Barclaycard : You Are in Control

Brand : Barclaycard
Company : Barclays
Agency : Mccann

Brand Analysis Count : 310

When I was a college student, my dream was to flaunt a credit card ( infact more than one) . Then on to my first job, I ran to my bank to rightfully claim for my first creditcard. I was in for an unpleasant surprise. I then realized that not everyone was eligible for one. Then after three years of constant followup and lots and lots of document, I landed up my first credit card ( not exactly because later I found out that it was a chargecard). It was a Cancard with a credit facility for Rs 5000 and credit period of 30 days.

Then after two years, something happened. I would call it the financial sales revolution. The new generation banks like ICICI and HDFC bank began appointing Direct Selling Agents for opening the Savings Account, loans and creditcards. For the first time, customers ( like me) were treated like worthy of a credit card. I remember filling out numerous forms and getting rejected by Citi and ICICI . Infact I remember a bank official saying that they rejected my application because I work with a media. At that time they don't give loans or creditcard to Media or Police officials .

When I was running around after creditcards, wise-owls warned me of impending danger. They said - credit cards can ruin your financial stability so use it wisely. I vouched that I will not take credit for my creditcard and use it wisely. But the fact is that I have taken loans, I have splurged, have bought products on EMI all through creditcard.... I realized that you will never win against the creditcards.
As always the thumbrule in any financial service dealings involving banks or insurance firms is to play by the rules. That is critical in the case of creditcard business. The fact is that only they know the rules and as customers , we don't bother to read the 60 page terms and conditions booklet that is printed in 5 point font size.
I realized this when the creditcard charged me fine and interest for late realization of a cheque owing to a bank strike. I tried to fight but they showed me the rules.
It is in this context that a new bank has comeout with a credit card that says that the customer is in control...
In 2007 Barclays Bank launched its retail banking operations in India. Barclays is the UK based financial services group which boasts of a heritage of over 300 years. The operations of Barclays started in India in 1970's and was more focused on investment banking . Barclays began the commercial operations in 2006 and retail operations in 2007.

The bank is now aggressively pitching for its creditcard business in India. According to Businessweek , the size of Indian Credit-card market is about $4 Billion and growing at 35% per-annum. No wonder global majors are queuing up in the Indian market. But the going is tough because competition is tough with ICICI bank leading the pack.

Barclaycard chose to break into this market with a clear differentiator . The differentiator was ' giving power to choose the billing cycle and fix monthly payment amount ' to the customer. The brand is now running a high decibel campaign in all media

Watch the TVC here : Barclays
Here the idea is that banks treat customers like kids with little or no power in the hand of the customers.
As a customer, I think that this differentiator comes from consumer insights. Infact in my case I have to pay my credit card during the middle of the month and by that time all money would have gone up in smoke. Barclaycard lets you decide which week of the month the customer would like to be billed. That means that the customer can select the appropriate week when his salary is being credited or when he has the maximum cash-flow.

The brand in that way has come up with a meaningful differentiator but I think that differentiator is not sustainable in the longterm since all other players can easily achieve parity with that feature . But the brand has made its presence felt using that meaningful differentiator.

For any new bank, the issue of payment of creditcard bills also act as a significant demotivator for the customers. In the case of Barclaycard, the brand has tiedup with BILLDESK so that the payment can be done online using internet banking of other banks. So one does not have to search for the drop-boxes. For a new brand to break into the clutter, Barclaycard has done the homework right and has made the right moves.

Apart from these differentiators, the other things remain the same, the interest rate is as high as 36% ( annualized) and charges comparable with other players .

As a customer, I have learned a hard lesson of using a credit-card. I still don't understand why these cards charge so much interest on the cards and still want customers to use it. I somewhere read that credit-card companies lose money when the customers pay in time. But these heavy interest rates are charged to make customers pay in time. ( is it not a paradox ?).

Credit-card firms will realize their next path to growth only if they rationalize their interest rate in favor of the customers. In this era of sophisticated CRM algorithms, the banks should be able to give differential interest rates to customers who are credit worthy. Till that time I am gonna pay my bills on time.

Dabur Chyawanprash : Zaroorat Hai

Brand : Dabur Chyawanprash
Company : Dabur
Agency : Mccann Erickson

Brand Analysis Count : 306

Dabur Chyawanprash is an interesting brand for anyone who is interested in marketing. Two factors makes it special. First factor is that this is a truly Indian product and a product which is very close to our heritage and mythology. Second factor is the effort of market leader in rejuvenating the category.
Chyawanprash is an ayurvedic health supplement. The name is derived from Hindu Mythology. The story goes like this. Chyawan was the son of Bhingu and Puloma. He was physically weak and later in his life Ashvini Kumars came to his hermitage and offered him a divine medicine " Prash " which made Chyawan young and healthy. The name Chyawanprash came into existence based on this mythology.
Dabur Chyawanprash ( DCP) is a heritage brand which came into existence in the year 1949. The brand is now ruling the market with a marketshare of around 60 - 70 %. The total Chyawanprash market is estimated to be around Rs 300 crore ( AC Neilsen Retail Audit 2006-07 ).
Chyawanprash is popular as a kid's health tonic. Parents used to rely on this product for their kids especially if the kids are between 6-16. Because the tweens are usually hyperactive and less inclined to taking foods. Hence Chyawanprash offered a solution to the worried parents. The ayurvedic tag also alleviated worries of side-effects .

Over a period of time Dabur Chyawanprash began to face tough competition not from other chyawanprash marketers but from health food drinks market . Infact the generic competition was hurting DCP more than the brand competition. The health food drinks like Horlicks, Bournvita, Complan etc appealed more to kids than the Chyawanprash. The modern lifestyle also made this product look dated. There was also a perception among the consumers that Chyawanprash is something that has to be consumed when you are not feeling healthy.

From my own example, I was not considering this product category for my kid. But when my child had a series of cold and fever, I started looking at this product category. Hence this perception was limiting the potential for a brand like DCP. Another perception in the market was regarding the user profile. The category is perceived to be of use to only 'kids and aged' and not for adults. These issues severely restricted the growth of the category.

DCP although was ruling the market faced the issue of stagnation. The stagnation was a result of category stagnation rather than saturation. The only option left for DCP was to rejuvenate the entire product category.
In 2007, Dabur undertook a major repositioning exercise for this Rs 150 cr0re flagship brand. The purpose of repositioning was to :
Stretch the market for Chyawanprash
Make the brand more contemporary
Reinforce new set of attributes.

The brand identified two segments : Adults and Kids as the focal point in the repositioning exercise. A series of TVC and print campaigns were released to target both the segments. The campaigns were aimed at parents. The consumer insight was that people care about their loved ones than oneself ( source : Hindustan Times).

The entire campaign was based on the theme of 'role reversal '. The ads featured the brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan asking the audience to understand the challenges of being a kid, a father and a mother. The campaign involves mother taking the role of a kid, father and son taking the role of a mother and thus understanding the physical and metal exertions involved in each role. The ads end with the Voice-Over ' Dabur Chyawanprash , Zaroorat hai sabko ' ( meaning - DCP : essential for everyone ).

DCP earlier had the slogan - Zaroorat Hai and was positioning itself as a health tonic which is essential for kids. The new tagline broadens the segments by including every member of the family. In the new positioning the brand retains the core brand manthra of ' Natural health tonic' but stretches the segments to include adults.
By positioning it to adults does not mean that the brand has lost its sight on kids. The brand makes itself relevant to kids by a series of campaigns featuring a new brand ambassador Vivek Oberoi.

By positioning itself to new segments, the brand aims to realize its full potential . DCP now stresses on the new set of attributes : health , stress and diabetes. While the standard Chyawanprash takes the health attribute, Dabur launched Chyawanshakthi to take on the stress platform. Chyawansakthi is positioned as a stress reliever and energizer.

DCP also makes the category attractive to diabetic/ diabetic prone consumers by launching Dabur Chyawanprakash. Chyawanprakash is targeting the high density of diabetic patients in our country which makes a highly lucrative market.To take on the competition from the health food drink market, Dabur is planning a foray into the HFD market with a new brand.

News reports suggest that the new gamble has paid off pretty well. What I liked about the repositioning is the execution of the entire idea. Without making much hue and cry, the brand had very subtly made itself relevant to adults.

5 Star : Jo Khaye Kho Jaye

Brand : 5 Star
Company : Cadbury
Agency : O & M

Brand Analysis Count : 295

5 Star is the second biggest chocolate brand in the Cadbury portfolio. 5 Star is a heritage brand which came to India in 1969. Currently this brand have a marketshare of over 14 % .
5 Star is a chocolate bar with caramel naugat inside. The bar is known for its unique taste and has been a favorite brand of all chocolate lovers.Over these years, this brand has established its brand element - golden color firmly in the mind of the consumers.
Although this brand lags behind the market leader Dairy Milk, the company had made substantial investment in this brand over these years. The brand has been relaunched more than 9 times in the last 15 years. Its interesting to note the repositioning exercises that has been done on this brand over these years
1970's : 5 Star was positioned on the basis of its taste. The brand had the tagline " Deliciously Rich, You'd hate to share ".
1980's : Saw the brand highlighting its soft and chewy nature. During this period the brand also had the positioning based on " Togetherness' . 5 Star had the campaign " Lingering taste of togetherness ".
1990's : Saw a major repositioning for the brand focusing on the energy factor. 5 Star was positioned as Energy bar . The product had glucose hence gave instant dose of energy.
1994 : The brand used the tagline " Reach out for stars " ,taking a cue from the name.
1997-1998 : 5 star took the youth wagon and positioned on the two attributes : energy and youthfulness. The brand had the tagline " Mera own energy zone "
1999 : The brand came out with the tagline " Dil hai to josh hai " again positioning itself on the energy platform
In the millennium, the brand came out with a variant 5 Star Crunchy which had added rice crispies to make it more crunchy. The brand had the campaign with the voiceover "Arrey "( surprise).
The brand had faced lot of competition throughout its lifecycle. The competition was not from similar caramel chocolates but from brands like Kitkat and Cadbury's own brands CDM and Perk. Another issue that the brand faced was the price-value proposition . Cadbury had reduced the grammage of the brand ( quantity) drastically during 2000-2005 which hurt the brand very much. Not only the bar was less filling, customers felt that its too pricey.
This year saw a rejuvenation effort for 5 star. The brand is being repositioned on the taste platform. The new campaign give the brand a new tagline " Jo Khaaye, Kho Jayee" meaning " Lost in the taste of 5 star ".
Watch the TVC here : 5 Star
This time 5 star is on a 360 degree marketing campaign with added focus on digital media. The brand has a new website lostin5star.com where the brand has tried to build a viral campaign.
Along with the new campaign , a new variant has been launched 5 Star Fruit and Nut. Like CDM, 5 Star is also targeting the youth market. Although the taste is a good platform, I didn't like the execution of this idea in the new campaign ( There is no creative spark in the ads) . It does not require an O&M to come out with such a campaign.

5 Star is an example of consistent investment in longterm brand building. The brand has never shied from experimenting and repositioning. I feel that like other confectionery brands, 5 Star also needs a celebrity to keep its share of mind. Its not that celebrity endorsement is necessary for a heritage brand like 5 Star but I feel that 5 Star never had a consistent USP or positioning. What comes to my mind about 5 Star is its caremel taste. If the brand has decided to take taste as its USP , a celebrity can reinforce that better and give the campaigns an edge.

Chandrika : Best Soap Nature Can Offer

Brand : Chandrika
Company : Wipro
Agency : FCB Ulka

Brand Analysis Count : 290

Chandrika is a heritage brand. The brand came into existence in 1940. This hand made ayurvedic soap owes its existence to the founder C.R Kesavan Vaidyar who identified the potential for an ayurvedic soap way back in 1940.
From a humble beginning, the brand has come a long way withstanding the test of time. Its a brand that has survived all these years without changing any of the marketing mixes. Now after 6 decades, Chandrika is changing .

Chandrika is a 28 crore brand and has a loyal customer base in the southern states like Kerala and Tamilnadu. The brand was manufactured and marketed by SV Group till 2004. In 2004, Wipro acquired the marketing rights of this brand after a protracted battle with other suitors like Marico.
Chandrika all through these years has been positioned as a traditional ayurvedic soap gifted by nature. The brand differentiates itself from other ayurvedic soaps with its 7 essential oils
Orange oil
Patchouli
Cinnamon leaf
Wild ginger
Sandalwood oil
Lime peel
and Coconut oil.
The brand boasts of being made from pure coconut oil which comprises of 70% of its ingredients.
Chandrika is a handmade soap which is 100 % vegetarian. The brand faces competition from the likes of Medimix and Jeeva together with host of natural soaps and its variants.
The brand has been promoted reasonably well through various media in South India, but the campaigns were ordinary . In the marketing front, Chandrika never was an aggressive player. I think that the company was happy with the sales and loyal customer base it had. Moreover ayurvedic soap market was small and was not growing enough to warrant a change in any of the marketing mix elements. The brand did not even bother to change the packing for a long time.

However 2000 saw a rejuvenation in the ayurvedic soap market. There was a sudden interest from consumers towards green products. Now the ayurvedic soap market is estimated to be Rs 227 crore( Businessline). The increased customer interest has bought in many new players in the ayurvedic soap market. New brands like Jeeva began aggressive promotion which forced older brands like Medimix to sharpen their marketing strategy. This market also made some big companies looking for acquiring brands to gain a foothold in the ayurvedic soap market.

The owners of Chandrika chose to sell out this brand than to fight the competition. The sale of Chandrika was a messy affair with legal battle between Marico and Wipro. At the end the war, Chandrika was acquired by Wipro. The one factor that made Chandrika attractive to suitors was its quality product properties. Wipro felt that Chandrika had qualities which are scalable to a national market.

There was a visible change in the brand after Wipro took over the marketing . Although
Wipro was careful not to tamper the product attributes, the brand changed the shape and packaging. Original Chandrika was in the cake form ( rectangular) while the market was moving towards the oval soap form . Chandrika changed to oval form and the packaging was made more contemporary. The oval shape helps the soap to dry quicker thereby lasts longer. These moves were of important significance because most of the time traditional brands fail because it does not change with times. Hence the first task of Wipro was to make the brand contemporary.
Along with the cosmetic changes , the brand was relaunched with a new positioning.
Watch the ad here : Chandrika
The challenge before Wipro was to make this traditional brand contemporary without losing its core values. The brand was stagnant hence had to attract new users especially the new generation. Then came the big idea. Chandrika took the two qualities : Natural and Exotic as its core brand values. Then came the challenge to communicate this values to the customers. The brand chose to use the brand imagery of a SPA to convey the new positioning. The big idea is to equate the bathing experience with Chandrika to an oil bath at a SPA.
The experience of a SPA is unknown to majority of Indian consumers. Most of use have seen it in TV but may not have visited a SPA. Hence the new equation with SPA takes this traditional brand to an aspirational level. In order to communicate this new positioning, the new ad had to have an ideal imagery. The agency chose the luxurious Pangkor Laut Spa Resort in Malaysia as its location for the ad.
Along with the new campaign , Chandrika also introduced a line extension - Chandrika Amrutham. The variant has an innovation in the form of an aromatic oil that comes with the soap. The soap and the oil opens the pores of the skin and gently cleanses the skin and thus creates a feeling of freshness. The brand which claims to have 18 herbs is positioned as a soap that gives complete freshness for body and mind. Although the variant sounds interesting, it has not clicked in the market because aromatherapy is not yet popular in India. Further the combination of soap and oil is new . But after reading about the variant, I feel that there is lot of potential for this variant if heavily promoted.

In the early nineties, the ayurvedic soap market was in shambles because of price offs and cheap products. A shift in consumer tastes has bought in more serious non- price attributes to gain importance in this market. Wipro has " applied thought " on this brand and the result is evident in way this brand is promoted. Within a few years, Wipro was able to rejuvenate this brand and made it more contemporary. The brand has already running a new campaign these days. Its happy to see a traditional brand morphing to a new young brand.

Khaitan : The Name is Enough

Brand : Khaitan
Company : Khaitan Electricals
Agency : JWT

Brand Analysis Count : 282

Khaitan is a well known name in the small appliance market especially in the Fans Category. Khaitan is a heritage brand which has a history of four decades. The brand came into existence during 1960s .
The brand is currently in a diversification mode extending itself to become a major player in the small appliances market. Khaitan now holds around 16% share in the Rs 1400 crore Indian Fan Industry.
Although the fan industry size is huge, the industry players are facing issues of competition from unorganized sector. Unorganized sector holds around half of the total market.It has to be noted that in the early 1990s the market was in the hand of four of five players like Usha, Polar, Khaitan etc . But later regional players hit the market with low priced fans which eroded the market share of these major players.
Facing this critical issue , Khaitan decided to enter the small appliances and electrical market since 70% of the revenue was dependent on fans. The entry ( related diversification) is aimed at reducing the risk of dependence of a single product category.
Khaitan was a brand built on trust. The brand was consistently positioned as a trustworthy brand and the tagline was " The name is enough ". From my childhood days itself , I have seen the ads of Khaitan and its popular voice over " What to say about Khaitan, the name is enough" . The brand was trying to communicate its core values of Quality and Trust. Although the ads were poorly executed, the communication strategy was consistent all through these years.
Inorder to reinforce the quality proposition, Khaitan introduced an innovative concept of Replacement bonds which was the guarantee from the Chairman Mr. SK Khaitan that the company will replace the fan if it has any manufacturing defects within one year of purchase.

In 2007 , the company diversified into small appliances (Heaters, Mixers,Iron) Electrical ( CFL,Circuit Breakers etc) . It is commonsense for a brand like Khaitan to enter the small appliances market because of the challenge it faced in its core fan business. I would say that it was late for Khaitan to diversify because the small appliance market has become equally crowded and highly competitive.

Khaitan knew that when entering a new market , it needs to change the perception of a " Fan Brand". The brand chose to take the Celebrity Endorsement route and signed the EX- Bollywood diva Karishma Kapoor as the brand ambassador. The new campaigns featuring Karshma is already on air. It is interesting to note that Khaitan is wise enough to retain the original tagline for its new range of products. The small appliance range is sub-branded as Hommate.
Watch the TVC here : Khaitan

Although Khaitan has diversified, it has not forgotten its core business.The brand has taken on the unorganized sector with a low priced variant Zolta. Interestingly , while the entire fan category is facing price competition, Khaitan has launched Designer Fans priced in the range Rs 10,000 - Rs 1,00,000. The new designer range is branded as Fantasy. Khaitan is also trying to strengthen its distribution by launching two company owned outlets Khaitan Fantasy and Khaitan City. Khaitan Fantasy will sell only designer fans while Khaitan City sells all range of products including small appliances.

Like any heritage brand, Khaitan is also trying to make itself relevant in the Indian market which has seen sweeping changes both interms of Competitors and also consumer taste and preferences.

Dinesh Suitings : Take the World in Your Stride

Brand : Dinesh
Company : Shri Dinesh Mills

Brand Analysis Count : 281

Dinesh Suitings is a heritage brand which commanded much share of mind in the late 1980's. This 7 decade old brand may be a forgotten brand for the new liberalized generation. The brand is a sad story of how a premium textile brand lost its way amidst a rush of competition.
Dinesh is a brand famous for its Worsted Suitings. The brand shot to limelight with its association with the Cricketing Icon Sunil Gavaskar. Sunil Gavaskar endorsed this brand for more than 11 years which I think is a record in the world of celebrity endorsements.
Sunil Gavaskar was in his prime when he endorsed this brand. Luckily for Dinesh, Gavaskar fitted perfectly into the brand's persona. Gavaskar was a unlikely celebrity to endorse a suitings because of his frame : Short and Stout. How ever Gavaskar had a charmed which worked well for this brand
I still remember two TVC of Dinesh featuring Sunil Gavaskar : One featuring him playing baseball which hits the icecream of a fellow and another one with an Egyptian Mummy ( my favorite) . The brand had the famous tagline " Take the World in Your Stride.... Dinesh " . The brand was positioned as a premium stylish brand.
But along came the competition from brands like Raymonds and Vimal. These brands had more financial muscle and more importantly had the production capacity and product range. Dinesh Mills could not match the product range and the capacity of these heavyweights. So slowly Dinesh Mills began to concentrate on being a supplier rather than a marketer.

Dinesh also faced the issue of its brand ambassador losing the cricketing form and getting into issues. This had a rub off with the brand since Dinesh was highly associated with Sunil Gavaskar.Also Gavaskar was becoming too old . The brand tried to change track by roping in Bollywood Macho Jackie Shroff as the brand ambassador. But Jackie and the brand did not match.
Watch the TVC : Jackie with Dinesh
Then slowly the brand went into silence so did its market share.
Now suddenly out of blue, Dinesh is making some interesting noise in the media . The brand now have found a new Saviour in Bollywood Actor Akshaye Khanna. The TVC featuring Akshaye is already on air. The brand retains the original tagline and expects that Akshaye can rejuvenate this failing brand.
Why Dinesh has chosen Akshaye as its brand ambassador is an intriguing question to me . Akshaye has never been a successful brand ambassador. He had a roller coaster ride in bollywood and I have always seen him in funky outfits. However the brand may be looking to break away from its past. But as always Celebrity endorsements alone can never lift up a brand. That too with a celebrity like Akshaye, one can never be sure how he is going to deliver in his field.
I think that Dinesh's rejuvenation effort is halfhearted. The brand feels unsure whether it could fight against the large number of brands aiming for a share of market. The company feels that it should stay in the comfort zone of being a supplier rather than a hardcore marketer.

Milkmaid : Makes Everything Tempting

Brand : Milkmaid
Company : Nestle
Agency : Publicis

Brand Analysis Count : 275

Nestle Milkmaid is the market leader in the Rs 150 Crore condensed milk market in India. Milkmaid is a heritage brand which was imported to India from the time Nestle started its operations 90 years ago. It was in the year 1969 that Nestle started manufacturing this brand in India.
Milkmaid is partly Skimmed sweetened condensed milk. This is a popular ingredient in sweets and delicacies and desserts prepared at homes. Milkmaid has more than 55 % share in the organized condensed milk market in India.
Milkmaid is positioned as a premium brand and is promoted with the tagline " Bana De Everything Tempting " ( Makes everything tempting). The brand is positioned as the inevitable ingredient in all home-made delicacies.

Milkmaid although was a market leader, the brand faced issue of product usage. There were certain factors that inhibited the product usage : price and convenience . Milkmaid was a premium brand and the shelf life of the product was limited , hence the affordablity of this brand was limited. Another factor was that many households were unaware of the use of Milkmaid other than as an ingredient in sweets and desserts.
The brand tried lot of promotional activities to increase the usage of the brand. The brand was promoted heavily through visual media and through cookery shows, the brand tried to educate the customers on the various recipes with Milkmaid.
The brand also came out with a package innovation. The brand created a variant Milkmaid Squeezy which was the tube form of Milkmaid. The purpose was to use Milkmaid as a topping for biscuits and breads.
Milkmaid faced intense heat of competition when Amul launched Mithaimate brand in the market. Mithaimate was priced much lower to Milkmaid and this forced Milkmaid to reduce the price to match the Amul brand.With the lower price, Amul was giving Milkmaid a tough fight for the marketshare.

This year saw a unique move by this bramd. Milkmaid has comeout with a brand extension. Milkmaid has recently launched Milkmaid Funshake : a fruit flavored milk targeting kids. The marketers predict a huge growth in the ' Alternate Milk Category " in the coming years. I think that Nestle had earlier tried out a Milkshake version of Nescafe but with little success. It was little surprising to find a brand like Milkmaid extending itself to a milk shake category. The ads are already on air. Funshake is available in Mango , banana and Chocolate flavor and comes in a tetrapack. The message is similar to Nido. The ad shows kids crying when their mothers try to give them ordinary milk and then seen enjoying taking Funshake. Old message and nothing new in execution .
In my personal opinion, Nestle needn't have sought the extension of Milkmaid for this product. Funshake could succeed as a standalone brand. By associating with Milkmaid, Funshake is not going to gain any positive association.
Milkmaid is facing two challenges now. One arising from the price war from Amul and host of other competing brands and second is to make the category popular in households. In this era of Sachets and single use packs, I wonder how Milkmaid miss out of small packs ?

Brand Update : Frooti

Frooti has been running a new campaign these days. The new campaign is significant because it reflects the return of the original tagline of Frooti " Mango Frooti , Fresh N Juicy ".

Watch the Tvc here : Frooti
Remember that Frooti had earlier changed the tagline to " Piyo Bindaas " . The new campaign gives the message that India has changed but the favorite fruit juice drink is still Frooti. Frooti has been facing lot of competition these days from brands like Maaza. With global beverages majors turning their attention to Non cola drinks, Frooti has the challenge of retaining its current market.

According to a report in Agencyfaqs, the brand is aiming to target the youth ( 15-24) which is considered one of the most toughest class of customers in India. The new campaign is the beginning of an image makeover of this heritage brand. Frooti has a strong customer base among kids. But with the TG growing up, the brand has the tough task of being relevant. The brand has also launched a below the line promotional series " Thank you Mango Lovers" .The campaign aims to express the brand's gratitude to both the trade and consumers for its support over these years.

I like the fact that Frooti has realized the need for a change and its a difficult task that it has undertook. I also like that Fresh N Juicy tagline is back. Somethings never change.......

Related Brand

Frooti


Source : agencyfaqs

LG Asafoetida : Branding a Commodity

Brand : LG Asafoetida
Company : Laljee Godhoo & Co

Brand Analysis Count : 263

Laljee Godhoo (LG) Asafoetida is yet another offbeat heritage brand . You may have never seen an advertisement of LG asafoetida in any of the media. But check out your kitchen, there is a chance that a pack of this brand has been there for a long time.

LG brand is almost 110 years old. The company started its operations in the year 1894. Today this brand of asafoetida commands a market share of over 70% in the Indian market.
Asafoetida is a a resin like gum extracted from the dried stem and roots of a herbaceous perennial plant Ferula Assafoetida found abundant in Iran. Laljee imports the raw latex from Afghanistan and prepares the compounded Asafoetida which is adding spice to the popular dishes across the country. Asafoetida is a popular spice used in many Indian dishes.
For ninety years, LG was selling Asafoetida in the lump form later, the brand began selling the powder form of asafoetida. This is a brand which became a dominant player through word of mouth. Asafoetida was earlier selling as a commodity. LG differentiated by a unique package and the emphasis on quality. More over this was the first brand to bring this product in the powder form which increased the popularity of the brand.
But the brand faces certain issues because of the commodity nature of the business. The major issue that this brand faces is the counterfeit threat. There are innumerable brands which mimic the logo and package of this brand. Since it is a commodity , many a times customers take other brands which looks similar to this brand. The second threat is from the private labels. Now most of the organized retailers have their own Private Label brands of spices. Since LG has not developed any point of differentiation, there is a chance that its share will get hurt by private labels.

For a heritage brand like LG asafoetida, the future offers lot of challenges. The brand has never invested in brand building except for occasional ads cautioning customers about counterfeits. The threat from private labels is real and huge. The brand has no option but to spent more in reinforcing its equity built over these years.

Seven Seas Cod Liver Oil : Where is it ?

Brand : Seven Seas Cod Liver Oil
Company : E Merck


Brand Analysis Count : 260

Seven Seas is a brand that gives me a touch of nostalgia.The small golden colored capsule was a part of my day during my childhood. Seven Seas was marketed in India by Universal Medicare Ltd.

Seven Seas has a rich heritage, this global brand came into existence in 1935. The brand is owned by the UK based Seven Seas . Seven Seas was later acquired by the global pharmaceutical major Merck.

In India , Seven Seas was very popular as a nutritional supplement. Although the promotions were virtually nil for this brand, Seven Seas became popular through word of mouth. The golden capsule gave the visual incentive for kids to have it. So popular was the brand that even vegetarians ( my own experience) took the capsule. One of my colleague remarked that the brand became popular through Non Resident Indians ( NRI's ) who bought this product from abroad.
Cod Liver Oil is rich in Omega3 , DHA , Vitamin A and D. The nutritional value of Cod Liver oil is unmatched . Seven Seas globally is positioned as a nutritional supplement and its USP is that it has the finest Cod Liver Oil. Globally the brand uses the tagline " The Big Fish in Omega 3 " .

In India , the story of this brand is different . Since the brand changed hands from Universal Medicare to Merck , the brand began to vanish from stores. The original marketer Universal Medicare meanwhile launched a competitive brand SeaCod . Now in most of the shops only Seacod is available.
I am not sure what really caused this brand to vanish from the market. What ever be the reason, Seven Seas is missing the Health trend which is now visible in the Indian market. Now most of the customers ( former) of Seven Seas have become old. The new generation is slowly forgetting this brand . Its an opportunity lost for a heritage brand which had a good brand equity.

Calcium Sandoz : Winners Have It In Their Bones

Brand : Calcium Sandoz
Company: Novartis
Agency : Euro RSCG

Brand Count : 258

Calcium Sandoz is a heritage brand and an offbeat brand too. The brand which is 45 years old has a rich heritage globally. It was created in 1929 and has revolutionized calcium therapy. The brand was earlier sold in the ethical route where the brand was promoted to Doctors and was sold through drug stores on prescription.

In 2000, Novartis decided to switch the brand to Over The Counter (OTC) route .At that time , the brand was worth 12 crore. OTC means that the brand is available in all shops and can be sold without prescription.

Calcium Sandoz is a calcium supplement. The product available in Tablet format has 250 mg of elemental calcium and was given to growing children. The target market for this product was kids aged 4-8.
When the product was launched as an OTC brand, the company had the freedom to market the brand through advertising and sales promotion. In the case of prescription drugs , company can advertise only in medical journals and has to depend more on its sales force to push the product.

Calcium Sandoz had a rich heritage and a strong brand equity despite the fact that it was promoted in the ethical route. I can even say that most of the urban population the SEC A B category knew of this brand or have used this brand. One of the major factor that aided this tremendous brand recall is one brand element i.e Packaging.
Calcium Sandoz is clearly identified by its unique Puppy pack which was there unchanged all through these years. That brand element has aided the company when they relaunched this brand in the OTC segment.
Calcium Sandoz is positioned as a supplement that will build healthy bones. The brand takes the tagline " Winner have it in their bones ".

As an OTC brand, Calcium Sandoz faced an issue : taste. The tablet have a chalky taste which often repelled kids from taking this product. When it was prescribed by a doctor, the brand was consumed as a medicine and hence taste didnot matter. But the moment it became OTC, these attributes like taste, softness etc become very important. Identifying this, Novartis launched a variant branded Calcium Sandoz Soft Chew which had the taste of a toffee and had the same calcium content. The company is promoting this variant heavily using visual media. Calcium Sandoz had earlier launched the tablet in orange flavor and icecream flavor. In the case of Soft Chew variant, the product form is also different.

Novartis had also extended this brand to another TG i.e Women. Actually there was a product branded Sandocal Chew which was an ethical product, Novartis decided to launch this product in the OTC as Sandoz Women.
Although Calcium Sandoz has brand recall and equity, it also faces some challenges in the market. The challenges are in the form of product usage and repurchase. The campaigns prompt the customers to buy this product but seldom this is consumed and repurchased . Infact , my wife bought Sandoz Women after seeing the advertisement but has not used it. In the case of the original Calcium Sandoz also, getting kids to eat it and asking for a daily dose is the most challenging task for Novartis.

The company expects that the new Soft Chew may prompt kids to take this brand in a different view and relieves mother of the task of getting the kids to eat it. The brand also faces the issue of " lack of proper clarity " interms of the regulations regarding OTC products. The government is yet of formulate a policy for OTC products ( drugs and supplements). The company had run into trouble when it gave free samples of Sandoz to kids in a school. Without guidelines, the brand cannot enhance its promotions for fear of getting into trouble. Although the market is having potential, this brand is really unsure whether it should go on an overdrive.

Kelvinator : RIP 1963 - ?

Brand : Kelvinator
Company : Electrolux

Brand Count : 246

Kelvinator which ruled Indian refrigerator industry is no more. The brand did not die on its own. This heritage brand was killed by sheer negligence and marketing myopia. Any marketer with common sense would not have done this to a brand like Kelvinator.
Kelvinator came to India in 1963. The brand along with Godrej, Allwyn has ruled the market for decades. A global brand, Kelvinator has its origin dated back to 1914.The brand changed hands so many times and came to the fold of Electrolux in 1985.

In India, the brand's disaster started in 1996 when Whirlpool acquired this brand globally. Whirlpool wanted to sacrifice Kelvinator for its own brand The entire episode of the change of ownership of this brand will make any Hindi serial sops look like a kid's story. According to Business World, When Electrolux bought the company White Consolidated which owned the brand globally, In India during 1996 Kelvinator's Indian licensee sold the license to market Kelvinator to Whirlpool. So Electrolux became a contract manufacturer of its own brand which was being marketed by its competitor. Whirlpool had the license to market Kelvinator brand in India till 1997. Because of this Electrolux entered Indian market with its own parent brand. The fate of Electrolux in India was also not good since it ran into huge loses.

You can see that Kelvinator brand lost its place because it fell into a cobweb of ownership issues. Whirlpool did not invest in Kelvinator since it had the rights to the brand only till 1997. So why invest in some other's baby. So during these years, Whirlpool harvested Kelvinator while developing its own brand. When the brand came back to its original owner, Electrolux did not had the money to build this baby.In 2005, Kelvinator was killed. When the brand was taken off, it had a market share of over 14 %.
A look at the brand assets of Kelvinator will make every marketer drool. An International pedigree and a whopping market share together with two great brand elements :
Mascot : Penguin
Tagline : Its the coolest one.
During its peak years, the brand was heavily built. During 2000 , the Australian circket team endorsed Kelvinator and Adam Gilchrist was the main character in the TVC ran during that time.Kelvinator's main positioning was based on its cooling power. The tagline aptly captures the USP of the brand. Kelvinator's compressors was one of the best available globally. Besides that , the brand was considered to be a tough and reliable one.

One of the best and most apt tagline for any refrigerator brand " Coolest one" , this tagline is still in the mind of many Indian consumers. The brand equity was so powerful that even without much promotion , the brand had two digit market share during early 2000.
I would blame the death of this brand on its owners Electrolux. In 2005, when Electrolux decided to go for the parent brand, Kelvinator still had a life left. It could have been a wonderful entry level brand for Electrolux. A brand with so much heritage could have easily created volumes for this company. But alas.... According to reports,Electrolux is set to come back to Indian market in a new avatar.

Kelvinator will soon fade away from the memories along with it one of the coolest brands.
Source: businessline, businessworld, economictimes

Head & Shoulders : Making Hair Soft & Dandruff Free

Brand : Head & Shoulders
Company: P&G

Brand Count : 240

Head & Shoulders is world's No.1 anti-dandruff shampoo. A power brand from P&G , this brand made its debut in India in 1997. In the highly competitive Indian shampoo market which is estimated to be worth around Rs 1800 crore, Head&Shoulders is a major player in the Anti-Dandruff niche. The entire shampoo market is dominated by HLL with a whopping market share of around 46%.
When the brand was launched in India, the anti dandruff market was in its nascent stage and dominated by Clinic All Clear. The high profile launch of Head & Shoulders fueled the growth of this specialty market. Now anti-dandruff segment constitutes around 15% of the total shampoo market. While some reports suggest that Head & shoulders lead this segment, there are no exact market share figures available. My feeling is that Clinic All Clear has a lead over Head & Shoulders.

Head & Shoulders is positioned as a pure play anti-dandruff shampoo and for these 20 years has stuck to this positioning.When the brand was launched, it really gave HLL brand Clinic a run for its money. The brand had carried its heritage as worlds largest selling anti-dandruff shampoo and also maintained a good share of voice. The brand used the Markonym ZPT ( Zinc Pyrithine)Formula which has anti-fungal properties as its differentiator.
But during the 2000, Clinic All Clear outsmarted Head & Shoulders through some very aggressive campaigns. As usual HLL banked on high profile celebrities to endorse this brand. Shah Rukh and Shahid Kapoor and recently John & Bipasha made sure that Clinic All Clear retain its share of mind. Surprisingly during this period, Head & Shoulders kept a low profile.

It was during 2005 that Head & Shoulders began its aggressive campaign to regain the lost market.The brand roped in the bubbly Preity Zinta to endorse the brand. Earlier Ajay Jadeja had endorsed the brand.During this period, the brand also extended its positioning from Anti-Dandruff to "Soft hair + dandruff removing " proposition. The brand also introduced different variants like Menthol, Aloevera, Black, Naturally Clean,smooth & silky to increase the product line depth.
The brand also changed ZPT formula to Vitazinc to support the new positioning. Along with the new brand ambassador, the brand also talked about eliminating 5 problems arising out of dandruff : Flakes,Irritation,Itchiness,Dryness and Oiliness.The new extended positioning makes sense in the new consumer environment where customers are looking more at combo products rather than specialty products.
Although Head & Shoulders has aggressive in the market, it is still lagging behind Clinic All Clear in terms of creative campaigns. Globally, Head & Shoulders had come out with some highly creative campaigns which was not replicated in India by the agency.The brand is now available in a new look and with the aggressive campaigns, the brand hopes to keep its Head High

Brand Update : Eyetex

I had written last year about the brand Eyetex and its initiative to tap the new generation with the new brand Dazzler. The Senior Management of the firm was kind enough to provide me further information about the brand which I would like to share with you , Excerpts from the mail
"

• Last year we sold 23.4 million pieces of our traditional EYETEX Kajal,
• We believe that no brand of any Eye Care Cosmetic sells such a volume in India - value is a different matter,
• This year, the target is appr. 25.8 millions of pieces - the low growth is due to the near saturation level of penetration,
• We also produce five varieties of Eyeliner Liquid under the same brand EYETEX - but this is synthetic product like the Brands that you have mentioned,
• We sold 1.42 millions pieces of our EYETEX Eyeliner Liquid in 2006-07;
• We believe that this is the Second largest next to LAKME who are reported to have sold close to 4.0 millions pieces of their Eyeliner liquid,
• This year the target is 1.75 million pieces
• In your state KERALA, our Eyeliner Liquid is by far the Number I Brand in volumes - this can be easily verified,
• These 1.42 millions sales in 2006-07 comes on top of just 1.60 lakhs pieces of Eyeliner Liquid sold as recently as 2000-01,
• As your BLOG aptly titles - Eye On The Next Generation - we are also into Eye Mascara {since 2005}, Eyebrow Pencils {since 1975},
• We are also into - under the Brand DAZLLER - Nail Polish {3 varieties}, Nail Polish Remover, Lip Sticks {2 sizes}, Lip Gloss, Compact Powder, Liquid Makeup {Foundation Cream}, Lip Eye Makeup Remover etc.,
• We are also the largest BRAND in the Kumkum business in India - the Umbrella Brand is EYETEX and this has sub Brands namely POORNIMA, PALLAVI & DIVYAA,
• We sell Kumkum in Powder, Paste, Liquid, Pencil & Sticker forms,
• In 2006-07 we sold over 64 million pieces of different varietis of Kumkum

"

Great going for a heritage brand like Eyetex. It is always good to see Indian brands keeping their forte even after the onslaught of Global brands. But the threat is real. A dipstick study at my institute revealed little percentage using the heritage brands and majority going towards global brands ( may not be statistically relevant) . But these brands has their strength of the equity that it has created over these years. Only thing they have to do is to strengthen it.

Related Brand
Eyetex

Johnnie Walker : Keep Walking

Brand : Johnnie Walker
Company: Diageo
Agency: Leo Burnett

Brand Count : 235

Johnnie Walker is a global icon in the Beverages business. The brand named after the founder Mr John Walker, this heritage brand was born in 1820. An umbrella brand that endorses may of the iconic variants like RedLabel , Black Label etc, this brand is considered to be a brand leader in the worldwide whiskey market.

Johnnie Walker came to India in 2001. Before that the brand and its variant commanded a whopping 65% share in the duty paid channel. India is a huge market for liquor and the estimated market for Indian Made Foreign Liquor is around Rs 34,000 crore.

Deviating slightly from the brand, I thing IMFL or Indian Made Foreign Liquor is one of the classic Oxymoron. I still cannot understand the logic of the IMFL. It is still a living example of the erswhile License Raj.
Johnnie Walker is an interesting brand to me because of the classic campaign " Keep Walking". Keep Walking is the brand's global branding campaign which began in 1999 .The campaign took the brand from a local player to a global icon. The idea is so simple that this could be used in any market and in anyway that the marketer chose to use it. The tagline is one of the most memorable and I rate this as one of the best taglines. The tagline became so hit that in some markets, the line has become a part of the lingua.
The tagline is splashed across the globe in billboards, posters and print ads. The brand and its agency was able to look at the current environments and communicate something similar to TOPICALS pioneered by Amul in India.
One such billboard in Lebanon captured attention in the media across the world. According to reports, the campaign is running in 125 countries. The local managers are given the freedom to adapt the message to suit their own market. For example, recently Keep Walking campaign was run in India taking a cue from the India's World cup debacle.

The brand is being positioned on the concept of Progress. The Striding Man logo was devised to convey the philosophy of the founder's belief that through perseverance, the dreams can be realized. The brand is basing its positioning on the spirit of hardwork and perseverance and will appeal to the customers who adore those values. I think the brand has segmented the market on the basis of values ( broadly speaking).
In India too, the brand is following its international strategy. The interesting feature of this campaign is the use of outdoor media to the maximum. The brand uses minimalistic approach to communicate to the audience. It is said that the " Keep Walking " campaign has helped the brand to increase atleast 60% of the sales. More over in the Indian scenario, Keep Walking Campaign also has helped the brand to touch a new level in surrogate advertising.
Johnnie Walker's Keep Walking campaign is a classic example of the power of Big Idea.

Poppins : Goli Rainbow Wali

Brand : Poppins
Company: Parle

Brand Count:234

Poppins is a heritage brand. Although I am not sure when it was launched, I am pretty sure that this brand is more than 30 years old. Still this brand is existing in the market now in a second life. Poppins comes in the category of hard boiled candy in the Rs 1200 crore confectionery industry.According to businessline, the hardboiled candy market is estimated to be Rs 350 crore and is dominated by Alpenleibe.

Poppins is a unique product because of its product characteristics. For me, the brand evokes a feeling of nostalgia since this was among the most popular brand when I was a kid. Poppins was liked by us because of its taste, color and ofcourse economy. Where else can you get 10 candies in a packet that too in different flavours .
But things changed last decade with the entry of aggressive players and new products. The market witnessed lot of segmentation and new categories and product forms evolved. Poppins at that point of time had lost its way.
Poppins were positioned on the platform of its range of flavors and color. The brand during the early times spent lot of money on brand building. The brand used two characters Ram and Shyam and used cartoon stories to build this brand ( source:vishalpatel.com). Since there was not much competition from organised sector, the brand had a good run.
But during the recent times that is from 2000-2007, the brand kept a very low profile. Although there are reports of a rebranding exercise during 2002, I don't remember any ads on air during this period.
This year however, has seen some action for this brand. TVC's are now on air using the Colors as the main USP. The website and the wrapper shows the tagline "Goli Rainbow Wali" which points towards the rainbow colors of the candies. Although the TVC's looks OK, I don't see any meaningful positioning for the brand except that the ads highlight Rs 2 and also the colors.I think that the brand wants to say to the customers that in this expensive world, you still get a Poppins for Rs 2.
Parle Poppins like Cadbury's Gems is a unique brand because of its product characteristics. Although both of these brands face competition from fake products, there is no serious brand competition for Poppins. But still like all heritage brands, this brand also faces the issue of being relevant. I feel that Poppins is looking at small kids aged 5-10 as its target segment. Because the ads are too kiddish.But I am glad that Poppins is back...

Imagesource:vishalpatel.com

Nycil: Soothing and Cooling

Brand: Nycil
Company:Heinz
Agency:Rediffusion DY&R

Brand Count :220

Nycil is the market leader in the Rs 100 crore prickly Heat Powder (PHP) market in India. This heritage brand has successfully adapted to the changing trends for more than 35 years.
Nycil was initially a drug manufactured by British Drug House for Foot and Bed sours.But later the brand metamorphosed to India's leading PHP brand. The brand changed hands to Glaxo and then to Heinz in 1995

Prickly Heat Powders are highly seasonal products and to manage a seasonal brand is a Brand Manager's nightmare. The typical season for PHP in India is during April-July.The php category is about 20% of the total talcum powder market.Nycil has a market share of over 40% in the PHP category. ( source: Superbrandsindia,org).
During the eighties and nineties the Nycil was generic to the category. The brand was promoted heavily using the cactus mnemonic and the scorching heat gave the additional push to the brand. The brand was able to capture the need of the market which was moving away from traditional methods of applying turmeric or sandalwood pastes.
The irritation caused by heat is felt heavily on kids .Hence Nycil effectively targeted the mother and the child and the brand was positioned as the most effective Prickly heat powder.The brand talked about prevention soothing and healing to fight Prickly heat. The ads featured mother and child effectively conveyed the message. The product was efficient also since using Nycil bought instant relief ( personal experience).
Nycil's success bought many competitors into this category. Brands like Shower to Shower ( J&J),Dermicool ( Paras)Boroplus(emami) Vaseline ( HLL) all tried their luck in the market but could not make a dent into Nycil's leadership position while it took some market away from Nycil.
Nycil is a brand that constantly evolves according to the changing market. in 1970 the famous mnemonic of Cactus gave way to Bramble. Thebrand came out with different fragrances. Later in 1990's the brand expanded the target market to include adults also. The packaging was changed in parity with the industry trends.The brand also tried to expand its usage by including the attributes of fragrance and antiperspirant. But for a consumer, Nycil remains as the PHP.

My point is that Nycil has never rested on its laurels. The brand kept track of the market and competition and never shied away from experimenting. The category is highly seasonal and the purchase is largely problem/need driven. Sometimes the customer will go for the brand that have the maximum share of mind and voice. For example high profile ads of Dermicool took away some of the market of Nycil .It takes lot of efforts to differentiate such niche brands. I havn't seen any celebrity endorsing prickly heat powders? For a change having a celebrity endorsing Nycil may work for the season ...Will it?I also think that it is the right time for this brand to take on "Freshness" platform in place of soothing because there is more value and moving space in taking on the Freshness platform while keeping the points of parity with PHP category. The brand can also come out with multiple campaigns aimed at different set of segments like Sales Executive, Kids, Working women, College students rather than sticking to one segments. The rationale is that since the brand is a seasonal one, expanding the segments will be a viable option.And since different segments have different consumer behaviour, multiple campaigns make more sense.
Summer is on right now and I am waiting for the ad war....

Source:agencyfaqs,superbrandsindia.com

Idhayam oil : Banking on Health

Brand : Idhayam Oil
Company: Idhayam Group
Agency: Lekha

Brand Count : 219

Idhayam is a strong regional brand in the hugely diverse and unorganised edible oil market in India. Indian edible oil market is huge with a consumption of 360,000 metric tonnes per year. The market is wide and varied with regional preferences diverse across India. For example ,the preferences goes something like this:
Ground Nut oil is preferred in the West, Coconut oil and Sesame oil is preferred in the South,Mustard Oil in East and North, Soyabean oil in Central and North/West and sunflower oil in most parts of the country ( source: superbrandsindia.org).

Idhayam is the biggest brand in the sesame oil (Gingelly oil) segment . The brand has a rich heritage of over 60 years. The company came into existence in 1943 and over these years the brand has grown to occupy a major share in the South Indian market. Idhayam sells over 13 lakh liters per month .

Although in my house, traditionally we use coconut oil, Idhayam is a familiar brand because of the intense promotion by the company. The brand is promoted heavily through television and magazines. The brand uses the famous South Indian Diva Jyothika to endorse the brand.Although the ads are dubbed from Tamil in Malayalam , the heavy and constant bombardment of ads never misses the audience.
What is more interesting is the message of the ad. Idhayam means Heart. The brand has its basic values rooted in health platform. I think the brand had this even before the Sunflower brands took over the health positioning.
Idhayam is positioned as an all purpose edible oil. The brand talks about low cholesterol content and great taste.The ad also reminds you that the oil is best to apply on hair too. Health + Taste has been the positioning of Idhayam for years now.
The company later entered the groundnut oil market with a brand :Mantra Groundnut oil.
The success of Idhayam lies in the ability of the company to built the brand. It had been a commodity business but Idhayam added value and now rules this segment. The brand over time has now come out with an innovative marketing strategy " Oil Pulling". This is an initiative of the company to pioneer the concept of Oil therapy in the country. Oil Pulling is the method of rinsing the mouth with oil for Twenty minutes by Swishing the oil between the teeth. According to the company reports, this process effectively cures glaucoma and gum diseases. ( check out the website & doctor before trying it).

Idhayam is a classic example of branding a commodity. The brand is now trying out new markets for its Sesame Oil. Whether it will be successful or not, time will tell

Source:idhayam.com,hindubusinessline

Lacto-Calamine: For Complete Complexion

Brand : Lacto-Calamine
Company: Nicholas Piramal
Agency: Orchard Advertising

Brand Count: 216

Lacto-Calamine is one of India's oldest cosmetic/skin care brand. Once a necessity in the beauty kit of every ladies, this brand has started its second life after meeting a near death situation. Lacto-Calamine was introduced somewhere in 1970's by Duphar Interfran. But later in 1996 the brand was took over by Nicholas Piramal group for a consideration of around Rs 1.75 crores.

Lacto-Calamine was a popular skin lotion during early days. Calamine is another name for Zinc Carbonate. Lacto-Calamine was earlier used as a lotion for soothing the skin especially during summer. The lotion had germicidal properties and more importantly had a cooling effect on the skin. Calamine lotion was also used as a base for applying powder/other cosmetics on the face. In short, the brand was very popular in the early eighties.
Later for some reasons, the brand faded away from the market. There was no promotion, no marketing as such. The brand missed the new generation by miles. The brand's availability was restricted to medical shops .
Although I don't remember any ads of Lacto-Calamine, but I think that the brand was positioned as a complexion lotion. One report suggest that the brand had the tagline " Skinnoccence" meaning " Innocent skin". The brand was also prescribed by dermatologist for skin rashes and sunburns.

This year NPIL has relaunched this heritage brand. Earlier at the demise of Lacto-Calamine, Lakme has introduced Lakme -Calamine lotion but could not make an impact on the market. There are still lot of unbranded generic Calamine lotions available at medical shops ( druggists).
Although I feel little nostalgic when I hear this brand being relaunched, doubts linger in my mind about the future of this brand. The new generation is neither unaware of this brand nor the efficacy of the product. There is a huge generation gap which cannot be bridged easily. With a plethora of cosmetic brands in all sizes ,shapes and variants, the scope of this brand is very much limited. Although TVC's are now running , I don't see any forceful communication that can bring this brand back into the market. There are chances that the old users will start buying this again.

Brand Update : Mysore Sandal Soap

In a unique marketing move, Karnataka Soaps and Oil which markets the famous Mysore Sandal soap has gone in for creating a new super premium segment in the highly cluttered soap market. The company is launching the costliest (most expensive) soap in the Indian market Mysore Sandal Platinum. Priced at Rs 200, the soap is 4 times expensive than the current premium soap brands like Dove.

Mysore Sandal Platinum make sense for the company since it will add more equity for the existing product line. Rs 200 is quite a price for a soap but Mysore Sandal may not have volume in mind when it is launching such an expensive soap.
Now Mysore Sandal has following variants:
Mysore Sandal Soap
Mysore Sandal Classic Soap ( for overseas market)
Mysore Sandal Baby Soap
Mysore Sandal Rose
Mysore Sandal Gold
Mysore Sandal Herbal Care.
The new launch is also aimed at the overseas market. Mysore Sandal with its heritage and quality will create a good market in the west. The new brand Platinum although expensive in India will be affordable in the western market (less than $5).
In India too, the brand may adorn the super rich households. This could also have some positive effect on the Parent brand.
Along with Platinum , the brand is moving to mass market ( downmarket stretch) with a non sandal soap branded Wave. Both these initiatives can be cited as an example of Two Way stretch of a product line.

Related Brand
Mysore Sandal Soap

Source: Business standard