players like Cello and Todays.

Parker then launched Parker Beta for Rs 50 aiming this segment and play the volume game.

Parker is endorsed by none other than Big B. Some ads are lousy and some very good. I like the ones with the baseline " Why use a pen that's not a Parker" .

Since the lower segments of the pen market lacks brand loyalty, BigB can make a difference . LWIL by using BigB aims to connect and identify with young and old alike.

There are other players like ADD Gel which carved a niche in this crowded market with their Gel pens. Now Gel pen market is worth around 350 crore.

Parker was a brand that had the elegant premium touch to it with its rich tradition and quality. But with the launch of lower priced Parker range, the premium and the exclusivity has been compromised . Now the Parker range is available from Rs 50- 5000. Big B to certain extent salvage the pride of Parker. But when the brand tries to play the volume game, it is difficult to sustain the premium. Thus Parker is losing out the Executive segment where pens are used as Accessory. Its is a void that is waiting for a brand.

As one of my colleague after buying a Parker Beta commented " Parker has become Cheap".