Brand Update : Can Ambassador be saved ?

Recently the good old Ambassador was in the news that the brand owners - Hindustan Motors is planning to relaunch /rejuvenate this heritage brand. Both the brand and company is in deep crisis with HM posting losses of Rs 43 crore last year and its networth declining by about 50%.

The company plans to relaunch the Amby in a new look and is planning to entrust a design house with the task. The report also suggest that the new Amby will have a retro- look and will be in the price range of Rs 5- Rs 7 Lakhs. The new Amby will be a niche product.

The interesting question is can this brand be saved with the new strategy ?

From the report about the new Amby launch, it will be tough for the brand to regain its lost glory if the brand is going for a niche variant. According to Economic Times, Ambassador sells around 600 units per month in a market of 2 lakh cars/month.

Ambassador is now in a rut which is its own creation. The brand is the classic example of marketing myopia. The company took the customers for granted and refused to change when the entire market changed. The brand did nothing when faced with competition from Tatas and Maruti. Instead of changing its core DNA, the brand relied upon cosmetic changes. When the brand needed a drastic revolutionary change, HM decided to get stuck with the old product.

The current strategy of a niche Amby is again a patch-up . This brand cannot survive on patch-up strategies. I don't think that the core brand Ambassador will revive with the launch of a niche high priced Ambassador. With the brand equity in shambles, how can the brand expect consumers to pay a premium for the new Amby variant ?

The high priced Marquee variant will work for iconic brand which are facing a decline. But Ambassador was not an icon. It was a market leader and consumers bought the car because they did not had a choice. Not because they were a die-hard Amby fan. Hence a high priced niche variant may not revive the sale of Ambassador.

Secondly HM as a company is now relying its future on Ambassador which again is a flawed strategy. A weak brand cannot save a weak company. And a niche variant will at best give some life support and not survival.

Another way to look at the current strategy is the transformation of Amby from a mass market car to a niche product. So instead of trying to sell large volume of Ambassador, the company hopes to sell high-end variant and hence generate more cash. In that perspective, the launch of a high priced Amby make sense. But the question is whether the brand has enough equity to support such a variant. Brands like Beetle and Enfield revived because these brands had strong equity existing in the market even after its previous life. The relaunch re-ignited the existing goodwill . But such a goodwill does not exist for Ambassador. Ambassador is known for its space and rugged nature .The product is also infamous for nagging problems and poor build quality. Still people bought because there was no choice. For such a product, the hope of renewal from a niche product seems too optimistic.

Having said that, Indian market has seen consumers embracing products with exceptional quality and/or utility. So if the new variant is exceptional, there are chances of getting accepted by the market.

Another interesting aspect of this issue is about the reliance of HM on Ambassador brand for its survival. Why didn't it think about an entirely new brand ? The trend in the Indian auto market is that multiple brands from different companies sporting the same engine. The engine becoming commoditized and design gaining prominence. In such a market why not come out with an entirely new brand with a proven engine ? Although building new brand is expensive compared to rejuvenation of old brand, in Amby's case, Ambassador comes with a lot of baggage and perceptions which is difficult to change.

If Ambassador wants to stay relevant as a brand, what it need is disruption. Disruption should happen both internally and externally. The brand should go for radical redesign and more importantly it should disrupt the market. The current price to value proposition of Ambassador is negative compared to the competitors like Indica . So if Amby wants to play the volume game, it needs to offer consumer something they cannot refuse. A diesel car below Rs 4 lakh can ignite interest in the brand but given the cost scenario, such a task is virtually impossible.

HM is again going for short-term strategy in pursuit of long-term results. For Amby, it seems to be the end of road .

Related Brand

Ambassador

Is Social Media a mere extension of traditional media ?

A guest post of mine was published in Indiasocial.in. Indiasocial is a resource- rich site for marketers interesting in social media. Marketers make a big mistake in viewing social media as mere extension of traditional media. But social media needs different learning and approach. Read the full article here .

Brand Update : Dettol & Lifebuoy Creating Hand Sanitizer Category

Indian market is witnessing the creation of a new category in the hand hygiene segment - hand sanitizer. Although hand sanitizer products were existing in Indian since 2002, this category is witnessing lot of marketing action only in the last couple of years.Two giants in the Indian FMCG market is fighting it out in creating this category - Dettol and Lifebuoy.

Hand Sanitizer is an alternative to soap and used for maintaining hand-hygiene . This product which is available in gel, spray, liquid or foam form can be used directly to the hand and unlike soaps need not be washed away. Just apply the hand sanitizer and leave it like that.

It is not Lifebuoy or Dettol which introduced this product in the Indian market. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd , Himalaya, Paras Pharma etc had introduced this product in the Indian market even as early as 2003. GCPL 's brand Protekt is exported to various countries while Himalaya's brand - Pure Hands is a herbal hand sanitizer. But these brands were not able to create a noise in the market so far when compared to Dettol and Lifebuoy.

Indian Hand Sanitizer market is still nascent with an estimated market size of Rs 20 crore (source) . Marketers believe that this category will grow faster owing to the new breed of infectious diseases.

Hand sanitizers are popular in markets like West and Europe because of the consumer awareness ( fear) about hand hygiene coupled with the convenience of the product. The fact that the product can be used anywhere/anytime makes it a very useful product for those who are too much worried about keeping their hands always germ-free.

The early marketers of hand sanitizers in India tried to cash in on the SARS Virus pandemic which created huge amounts of concern and fear in 2002-2003. But the marketers was not effective in converting the fear into enough sales to create a category. When the SARS fear died out, the hand sanitizer market was also dwarfed.

2009-2010 is witnessing another surge of infectious diseases like H1N1 and host of other diseases which are spread through air/water. Since most of these diseases are infectious and spread through socializing, the scope of a convenient hygiene product again surfaced. The trend shows that this surge and fear will last longer than the earlier SARS episode.

As usual, Dettol and Lifebuoy are pushing this category based on fear. The ads shows the probability of germs affecting the consumer at various public places like shopping malls, public transports etc and then advises on keeping hand sanitizer with them always so that they can protect/sanitize their hands all the time.

The ads does the job of scaring the shit out of the consumers and spreading the fear psychosis of contracting diseases everytime/anytime. But thats the job of marketers isn't it ?

The question is whether consumers will be open to the habit of keeping hand sanitizers in the bag and use it everytime they shake hands or uses a public transport, or uses any commonly uses objects like a door handle ?

To be fair to the marketers, the threat is very real. How many of us are aware of the possibility of contracting disease through a publicly used ' door handle ' of the office toilet ? How about the germs in the currency notes that we use on a daily basis ? How about the Bus ?

Oh God !

But how many of us will take the pain of buying and keeping hand sanitizer and using it again and again for fear of contracting disease ?

Many will buy and use it for sure. Like Handwash category, sanitizers will also find takers who are ultra health conscious. There will be consumers who will be attracted to the product because of the sheer convenience of it. The product will be a boon at places where you don't trust the water or the soap.

Now the brands are focusing on fear to promote the product category but as a consumer I am put off by the fear psychosis that these brands are trying to create. I am conscious of the possibilities of diseases but I chose to be little careless about the stuff rather than carrying a hand sanitizer and using it everytime I shake hands with someone.

Having said that I would have been more comfortable if the brands spent more time talking about convenience of the product . I think it will be convenience that will drive the brand and not fear.

What say ?

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.

Addiction Body Spray : Lasts Long Really Long

Brand : Addiction Body Spray

Company : Mankind Pharma

Brand Analysis Count : 461

It looks like that Indian marketers will make deodorant/body spray - a commodity. The plethora of the new products that is now flooding the market together with horrible brand campaigns took the charm away from this category.

The latest kid on the block is the Addiction brand from Mankind pharma. Mankind was in recent news for the high profile launch of their condom brand Manforce.

Addiction body spray joins the tribe of brands like Fuel, Denver, Wild Stone taking on the market leader Axe directly by copying its positioning. All these brands have the same positioning, same message and some horrible campaigns to spread the message.

Addiction is no better.

For a change, Addiction brand has roped in the actor Neil Nithin Mukesh as the celebrity endorser . The brand is currently running a campaign featuring the celebrity.

Watch the ad here : Addiction Deo

The campaign talks about the same stuff that of the competing brands. The hunk uses the deo, girls fall for the fragrance,chases the hunk, jealous girlfriend desperately tries to prevent other girls from seducing the hunk...

Yuck !

These ads have become disgusting.

Addiction body spray has taken the attribute of " long lasting fragrance " as the main point of differentiation. The differentiation is meaningful and not many deos have concentrated on that attribute. But " long lasting " is too basic an attribute and can be easily copied by the competitor ( if they really care to). But going by the trend , most of the deo/body spray brands rely on occasional bursts of campaigns and seldom focus on longterm brand building campaigns. What the market will witness will be more hunks and more flesh.

Addiction has taken up the tagline " Lasts long, really long " which is a clean copy of the tagline of Amaron batteries. The creatives should have thought of something better for the brand.

Addiction in their campaign has called itself as a body spray rather than a deo. Deodorant and body sprays serve the same purpose of preventing body odor and smelling good. The basic difference is that Deos are used specifically to prevent body odor hence it is applied directly to the odor producing areas like under-arms . Body Sprays are used for its fragrance . (I am not sure whether Addiction brand is a deodorant body spray or just a perfumed body spray).

I wonder whether Indian consumers need another deo brand like Addiction. Having said that , there is a space for a strong competitor for a brand like Axe. None of these challenger brands have lived up to the hype they created. If you go to any supermarket, you will see the difference. Axe lives up to its position of a market leader with strong visibility in the shelves and these competitors are bundled together and kept aside. It is doubtful that any of these deo brands have managed to create a meaningful differentiation strong enough to compete with Axe.

At the same time, Axe is witnessing an erosion of its core positioning and in future will struggle to excite the consumers with its campaigns. It is a fail-fail situation for the brands in this category.

Addiction could have created an impact if it had tried something different from the theme of seduction. Focusing on a higher aspirational attribute like success, confidence, energy, self esteem etc would have helped the brand break the clutter. Rather than taking the path less traveled, Addiction preferred the path taken by other brands - which will eventually lead this brand to grave.

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