Brand Update: Cadbury 5Star takes forward the Do Nothing Theme with new Ad

 Cadbury 5Star seems to have hit a jackpot theme - Eat 5 Star, Do Nothing. The brand has launched a new campaign extending the theme in a new situation. And just like the last one, the ad is funny and not boring. To find a campaign theme that can be used as a platform for multiple ad campaigns is a priceless moment for marketers. It gives the much-needed juice for consistent marketing campaigns without boring the viewers. I think that 5Star got such a platform. Kudos to the campaign team.

Brand Update: Crispello New Ad Shows a Subtle Shift in Positioning

 Cadbury's new brand of chocolate-covered wafer finger product- Crispello has launched a new campaign. What is interesting about the campaign is that there is a subtle shift in the positioning of the brand. If you remember the launch ad for the brand, the theme was that five young persons were driving the car and they hatch a plan not to share the chocolate with the fifth person since there are only four Crispello fingers. 

The new ad takes the theme forward with a twist where the three robbers wake up the dude so that Crispello can be shared since the brand says that equal sharing is a must. Not sure whether this positive twist is intended, however positively always helps in branding. However, the creative quality (IMHO) is below par when compared with the usual Cadbury ads. With the market leader KitKat running high decibel campaigns with celebrities, Crispello has to up the game to a different level. 

Kopiko : Anytime , Anywhere

Brand: Kopiko

Company: Mayora 

Brand Analysis Count: 595

Kopiko is a simple brand. It is India's popular pocket coffee candy brand. I was surprised to know that Kopiko is an international brand that too from Indonesia. The brand derives its name from the name of a Hawaiian coffee bean (Wiki). Kopiko was launched in India in 2008 and since then it has been a favourite candy brand. According to a report, Kopiko was the second-largest selling hard-boiled candy in India in 2017 with a sale of more than 350 crores. 

The brand has a simple proposition - it tastes like real coffee. That simple proposition and actual deliverables are what can create a good brand. And Kopiko was found to be delivering its promise and the brand was successful in gaining a fair share of the market.

India is a coffee-loving nation and that also has benefited the growth of this brand. There is competition for Kopiko in the market such as Coffy Bite which is a coffee flavoured confectionary but it is not a hard-boiled candy. Indian confectionery market is worth more than $1 billion and the market growth is more driven by the hard-boiled candy segment. 

Kopiko has been running various campaigns highlighting its major value proposition. Watch the new campaign :

The new campaign further extends the positioning by talking about the main benefit of coffee ie to keep awake. The advertisements of Kopiko is simple and straight forward and it conveys the brand's propositions well. The brand so far has not been adventurous in launching extensions or variants, which makes sense for such a simple brand. Internationally Kopiko is available in different coffee flavors. 

Brand Update : 5 Star wants you to do nothing !

For now, Ramesh and Suresh are retired from 5 Star advertisements. The duo which gave a different narrative to the brand has kind of becoming boring because of familiarity. The duo can be hated or liked but could not be ignored.

This year, the brand has launched a new campaign in line with the earlier positioning of " Getting Lost in the taste of 5 Star". The new campaign which is humorous enough has the narrative of getting lost but a twist in the message -" It is good to do nothing"

The challenge faced by established brands like 5 Star is to be interesting and relevant across time. Since there is little scope for product-changes, the only variable is advertisement theme and positioning. While frequent positioning changes are not advised, these brands need to always deliver fresh creative campaigns. 

The new ad achieves the purpose of freshness and the new positioning platform is cheeky and has the steam to run a few seasons. The current advertisement story is not unique but the execution is very good. What I liked is the cheeky tagline " Eat 5 Star, Do Nothing". In a way, the brand has a competing narrative to KitKat which is based on having a break. 

Cadbury Fuse : Chocolatey Feast

Brand :Cadbury Fuse
Company : Mondolez International
Brand Analysis Count : # 570

Mars and Snickers now have competition. Mondolez International, the brand owners of the iconic Cadbury brand has launched a new brand named Fuse in the Indian market. The new brand will be competing in the coated peanut confectionery segment in the Rs 7500 crore Indian confectionery space. 

Fuse was debuted in the UK in 1996. The brand was well received  but was later discontinued in the UK. 

Fuse is now making its second avatar in the highly competitive Indian market. The brand is currently running the launch campaign. 

Watch the TVC here : Cadbury Fuse 

The brand is priced at par with Mars and Snickers. I find the packaging very attractive and instantly conveys the fun attribute to the brand. The endorsement from Cadbury is sufficient to initiate the trial purchase. 

With regard to the promotional strategy, the brand is positioned in the same line as the competing brands. The brand is positioned as a relief to the hunger pangs plus some fun thrown around. So in this front, Cadbury has not really put much thought on differentiating rather it chose to play the " me too " strategy. 

I also felt that the launch TVC is also not something that is unique. After seeing the ad, I had  the feeling of " Saw this theme before also " . 

With the launch of Fuse, Mondolez is trying to plug the gap in the product portfolio. The company may be forecasting a consumer interest towards the product like Snickers which is a convenient way to satisfy the hunger pangs. With the launch of Fuse, Mondolez is in a better position to ride  the consumer interest in this category. 

LuvIt Chocolates : If Someone Shares, Ushaar !

Brand : LuvIt
Company : Global Consumer Products

Brand Analysis Count : # 558

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

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

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

.

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

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

Watch the ad here : LuvIt

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

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

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

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

Brand Update : Alia Bhatt to Perk Up Cadbury Perk

Cadbury Perk is a confused brand. Perk came into limelight with an epic fight between KitKat and Perk. Then both these brands went to two trajectories. While KitKat was able to find a direction in terms of positioning , Perk was totally a confused brand. Nestle then launched Munch to fight Perk. Perk kept on experimenting with advertising themes and positioning and still has not found its mojo. 

Really I miss the magic of the launch campaigns of Perk . From this classic ad, the brand went to meaningless campaigns and later somewhat settled into its glucose energy focus. While KitKat focused on Have a Break positioning, Perk was no where in the picture.

Now Perk is again trying a new positioning featuring the Bollywood star Alia Bhatt.  The brand is running the campaign featuring the new celebrity endorser. 

Watch the ad here : Alia Bhatt Perk

Along with the new ad, Perk now has a new tagline " Jiyo Lightum Light"  which probably means to live life freely. 

From the ad, I have a feeling that the campaign was created around the celebrity rather than the brand. The thinking would be like , let us make an ad that fits Alia Bhatt ! 

My feeling is that Perk is struggling to find the right positioning. The new positioning lacks a connect with the product and the practical joke theme and the bubbly girl character has been heavily used by many brands in the past. 

Its sad to see the standards of the Perk's ads go down compared to the earlier ones ( featuring Preity Zinta). 

Brand Update : Alpenliebe creates new category with Juzt Jelly

Perfetti, who is the market leader in candy category of the Indian confectionery market ,successfully created a new category of jelly confectionery through the brand Juzt Jelly. Launched in 2012, Juzt Jelly was able to catch the attention of the Indian consumers. The success of Juzt Jelly also prompted ITC to launch the challenging brand Candyman Jellicious.

Juzt Jelly is launched as a sub-brand of Alpenliebe. Alpenliebe launched in 1995 has moved from a sugar candy brand to an umbrella brand endorsing wide range of confectionery products ranging from lollipops,eclairs and jelly .

Juzt Jelly was launched through celebrity endorsement from the Bollywood actress Kajol. The brand had the tagline " mast jelly "

Watch the ad here : Juzt Jelly Launch ad

Later the brand moved to animation based campaign themed Jelly ki Duniya meaning The World of Jelly . 

Watch the ad here : Juzt Jelly Animation

The sugar confectionery category consumers are predominantly kids. Hence the animations and jingles catch their attention. The competitor Candyman has taken the jingle route to fight Juzt Jelly. The jingle " Wiggle Wobble " is quite popular. The entry of ITC is set to make the category bigger.

Although Juzt Jelly is available in strawberry , orange and lychee flavors , most of the marketing promotions is concentrated on the strawberry flavor. 

Jolly Rancher : Banking on Fruits

Brand : Jolly Rancher
Company : Hersheys

Brand Analysis Count : 554

Hershey has launched its iconic confectionery brand Jolly Rancher in India recently. This interesting because in the 65 year history of the brand, India is the first market outside North America where Jolly Rancher is launched.

Jolly Rancher has an iconic status in the North American market and is famous for the bold fruity flavors. In India, the brand has launched its lollipop products. The Jolly Rancher lollipops are available in three flavors - Mango, Green Apple and Water Melon.

Globally , Jolly Rancher is famous for its fruity flavors. Reports say that the brand has customized the flavors to suit the Indian palate. The brand is currently running the launch campaign featuring the actress Tamanna.

Although crowded, Indian confectionery market is growing at 18%. The launch of Jolly Rancher is a part of Hershey's strategy of building global brands. The company is planning to achieve $10 billion revenue by 2017. 

According to an ET report in 2013 , the adult consumption of chocolate and candies is growing at a faster pace in India. Products like lollipop which lost it charm in early 2000 also has made a comeback. 

Launching lollipops as the first product in India is an interesting move. Although lollipops contribute only 2% of the hard-boiled candy market, it is less crowded compared to candies. Hence the brand would be able to create some space and awareness for the brand. The company has priced the lollipop at Rs 5. 

The question is whether Indian consumer will like the tangy fruity flavors. The answer to that question will determine the fate of this brand. 

Schmitten Chocolate : Love to Love it

Brand : Schmitten
Company : Rajhans Group


Brand Analysis Count : # 550

The Rs 4500 chocolate market has a new player- Schmitten. Schmitten is a Swiss chocolate made in India ! or to be fair, this chocolate is positioned as a Swiss chocolate. The new brand comes from Rajhans group which is a Rs 3500 crore real-estate developer. 

The new brand- Schmitten is positioned as a premium brand competing with the like of Cadbury Silk and Temptation. Schmitten is the mother brand which is being launched as a moulded chocolate like Dairy Milk. Schmitten also has another product - Hoppits which is a bar-chocolate like 5 Star.

According to newsreports, the chocolate although made in India is made with machine imported from Switzerland, Denmark and Germany and uses Ghanian coco beans and Swiss recipe.

Priced at Rs 80 for 70 mg pack, the brand resides at the premium end of the chocolate market.It is priced competitively for a luxury brand.

Schmitten is launched with the endorsement from Priyanka Chopra. The launch campaign is styled as a musical and the brand has the tagline " Love to Love It ".

Watch the ad here : Schmitten 

The basic premise of the brand's launch message is that its a crime to ask for a bite of Schmitten. The brand had a launch teaser campaign where various punishment for taking a bite of  Schmitten is shown.

Watch : Teaser Schmitten

The musical ad has some kind of a novelty in it but doubt whether the packaging and the ad has succeeded in creating the premium image for the brand. The ad purely talks about the story and doesn't convey any message regarding the USP of the brand.

My take on the launch campaign was that it could have been much better and the premium factor is missing in the ad.

Further the tagline " Love to Love it " is a confusing tagline. What does it actually mean !!

Having said that, since chocolate is an impulse purchase, Schmitten , with its celebrity endorsements would get consumer trials and eventually it is the product performance that is going to be the key. 

Brand Update : Cadbury rebrands Eclairs to Choclairs

Brand : Cholairs

Company : Cadbury India 

Brand Analysis : # 534

In an interesting move, Cadbury's has rebranded its eclair brand to Choclairs. The brand is now running a TVC communicating this rebranding. Cadbury have two brands in the Eclairs segment - Cadbury Dairy Milk Eclairs and Cadbury Eclairs Rich. 

According to Business Standard, echlair market in India is worth around Rs 1000 crore( 2011statistics) and is witnessing intense competition for share between the players like Nestle, Parle, Cadbury and Perfetti. It is estimated that Cadbury is leading the market with its CDM Eclairs.

What can be the possible logic behind the rebranding of a very well known brand ?

One reason can be to handle the issue of generic nature of the term Eclairs. As I understand, eclairs stands for the special type of candy and is used by all the players in  the market. So when a consumer ask for an eclairs, it is retailer that decides which brand to be given. So by changing the name of CDM Eclairs to Choclairs, Cadbury's expect that problem to subside and with the new TVC the brand is trying to teach the consumer to tell the new name Choclairs.

Watch the TVC here : Candbury Choclairs

Second reason can be to remove the endorsement of Dairy Milk from this category. In my earlier posts on this brand, it may be recalled that Cadbury's had earlier renamed its eclair to Cadbury's Dairy Milk Eclairs .In effect, the eclair was a Product line extension of Dairy Milk brand. Now the brand owners may want to restrict the use of Dairy Milk to the chocolate bar category. So since the endorsement is removed, the eclairs would need an identity and Choclairs has become a new independent brand. 

Third reason can be that Choclairs is the brand which is owned by Cadbury's and is a leading brand in UK and China. Choclairs was created in 1996. So this move can be seen as a global alignment of the brands by Cadbury.

The positioning of Choclairs in India is funny. The new brand's main message is that it will not stick on the teeth. The brand has  the tagline " jo dimag mein chipke, daaton mein nahi "  which translates to " It will stick to your mind and not on teeth ". I wonder why the brand has taken such an attribute in a rebranding exercise. 

It is true that eclairs have a tendency to stick to gum and teeth and may be the brand feels that it may be prompting many consumers away from the category. But as a tagline, I feel that the brand deserves a better treatment.

Related post

Eclairs : Brand Update

Nestle Alpino : To Love is to Share

Brand : Alpino
Company : Nestle

Brand Analysis : # 530

Nestle Alpino is the company's latest offering in the Rs 5562 crore Indian chocolate market. The premium end of this market is witnessing interesting action with Cadbury's Silk, Ferrero Rocher , Toblerone leading the fight. According to reports, 30% of the market is now consisting of premium chocolates.

Nestle always had been a laggard in the Indian chocolate market. After Kitkat and Munch, the company did not have any serious launches. It seldom fought the leader Cadburys and neither did it tried to respond to any of the launches from the market leader.

This year, Nestle stirred up the market with the launch of its premium offering branded as Nestle Alpino. Alpino has a striking resemblance to Ferrero Rocher. The packing and the product form puts Alpino directly pitched against Ferrero Rocher. That comparison gives the brand a premium image without any effort.

Nestle Alpino is being positioned as a chocolate that should be shared. There is a romance touch to this brand and this is highlighted in the launch campaigns.

Watch the TVC here : Nestle Alpino

Besides the product attributes like the chocolate bon-bon with creamy inside, what makes Alpino different are the love messages written inside the Alpino wrapper. There are more than 150 such messages inside the wrappers. This makes the brand a very cute affordable gift of love. 

Nestle has been investing heavily in boosting the distribution and POP promotions for Alpino and it is showing too. The brand is priced at Rs 25 a pack and the pricing is spot-on. Ferrero Rocher although is in similar price range has a perception of being an expensive product and this have prevented many from buying it frequently. But Alpino was able to create an image of an affordable luxury.

Alpino has all the potential to become a success in the Indian market and may eclipse Ferrero Rocher's brand in India. The fact that now Indian consumers are increasingly opting for premium chocolates rather than traditional mithai also favors product like Alpino. 

Brand Update : Gems wants you to Raho Umarless

Gems Surprise launched in 2010 is a poor cousin of Kinder Joy. The variant launched to fight the Kinder Joy  became a poor second cousin because of unimaginative gifts and poor campaigns.Last week my daughter demanded she wants a Gems Surprise but I flatly refused saying that the toy that comes with it may not be attractive  and we settled for Kinder Joy for Girls.

Now Gems Surprise has corrected the mistake by launching a new set of toys featuring the Panda which has been  the main character in Gem's campaign.
The variant is currently running a TVC featuring adults in line with the brand's strategy of targeting adults .

Watch the campaign here : Gems Umarless

The TVC is well made but one wonders whether there is some confusion regarding the targeting part of STP.

As I understand, Gems Surprise is fighting against Kinder Joy which is targeting kids. Now Gems Surprise wants adults to buy the brand and collect the toys. Now that is ridiculous. Expecting that adults would indulge in a product like Gems Surprise is imagination running wild. Now if the brand expects the kids to buy Gems Surprise by seeing the campaign is also a highly optimistic thought since the ad is appeals to adults rather than kids.

So this is another brand which got confused because of its own actions. The brand should have left this variant to kids. Infact my feeling is that Gems is beginning to alienate the kids and is not making right noises to get adults on board. 

Ideally the brand should have found some universal message that has appeal across age groups. Cadburys has done that with Dairy Milk. In the case of Gems, the brand is just saying that it is Umarless ( Ageless) but not saying Why ?. What Gems needs is the universal brand mantra that appeals to everyone regardless of age.

Related post

Cadbury Gems : changes segment

Brand Update : Cadbury Gems changes Target Segment

In a surprising move, Gems decided to re-position itself. The brand so far had appealed to kids suddenly decided to change the target market to  adults. This move is fueled by two campaigns now on air.

Watch the ad here : Gems Sculpture

                               Gems Lady

I am still wondering the logic behind this drastic re-targeting which obviously has to be backed by 

re-positioning. The brand now has the tagline " Raho Umarless" roughly translated to " Be Ageless" .The concept is that the brand encourages the users to enjoy life regardless of the age. Another perspective is that the brand brings the child in you. Although the concept ( although not new) sounds reasonable but the way the agency has executed it is nothing but atrocious. The fact that it is Ogilvy who has done this hopeless work makes it even more surprising. 

From the two ad, the ad featuring the lady is the most atrocious one. Neither the lady looks Child-like nor the hyperbole theme is interesting. The sculpture ad is predictable but still does not convey the brand's intended positioning. 

What is puzzling is the brand's reason for targeting adults. The brand sales may have been plateauing over these years and this may have forced the firm to think about the segments.It is true that Gems is seldom patronized by adults.This is a predominantly kid's chocolate but adults do indulge in it when he buys for the kids.

Some newsreport suggest that Gems has broadened the TG but  the advertisement message suggest that the brand has gone for a complete re-positioning and a change in the targeting strategy rather than broadening. 

While there is a logic behind the new TG, the brand failed to provide any compelling reason for adults to buy Gems. " Raho Umarless" is a weak attempt to attract adult to rethink the way he looks at Gems.Ideally the brand should have attempted a non-hyperbolic, real life enjoyment which would have attracted the TG. The brand is assuming that by looking at a campaign, the adults would indulge. But in my opinion, when repositioning, the brand needs to build salience. So it cannot afford to miss details like Why buy the brand and when to indulge in the brand. Those finer details are missing in the new campaign. 

It is also interesting to see that the brand is not trying to rope in youngsters but adults. Wonder why they chose to target 30 year olds rather than 20 year olds? Remember this is the company that built a brand like Cadbury's Shots in a short period of time. That magic is sadly missing in the ads. It pains when execution fails for a powerful brand like Gems that too when it attempts a repositioning. 

 Having said that the nostalgia of Gems is still there will hopefully drive the brand into adult's mind sans the hopeless repositioning execution. 

Related brand 

Cadbury Gems

Choc On : Khaas Mithaas

Brand : Choc On
Company : SK Industries

Brand Analysis Count : # 511

SK Industries which is a player in the food processing and beverages sector launched a new brand in the highly competitive confectionery industry. The brand Choc On  which competes with the like of Cadbury Dairy Milk will be vying for a pie in the Rs 2000 crore chocolate market ( source : Exchange4media).

The brand has roped in Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador and the launch ad is now running across channels

Watch the ad here : Choc on ad

The endorsement from Katrina has given the brand instant eyeballs and ofcourse curiosity about the new brand's aggressive marketing practice. 

The brand is positioned ( as usual) on the basis of irresistible taste. According to media reports, the brand wants to deliver 'ultimate delight in chocolate' to the customers.

The target segment for the brand is of age group 9-16 years. 

The theme of the ad is " Dreams Meet Reality " but  I found it really difficult to understand what the ad really meant. Katrina plays the part of  Cinderella and Red Riding Hood in the ad.  Choc On has the taglne " Khaas Mithaas " roughly translated to " A very special chocolate ".

Apart from Katrina Kaif, there is nothing much being said by the brand about itself. Since it is a new launch, I had expected the brand to say something about itself in terms of what it is and how it is different from others. But the ad fails in the primary responsibility of establishing the credentials of the brand. The fact is that Choc On relies heavily on the brand ambassador for credibility. And the endorsement of Katrina definitely will give some credibility to the brand. 

It is interesting to note that in this digital era , the presence of Choc On is almost nil in the web. There is no brand site nor any information about the brand owners.  

Having said that, Choc On has done a right thing by picking a high profile celebrity for the launch campaign. The presence of Katrina gives the brand instant visibility and prompt consumers to try the brand.  

The brand could have done more in the launch phase by talking more about itself in the ad. The ad is filled with visuals and rest is left to the imagination of consumers. Since this is a new brand from a less known brand owner, more communication could have been included in the launch phase with regard to the brand attributes.

Brand Update : From Kajol & Croc To Kareena & Bear

Alpenliebe, the brand which redefined and rejuvenated the sugar candy market has come a long way since its launch in 1994. The brand recently launched another sub-brand 2Choco with huge promotional noise. The new eclair brand came into limelight because of the endorsement from Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor.  The launch also marks the entry of Alpenliebe into th Eclair category.

Watch the ad here : 2 Choco

The alpha-numeric branding signifies that this eclair has two chocolate flavors ( source : website).

So what is now Alpenliebe ?

From a very simple caramel based sugar candy which was positioned on the basis of taste and irresistible lust for more, the brand is now , a candy ( three flavors), lollipop, flavor filled candy - Creamfillz and Mangofillz sub-brands and now an eclairs.

Infact the brand has become an Umbrella Brand endorsing different products in the same confectionery category . So when you ask for Alpenliebe from a shop, you may get any of these products !!

In my opinion, the brand owners needlessly extended this powerful brand for incremental sales benefit.According to reports, Alpenliebe alone was around Rs 160 crore and may be these franchises may help the brand show more worth but the core brand Alepenliebe will suffer because now the brand means many things.

Take the case of the new brand 2 Choco endorsed by Alpenliebe. What prevented Perfetti to launch 2choco as an independent brand ? If it could afford Kareena , then it would have enough money to build a powerful independent chocolate eclair brand. But it chose the easy way of making it endorsed by Alepenliebe which may have helped the new launch and trial but at the expense of making the brand architecture of Alpenliebe complex.

The positioning of the original Alpenliebe and the new Alpenliebe 2Choco are poles apart. 2Choco has the tagline " Love and Share " and Alpenliebe has " lalach Aaha Laplap " ( means some crap in Hindi). It has to be seen whether Kajol will continue endorsing the original Alpenliebe candy. Perfetti earlier launched a brand Chocoliebe in the eclair category but does not met with much success. Alpenliebe 2Choco is also a premium play since the brand is priced at Rs 1/- price point.

The launch ad for 2 Choco is amusing and I don't understand why Alpenliebe franchise is fixated about the combination of Bollywood Divas and animals. Earlier it was Kajol and Croc , then came Kajol and Apes and now it is Kareena with a polar bear.
I have a feeling that the Alpenliebe brand itself is getting confused interms of positioning and the reason is the large number of diverse product forms it endorses. The confusion is going to be more if the brand owners decides to extend it further.
Alpenliebe was a powerful brand and it is being weakened by the brand owners just for the sake of convenience.
Related brand
Alpenliebe

Brand Update : Cadbury Eclairs Moves Up the Value Chain

2011 was an eventful year for Cadbury's Eclairs. The year saw the brand trying to move up the value chain by launching a new variant Cadbury Rich Brownie Eclairs. The move is significant because the brand has done an upward line stretch since the new variant is priced at Rs 2/-.

Cadbury's Rich Brownie variant is a significant move in the Rs 950 crore candy market where the most popular price point is Rs 1/- and  50 paise. The marketers were reeling under margin pressure because of a rise in the input costs at one hand and the price sensitive consumers at the other end. The problem was aggravated by the price competition from Nestle and local brands. Cadbury's still hold market leadership in value terms in this market while losing out the volume leadership to Nestle.

2011 also saw some changes in the positioning of Cadbury's Eclairs. The brand which earlier had the positioning of Doob le Zara ( which meant- immerse in taste) changed the tagline to "Get Lost".

Watch the ad here : Get Lost 
Cadbury's launched the Rich variant with the positioning of Chocolate Fountain. The brand adapted this from the earlier campaigns of Cadbury's Dairy Milk Eclairs' Chocolate Bomb ads. Instead of the heads exploding as bombs, in the Rich variant's ads, the heads explodes into fountains.

Watch the ad here : Cadbury's Rich Eclairs

Since the brand is priced high, the target market for this variant is older customers- the teens and youngsters.

While the new variant is banking on the chocolate fountain, the original Cadbury's Eclairs is experimenting with the " Lost in Taste " proposition. The creative brains finally came up with the tagline " Get Lost". For the first time , a brand is telling the customers to " Get Lost ".  May be the creative guys told the client  to " Get Lost " and client mistook it for the tagline and approved it !
The new tagline is far below the average creative standards for the reason that another brand from the same company i.e 5 Star is having the same positioning. It is common sense that it is not advisable for two brands from the same company to have same positioning. Positioning has to be unique and should not be shared unless it is a branded house. The entire campaign has a negative tone coupled with the tagline which itself is negative.
According to newsreports, the Rich Brownie variant wants to create a space for itself in the market which will convince the customer to pay higher price for the new variant.
Although nobody will have any doubts regarding the quality of these products, the campaigns for these two variants does not match the brand's real worth. Cadbury's have always known for its breakthrough campaigns. The recent ads for Silk, Shots , CDM all were of high quality creative executions. However, the ads for the eclairs does not match the standards of its siblings. What difference is there between the Chocolate Bomb and Chocolate Fountain  ? What difference is there between 5 Star and Get Lost campaigns ? Rather these come across as lazy cut-copy works.

Related Brand
Cadbury Eclairs

Brand Update : 5 Star Lost in Amnesia

5 Star has a special place in the Rs 2000 crore Indian chocolate market. The unique caramel filled chocolate has been a favorite among kids who wanted a legitimate break from the usual chocolate bars. Over the last few years, 5 Star has been adopting a consistent message of " Lost in the taste " but losing the bigger picture as far as positioning and targeting is concerned.

It was in 2009  that 5 Star adopted the positioning of " Jo Khaye , Kho Jaye " meaning "lost in taste " where the basic plot is that the 5 Star lover suffers a temporary amnesia after eating this delicious product. The idea was good as the brand was always claiming superiority in taste and its USP was always the taste. One major change the brand was made was regarding the target group. 5 Star began addressing the adult chocolate lovers just like its counterpart Dairy Milk. All the characters in the ads of 5 Star was grown-ups while the message was universal. 

Then came the two protagonists ,Ramesh and Suresh, who were long-lost friends meeting in a small shop. From then on, 5 Star's entire brand was centered around these two characters. Sadly the quality of the creative has gone alarmingly down and in the name of humor, the entire brand personality was projected akin to idiotic. 

Watch the latest campaign here  : 5 Star Tailor ad

Although the ad was meant to tickle your bone, the protagonists here being  projected as sort of idiots is sad for the brand. In pursuit of humor, the brand forgotten what it wants to convey with respect to brand persona. 

The brand needs to be congratulated for its consistency with the message but it should not get carried away with the message .

Why I am concerned about the portrayal of the main characters is that in the first ad featuring Ramesh and Suresh, both were normal guys meeting each other and unknowingly lost in the taste of 5 Star. But now both these characters are portrayed as idiots ( by their look and behavior) and I feel that without eating 5 Star, they would behave in the same way. 

If these guys reflect the 5 Star users, then the brand has landed itself in a bad position. Although the ordinary consumer may not think as cynically as the author of this blog does, the brand needs to careful in the portrayal of the main characters of the story.

And why forget kids ? 

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Brand Update : Mentos needs Mentos

Mentos recently launched a new variant Mentos Watermelon flavor. The brand is currently running a campaign for the new variant. Mentos has been a very interesting brand because of the unique product features and famously humorous campaigns. The tagline " Demaag Ki Batti Jalao " has been one of the most famous taglines in the Indian context .

The new ad somehow was way off the creative standards that the brand had set for itself.The ad features a young man using a watermelon carved as a helmet to evade a traffic police check really tests the common sense of the audience.

Watch the ad here : Mentos Watermelon ad 

The policeman's expression of  " what the hell " sums up the creative execution of the positioning of the brand in this campaign. The protagonist of the ad looks like an idiot wearing that watermelon helmet and the only saving grace being the " yeh Jawani " song.

I used to look forward to Mentos' ads because there was refreshingly new ideas that were being tested in those campaigns. From the campus to the last animated ad, Mentos ads were bang on the positioning of a " refreshing chewy". The current campaign really lacks the standards of the early campaigns.

For a brand like Mentos, each of these ads are important for two reasons - the brand does not have too many campaigns in an year. Typically it is one or two ads. Those ads usually are very good and is often used again and again throughout the year. Second reason is that consumers expect really high quality creatives from this brand which boasts of being a " brilliant " brand. So in this case of watermelon flavor, the agency failed to deliver a quality creative. 

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Nestle Bar One : Kaafi Hai ? Not Enough !

Brand : Bar One
Company : Nestle India

Brand Analysis Count : # 484

Bar One is a brand which was languishing in the product portfolio of Nestle for around two decades. The brand recently got some attention from the owners and its future is being rewritten. Bar One was launched in India in 1991 ( in some sources its given as 1994). The brand when launched was positioned as an energy /snack bar- some thing that you can eat in between times.

Bar One initially was well promoted by Nestle so much so that at one point in time, Bar One had a market share of around 5 %.But Nestle's attention soon shifted to non-confectionery items and Bar One was pushed aside interms of strategy and investment. I still remember the old Bar One jingle
Nestle Bar One Ba Ba Bar One
For those in between times ......

Later the brand had the tagline " Get More Out of Life " ( see the storyboard)

Bar One is a caramel based chocolate which has naugat and chocolate similar to Cadbury's 5 Star. The brand was positioned as a high energy funky chocolate which is essentially a small snack. The brand was well ahead of its time especially in the Indian market with respect to positioning. Indian consumers were not familiar with the concept of chocolates as a snack when Bar One was launched.

Second factor is the weak positioning of Bar One. Infact Bar One did not had a powerful positioning compared to the competitor . The focus on "energy bar" was too early for the Indian market. Later the company itself ditched the brand by stopping brand promotion.

Bar One in terms of brand competition competed with Cadbury 5 Star. 5 Star had tremendous brand power during the nineties and Bar One could not hold out with the competition. How ever Nestle did not kill the brand but put it on the sidelines. The interesting part is that the brand was available in the retail outlets even when the brand was silent in the media.
The major reasons ( in my opinion) for the brand's lackluster performance are Packaging and Positioning. The earlier packaging was dull compared to the 5 Star's golden packaging. The package for confectionery is significant because this is a product that is bought impulsively and the packaging conveys a strong cue for the purchase. 

In 2010, the brand was relaunched with a new packaging and price. The new packaging is bold and lot of golden color splashed across it. After a long while, the brand had a reasonably attractive packaging. The relaunch also saw a new positioning for the brand. The brand sadly messed up on the positioning in the relaunch also. The brand came out with very poorly executed campaign positioning Bar One as a chocolate that will attract girls !!!

Watch the ad here : Bar One 

The brand now has the tagline " Kaafi Hai " meaning " Its enough ". I really don't understand the connection between the brand and the tagline. One notion can be that Bar One is enough to satisfy your hunger ? Anyways the ad series with the new tagline may not be enough to lift the brand's fortunes. But the strong presence at the retail outlets coupled with the tendency of consumers to try out different brands will once again add more sales for this brand.
Bar One desperately needs investment in serious brand building. The brand is capable of building a position in the market dominated by Cadbury's brands. Bar One also has strong recall among the consumers backed by better taste and reasonable pricing. It needs more focus on developing a meaningful positioning . 5 Star has already owned up the " Taste" platform . The current campaign of Bar One is below average and will only make matter worse for the brand.