Vimal suitings : Where art Thou ?

Brand : Vimal Suitings
Company : Reliance Industries Ltd
Agency : Mudra


One of the oldest and most respected iconic textile brand of India is languishing some where in the attic of the mega corporation Reliance. The brand which started of as a Saree brand developed itself into a mega textile brand for women , men and even for furniture ( Vimal Harmony is one of the largest furnishing brand).

Vimal suitings was launched in 1980 after the successful Vimal range of sarees. At that point of time Reliance was a predominantly a textile company. This brand was carefully positioned as a premium men's suitings brand. The brand which was handled by Mudra, was promoted heavily by Reliance. At that time the major competitors being Bombay Dyeing and Raymonds.

According to the case study of Vimal available in Mudra Website, the Vimal Suitings brand was developed in 4 stages . The first stage involved convincing the customer about the quality of the brand explaining the technology behind the making of Vimal in advertisements. The second stage involved creating a personality of the brand using living legends. In the ads, living legends like army veterans, experts in various fields were used as models to build the character of the brand as a credible brand. The third stage involved promoting the brand as a fashion brand or Style guru. The ads showed Kabir Bedi and the likes catched the imagination of the TG. The 4 stage used cricketer as models to appeal to larger crowd. May be Vimal was one of the first brands that used cricketer as models ( correct me if I'm wrong).

I would add the fifth stage as letting the brand die without giving it any marketing support.

The brand was targeted at the young ambitious who are challengers to the CEO's . The brand personality was stylish, and aspirational. Vimal was promoted using the famous tagline " OnlyVimal " created by Late Frank Simoes. The tagline is said to be personally approved by Dhirubai himself. The brand was a premium brand and the ads were catchy. Reliance also opened exclusive Vimal showrooms as a part of promoting the brand.

Later in the 1990's the Reliance business model changed. The company changed from textiles to petrochemicals and Vimal was not fitting into reliance business plans. It was the only retail brand of Reliance ( now we have RIM) and company never focused on Vimal.

As far as a marketer is concerned, Vimal was a great brand with huge potential ( whether it fits into Reliance plan is another issue). 90's also saw the shift in the consumer's preference towards readymades. Although reliance had a readymade brand "Reance" it was a half hearted move which resulted in a flop.

Vimal was known for its quality and style. Still people remembers its simple baseline " Only Vimal". Lack of marketing support had virtually killed the brand. Now the position that Vimal occupied is now owned by Raymonds and Reid & Taylor.

News reports suggest that Reliance may revive the Vimal brand owing to their retail foray and the opening of the textile sector to the global markets. Vimal have already being messed itself up with the launch of V2 brand which is cheap and available even in grocery stores. What a way to mess up a brand ! Vimal have stopped marketing sarees and is said to be concentrating on suitings. Suitings are becoming more popular because of the increasing globetrotters and professionals.

Reviving Vimal will be very difficult since this brand has lost its touch with the new Indian consumer.

Oh Vimal!

Yamaha : Not truly Yamaha !

Brand: Yamaha
Company: Yamaha
Agency : Dentsu

Yamaha which once ruled the mind of Indian youth is now in dire straits. The company which is the second largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world is having a market share of 5% in the booming Indian two wheeler market which is growing at a rate of 12-15%.

Why?

Yamaha is a performance bike manufacturer which recently celebrated its golden jubilee of its existence . In India Yamaha was present in a joint venture with Escorts which brought out the blockbuster Yamaha RX 100 and the cult Yamaha RD 350. Yamaha and Hero Honda had during the late 80's beat the hell out of scooter manufacturers , but Yamaha now has lost its edge. Yamaha broke the partnership with Escorts and started its India operations as a 100% subsidiary of Yamaha Japan from 2001 onwards.

Yamaha was not able to sustain the momentum it had generated during 1990's with RX100. RX100 was a bike that had style and substance. The product was powerful, gave no mech problems and was embraced by the youth. But after the tight environmental regulations introduced in 90's , RX100 had to be shelved. RX100 was replaced by RX135 which was no where near RX100. The ride was terrible and the product had nothing to boast about. It was the beginning of decline of Yamaha.

Yamaha was not able to bringout a blockbuster product in the recent past. It is unfair if I don't mention that there were lot product launches from Yamaha but nothing clicked. The reason being that the company was focused on Utility segment ( true that money is there only in that segment). Yamaha did not try to look at the changing profile of the Indian consumer.

Yamaha also thought that it had the same premium image in the mind of the customer . It failed to realise that the brand equity has eroded because of failed product launches. It had no product to showcase its superiority as a bike manufacturer. While Bajaj demonstrated its arrival in to the bike segment with Eliminator and Pulsar, Yamaha still tried its luck in the executive segment which was dominated by Splendor from Hero Honda.

Yamaha should have realised that inorder to break the Splendor's dominance, It had to build a brand in the premium segment and using that image, try its luck in the mid segment. Bajaj launched Eliminator to show the technical superiority. We drooled at the cruiser and then grabbed Pulsar. Yamaha failed to do that.

Yamaha tried to shock the market with a low priced Cruiser Enticer at an unbelievable price of 49000 but the product failed because the company wanted to play the volume game. Enticer could not sustain the huge initial it got because the market for cruiser was only emerging and the product did not live up to the expectation. Cruiser with only a power of 125 cc was itself a failing proposition. Now that there is a trend towards low priced cruiser pioneered by Bajaj Avenger, Enticer relaunch may succeed.

Yamaha then launched Crux and Libero and Fazer in the executive segment but could not set the market on fire . The company says that it is moving away from utility bikes to performance bikes. The launch of Fazer was towards this direction. The product had an unusual look hence failed to catch the imagination of Indian bike enthusiasts. Here again the company made a mistake of not making a statement.

Yamaha is having big plans for India. The company is earmarking 200 crores in revamping its operations. On the marketing side, it has roped in John Abraham as the brand ambassador.

I am no expert in Motorcycles but I feel that Yamaha now needs to make a STATEMENT. A powerful statement that will force the consumers to look up and say " Its a Yamaha".

Just compare the Fazer launched in India and the Fazer which is showcased internationally, the Indian Fazer is no where near the international one. Why did Yamaha which wanted to play the lifestyle game launch a stripped down Fazer ? Had it launched a chunky masculine Yamaha in India, the brand will move miles ahead in the mind of the consumer. Forget the price and the volume, bring the best bike to India and make a statement.

What we have in India is not the Yamaha but only a shadow. Yamaha if it wants to emerge from the shadows will have to shed the volume game and seriously build the brand.

To become Truly Yamaha , Change the rules...

Bajaj Chetak (1972-2005) :RIP

Brand : Bajaj Chetak
Company : Bajaj Auto Ltd

The brand which ruled the Indian roads have been laid to rest. Bajaj has officially stopped the production of Bajaj Chetak from December 2005. The stocks will last may be upto March 2006. The company says that the product no longer have any relevance to the customer. To quote Rajiv bajaj " Any one who clings to the past is a failure".

I owned a Chetak: a gift from my father for having secured admission to MBA program. It was in the year 1996. Later I exchanged it for a bike in 2001. Still Chetak lingers in me ( or rather haunts me) in the form of " Back Pain".

The brand which was launched in 1972 virtually owned the two wheeler segment. If reports are to be believed, Chetak was an unavoidable dowry in 1970's and 80's. It had a waiting period of more than 10 years ( can you believe it ? ) and now here I am after 34 years, writing the epitaph of this brand.

The brand which was named after the legendary stallion of the Rajput king Maharana Pratap, was known for the reliability and sturdiness. The brand thrived during the license raj with virtually no competition. It was during 1990-91 that the brand began the journey to the end.

Bajaj Chetak had a huge brand equity . The brand had the persona of a " work horse". With reasonable price and the low maintenance cost made this product a huge hit among the middle class Indians.

Promoted along the base line " Hamara Bajaj", this was the Indian Family vehicle - a position now owned by Maruthi 800.

But then How can a brand that was so popular and successful fail?

Frankly, I am not sure. But here is what I think about this brand...

The primary reason is that the Brand forgot the customers. Another case of Marketing Myopia. The company failed to understand the changing perception of the customers towards scooters. Rather than looking at the customers, the company focused on influencing Government to block the opening up of economy. Bajaj never did anything with the product. For 40 years Chetak had the same look, same quality and style.

During the mid nineties the company realised lately that the segment has shifted to motorcycles. Scooters were no longer the option. But did the company made a mistake in discarding the scooter segment ? Looking at the way the share prices are going, the market thinks that Bajaj Auto made the right decision. But I think that they made a mistake in leaving the scooter segment completely. Contrary to expectation, the scooter segment has not died. It has only changed.

Chetak lost its identity some where during the nineties. What should be the future of the brand : no body knew. It was only in 2004 that company made any change in Chetak. In 1994 Bajaj introduced Classic another scooter with same style as Chetak, but failed.

Bajaj never was serious about product development. The R&D spent for a long time was a miniscule 1%. The average cycle time for the new product development was 4-5 years compared to 2-3 years of Japanese competitors.

Even after the opening up of economy, the scooter segment did not witness much competition.

The players like Vespa did not had much of success in this segment. Kinetic Honda managed to carve a niche with its gearless scooters. Another segment which was growing was the scooterette segment which was dominated by TVS scooty.

Bajaj never seriously looked at customer perception about Chetak. The product had serious problems like starting trouble and riding comfort. The " Tilting the chetak to the side for starting " was a common joke. Did the company do anything for that ? no

There was nothing wrong with the Promotion. " Hamara Bajaj " and " No one can beat a Bajaj " were famous base lines. There was nothing wrong with distribution and the pricing was very reasonable. The major problem was in the first P : Product.

So without addressing any problems regarding the product , can you expect the customer to buy the product ?

Bajaj was never a leader in technology ( now they are !!!). They never bothered to and paid the price . Had Chetak pioneered Electric start, had it provided more riding comfort, it could have survived.

Somebody have just beat the Bajaj........ the customer!

Yezdi (1961-1995) : RIP

Brand: Yezdi
Company: Ideal Jawa India Ltd

A brand that was once the heartthrob of Indian urban Youth is now resting in peace...

A case of marketing myopia...

I am not sure why I chose this brand , may be because of nostalgia. During my school days me and my brother used to argue as to whether Yezdi or Bullet is the best.

This bike was manufactured by Ideal Jawa Ltd with technical collaboration with Jawa of Czechoslovakia. Ideal Jawa started its operations in 1960 .Yezdi ( that time Jawa ) was in Indian roads from 1961. During 1960's Indian roads were ruled by scooters. Bikes were not at all popular due to mechanical issues and low mileage.

During that period , there were only three serious players in the Indian motorcycles market. Bullet, Rajdoot and Ideal Jawa. Rajdoot was popular in rural areas because of sturdy suspension. Bullet and Jawa were popular in the urban market.

Yezdi was targeting the youth with the positioning of " Forever Bike Forever Value" . Since it was a seller's market, what ever that was produced were lapped up by Indian consumers.

1980's saw a sea change in the Indian two wheeler market. Japanese technology entered the Indian market through joint ventures. The market saw lot of new 100 cc bikes which were more fuel efficient and easy to ride.

Ideal Jawa was having a blind eye. It refused to accept the realities. When the consumer attitudes changed, Jawa refused to change . Customers wanted Bikes that offered mileage, style and comfort. Japanese bikes provided all that. This period also showed the shift of Indian consumers from scooters to motorcycles.

Yezdi had serious mechanical issues, especially the starting trouble. One had to pump about 20 times to get that machine started. It had no chance before the peppy new generation Japanese bikes.

Yezdi realised this late and came out with some design changes and new launches like Roadking which had a new styling. But it was too late.

Failing market and labour problems took its toll on Ideal Jawa . Yezdi was laid to rest in 1995. Had Yezdi changed its products in tune with the customer needs, we would have seen a lot of this bike on Indian roads. but alas ....

Once an Icon, Yezdi has now faded in to the annals of history.

Old spice : Death of an Icon?

Brand : Old Spice
Company : Menzes cosmetics
Agency : Percept

This brand which is originally owned by P&G is a sad story of an Icon killed by apathy. Old spice is an international brand launched in India in 1969.
The first Old Spice product was called Early American Old Spice for women . It was introduced in 1937. In 1938, Old Spice for men were launched. Old Spice was manufactured by Shulton Co owned by William Schultz. Schultz developed Old Spice along the Colonial theme. Hence the nautical theme was chosen and Sailing ship especially Colonial Sailing ship was used the trademark. The Original ships that were used was Grand Turk and Friendship.

In 1990 P&G purchased the Brand from Shulton. The old ship was replaced by Sail boat/ Yatch in 1992.

In India from 1937 to 1993, the Old Spice was manufactured and marketed by Menzes Cosmetics Goa. Then P&G took over the brand and in 2001 again the brand was given back to Menzes cosmetics. In between the brand was licensed to Marico Industries but later the agreement was terminated.

Old Spice was generic name for After shaves in India. The cool Cologne and Lime fragrance was a run away success and the trade mark of the ship was unique. I still remember in 1990's trying desperately to find out collectible like lockets/ keychains .

Old Spice was positioned as a masculine brand with the baseline " mark of a man'. The advertisement was catchy with international models and thrilling themes.

But then something happened. The brand was put in the back burner. There was no marketing activity about the brand. No ads, No product launches, slowly the brand faded out of memory. Since there is no activity, the growth of the brand stopped and death of an Icon happened.

Still there are no successful Aftershave brands in Indian Market that can command the status of Old Spice of yester years. Old Spice had the potential to be an Icon. The brand was well known, the quality was good and there was some thing special about Old Spice and the Sail ship.

Now since the brand is back with the company that has launched it, let us hope that the brand revives itself. The void is still there. Neither Axe nor Gillette has the legacy of Old Spice.

Liril : Bring back the Liril girl

Brand : Liril

Company : HLL

Agency : Lowe

If you are looking for a case of an iconic Brand that is going to be killed by poor marketing strategy , look no further, here is Liril for you.

Launched in 1975, the year I was born, this is a brand that built a segment or should I say category for it self in the Indian market. The brand is also the testimony to the genius of India's Ad man Alyque Padamsee. This is what he says about the Liril Brand

The name Liril had been registered by Hindustan Lever from a list sent to them by Unilever in London. Levers were very keen that the soap have striations, wiggly stripes of different colours running across the tablet. I recommended the tablet be blue - because waterfall is blue with white striations. Hindustan Lever was very excited and produced 1,000 tablets for testing.
At this point Derk Wooller, the Marketing Controller of Hindustan Lever's soaps division, stepped in and suggested we add the freshness of lime to our story. He felt that though the waterfall had tremendous emotional appeal, Liril needed a rational ingredient to clinch the deal. I was not averse to this but suggested that we do an `As marketed' test: Blue Liril versus Green Liril with limes. I was wrong and Wooller was right. The rest is history."
Alyque Padamsee in his book A Double Life.

The brand was a run away success and the Liril girl became the talk of the town. The brand has

beenconsistentt with its communication and the effective use of brand imagery. Further on brand imagery can be found in this article , visit http://www.blonnet.com/catalyst/2004/09/23/stories/2004092300100200.htm

Liril was positioned on the freshness platform right from its birth. The girl and the waterfall with the unique jingle ensured that the freshness is experienced by the audience. Liril can be called as an experiential brand and the communication perfectly supported that.

Liril did not change its positioning for 25 years although the models changed, the brand communication was consistent. Then some nut in the company or the agency thought that they should change the communication that worked so effectively. The rest as I say it " Liril became history".

Liril has changed the imagery and the jingle in the name of freshness .The new jingle or the ad never had that freshness. That is why Liril had to change the Ads twice with in a span of five years. Mind you Liril never changed its imagery or the Jingle for 25 years...

Reports say that Liril had to change because of its stagnant marketshare. I think there are reasons for declining market share which can be that the brand failed to understand the changing consumer expectations. There was a flurry of brand launches during the past 10 years and Liril was sleeping all the time " may be resting on the laurels" . It should have hold on its positioning of ' freshness " not by changing its communication but by communicating more, developing variants, bringing in flanking brands or variants and thus owning the whole segment for itself.

But it never happened , Liril tried to introduce the Icy mint variant very late and that too with a different jingle and imagery. We knew that the Old Liril had died. HLL could have used the same communication strategy . Then came the horrible experiment of Orange Liril with a stupid Jingle OOFYUMMA.... excuse me what the hell is that?

The product failed. Then came the new campaign involving a couple and a new jingle " La-ira -ela", the ad was good but where is liril ?

Like Onida , Liril has to come back with the old imagery and old jingle that made liril what it Is ( or WAS?) [ It is a prediction].

When it does that consumers will take the brand to their heart .

Laaaaa lalalala laaa ...................