Great Marketing StoriesAccenture : High Performance , DeliveredCorporate Brand : Acccenture Agency : Rediffusion /DYR ( In India) Accenture is a unique marketing case study because of two reasons . It is one of the most aggressive corporate brand in the service industry globally and the second reason is the rebranding exercise which it undertook in 2001. Accenture was formerly known as Andersen Consulting. Anderson consulting was the consulting arm of Anderson Worldwide. Anderson Consulting was established in 1989 when the consulting practice of Arthur Andersen was hived off to form a separate company. Arthur Andersen had established itself as one of the major accounting firms and had a global presence. The consulting boom of 1990's boosted the image of Andersen Consulting. Soon Anderson Consulting had built a strong brand equity across various consulting domains. Both Arther Andersen and Andersen Consulting was independent business units under Andersen Worldwide. The fledging consulting business prompted Arther Andersen to enter the consulting domain. This entry of Arther Andersen into the domain of Anderson Consulting started a messy fight between these two units which ended in the arbitrators courts. In 2000 Arbitrator ruled that Anderson Consulting was granted independence from Andersen Worldwide. Andersen Consulting had to forgo the brand in favor of Andersen Worldwide. This forced the consulting firm to scout for a new brand name and identity. The brand name was selected among 500 alternatives. The process of selection of brand name was itself a unique event. Anderson Consulting had a huge brand equity among various business houses across different domains and geographies . Hence the new brand name had to reflect the existing brand values and should be relevant in the various geographies in which the company operated. More over the brand name and trademark should be available in the markets where the company was operating. The company made use of legal experts from each country it operates to check whether the list of brand names are viable in respective countries. The process of screening also involved linguistic analysts from 47 countries and 200 languages to check the cultural sensitivities of the brand names considered. The company also checked with senior executives of the clients to get their perspective. All these efforts ended with the name ' Accenture' . Incidentally the name was suggested by an employee named Kim Peterson. This fact itself that gave the name more charm. On January 1, 2001, the re-branding happened. For the first 3 months 6000 TV spots were aired and over 1000 print ads were splashed across the world. The entire campaign cost the company around $ 175 mn. The new campaign highlighted new capabilities in consulting, technology , outsourcing & alliances. The brand took the Tagline : High Performance. Delivered. At the end of 2001, the brand achieved the same recall and equity of the earlier name Andersen Consulting. Now Accenture is valued at $ 6.5 Billion and is a respected consulting firm across the world. Now the entire brand promotion revolves round Tiger Woods who is the brand ambassador. Since 2003, Tiger Woods has been an integral part of Accenture's branding. Tiger Woods is the embodiment of high performance so is Accenture. The latest campaign runs on the theme ' We know what it takes to be a Tiger ' Accenture came to India in 2005. The brand now has serious business in India and the brand is running their campaigns aggressively in the Indian market. The branding campaign is

predominantly in print. The brand looks at the following audiences : a. Domestic and potential clients b. Potential employees c. Existing employees. What is more important in this brand's strategy is that Accenture celebrates performance. The campaign is not restricted to Ads but also lot of events and research. Accenture's research on High Performers and high performing companies are path-breaking. The website is also rich with case studies and insights. Accenture is a true case of a brand living upto its values and mantra. Labels: Celebrity Endorsement, Corporate Brand, Re-branding, Service Brand

Alpenliebe : From the AlpsBrand : Alpenliebe Company: Perfetti Vanmelle Agency: McCann Erickson

In the 1200 crore sugar confectionery market, Alpenliebe is the single largest brand in India estimated to be worth around 160 crore. The brand is positioned as a family candy and has been one of the most successful brand in a highly competitive market. The brand came to India with the entry of the global giant Perfetti in India in 1994. Van Melle came to India in 2001. In 2001 the Italian and Dutch companies merged together to become Perfetti Vanmelle ( PVM).Now the Indian venture is the second largest of their global portfolio next to China. In the products of PVM, Alpenliebe is the star. With effective and aggressive brand building , this brand has grown to become the single largest brand in the segment. The brand is a unique case study because of its peculiarities ie the name and the size. Alpenliebe is a very complicated name. ( It could mean Alps with Love as Liebe means Love). So it is a Herculean task to teach Indians (with 24 languages and a million dialects) pronounce a brand name that does not have a meaning. Theory says that the brand name should be simple, reflect the brand values and easily pronounced. Alpenliebe broke all rules. It is said that the initial 30 second ad of Alpenliebe pronounced the name 5 times to ensure that the TG pronounced it correctly. Why such a complicated brand name is another question all together. But this risk paid of in that the name became the biggest differentiator and reflected an International image. It is known fact that Indians are crazy about foreign brands and Alpenliebe capitalised on that.

The shape was also unique because most of the candies at that time was rectangular or cylindrical but Alpenliebe came out with a round shape. More than the shape and the name , the product was really good .The company changed the taste of this brand to suit the Indian Palette making it more Caramelliar, than the international one. The brand is available in three flavours: Milky Caramel, Cream Strawberry, Chocolate. A lollipop extention has also been launched. Perfetti knows the method to build the brand. It is not hesitant in spending lot of money on Alpenliebe through high decibel interesting ads. The brand is positioned as a Family Candy with kids and elders sharing the limelite. The ad where the boy imitates the "father at Home and Office" is a hilarious one. The market for Candies is expected to grow in coming years. We have to see how Alpenliebe copes with this. Alpenliebe is a classic case of marketers defying the theory and also highlights a simple truth If You have money to spend, you can make a consumer sing in your language without understanding a bit of it. Anything is Possible. Labels: Branding, Condectionary, FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), Perfetti

Amul : The taste of India : Utterly delicious too.Brand : Amul Agency DaCunha Associates

An excellent example of Outdoor Mediums usage to the maximum advantage. Amul has used the hoardings and advertising to perfection. Taking cues from Topical News from all fields, New Films, Celebrities, etc., the creatives are fun to watch. More over Amul has stuck with the creative messages throughout. They like to call it as TOPICALS Given below is the history of Amul TOPICALS from their site http://amul.com Amul Butter Girl (Edited from an article by Mini Varma published in The Asian Age on March 3, 1996The moppet who put Amul on India's breakfast table ) 50 years after it was first launched, Amul's sale figures have jumped from 1000 tonnes a year in 1966 to over 25,000 tonnes a year in 1997. No other brand comes even close to it. All because a

thumb-sized girl climbed on to the hoardings and put a spell on the masses. Bombay: Summer of 1967. A Charni Road flat. Mrs. Sheela Mane, a 28-year-old housewife is out in the balcony drying clothes. From her second floor flat she can see her neighbours on the road. There are other people too. The crowd seems to be growing larger by the minute. Unable to curb her curiosity Sheela Mane hurries down to see what all the commotion is about. She expects the worst but can see no signs of an accident. It is her four-year-old who draws her attention to the hoarding that has come up overnight. "It was the first Amul hoarding that was put up in Mumbai," recalls Sheela Mane. "People loved it. I remember it was our favourite topic of discussion for the next one week! Everywhere we went somehow or the other the campaign always seemed to crop up in our conversation." Call her the Friday to Friday star. Round eyed, chubby cheeked, winking at you, from strategically placed hoardings at many traffic lights. She is the Amul moppet everyone loves to love (including prickly votaries of the Shiv Sena and BJP). How often have we stopped, looked, chuckled at the Amul hoarding that casts her sometime as the coy, shy Madhuri, a bold sensuous Urmila or simply as herself, dressed in her little polka dotted dress and a red and white bow, holding out her favourite packet of butter. For 30 odd years the Utterly Butterly girl has managed to keep her fan following intact. So much so that the ads are now ready to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for being the longest running campaign ever. The ultimate compliment to the butter came when a British company launched a butter and called it Utterly Butterly. It all began in 1966 when Sylvester daCunha, then the managing director of the advertising agency, ASP, clinched the account for Amul butter. The butter, which had been launched in 1945, had a staid, boring image, primarily because the earlier advertising agency which was in charge of the account preferred to stick to routine, corporate ads. One of the first Amul hoardings In India, food was something one couldn't afford to fool around with. It had been taken too seriously, for too long. Sylvester daCunha decided it was time for a change of image. The year Sylvester daCunha took over the account, the country saw the birth of a campaign whose charm has endured fickle public opinion, gimmickry and all else. The Amul girl who lends herself so completely to Amul butter, created as a rival to the Polson butter girl. This one was sexy, village belle, clothed in a tantalising choli all but covering her upper regions. "Eustace Fernandez (the art director) and I decided that we needed a girl who would worm her way into a housewife's heart. And who better than a little girl?" says Sylvester daCunha. And so it came about that the famous Amul Moppet was born. That October, lamp kiosks and the bus sites of the city were splashed with the moppet on a horse. The baseline simply said, Thoroughbread, Utterly Butterly Delicious Amul. It was a matter of just a few hours before the daCunha office was ringing with calls. Not just adults, even children were calling up to say how much they had liked the ads. "The response was phenomenal," recalls Sylvester daCunha. "We knew our campaign was going to be successful." For the first one year the ads made statements of some kind or the other but they had not yet acquired the topical tone. In 1967, Sylvester decided that giving the ads a solid concept would give them extra mileage, more dum, so to say. It was a decision that would stand the daCunhas in good stead in the years to come.

In 1969, when the city first saw the beginning of the Hare Rama Hare Krishna movement, Sylvester daCunha, Mohammad Khan and Usha Bandarkar, then the creative team working on the Amul account came up with a clincher -- 'Hurry Amul, Hurry Hurry'. Bombay reacted to the ad with a fervour that was almost as devout as the Iskon fever. That was the first of the many topical ads that were in the offing. From then on Amul began playing the role of a social observer. Over the years the campaign acquired that all important Amul touch. India looked forward to Amul's evocative humour. If the Naxalite movement was the happening thing in Calcutta, Amul would be up there on the hoardings saying, "Bread without Amul Butter, cholbe na cholbe na (won't do, won't do). If there was an Indian Airlines strike Amul would be there again saying, Indian Airlines Won't Fly Without Amul. There are stories about the butter that people like to relate over cups of tea. "For over 10 years I have been collecting Amul ads. I especially like the ads on the backs of the butter packets, "says Mrs. Sumona Varma. What does she do with these ads? "I have made an album of them to amuse my grandchildren," she laughs. "They are almost part of our culture, aren't they? My grandchildren are already beginning to realise that these ads are not just a source of amusement. They make them aware of what is happening around them." Despite some of the negative reactions that the ads have got, DaCunhas have made it a policy not to play it safe. There are numerous ads that are risque in tone. We had the option of being sweet and playing it safe, or making an impact. A fine balance had to be struck. We have a campaign that is strong enough to make a statement. I didn't want the hoardings to be pleasant or tame. They have to say something, says Rahul daCunha. We ran a couple of ads that created quite a furore, says Sylvester daCunha. The Indian Airlines one really angered the authorities. They said if they didnt take down the ads they would stop supplying Amul butter on the plane. So ultimately we discontinued the ad, he says laughing. Then there was the time when the Amul girl was shown wearing the Gandhi cap. The high command came down heavy on that one. The Gandhi cap was a symbol of independence, they couldn't have anyone not taking that seriously. So despite their reluctance the hoardings were wiped clean. Then there was an ad during the Ganpati festival which said, Ganpati Bappa More Ghya (Ganpati Bappa take more). The Shiv Sena people said that if we didn't do something about removing the ad they would come and destroy our office. It is surprising how vigilant the political forces are in this country. Even when the Enron ads (Enr On Or Off) were running, Rebecca Mark wrote to us saying how much she liked them. There were other instances too. Heroine Addiction, Amul's little joke on Hussain had the artist ringing the daCunhas up to request them for a blow up of the ad. He said that he had seen the hoarding while passing through a small district in UP. He said he had asked his assistant to take a photograph of himself with the ad because he had found it so funny, says Rahul daCunha in amused tones. Indians do have a sense of humour, afterall. From the Sixties to the Nineties, the Amul ads have come a long way. While most people agree that the Amul ads were at their peak in the Eighties they still maintain that the Amul ads continue to tease a laughter out of them. Where does Amul's magic actually lie? Many believe that the charm lies in the catchy lines. That we laugh because the humour is what anybody would enjoy. They don't pander to your nationality or certain sentiments. It is pure and simple, everyday fun.

The best part of the Amul brand is that they have been consistant over the communication campaign and brand strategy. AMUL has positioned itself as Taste of India and have ensured that their communication is in line with their positioning strategy. Consistency Pays.

Appy Fizz : Cool Drink To Hang AroundBrand : Appy Fizz Company : Parle Agro Agency: Grey World Wide

In the 7000 crore Indian Soft drinks industry dominated by the cola majors, Parle Agro is fighting for its share with its mango-drink Frooti and the apple drink Appy Fizz. Appy was launched in 1986 as an apple drink in tetra pack after the mega success of Frooti. But Appy was not that successful compared to Frooti. This year we saw the new avatar of Appy in Appy Fizz. Appy changed in to nectar based drink in 1993. Appy was launched with a new bottle and communication trying its luck in this large Indian market. In the fruit based soft drinks, Apple drink is perhaps at the lowest in the hierarchy. The taste is less popular compared to the Orange, lemon, mango and pineapple flavors and in all these flavors there is cut throat competition among the cola majors. So Parle is trying hard to create a new segment with this drink. There is also preference to Apple Drink from customers too. Also the popularity of apple drink is low in South India because of the availability and price factor. Since there is less popularity for this flavor, even after 20 years, Appy has not become a major brand in the SD market. That may be one of the reasons why Cola majors are not looking at this flavor. Appy Fizz has now being relaunched as a Cool Drink to Hang Around With. With its champagne shaped bottle and smart advertising, Parle has succeeded in creating a Fizz in the segment, which is basically the Indian Youth. Going by the demand in the College canteen for this drink, Appy Fizz has been able to catch the fancy of the early adapters. The ads created by Grey World Wide are cool and projects some thing unique about this drink that forced the TG to experience this product. The product itself is good hence there is a possibility of positive word of mouth. But it has to be seen whether Appy Fizz can be a volume player competing with Orange and Mango flavors. It is difficult because Appy is a heavy drink compared to Fanta or Mirinda. The

taste may be popular with only a segment of the market hence limiting the scope of this brand. Even at parties, very few serve Apple Drinks. These factors limit this brand to be a niche player but a profitable proposition if this brand is promoted seriously and positioned as a premium drink. Appy can ride on the health factor too in comparison with the other SDs. Another advantage of this brand is the golden color of the drink, which makes it an ideal party drink as a welcome drink or a drink for those tea totallers. The brand will succeed if it can win the palette of the TG and with the current promotions, customers will give it a try. Labels: Beverages, Branding, FMCG, Parle

Asian Paints: Every Color Tells a StoryBrand : Asian Paints Company: Asian Paints Agency: O&M

Asian Paints is the market leader in the highly fragmented and highly competitive Rs 7750 crore ($1.73 Bn) Indian paint Industry. The organised sector constitutes around Rs 5400crore ( $1.2 Bn). Asian Paints started its journey in 1942 with four young men in a garage in Bombay. The name Asian Paints was picked randomly from the telephone directory. The brand has traveled from that garage to become a Rs 1000 crore brand. From 1968, this brand occupies a premium position in the Indian Paint industry. The story of the evolution of Asian Paints as a brand is interesting. The brand now has an Iconic status in the industry thanks to some blockbuster big ideas from O&M. The brand once positioned as a mass market brand has evolved itself to a higher plane. Indian paint industry can be broadly divided into two segments Decorative segment which constitutes the wall paints : exterior and interior, wood paints etc. Industrial segment which consists of automotive paints, and paints for industrial sector. Decorative segment constitutes around 75 % of the total paint industry and Asian Paints is the market leader with around 44% share. In the Industrial segment, Nerolac is the market leader. In the decorative segment, it is interesting to see how Asian Paints have changed the buying process of the product like paints. Paints are usually considered to be a low involvement product. In earlier times, the decision of the brand was taken by the builder/contractor and the home owners does not involve much in the process may be the decision of color rest with the house owners.

Asian Paints realized the need for brand building even during sixties. But at that point of time, the company had a wide range of brands/subbrands. The focus of the company was on product innovation and service network and managing quality proposition. The brand focused on mass and rural market. Asian Paints had a mascot called Gattu who was created by the celebrated cartoonist R K Laskhman. These efforts made the brand a leader during the late sixties. Then the company realised that although volume justified the leadership position, share of mind for the brand was very low. That was the result of the mass segmentation adopted by the brand. Rightly so because the industry was driven by channel driven promotions, building a brand at that time was" uncommon sense". During 1983, the company tried to reposition the brand as a premium brand. Asian Paints initiated the corporate campaign aimed to position the company as the number one player in the industry. The objective was to upgrade to a more margin premium product marketer .The corporate campaign " Spectrum of Excellence" was aimed to increase the Salience of the brand in a quiet market. But this campaign failed to inspire any interest in the consumers and the company felt that the market is moving towards a commodity market where price is the most important differential. Asian Paints undertook a consumer research aimed at understanding the perception of consumers about the product category. The research revealed lot of interesting insights. Consumers felt that paints could change the mood of the space and it was a sign of festival and plenitude. It could make a gloomy place bright and pleasant. From this insight came the campaign of Asian Paints associating itself with festivals. Research also confirmed that customers tend to repaint their houses on the occasion of festivities. Thus born the campaign "Celebrate with Asian Paints". The campaigns were carefully crafted and there were different campaign for different regions. These campaigns effectively enhanced the brand equity of Asian Paints and established itself as a premium brand. More than that , these campaign ensured an emotional connect with a brand in a low involvement category. The brand also phased out many sub-brands and rest of the subbrands was brought under Asian Paint's umbrella brand. During the late nineties the brand had to be reinvented. Because no longer festivities formed an important part in ones life. Since many brands went after festival seasons, the positioning platform has become cluttered. More over the consumer buying behavior has changed. The category was becoming less seasonal. People started associating more importance to home decor and interiors. The choice of color became a high involvement decision. From a low involvement category, paint was increasingly becoming a high involvement category. The brand also went in a brand overhaul. The logo was changed to a contemporary upmarket one designed by Entreprise IG based in Singapore. The logo/design was to convey self expression, sophistication and Technology. Thus came the birth of a wonderful positioning strategy created by O&M. The insight was that the brand is about people and homes and homes reflect the people living in it. Hence Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai translated to Every Home has a story to tell. This campaign is a perfect example of a brand laddering up and connecting to a higher level in the mind of the customer. The campaigns reinforced the brand as a premium emotional brand. Along with the campaign Asian Paints also ran parallel ads for its sub-brands. Saif Ali Khan endorsed the premium brand Royale. For Apex Ultima, the campaign was highly localized and was different in different market. View Asian Paints ad here: Pongal: Saif Adv. Taking a cue from the success of Ghar campaign , the brand took ownership of the COLOR. The

insight is that each color has a story to tell. The latest campaign reflects on the color and uses the campaign "Har Rang Kuch Kehta hai" translated to "Every color has a story to tell". The brand is so serious about the color that it has tied up with IIT to explore new colors and conduct research on colors. Asian Paints is a classic branding story and the brand is still exploring and growing. Labels: Brand Laddering, Brand Update, Iconic Brand, Innovation, Product Life Cycle

Axe : The Axe EffectBrand : Axe Company : HUL Agency: Lowe Lintas

An Icon for sure Axe is a success story that is so difficult to emulate. One can only marvel and enjoy. Axe has got every thing perfect for its success. It got its segments correct, the targeting was exemplary and Positioning: something to drool for. And more over Luck was on its side. Axe was born in France in the Year 1983. 24 years later, this brand is Unilever's Best selling brand worldwide. It has an iconic status in whichever market it has entered. It is also one of the rare brands which can boast of replicating its entire marketing mix across geographical boundaries. The campaigns that you see in India is what the entire world is watching. For those who propound Globalization , AXE is an exception. Axe Deo was launched in India during 1999. The brand launch was very quiet and theoretically the brand was having the strategy of Slow Skimming i.e High Price Low Promotion. Axe at that time was the leading men's Deo brand in Europe and was popular in India in the Grey market (available in duty paid shops). HLL may have launched this brand inspired by the volume of Axe sold in the Grey market. At that time, the Deo market was a nascent one with an estimated market size of Rs 72 crore. HLL had the brands Denim and Rexona and was ruling the market. Axe was priced at a premium above the Denim brand which was positioned as a male Deo brand. Axe initially was launched in the fragrance Java, Alaska and Atlantic. HLL did not bother to fine tune its Promotional mix to Indian market but just imported the promotions .... meaning, the company just ran the ads which was popular in the Europe and other markets. At that time, the product was also imported from Europe. And IT CLICKED.... rest as they say is History... Axe in 2002 was having a market share of over 35% and soon HLL phased out Denim brand to concentrate on this Star. Axe is the naughtiest brand in the Indian market. The brand is targeted at male aged 16-25 . Internationally this brand targets male aged 15-25. I personally feel that it targets all 'Young at

heart" naughty guys. The brand has its brand values of Cool, Fashionable and Stylish. And world over, the brand sticks to its core values. The biggest strength of this brand is the underlying message or the DNA which is that the brand users are High on Confidence and always for the Axe users, Girls Make The First Move. I think the biggest competitive advantage of this brand is its complete monopoly over this brand proposition. All its campaigns revolve round this central theme of Seduction where Girl makes the first move. It has lot of subliminal implications. The brand assumes that Men wants (Likes) to be Seduced . That feeling (of being seduced) gives a big boost of self confidence to a man. Although many brands take this proposition, Axe just made it perfect. One sees a lot of ads where girls are seen drooling over Hunks in Motorcycle or in Readymades, or even in Innerwears, but in most of the Axe ads, there are no Hunks, only very ordinary or even skinny kind of people getting assaulted by beautiful girls. That makes the brand more approachable. Had Axe used a Hunk, the promotions couldn't have been so effective. The brand managers were so wise that when they used a celebrity like Ben Affleck, They ensured that the brand is made approachable Having said that, The males seen in Axe commercials are not Losers: the ads are careful to show them as confident (in one way or other) or a better term will be self assured. That is ultimate execution. The power of this Big Idea has ensured that Indian consumers lap up the foreign commercials without any hitch. I don't remember any India centric ad for Axe especially in Television. And Indian consumers are not complaining either. Along with these, the brand also ensured that customers are constantly engaged with new fragrances and campaigns. In 2005, Axe had a high profile launch of its new fragrance CLICK and before that there was Axe Land campaign and followed by Axe-Academy then Axe Voodoo and the latest one Phenomenon. Consumers have tried most of it and may not like it but try they will. That is the power of brand. Axe is one of the rare brands that has embraced new media to the maximum extent. The brand has started its Internet based marketing initiative in India with Axe Land which involved a virtual trip to the Axe world. Globally also this brand has lot of online initiatives which are almost always naughty. In UK the Axe is marketed as LYNX. Checkout the cool web initiatives of this brand: Axe- feather Axe Effect Axe Phenomenon and also a blog called Evan and Gareth Not only the brand uses TVC's to its advantage, the print ads of Axe won several accolades in various ad events. The creatives run amok with the kind of flexibility that they get from the positioning. Besides Print, the brand also uses outdoors to its maximum impact. Axe is a classic example of 360 degree branding effort. Now Axe has a common message in over 70 countries where Unilever sells this brand. Iconic in a real sense. One of the reports term the marketing strategy of Axe as "Adventurous Marketing". That is true because its risky because the brand deals with Girls & Seduction. Not always every one may like the theme or the campaigns. In India especially there are self styled Cultural Policemen/Women who cries foul for anything and everything. It is really surprising that so far, Axe has escaped their AXE. That also shows that the ad agency is also careful about the concepts put across the

Indian media. While in a more liberal markets, Axe tests new levels of "Adventures" , here the brand plays really safe. It also ensures the campaigns run in Indian media is accepted because most often its the entire family who watches the TV. For the axe fans, check out a blog dedicated to Axe at Axeads Labels: Axe, FMCG, HLL, Iconic Brand, Innovation, Personal Care

Bajaj Pulsar : Definitely MaleBrand : Pulsar Company: Bajaj Auto Agency ;O&M, Leo Burnett

This bike has virtually redefined biking in this country. Pulsar launched in 2001 is the market leader in the 150 cc + performance bike segment. More than that, this brand changed the fortune of Bajaj Auto Ltd. Before the launch of Pulsar, Indian bike market was divided broadly into Economy, Executive and Premium Bikes. In 1999 Hero Honda created a new segment of 150 cc performance segment with its CBZ. But Pulsar came and gave a new life into the Performance segment. Although not a pioneer, Pulsar made the performance segment one of the fastest growing segment in the two wheeler market. It was not only the bike's performance that triggered the brand becoming an icon, a major part of the success was due to the classic advertising campaign by O&M. According to agencyfaqs, the birth of the "Definitely Male" campaign is interesting. The creative honchos found the new product from Bajaj distinctly different. It was Bajaj's first bike without Kawasaki label. The new bike was an R&D and design marvel. Pulsar was designed by the renowned design house Tokyo R&D. O&M knew that the communication of this brand should also be different. Starting with lot of ideas, O&M stuck upon the Big Idea of India's He-Bike. Although lot of bike take the persona of Macho bikes it was more oriented towards being "sexy". The Big Idea was to position the bike as World's first bike endowed with a Sex (Gender). Thus born the classic campaign of all times "Definitely Male". The campaign together with the design and performance catapulted the brand into stratospheric sales level. Bajaj targeted the 18-24 with Pulsar but later found that the brand appealed to a much older audience. This helped Bajaj to change its target audience to 21-35 years. Unlike its old ways of doing things, Bajaj did not rest with the laurels. It knew that Pulsar is the golden key to control the entire bike market. Hence Pulsar got undivided attention from the

company. In 2003 another milestone event happened in the product lifecycle of the brand. Bajaj launched its new technology DTSI. DTSi stands for Digital Twin Spark Ignition which delivered more power and efficiency. The increased performance of the brand took Pulsar to greater heights. 2004 and 2005 saw some cosmetic changes in the brand which excited the customers and thus cementing Pulsar's position in the market. Pulsar came in two variants : 180 cc and 150 cc where 180 cc excited the performance bikers, 150 cc was for the mileage conscious ones. The 150cc variant took lot of customers away from the executive segment to the performance segment. The brand had its share of marketing flaws also. According to reports, Bajaj reassigns its media duties to two brands O&M and Leo Burnett, every six months. When DTSI was launched, the creative duty was assigned to Leo Burnett. Leo Burnett did a big mistake on the brand by changing the positioning of "Definitely Male" to "Digital Biking". Although the ads were successful in conveying the technological superiority of DTSI and making that acronym popular, it deleted the most successful tagline from the brand's elements. After ruling the premium bike segment, Bajaj is taking their brand to another level. Bajaj recently launched Bajaj Pulsar 200 Dtsi to take on the competition from Hero Honda and the like. The new Pulsar boasts of spruced up engine, new digital console and new style. Pulsar is definitely getting better. Pulsar 200 is being launched with a new campaign revolving round the concept of Free Biking. Free Biking ( as defined by the brand Pulsar) is all about tackling obstacles. According to company officials, its about how you ride rather than where you ride. The ads made by O&M is filmed at Hawana Cuba (expensive). Set to pulsating Arabian music, the ad shows how two Pulsar riders discover new route when their main way is blocked by traffic jam. One word to describe this ad is HYPERBOLE and too much of it. The Big Idea of Free Biking is good but execution is ordinary. What made Pulsar a super brand was its ability to come out with different disruptive campaigns. But in the case of Pulsar 200, it is a sort of cut copy paste from some Hollywood movie (James Bond). More over, the Big Idea is also not properly communicated through the visuals. Also the music was not upto the mark. See the new Pulsar Ad here: Pulsar 200 Now every one is waiting for the new Bajaj 220 cc DTSFI which will redefine the bike segment again. Sadly Bajaj is no longer using its blockbuster tagline "Definitely Male" but instead is using the corporate brand tagline "Distinctly Ahead". Bajaj earlier had another corporate tagline "Inspiring Confidence" when it completely redesigned its corporate logo and brand. Not using "Definitely Male" is a gross injustice to the brand itself. That tagline and positioning has lot of fire with it and except for the initial two campaigns, Pulsar was not able to build on its Definitely Male Platform. But what ever may be the communication, Pulsar has made itself into a position of strength. It has a brand equity so huge that what ever that comes out of it will be lapped up in no time. The success of Pulsar 200 DTSI is no longer dependent on the quality of ads but on the performance it delivers. This brand shows the power of brand equity where customers buy, irrespective of lousy ads...... Watch the Old Pulsar ads here: Pulsar Collection

Labels: Automobile Brands, Iconic Brand, Product Life Cycle, Product Line Extension

Band-Aid :Continuous CareBrand : Band-Aid Company: Johnson&Johnson Agency: McCann Ericson

Band-Aid can be considered as a classic case of branding success. The brand which is almost 86 year old has become generic to the category. Band-Aid is an Adhesive Bandage used to cover minor cuts and bruises. The brand has come a long way to become one of the classic marketing case study. The brand came into existence in 1920. The person behind this innovation was Ms Josphene Dickson, a homemaker and wife of Mr. Eric Dickson who was cotton buyer at Johnson & Johnson. Josphene during her daily chores inevitably encounters numerous minor cuts and bruises, wanted an easy solution to cover the cuts to prevent it from worsening while continuing her work. Eric prepared a readymade bandage using cotton and adhesive tape so that Josphene can cut from the readymade bandage and use it when in need. Eric told his boss about the invention and thus the concept took shape of Band-Aid (source:superbrand.com). In 1924 the world's first machine cut band-aid was marketed and it was a huge success. In India, Band-Aid was launched in the year 1978. Band-Aid was successful because it identified the need in the households for wound care. But to reach the dominant position in India was not easy. Band-Aid had to fight the tradition rather than the competitors to succeed. Traditionally, Indians prefer not to cover the cuts and bruises because there is a feeling that wounds should be kept open in order to heal faster. Further, Indian consumers typically used traditional methods to heal wounds. In earlier days most of the households had the bottle of tincture iodine which was considered as the best solution for cuts and bruises. Kids used to hate this because the pain will be excruciating when tincture iodine is applied to cuts. Band-Aid comes with red coloured medicine inside (I think it is Benzalkonium) which resembled Iodine. This had enabled early adoption of this brand and Band-Aid was called "Lal Dhawa Wali Patti" which became the USP. Had the medicine color was not red, Band-Aid would have tough time convincing mothers. The Kids also loved the brand since they were relieved of the pain of Tincture iodine. Band-Aid also tried to educate mothers about the possible problems in keeping the wounds open because of dust infections caused by it. This also boosted the brand acceptability. One of the major factors that aided the success of this brand was the distribution strength of J&J. Band-Aid was a mass market product and hence it has to be there at every shop in the market (Key was Distribution). Band-Aid was a brand that changed with time and it keenly watched the consumers and tried to

identify their needs. The company had valuable consumer insights that created the first water proof band-aid in India. The main weakness for bandages was that it used to come off easily when wet. This prevented the category usage to certain extent. The waterproof band aid made the brand usable in any condition. This innovation catapulted the brand popularity to newer heights. Band Aid focused on the area of application and was clever enough to come out with various size and shapes. This came from the insight that different wounds in different parts of the body needs different shapes. For example, a small cut in the forehead needs a round band-aid. These insights made the brand a market leader in the category with a market share of over 60%. Johnson& Johnson also saw an opportunity for the brand in the traditional cure for cuts. In India, turmeric is used as a medicine for cuts and blemishes. Band-Aid launched a turmeric variant of the plaster much to the delight of the Indian consumers. The brand was also promoted heavily. Band-Aid was the first in the category to advertise in electronic media. According to Superbrands.org, Band-Aid was the first product endorsement of Sachin Tendulkar. Initially positioned as a wound care brand, Band-Aid was repositioned as a product that encourages kids to be active. Kids have the innate desire to be active and Band-Aid makes sure that cuts and bruises will not hinder that desire. The brand also roped in Virendra Sewag as its ambassador during the cricket season. Band-Aid has been lying low in the media for a while. The brand has already become generic to the category. Being generic has its share of problems also. When the customer uses the brand as a generic name for the category, the retailer can offer him any brand in the category. There are many local players in the market who gain by a brand major becoming generic. Competition is also from players like Handyplast and Dettol. Although the Indian wound care market is estimated to be around Rs 512 crore, the domestic adhesive bandage category is small at Rs 25 crore. The brand equity of Band-Aid still going strong is an entry barrier for any one looking to enter this category. The brand is currently being positioned on "Continuous Care". The positioning is pitting this brand against the ointments and other external applications. The concept is to educate the customers that use of plasters will heal wounds better than the use of ointments. Labels: Branding, FMHG (Fast Moving Health Goods)

Body Shop : Profit With PrincipleBrand : Body Shop Company: Loreal

Body Shop is a brand with a difference. Marketers consider this brand as an Icon. Body Shop has created a brand image without the aid of conventional advertising. 2006 saw this iconic brand draw up serious business plans for India. Body Shop brand was created in 1976 in United Kingdom. The brand and the brand owner share a common personality that is very much linked to each other. Anita Roddick the legendary founder of the Brand created this brand from a small shop in UK. Body Shop in India is sold through the master franchise Planet Sports. Body Shop is differentiated from other conventional cosmetics by the values that the brand adheres to and the brand image created through the unique association with those values. The brand is famous for its association with ethical practices and the environment friendly world view. The products reflects these values through the use of only natural ingredients and the products are never tested on animals. The packaging and the merchandising are carefully prepared to highlight the brand values. For example, Body Shop uses refillable packs and recycled /recyclable papers. Although the use of refillable packs were used to keep the price low, it evolved into an element that reinforced the brand positioning. The brand also was careful in the messages displayed in the shop and other POP merchandises. The messages were simple, enthusiastic and informative. These elements made Body Shop a different cosmetic brand. The brand was essentially an extension of the founder herself. Anita Roddick is an ardent environmentalist and naturalist. Her views about the nature supported with her activities and associations created a positive reinforcement for the brand. Customers were seeing a brand that does things while others just give hope. More over Body Shop was able to communicate with the customers at a higher level rising above beauty and fairness that other cosmetics talked about. There was honesty associated with the brand. The shops also reinforced this attribute. All the shops reflected an environment of honesty, excitement and fun. It is reported that Ms Anita Roddick takes personal interview with the franchises to ensure that they share the same passion with Body Shop principle. Although Body Shop is starting serious business with Indian consumers only now, the association with India dates back to the initial years itself. India was a sourcing partner for Body Shop during the creation of the brand.

The success of the brand was because of the unique business model of Body Shop. The brand relies on PR and word of mouth to make sales. The Indian launch was also a low profile one. The brand has gone against most of the conventional marketing practices. The products are simple and the new product ideas are derived from the wisdom of the ordinary people. For example, When the founder was traveling in Srilanka she found women rubbing their faces with freshly cut pineapple flakes that gave a special look to the faces. This translated to a product Body Shop Pineapple face wash. Many products were resulted from this experiences of the founder from the numerous trip she made around the world. In 2006, Body Shop was acquired by Loreal for 650mn Pounds. Body Shop will function as an independent entity retaining the management and the principles that made this brand an icon. In India too the brand is expected to appeal to a niche market. Niche in the sense that the level of awareness about "environment friendly" and "ethical" product positioning is a novelty in India. We often relate environment friendliness with un-profitability while the basic principle of Body Shop is "Profit with Principle" . Another factor is that in India, celebrities are not associated with nature activism. We have the prominent naturalists in Medha Padhkar and Baba Amte and not AB or Susmita Sen. In the market where high decibel advertising and sales promotion rules, it will be interesting to see how Body Shop will gain the iconic status it deserves in the Indian market. Labels: Branding, FMCG, Iconic Brand, Off-beat Brand, Personal Care

Boost : Is The Secret Of Our EnergyBrand : Boost Company: Glaxo Smithkline Beecham Agency:JWT

Boost is one of the major players in the Rs 1400 crore Indian Health Food Drink (IHFD) market. The brand was created in 1975 by the company R&D team and test marketed in 1976. The brand became national in 1980's. Glaxo rules the Indian HFD market with a share of around 64 %. The market is ruled by Horlicks and the leader is flanked by flanker products Maltova and Viva. Boost takes on Bournvita from Cadbury's which is the market leader in the brown powder segment. The HFD market is having two segments: White powder segment and brown segment. The market is dominated by white powders. Boost is a malt milk additive with the flavour of chocolate. Boost has a share of around 12% in the IHFD market. HFD is targeted at children aged 5-18. The market is huge since this is the age group that demands some kind of energy drink. The kids are active and playing during this age and the

pressure is on the home maker to keep the energy level of the kids high using some drinks. Boost is positioned as an energy drink. The tagline "Boost is the secret of my energy" has remained a blockbuster all through these years. The tagline has highest recall among the TG. Boost is also the first HFD brand to be endorsed by a celebrity. After the initial growth, the brand landed in the mature stage of PLC (Product Life Cycle) during 1980's with sales plateauing. The brand repositioned itself through a careful planned strategy backed by consumer insight. The brand realised that kids are strong influencers of the purchase process for such products and once kids get hooked onto such drinks, brand loyalty can be assured. GSK also identified cricket as the vehicle to Boost the Sale of Boost. During 1980's Kapil dev was roped in as the brand ambassador for Boost and as a cricketer, Kapil was considered an Icon by many . Boost got the energy from Kapil and GSK had found the success mantra. During 1990's Kapil gave the baton to Sachin. Sachin endorsed this brand when he was in his teens. During those times, the ads showed both Kapil and Sachin together endorsing the brand and thus ensured that the transition is smooth. From 1990-present, Sachin has been endorsing this brand. I think Boost and Sachin hold the record for longest association between a brand and celebrity at least in India. (The kid who starred with Kapil for the ad was Nikhil Chopra who later played for India) in 2000, the brand also roped in Sewag to endorse the brand. At that time, Sewag and Sachin was on fire as the opening pair. Boost was innovative not only in the promotion front but also in product improvements. In 2002, as a part of its repositioning, the brand came out with Power Boosters: which contains Copper and Biotin. It was first of its kind in this segment. Boost also innovated in packaging. Over these years, the packaging became contemporary and stylish to reflect the changing consumer preferences. A brand will become successful only if the owner invests in the brand for the long term. Boost is a testimony of that. Over these years, the brand has been positioned and repositioned in tune with the consumer. During the late nineties, consumer insights showed that although the kids liked the promos involving Sachin, they felt somewhat distant from the brand (because Sachin was perceived to be extraordinary). Realising this the brand changed its tagline from "Boost is the secret of my energy' to "Boost is the secret of OUR energy". The ads increasingly gave importance to kids rather than the celebrity. In 2005, the brand came with Choco Blast (more chocolate) and Advanced Energy Boosters to counter the threat from Bournvita who now has the Chocolate taste of "Five Star" in it. Watch the commercial here: Boost chocoblast Boost is a super brand with lots of lessons for a marketer to learn. The brand continues to invest in it and has remained the favorite of marketers and kids. Labels: Beverages, Celebrity Endorsements, FMHG, Product Life Cycle

Bournvita : Do You Have Bournvita ConfidenceBrand : Bournvita Company : Cadbury's Agency : O&M

Bournvita is a power brand. Bournvita was launched in 1948 and is one of the oldest brand in the malted beverages segment. The brand is a market leader in the Brown health drink segment with a market share of over 17 %. This is a brand that has sustained over time and competition. Cadbury - true to its reputation has managed to sustain this brand over these years. The brand has sustained because of Cadbury invested in the brand and also ensured that the brand changed in tune with the times. Bournvita is a chocolate flavored health drink. When the brand was introduced in the market, it tried to solve a perennial problem that mother's face: a need for a healthy food which is tasty. Bournvita offered that unique combination of health and taste. Its also interesting to see how this brand has evolved over these years. In 1970s t he brand was positioned as a product that helps in good upbringing. The brand used the tagline: Goodness that Grows with You. During 1980's the brand changed its focus from Upbringing to Intelligence. The tagline was changed to: Brought Up Right, Bournvita Bright. In 1990's the brand felt that it should be focusing on the overall health of the kid thus changed its focus on Body and Mind. The brand also took Energy as a main focus and thus evolved the famous VO (voice over) : "Bournvita has proteins, minerals and carbohydrates" . Along came the famous tagline: Tan Ki Shakthi , Man Ki Shakthi. During 1998, the brand faced intense competition from Milo from Nestle. At this time, the brown health food drink segment was facing issues of stagnation because of lack of value addition. Bournvita then changed its positioning on the health platform. The brand used a marconym RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) to reinforce the health positioning. The brand used a clever Nutritional meter to communicate the RDA formula: 2 cups of Bournvita for balanced nutrition. The brand also set up a Bournvita Nutritional Center where nutrition experts recommended the right RDA percentage to kids. The brand at that time used the cricketer Ajay Jadeja to endorse the brand. The brand also harped on the taste and used the tagline "No Bournvita No Milk" to reinforce the taste attribute. In the current millennium, the brand has moved to the next level. In the typical laddering Up strategy, Bournvita has identified Confidence as its Core Brand Essence. The brand realized that every kid has a chance to excel in his chosen field of endeavour if he has confidence . The

realization has enabled the brand to chalk out the current marketing strategy. The brand now uses the tagline "Do you have Bournvita Confidence". In the Brown beverages segment, Bournvita faces intense competition from Boost. In order to defend the leadership position, Bournvita has invested heavily in product development, advertising and sales promotion. In the product development front, Bournvita had significantly changed its packaging and the latest pack is inspired by Boost. Along with packaging changes, the brand also had come out with a new variant: Bournvita Fivestar Magic. The new variant has the unique chocolate with caramel flavor of Cadbury's Fivestar. The brand is using the brand association with Five Star as a key differentiator. All these years, Bournvita has used taste as a consistent theme to attract the kids. The Five Star Magic variant further reinforced this positioning. In the advertising campaigns, Bournvita has always been a heavy spender. There were 2 concurrent campaigns running for Bournvita: one campaign for the Bournvita Fivestar Magic and another one featuring Bournvita Confidence Academy. Bournvita Confidence Academy is not a School but was a reality show. The show which premiered on July 2007 in the Pogo channel is different from the usual reality shows. The show features 7 kids who have exceptional talents in various fields like dancing, racing, singing, magic, studies etc. In the reality show, the kids were asked to act as Gurus and were expected to teach each other skills. So you have a magic whizkid learning to sing. The point was that "You Need Confidence" to venture into unknown fields. Bournvita Confidence Academy was not the first event that this brand associates with. Bournvita Quiz is the longest running quiz show in Indian Television . In the sales promotion front also, the brand was active with its share of freebies and gifts . The association with Cartoon Network enabled this brand to use the famous characters like Powerpuff girls and Dexter to the brand's advantage. The focus on Confidence by Bournvita is a smart move by the brand. Its arch rival Boost has built itself on the energy platform and has gained headway using Sachin. Hence to counter Boost, Bournvita needed to own an important differentiation point. Confidence is something that every kid looks forward to. By featuring real whiz kids , the brand has been able to create an impact in the TG. But the challenge that Bournvita faces is not from Boost but from the Consumer Promotion trap that both these brands have fallen into. Now most of the sales are decided by the promotional gifts and freebies than the actual efficacy. Since mothers are happy whether the kids drink either of these, brand loyalty has become a thing of past in this segment. Labels: Beverages, Brand Laddering, Cadbury, FMHG

Bru : Happiness Begins with BruBrand : Bru Company : Hindustan Unilever Agency : O & M

Bru is a power brand from the HUL's stable. A brand which pioneered the instant coffee category in Indian market in 1969 is also an example of many successful marketing practices. According to HUL, Bru is the market leader in coffee segment with a value share of 46.9 %. Prior to 2004, HUL had many brands in the coffee category. It had Deluxe Green Label and Bru instant as the main brands and small brands like Dilkush, Cafe and Cafe Gold. In 2004, as a part of the power brand strategy, HLL decided to phase out Dilkush and Cafe brands. It then consolidated the coffee brands under the Master Brand Bru. Bru before becoming the family brand was positioned as a coffee that tasted just like filter coffee. But after the elevation to master brand, Bru took the positioning around happiness. Bru was synonymous for instant coffee and had an astounding 21% market share in the first year of launch itself. All these years, the brand has been fighting for the numero uno position with Nestle whose iconic Nescafe brand was the market leader. But in 2008, the brand pushed Nescafe to the second position. Much of the success of Bru can be attributed to following factors Innovation in new products Innovation in packaging & Aggressive campaigns Nestle lost out because of lethargy. The company failed to consistently invest in its Nescafe brand. I do not remember seeing any memorable campaigns from Nescafe in recent past. This has cost the brand dearly. HUL's marketing acumen is vivid in the rise of Bru as the market leader. It has never stopped innovating for this new brand. Bru was able to give new offerings to customers on a regular basis. One of the recent successful new product was the cappuccino packs. The new flavor gave the brand a new thrust in the market. The new flavors even prompted hardcore tea lovers to try out these flavors. The best part was that these cappuccino was available in single serve sachets which prompted consumers to test the flavors. Another innovation was the cold coffee. Bru launched the cold coffee variants which again captured the attention of the consumers.

These thrusts in new product development and roll out is visible when one visits a super market. The coffee section is full of various flavors and packs of Bru which itself creates a positive vibration for the brand. Another factor which made Bru successful was the campaigns. The brand is famous for two campaigns. One featuring Amritha Rao was a big hit. The theme revolves around the shy girl wanting to introduce her boyfriend Sagar to her father. Watch the TVC here : Bru Sagar Another campaign which was highly popular was the 'little cup' ad. The ad shows the wife announcing the "good news" through a symbolic 'little cup'. Watch the ad here : bru Little cup Bru is positioned on the theme of happiness. The brand has the tagline "Happiness begins with Bru". The positioning and communication has been consistent with the brand's promise of kick starting one's day with a Bru. These slice of life ads put Bru in a growth orbit. Consumers started loving the brand for its innovation and campaigns. For the Bru Cappuccino, it had roped in the Bollywood Director Karan Johar to endorse the brand. Another critical factor that aided Bru's success was the innovation in packaging. The brand made the entry barrier low by launching small affordable SKUs (Stock Keeping Units). There are single serve and large packs at different price points making the brand affordable .The brand although is positioned as an aspirational brand, is priced affordable thus making it a perfect example of a Masstige brand. Recently the brand has yet again come out with a customer centric innovation in the form of a flavor lock. Most of the customers worry about losing the flavor of coffee powder once the pack is cut open. The flavor lock is a plastic clip which will lock the flavor from escaping. More than actually locking the flavor, the lock gives a psychological belief that the flavor will not be lost. This little plastic lock also gives more convenience to the home maker. Typically when buying powders in packs, home makers have to transfer the powder to a container to preserve it for long. This lock effectively eliminates the need for such a container. Bru is a brand which has reached the commanding position following methodologically tackling all the critical elements for marketing success: customer centric innovation, aggression and new product development Labels: Beverages, FMCG, Food Brands, HLL, Innovation, Masstige Brand (Masstige is a term introduced by Michael Silverstein and Neil Fiske to refer to a new category of products aimed at providing "Luxury To the Masses". The term Masstige is derived from the words Mass + Prestige. Silverstein and Neil published a wonderful article in Harvard Business Reveiw (April 2003) titled "Luxury for the Masses" explaining this concept in detail).

Center Shock : Hilake Rakh DeBrand : Center Shock Company: Perfetti Vanmelle Agency: O&M

Center Shock is an interesting brand or rather it is a disruptive brand in the sense that the brand just makes all marketing theories look funny. Conventional marketing wisdom says that the product should deliver a promise, satisfy a need and blah blah . Here is a confectionery brand that tasted sour making itself a market leader in less than 6 months time. Center Shock was launched in 2001 and at that time, the chewing gum market was at cross roads. The market lifecycle was at the decline stage. Although the market was worth Rs 300 crores, it was declining at a faster rate at 25-30%. Perfetti then decided to break the category degrowth and make this category more exciting to the customers. Its a shock how a product like Center Shock became successful in the market. This peculiar gum gave a distinct fruit filled acidic taste to the customer which really gave the customer a shock. The TG for this brand was SEC ABC and age 10-19. The brand was an extension of the highly popular Center Fresh known for its Fruit Gel Center. Center Shock came in two flavors : Peach and Apple. Center Shock broke into picture through two clutter breaking ads crafted by O&M . The first ad of the barber created a huge impact in the market. The ads won lot of accolades for O&M. According to reports, the brand became market leader within no time with a share of over 35% beating Center Fresh from the same company. The first TVC was followed by the second one featuring a dude visiting his girlfriend's home to meet the parents. According to Agencyfaqs, the creative brief for Center Shock was simple: break the clutter and make it funny and distinct and really shocking and the ads just did that. Lot many people who tried a Center Shock never took again. The company also did not have any dreams about repeat customers. But the brand did the trick with the market. There was a rejuvenation of the category which grew from 1000 tonnes to 3500 tonnes . The lack of excitement in the category was corrected by this outrageous product. The brand adopted one of the most funniest and best taglines "Hilake Rakh De" which translates to "Will Shake you UP". The brand was positioned as a fun brand and customers liked the change. The brand had virtually shaken the market. During those days most of the chewing gum brand were sold on sales promotions and seldom marketers invested any thing more on ads. Center Shock brought back the trust on advertising in the category players. To sustain a brand like Center Shock for longer period of time is a difficult proposition. After launching the product in 2001, the last ad was aired in December 2002 and for one year the brand went into silent mode. In 2004 the company launched a variant Center Shock Mirchi with another outrageous commercial. But the variant bombed since the novelty was lost for this brand. The

brand had a funny tagline "Pilake Rakh De". After this launch, Center Shock faded from the scene. Its long time since one saw any promotion for this brand. Although this brand had a very short PLC, the brand showed us the power of advertising. A good advertising can make people eat a sour candy and be happy about it. Hats Off to Perfetti for taking such bold and outrageous step. Labels: Confectionary, FMCG, Innovation, Off-beat, Product Life Cycle, Perfetti

Coffy Bite : Coffee or ToffeeBrand : Coffy Bite Company: Lotte India Agency: JWT

Coffy Bite is a power brand in the Rs. 1500 crore Indian Sugar Boiled Candy market. This 100 crore brand has a history of 18 years of existence. The brand is unique and its positioning and ad campaign was one of the best in that era. The brand is in the coffee category which is around 15% of the Sugar boiled candy category. Coffee Bite has around 9 % market share in the SBC segment. Coffee Bite was introduced in India by Parry's confectioneries of the Muruggappa Group. This was the flagship brand of Parrys. Later in 2004, Parry's confectioneries was sold to The Lotte group. Coffee Bite is famous for the "Coffee-Toffee" argument followed by the tagline "Its a Coffee in a Toffee". All the campaigns of this brand was fun to watch and as a product, the brand offered excellent taste and quality. Overall this product was a winner. The brand enjoys a recall of as high as 85%. With the entry of Big names like Perfetti, Parrys faced intense competition in the market for all its major brands. Along with this heat, the company faced pressures in pricing coupled with rising raw material costs. Infact, these issues are still haunting the confectionery manufacturers. The candy market is faced with two marketing issues The product: since the product is purely an impulse product, lot of money has to be spent on the brand and also on developing new variants to create and sustain excitement. The Price: The consumers in this segment is price conscious. Because of the competition, companies cannot afford to price the product at a premium and renounce volume. With the 50 paise price point becoming the industry norm, most of the companies are facing profitability issues. The problem that Coffy Bite faced was again the issue of relevance. Because of some reasons, the brand missed the new generation. The brand was perceived to be "Old". Hence even though the recall was high, the actual purchase was as low as 20%.

The task for the new brand owners "Lotte" was to make the brand more relevant to the new generation. By New Generation, meaning those kids born after 1990's: the liberalisation child. Lotte changed the packaging to make the brand more contemporary and youthful. The communication also was changed. Thank God, the brand managers did not change the famous "Argument". So the argument continues. The new baseline is "Enough to start an argument" was an unnecessary change for this brand which is famous for its "Coffee in a toffee" baseline. The brand owners have to think as to who is bored by the old baseline, company or customer? A brand need not change the taglines and positioning to become more relevant. Since the category is Coffee, you cannot have any other taste, that can give some consistency to the communication. Besides the taste, the "Coffee-Toffee" argument gives the creative guys lot of things to work with. One more major positive for this brand is that it is more of a family toffee that gives it a huge market to tap. Coffy Bite is a brand that has a unique space in the mind of the customers. Is it a Coffee or a Toffee.. the argument continues. Labels: Branding, Confectionary, Failed Brand, FMCG, Marketing Myopia

Colgate Dental Cream: ye hai hamari suraksha chakraBrand : Colgate Dental Cream Agency : Rediffusion DYR

Colgate has been ruling the Rs 2200 crore oral care segment for long with a market share of over 50%. The flagship brand of this multinational giant is The Colgate Dental cream which alone has a market share of 35%. The toothpaste segment can be divided in to three segments: White, Gel and Herbal based on the product characteristic. Colgate had enjoyed higher market share all through the years despite stiff competition from the likes of HLL and a host of regional brands. But the giant shed its lethargy and stood up, fought the war and won. When Colgate was enjoying its leadership position in the market, HLL successfully entered the market with a googly. It created a new segment with Close-up gel. While using Pepsodent to fight the Colgate Dental Cream (CDC), it created a market for itself with the gel that came in funky colours and excellent advertising. Every marketer has then signed Colgate off saying that it cannot fight with the marketing giant HLL. But Colgate struck back with the launch of Colgate fresh energy gel and the famous campaign "TALK TO ME" starring the charming VJ Purab that stole the gel category from HLL.

Close up never recovered from that blow. Then the multinational faced the onslaught of regional brands like Ajanta, Babool that gave these guys a run for their money by selling toothpaste for ridiculously low price .These regional brands quickly gained market share from these MNCs and a lot was written about the rise of regional brands. Colgate and HLL responded to this threat by coming out with low priced flanking brands. Colgate launched low priced Cibaca to counter the regional brand while HLL had Aim to counter it. The current figures show that the regional brands are finding it difficult to sustain the market share. Colgate's flagship brand CDC had consistently positioned itself in the germ fighting platform. It had the famous "suraksha chakra" platform from where it had built its brand to this level. All marketers know that it takes lot of smart thinking to keep the brand alive in a market. So Colgate launched many variants to ward off threats from the niche players and adapt to the changing tastes of the market. For example, it launched the herbal toothpaste when every one talked about the efficacy of herbs. Then came the advanced whitening formula to fight the threat from Pepsodent whitening variant The latest addition is the Colgate with power of active salt. The brand is developed after a careful study on the customers. According to the company, Colgate undertook a study of a "day in the life of a customer" that gave lot of inputs about the customer's trigger and touch points. As of now it is great going for the brand Labels: Branding, Colgate, FMCG, Personal Care, Toothpaste

Colorplus : consistency paysBrand : ColorPlus Agency : Rubecon Company : Raymonds

ColorPlus was launched in 1993 by ColorPlus Fashions which was a unit of Coimbatore based Ambattur Clothing Limited. It was launched at a time where no global brands were seriously exploring the Indian market. No serious branding effort was there in place during that time. The ready to wear segment was in a

nascent stage. ColorPlus as a brand now has an iconic status in the readymade segment. The brand which is carefully crafted and brilliantly communicated is the perfect example of brand management. Rajendra Mudaliar, Managing Director, and Kailash M Bhatia, CEO have been clear on what the brand is and how this is to be communicated. In 2003 this brand was acquired by Raymonds. Raymonds did not change the communication and brand strategy. The brand falls under the Smart casual segment in the ready to wear market with its presence in South and West Asia. In this era of celebrity endorsement, this is a brand which uses no celebrity, and ColorPlus is always the star. The brand is exposed through careful media selection and you never see a TVC of this brand. The copy and the layout is ever so consistent and the ads has maintained a classy look throughout its existence. Seen only in premium publications and business magazines reveals that the brand is clear about the target segment. Raymonds by acquiring this brand has now entered the premium casual wear segment which is now fast growing. With Parx at the lower end and ColorPlus on the premium end, Raymonds is hoping to gain a major foothold in the Indian ready to wear segment in years to come. Hope Raymonds don't mess up this brand........... Labels: Branding, Iconic Brand, Readymade Brand, Textiles

Dove : The Mildest OneBrand : Dove Company: HLL Agency: O&M

Dove is a $2 bn brand waiting to spread its wings in the Indian Premium soap market. Dove was globally launched in 1957. This brand came to India in 1995. Internationally this brand has a cult status and is a major player in the global premium soap market. The brand is positioned as the Mildest Soap. Dove is PH neutral and this makes the soap soft on all kind of skin types. Internationally this brand is positioned as a brand that celebrates the "Real Beauty". Dove defines real beauty as "beauty is not about how you look but about how you feel". The Dove's official site "campaignforrealbeauty.com" highlights this brand value. I think this is one of the best brand values a beauty product can have.

In India, the brand did not had the success of its global counterpart. One reasons are the small "Premium" market and another is the price barrier. Dove's initial price was around Rs50 that put off even the premium customers. The brand has undergone some repositioning in recent times. Earlier the brand was positioned on the platform of "Trial for Results" idea. Later it was changed to the moisturizing platform. The brand is claiming that it is milder than the 25 leading soaps thus proving its legitimacy to being the mildest soap in the country. Globally also this brand is positioned not as a soap but a cream bar. Although the "Campaign For Real Beauty" and the mildness are excellent selling points, the brand is still not able to catch the fancy of Indian beauties. With lot of sales promotions happening with the brand like 1+1 free , there is a possibility of Brand Value Erosion (This normally happens when too much promotion offers are given with product). With the brand now priced at Rs 28, the price has somewhat become reasonable. Still the brand does not fit into the "value for money" proposition for the Indian consumer. It is a truth that Indian consumer looks for "Value" even in premium products. Dove has a negative point in that the soap usually does not last enough (partly because of our bathroom habits). This has reduced the value proposition for this brand. With the emergence of an attractive market in the premium cosmetic market in India, Dove has lot of potential to become a key player. It has got the positioning right. Now it has to set the "Value" right for the Indian consumer. Labels: Branding, FMCG, HLL, Personal Care, Soap Brands

Fair & Lovely : Chand ka TukdaBrand : Fair & Lovely Company : HLL Agency: Lowe

Fair & Lovely (FAL) is the brand that revolutionized the Indian Skin care industry. This brand is World's first and largest Fairness cream brand with a presence in 40 countries and a value of around Rs.6 billion Indian skin care market was dominated by conventional beauty care products like Bezan, Multani Mitti etc. FAL changed all that. Launched in 1975, FAL is the product born in the Unilever research center. In 1988 the brand went international. FAL commands a market share of over 70% in the Rs 1000 crore fairness market in India.

FAL virtually created and owned this category for long. In the fairness market, FAL enjoyed monopoly till Cavin Kare entered this lucrative segment with Fairever. The success of Fairever prompted many players like Godrej to tap the market. FAL sustained the pressure from the competitor by careful Branding and New Product Launches. The brand never failed to emulate and learn from the competitor .When Fairever launched the ayurvedic variant, FAL launched a much better variant. Then came the competition from Ozone Ayurvedics with their brand No Marks trying to carve a niche. HLL countered with FAL Antimarks and launched a controversial comparative ad that took the steam out of No Marks. When Fairever launched the soap, FAL also responded with soap. FAL never allowed the competitors to gain an upper hand in the market which it created. FAL achieved such tremendous success because of careful branding and ad campaigns. Initially HLL did some ugly talking about fairness. Some of the ads were controversial because of gender inequality and stuff like that. It was necessary at that period because the category was new and the brand should first talk about the need to be fairer. Now the brand has laddered up to more Aspirational Values like "Transformation of Women" The insight is that the transformation will be more than skin deep. The ads showing a girl achieving the ambition of being a cricket commentator (a male bastion) were very much effective in connecting with the TG. HLL has also extended the brand to more aspirational values by launching Fair & Lovely foundation that works for Women Empowerment achievement and Transformation which are the qualities for which FAL stands for. FAL have also launched a premium sub-brand Perfect Radiance to tap the premium segment of the market. Fair & Lovely was able to dominate the fairness market because of careful marketing and is a showcase of the marketing genius of HLL. Labels: Branding, FMCG, HLL, Personal Care, Soap Brands.

Fastrack : How many you have ?Brand : Fastrack Company : Titan Agency : Lowe Lintas

Initially this Fastrack brand was a sub-brand of Titan. Now this sub-brand has grown to become a fully independent brand. Fastrack was launched in 1998. The brand was aimed at the youth segment (15-25). The brand was promoted with the slogan "Cool Watches from Titan "

Essentially Fastrack was a sub-brand endorsed by the Titan Brand. In most of the campaigns, the brand was promoted as Titan Fastrack. The brand was targeting young consumers who were moving towards the competitor Timex. It was during this time that Timex and Titan parted ways. Fastrack had a good start. During the first year, the brand clocked a turnover of Rs 15 crore. The good run continued till 2001-2002 and the brand was worth Rs 25 crore at that period. But the sales stagnated. Although the brand appealed to the youngsters, price was a significant dampener. The brand found that the target group which consisted of college students could not afford this brand. (source : Business Standard) During 2003-04, the brand went in for a repositioning exercise targeting executive segment as well as casual watch segment. It was a suicidal experiment . The brand sales came down to Rs 23 crore. The change in positioning did not fit well with the brand. The consumers were not willing to pay Rs 1200-2700 for a watch that did not have the executive image. It was in 2004 that Fastrack launched its range of sunglasses. The move was made after a consumer research which shoed that mobiles/deo/sports shoes and sunglasses are popular accessories in the purchase list of youngsters. And Sunglasses fitted perfectly as a brand extension for Fastrack. Sunglasses offered a great opportunity for the brand. There was no Indian brand of sunglasses at that time. The brands available were Ray-Ban and other foreign brands which were imported. These brands were damn expensive and often consumers chose local unbranded sunglasses. In 2005, the brand went for another repositioning exercise with a new logo and new positioning. The brand adopted the famous break-away positioning of Swatch. The brand decided to target the youngsters again but for that the brand had to break the price barrier. The brand discarded the steely look of the watches and looked at a mix of plastic and steel. It was a perfect cut-copy from the strategy adopted by Swatch. By doing so, the brand was able to reduce the price range to Rs 500. The brand then took the help of advertising to change the perception of watches as a functional tool to a fashion accessory. The brand launched a campaign with the slogan "How many you have". The campaign, the positioning and the price was a great hit . The brand sales zoomed to Rs 35 crore. The sunglasses also contributed significantly to this sales boost. Fastrack adopted the following core brand values Fashionable and trendy Affordable Pricing Fresh Communication to attract the young consumers. The brand wanted to be the ultimate fashion accessory for the youth. For the sunglasses, the brand roped in the youth icon John Abraham as the brand ambassador. The celebrity fitted well with the brand. Taking a cue from the fact that most of the TG for Fastrack owned a bike, Fastrack launched a biker's collection which again is a classic example of consumer-centric product innovation. The latest innovation is the neon-disc range of Fastrack watches that does not have Hands to show the time but have electroluminescent disc that lights up to show the time. Another advantage for this brand is the freshness that the agency had bought in its

communication. Most of the Fastrack ads have been refreshing. The brand had adopted a 360 degree approach in its communication and it is an example of a brand which had used Social media to its advantage. But the brand is facing a grave issue in the market. The issue is not regarding the branding but with the channels. In the case of Swatch, the brand had adopted an innovative approach towards the channels. According to the Harvard Case Study on Swatch, it is mentioned that Swatch launched a Veggie range of watches (it had shapes of vegetables) and this range was sold in vegetable shops. But in the case of Fastrack, the brand had not gained the support of the channel members. The channel does not support both sunglasses and watches. This has been observed across the markets. In the case of watches, except for Titan exclusive showrooms, other watch retailers do not / are not very willing to stock the full range of Fastrack watches and neither they offer spares like straps. The reason the retailers give is that the Design of Fastrack Changes very fast and thus requires a big inventory. In the case of Sunglasses, too the Opticians too are hesitant to stock Fastrack Sunglasses. Their contention is that since Titan also sells these sunglasses at outlets other than opticians, the authenticity of sunglasses are lost. As we know most purchase (almost 90%) of sunglasses happen at the optician. The other problem a consumer faces is that, when he/she goes to a Lifestyle Store, which also stocks Fastrack Sunglasses, he/she finds that the range is not complete. The stores only stock a small number a namesake we also stock sunglasses kind. No brand can escape the channel conflict when it tries to explore a new channel. In the case of Fastrack, it is facing resistance from the conventional channel when the brand tried to explore new channels. It is a nightmare for any brand manager to handle the issues connected with a brand like Fastrack. On one hand, the brand has to keep the consumer interest growing by launching new models and also updating cool communication . One the other hand, the frequent design changes calls for intense dealer support. The low price for the watches often translates to low margin to retailers thus dampening their enthusiasm for promoting this brand. The brand is trying to work around this issue through its online store but the fact is that online cannot replace the conventional channel at least in the immediate future. Despite these issues, the brand has been a hit with young consumers. And an interesting feedback that comes from these young consumers is that, majority do not think that Fastrack is a cheap watch. They look at it as affordable and not cheap. That is a great achievement for a brand which has a price range which starts with Rs 500 but still is not considered cheap. The brand had successfully established itself as a fashion accessory rather than as a watch. And the best part is that, the brand has not compromised on quality. The brand need to sort the distribution strategy to move into the next level. Swatch also faced the issue of retailer resistance initially but the equity generated by the brand eclipsed the resistance. Fastrack also should be able to build the brand into a level where retailers have to stock this brand due to consumer pressure.

Labels: Consumer Durable Brands, Fastrack, Off-beat Brand, TATA, Titan, Watches, Distribution Startegy

Frooti : Fresh N JuicyBrand : Frooti Company: Parle Agro foods Agency: Grey worldwide

Frooti is the first Tetrapak fruit juice in India. Launched in 1984, Frooti still holds a dominant position in the Rs300 crore Tetrapak Fruit Juice (TFJ) market. Frooti over these years has carved out a niche for itself in the market. Frooti instantly caught the fancy of Indian consumer with its tetrapak and some smart campaigns. Initially the drink was positioned as a kids drink. The product was perceived as a healthy fruit drink by the mothers. So within a short span of time, the brand was an alternative to the unhealthy colas. The tetrapak had other benefits also. Fruit juice is a perishable product and tetrapaks has extended the shelf life of Frooti because of the 2 layers of paper and a plastic coating that ensured tamper proof. Lured by the success of Frooti, there were a lot of new launches in the TFJ market. Players like Godrej with Jumpin, kissan etc tried their luck in this market but failed to dislodge Frooti. Frooti was positioned as a mango drink that is Fresh-n-juicy. For over a 7 years, the company promoted the product using that famous baseline. The product has tried to create excitement in the market through a series of new variants and packing. But in the late Ninetees the brand was facing stagnated sales. The company tried to excite the market with an orange and pineapple variant but both the variant bombed. Then came the experiment with packaging . The YO! Frooti variant came with a slim paper can aimed at the college going youth. Worried by the stagnating sales, Parle tried to reposition the brand to appeal to youth aged between 16-21. The positioning changed to be more fun based. The package also changed. The old green color of the bottle changed to more bright mango color with lot of graphics added to it. One of the most famous marketing campaigns India has witnessed took place during the repositioning. The campaign is the famous Digen Verma campaign. This campaign was considered as one of the most successful teaser campaigns in India. The campaign lasted for 15 days starting on February 2001. The campaign was about a faceless person Digen Verma. There were posters and outdoors all across the markets that had messages like Who is Digen verma Digen Verma was here etc. This created lot of excitement in the market and Digen Verma became the most talked about faceless name at that time. The campaign was executed by Everest communication. But the campaign was not followed up and the hype was not translated to long term brand building. Frooti is basically a nectar based drink so it is not 100% fruit juice, it also have some preservatives added to increase the shelf life. Although Frooti did not face much competition in the category it created, competition came from a slightly different category, 100% fruit juices. Parle saw the emergence of the 100% fruit drink market and launched Njoy brand but it did not click. Parle could have extended Frooti to this market also .The brand Real from Dabur is the main player in this category. Real effectively positioned itself as a premium healthy drink for adults. Frooti was not able to appeal to adults and was considered as a mango drink while Real is

not restricted to any flavour. Frooti also changed its positioning statement from Fresh-N-juicy to Juice Up your life which has not clicked with the customers. Although Frooti enjoys a commanding (75%) market share, Frooti is facing stagnation. May be some serious steps should be taken to increase the usage of the product. The launch of PET bottle Frooti is a step in this direction. Recently Frooti also launched a Green mango variant just to create some hype in the market. Frooti may have to reposition itself again to appeal to cola drinkers. Labels: Beverages, Branding, Parle

Funskool - Welcome to the World of Toys !Brand : Funskool Company: MRF

Funskool is the market leader in the Indian organised toys market. Pioneer in marketing branded toys, Funskool was launched in 1988 and created a new beginning of high quality toys segment in the highly fragmented industry. Indian Toy industry is huge. Some reports estimate the size of the market to be around Rs 2500 crore (some say it is Rs 1000 crore). The conflicting market size estimates is an ample proof that the market is highly unorganised. The organised branded toys segment accounts for only Rs 500 crore. Rest of the market is dominated by unbranded toys. Although the market for Toys is huge, the market is dominated by cheap imports from China. 50% of the market is ruled by cheap imports. The China factor is the single most danger that the Indian toy industry face. Funskool created in 1987 is a joint venture between the World's largest toy manufacturer Hasbro and the Indian tyre major MRF. The brand ushered in an era of toys with educational value and also healthy (safe). Funskool has since then evolved into a complete toy manufacturer that also exports toys to other markets. The Indian toy industry can be divided into Board games Building Blocks Dolls & soft toys Electronic toys While Funskool leads in board game segment, the players like Mattel and Lego leads in the building blocks and dolls segment. Mattel with its Barbie rules the premium end of the Dolls segment. Soft toys is another segment that is growing fast and gaining popularity. Hanung Toys is a major player in this segment. Funskool has a marketshare of around 25% in the branded segment.

Funskool as a brand faces lot of issues in this market. The issues are more of environmental in nature rather than issues of the brand. The primary issue is the dominance of unbranded cheap toys that is available in the market. The market is price sensitive and hence the branded players face an issue of showing value for the premium paid by the customers. This together with cheap imports made the life difficult for brands like Funskool. The reason why people go after cheap toys is the lack of awareness about the hazards of using cheap low quality toys. In India Toys are seldom viewed as a development tool. According to Indian consumer, Toys serve the entertainment need of the kids and to the parents it is an easy way to get relief from Pestering kids. While in more developed countries, parents look for educational or developmental value in toys. This makes the category more price sensitive. Then comes the lack of aware