Unsuccessful productsAbhishek Grover

Navneet Kaur

Why do products fail?

There is an unending list of products which failed in the market due to various reasons but more or less because of failure in one or more of the following factor

Vanilla Coke

The brand was targeted at the metro youth was different. It was different in taste, promotion, package, price etc.Vanilla Coke was promoted in retro style. The brand had Vivek Oberoi , the then bollywood flame endorsing the brand in an unusual style. Vivek sported the retro look with typical combination of Elvis style + Shammi Kapoor style in an Old Lamby Scooter screaming Wakaw.

It failed because .The campaign was not targeted at the right segment. This campaign had its fair share of critics also.  The brand was priced at a premium over the ordinary coke. This may have discouraged the TG from checking out the brand

LEV

IS T

YPE1

JEA

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Levis type1 was a style introduced by denim market leader Levi Strauss & co. and failed to influence buyers to buy this product. It is said that a product should identify its target market when launching. Levis type1 was launched with evaluating its target audience and thus, failed.

Pepsi crystal

There was no real need for Crystal Pepsi. Despite the shifting tides in early 90’s marketing towards healthiness and purity, people just didn’t get excited about a clear caffeine-free Pepsi. Not really a surprise- those who were that concerned with the health and colour of their beverage probably would not be Pepsi drinkers to begin with.

Apple Lisa

The Lisa was geared towards business consumers, though those consumers were attracted to the lower price tag on IBM PCs. NASA got behind the Lisa project, which they regretted after it was discontinued two years later.

IBM

PC

JUN

IOR

This computer had a hefty price tag. At $699, it was twice the price of computers from Atari and Commodore. Many were also disappointed at the awkward layout of the factory-shipped keyboard.

GO

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AP

Ganga had a revitalisation effort in 1997 when Godrej tried to relaunch the brand under the name Doodh Ganga. But those effort went in vain.The primary reason why the brand failed was that the differentiation was not sustainable over time. Although Hindu's are very religious in nature and rivers the tradition but the consumers are discerning when it comes to purchasing products

TATA

SIE

RR

A

Sierra primarily failed in the market because of its steep price. Priced around Rs 5 lakh, the brand failed to appeal to the value proposition of the Indian consumer.Sierra can be said as a brand that came too early. The Indian market was not ready for this concept.

KIN

ETIC

BLA

ZE-S

HO

RTC

UT T

O

FAM

E…

Blaze is so far the most powerful scooter in India. This 165 cc mean machine is huge and heavy. Blaze was all set to redefine the scooter market in India The launch ads ( TVC) was nothing but a marketing disaster. The agency just killed the product. The ad talks about Rohit Varma.Then the baseline says " Short cut to Fame". It is one of the lousiest positioning statements ever.

MA

RU

TI V

ER

SA

 The brand was positioned as " Two luxury cars for the price of one" . The ads talked about twin A/C, comfort and space. Versa was launched with a 1300 cc engine which was the same used in Maruti Esteem.Despite the dream launch, Versa failed to generate volume . The basic issue was the price. Versa was launched with a price of Rs 5.15 lakh for the base model and the top end model costs around Rs 6 lakh. Those enthusiastic customers who flocked the showroom after viewing the ads was shocked by the steep price of Versa. Versa was priced at par with Maruti Esteem and other entry level sedans.

KELV

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 the brand's disaster started in 1996 when Whirlpool acquired this brand globally. Whirlpool wanted to sacrifice Kelvinator for its own brand.Kelvinator's main positioning was based on its cooling power. The tagline aptly captures the USP of the brand. Kelvinator's compressors was one of the best available globally.

MO

TO

RK

R

The arbitrary song limit hurt the ROKR's appeal. Many users also discovered that transferring music to the phone was slow compared to dedicated players, due to lack of support for Hi-Speed USB , and there was also no wireless transfer. Lastly, the ROKR was criticized for being too much like the preceding E398. As a result, the ROKR E1 sold below expectations despite a high-profile marketing campaign

HO

ND

A S

TR

EET

Street was the Indian version of the world famous Honda Cub series. Honda Cub was the world's largest selling single model bike which has sold more than 2.5 crore units.The case is about marketing mistake. The product failed in all aspects of marketing mix except the distribution.The product was not good enough. It looked like a glorified M80 from Bajaj which was used by Fish vendors and the like.The campaign was also not successful. The initial campaign tried to teach the customers the new Clutch less gear system and its efficacy, the customers was not impressed with this feature.

TAM

AR

IND

Riding on the pulling power of Hrithik Roshan, Tamarind had a huge brand recall during the launch.Tamarind was positioned as a fashion wear. The clothes were designed by the famed London based designer John Paul Vivian. The brand had the tagline " The Flavour You Wear ". The brand was designed to be a fun, fashionable trendy brand.Three major factors was the cause of this brand's failure.Price andDistribution andDifferentiation.

ON

IDA

CA

ND

Y

This unique brand is a classic case of entire marketing mix gone awfully wrong. A good idea killed by poor marketing strategy. The small TV market was the most price sensitive one and customers was not willing to pay 40 % premium for colour alone. The brand failed to convince the TG on the value proposition of the brand.There was segmentation issue also playing spoil sport. Candy was not focused on the TG because some where the brand wanted to attract the replacement market ( New TV for Old) rather than positioning itself as a second TV. This put additional volume pressure on the brand which was at best a Niche brand.

BLA

CK

BER

RY S

TO

RM

95

00

Blackberry 9500 launched in a market to compete with Apple’s iPhone. Highly volatile market which demanded for performance. Unfortunately, the storm didn’t perform as expected. It had various flaws in its technology.Flaws like No Wi-Fi, Memory, Capacitive Touch Feature.Due to all such issues, customer is reluctant to buy Blackberry Storm, resulting in low prices and no resale value

SU

BH

IKS

HA

Trouble for Subhiksha began in late 2008 when the company ran out of cash, bringing its operations to a standstill. Subhiksha faced severe financial crisis pertaining to liquidity. The cash shortage eventually resulted in Subhiksha closing its nationwide network of 1,600 supermarket stores, and defaulting on loans, vendor payments and staff salaries. The overextended chain imploded and all stores across the country were shut down, most likely never to open again

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ING

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ATER

Tapping into the booming bottled-water market, the beer conglomerate introduced Rocky Mountain Sparkling Water — but unwisely kept the Coors logo front and centre on the label, making it impossible not to worry about driving home after a heavy dose of H2O. Sales for the water, which came in original, lemon-lime and cherry flavours, did poorly.The beverage was eventually discontinued.

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KI K

IZA

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I

 The mid sized sedan segment is super crowded with focused products at the same price point as the Kizashi.  Compound this with the fact that the Kizashi often shares showroom space with superior products, which means salespeople are less motivated to focus on a car that is less likely to result in a sale. Suzuki has never been known in the US for luxurious or sporty vehicles, and there are few dedicated Suzuki dealerships, often combined with other brands like Hyundai or Subaru that have more appealing product.

SU

ZU

KI G

RA

ND

VITA

RA

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara has been a market failure in India. Grand Vitara had engine problems, steering control problems and it was a petrol version when launched in India which gave the average of 7-10kmpl. Learning from the failure, Suzuki has launched diesel variants and recalled the cars with the problems and repaired it world wide.

KIN

ETIC

AQ

UILA

Apart from the Enticer from Yamaha, Kinetic in collaboration with Hyosung Motors launched Kinetic Aquila a few years back, featuring a 250cc, V-twin, liquid cooled engine, 26 bhp of power at 9000 RPM, and a top speed of 130 kmph. This bike was priced at 1.75 lakhs on road and I think this was not only heavily priced, but the root cause of its failure.

MA

RU

TI S

UZ

UK

I ZEN

CLA

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IC

Maruti Suzuki launched a limited edition model of the mega hit Zen. The Indian car buyer is known to be potentially resistant to retro looks when it comes down to cars. Zen classic was launched in the year 2000, when its competitors were catching the Indian car buyer. The mass wanted to switch to more technological advancements in their four wheelers. This is what went wrong with this product. Zen classic design was more to attract eastern European countries.

PER

SIL P

OW

ER

When Unilever’s star brand Persil announced the launch of a powerful new formula, aptly called Persil Power, many consumers got excited by the product’s apparent ability to fight any stain. However, when the product hit the market place in May 1994, it proved so powerful that under certain conditions it didn’t only destroy stains, it destroyed clothes as well.The battle reached the level of farce last summer when Procter and Gamble executives paraded pairs of boxer shorts in public, saying that in tests commissioned by them, Persil Power was found to have damaged the underwear.

RA

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A O

RA

NJO

LT

Oranjolt needed to be refrigerated. The problem was that Indian retailers tend to switch off their shop refrigerators at night. As a result, Oranjolt faced quality problems. The product has a shelf life of three to four weeks where other soft drinks were assured a shelf life of over five months. Servicing outlets was also a problem. Rasna failed to anticipate the quality problems it faced as a result of retail practices.

PEPS

I AM

 Rival Coca-Cola had begun a "Coca-Cola in the morning" advertising campaign, yet it was Pepsi who took the movement to the next level. In a bid to capture the elusive morning beverage market, the bottler released Pepsi A.M., which featured 28 per cent more caffeine per ounce than its original soft drink. The idea flopped, of course, though it's not known just how much PepsiCo lost in the botched experiment.

TH

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OG

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HIR

STY

CAT

The worst of all bad ideas must surely be the Thirsty Cat! and Thirsty Dog! brands of bottled water designed for pampered pets. Although the water came in such ‘thirst-quenching’ flavours as Crispy Beef and Tangy Fish, pets and their owners remained unimpressed.

HA

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Y-DAV

IDS

ON

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FUM

E

Harley-Davidson launched a perfume range. The idea in itself created a confusion in the masses. It wasn’t clear if it is meant for bikers who don’t want to smell like bikers, or is it for the people who want to smell like bikers. Simultaneously Harley Davidson launched wine coolers, after shave. For brands that inspire strong loyalty, the temptation is to test that loyalty to its limits by stretching the brand into other product categories.

VIR

GIN

CO

LA

Virgin Cols was priced 15–20 per cent lower than the two leading brands, not enough consumers were being won over. Part of the problem was distribution. Coca Cola and Pepsi managed to block Virgin from getting crucial shelf space in half the UK’s supermarkets