Saint-Gobain : The Future of Glass

Corporate Brand : Saint-Gobain
Agency : Lowe

Brand Analysis Count : 330

Saint-Gobain is one of the global leaders in the Glass manufacturing industry. The company has a long history dating back to 1665. The company came into existence in France as a part of Louis XIV s plan to restore the sagging French economy. The company soon became a monopoly in Europe and extended its operation across the world.

Saint-Gobain came to India in 1996 with the acquisition of Grindwell Norton. Grindwell Norton was a major manufacturer of abrasives at that time. Saint-Gobain is visible in the consumer space as a construction-glass products marketer. Besides glass, the company is also into manufacturing high performance materials , abrasives and project management.

Indian treated glass market is worth around Rs 5000 crore. Saint-Gobain is one of the most visible brand in this market. Indian treated glass market is an example of an Oligopoly. There are three major players - Saint-Gobain,Asahi Glass, Gujarat Guardian ( Modiguard) which control the majority of this market.

Treated glass is basically an industrial product ( B2B product ) and the customers are builders and architects. This market is poised to a huge growth owing to the construction boom witnessed in India.
Despite being in the B2B market, Saint-Gobain has invested heavily in brand building. Till now, the brand had eight television commercials to its credit. These investments has enabled Saint-Gobain enormous advantages in terms of brand visibility which translates to better margins and market share.
Construction Glass products are low involvement products and the purchase process is often complex that involves lot of people like architects, building contractors, investors etc.

By investing heavily in the brand building, Saint-Gobain has tried to influence the key decision makers. The campaigns focus on two broad themes
1. To establish the brand as the leader
2 . Highlight the quality of Saint-Gobain glasses.
The memorable campaign includes the one that involves the Japanese waiter speaking out " Hai " and the one where the lady throws water into the clear-glass at a hotel .

Recently the brand launched a range of Sun- Ban glass which prevents heat and thus gives a cooling comfort to the rooms.
The early investment in the brand has given Saint-Gobain a clear lead in the emerging home segment. The booming economy also has opened up a new market for such products in the home construction segment. Further the emphasis on brand also has prompted the builders to look for factors other than price when deciding on such solutions.

Saint-Gobain has the tagline : "The future of glass" . The brand takes pride in its rich heritage and wants to position itself as an innovation leader. The launch of sun-ban glass is in this direction. Although such products are available in the market, Saint-Gobain is the first brand to advertise such a product.

By building a brand Saint-Gobain has achieved two advantages -
a . de-commodize the market
b. Emphasize on non-price attributes like quality .

Saint-Gobain is a classic case of a successful B2B brand. The brand has proved that investment in brand building can give long-term results even in a highly competitive business market.

Allout : Yamraj of Mosquitos

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


Brand Analysis Cout : 329

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kara Skincare Wipes : At Your Best . Always

Brand : Kara
Company : Birla Viscose (Aditya Birla Group)
Agency : Contract

Brand Analysis Count : 328

Kara Skincare wipes is a new product to hit the Indian market. The brand is now running heavy print campaigns announcing the launch.
Kara Skincare wipes can be called as India's first branded skincare wipe product. Skincare wipes are popular in the west but in India the category is a new one. Although Indian consumers are familiar with the products which are imported, its the first time that an Indian company enter this segment.
Kara means care . The brand also marks Aditya Birla Group's foray into the Indian FMCG market.
According to reports, Wipes market is worth around Rs 30 crore ( source : Ginni filaments website).
Kara Skincare wipes is positioned as am essential skincare accessory. The brand is being launched in five variants -
Refreshing
Deep Pore Cleansing
Toning
Moisturizing
& Sunscreen Wipes

The brand is targeting the young lady professionals who often needs to meet lot of people.

The brand aims to create a new category of wipes in India . Hence the challenge is to educate the TG about the usefulness of this product. This task is cut out for Kara since the TG is already exposed to such products. The only task is to inculcate the habit of buying and using the wipes. The product is relevant in the Indian market for two reasons. One is the climate which necessitates such a product and second is the growing number of lady professionals .
The brand has the tagline " At your best. Always " which clearly communicates the core brand positioning. The brand is being promoted as the anytime solution to look good.

Kara has a good potential to create and own a new category. The brand already has the first mover advantage. But the category does not have much entry barriers. It can face stiff competition from cheap imports. But Kara has the financial backing of Birla group and the investment in building this brand will pave the way for another successful marketing story.

Brand Update : Anne French

In my analysis on Anne French , I had mentioned that this brand is going to face stiff competition from Veet. Anne French has taken the challenge head on . The brand has roped in the Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor as the brand ambassador. Veet had launched its depilatory range using Katreena Kaif .

Anne French is running a TVC featuring the new brand ambassador.The brand has adopted a new slogan " Beautiful skin is in ". The positioning is inline with the core brand promise offering smooth and silky skin.

In the new communication, the brand is telling the TG to flaunt their skin ( after using Anne French).
Kareena will definitely provide enough thrust to this brand to fight Veet. Kareena has more acceptance and fan-following than Katreena among young girls. More over the brand has been careful in making the brand promise to be clearly communicated in the new campaign.

Related Brand
Anne French

Act II : Creating a Category

Brand : Act II

Company : Agrotech Foods ( ConAgra)

Brand Analysis Count : 327

Act II is an interesting brand story. The brand is from the global agro-foods major ConAgra Foods. Act II was launched in India in 1999. Since the launch the brand has succeeded in creating the branded popcorn category in India.

Act II is the world's first and largest selling popcorn brand . The brand came into existence as Act( I) which was a microwave popcorn which had to be stored in a refrigerator. In 1984, Act II was launched which was a revolutionary shelf storage product which did not need refrigeration.

The most common consumption of this product was in movie theaters and outdooors like parks and beaches. Act II when launched also tried to tap these markets. This segment is set to grow with the emergence of numerous multiplexes across the country.

Then the brand launched the instant popcorn variant where the consumers can make the popcorn in their homes. But the problem was that the popcorn could be made only using a microwave oven. Thus the product was restricted to upper class urban households. But later the brand launched Act II which could be prepared using a pressure cooker or even a frying pan. This pressure-cooker friendly popcorn was indigenously developed and paved the way for a new category of snack foods in the Indian households. Through this innovation, the company hopes to penetrate the large middleclass market.

To appeal to the Indian consumers, Act II launched many India-centric tastes for the popcorns. Now the brand is available in four flavors : Classic Salted, Butter pepper, Golden Sizzle & Chilly Surprise. The brand is also testing other Indian flavors .

Besides these product centric developments, the brand is also into aggressive promotion. The brand is now running a campaign to highlight the "ease of preparation" of this product. The campaign is around the theme of ' Even Papa can Cook " which gives the message that Act II can be made in just three minutes.

Recently Act II also relaunched the Microwave Oven Popcorns since the company felt that microwave ovens have penetrated many urban middleclass households.

Typically like any new category , Act II is also facing the challenge of popularising the Popcorns as a regular snack. The brand has its tasks cut out since Popcorns are popular but the challenge is to make it a regular snack like potato chips. The brand must increase the usage occasion of Popcorns which is now restricted to outdoors. The current campaign of ' ease of preparation' is relevant but the brand should also have other campaigns aimed at increasing the consumption.

The current state of brand has striking similarity with Maggi Noodles . When Maggi was first launched it also harped on the ease of preparation but later had to change tacts. Act II should be spending money focusing on two factors :

a. Promoting Popcorns as a regular snack. This is more challenging since the brand will be competing with the likes of Lays, Bingo etc. The brand could seek the help of a celebrity to popularize this category. The brand also faces the challenge from private labels and the unorganized sector.

b.For this the brand has to find a compelling reason for consumers to buy Act II . It can highlight the taste, nutrition etc . According to a website popcorn .org , Popcorns are one of healthiest snacks available. If its correct, then the healthy snacks positioning will be the most effective for this brand. The brand could emulate the strategy of Bingo and launch many new flavors which can increase the trial of this product.

In 2007 , Act II was a Rs 30 crore brand. The brand has also extended itself into other categories of snack foods like Corn Chips etc.

Marketing Q&A : Brand Laddering

Marketing Practice Reader Vivek asks about the concept of Brand Laddering.

Professor Kevin Lane Keller defines Laddering as follows

"Brand Laddering involves progression from attributes to benefits to more abstract values or motivations. Laddering involves repeatedly asking what the implication of an attribute or benefit is for the customer."

According to Keller, failure of laddering up sometimes reduce the strategic alternatives available to the brand. Keller also suggests that there is a means-end chain which takes the following structure :

Attribute ( descriptive features) lead to benefits ( meaning attached to attributes) which leads to values ( enduring personal goals and motivations).

The concept of laddering has its application in positioning of the product. When the brand is launched, the focus will be more on attributes and benefits. But once these basic functionality has been established in the mind of the consumers, the brand has to deepen the meanings associated with the brand.

For example, Dove's campaign has transcended from the basic functionality of the product to " Celebrating real beauty ". Nike is all about Athletic Performance . An Indian example would be Raymonds which has transcended the basic functionality of apparels to a more deeper meaning of " A Complete Man ".

Laddering is not always easy. The task for the marketer is to first have a clear understanding of the brand's core values. Also laddering will work only if the consumers are convinced and satisfied with the basic functionality of the brand.

The advantage of laddering is that the brand will breakfree from the product restrictions. That gives lot of flexibility to the brand manager. Flexibility in extending the brand aswellas in communicating.

References

Strategic Brand Management by Kevin Lane Keller