Dabur Dashmularista : With You for Life

Brand : Dabur Dashmularista
Company : Dabur

Brand Analysis Count : 413

Dashmularista is a traditional ayurvedic medicine which is very popular in India as a restorative tonic. Although this is a medicine, Indian consumers usually buy and use this tonic over the counter because of the knowledge passed on from elders. And since this is an ayurvedic medicine, consumers are less bothered about the side effects.

Dabur Dashmularista is the first branded ayurvedic ethical asava ( tonic) to be launched in the Indian market as an OTC product. This brand was launched in 2004-2005. Initially Dashmularista was positioned as a restorative tonic for young mothers .

I had earlier written about the poor marketing that has been done with regard to ayurvedic products . There is lot of potential for ayurvedic OTC products in the Indian market. Dabur has to be appreciated for taking an effort in branding such important traditional ayurvedic medicines.

Dabur is also using the bollywood actress Juhi Chawla to promote its ethical branded products. This will further boost the popularity of traditional ayurvedic tonics and prescriptions.

Watch an old TVC of this brand : Dabur Dashmularista

Now Dabur Dashmularista has been positioned as a vital health tonic for ladies. The brand is currently running a TV commercial highlighting the need for such a health tonic for the homemaker. The brand now has the tagline " With You for Life " .

The brand is positioned as a health tonic for every stage of life . The current target market for the brand is the homemakers. I think that over a period of time, Dashmularista will expand its TG to include men and young girls.

The brand is filling an important need in the Indian market. Women often suffer from the fatigue arising out of the stress and strain of homemaking responsibilities. This stress is translated to digestive disorders and physical discomforts like backpain, fatigue,loss of energy etc. And most of the time, ladies resist consulting doctors about their issues at the same time complaining to their husbands about their health issues.
In such a situation , products like Dashmularista has a very important role to play. There will be a better acceptability for such products because of the tradition and perceived " lack of side effects ".

Since its launch in 2004, Dabur Dashmularista is witnessing steady growth. The brand is facing competition from a host of established ayurvedic marketers who sells this product as a ethical medicine. The current campaign will force many such players to take Dashmularista to the OTC market and can expand the market for ayurvedic products.

Related Brand
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Scotch Purple Glue Stick : Magic

Brand : Scotch Purple Glue Stick
Company : 3M
Agency : Grey

Brand Analysis Count : 411

3M is always known for its customer centric innovations. Scotch Purple Glue Stick is such an innovation. This brand was launched recently in select cities of India.

Scotch Purple Glue is India's first colored glue . The brand is targeting the school going kids.
What makes this glue different from other glue stick brands like FeviStick is its innovative coloring mechanism.

The Purple Glue rubs purple but dries clear. That means when the kids rubs the glue on the paper, it is in purple color that helps the kids to see where the glue is being applied. When the glue dries, it becomes colorless and clear. This is nothing but the magic of innovation.

Watch the TVC here : Scotch Purple Glue

The brand also has a large choke resistant cap which prevents accidental choking which makes it safe for the kids. How many Indian marketers has ever thought of making their products safe for kids ?

As a consumer, I am delighted to see the convenience that this product will offer to kids . Will I buy it for my child, absolutely. Will my kid love the product, I bet she will.

Related Brand
Fevistick
Kangaro

Revive : Creating a Category

Brand : Revive
Company : Marico
Agency : Publicis


Brand Analysis Count : 409

Revive is an interesting brand. This is a brand which created the instant starch market in India. Revive can be considered as a classic example of branding a commodity.
Revive was launched in 1993. The brand was received very well by the consumer community. Revive targeted the urban middle and upper households which was willing to pay a premium for convenience.

Revive is also an example of a product that was developed to satisfy a unmet need. Indian households traditionally used starch to stiffen their clothes,especially cotton clothes. The process of making starch and using them was a tedious process for the homemaker. The homemade starch was quite messy and used to leave patches in clothes. It used to smell bad and was not suitable for color clothes.

Revive solved these issues at one go. The brand was initially launched in the powder form. The homemaker could make starch easy by just mixing the powder with water. It offered convenience and saved a lot of time. Another significant advantage of Revive was that it could be used in cold water. Traditional starch needed warm water. Revive also can be used in color clothes which was again a big advantage for the consumers.

It is difficult for the consumer to ignore a product that offers solution to their problems . Revive was successful because it made the life of homemaker little more easier. Revive too had its share of disadvantages. The problem was with the product form and the price. Revive was premium priced compared to the virtually "free" homemade starch. Hence convincing consumers to sample the product was tough. Since the product was in the powder form, consumers was confused about the quantity of powder that should be used.

The real challenge for Revive came when Jyothi Lab launched Stiff & Shine. Stiff & Shine was a liquid stiffener which was much convenient than the powder Revive. Jyothi Lab was trying the same strategy which it used to dethrone Robin powder blue.

But Marico reacted very fast to the challenge posed by Stiff & Shine. It launched the liquid version of Revive very fast and backed it with a heavy dose of campaign.
Revive is focusing on three main attributes in its campaigns- instant starch ( convenience),better stiffness for clothes and no patches.
The fight between Stiff & Shine and Revive is still raging with both brands now linking confidence and social acceptability . Both the brands are running similar campaigns ( using kids) claiming that clothes that are well ironed and shining will earn you self-respect and social acceptance.

Recently Marico took the fight to a new level by launching the liquid blue extension of Revive. I was surprised to see the ad of Revive liquid blue. No further details about this extension is available in the public domain .

Revive is a brand which is promoted heavily by Marico. The instant starch market is still very small and the task of the marketer is to increase the market size rather than to fight for the market share. The recent campaigns connecting the brand and social acceptance is targeted at non-users of this category motivating them to use the product.

The instant starch category has a great market potential and the brands should focus on increasing the category size. There is lot of room for growth for these brands when the category grows . Revive should resist the temptation of extension because the brand will reap rich rewards if it focuses on the category it created.

Related Brand
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Colin : Cleans To A Shine

Brand : Colin
Company : Reckitt & Benckiser

Brand Analysis Count : 402

Colin is a brand from Reckitt & Benckiser. This brand is the market leader in glass cleaner product category. One can say that Colin is the pioneer in creating this category.

Colin brand was created by a company known as Fern Hill Laboratories ltd. In 1998, this brand was sold to Reckitt & Colman ( which later became Reckitt & Benckiser).

Glass cleaner market is a small market with a size of 20 crore. Colin commands more than 70 % of the market . This brand is an example of a niche brand. One good thing about Colin is that the brand owner has left this brand as a niche brand and so far has not ventured into extending Colin into other product categories.

The typical issue with the niche brand is the market size. In a country like India with its sheer size and diversity, managing a niche brand often is a difficult affair.

Consider the case of Colin. The brand is a national brand with presence over most of the urban market. But the brand has to manage the challenge of distributing to all those numerous urban market for a share of those 20 crore. Since Colin is a part of Reckitt which has a basket of products, the cost will be shared. For a company having only one niche brand, Indian market is indeed a tough market to crack.

Colin was always perceived to be a premium product. From my experience as a middle class customer, we never perceived Colin as an essential product. Although we had all the products that could be cleaned using this cleaner, we never felt the need for Colin.

Now the situation is different. The number of electronic gadgets has increased, consumers now have LCD monitors, computers, ipods, psp etc which require specialist cleaning solutions. Hence more than ever, Colin has a good potential in this era.

Colin in a way also suffered from narrow positioning . The brand is widely perceived as a glass cleaner, actually it can be used as a multi-purpose cleaner for fridge and other gadgets. Hence when a consumer has a view that Colin is a glass cleaner, the usage and the value for money proposition does not match. In my experience as a consumer, I never bought this product because of this thought " To clean a TV, why should I spent this much ? "

It is also true that being perceived as a specialist for glass cleaning has its own advantages. The brand is considered an expert in that category and is almost generic to that category.

Colin is a brand that is well entrenched in the minds of the consumers. Being a niche brand has prevented heavy media support for Colin. But the brand has huge potential in days to come. The brand has to take a risk and try to create more uses for this product.

Brand Update : Popy

Rainy season has started in Kerala and the ad blitz of the umbrella marketers has reached the pinnacle. As usual, the umbrella marketers of Kerala has proved that innovation can be a game changing strategy.

This season is also no different ,where the two major brands in the Kerala umbrella market - Popy and John's vying for consumer attention with mind-blowing new umbrellas.

Popy has come out with a new commercial for its Nano sub-brand. Popy Nano claims to be the smallest folding umbrella which has a hieght of 16 cm when folded. The brand is being promoted as the " World's smallest big umbrella " .

The company claims that the umbrella when opened covers a larger area compared to ordinary umbrellas. The brand also claims to be the lightest and strongest in that category of 3 fold umbrellas. Popy Nano has come out with a decent catchy campaign which superbly communicates the brand promise.

Watch the TVC here : Popy Nano

While Popy Nano is aimed at older customers, it is the kid segment where there is intense competition.
In the kid's umbrella segment, Popy has come out with a new product " Popy Kuppi Kuda ". Kuppi in Malayalam language means bottle. So Kuppi Kuda means umbrella in the shape of a bottle.
The brand has introduced this product using a teaser campaign.
Watch the ad here : Popy Kuppi Kuda

The competition is not sitting idle. The main competitor John's has also come out with two new products . John's Air was launched this year which claims that the umbrella will be able to withstand wind speed upto 50 Kmph.

In Kerala we can see lady pillion riders of two wheelers desperately trying to hold the umbrella during the rain. Most of the time, these umbrellas cannot withstand the wind and will collapse creating an embarrassing situation. John's Air is aiming to fill that need for a stronger umbrella that can withstand wind.

John's also came out with a product for kids branded as John's Macha Mia. This is an umbrella with a bubble maker and bubble breaker. Kids can make bubbles with an attachment fitted with the umbrella handle and then try to break those bubbles using a dart gun fitted along with the umbrella. Sounds complicated isn't it ?

Both Popy and John's are flooding the media with their campaign and kids are a happy lot with lot of options to choose for.

Popy and John's are proving once again that innovation can bring life into a once dull product category like Umbrella.

Related Brand
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Scoobee Day : My Friend

Brand : Scoobee Day
Company : Anna Group ( Kitex Garments)


Brand Analysis Count : 400

I am celebrating the 400 th brand analyzed in Marketing Practice with a Kerala brand.

Scoobee Day is a pioneer in the branding of school bags in Kerala. The brand is from the Anna Group which is a major player in the textile and Aluminum products in the state.

School bag market is essentially dominated by the unorganized sector. Except for a few national brands like Duckback and Bata, most of the players are local manufacturers.

During the early 2000, Anna group launched the brand Scoobee Day in the school bag segment.
Scoobee Day quickly captured the attention of the kids. One of the reason for the quick attention and recall of the brand was the brand's phonetic resemblance to the popular comic character Scooby Doo. During the launch of Scoobee Day, Scooby Doo cartoons were a huge hit among kids .

Scoobee Doo became a quick success through a very careful brand building process. The brand knew the pulse of the target market and the strategies were bang on target.

Scoobee Doo was primarily targeting the young school children in the KG and Pre primary segment. This brand was built on the art of story telling.

School bags are seasonal products . The consumers buy these products during May-June period. Mostly the parents let their kids choose the product since a new bag is definitely a motivation for kids to go to school.

Scoobee Day adopted the strategy of hooking the kids. The brand name itself was a hit and there was something more. The brand told a story. The hero of the story is the brand mascot - a Bee named Scoobee.

Scoobee Day is positioned as a kid's best friend. The brand all through its journey had told stories of how Scoobee Day helped the kids in distress , fighting those monsters who tried to attack the kids.

Watch an ad here : Scoobee day old ad

Watch the latest ad here : Scoobee Day 2009 ad

The brand also had the tagline " Scoobee Day en Changathi " ( in Malayalam) translated to Scoobee Day , My Friend.

The brand told consistent stories which involved kids being chased by dragons and monsters and how Scoobee rescues the kids and tames the demons.

The jingle containing the tagline and the catchy stories of Scoobee helping the kids, made a very strong impression in the mind of the kids. Even my four year old child recites the jingle and is very familiar with the brand.

The brand also ensured that it provided excellent value for money for the consumers. The bags are of very good quality and is very durable. So parents are not complaining for the premium paid for the brand.

To counter the price competition from the local players and cheap chinese imports, Scoobee Day is flooding the market with freebies along with the bag. Free offers include tiffin boxes, water bottles, pencil box etc. This year, the brand is offering pencil box, tiffin box, water bottle and a Scoobee mask.

Scoobee 's success is a classic example of brands built on story telling. The brand had a compelling story and it told the stories consistently . When entering a market dominated by unorganized players, the critical factor for success lies in differentiation. Scoobee Day differentiated itself from the rest through strong brand elements backed by product quality.

Now Kerala market is flooded with branded school bags. But Scoobee had the first mover advantage. The brand had already created huge equity and brand recall among the consumers.

Pearlpet : Har Dil Ka Pet

Brand : Pearlpet
Company : Pearl Polymers
Agency : Imagine

Brand Analysis Count : 396

Pearlpet is a highly successful brand. So successful that the brand has become generic to the category. This is a brand that transformed the Indian kitchenware market. I still remember times where my mother used to store those curry powders in the Horlicks Glass bottles. Now a look the row of plastic containers in the kitchen speaks about the change that this brand has made to the Indian households.

PET stands for Poly Ethylene Terephthelate. PET bottles offered a very convenient safe storage solution for both the industry and households .

PET storage solutions have application in both industry and consumer segments. The pet bottles are used for packaging in various business like Softdrinks, Confectionery etc.

Pearlpet is a brand which was very popular at the home segment.The brand replaced the glass bottles and became the choicest storage solution for the households.
Pearlpet infact satisfied a need for a safe durable storage solution. Glass bottles were very good but had an inherent disadvantage of being unsafe and breakable.

PET jar offered a solution for this.The bottles were looking good, came in convenient sizes and shapes, was unbreakable and priced reasonable.

Pearpet was the first one to create a brand in this emerging category. Pearlpet was introduced in the Indian market in 1984. During those days, the brand advertised heavily and reports say that Malaika Arora was a model for this brand.

On the industrial market segment, the increasing number of brands in the fmcg ,softdrinks and confectionary segment increased the scope of PET products. Pharmaceutical segment also was a huge opportunity for such packaging solutions.

Pearlpet faces competition from two fronts. The greatest threat was from the unorganized local manufacturers. Since consumers do not significantly see a difference between branded and unbranded products, they choose the low priced unbranded bottles and packs. Chinese products also give a huge competition for Pearlpet.

At the higher end of the market, direct marketing giants like Tupperware and international brands like Rubbermaid has carved a niche for itself. They are giving competition at the premium end of the market.

In this highly competitive scenario,Pearlpet however is not aggressive in taking on the competition. The brand is still resting on its laurels. I do not remember seeing any ads/promos of this brand in recent times.Consumers now do not see much difference between Pearlpet and other unbranded ones. This is akin to leaving the entire market open for all competitors.

Pearlpet is missing out opportunities of grabbing maximum from a market which it had created. The brand still have a huge equity which it should nourish and invest . Although reports suggest that the brand have a larger share, the lack of brand promotion can be the Achilles Heel for this brand.

Studds Helmets : Safety and Style

Brand : Studds

Company : Studds Accessories Ltd

Brand Analysis Count : 391

Studds is a brand that brings back memories of my two wheeler days. I hated helmets and I bet most of the youngsters do hate helmets. It is a glamour killer. What is the use of having an expensive bike and a handsome face when what those chicks will see is the dark full faced Red Helmet ???

My first helmet purchase was a grudge purchase. One fine morning, Kerala Government had a revealation that its citizen's head was very important. Government decided to  " enforce " the helmet rule and a fine of Rs 500 or more ( depending on the value of the head !) were to be imposed on those who chose to ride two wheelers without helmets.

There was a frantic run for helmets. At one point of time, there was a shortage of helmets and we guys had to play hide and seek with the traffic police who were determined to keep the keralites head safe. Those smart ones bought fake helmets from roadside and put ISI sticker on it. Some even used Cricket helmets to fool the cops.

The helmet game had been a regular feature in our state for a while. Government keep on enforcing and relaxing helmet rules in the state. Last year there was a directive that even the pillion riders should have helmets. This move created an uproar among the lady pillion riders who felt that their hair-style would now have to be at the mercy of their helmets. 

Having said that , majority of fatalities involving two wheelers is caused by head injuries . Helmets definitely is a life saver and I am of the opinion that the helmet rule should be enforced.

Studds is a major player in the helmet market in India . The Helmet market is estimated to be around Rs 200 crore but 85 % of the market belong to the unorganized segment. Studds is a major player in the organized helmet market in India.

Rs 200 crore seems to be a very small size compared to the size of our two wheeler market. India sells about 6 mn two wheelers in an year and that is a huge market for helmets. Helmet marketers are not able to tap this huge market .

One reason for that is the enforcement of the helmet rule across the country. Helmets are compulsory for two wheeler riders as per the Central Motor Vehicles Act Section 129. But this is not enforced in most of the states. 

The second reason is the lack of marketing effort on the part of helmet marketers to create an awareness among the riders about the need for helmets. Even in the states where the helmet rules are enforced, riders use helmets only to evade the cops. Hence they buy sub-standard helmets and put the ISI sticker on it. The helmet marketer are still dependent on the government to make the rule strict so that they can sell helmets without much effort.

It is in this context that Studds brand becomes interesting. Studds brand came into existence in 1970. The founder of this brand was Mr Ravi Khurana who was an R&D Head at Escorts at that time. He witnessed a fatal accident involving several of his colleagues during a test ride which prompted him to start a helmet manufacturing unit. 

Ironically in 1999, the group split into two and the Studds brand now rests with Studds Accessories Ltd and Ravi Kurana had to start a new company Ergo .

Studds is a well known and well respected brand in the industry. Without much advertising, Studds built a brand through positive word of mouth. The brand had a high perception of being a high quality helmet. It was able to charge a premium because of this thrust on quality.

Compared to other brand, Studds also was innovative interms of designs. My last helmet was Studds Ninja which I bought because of the stylish design.

Studds is not without competition. It faces competition from brands like Aerostar, AVG, Vega and host of local players. India is also witnessing the emergence of a new segment of premium helmets.

The single reason why the helmet market has not grown in value terms is the laid back marketing behavior of helmet makers. Despite being an important accessory, seldom we see any ad campaign from helmet marketers. No road shows or sponsoring of helmet-awareness campaigns. The marketers are still banking on the free lunch offered through enforcement of helmet rules by governments.

It is true that helmet is a messy accessory. It is heavy, it spoils the hair, it has to be carried around and unless you have an accident you seldom realizes its use. But it is a life saver for the biker. Every other excuse becomes irrelevant when it comes to the matter  of life and death.

It would have been wonderful if the helmet marketers come togther to increase the awareness and importance of helmet wearing among the riders. Studds could have done far better if it had invested heavily in brand building .

It is also interesting to note why two wheeler marketers have missed this opportunity for selling their own brand of helmets . 

All the marketers are waiting for the natural process of emerging segments which are conscious about the use of helmets. But in my opinion it is marketing laziness at its best.

Nilon's Pickles : Taste that Lingers

Brand : Nilon's Pickles
Company : Nilon's Enterprises Pvt Ltd
Agency : Mudra

Brand Analysis Count : 387

Nilon's Pickles is making waves in the ad world. The brand is a classic example which shows the power of good creative execution.Nilon's pickles is from the company Nilon's Enterprises Pvt Ltd which has been in this business since 1962. The company claims to be the largest manufacturer of pickles and tooty-frooty in India.

Nilon's Pickles caught the attention of advertising world because of its new commercial which is making rounds across channels in India

Watch the TVC here : Nilon's Pickles

The ad created by Mudra takes a leaf out of Kentucky Fried Chicken's Finger Licking Good positioning. ( frankly Mudra has taken the whole Tree rather than a leaf !!!).

The campaign revolves around a young chap's unusually long index finger. The plot reveals that the guy had been an addict of Nilon's pickles from childhood itself and the constant licking of the finger made it unusually long.

The advertising fraternity is on two sides regarding this campaign. One set argues this as a copycat while another set sees no harm in " Adapting " the idea.

Afaqs has an interesting piece on this campaign. Read it here

The ad has a strong resemblance to KFC ads - there is no doubt about that.

But what was interesting to me was the basic strategy behind this campaign. It is highly appreciative for a company like Nilon's to attempt to create a national brand in this category. Not many brands have succeeded in creating a national foothold in this category. Brands like Maggi is trying hard to create one.

According to Afaqs , the pickles market in India is worth around Rs 1500 crore of which organized market is around Rs 400 crore. The market is highly fragmented and is dominated by local players.

The major challenge with creating a national brand for pickles is to manage varied taste preference of consumers across markets. If you take the South Indian market, the taste preference for pickles are entirely different to that of North . Even in South India, the taste preference varies across different states. Even for a mango pickle, taste preferences vary across states.

So it is almost an impossible task for a marketer to have a common product that satisfies all consumers. This is where the local players have an advantage. They can afford to create specific product that cater to the specific consumer group they serve.

Another challenge for marketers is the consumer behavior for this category. Usually consumers are hooked to a particular brand of pickles because of the taste . Once the consumer likes the taste, he continues with a particular brand till he come across a better taste. Hence the challenge for any new marketer for pickles is to make the consumer " try out " the brand first.

Most of the local marketers use samples to hook the consumer. Home makers happily serve the sample packs of pickles that come with magazines and once the family gives a vote, the brand purchase is made.

Retailers also play a significant role in promoting brands. Since this is a low involvement product, consumers will try out new pickles if prompted by retailers and advertisements. Local players pamper the retailers with margins and thus gain more retailer space and push.

Pickles also have the seasonality issue for pickles made of seasonal fruits/vegetables. Hence managing the seasonality and inventory also creates a headache for the marketers. The growing health concerns regarding the oily nature of this category also is a threat to marketers.

It is in this context that Nilon's brand building efforts looks interesting. The brand has rightly took taste as the key positioning platform. And although a copy, Finger Licking sounds a too good proposition to ignore. The brand has taken up the tagline " Juba se dil me uthar jaye " which translates to " taste that will sink from tougue to heart"

Another interesting strategy adopted by Nilon's is the focus on the younger generation for this category. I have seldom seen a traditional product like Pickle using Gen Next as the main character in the ads. I don't think that the new generation will stop using pickles. The habit of using pickles will move through mothers to kids and so on. But trying to make this category " cool " among the new generation is a very good marketing move. The shift also provides a refreshing feeling about the category.

Having a nice catchy advertisement is not a panacea for all marketing problems. Nilon's has been working on distribution strength across various markets. The new campaign will definitely give the brand a fair share of consumer trials. The success will ultimately depend on whether the brand keeps the promise of finger licking taste...

Nilkamal Plastics : Creating Value Through Convenience

Corporate Brand : Nilkamal
Agency : Triton

Brand Analysis Count : 385

Nilkamal is a company that successfully branded a commodity. Nilkamal is the market leader in the plastic molded furniture segment in India. The brand has a long history dating back to 1934. The company was founded by Mr Vrajlal Parekh. Mr Vrajlal Parekh started manufacturing metal buttons from his small factory. In 1950, he started producing plastic products and the company was called Standard Plastics. Nilkamal Plastics was born in 1956 and became and independent company in 1981.

The Indian home furniture market is huge with a market size of around Rs 14000 crores. Majority of the market is in the unorganized sector. Nilkamal operates in the moulded furniture market which is around Rs 950 crores. According to reports , 40% of which is in the unorganized sector.
Nilkamal is known for its plastic chairs . But the company is also a major player in manufacturing crates which are used for commercial purposes.

Nilkamal is a brand that popularised the use of plastic chairs at homes . Earlier households used to purchase only wooden /steel furnitures. But Nilkamal was able to break that mindset . Nilkamal did this by creating good designs and also taking care of the quality factor.

Households earlier was averse to plastic chairs because it looked ugly and was not perceived to be strong. Nilkamal changed that perception by introducing well designed chairs .This was backed by heavy promotions using various media.

In a market which was dominated by unorganized players, the brand building gave Nilkamal more mileage and also premium prices.The success of Nilkamal prompted many players to enter the segment. Since the designs could be easily copied, it was difficult for Nilkamal to sustain the growth momentum. Nilkamal is the market leader in the segment with a share of over 37%.But the market for moulded furnitures has become stagnant.


In 2005, the brand moved from molded furniture to home solutions. The brand introduced knocked down furniture and also sofa sets , dining tables ,baby chairs which became popular. The brand was slowly moving towards becoming a lifestyle furniture player.

The company also introduced a new range of office furniture brand Novella. During this time, the brand ventured into retail business by launching large retail format under the brand name @home. These retail outlets showcased the new range of home solutions from the company.

Recently the brand also launched a range of plastic Cupboards and cabinets branded as Freedom.
Nikamal is a brand that is heavily associated with plastic furniture. The brand has a high credibility among the consumers. The major problem faced by the brand is that plastic is associated with cheap furniture and this has prevented the penetration of this product category into high -margin household furniture segment.

But I think there is a huge potential for Nilkamal in developing itself to a highly creative furniture company. As a consumer, I have often found branded furniture to be terribly overpriced for the quality it delivers.Branded wooden furniture are out of reach for many middle class customers. Plastic furnitures lack the glamour and home makers tried to avoid these products. Hence there is a huge potential for affordable designer furniture. Currently this market is being captured by cheap imports from China. There is a flood of imported furniture which looks good and priced affordably.

Nilkamal have the brand equity to tap this potential. Although it is heavily associated with plastics, it could leverage that equity in creating an affordable range of home solutions to the Indian middle class.

Shilpa Bindi : Shilpa Char Chand Lagaye

Brand : Shilpa
Company : Paramount Cosmetics Ltd


Brand Analysis Count : 383

Bindi is a product that is very much linked to India's culture. The dot that Indian women adores on her forehead has been a distinct symbol of our tradition and culture . Although there are no historical references to the origin of bindi, some historians trace the origin of the product back to 4th century.

For all these years, this small dot has become an integral part of the facial make-up of Indian women. Bindi was earlier popular in the form of powder ( Kumkum) and liquid. Later came the era of sticker bindi. Both Kumkum and Liquid bindi's are messy and thus created a need for Bindi which is more user-friendly.

Sticker Bindis became popular because it was less messy and easy to use. Shilpa is the major brand in this category.
Shilpa is a brand owned by Gujarat based Paramount cosmetics which also own the brands like Shringar and Tips & Toes.

Over these years, bindi category also has changed drastically. While the sticker bindi was intended to replace the ubiquitous red liquid kumkum, slowly this product was also subjected to experiments.
From the plain bindi, the product began to take various size and shapes. The market has also moved towards different segments like designer bindi, bindi with swarovski crystals and so on.
The cost of this product have also changed with times. Now these products cost anywhere between Rs 5 to Rs 2000. There are designer bindi which costs even more.

The bindi market is dominated by unorganised sector. If you visit a fancy store, you will see a huge display of these bindis and ladies just swift through these for their favorite designs. The consumer looks primarily for the design while buying these products.

It is in this context that Shilpa brand assumes significance. Shilpa is a predominantly a plain-bindi brand. In my knowledge, the brand has not ventured into designer category. But this brand still commands immense brand equity among the consumers. The brand has high recall and there are loyal customers for the brand.

Consumers of this category buys both design and plain bindis. For frequent and daily use , consumers prefer branded well known plain bindis while on social occasions, they go in for the design bindis. I wonder why this brand has not moved aggressively into designer premium bindis. It had the brand equity to leverage and the move towards premium designer bindi will only increase the brand's visibility and equity.

One reason for the success of Shilpa brand is the trust factor . Ladies fear that constant use of sticker bindi can cause skin problems . Hence they prefer branded bindis for daily use.
Shilpa although is catering to a small market size had invested in building the brand. There were lot of ads for this brand.

Watch one of the ads here : Shilpa

There were two factors that made this brand sticky in the mind of the consumer. The main factor is the jingle. Shilpa had the famous jingle " Shilpa Char Chand Lagaye" which is still remembered by the consumer. Second factor is the packaging. The pack created a solid identity for the brand.
Since plain bindi purchase is a low involvement purchase, consumers were loyal to this brand since it was safe and easy for them.
But the brand faces the issue of competition from the unorganised segment .

Another significant threat for Shilpa is the changing consumer behavior. The demographic shift in the Indian consumers are a source of worry for traditional products like Bindi and Kumkum.
Whether the new hip-hop generation will continue using this product is a matter of concern.

Rapidex English Speaking Course : Best Seller

Brand : Rapidex English Speaking Course
Company : Pustak Mahal

Brand Analysis Count : 357

Rapidex English Speaking Course is an offbeat brand. A brand which has been in existence for over 15 years has not come into limelight as an example of a good marketing practice.

Rapidex English Speaking Course is a book ( series) from the famous publishing house - Pustak Mahal. This is a book aimed at those people who would like to speak plain spoken English.

I was surprised to find that this book has been in the best seller list for long time. According to the publisher website , Rapidex has sold more than 25 million copies so far, making it one of the most successful book brands in India.

Its also a unique brand where the publisher has tried to promote this book as a product by carefully crafting all the marketing mix strategies.

The product is a very simple straight forward book. Rapidex English Speaking Course is designed as a self study book published in local language like Hindi, Tamil , Malayalam etc . The aim of the book is to give basic spoken English lessons to the reader.

The target segment consists of those who have education but lack the ability to speak English.
The product priced reasonably at Rs 150 also is in line with the value proposition. This book is often taken by those who are worried about getting a job and want to learn to speak basic English quickly.

Pustak Mahal has invested heavily in building this brand. The single column print ads were frequently placed in newspapers and magazines. The tipping point for this brand came when the legendary cricketer Kapil Dev endorsed this course. Kapil was frank in admitting that he benefited from this book. This singe endorsement took the brand sales to new heights.

Another interesting feature I have noticed is that all these years, the brand has never changed its looks. The color schemes and the calligraphy still remains the same. The brand has been able to create a distinct identity by retaining all these brand elements.

The brand buoyed by the success of the English course tried its luck by launching Rapidex computer course. But to my knowledge the extension was not as successful as the parent product.

Now India is seeing a new wave of English language courses. With the Call center boom, new format of language training has evolved and has emerged as a big business. Even in this period, Rapidex is holding on as the first step in the spoken English learning. To keep up with the changing needs, the book also now comes with tutor CDs.

Rapidex is a good example of successful marketing practice. The brand could do more if its able to raise its share of voice positioning itself as the best self study spoken english course available in the market. We already have a culture which consider English learning important. And Indian consumers are aware that the present education does not add much importance in enhancing English speaking skills.
In such a scenario, the relevance of Rapidex brand is as high as in the past.

Brand Update : i Pill

i Pill is a Morning - After contraceptive from Cipla . My earlier post on the launch of ipill in India has been one of the most popular post ( understandably so ! ) with lot of queries about this pill.

i-pill has not only generated lot of consumer interest but also many controversies. A google search on this brand will give you lot of opinions against this brand. There are reports suggesting that this brand is becoming popular among teenagers.

i-pill when launched was positioned as a product that will prevent unwanted pregnancy. The launch campaigns were carefully crafted in the family setting with a very relevant message highlighting the efficacy of the product as a solution to avoid unwanted pregnancy. The core message of the brand was that ipill will help you get on with life.

The brand has now launched another campaign with an entirely new message content.

Watch the new campaign here : I pill

The message of the new campaign is entirely different from the first series.

Now i-pill is being positioned as an alternative to abortion. The setting of the ad has been changed from family to a closeted conversation between two ladies.

In the new ad, the protagonist screams the word 'Abortion ' many times to highlight that ipill is an alternative to abortion.

I think there is a reason for this repositioning . When Ipill was launched, there were lot of criticism in the market that it is an abortion pill. And moral police in India consider abortion as a crime.

Cipla had to do lot of PR in order to convince the public that i-pill is an emergency contraceptive rather than a pill for abortion. The fight is still going on.

The new repositioning of i-pill as an alternative to abortion is a strategy by the brand to publicly tell the consumers that the brand is not a abortion pill. It also wanted to be projected as a safe alternative to abortion.

As a viewer, I think that the new campaign is of bad taste. The settings although realistic is little repulsive and the screaming of the word abortion also forced me to skip the ad . The launch campaign involving husband-wife , newly weds were brilliantly crafted and was far more superior to the current campaign.

I think that with the new campaign the brand gives a wrong message like " if you screwed up then use i-pill " . Although its true the brand could have communicated it in a better way.

Rather than pitching against abortion, the brand will make more sense if it rightly identifies the target segment. Abortion often is associated with infidelity. So when the brand positions as an alternative to abortion, there is a chance that it is perceived to be promoting infidility .

In a typical Indian family setting, suppose a couple encounters an unwanted pregnancy situation, there is a high chance that they will NOT go for an abortion. Abortion will be done if there are serious issues like financial and health issues. ( This is my opinion and not based on any data. If readers have further insights please feel free to comment. ) . Grudgingly the family braces to accept the new member.

If my hypothesis is true, then i-pill is taking the wrong stance.

It will be better for ipill to concentrate on the newly weds or young couple who often faces this dilemma stemming from sudden burst of love. Abortion is a negative word and why unnecessarily associate your brand with a negative term ?

Related Post
I Pill

Suguna Poultry : Younger Tender Better

Brand :Suguna
Company : Suguna Poultry
Agency : R K Swamy BBDO

Brand Analysis Count : 346

Suguna Poultry is one of the major players in the fragmented poultry industry in India. Suguna is a classic case of commodity branding . Suguna Poultry started its operations in 1984. The company is based in Coimbatore in Tamilnadu.

The story of Suguna is interesting to a marketer for two reasons. First is obvious in that Suguna is branding poultry products which is a hardcore commodity business. Second is its unique business model.

India is the third largest egg producer and fifth largest poultry meat producer in the world. Indian poultry market is huge with an estimated market size of Rs 20,000 crore ( Business line) . According to Business Standard ( July 08), the size is estimated to be around Rs 12,000 crore.

The market is highly fragmented and dominated by local players. It is in this context that Suguna 's story becomes relevant.

Suguna came into a difficult market with a difficult idea. Branding chicken ! But through heavy investment in the media, Suguna was able to create a mind space for itself .
In the poultry market , the frozen meat market was around Rs 7500 crore. It was in this market where some amount of branding activity was seen.

The market further expanded with Godrej Agrovet entering the market with their brand Real Good.Suguna was promoting itself on quality and tenderness. I remember seeing lot of ads of Suguna during mid nineties. But in Indian market, consumers prefer live birds to frozen meat because of the easy availability of live birds. Suguna was able to make its brand prominent in this market also.

Suguna has sold live birds and eggs worth Rs 2020 crore in 2007 without owning a single poultry farm. That makes their business model interesting. The company pioneered contract farming in the poultry industry in India. The company source their produce through 12000 contract farmers across different states.

According to reports , Suguna owns the day -old-chickens , feed and feed medicine and the contract farmer is responsible for the day to day management of the farm. The farmer gets the assured income while the company takes care of the risk . In that way Suguna can channel its valuable resources to marketing and distribution.

Then the company entered into another lucrative market of selling branded egg. Each year India produces around 47 billion eggs worth Rs 10,000 crore.The market is growing at a rate of 15 % in an year ( Economic Times ).

Suguna has four egg brands and sells over one million eggs a month. Suguna launched these value added egg which is fortified with vitamins. This is done by feeding the laying hen with specialized nutrient feed.I am a regular customer of Suguna eggs.
The brands are
Suguna Pro
Suguna Active
Suguna Heart
Suguna Shakthi

Infact my wife started buying this brand of eggs for my child since she was impressed by the packaging which made the eggs look more hygienic and healthy. Priced almost 50% more than the usual eggs, Suguna had to show some differentiation in the product to justify the premium.

I closely looked at this simple product ( egg) for differentiation and it was evident. The eggs were clean , more shining and uniform in terms of size and shape. Another differentiation was in the packaging. In branding commodity, a marketer should be able to justify the premium and Suguna was able to do just that.

Suguna also has expensive range of eggs under the variant Suguna Heart which contains less cholesterol and rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.

Buoyed by the success of these businesses, Suguna has entered into front end retail by launching Suguna Daily Fresh retail outlets. Reports also say that the company is launching Ready To Eat Chicken products also.

Suguna is a case which proves that its possible to brand any commodity.

Dr Scholl's : Taking care of the Foot

Brand : Dr Scholl's
Company : SSL-TTK

Brand Analysis Count 332

Dr Scholl's is an interesting niche brand. The brand is launched in India by SSL International which owns the brand through a joint-venture with TTK ltd.

Dr Scholl's is a foot care brand. You will see a range of Dr Scholl's product when you visit prominent footwear retailers like Bata. Dr Scholl's sells a range of products like
comfort soles
Acupressure soles
Creams
Odor Control sprays etc

The category in which Dr Scholl's operate can be termed as Slow Moving Consumer Goods ( SMCG) because this foot care products are not popular in India. But with the rising lifestyle, Indian consumers are slowly becoming aware of the utility of such products.

Dr Scholl's is an American brand. The founder of this brand is Dr William Mathais Scholl. The first product rolled out in 1906. In India although this brand was there for a while, serious marketing efforts began to shape up after 2003 when the company tied up with TTK group.

The Indian footcare market is estimated to be around Rs 50-60 crore ( Businessline). The market is dominated by crack-creams and anti-fungal creams.
Dr Scholl's have four types of foot care products -
Removal : hair, follicles,hard skin etc
Relief : Pain relief,
Comfort : Soles
Care : Creams

Although the potential of this market seems attractive, the challenge for the brand is to create a footcare culture. Although we are conscious about personal care , seldom we bother too much about our foot ( my personal opinion). For gents, the concept of footcare is to buy comfortable shoes and socks, clean the feet and some pedicure. Ladies are much more caring about the feet. But still, the care is restricted to the use of creams.

Hence Dr Scholl's has the unenviable task of creating awareness about proper foot-care (need) followed by educating consumers about the foot-care products and then building the brand.
Dr Scholl's is now taking the consumers who already have seen or used these products. Hence the target is the SEC A, A + consumers who is already aware of such products.

Dr Scholl's products are often expensive and unless the consumer is convinced, he may not buy it. Secondly, most of the footcare products need to be continuously used. Hence the brand has to spent lot of money on building the " need factor".

As a part of the strategy, the company is trying to strengthen the distribution reach . Now most of the footwear shops carry this brand and display is also carefully managed.

Smartly , this brand has positioned itself as a footcare brand. Now the challenge is to own the space in the mind of the consumer. At this point, the brand needs a celebrity who can increase the awareness about both the product and brand. Also the brand should be educating the consumers about the importance of proper footcare . Endorsements by doctors, physios etc can give a big boost to the category as a whole.

The brand also has extended to footwear like acupressure sandals.

Dr Scholl's faces the critical issue of developing a category with good potential. Indian consumers are now aware about investing in health. The investment is more biased towards the upper-body ( Joke !)
Dr Scholl's has to be the category pioneer and if done with earnest, the rewards are there for the taking.

Allout : Yamraj of Mosquitos

Brand : Allout
Company : Karamchand Appliances Ltd (subsidiary of SC Johnson Co)


Brand Analysis Cout : 329

Allout is an interesting brand for an Indian marketer. The brand is interesting because it is an example of a pioneer who developed a new category and also a brand which showed the power of aggressive marketing.

Allout was launched in 1990 by a small company known as Karamchand Appliances Pvt Ltd. The company was run by the Arya brothers : Naveen, Anil and Bimal. These brothers spotted a huge opportunity in the mosquito repellent business way back in 1990.

During that period, the mosquito repellent market was dominated by Mosquito coils. Later during early 2000, mats also became a popular mosquito repellent. Karamchand Appliances wanted to venture into the marketing of mats. For that purpose, the company began scouting for technical collaboration. The search took them to Japan where they entered into an agreement with a company known as Earth Chemical Co.


Although the collaboration was for the manufacturing of mats, the Aryan brothers noticed a new product - vaporizers. Vaporizers consisted of a heating unit and a container containing the repellent liquid.

Vaporizers had more advantages than the mats. The mat's effectiveness used to weaken over time . But vaporizer had the advantage of consistent effectiveness since there is a continuous flow of liquid to the heating element. The brothers knew that this was an opportunity.
Karamchand appliances launched the vaporizer in 1990. The brand name was put as " Allout " . The name was easy to pronounce and understand and further the name described the core idea of the brand : to keep the mosquitoes out of the house.

Allout was launched with aggressive brand promotion. The product was priced at a premium and at the time of the launch, the brand was retailing at Rs 225 for the main Vaporizer.
Allout soon attracted the attention of the consumer. Because of the high price, the product was limited to the high income households.

On the marketing front, the company started off advertising in a big way but with little success . The account was initially handled by Avenues and later by HTA but the promoters was not satisfied with the brand communication . Later the company itself took the advertising responsibilities inhouse.

Then came the famous trademark advertisement of Allout featuring the animated frog . The ad showed the Allout machine like a jumping frog eating all the mosquitoes. The ad was a big hit among the consumers . The ad was simple and communicated the brand purpose effectively.

launched another variant - At one point of time Allout was one of the largest advertisers in the visual media. In 1995 AlloutPluggy which was small and priced less than the ordinary vaporizer. In 1999 Allout launched a massive exchange scheme where the consumers could exchange their mat machines and buy vaporizers at a discount. This exchange program helped the brand to penetrate into the mat segment. It was a smart marketing move and a first of its kind in that segment.

Soon Vaporizers began to gain popularity among the users. Sensing this shift, the market leader Godrej Saralee also extended the Goodknight brand into the vaporizer segment. The entry of Goodknight expanded the market much to the advantage of all the players.

The increased competition also rationalized the price of vaporizers. Companies began to lower the price of the vaporizers ( captive product pricing) and gain the margins by selling the refills.

What is intersting about the marketing of Allout is the strategy of using animation in their advertising. Besides the consistent using of the jumping frog, the brand also used animation extensively in their advertising. I also remember an ad featuring Tom & Jerry .

In 1998 , SC Johnson acquired controlling stake in Karamchand Appliances. The support from a large parent company like SC Johnson will be crucial for this brand since the competition is intense in this segment.

Right now Allout is having the slogan " Macharoen ka Yamraj " . The brand also uses the acronym MMR to differentiate itself from the competition. MMR stands for Mosquito Mortality Rate. Allout claims that it has more MMR than the rest of the competition.

Aggressive marketing has made Allout a pioneer in creating the vaporizer segment in India. The brand also showed that a small company can create and lead a new category through smart aggressive marketing.

Yera : Think Glass, Think Class

Brand : Yera
Company : Shreno Ltd ( Alembic Glassware)


Brand Analysis Count : 322

Yera is a brand that has redefined the glassware market in India. This brand can be credited with popularising glassware in Indian households . Yera is a brand which came into existence in 1965. The brand now holds a lions share in the Indian glassware market in India. The brand can be said as the pioneer in promoting glassware in India

The emergence of glassware as a serving-ware came through the restaurant route. My assumption is that the first glass serving -ware was the glass tumbler that is still used in restaurants and hotels. It is interesting to note that still 80% of Yera's turnover is from the no-frill tumbler ( source:HDFC securities)
Now Yera has almost 150 different designs of glassware ranging from tumblers, icecream bowls to dinner sets.

Yera became popular household name mainly as a gifting item. At one time Yera was the most sought after gifting item for the 'gifters' . The main factor being the Price. From a range starting as low as Rs 100, Yera made gifting easy. But yera was a nightmare for the gift-receiver. After the ocassion, the house will be full of different types of Yera products.The institutional segment also boosted the turnover for this brand . Now in Kerala, many textiles uses Yera products for gifting the customers.

The brand now faces two issues :
a. Cheap glassware products from local players and also cheap imports have hurted Yera most. Yera now operates in the low-price segment and the flooding of products has commoditized the category .

b. Although Yera had some campaigns for brand-building, the brand was primarily playing the pricing game. Although the brand has made glassware popular, it has not been able to upgrade itself into a premium player in the segment. This is the typical ' class or mass' dilemma. I am not advocating that Yera should be targeting the premium segment and forgo the volume. But the doubt is whether Yera can command some premium over the rest of the players in this market.

The brand also failed to see the emergence of Crystalware as the preferred category for the premium customers. Now this segment has foreign players and La Opala's Solitaire.

To be fair to the brand, the glassware market is very small. I got a 2001 figure putting the glassware market in the range of Rs 25 crore. Now I estimate this market in the range of Rs 60 crore.
The glassware market is also moving towards ceramic wares which are more stylish and up-market looking. Yera has the power of its brand equity to take it through the price competition from cheap imports and local players. But the brand is silent in the media and I don't remember any campaigns for this brand in the last 2-3 years.

In a market full of price-competitors, Yera cannot afford to rely on past glory . The brand may fade from the memory of the new generation. What the brand needs now is a measured dose of brand- building campaigns . According to the brand's website, Yera boasts of having a brand recall of 84%. The brand must consistently build on the existing platform.

I would even suggest a complete makeover for the 'brand'. The brand should think of upgrading itself to a premium player. The brand should exit from commodity mindset and start its journey towards a value-added player. The brand has the tagline " Think Glass, Think Class ". It should be focusing on the class part.

The brand is now having commanding mind-share. Now is the time for the brand to ladder-up.
Laddering is deepening the meaning of the brand to core brand values or other more abstract considerations. ( Kevin Lane Keller)

The brand should ladder-up to some higher attribute like enjoyment, togetherness etc. The laddering-up will help the brand to move a notch higher from the price-players. And such a focus on non-glass attribute will bring back the interest of consumers to the brand. A heavy dose of campaigns and some celebrity can boost the image of this pioneer.

Fastrack : How many you have ?

Brand : Fastrack
Company : Titan
Agency : Lowe Lintas

Brand Analysis Count : 320

Two years back when I wrote about Titan watches, I had mentioned Fastrack brand as a sub-brand of Titan. Now this sub-brand has grown to become a fully independent brand. Fastrack was launched in 1998. The brand was aimed at the youth segment (15-25). The brand was promoted with the slogan "Cool Watches from Titan "

Essentially Fastrack was a sub-brand endorsed by the Titan Brand. In most of the campaigns , the brand was promoted as Titan Fastrack. The brand was targeting young consumers who was moving towards the competitor Timex. It was during this time that Timex and Titan parted ways.

Fastrack had a good start . during the first year, the brand clocked a turnover of Rs 15 crore. The good run continued till 2001-2002 and the brand was worth Rs 25 crore at that period. But the sales stagnated. Although the brand appealed to the youngsters, price was significant dampener.The brand found that the target group which consisted of college students could not afford this brand. ( source : Business Standard)

During 2003-04, the brand went in for a repositioning exercise targeting executive segment aswellas casual watch segment. It was a suicidal experiment . The brand sales came down to Rs 23 crore. The change in positioning did not fit well with the brand. The consumers were not willing to pay Rs 1200-2700 for a watch that did not have the executive image.

It was in 2004 that Fastrack launched its range of sunglasses. The move was made after a consumer research which shoed that mobiles/deo/sports shoes and sunglasses are popular accessories in the purchase list of youngsters. And Sunglasses fitted perfectly as a brand extension for Fastrack. In my personal view, sunglasses offered a great opportunity for the brand. There was no Indian brand of sunglasses at that time. The brands available was Ray-Ban and other foreign brands which were imported. These brands was damn expensive and often consumers chose local unbranded sunglasses.

In 2005, the brand went for another repositioning exercise with a new logo and new positioning. The brand adopted the famous break-away positioning of Swatch. The brand decided to target the youngsters again but for that the brand had to break the price barrier.
The brand discarded the steely look of the watches and looked at a mix of plastic and steel. It was a perfect cut-copy from the strategy adopted by Swatch . By doing so, the brand was able to reduce the price range to Rs 500.

The brand then took the help of advertising to change the perception of watches as a functional tool to a fashion accessory. The brand launched a campaign with the slogan " How many you have ".

The campaign , the positioning and the price was a great hit . The brand sales zoomed to Rs 35 crore. The sunglasses also contributed significantly to this sales boost.
Fastrack have adopted the following core brand values

Fashionable and trendy
Affordable Pricing
Fresh Communication to attract the young consumers. The brand wanted to be the ultimate fashion accessory for the youth.

For the sunglasses, the brand roped in the youth icon John Abraham as the brand ambassador. The celebrity fitted well with the brand. Taking a cue from the fact that most of the TG for Fastrack owned a bike, Fastrack launched a biker's collection which again is a classic example of consumer-centric product innovation.
The latest innovation is the neon - disc range of Fastrack watches that does not have Hands to show the time but have electroluminescent disc that lits up to show the time.

Another advantage for this brand is the freshness that the agency had bought in its communication. Most of the Fastrack ads has been refreshing. The brand had adopted a 360 degree approach in its communication and it is an example of a brand which had used Social media to its advantage.
Watch some of the Fastrack campaigns here : Fastrack

But the brand is facing a grave issue in the market. The issue is not regarding the branding but with the channels. In the case of Swatch, the brand had adopted an innovative approach towards the channels. According to the Harvard Case Study on Swatch, it is mentioned that Swatch launched a Veggie range of watches ( it had shapes of vegetables ) and this range was sold in vegetable shops.
But in the case of Fastrack, the brand had not gained the support of the channel members.The channel does not support both sunglasses and watches. The above observation is from my personal experience. In the case of watches, except for Titan exclusive showrooms, other watch retailers does not stock the full range of Fastrack watches and neither they offer spares like straps. I went to replace the strap of my Fastrack but had to be satisfied with one which was local made and that does not fit with the design. The retailer to whom I went was a premium dealer of watches and he said that the reason for not stocking Fastrack is that the design changes very fast.
For Fastrack sunglasses, the retailers are the usual opticians. I found ( in my city) that either these retailers does not stock the sunglasses or are not interested in selling . The reason they say is that Titan is trying to sell the sunglasses in stores other than opticians. Hence opticians are not interested in selling this brand. The fact is that 90 % of Sunglasses sales happen with Opticians.

Fastrack had tried to explore new channel for its sunglasses range. I have seen a couple of lifestyle stores displaying the range. But when I wanted to buy a specific model, I did not find that in any of the store. I had to go to the online store and buy the glass.
No brand can escape the channel conflict when it tries to explore a new channel . In the case of Fastrack, it is facing resistance from the conventional channel when the brand tried to explore new channel.


It is a nightmare for any brand manager to handle the issues connected with a brand like Fastrack. One one hand, the brand have to keep the consumer interest growing by launching new models and also updating cool communication . One the other hand, the frequent design changes calls for intense dealer support . The low price for the watches often translates to low margin to retailers thus dampening their enthusiasm for promoting this brand. The brand is trying to workaround this issue through its online store but the fact is that online cannot replace the conventional channel atleast in the immediate future.

Despite these issues, the brand has been a hit with young consumers. I noticed this brand in the wrist of most of my students . Once I asked a question to my students whether Fastrack watches are 'cheap ' ?To my surprise, none of the students think that Fastrack is cheap despite its ' cheap ' price. They corrected me that Fastrack is affordable and not cheap. That is a great achievement for a brand which has a price range which starts with Rs 500 but still is not considered cheap. The brand had successfully established itself as a fashion accessory rather than as a watch. My personal experience as a consumer for both watch and sunglasses is positive. The brand has not compromised on quality.

The brand need to sort the distribution strategy to move into the next level. Swatch also faced the issue of retailer resistance initially but the equity generated by the brand eclipsed the resistance. Fastrack also should be able to build the brand into a level where retailers have to stock this brand due to consumer pressure.

Varilrix Vaccine : Suraksha Kawach

Brand :Varilrix Vaccine
Company : Glaxo Smithkline Beecham

Brand Analysis Count : 311

Most of you may not have heard about this brand Varilrix but may have seen the ad for this product. Varilrix is the vaccine for Chickenpox . The brand is owned by the global major GSK and is now marketed heavily in visual media as the chickenpox vaccine.
The vaccine market in India is to the tune of Rs 300 crore ( Businessline) while the website: Express Pharma puts a figure of $ 1o billion. The vaccine business for GSK accounts for around Rs 100 crore.

There is a lot of activity around vaccines for the last two years . The reason for this increased activity is propelled by the increased health consciousness together with the launch of new vaccines . The total vaccine market in India is dominated by the government sponsored/subsidized vaccines. The vaccinations are aimed at children and usually the process ends at around 5 years. Typically the parents go by the immunization chart given to them by the doctors/hospitals when the child is born.
The increased marketing activities of pharmaceutical firms at the end user level has created a new and growing market for vaccines in India. One prominent vaccine is the chickenpox vaccine.

Varilrix is the first marketed chickenpox vaccine in India. The brand is an interesting one to look at because of the nature of the disease. Chickenpox is a disease dreaded by children not because it is dangerous but because it causes havoc in a student's academic career. The typical season for this disease is February- March and this coincide with the annual examination in most academic institutions. Since this is a contagious disease, the patient is kept in isolation for over 20 days which is enough to mess his entire examinations.
According to a study conducted by GSK across schools in India, the findings showed that 59 % of students may be at risk of contracting this disease.
Varilrix is a combination vaccine which can be given to children aged above 1 year. This gives a lifelong protection against this disease. The brand is targeting the parents who have children studying in schools.
Currently the brand is running a campaign promoting this vaccine since this is the exam time. The ads are hardhitting and the storyboard goes like this :

The entire family is waiting to hear the performance of their child in the examinations. The kid tells the marks and the family members ask for the marks of the child's main competitor. For most of the exams the rival scores over the kid but when the marks of the Mathematics paper is asked , the hero says that the rival scored zero because he could not write the exam because of chickenpox. The entire family is shown to bask in the glory of their child's triumph.

Although the ad seems to be too cheeky and blunt it really puts the brand's functionality right on spot.I still remember having nightmares about this disease during exam time, when i was a kid. The reason for this high decibel promotion is that this vaccine is expensive in the range of Rs 1000-1500. Since most of the vaccines are painful, it takes lot of persuasion to sell vaccines for such diseases which are more of a nuisance than life-threatening.

Vaccines are marketed by GSK using a dual strategy: there is ethical promotion involving medical representatives visiting doctors and supplemented by DTC promotions. DTC means Direct- To -Consumer promotion. Varilrix is also cashing in on the fear factor among the TG of losing exam/career because of this disease. Varilrix is a prescription product and should be administered by a medical practitioner. According to Mr Sumer Dheri , GM of GSK, there are two things that motivate consumers for these products : Extreme Shock and Manifold benefits. Vaccines has lot of negative connotations like lack of knowledge , fear of needle etc . ( source : express pharma).The ad for Varilrix aims to propel the consumers into action by invoking the fear of losing out .

Hindalco Everlast : Branding a Commodity

Brand : Everlast
Company : Hindalco

Brand Analysis Count : 309

Everlast is the brand of aluminium roofing sheets from Aditya Birla Group. Hindalco from the Aditya Birla Group is India's largest manufacturer of aluminium products in India.
Aluminium is a commodity driven basically by the price. While there are many marketers who brand the consumer products made of aluminium like vessels and utensils, Everlast can be called the first branded roofing sheet.

Everlast was launched in 2002 after much research. The purpose of launching a brand in this commodity business is to add value. Branding a commodity is a difficult task especially when the customer does not see any significant differentiator between products from different manufacturer. But for a marketer, Brands often translates into more premium and also insulates the company from price competition.
Aditya Birla group is not new to branding commodities. We have seen the high profile rebranding of L& T cements to Ultratech which showcased the branding ability .

Everlast had two pronged approach towards building the brand . First task was to establish the brand name by increasing the awareness. This was done by extensive campaign through print media and hoardings. The brand also was positioning itself as a durable product. Television commercial was used to promote the positioning of the brand which was further reinforced by the brand name ' Everlast'.
Second task was to increase the popularity of aluminium roofing sheets. Now Everlast is running a series of campaigns highlighting the various benefits of having an Everlast roof. The brand is now targeting the urban households.
The campaign of Everlast is interesting because the brand recognizes that it cannot replace the RCC roof. Hence the brand aims to popularize itself as a roof over RCC terraces. The new campaign tells the customer that by covering the open terraces using Everlast, one can use that space for various purposes like Party Area, Garden, Exercise , drying clothes etc. Infact the biggest use of Everlast roof is that one can use the terrace for drying clothes especially during rainy season.
The consumer also gets the benefits of additional closed space without spending too much money on building another roof.
Everlast comes in various colors and hence does not compromise the beauty of the house. The brand highlights the following qualities like
Durability
Corrosion Resistant
Easy to Maintain
and also the trust of Hindalco.
Along with the consumer promotion, the brand also had below the line promotion aimed at the influencers like masons, contractors , architects etc.

Everlast rightfully is reaping the benefits of the first mover advantage in this commodity business. Through heavy promotion, the brand had already established its presence in the market and is in course of establish a strong presence in the market.