Khadi : Is the potential realized ?

Brand : Khadi
Company : Khadi and Village Industries ( KVIC)


Brand Analysis Count : # 563

Last day I visited a Khadi Outlet looking for some Khadi cloth to beat the scorching heat wave sweeping across God's Own Country. The interest in Khadi was a result of a miserly search for an alternative to the much expensive linen. The visit had inspired this post because I saw both opportunity and disappointment.

Khadi ( as mentioned in Wikipedia) is an iconic symbol of the independent struggle. The cloth became a movement when Mahatma Gandhi exhorted the nation to boycott British Cotton and embrace the homemade Khadi. 

Khadi again came into limelight when our Prime Minister urged the Indians to support Khadi. As per the reports, there was a surge in the sale of Khadi after the appeal by our PM.

As a marketer, I saw a huge opportunity for Khadi because of the very nature of the product. As per the reports, the cloth has a  unique property of being cool in summer and warm in winter. Further, the product is very rugged and durable. 

The disappointment was the lack of branding and product development for this product. I visited the largest Khadi outlet in Cochin and the lack of product choice and variety was appalling. The colors and choice were limited which shows the lack of investment in product development. This product had the alternative to the expensive linen had it come out with better product choice. 

Regarding the branding front, Khadi was not a trademark or no one thought of protecting Khadi as a brand. It was a generic term for handwoven cotton cloth. This changed in 2014 when a German firm Khadi Naturprodukte registered it as trademark in European Union. 

The Government of India had since challenged this and asked Khadi and Village Industries to register Khadi as a trademark. 

In India too, there is no clear ownership for Khadi. You can buy different types of Khadi products from different vendors. This creates many problems in terms of product quality and consistency.

What the Government needs to do is to take ownership of the Khadi brand and try to encourage more product development in terms of color, clothes etc. KVIC. Khadi can be positioned as an ingredient brand. The firms can be encouraged to develop Khadi based products . At the brand level, KVIC should take ownership of the brand and promote Khadi's image. The unique selling proposition of " Cool in Summer and Warm in Winter " should be exploited.

Khadi is a heritage brand with great potential. Only if the ownership is clearly defined and a concerted effort in branding is done, the potential will not be met. 

Brand Update : Cinthol wants to re-invent deo

In an interesting move, Cinthol is trying to change the deodorant game by focusing on the form factor. In the latest campaign, the brand is trying to bring back the focus on the stick form of deodorant. 

During the formative years of the deo market, the deo stick was the popular form of the product. But later the spray form took over the market and the stick faded away.  Although the stick product form was less priced, the spray was perceived to be convenient. The spray did not have that soapy feeling which the stick had. And the deo marketers prompted the consumers to trade up to the spray form.

Cinthol wants to change that game. The new campaign which focuses purely on the form-factor highlights 3 advantages of the stick form -  less priced, skin friendly and 3 times long lasting. 

Watch the ad here : Deo Reborn

The new campaign has used the slogan - Deo Reborn for the new initiative. The brand has taken a risk in pushing for the form-based differentiation since it has the spray form factor in the portfolio. 

The Indian deo market is crowded and confusing with a lot of brands and promises. So the Cinthol's stick form factor push stands out from the crowd at least for a while. Another advantage is that the stick form factor effectively negates the " gas vs perfume " war that is currently going on in the Indian deo market. After Fogg stormed the market with No Gas proposition, every deo brand has joined the bandwagon. In this move, Cinthol has taken the gas out of the spray form-factor. 

It has to be seen how the consumer behaviorally reacts to the new initiative. Marketers had taught the consumers to use the spray and bringing back to the stick form is not easy. 

Marketing Practice :Why fooling customers is a bad idea !

Google's April Fool joke -Mic Drop's epic failure throw some lessons for marketers. The most obvious lesson is " Think hard before fooling customers". If Google which had been doing this April Fool joke for a while can land up in trouble, you can see the risk involved in pranking customers. 

Many brands have hopped in the bandwagon of getting the cool quotient. Humor is the most obvious route to building the cool quotient. But often brands gets edgy and then burn its fingers. In the case of Google, surprisingly the brand failed to understand the risk of such a venture. Yesterday I also saw the mic-drop button on my gmail. As a fan of the brand,I trust anything that comes from Google and will not think much before trying it out. Luckily I was too lazy yesterday to click on the button. Things would have been embarrassing since my official mail is linked to gmail. 

I think brands should resist the temptation to look cool at all cost. When there's a matter of Brand Trust, coolness quotient should take the backseat. 

Having said that, it takes lots of courage for a brand to be humorous and mistakes do happen. The mantra I choose about brand humor would be-When in doubt, be serious. 

Brand Update : Good Bye Innova, Welcome Crysta

In a surprise move, Toyota decided to stop the production of its best seller MUV- Innova to pave the  way for the launch of the new generation Innova Crysta. The plot seems to be the repeat of the stoppage of Toyota Qualis for the introduction of Innova.

Toyota decided to replace Innova not because it is in the mature/decline stage of product-life-cycle. The first generation Innova is still the best selling segment leader. Replacing a best-selling model when the sales are at peak requires a lot of guts and visionary thinking. The new Innova Crysta will be running on the new product platform TNGA which enables multi-product  configurations.

Innova which was launched in 2005 has so far sold more than 5.75 lakh units. As per auto.ndtv, the brand Innova is selling approximately 5000 units per month - a task its low-priced competitors despite their aggressive pricing and marketing strategies could not achieve. 

The brand is practicing planned obsolescence where the brand deliberately makes its product obsolete by launching updated versions. 

According to reports, Innova has struck a chord with Indian consumers through its robust build quality and high quality. And despite being a large vehicle, the handling part of this vehicle is best in the class. 

First generation Innova had set a benchmark for the category it has helped create. Now true to Toyota tradition, the brand is redrawing the benchmark with the launch of Crysta. It is interesting to note that Toyota will not be selling the first generation Innova side-by-side Innova Crysta. It is foregoing that sales opportunity to sustain the brand equity of Innova 

Crisp and Shine : The fabric Enhancer

Brand: Ujala Crisp and Shine
Company: Jyothy Laboratories

Brand Analysis Count: 562

Ujala Crisp and Shine is the re-branded version of Ujala Stiff and Shine. Ujala launched its fabric conditioner Stiff and Shine in 2005. The brand was an addition to the post-wash fabric care product line of Jyothy Lab which was dominated by the liquid whitener Ujala. 

Although launched in 2005, Stiff and Shine was a regional brand. The brand did business around Rs 25 crore in Kerala where it is concentrated ( Source). The post-wash category of fabric care is now witnessing a lot of interest among FMCG companies and HUL is upping the ante with the high profile promotion of its global brand - Comfort.

When launched, Stiff and Shine was primarily viewed by consumers as a product that would offer the convenience of a fabric stiffener ( starch) like Revive. The brand name also reinforced the perception.

HUL launched Comfort not as a fabric stiffener but as a conditioner. Through sustained promotions, the brand has continuously grown in the market.
Probably this growth of the brand Comfort may have led to the re-branding of Stiff and Shine.
The new brand name Crisp and Shine is backed by a product - descriptor  - Fabric Enhancer. Through the product descriptor, the brand is trying to position itself as a complete fabric care product rather than a stiffener.
Jyothy Lab is trying to pitch Crisp and Shine nationally and the re-branding releases the brand from the constraint of " Stiff and Shine " proposition.

Britannia Good Day : Har Cookie Mein Kayi Smiles

Brand: Good Day
Company: Britannia

Brand Analysis Count: # 561

Good Day is an interesting brand. Launched in 1987, the brand had come a long way. The brand was launched by Britannia when it identified a gap between the glucose biscuit category and cream-biscuit category. According to a report in Business Line, the company felt that customers want an indulgence product which they can consume during tea-time. The company thus pioneered the "Cookie" category in India by positioning Good Day just above the glucose biscuits. The  new product was different from the glucose biscuits by the inclusion of berries and dry fruits. 

The Indian biscuit market is worth Rs 25,000 crore and the cookie is the fastest growing category in the industry. According to ET and Business Standard, the cookie category is worth around Rs 6000 crore. Good Day is leading the category with around 30% market share. Parle and Sunfeast are close followers with a share of 27 % and 25% respectively.

Good Day, which created the cookie market at one time enjoyed more than 70% share in the market. The decline is attributed to the competition it faced from Parle and Sunfeast. 

Good Day as a brand was promoted on the basis of the happiness platform. The brand had the very famous tagline " Have a Good Day " which was reinforced by some very good campaigns. 

Watch the earlier campaign of Good Day: Campaign 1, Campaign 2

According to news reports, the core philosophy of Good Day is happiness and optimism. The brand has been consistent on the positioning platform since launch. 

2015 saw a relaunch of the brand. The brand has been suffering from the onslaught of ITC's Sunfeast. Sunfeast virtually changed the face of the biscuit market. Sunfeast brought lot of energy to the biscuit market with lot of new launches and varieties. 

Britannia is now responding by elevating Good Day into an umbrella brand with lot of new varieties and sub-brands. For example the Chunkies is a premium cookie brand launched as a sub-brand of Good Day, endorsed by Deepika Padukone. 

During the relaunch, Good Day also have changed the tagline to " Har Cookie mein kayi smiles " roughly meaning - every cookie has many smiles. The brand is reinforcing its happiness positioning through the packaging also. Good Day now has put a smile into the packs and is now selling the curved lines of the biscuits as smiles. 

Watch the ad here : Smile Good Day

The new avatar of  Good Day is a smart move by Britannia. The brand is not complacent in the face of competition. How ever, the brand could have retained the tagline " Have a Good Day " . The original campaign is so powerful and popular, Good Day has virtually let go a very powerful brand element.