IMC Assignment 33133 MukeshPareek

7/31/2019 IMC Assignment 33133 MukeshPareek

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IMC AssignmentBrand: Fair and Handsome

Professor: Dr. Sanjay Bhale

2012

Mukesh Pareek

Marketing A

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The Story So far in Pictures

The Big Idea Activation Programme

The No.1 Factor Creative Print Ad

Use of Hinglish The Way Ahead


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Brand: Fair and Handsome

Company: Emami

Industry: Cosmetics

Agency: Situations

Launch: 2005

Brief Introduction

In the year 2005 Emami in collaboration with Activor Corp, USA, launched Fair andHandsome a brand that created the Men's fairness cream segment in India. The brand became

the creator and the market leader of this segment. Prior to the introduction of Fair and

Handsome the category was serviced by the iconic brand Fair and Lovely from the stable of

HUL. Emami was looking for ways to challenge the Fair and Lovely brand from HUL.Emami had a brand Naturally Fair which was small compared to Fair and Lovely. Emami

went for serious customer research which showed that 25-30% of customers of Fairness

creams were men. That customer insight paved way for a specialized brand for men.

Facts and Figures

The total fairness market is estimated to be around Rs 900 crores and men's segment is

around Rs 160 crores. Fair and Handsome is worth Rs 45 Crores now commanding a marketshare of over 30-40% in the segment. The category is still in the nascent stage and the influx

of new launches only confirms that the canvas is yet to see a lot of colors.

Competitor Analysis

An enumeration of the competitors would be:

HULs Fair and Lovely Menz Active Nivea Whitening Range LOreal s Men Expert Garneir
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/Rqxnl0gQ8FI/AAAAAAAAAxs/1rhyO4kDX3c/s1600-h/fairnhandsome.jpg


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Fair and Handsome has gained the first mover advantage, already competition is heating up.

HUL has extended FAL into men's category with a variant Menz Active. Nivea and Lo'real

also have moved into this segment. Unlike Fair and Handsome , other brands are little subtlein positioning their brands as a fairness cream.

Nivea uses the term Whitening

While LOreal positions the men's range Men Expert by providing a gamut of skin solutions

for men.

However HUL directly positions its Menz Active as a fairness cream but the target market

are older men aged 25-35

So far, it is only Garnier which has taken the highway by not mentioning the Attract

Women attribute

The IMC of Fair and Handsome

TAGLINE: Be fair, Be handsome

Fair and Handsome is targeted at young urban men aged 15- 35. The brand was launched

with much promotion across visual media. The discussion can be furthered by talking the

first TVC aired by Fair and Handsome. Here the main character is depicted as a nincompoopwho gets into a ladies hostel to steal a fairness cream. It leaves me wondering that why

couldn't he just go to a supermarket and buy it, however in fair and objective discussion we

sure cannot discount the fact that having a first mover advantage they sure had a unique value

proposition which helped even a lousy campaign attain success.

The brand is being positioned as the fairness cream that can make men handsome and also

attractive to girls. The brand uses the tagline: Be fair Be Handsome. The brand has to be

Brand Stable Price Perception Brand Ambassador

Fair and Handsome Emami Entry Level Shahrukh Khan

FAL Menz Active HUL Entry Level NoneWhitening Nivea Mid Level Shahid Kapoor

Lightning Garnier Mid Level John Abraham

Men Expert LOreal Expensive Gerald Butler ( Global)


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appreciated for creating a category. It is true that men use creams meant for women. Hence

there is logic in creating a brand for men in this category. In the face of emergingcompetition Emami has moved aggressively to promote Fair &

Handsome by roping in Bollywood icon ShahRukh Khan as its brand

ambassador. The TVC featuring SRK is already on air. According to areport in agencyfaqs, SRK was initially skeptical about endorsing a

fairness brand for PR reasons; However Emami was able to convinceSRK into endorsing this brand. Fair& Handsome is the first brand to

target men.

It was followed by Fair and Lovely extending itself to men's variant Men's Active. Now this

segment is seeing lot of activity.

Fair and Handsome is banking on its 5 power Fairness System:

1. Double Strength Peptide complex which was developed in collaboration with Activor

Corp. USA.2. Sunguard: Prevent sunburn

3. Stress Busters: prevent wrinkles

4. Anti Bacplus: anti bacterial

5.Herbo Cool: herbal ingredients.

The brand website also gives an interesting chart that explains why fairness is important

.

This chart in a way explains the Brand's thought process.Fair and Handsome retains the

original tagline: Be Fair, Be Handsome" in the new campaign also. The brand gives an

impression that the users are having a lack of confidence and feels insecure and have less selfesteem. Again the brand assumes that Fairness gets women attracted towards men. The new

campaign and the brand ambassador in SRK may spike the sale of this brand for a while, butin order to move up the ladder, FAH have to project itself as a winner rather than a brand for

losers.

source: agencyfaqs,business standard,fairand handsome.net
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RqrbBkgQ8CI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FM5I1z8NAIA/s1600-h/SRK+FH.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RqrbBkgQ8CI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FM5I1z8NAIA/s1600-h/SRK+FH.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RqrbBkgQ8CI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FM5I1z8NAIA/s1600-h/SRK+FH.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RqrbBkgQ8CI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FM5I1z8NAIA/s1600-h/SRK+FH.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RqrbBkgQ8CI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FM5I1z8NAIA/s1600-h/SRK+FH.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RqrbBkgQ8CI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FM5I1z8NAIA/s1600-h/SRK+FH.jpghttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RqrbBkgQ8CI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FM5I1z8NAIA/s1600-h/SRK+FH.jpghttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RqrbV0gQ8EI/AAAAAAAAAxk/9SOZHuFS9hI/s1600-h/yourface_chart.gifhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RqrbBkgQ8CI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FM5I1z8NAIA/s1600-h/SRK+FH.jpghttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RqrbV0gQ8EI/AAAAAAAAAxk/9SOZHuFS9hI/s1600-h/yourface_chart.gifhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1pKvii0Z9Cs/RqrbBkgQ8CI/AAAAAAAAAxU/FM5I1z8NAIA/s1600-h/SRK+FH.jpg


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Recent Communication Initiatives

The brand managers acknowledging the importance of the virtual world have not only created a

user friendly website but also in order to engage the customers have come up with various

initiatives

Win An Ipod

National Level Mr. Handsome Contest

Free Wallpapers, Screen savers and e cards


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SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE IMC

Strength

Simple and direct communication

Hard hitting message playing the vulnerability of the target audience

Reinforcement in the form ' World's no.1 cream'

Strong recall because of Shahrukh Khan

Weakness

Single focus on 'Attract Girls' attribute

Unable to create the aspirational value

Heavy reliance on the brand ambassador

Oppurtunity

In the form of ancillary products which can be introduced using thesame IMC channels

Increasing awareness in men about beauty is an oppurtunity in itself

Threat

Objective communication messages devoid of puffery used by

competitors Deep Pockets and advertising budgets of competitors

The simplicity may just get converted into 'rusticity' and dampen itschances of beinga power brand


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Observations and Suggestions

Again the brand assumes that Fairness gets women attracted towards men. It appears that the

brand still lives in the Stone Age. It appears that they have got their assumptions wrong. By

depicting the main hero of the ad as a person with low self esteem, the brand is repelling lot of

self assured men who wants to take care of their skin rather than attracting chicks. Gone are the

days where Indian men had a complex about the skin color influenced by the long oppression by

the British. Now the urban male is a more evolved one. (It cannot be denied the fact that there

are people who have complex about being not fair).

Men are more exposed to sun and dust and the traditional creams may not be effective for men.

Hence such brands should address the host of issues faced by men rather than talking about being

attractive to girls. I feel that Fair and Handsome by default is restricting itself to the Fairness

proposition ( which is not a bad idea in the short run but if they are in for the long haul then they

would have to consider selling a complete skin solution).

Even when you are addressing the issue of fairness, the brand have to project itself as an

aspirational brand rather than as one for losers. Even the new campaign fails terribly in

execution. The new campaign and the brand ambassador in SRK may spike the sale of this brand

for a while, but in order to move up the ladder, Fair and Handsome have to project itself as a

winner rather than a brand for losers.

Though the brand has to tackle the issue of reluctance of men to be seen using a cream because

cosmetics traditionally are viewed as a category meant for females. Situations are changing and

the Metrosexuals are least bothered about openly caring about their looks. The changing face of

modern man is definitely indicating a big opportunity to these brands.

Documents

IMC Assignment 33133 MukeshPareek