Brand Update : Alpenliebe is no longer a candy its also an Eclair

Alpenliebe, the flagship candy brand from Perfetti VanMelle (PVM) recently launched Alpenliebe Eclairs.The brand which pioneered candy ( more specifically deposited candy) segment in India is no longer a candy brand.

PVM has been experimenting with Alpenliebe for a while now. Ever since the launch in 1995, the brand saw may product-line extensions and campaigns.

The brand over these years launched lollipops, different flavors of Alpenliebe and also extensions like Creamfills and Mangofillz Alpenliebe. Consumers willingly accepted these variants making Alpenliebe market leader in the segment.

Along with the extensions, PVM extended the equity of the brand to other confectionery segments through secondary associations. The brand launched Chocoliebe in the eclair category drawing equity from Alpenliebe.

The brand also saw some clutter -breaking campaigns in its life so far. The brand was launched with the positioning - Simply Irresistible. The brand used the messages like " Jee Lal Chahe ,Raha na Jaye " and finally to " Lalach Aha Laplap".

The brand then introduced Kajol as the brand ambassador and along with the animated alligator - Mr Munch began promoting Alpenliebe aggressively. In 2010, the brand launched another clutter-breaking campaign which saw Kajol doing a role reversal of sorts. The ad featured a theme where the role of human and monkey were reversed . Kajol took the role of a monkey and Madaari ( master) was a monkey ( detailed plot here)

Watch the campaign here : Role reversal

The latest move of Alpenliebe to launch eclairs was a complete surprise. First thing is that the launch of Alpenliebe eclairs completely changed the character of the brand. The brand now is no longer a candy. In a branding perspective, this is significant. It is just like Horlicks launching noodles. Horlicks no longer is an energy drink. So Alpenliebe has become a brand that endorses many confectionery products including eclairs, sugar filled candy, cream filled candy and lollipops.

Secondly, the brand now competes with Chocoliebe which is the eclair brand from the same company. So higher chance of cannibalization happening for PVM.

Although the core Alpenliebe brand has been consistent with the positioning of " Irresistible Taste", the product-line extensions were having different positioning. For example -

Lollipop has the tagline " Lagay Raho"

Creamfills has the tagline " Kuch Alagh"

Mangofills has the tagline " Mango ka Tinku".

This shows that Alpenliebe is not maintaining a consistency in the core positioning. For an umbrella brand, consistency of core brand message " Simply Irresistible " is vital and this message should run through all the campaigns of the extensions.

Eclairs however has maintained the irresistible taste as the positioning. But the launch campaign is horrible.

Watch it here : Alpenliebe Eclairs

I feel that the ad agency was told to create a funny commercial and they tried and failed miserably. Alpenliebe Eclairs has the tagline " Chocolatey Laila " which I think is a tagline that may not have much life in it.

Having said that, there is a business logic behind the launch of eclairs. Confectionery marketers are faced with the issue of consumer price- fixation. The market is highly price conscious. Candies are now priced at 50 paise and all efforts of marketers to make consumers pay more has failed. Alpenliebe Eclairs is an attempt by PVM to trade-up the pricing ladder. The Rs 1 eclair will add more profitability to Alpenliebe portfolio and eclair is a high growth category in this industry.

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Alpenliebe

Candyman : Kuch Bhi Karega for Candyman

Brand : Candyman

Company : ITC

Ad Agency : Draft FCB Ulka

Brand Analysis Count : 462

Candyman is ITC's ambitious foray into the Rs 2300( approx) crore highly competitive Indian confectionery market. The brand which was launched in 2003 is fighting for its share in a unique way .

Candyman, as the name itself describe ,was born as a hard-boiled sugar candy product. The brand was launched first in fruit flavors - Fruitee Fun variant which came in banana, pinapple, orange and mango flavors.

Candyman was launched with a campaign featuring a naughty boy and a cartoon boy as the central characters. The campaigns revolved around the fight between the real and cartoon boys for Candyman.

Watch one campaign here : Pool Fight

There was a problem with the ads because there was a chance that the fight between the two boys would scare the primary audience (kids). Although the ads meant to portray friendly competition for Candyman, the scenes of the ad showed very bitter, deadly fights between the characters. For example , the ad where the boy trying to drown the cartoon character cannot be taken in a light spirit. Since the cartoon boy was perceived to be a representative of Candyman, the ads portrayed the brand in a negative light .

Soon the ads were changed to portray friendship between the cartoon character and the real boy. The brand realized the negativity of the first theme and corrected it in the following campaigns.

The brand was positioned as a candy/confectionery which is irresistible and adopted the tagline " Kuch Bhi Karega for Candyman " translated roughly to " Will Do Anything for Candyman ". The brand was targeting the kids (naughty types) who seek delightful candy experience.

Usually while choosing the brand name, one has to be careful not to choose names which restrict the brand's movement across categories/product lines. In the case of Candyman, the brand name obviously suggested that the product is a candy. Candy is a product form which belongs to hard-boiled confectionery. So theoretically, it would be difficult for Candyman to launch anything other than candy because of the association of brand name to the candy category.

But the brand defied that rule and launched a slew of flavors and variants that transcended the boundaries of candy and chocolate .

The strength of Candyman was its relentless innovation interms of flavors and variants. Some of the variants of Candyman is given below :

Candyman Natkhat Mango

Candyman Maha Mango

Candyman Echlairs

Candyman Mangolicks in 2007

Candyman Toffichoo Strawberry in 2009

Candyman Lacto Creme center in 2008

Candyman Butter Scotch licks

Candyman Choco Double.

These large number of choice together with the strong ITC distribution network gave Candyman enough room for growth.

Some of the campaigns for the variants was quite successful. One of them was the Natkhat Mango TVC which was well received by the viewers.

This is one candy brand that does not believe that it should only be a candy in its entire life. Thus came Candyman Echlairs and followed by Candyman Choco Double. These chocolate products directly competed with Cadbury Echlairs not only in the market but also through the campaigns.

Cadbury Echlair when released the campaign " Chocolate ka Sweet Bomb" , Candyman countered it with the Choco Double spoof . ChocoDouble came with the tagline - " No Waiting for Chocolating " taking on the Cadbury Dairy Milk Echlairs ' ads.

Candyman's variants have a different personality and slogans but also shares the common tagline. The large number of variants has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that consumers ( kids) will be delighted with choices and there is always some excitement with the brand. The negative side is the proliferation of the product line extension can create challenges interms of brand promotion. At a given point of time, how will the brand manager allocate the promotional budget among these variants ? Which should be promoted more ?

To manage such large number of variants/flavors, Candyman is adopting a very smart brand-portfolio strategy. Currently the brand is using a strategy where Candyman will eventually become the endorser brand while there will be individual primary brands for various variants. For example in the packaging of Choco-Double Echlairs, Candyman is the endorser brand and Choco Double acts as the primary brand. Candyman brand name is displayed in small fonts while Choco-Double in larger fonts.

Candyman has the powerful backing of ITC's cash power and distribution strength. It has not yet being able to move into the top position of the confectionery market yet. But with the aggressive new product strategy together with high profile promotions make Candyman a brand to watch for.

Brand Update : Hajmola Repositions as Audio Candy

It has been a while since I updated about Hajmola Digestives. The most significant development happened last year ( 2009) when the brand undertook a major repositioning exercise . The brand started calling itself an Audio Candy.

Hajmola which is a unique digestive tablet is a very powerful brand. This Rs 1 billion brand has been able to stay relevant in the consumer's mind through consistent campaigns and some smart distribution strategies. Hajmola digestive tablet is now selling approximately 2.5 crore tablets daily.

Hajmola is known for its unique taste ( Khatta Meetha taste ) and the taste has been its USP ever since its launch. The unique taste with its digestive properties made it a post-meal habit of many Indian consumers.

While Hajmola tablets are consumed for its utility, candies are a different ball game altogether. Candies are consumed for fun rather than utility. Hence Hajmola candy should be positioned more on the fun side rather than the utility . Hajmola has already established itself on the utility ( digestive ) platform , the challenge was to put fun aspect to it.

Dabur then found a very smart way of putting fun into this digestive. The brand named itself an Audio Candy. The name is derived from the insight that the Zingy Tangy taste of Hajmola in your mouth will be accompanied by a lip-smacking sound. The idea of Audio Candy was born.

The concept of Audio Candy was reinforced by the campaign that followed

Watch the ad here : Hajmola Audio Candy

The idea of Audio Candy is a very smart idea which communicates the positioning of unique taste in a very fun filled manner. The TG - mainly kids will like the concept of the audio candy. And the concept makes the USP of Hajmola difficult to copy. Along with the repositioning , Hajmola also launched a couple of variants like Imli and Kachcha mango which gave more reasons to buy this product.

It is interesting to see the evolution of Hajmola from a functional tablet to a fun filled candy. The brand has successfully extended itself to a larger market but retaining its core strength and not diluting the utility for which it is loved for.

Brand Update : Mentos Becomes a Chewing Gum

Perfetti van Melle ( PVM) has introduced another product line extension for its highly successful brand Mentos. The launch of Mentos into the Rs 600 crore chewing gum market throws in lot of questions regarding the basic logic of this strategy.

Mentos has been a unique brand in the Indian market. The brand carved out a special place of itself through the product characteristics as well as through some very humorous campaigns. Unlike other candies /chocolates, Mentos was a chewy confectionery which blended the properties of candy and chewing gum together. The product had a sweet crest and a gum like inside. The brand was a welcome break for all those consumers who looked for something new. It also appealed to those consumers who disliked the inconvenience of the chewing gum but would like to have something they can devour for a longer period of time.

Mentos was also popular because of its clutter breaking campaigns. The tagline " Dimaag Ki Batti Jala De " was one of best taglines I have seen in the marketing world. The brand also came out with very cool campaigns which made Mentos a very popular brand.

The launch of Mentos Chewing Gum may be in line with the company's global product strategy. In other markets, PVM have a chewing gum extension for this brand. Having said that I am little skeptical about this extension. Primarily because of the issue of cannibalization.

Mentos will compete with PVM's own brands like Center Fresh and Happy Dent. Center Fresh will be the one who will be facing the competition from Mentos. I don't understand the feasibility or the logic of bringing in one more brand into category where another brand is present.

Another aspect which worries me is the possible dilution of the position of Mentos as a chewy confectionery. One of the key differentiator for Mentos was the swallow-able chewy nature and through the launch of a chewing gum invariably dilutes that position. Now a consumer cannot order Mentos and then just eat it. He may have to check whether it is a chewing gum or the original swallow-able Mentos. Otherwise he will be in trouble .

Now what is Mentos ? a swallow-able chewy or a chewing gum or both ??

In the launch of this variant, PVM has done something which was unthinkable - blatantly importing a television commercial and changing the voice-over and putting it in India.

Watch the launch campaign here : Mentos Chinese

PVM was a poster boy of the Indian advertising world because of the creativity it had extracted from the ad agencies. The ads for Mentos, Happy Dent, Chlor Mint were all glorious examples of creativity. But here the company chose the easy way of copying an ad from other market and pasting it in India. I wonder why PVM did such a sub-standard move for a power brand like Mentos.

The ad itself is disgusting . The ad does not create any sort of rapport/connection with the Indian consumers as such. The brand had moved several notch below the established brand image through this campaign.

The launch of Mentos Chewing gum seems a half-hearted effort of PVM to increase the market share of Mentos. The way the product is launched points to the short-termism winning over the long-term brand building strategy which PVM earlier adopted.

I think that the brand owners did not eat Mentos while thinking about this launch. Eat Mentos and " Dimaag Ki Batti Jalao ".

Related Brand

Mentos

Brand Update : Tic Tac moves from Hello to Refreshment

Tic Tac , the mint confectionery brand from the Ferrero group has gone for a new positioning. The brand has changed its positioning from " Conversation Starter " to a " Refreshment that needs to be Shared ".

The brand had gone for a similar repositioning in 2008 when it adopted the tagline " The New Hello ". The brand was then positioned as an " ice-breaker" or " Conversation Starter". The brand after two years is embarking on a new communication route.

Tic Tac is a unique brand. The shape, taste and packaging sets this brand apart from the rest of the mint-based confectionery brand. The brand has also gained good penetration interms of distribution.

The uniqueness of the brand has poised certain positioning issues for the marketer. Since the brand is different from the conventional mint-based products, the positioning should also reflect the uniqueness. Polo is a brand that has used its unique form to its advantage by its positioning based on the " Hole " factor. Tic Tac ideally should have discovered some smart way of communicating its uniqueness. But so far it failed to do so.

Tic Tac so far has not able to find a differentiated communication platform that reflected the uniqueness of the brand. That is the reason why this brand failed to came out with any clutter-breaking campaigns.

The current campaign and the positioning is no better. Infact it is worse than the earlier proposition of " The New Hello ".

Watch the new ad here : Refreshment to be shared

The theme of a group of bored youngsters breaking into ecstatic dance after consuming the product is an idea from pre-historic era. The new positioning based on " Sharing " is also not capturing/communicating anything unique about Tic Tac.

The brand globally had the positioning statement " Its not just a mint. its a Tic Tac " which is a very powerful positioning platform. I wonder why the brand discarded such a powerful statement and settled from something sub-standard ? It has to be mentioned that the brand also adopts the concept of " Sharing a Tic Tac " in the values but it is not the primary talking point. The current global theme for the brand is centered around " Refreshment " but in India , the brand failed to reflect any of the original brand values.

The new campaign and the positioning of Tic Tac is a big letdown. The brand lost its USP of shape, taste and freshness in the current campaign. I think the brand should first talk about why use it and then talk about sharing it.

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Tic Tac

Brand Update : Cadbury Dairy Milk For Shubh Aarambh

Cadbury's Dairy Milk has recently launched a new campaign " Shubh Aarambh" ( meaning Auspicious Beginning ). The campaign is the refined version of the earlier Payday campaign which evoked mixed response from the Ad analysts and consumers.

The Shubh Aarambh campaign reinforces the occasion based positioning of Dairy Milk. The brand has been trying to position itself as a symbol of enjoyment and celebrations. Indians have the tradition of sharing sweets on auspicious occasions and also when one initiates a venture/activity. Whether the activity is small like writing an exam or huge like starting a company, sharing of sweets is an integral part of the event. The belief is that good things happen when one starts a venture on a positive note ( like sharing sweets).

Dairy Milk very cleverly captured this tradition and incorporated into its brand story. The new campaign takes the brand to the center of this tradition linking Dairy Milk to Sweet and Auspicious Beginning.

While the previous PayDay campaign was a narrow interpretation of the occasion based positioning , Shubh Aarambh has given the brand a broad playing ground. In my opinion, the brand has hit upon a really great Big Idea. The concept is very much Indian and offers huge opportunity for creatives to weave great stories for the brand.

Watch the launch ad here : Shubh Aarambh

The concept also gels with the brand's tagline " Kuchch Meetha Ho Jaye ". The launch campaign is targeted at younger generation and hence the brand added a little humor and twist into the campaign.

Shubh Aarambh is a great idea for this great brand. It will be interesting to see how Dairy Milk milks this idea to the fullest.

Brand Update : Gems Does a Kinder Joy

Gems recently launched a new variant Gems Surprise. The product is a new pack of Gems that comes with a surprise toy inside. The new variant is in the shape of a ball attractively packaged. Right now Gems Surprise will contain Ben 10 toys. The new variant is priced at Rs 30.

Gems Surprise is inspired ( copy ?) by the Kinder Surprise . Kinder Surprise has met with success in the Indian market. I do not have the figures but as a consumer, I have been a regular buyer of this product so are my friends.
The consumer acceptance of the Kinder Joy may have been the reason for the launch of Gems Surprise.

Kinder Surprise was never a competition for Gems. Kinder Surprise has created different niche where Cadbury does not have a presence. Cadbury does not want any product to rule any part of the chocolate market that easily. Through Gems Surprise, Cadbury is addressing the industry competition.

There is no product in Cadbury's brand portfolio that is similar to Kinder Surprise. Gems was chosen because it is a unique brand with lot of equity among the consumers. The form factor of Gems also made the brand worthy of being a competitor for Kinder Surprise.

Gems Surprise is going to create holes in the Parent's pockets. Gems was always affordable and right product to buy for the Kids. Gems Surprise priced at Rs 30 is an upward stretch for the brand.
The question is whether the consumer will buy Gems for Rs 30 because there is a gift free with it ? For all those customers who has been buying SKUs of Gems for Rs 5 and Rs 10 may find it difficult to justify the purchase of Gem's Surprise at Rs 30.

What I understand is that the product ( chocolate ) will be the same in Gems Surprise. What you pay more is for the toy.In the case of Kinder Surprise, consumers did not have a benchmark about the price so Rs 30 for Kinder Joy was accepted by the consumer.

Gems will definitely get lot of consumer trials and purchases .Whether the purchases will be sustainable will depend a lot on the variety of the gifts that is inside the pack. Kinder Surprise is the master in this game. Will Gems beat the master will be a fun ( expensive though) to watch.

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Brand Update : Perk

Perk has gone in for a makeover. Cadbury has launched the new Perk with Glucose Energy. According to the company website, this is the first time that a chocolate brand from the company has come out with glucose energy. The brand is running a campaign announcing its new avatar.

Watch the TVC here : Perk with Glucose Energy

When I first saw the ad, I took it just as another line extension by the brand. But was really surprised at the news report suggesting the new product as a relaunch of the original Perk. Infact DNA reports that the original Perk will be phased out soon ( Source).

The reports are little vague as to whether the Perk with Glucose Energy is the New Avatar of Perk or a line extension.

If the report of relaunch is true then it is a big change for the brand. The entire brand personality is changed and frankly I am upset.

Perk always had a charm and its persona of a bubbly youthful brand was always there since its launch in 1996. Priety Zinta is still remembered along with the brand. But the new face of the Perk is entirely opposite to the brand's current image.

According to the company version, the new Perk is targeting the youth 14-18 year olds which are looking for a snack which is refreshing. The new launch is the result of a study conducted by the company which showed that youth prefers a tasty snack which also refreshed them ( source).

In my personal opinion, the relaunch campaign is a big let down. When I saw it the first time, I mistook it for some telecom ad - with all the usual stuff of a young man doing lots of stuff, trying hard , loved by all etc. But was surprised to find that it was an ad for Perk. Disgusted after finding that it is a relaunch ad.

The new campaign just poured cold water on the entire positioning of the brand. The brand lost is bubbly , cool , irreverent character and instead acquired an uncool, rational , conforming kind of a personality. Today's youth prefers those personalities who takes things easy, without effort accomplishing tasks and enjoying life Bindaass.. But the main character seems to be taking lot of efforts which just killed the brand's established persona.

The brand also has changed the packaging color. The new tagline of Perk is " Sapno se race kar le" roughly translated to " Race with your dreams " which I think may miss the mark with the young crowd. I still miss the magic that this brand brought about in its earlier campaigns. The last campaign of " Take it Lightly " was also a smart move of the brand. But the current relaunch is too off mark.

Having said that Perk has already an established equity which will prompt customers to reach for this brand. The new Perk is priced attractively and the " Glucose " factor will entice many consumers to buy this brand. Despite all these campaign, both Perk and Kitkat were not able to create any significant growth for the wafer based confectionery in the Indian market. This category still remains in the periphery of the larger market of confectioneries

Perk has changed for better or worse, the sales figures will say. But on a branding perspective, the brand just started dying..

Another thought ... what about Ulta Perk ???

All my above criticisms are based on the assumption that Perk has been relaunched and the older Perk is being laid to rest. If the new Perk with Glucose Energy is a line extension and the older Perk is going to remain in the market, then it is just a new product line extension with a lousy campaign.

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Brand Update : Alpenliebe

Yet again another subbrand taking a personality on its own. The brand in question is Creamfills Alpenliebe. The brand launched as a subbrand is now famous because of some smart creatives.

Creamfills Alpenliebe was launched in 2006 specifically for the Indian market. The product idea and the brand name was devised in India. The brand became a huge success and is now exported to China , Poland and other countries ( Source).

Creamfills Alpenliebe although a candy is a different product when compared to Alpenliebe. While Alpenliebe is a hard candy, Creamfills comes with a creamy core.

The brand came into limelight with some very smart advertisements. One such campaign I like was the " Daddy Khar Main " ad

Watch the ad here : Creamfills Daddy ad

The ad smartly communicated the core positioning of the brand. Creamfills is positioned as a candy with a " surprise cream core " inside. The ad had the tagline " Kuch Alag Achanak " translated to "Suddenly Something surprising ". The brand uses the " Surprise " angle to convey the creamy core of the product. The ad was a big hit so was the product.

Last year, Creamfills launched another campaign . The ad was one of the best I saw in recent times.

Watch the ad here : Creamfills Lions Ad

Like the earlier ad, the new TVC reinforced the positioning of the brand of the surprise core. The ad seems to be expensive but worth all the money spent on the animation. ( read an interesting story about the tvc here).

What I liked about the ad most is that it is never boring. I have watched it many times but still it is enjoyable and the message is conveyed spot on.This brand is an example of the power of a good idea backed by smart creative execution.

The natural question that comes to my mind is whether Perfetti missed the opportunity to create a new brand rather than launching a sub-brand of Alpenliebe. Creamfills shares most of the brand elements of Alpenliebe like the color of packaging . But the positioning of Creamfills is entirely different from that of Alpenliebe. Although the parent Alpenliebe brand is not going to be significantly affected by this different positioning, I feel that Perfetti could have given Creamfills an independent role rather than being tied up to another brand.

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Alpenliebe

Brand Update : Cadbury Dairy Milk

Cadbury has launched a new variant of Dairy Milk branded as Dairy Milk Silk. The brand is currently running two TVCs for this variant

Watch the tvc here : Dairy Milk Silk Dance

: Dairy Milk Silk Conference

The brand has been moving away from the celebrity endorsed approach it was following in the last few years. The new campaign is refreshing and brings back the memories of its earlier iconic campaign " Asli Swaad zindagi ka" . I liked the conference one than the dance one.

As I understand , Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk is a smooth and silky version of the original Dairy Milk. The brand is priced at a premium over the Diary Milk which makes it an Upmarket Stretch in marketing terms.

The ads are spot on the brand's core positioning of " enjoying the moments". The agency has conveyed the message in such a captivating manner that many adults who has forgotten about the original brand promise and experience will be attracted back to the brand.

I hope that the brand will scale new positioning heights and it is a learning experience to watch this brand evolving itself.

A related nice article in Afaqs.

Related Brand

Cadbury's Dairy Milk

Brand Update : Mango Bite

Kaccha Mango Bite is a product line extension of Mango Bite . But over these years, this flavor has caught the fancy of the consumers so much so that almost all the candy makers have introduced the Kaccha Mango ( Raw Mango) flavor in their portfolio.

Parle also may not have thought that this flavor would become a rage. Now the situation is that Kaccha Mango variant is more widely distributed than the original Mango Bite. The the variant has now the status of an independent brand.

The raw mango taste is very unique and different. It is this uniqueness that has created a lot of interest in the consumers especially the kid's mind. Child's mind loves uniqueness and is always looking for new experiments. When all the candies are sweet, a little sour taste gives the much needed break from the usual.

The variant was also promoted extensively by Parle. The brand really owned the taste by a smart positioning . Kaccha Mango Bite is positioned as " Xerox of Raw Mango". It has the tagline " Kaccha Aam ka Xerox " .

I remember two ads which was spot on the positioning.

Watch the ad here : Xerox Ad

: Animation ad

By positioning itself as the Xerox copy of Kaccha Mango, the brand literally created a strong position in the consumer's mind. I think that the brand has changed the tagline to " Kaccha Aam ka Copy " because Xerox is a tradename owned by another company.

The success of Kaccha Mango Bite made the competitor entering the fray with their own versions. ITC launched the Natkhat Mango variant and recently the brands like Alpenliebe launched the raw mango flavor.

Kaccha Mango now have a generic status in the market for this flavor. No other brands have so far been able to crack the equity of this variant.

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Brand Update : Gems

Cadbury Gems is currently running a new series of interesting commercials. The brand has chosen a Giant Panda as the main character in the new set of ads.

Watch one commercial here : Rangeen Panda

Gems has been very consistent in associating with the attributes - color,fun and excitement. Over the last few years, the brand has been concentrating on associating " color" with Gems. The current campaign is trying to further reinforce the association.

Frankly , when I first saw the new Gems ad with the colored Panda, I did not understand any bit of it. Only thing I understood was that Panda became colored when it ate Gems. But my kid seems to enjoy watching the Panda.
Gems now have the new tagline " Rangeen Panda ka Rangeen Pasand". The earlier tagline of Gems was " Meri masti ka Partner ". The new tagline seems to be too tactical in nature focusing more on the Panda rather than the brand.

Gems is targeting the kids of age 8-14 yrs.(source) The way kids look at these messages are way different from how we adults look at the campaigns . Hence I am not venturing into analyzing the new campaign using my adult lens. However I think that the ad could have been more clear so that adults will also understand the essence of the message.

Having said that, the choice of Panda as the main protagonist is a very good idea. The animal evokes a sense of cuteness and stickiness to the ad. When marketing to kids, the presence of such a character will add more punch to the brand. The association of the attribute "color" to Gems also is a class act because it makes Gems unique compared to other brands.

Even though Gems does not have a competitor with similar product properties ( color candies), the consumer does not think in terms of categories while making a confectionery purchase. Most of the purchases are spontaneous and marketers can only wish that their brand is on top of the mind during that moment of truth. Let me hope that the Rangeen Panda helps Gems to capture that moment.

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Cadbury Gems

Halls : Thandi Saans Ka Blast

Brand : Halls

Company : Cadbury India Ltd

Agency : Contract Advertising

Brand Analysis Count : 421

Halls is one of the largest selling cough drops brand in the world. The brand claims to have 50% share in the International cough drops market.Halls brand was born in 1930 when Halls Brothers invented a Metho- Lyptus formula that alleviates throat irritations. Later in 1964,

Warner- Lambert acquired the brand and began to aggressively sell the product in the US market.

Halls came to India in 1968. The brand was initially sold as a therapeutic candy in the cough lozenges market. In 2003, Halls came into Cadbury's fold when it acquired the confectionery business of Warner-Lambert/Pfizer network ( Source : Halls Brand Site).

Halls had a series of ups and downs in the Indian market. At one point of time during the ninetees, the brand was the market leader with a share of over 30%. But at point in time , Warner- Lambert increased the price of Halls from 50 paise to 75 paise. The effect was devastating. The brand began to lose its share because consumers found it difficult to find the change in order to buy the product. It was easy to find a 50 paise but finding 25 paise was not easy. And the shop keeper will never return the 25 paise if given Rs 1. (source ).

Halls was promoted heavily by both Warner- Lambert and Cadburys. Halls is one of the heavy spenders in the category. But despite the heavy share of voice, Halls had a huge positioning problem.

The Rs 200 crore throat lozenges category is an interesting category. With in these category, there are certain subsegments which may not be visible to the consumer. For example, there is a therapeutic lozenges category which are medicinal in nature and sold through chemists. Strepsils belong to this category. While Vicks is perceived to be medicinal in nature, the product can be sold in all kind of shops. Halls belongs to the candy sub-segment within the category.

While most of the throat lozenges products are sold on medicinal platform, Halls wanted to differentiate itself. Hence the brand chose to position itself on the " Cool and Refreshing " Platform. But instead of focusing and establishing this platform, the brand kept oscillating between " medicinal throat relief " and " Refreshing" platforms. If you look at the series of ads of Halls across its lifetime, the brand was confused about its core brand value. In one ad, the brand will be concentrating on " Sore Throat " while in another it is taking about refreshing breath,

The brand was not confident about ditching the " sore throat " and embrace the " cool + refreshing " platform. This confusion eroded the brand's chances to become the market leader in this category. The brand failed to understand that it cannot be everything to everybody. It is commonsense that brands should try to occupy a unique position rather than trying to please everyone.

It was in 2008 that Halls finally decided to focus on the " Cool throat " platform . The brand used hyperbole to communicate this message to the consumer.

Watch the ad here : Halls Airplane Ad

Personally I did not like the ad because the action of the person who took Halls was contradicting the " Coolness " factor promoted by the brand. But the hyperbole or the exaggeration worked to brand's advantage. The brand was able to clearly communicate its core brand promise to the consumer.

It shows when a brand understands its core brand mantra. The decision of the brand to focus on the " coolness " had its impact on the quality of brand communication. Halls came out with its latest ad reinforcing its core positioning.

Watch the ad here : Halls Polar Bear ad

It is again Hyperbole at its height. The message is spot-on and the exaggeration works well to reinforce the core positioning of the brand. The brand has the tagline " Thandi Saans Ka Blast " which communicates its coolness promise.

Halls is facing competition for its positioning also. Recently Parle Xhale also has started its campaign highlighting its 'coolness'. Watch the ad here.

I hope that Halls will stay focused on the current positioning platform. Ofcourse by doing so, it may lose some consumers but in the long run the brand will benefit with the focus.

Brand Update : Cadbury Dairy Milk

It is very difficult to imagine a campaign for Dairy Milk without Big B. Amitabh Bachchan had become the face of this brand and was instrumental in making the brand a darling of youngsters as well as not-so-young ones. Cadbury's was one of the brand that used the persona of Big B to the maximum.

For the past few months, the brand has been trying to break free from the dependence on this powerful celebrity. The brand earlier came out with the "Kenya " campaign without Big B 's presence.

Now Dairy Milk is running another campaign without Big B. The campaign known as the Pay Day campaign is something that we never expect out of this brand

Watch the TVC here : Dairy Milk Payday

The ad is a retro taking us back to the 60's era.The new ad takes the theme of enjoying Dairy Milk on the Pay Day ( When you get the salary). The company has given an interesting story about the idea and its execution. ( Read it Here).

Frankly speaking, i really liked the ad because it is very different and clutter breaking. I think rather than strategy, Dairy Milk wanted to break the clutter and reinforce the brand. And it has done it in style.

Marketing a brand like Dairy Milk is not an easy proposition. The brand have huge brand equity and its campaigns has to live upto the expectations of the consumer. Advertisements for iconic brands like Dairy Milk serve a long term objective of retaining the share of mind rather than immediate sales. The brand needs to remain fresh and relevant and its huge popularity should not become a liability that constraints the creativity. So the agency need to experiment with the campaigns while retaining the classic touch of Dairy Milk. It is no easy task.

Even with Amitabh Bachchan, the brand had to make sure that the personality of Big B should not shadow the brand. The brand was successful in effectively using Big B without drowning the brand.

The latest campaign is a welcome deviation from the brand's journey. The ad may not appeal to the younger ones but will catch the eye of those in their mid thirties and forties.

Kudos for the team

Related brand
Cadbury Dairy Milk

Brand Update : Chlormint

Chlormint is back in the media space with a new campaign. There are two interesting things about the new campaign.

First is that, the brand has now a celebrity endorser ( infact two !) . Chlormint has signed up Bollywood Actor Salman Khan as the brand ambassador. The new tvc features Salman and his brother Sohail Khan.

Watch the Tvc Here : Chlormint Airplane Ad

The second most important development about this brand is the tagline. The brand has brought back the old famous tagline " Dobara Mat Poochna " . Chlormint had earlier changed the tagline to " Khao Kabhi Bhi ". I had criticized about the unnecessary change in the tagline in my earlier update about the brand. I had argued that the new tagline does not have lasting power and dumping " Dobara Mat Poochna " was a mistake.

The brand has made some changes in the tagline. The new tagline is " Bina Tayaari ke Dobara mat poochna " meaning " Don't Ask with out taking adequate preparation ". It is good that Chlormint decided to bring back the tagline that made this brand famous. It was a beautiful tagline with lot of room for creativity. The tagline also became a much used phrase by the youngsters.

I am little surprised by the brand's move to rope in a celebrity endorser. The question is whether Chlormint really need the support of a brand ambassador ? My personal opinion is that Chlormint have the strength to survive on its own. Any brand ambassador will only dilute the strength of this brand.

One reason for taking a celebrity is the category competitor Orbit taking Deepika as the brand ambassador. May be Chlormint felt threatened by this move.

The new TVC featuring Salman and Sohail is a pathetic one . The agency could have used this duo better. There is nothing funny or remarkable about the new TVC.

The brand could have fared better if it had concentrated on itself rather than on the celebrity.




Related Brand

Chlormint

Picture courtesy
Tarik Jilai Flickr Photostream

Brand Update : Cadbury Eclairs

This year Cadbury Dairy Milk Eclairs has comeout with a new campaign and a new positioning. The brand has identified itself with a sweet chocolate time bomb that will explode in your mouth. 

The brand is running an interesting TVC to communicate the postioning. 

Watch the ad here : Cadbury sweet bomb

Cadbury's Dairy Milk Eclairs has always been focused on its chocolate inner and as a consumer  we get a special feeling when the crispy outer covering of the eclairs give way to the soft chocolate liquid inside.  The brand is now trying to capture this feeling through the new campaign. 

The brand is equating this experience akin to the blowing up of a chocolate bomb from inside. The ad captures this concept quite beautifully. 

Although the ad is quite good, there is a striking resemblence with the recent KitKat ad claiming to be more chocolatey. The only difference is that the chocolate explodes outside the head.

Watch the Kitkat ad here : Kitkat exploding

Competition is not only for market share , it is also for the ad copy.

Related brand

Cadbury Dairy Milk Eclairs

Brand Update : Orbit

Orbit has signed the bollywood diva Deepika Padukone as its brand ambassador. The brand is running the new commercial featuring Deepika

watch the ad here : Deepika for Orbit

The brand is retaining the positioning based on the tooth decay prevention property.The brand has the tagline " It really Works ".
I was surprised to see an actress endorsing a chewing gum brand. I think it is the first time an actress becoming a brand ambassador for a product like chewing gum. Chewing gum was earlier associated more with male segment. But this association has become obsolete for the new generation where you see this product being used by both guys and girls.
The positive side of the endorsement is that Deepika may motivate lot of girls to try out this category.
I don't think that Deepika is going to add any value to the brand as such. The ad also does not have anything catchy . The brand hopes that using a celebrity will gain more eyeballs but other than just a curiosity,Deepika may not add much to Orbit.


What Do You Think ?

Related Post
Orbit

Brand Update : Boomer

Boomer has launched a unique variant Boomer Gumlairs. Gumlairs is the chocolate eclair bubblegum. The company claims that it is a new category which is being created by Gumlairs. The brand is trying to combine the taste of chocolate eclairs and chewing gum together. Eclairs for a large part of the confectionery market and Boomer wants to attract those eclair lovers into chewing gum category.

Chewing gum brands has been experimenting a lot with taste . The brands till now was concentrating more on fruit based flavors. It is the first time that a chewing gum brand is experimenting with chocolate flavor.

It is important for brands in markets like confectionery to constantly bring out new flavors to keep the excitement going. Consumers of this category are very fickle in their choices and they keep on experimenting with new brands and flavors.In that perspective, Gumlairs is a smart move by Wrigley.

I have a mixed opinion about the taste of chocolate in a chewing gum. These are perceived to be two extereme categories and the concept of both the categories coming together is truly unique.Kids are obviously going to be excited since there is something new and they truly love to experiment.
The claim of creating a new category will fully depend on whether kids like the taste or not. My personal take is that Gumlairs will remain as yet another flavor. Nothing more , Nothing less.


Related Brand
Boomer

Brand Update : KitKat

Kitkat now has become more chocolaty. The brand has changed the product to appeal to Indian Palate .
The brand is currently running a campaign highlighting its chocolaty nature

Watch the new tvc here : Kitkat Chocolaty

What is interesting is that the brand has gone back to its famous tagline " Have a break,Have a Kitkat ". The brand had adopted a new tagline : Kitkat break banta hai...

The question again lingers.. if you have a very famous tagline and consumers like that and if your brand has developed a strong association with that tagline, why change it ???

Indian consumers has been lukewarm to wafer chocolate brands like Perk and Kitkat. After the initial sales boost, both these brands are facing the issue of stagnant growth. Both Perk and Kitkat have tried to boost sales by product innovations. Kitkat launched Kitkat Chunky and Kitkat Lite while Perk launched Ulta Perk. They have even tried coming out with different SKUs inorder to increase consumer usage. But consumers seem to prefer the chocolate bars over wafer ones.

A tricky situation indeed....


Brand update

Kitkat

Brand Update : Perk

Perk has got a new brand ambassador in the upcoming bollywood actress Genelia. When ever the brand has a celebrity, the agency is in a state of utter confusion as to where the celebrity and the brand will fit in. The eternal question of whether the celebrity or the brand should get the maximum focus still not yet found by those creative hotshots. 

In a hurry to tap the maximum out of a celebrity's persona, the brand is shoved into the periphery. What ultimately comes out will be something like the new ad for Perk. 

The ad goes like this, Genelia and her friends are in a deep forest ( Lost it seems )

 and they find a odd looking guy selling Tie inside the forest. Later the group finds a Party going on in the middle of the forest. But they are not allowed inside because they don't have a tie ( dress code).  Dejected, the group goes back and takes rest , then Genelia sees the Perk and uski demag ki bathi jala and she and her friends use the Perk wrapper to make the tie...

Whew... I hated writing the above  script because video was not available. 

In the whole 60 sec ad, there is a  single shot of Perk. Rest is all bullshit. At the end of the ad, there is the brand's tagline " Take it lightly " which  does not hold any  connection with the whole plot. 

Remember this is a brand which shot into limelight using Priety Zinta very effectively. The brand itself is showing how to use a celebrity effectively and also how to mess up the brand running after a celebrity. While trying to use Genelia's charm and youthful look, the brand was totally forgotten. The plot is totally  out of sync with the brand's positioning. 

Perk also soft launched its variant Perk Poppers which is a product similar to Munch Popchocs.

Related Brand

Perk