Nexcare : Differentiate through creativity

Brand : Nexcare
Company : 3M
Brand Analysis : # 533

Indian wound-care market is dominated by the brand Band-Aid by Johnson & Johnson. This category is created and owned by Band-aid and Band-aid has a generic status in this category. Brands like Dettol had earlier tried to break into this category without much success.

It is in this market that 3M has launched its Nexcare brand. Nexcare has subtly launched itself in the Indian market without much above-the-line promotions. What needs to be appreciated is the traction that Nexcare has got interms of the distribution reach. Nexcare is now very well promoted in most of the medical retail outlets. 

So what makes Nexcare standout from the market-leader ? The main USP of Nexcare is the form-factor and licensed branding. Nexcare has a unique form-factor in the shape of diamond. According to brand's micro-site, the shape provides for a 360 degree protection and makes it more waterproof.The entire packaging of the brand is highlighting the diamond shape to convey the unique form-factor.

Another differentiator is through the launch of  bandages for kids using licensed brands like Barbie, Ben10,Hot Wheels etc. 3M has positioned these bandages as tattoo bandages which instantly appeal to kids. Infact my daughter pestered me into buying  a Barbie tattoo . 

Being waterproof and having a unique shape are not very sustainable brand attributes. Any competitors can copy these attributes. However, Nexcare has effectively placed itself in the market using this USP.Another wise move from 3M is that the brand has not restricted to wound-care but has extended its scope to skincare. Under the skincare range, the brand has launched skin-care pads in its portfolio. 

Herbs & Berries : Branding Ayurveda

Brand : Herbs & Berries
Company : Hindustan Lifecare Ltd

Brand Analysis Count : # 509

Herbs & Berries is Hindustan Lifecare Ltd ( makers of Moods Condoms) foray into the Ayurvedic OTC market in India. Indian OTC market is huge worth around Rs 15,000 crore ( including both ayurvedic and allopathic drugs). Ayurvedic OTC products are growing at around 15-20% per annum. But the market is highly  competitive. Since the regulatory framework for herbal and ayurvedic products are less stringent compared to modern medicine, there is a huge rush of local players into this segment. A visit to the local ayurvedic drug store will awe you with the type and number of OTC products displayed. Most of these products seldom survive a financial year. The brand was launched in 2009 but began to make noise only in 2011.

Herbs & Berries is an interesting brand where HLL partners with a highly respected traditional ayurvedic company - Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala to develop this brand. In this arrangement, the Arya Vaidya Sala develops the products which are marketed by Hindustan Lifecare Ltd. HLL has strong distribution capabilities which will be utilized for Herbs & Berries. The co-branding with AVS will add credibility to the drug.

But HLL is a reluctant marketer which is reflected in the marketing of this brand also.The visibility of the brand is limited so is distribution. The brand is currently promoting Hair Nourishing oil and Pain management balm.

Another interesting fact is that Herbs & Berries shares the brand name with another Austrian company.  I wonder why HLL did not care to do a google search before finalizing the name. The Austrian brand is Herbs'N'Berries  and this can lead to trademark issues if at all HLL decide to take this brand international. 

What I like about Herbs & Berries is the brand name ( although shared) . The name is very modern and more of a herbal brand rather than ayurvedic brand which will help attract young consumers.But the brand needs to stand out from the rest with a proper brand architecture. So far there is no brand communication with regard to the parent brand which is a big marketing mistake. Hope that HLL will seriously invest in this brand. 

Benadryl : Triple Action Formula

Brand : Benadryl
Company : Johnson & Johnson

Brand Analysis Count : # 498

Benadryl is one of the most popular cough syrup brands in India. Benadryl have a high brand recall among Indian consumers and at one point in time was the second largest selling cough syrup brand in India. The brand was originally owned by Parke Davis which later got acquired by Pfizer. Pfizer then sold this brand to Johnson & Johnson in 2008.

These ownership changes have affected the brand to a large extent. The brand virtually had no growth in the past few years. There is virtually no news or noise about this brand in the media. 

When the brand was in the fold of Parke Davis, it was a prescription product. In 1999, the brand became an Over-The- Counter (OTC) brand. Benadryl was known as an anti-allergic cough syrup. Benadryl is the brand name for the molecule Diphenhydramine. The product was created by George Rieveschl and was first prescribed in 1946. ( source) 

The brand had a huge equity in the Indian market. Although most of the cough syrups are prescription products, Indian consumers generally bought these brands over the counter. Most of the sales happen through word of mouth recommendations. Indian consumers have a feeling that consuming cough syrups does not result in any side-effects and hence they buy it without consulting a doctor. This practice has prompted many cough syrup brands to move into the OTC segment. Having said that the largest selling cough syrup brand is Corex which is still sold as a prescription product.

The problem started when Benadryl brand came into Pfizer's product portfolio when Parke Davis was merged with Pfizer. Pfizer owned the market leader Corex . The new owner had the dilemma of having two competing brands under the portfolio. Although technically Benadryl is an OTC and Corex is a prescription product, in effect these brands were cannibalizing each other. The confusion resulted in Pfizer selling this brand to Johnson & Johnson in 2008.

Benadryl was positioned as an anti-allergic cough syrup. The brand talked about a triple-action formula which gave relief to three issues- Cough, Cold and Sneezing. The brand launched several communication highlighting these 1-2-3 action. These campaign was based on the insight that Benadryl was narrowly positioned as a pure cough syrup while in reality cough is the end result of severe cold and sneezing. Benadryl offered relief to the other symptoms also.

Last two to three years, the brand is being virtually silent in the media. Globally Benadryl faced negative publicity for its recall of Benadryl ( for kids). This may be one of the reasons for the brand being silent in the media. The cough syrup market is heavily crowded with both prescription brands and OTC ones. There is a new wave of ayurvedic/herbal cough syrups entering this market. This long silence of Benadryl is going to hurt is position in the market very badly.

Breathe Right : Breathe Better , Sleep Better

Brand : Breathe Right
Company : Glaxo Smithkline Beecham

Brand Analysis Count : 435

Glaxo Smithkline Beecham has launched a new product in the Indian market from its global product portfolio. The new brand launch is Breathe Right nasal strips. Breathe Right nasal strips is one of the first nasal strip brand to be launched in the Indian market. It is a product that Indian consumers have not seen before.

Nasal Strips are a unique drug free mechanical device which helps open the blocked nostrils. These strips are flexible spring-like bands which has an adhesive on the underside . These strips should be placed on the nose and the adhesive will stick the strip to the nose. As the strip tries to come back to its original position, it slowly lifts the side of the nose thus clearing the nasal passages ( Source : Brand website)

The Breathe Right nasal strip was invented by Mr Bruce Johnson. As the story goes, Bruce himself was suffering from blocked nostrils which bothered him very much. One day while driving past the archway at University of Minnesota, he had the idea that these blocked nostrils can be cleared by pulling from the outside ( Source ) .He went to many institutions with his idea but with no success. Finally Dr Cohen of CNS Inc ,which is a US based company ,sealed the deal with Bruce. In 1993, the brand got the FDA nod and by 1998, the brand was worth $70 million.CNS was later acquired by GSK and the brand went to the GSK fold.

The brand is currently launched in the Indian market and is believed to be in testing phase. The brand is currently running a television commercial highlighting the uses of this nasal strips.
Another big advantage of this product is that besides alleviating the nasal blocks, these are snore -relief products also. Since nasal strips are drug-free, there is no side effects .

When I first saw the commercial, I had lot of doubts about their claims. One thought was about the efficacy of the product. How can an external strip open nasal blocks ? Does it have any side effects ? Will it alter the shape of my nose ??? Is it safe for regular use ??

And many of these questions are unanswered and the GSK India website does not have any link to the product or any product details . It is surprising to see many global marketing giants follow a laid-back attitude in updating their websites or providing information about their new product launches. They still does not understand the power of internet as a source to provide brand information. Surprisingly, Hindustan Unilever is one such marketing machine that does to take care of their site seriously. Some of their power brands are even missing from the site's list of HUL brands.

As I understand,Breathe Right is being launched as an OTC product. And since the primary source of information is through ads , the major task for the brand is to answer these critical doubts of the consumers. Many of the potential customers of this brand will consult their doctors before buying this new product and since it is a Glaxo brand, they will get a positive recommendation.

But the brand still have to do a lot of work to educate the customers about this product. The brand will have to use a mix of educative print ads and TVC to get the message across the consumers. Testimonials and celebrity endorsements can help the brand to get consumer trials. I think that even if the Indian consumers will accept the idea of such a product, there will be lot of resistance in trying out nasal strips. In US, the brand used word of mouth, celebrities and sampling to build awareness and usage. In India too such a strategy will yield good results.

Breathe Right is a new product which is not seen by Indian consumer.The brand has the backing of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. It will be interesting to see the marketing strategies of this brand to crack the Indian market.

Dabur Dashmularista : With You for Life

Brand : Dabur Dashmularista
Company : Dabur

Brand Analysis Count : 413

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

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

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

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

Watch an old TVC of this brand : Dabur Dashmularista

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

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

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

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

Related Brand
Eladi

Volini : Asli Aaram

Brand : Volini
Company : Ranbaxy
Agency : Saatchi & Saatchi

Brand Analysis Count : 390

Volini is a pain relieving brand from Ranbaxy. This brand was one of the most prescribed pain killer gel in its earlier avatar as a prescription product . In 2007 , Volini became an OTC brand. The pain relieving balm market is worth around Rs 700 crore and is dominated by powerful brands like Moov and Iodex.

I am a regular user of Volini thanks to the nagging backpain which I attracted as an incentive from my sales career. And as a customer, I can vouch for the effectiveness of this brand . When I started using Volini, it was a prescribed product. That means you need to have a prescription for buying it.

For products like Volini , once the consumer is satisfied with the results, he starts purchasing it irrespective whether the brand is an OTC or not. Volini had developed a huge brand equity because of its sheer effectiveness.

It may be because of this strong equity that Ranbaxy decided to take Volini to the OTC route. When the brand is moved to the OTC, the company have to depend on advertising and brand building to drive the sales. Once in the OTC segment, these brands often lose doctor's support.

Ranbaxy launched Volini with a campaign which landed the brand in trouble. Ranbaxy tried to put this brand directly against the market leader Moov. The brand used the tagline " Asli Pain Reliever "( meaning Real Pain Reliever) indirectly mentioning that Moov is not a real pain reliever.

The competitors took the brand and the ad to the court and Ranbaxy had to amend the advertisement. So now the brand has the tagline " Asli Aaram " meaning " Real Relief ".

Watch the ad here : Volini Ad

I think that Volini made a big mistake by positioning itself against Moov. It had the potential to stand on its own and create its own identity away from the market leader. Moov had been trying to position itself as a back-pain specialist .

As a consumer, I prefer a brand which is the most effective and the strongest of the lot. I chose Volini because I had the perception that it is the strongest pain relieving gel available. The smell and the sensation and the gel form further reinforced this perception. I have a perception that gel is more powerful than ointment.

As a person who suffers from back-pain, my immediate need is to get fast and quick relief from the pain so that I can carry on with my job. There is a sort of panic when this pain prevents you from leading a normal life. So consumers look for the most effective solution. And consumers have a way of categorising these products on the basis of their effectiveness and in my opinion the strongest wins.
The current positioning of " Real Relief " in a sense is playing down the effectiveness of Volini. " Real Relief " is a highly vague concept compared to Fast relief and Quick Relief. There is a real need for a good effective pain relief product. Doctors suggest that these back pains and muscle pains are lifestyle diseases. The increasing stress levels and the decreasing activity levels make an average Indian prone to these diseases.

Related Brands
Iodex

Savlon : Heals Without Hurting

Brand : Savlon
Company : Johnson & Johnson
Agency : Lowe Lintas


Brand Analysis Count : 369

Can a brand ,which was proved by laboratory tests as better than its competitor, backed by one of the most reputed business houses in the world, having many product advantages over its competitor, have any chance of failing in the market ?

If your answer is no , then think again ....


Savlon which was clinically proven to be a better antiseptic than Dettol ,backed by Johnson & Johnson ,having advantages like better scent and non-stinging properties miserably failed in the Indian market.

Why ?

Frankly I am also clueless. That is why Marketing as a subject is so intriguing... it is full of surprises. Philip Kotler once said " Marketing is a subject that is easy to (pretend to )unders tand but difficult to practice ".

Looking at Savlon, I wonder whether the success of a brand is depended on sheer luck... Is luck the only reason why out of 100 brands launched, only 5 succeed ?

Is Savlon an unlucky brand ? or Did Johnson & Johnson failed in building this brand ?

Savlon was a brand owned by a pharmaceutical MNC ICI ltd. Later ICI's OTC brands was acquired by Johnson &Johnson . Savlon was relaunched in Indian market in 1993. The brand was expected to give the market leader Dettol, a run for its money. But even after millions of rupees spent , Dettol still rules the antiseptic lotion market.

Savlon had lot of advantages over Dettol. According to media reports, some lab tests indicated that Savlon is an effective germ killer than Dettol . Savlon is effective against both Gram Positive and Gram Negative germs.

Another advantage about Savlon was that it does not sting while being applied on wounds. Dettol used to give a stinging sensation while applied on wounds. Savlon also had a better scent compared to the more clinical smell of Dettol.

Armed with these properties, Savlon went into a direct attack on Dettol . The product was positioned as an antiseptic that does not hurt while healing. The main differentiators for the brand was its no-sting property and better smell. According to media reports, during the relaunch, J&J spent heavily on promoting the brand.
The relaunch was a success and consumers tried out the new product . But the story did not continue like that.

Dettol confronted the frontal attack from Savlon in a different manner. It tried to attack one of the most valuable brand of J&J - Band -Aid by launching Dettol plasters.

This move got J&J defensive. It never expected Dettol to attack another brand in retaliation. Dettol plasters had the potential to attract consumers because of the brand equity commanded by Dettol Antiseptic.

J&J scrambled to protect Band-Aid by launching a series of variants in the medicated plaster segment. In doing so, resources was spent on defending Band-Aid rather than in advancing Savlon.

Savlon suffered heavily because it lost the support interms of investment in brand building. Dettol had a brand equity built over more than 50 years (at that period of time) and it is not an easy task to break into that equity. It needed painful long term sustained investment.

How ever Savlon was pushed to a back burner after Dettol introduced the plaster. Savlon never re-emerged.

During 1998, a funny incident happened. I deliberately used the word funny because it is funny.
In 1998 HLL acquired the rights to launch Savlon Soaps from J&J. While the rights for antiseptic lotion remained with J&J, the marketing alliance was for soaps.

HLL was worried at the success of Dettol soaps. Armed with a strong association with antiseptic property , Dettol soap became a huge success and cornered a significant chunk of the premium medicated soap category. HLL, who wanted to rule the entire soap category ,wanted to arrest the rise of Dettol soap.

Instead of trying to develop its own brand of soap, HLL looked for an easy solution. Thus came the idea of marketing alliance with Savlon. With much fanfare, Savlon antiseptic soap was launched. J&J was happy because it got some cashflow by giving the rights of Savlon.The marketing alliance lasted only for 4 years.

According to reports, HLL put Savlon soap in dustbin in 2003 and repositioned its Lifebuoy brand to fight against Dettol.

So where did Savlon went wrong ?

There are marketing experts who say that the positioning of Savlon was not correct. No-stinging and sweet scent are not important for a consumer looking for an antiseptic lotion. What they look for is effectiveness. Hence Savlon was trying to differentiate on attributes which are not considered to be important by the consumers.

More over, consumers tend to believe that the stinging sensation is a side-effect of the effectiveness of the antiseptic.So if it does not hurt , it is not effective. Dettol has taught them that way.

I believe that Savlon did not achieve its desired success because J&J was not able to support it interms of investment. Somewhere along the way, the company disowned the brand. One reason can be that antiseptic lotion is a small market that does not warrant such heavy investment. But if that is so, the the company shouldn't have introduced a brand in such a category.

Savlon now occupies a negligible part of the market. It is a popular brand in the institutional market but in the consumer market, it is a no-brand.

Related brand
Dettol