Sunfill : RIP (2001-2005) Brand : Sunfill

Company: Coca Cola

Brand Count : 191

Sunfill was Coca Cola's foray into the Soft Drink Concentrate market

in India. Globally it was the company's first foray into the powder

concentrate segment. This good product died after 4 years primarily

because the company did not consider worthwhile to focus on

marketing this product.

Sunfill was introduced in 2001 and Coca Cola intended to take on

Rasna in the Rs 180 crore soft drinks concentrate market in India.

Rasna was dominating the market with a share of over 85%.

Sunfill was a powder soft drink concentrate . Powder concentrate

occupy85% of the total soft drinks concentrate market. Sunfill came in

three variants : Regular,Anand and Tarang.

Sunfill differentiated from Rasna by taking the convenience route. The

concentrate had added sugar in it so to make the drink was easy for

the consumer. While other concentrates, sugar need to be added

hence was cumbersome for the consumer. The taste of Sunfill was

also better compared to other brands ( personal opinion). The brand

also innovated in packaging by coming out with single serve packs

and also multi serve pillow packs.

The biggest challenge for any FMCG/SDC products was distribution.

Sunfill found an innovative method to reach the market. It had

alliances with other FMCG firms in reaching the market. The brand

had its own channel + third party alliance (Hybrid network) to ensure

that the brand is available in all stores.

But somehow the product failed in the market. The issue was with

regard to distribution, product and the promotion.

The product had some quality issues. In my personal experience, some

of the packs had very bad quality concentrate . At one point of time,

the product was not available in the stores. The issue in promotion

was regarding the positioning. When Sunfill came into the market,

Rasna countered Sunfill with its own range of powder concentrate

with added sugar.Hence the differentiation became negated for

Sunfill. The promotion investment for Sunfill was not adequate to

counter the huge brand equity that Rasna enjoyed. I have a feeling

that Sunfill was a half hearted effort from the company.That was

reflected in the promotions for the product which ultimately lead to

the death of a high potential brand

I still feel that the company did not do justice to the brand which had

a potential to make it big in the SDC market but the plug was pulled

on Sunfill in 2005.

Related brands

Rasna

Source: Agencyfaqs,businessline,magindia

Labels: beverages, failed brands, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 9:52 AM 0 COMMENTS   

F R I D A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 9 , 2 0 0 6

Maruti Gypsy : RIP

Brand : Gypsy

Company: Maruti Suzuki

Brand Count : 182

Gypsy was one of India's first sports utility vehicles. The vehicle

created a breakaway category of SUV offroader from the existing jeep

category which was dominated by Mahindra.

Born in 1985, the brand was considered as an aspirational one by

many young at hearts.The brand was positioned on the basis of its

ruggedness. The brand was promoted as a pure offroader. The ads

used to say that Gypsy could even climb trees. The positioning was

reinforced by the success of the brand in rally and offroad events.

Maruti also promoted such events to boost the brand as the ultimate

offroader. The brand had the tagline of " There is a Gypsy in

Everyone".

But the brand failed to capitalise on the first mover advantage

although it is still considered to be one of the sportiest looking SUV in

the Indian market. The brand is now confined to certain niche markets

like Police and Army vehicle segments.

Gypsy was the rebadged version of Suzuki Jimny. Although Jimny is

still surviving, Gypsy is in the last stage of its product life cycle. The

brand which pioneered the offroader category sadly is dying when the

SUV category has started growing. The brand failed because of the

apathy of the company in investing in the brand. The product had

inherent problem that created negative word of mouth and the

company didn't cared to look at the negatives of the brand.

Gypsy although considered as a tough vehicle lacked many important

attributes valued by a customer. The driving quality and the mileage

was awful. The product was priced at a ridiculous premium which was

not justified interms of the delivery of value.

The brand was priced at around Rs 5 lakh which is comparable with a

entry level sedan.The product although looked excellent outside was a

mess inside. The vehicle lacked space and comfort especially for the

rear seat. It had all the qualities for an offroader but failed to

understand that Indian consumers use offroaders on roads

( cities).The mileage was awful and that ensured that only those who

fall head over heals over the looks only will buy this brand . Since

MUL at that time was in the public sector, the brand was sold to

Police and army. For the ordinary consumers, the brand did not made

any sense.

Gypsy also did not change itself in tune with the changing industry

requirements. The vehicle initially was severely underpowered for an

offroader. The company enhanced the power from 975cc to

1300 cc only after 11 years. Gypsy King was

launched in 1996 sported the more powerful Esteem engine but was

priced steeply.

The last four years has shown that SUV category is growing very fast

fuelled by the success of the likes of Mahindra Scorpio. Most of the

global bigwigs in the SUV segment is now there in India. Suzuki also

has launched its brand Grand Vitara in this segment. But in the

current scheme of things, Gypsy was sadly not in the picture.

Compare the picture of the Suzuki Jimny (given in the blog) and Gypsy

and see the difference. Had this brand changed its looks and feel in

tune with the emerging category requirements, Gypsy could have

been a major brand. But Alas.... the brand's fate is to be cited as an

example of Marketing Myopia or is it Marketing Laziness.

Source:marutigypsy.com,wikipedia

Related Brands

Tata sierra

Labels: automobile brands, branding, failed brands, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 9:48 AM 1 COMMENTS   

M O N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 0 6

Vanilla Coke : Wakaw Brand :Vanilla Coke

Company: Coca Cola

Agency: McCann Erickson

Brand Count : 178

Vanilla Coke was touted as the greatest innovation since Diet Coke in

1983. It also has the distinction of the greatest flops after the New

Coke. Vanilla Coke came with a bang in the Indian market in April

2004. It went without much noise in 2005.

The history of this product variant dates back as early as 1950's. The

mass marketing of this variant began in 2002.The brand went global

in 2004.

2004 saw the unusual scream " Wakaw" played across mass media.

We all looked up in awe : a brand new variant from Coca Cola : 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.

The ads were surely clutter breaking and backed by 360 degree

branding efforts that ensured good publicity. The creative done by the

famed Prasoon Joshi was discussed in all media and that ensured

truck loads of free publicity. The brand also got into viral marketing.

The campaign along with Contenst2win asked the c

ustomers to SMS Wakaw to 8558 inorder to win

goodies. According to media reports, the campaign resulted in

440,000 SMS in just 4 weeks creating a record of sorts.

According to Indiatelevision.com report, the media brief given to the

agency was to create a clutter breaking campaign targeted at youth.

The campaign should create a dhamaka in the market. And rightly so

all the client requirements was achieved with in a short span of time.

But how come a product with such a good start failed so easily. With

in one year, the brand has been taken out from most of the Indian

states. The brand is said to be available in Gujarat,Kolkatta and Delhi.

As a marketing person, I am also perplexed. Frankly I liked the ad the

feel and wanted to try it out. But soon the product was not at all

available. The failure of this product line extension may have

delighted Alries and Trout .

I am assuming that the following factors may have caused the failure

of this brand.

a. The product may have been bad. The TG may not have liked the

taste. Although Coke has test marketed this product, there is always a

chance that the customers may have disliked the taste.

b.The campaign was not targeted at the right segment. This campaign

had its fair share of critics also. I liked the campaign because I have

seen the old stars and the lamby etc and could easily relate the old

characters and the concept. But for a twenty year old, he may not

relate or understand the concept. The brand may have lost out in that

respect.

c. The brand was priced at a premium over the ordinary coke. This

may have discouraged the TG from checking out the brand. Together

with the retro campaign not clicking with the intended audience may

have given a double whammy for the brand.

d. Indian SD industry is a duopoly. Pepsi and Coke rule the roast and

there are brand loyal on both sides. The new variant will be tested

first by the Coke loyal and not the Pepsi loyal. Hence like most of the

Product line extensions, the variant will be pitted against the mother

brand. Hence the customers may have compared the new variant with

the classic coke and not as a new drink. And surely the classic coke

won .

These are all assumptions because I am still confused.

The failure of Vanilla Coke is a classic case that proves that Marketing

is not a perfect science. There are no formula or theory that can make

a brand successful. To Quote Kotler " Marketing is easy to teach and

understand but difficult to practice".

source:agencyfaqs,indiatelevision.com,wikipedia,magindia,businessline

Related Brands

Thums Up

Coke

Sprite

Labels: beverages, branding, failed brands, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 11:36 AM 0 COMMENTS   

T H U R S D A Y , D E C E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 0 6

Clearasil : For Clear Skin Brand : Clearasil

Company: Reckitt & Benckiser

Agency: Euro Rscg

Brand Count : 177

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->Clearasil was a brand that was synonymous with skin care

in India. The brand occupied a distinct space in the Indian market as the ultimate cream

for Pimples and acne. But over the years this brand is facing the decline stage in its

product life cycle. The b rand reached this pathetic state because of

reasons not of its own.

Clearasil is a global brand famous world wide as a cure for acne and pimples. The brand

is 56 year old. Mr Ivan Combe of USA invented the product in 1950. It was the first

dermatological brand for curing pimples and acne made especially for young skin. In

1961, the brand came into the fold of Richardson Vicks. In 1985 P&G became the owner

of Richardson Vicks. Later the company sold of these brands to Boots Pharmaceuticals in

the year 2000. In 2006, Reckitt &Benckiser bought the brand globally. The brand came to

India in 1967.

Now you can easily see the reason why the brand failed. The brand went through too

many ownership changes. Some companies did not feel that the brand was a part of its

core portfolio. For example during the ownership of Clearasil by P&G there was no

investment on the brand since for the company, the personal care business was not a core

area. Hence during this period the brand was not at all promoted. Even though the other

owners had tried to revive the brand, frequent changes made the brand vulnerable.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->Clearas il during its peak years had the

reputation as a strong cream for fighting pimples and acnes. At that time there was no

direct competition for Clearasil although there were many skin creams. For a family

having teenage girls, Clearasil was an essential brand. But over the years, because of the

lack of brand building efforts, the brand became irrelevant to the younger generation.

Clearasil slowly became the brand that “my mother used”. When Boots owned the brand,

lot of variants were launched. The brand changed its packaging and was extended to

soaps.Rather than limiting to acne control, the brand tried to position itself as a skin care

brand. But the effort did not bear fruit because by that time, the market was flooded with

modern contemporary brands.

The brand is now owned by Reckitt and marketers expect that the brand will get a new

lease of life. The greatest challenge before the new owners is to make the brand

contemporary and relevant to the new generation. Reckitt had to find a new

differentiation platform for this heritage brand. It has to tap the existing brand equity and

try to create a new space for Clearasil. Globally Clearasil is positioned on the basis of

Confidence through better skin . The global positioning statement is “Get Clearasil , Get

Confidence”. But in India, Cinthol uses this positioning . The brand faces tough

competition from the likes of Ponds, Lakme, Loreal and so on .So to find the right space

is going to be tough.I think that the brand could take the “ Clear Skin” positioning where

by it is not limited to controlling pimples but overall skin care. With the brand Veet from

Reckitt is in the same skin care market; the brand managers will have a tough time

integrating Clearasil to the portfolio.

source:agencyfaqs,businessline,reckittbenckiser.com

Related Brands

Ponds

Fair&Lovely

Vicco

Loreal

Bodyshop

Labels: branding, failed brands, FMHG, marketing myopia, personal

care

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 2:58 PM 0 COMMENTS   

T H U R S D A Y , N O V E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 0 6

Ganga Soap : RIP Brand : Ganga

Company: Godrej Consumer Products

Brand Count: 163

If the Western Media's projection or prejudice about the social and

cultural makeup of India was correct, then Ganga soap would have

been the most sold soap brand in the world. Those who have been

watching India specific programs in BBC and National Geographic

may wond er how can such a brand fail in the land of

elephants and Sadhus ?

Ganga soap was launched with much fanfare in 1993. The soap was

positioned on the religious platform and was claimed to be made of

water from the river Ganges. The soap attained salvation in the early

2000.

The brand comes from an accomplished marketer who markets such

iconic brands like Cinthol. The brand was promoted heavily and even

had the film stars like Govinda endorsing it. Promoted using the

tagline " Now bath in Ganga" very directly puts the soap in a religious

platform. Reports suggest that the brand's initial sales was

encouraging and also there are reports that blame on the P&G and

Godrej break up caused the brand to decline.

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 revers the tradition but the consumers are discerning

when it comes to purchasing products. There is a clear divide between

religion and products. Consumers seldom like mixing the two. It is OK

if religion and politics are mixed not soups and gods. That may be the

reason why the toys of Hindu mythological characters are not popular

in India.

The brand when launched was really praised for its innovative

thinking. One could see through the logic of the launch. Just looking

at the crowd at Kumbh Mela would encourage any marketer to think

about launching a product for the devotees of Ganga. But a closer look

at the customers could have proved the marketer wrong. Why would a

customer buy a product? That is a question that could reveal that

Love for Ganga would not rake in sales.

Rather than using Ganga as a differentiator, Godrej could have

positioned the product on the basis if Purity and Gentleness like the

Pears Soap. The can show the use of Water from Ganga to reinforce

the positioning. But the religious platform failed miserably. More over

this platform is too old dated for our new generation. Another funny

element is that although Hindus revere the Ganges, people are aware

that the river is the most polluted one. Hence there were consumer

buzz that using a soap made from such water may be dangerous.

Sensing this consumer talk, Godrej had to tell that the water was

taken from places near the origin of Ganges hence not polluted.

Overall it was a messy affair.

Ganga is a brand that could have survived as a small niche. I am still

not sure about the exact reasons that brand have failed in the Indian

market.The failure of such a brand should inspire a marketer to delve

deep into the psyche of Indian consumer before jumping into

conclusions.

source:economictimes. Mouthshut .com

Labels: branding, failed brands, FMCG, marketing myopia, personal

care, soap brands

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 2:09 PM 0 COMMENTS   

M O N D A Y , N O V E M B E R 2 0 , 2 0 0 6

Proline : Follow Yourself

Brand : Proline

Company: Bombay Dyeing

Agency: Orchard /Leo Burnett

Brand Count: 160

Proline is a pioneer in the creation of Sports/ Leisure wear segment in

the Indian market. The brand was launched in 1983 by the Batra

group was one a premium sought after brand during that time. The

Indian apparel market is huge with a market size of Rs 18000-20000

crore. There are different versions about

the actual size of the branded segment in the apparel market ranging

from Rs 2500-4500 crore ( Market size and market share reports are

always confusing).

Sports and Leisure wear segment during the eighties were virtually

non existent. It would be proper to say that there were no serious

effort to brand such apparels. Proline rightfully found the gap. Proline

gain prominence in the segment through high profile promotions

using sports celebrities. Super players like Ravi Shastri, Sandip Patil,

Padukone and other major players from different sports. This created

a hugh equity for the brand. Proline was an Aspiration brand for most

of the youngsters (middle class) like me during that period. But the

brand was premium priced and that kept us from trying out the brand.

Unlike the west, the sports wears are used as casual wears in India.

There is little difference between the two segments except for the

football jerseys. The consumers used to categories all the Sportswear

in the T-shirts category. Proline was successful in projecting a

Premium International image in this segment.

Proline buoyed by the success of its brand began retailing initiatives

in a big way. The brand was promoted through exclusive shops and "

Shop in Shops" in big supermarkets. The owners also began to market

international brands like Fila and K-swiss through this retail outlets.

2000 saw the international players entering into Indian market with

serious business plans. Brands or icons like Nike , Reebok and Adidas

started their brand building efforts. The Pioneer in the market, Proline

was dwarfed by the International giants.

Proline could not stand upto the competition from these players . With

competition from unbranded players at the bottom of the market

together with the onslaught of International brands at the premium

end. The brand could not find enough space to fit in.

Proline was positioned as a brand that respect individuality. The

brand revolves round the value of " Self Respect" and the confidence

gained by accepting what you are. The attitude " Been there

and Done That" was exemplified by the campaigns. That is

one of the best positioning that a brand can opt for.

But despite the good brand name, first mover advantage and the

memorable positioning, Proline was a brand that could not sustain.

The brand is said to have a market share of less than 6% in the

segment.

The reason for the underperformace are many :

a. Competition from International players and domestic brand: It is

interesting to note that almost all the national brands have a casual

sports wear range. Whether it is Colorplus or Peter England, T-shirts

are available. That poses serious threat to a pure play sports wear

marketer.

b. Value: The brand could not sustain the value proposition in the

mind of the consumers. Priced at par with brands like Nike, Proline

needed to show the customers more value for the premium it was

asking for. More over, there were issues of segmentation. Proline

never looked at affordability of the brand. With a choice of

international brands, Proline had a tough time convincing the

customers to stick to the brand. Further the presence of brands like

Fila selling side by side Proline was little risky . Unless the brand is

clearly careful about its pricing and segmentation, there is a chance

that the franchised brand cannibalise the manufactured brand. I am

not sure whether this has happened in Proline's case.

c. Distribution : Proline had limited presence in only major cities.

In 2003, the brand changed hands. Bombay Dyeing took 51 %

ownership in the brand and that gave the brand an instant access to

the distribution outlet of the textile major. Now Proline also has the

responsibility of marketing the failed/failing Vivaldi brand of Bombay

Dyeing.

Although brand is now with a textile major, the brand is yet to take

off. What the brand Proline needs is some fresh thinking interms of

Segmentation. The brand may not be able to compete with the likes of

Nike at the premium end. But I feel that there is immense scope for a

brand at the affordable segment in the casual wear market. For

example , in the t-shirt market, there is a scope for Proline to make a

mark if it follows the strategy of Peter England ( quality at affordable

price). Although there are brands like Classic Polo, crocodile etc,

there still space for Proline.

The brand need not do much to revitalise itself because still Proline

commands some respect and recall in the market. Price

rationalisation and some high profile brand building will definitely

rejuvenate the brand and take it to new heights.

source: businessline, prolineindia.com,agencyfaqs,universalgarment news

Labels: branding, failed brands, FMCG, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 11:25 AM 0 COMMENTS   

T U E S D A Y , N O V E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 0 6

Burnol : The Burn Specialist Brand : Burnol

Company: Dr Morpean Labs

Agency: JWT

Brand Count: 156

Burnol is one of the oldest antiseptic cream brands in India. This 65

year old brand still holds tremendous brand recall among the Indian

consumers. Burnol has changed hands many times in its existence in

the Indian market. The first brand owner was Boots and the brand the

brand was acquired by Knoll. Later Reckitt and Piramal bought the

brand from Knoll. In 2002 the brand was acquired by Dr Morpean

labs. This constant change over of this brand from one company to

another has virtually undermined the equity of this heritage brand.

The Indian antiseptic cream market is estimated to be around Rs 210

crore. The market is dominated by Boroplus from Emami which

commands a market share of around 60%.

Burns market is specialised market with a size of Rs 30 crore. Burnol

had a generic status in this market.

Burnol during the hay days had a strong demand in the market. It was

perceived as a " must have" in households and offices in the first-aid

boxes. Although in households , there is rare incidents of burns,

Burnol was kept as a essential first aid medicine.

The market still remains the same. The homemakers still deal with fire

and there is still a perceived need for such a burn specialist at home.

Despite the market remaining unchanged , Burnol was pushed to a

negligible presence because of reasons not of its own.

Burnol was positioned as a burn specialist from day one ( I think so).

Customers also associate this brand with burns. The fact is that

Burnol is an antiseptic cream that could be used for burns as well as

cuts just like other antiseptic creams. Burnol was positioned so

strongly that the association has become embedded in the mind of the

customers. Even the name reinforces the positioning of this brand.

During its life cycle, the brand had tried to change over from being a

burn specialist to an all purpose cream but it was a mistake.

Customers refused to accept the repositioning and the whole exercise

was a failure.

When Dr Morpean relaunched the brand with the positioning based

on being " Burn specialist", the customers reacted favorably to it.

Burnol was promoted as a " must have " at every home.

The brand was not able to garner its potential share in the market for

reasons related to the brand owners. Either some of the companies

who owned this brand was in financial crisis or the brand was not in

their core marketing plan. Because of these two reasons, the brand

promotion was virtually nil and this apathy reflected in the market

share of this brand. Although Morpean labs initially pushed the brand,

the financial health of the company is limiting the brand promotion to

a great extent. Morpean had initiated major repositioning campaign

and even changed the product to a more acceptable cream

composition.

The brand will remain a niche brand for the following reasons.

a. Unlike other antiseptic creams, the incidence of small burns are

rare and hence the usage of this product is limited thus causing little

or no repurchase. This creates stagnation in the sales of this brand.

b. Since Burnol is very much embedded as a burn specialist, the

extension of this brand to other uses is virtually non existent because

customers will not or may not accept such an extension.

The factors outside the control of the marketer is severely hindering

the brand growth. With lot of money for promotion, one can see this

brand regaining its lost position in the market.

Source: businessline, agencyfaqs,express4media,

Labels: branding, failed brands, FMHG, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 3:39 PM 1 COMMENTS   

M O N D A Y , N O V E M B E R 0 6 , 2 0 0 6

Melody : Chocolaty Brand : Melody

Company: Parle

Agency: Grey

Brand Count : 153

Melody is one the oldest brand in Parle's Portfolio. The brand which

has made a place for its position in the market because of its unique

quality and taste is making a comeback. Melody is a

unique 2 in 1 toffee with chocolate inside and caramel outside. The

brand which was premium priced in early days had used its chocolate

content as its differentiators.

But somewhere in its life the brand lost its way. The brand was not

visible in the media or in the stores. With the entry of high profile

aggressive marketers like Perfetti almost pushed Melody to oblivion.

Also the brand managers at Parle was not spending enough on this old

brand. Confectionery products are bought impulsively and hence the

store placement and brand recall performs an important part in the

success of a brand in this category. At one point of time , Melody lost

on both of these accounts.

The brand thus was slowly forgotten by the customers. Melody had

some unique attributes that made it once successful

a. Its unique taste

b. The brand recall and equity

c.The brand elements like its jingle and tagline and packaging.

Melody was famous for its jingle " Melody hai chocolaty" and " Melody

khao khud jan jao" emphasising on the rich chocolate core and the

high decibel campaigns in the past was so effective that now also

people remember the jingle.

But those who remember the jingle and the brand has now become

older and the younger ones are not knowing this brand. That is a big

problem that this brand faces.

2006 saw this brand coming back to the Rs 1200 crore Indian

confectionery market. The brand handled by Grey Worldwide is

retaining the famous positioning of "Chocolaty" .The latest ads shows

the famous question 'Why Melody is so chocolaty" has made a

comeback.

In the analysis of competition, we often say that there is a competition

for an Idea among marketers. Brands compete for idea or positioning.

Here the " Question" that made Melody famous was hijacked by

Chlormint which ask the same question in a different way " Log

Chlormint kyon khathe hain". Hence Melody lost the exclusivity of the

Q & A that made it famous ( to a certain extent).

But for a consumer who has liked this brand and missed this brand,

the comeback is a welcome event. If Parle sustains its product quality

and maintains its share of voice, Melody will lift the fortunes of its

confectionery business.

source: agencyfaqs,parle.com,businessline

Labels: branding, failed brands, FMCG, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 6:59 PM 1 COMMENTS   

T H U R S D A Y , O C T O B E R 2 6 , 2 0 0 6

Nivea : Gentle Care Brand : Nivea

Company : Beirsdorf AG (JL Morrison in India)

Agency: TBWA

Brand Count : 147

Nivea is a German brand marketed in India by JL Morrison. This

brand has a history of around 96 years. Nivea came into existence in

the year 1911. The brand has derived its name from the Latin word

Nivius meaning "Snow White".

Nivea has been in Indian market for more than 30 years. But this

brand which is truly a global brand has not met with success in India.

Nivea globally is the brand that has its presence in around 20 product

categories in more than 50 countries. But in the 1300 crore Indian

skin care market, the presence of Nivea don't justify its rich heritage.

Nivea is famous worldwide for its face cream. Nivea Creme created by

Dermatologists was launched in 1911 . The brand is considered to be

the first to take the skin care category from the elite class to the

masses. The brand worldwide is known for its Trust, Reliability and

Accessibility. Globally this brand is positioned in the platform of

"Gentle Care" and " Wellness". The brand has its elements of Color

embedded firmly in the minds of the customers. Nivea took its "Blue

and White" color as its brand element as early as 1924. From there

onwards, this color scheme has been a brand identity for Nivea.

In India, the brand is known for its skin cream. Nivea cream is but

perceived as a winter cream because of its thickness and oily

consistency. While in other parts of the world, Nivea has successfully

came out of this narrow perception, in India, the marketers were not

able to effectively take the brand forward. With most of Indian stated

do not have severe winter, the market for winter cream is very

limited.Nivea has a market share of 19% in the Rs 108 crore skin

cream market which is dominated by Ponds.Now Ponds hold the

position which Nivea could have taken had it been more aggressive in

the market.

Although JL Morrison tried to extend the brand to soaps, the

extension has not been successful bec ause of

the halfhearted effort. With salespromotion now being used to

promote this brand of soaps,further dilution of the brand equity is

inevitable.

Nivea face serious marketing issues in India. The brand has not been

aggressive enough in this market which is crowded with established

brands. Nivea was never bothered about strengthening its positioning

as a skin care leader. While Ponds successfully extended itself to

other product categories, Nivea is stuck with its cream.This is a brand

that failed because of marketing laziness. Nivea have huge brand

recall and equity. It has the global parentage, successful positioning

opportunity but was not able to leverage the strength because the

Indian marketers didnot want to invest in the brand. The problem is

that when the brand is licensed to a marketer in a country, the

objective of the brand manager will be to milk maximum out of the

brand rather than invest in longterm brand building. Every ads and

campaigns will be weighed interms of the ROI and sales growth.

Successful brands required longterm investment that will yeild results

over a period of time. But in the case of Nivea, no such brand building

efforts were to be seen.

The potential of the brand is evident from the fact that in the Grey

market, the brand is sold well. There is also significant difference in

the quality of imported Nivea and the local one. It is said that Nivea

Deo is the best selling product in the grey market.

Nivea is sad story of a brand that failed to succeed inspite of having

all essential Brand qualities. If failed because of marketing laziness.

source:rediff,brandweek,businesstoday,nivea.com

Labels: branding, failed brands, FMCG, marketing myopia, personal

care, soap brands

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 10:12 AM 4 COMMENTS   

T H U R S D A Y , O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 0 6

Tata Sierra : RIP Brand : Sierra

Company: Tata Motors

Agency: O&M

Brand Count :144

Sierra is the first passenger car from Telco ( Now Tata motors). Tata

Sierra was launched in 1991 marking the transformation of a Truc

k manufacturer to a Passenger vehicle maker.

Sierra was an entirely a new product in the Indian car market at that

time. This three door vehicle was indeed the first SUV to hit the

Indian roads.

Sierra was the baby of Ratan Tata and his first attempt to make a

mark in the Indian Business world after taking over Telco. But the

product bombed inthe market. Sierra can be said as a brand that

came too early. The Indian market was not ready for this concept.

I personally love this car for its look. Most of you will agree that this

vehicle is a stylish one. Even with the entry of all major SUV brands in

India, Sierra looks contemporary ( my opinion) and modern.

Why did Sierra failed in the market?

a. Price

b.Quality

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. Another factor was the corporate image of the

company. Telco was rightly perceived as a truck manufacturer and

Sierra was the first passenger car. Hence the consumers were not

ready to shell out a premium for this brand

Then there was the quality issue. Sierra was a truck in the car form

( no problem with that!) .The consume rs

knew that and the price don't justify the quality proposition given in

the product. Although steeply priced, Sierra had all the goodies that

2005 cars offered like power steering, power windows etc. Yet....

Sierra failed to enthuse the customers.

Sierra was rightly positioned as a sporty beast. The ads and

campaigns rightly promoted the brand and it had all the potential to

be an icon. Telco made a mistake in having high hopes for this brand.

At the best, the product could have been a niche brand and an

important one. The brand could have lifted the company to a higher

level, had the quality issue was rectified.

Even today , we can see this car on the road . And most of the owners

who uses this product because they like the brand not for any other

reason such as low price.I read in an article that the design guru Dilip

Chabaria loves the look of Sierra. As the old ad of Sierra says , "Sierra

is not owned It is Possessed". Today Sierra's position is occupied by

Scorpio and rightly so.. If launched again with a right price , there is

still a market for Sierra.

Source: indicar,businessline,agencyfaqs.

Labels: automobile brands, branding, failed brands, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 3:16 PM 1 COMMENTS   

M O N D A Y , O C T O B E R 0 9 , 2 0 0 6

Coffy Bite : Coffee or Toffee

Brand : Coffy Bite

Company: Lotte India

Agency: JWT

Brand Count : 137

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.

Coffy Bite is one of the brands which I grow up with. 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 have 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 th e

campaigns of this brand was a 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 Perfette, 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

a. 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.

b. 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 , I mean

those kids born after1990'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 has to think as

to who is bored by the old baseline, company or customer? As a

customer I prefer the old one. I think that the 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.I hope the owners will

not come up with variants like Pineapple coffy bite. Besides the taste,

the "Coffee -Toffee" argument gives the creative guys lot of things to

work with.I feel that this brand should take the " Topical"

advertisement route perfected by Amul( discussed somewhere in my

blog) which will be enjoyed by all. 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.

Source: Businessline, agencyfaqs,fnbnews.com, lotteindia.com,economictimes.com

Labels: branding, failed brands, FMCG, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 1:46 PM 0 COMMENTS   

F R I D A Y , O C T O B E R 0 6 , 2 0 0 6

Cuticura: Leaving You Speechless Brand : Cuticura

Company: Cholayil

Agency:Rediffusion

Brand Count:135

Cuticura is an International brand which has a history of 200years.

Once synonymous with talcum powder, this brand was pushed to

oblivion because of marketing myopia or marketing

laziness.

Cutucura came to India 80 years back.Cutucura was owned in India

by Muller&Phipps. Globally this brand was owned by Keyline Brands

which was acquired by Godrej Consumer products in 2005.

Interestingly the brand is owned in India by Cholayil who are the

marketers of Medimix soaps.Cholayil refuses to sell the brand to

Godrej. Godrej hence have the rights to the brand outside India. It

looks like a typical hindi film story script. Cutucura may be crying "

Main kon hu, Main kahan Hu, Mera papa Kaun hai"?

Cholayil acquired the brand from Muller in 2002. The brand was given

a make over and the new owners was trying to revive the brand.

Cuticura was a leading brand of talcum powders in India in the 80's.

Indian talcum powder market is estimated to be around Rs 600 crore.

In the late 80's the brand faced competition from HLL and Cuticura

was not able to sustain in the market.One major factors was that the

Muller underestimated competition. The brand failed to change .

Today the talcum poweder market is dominated by HLL's Ponds with

65% share.

Cuticura's stronghold is the southern market where it

claims to have a share of 30%. The brand still holds equity in this

market. So for Cholayil who markets Medimix, this brand gives a

platform to get into personal care business.

Cuticura is known for its fragrance. The classic brand also famous for

its orange and white packing which still has a huge recall. Cuticura

while retaining its classic product launched a lavender variant in

2003. Reports suggest that the variant failed to make any ripples in

the market. But these efforts helped the brand to post a decent

turnover thanks to the brand equity. Now this brand is worth Rs 10

crore.

Although the Cholayil group has taken serious steps in reviving the

brand, the campaign lacked the punch needed to propel the brand to

new heights. The brand still retains the classic positioning based on

fragrance. The new tagline talks about the brand leaving you

speechless . Although creative idea is OK, the execution is horribl

e. The hyperbole fails to catch the imagination of new

generation.

The biggest challenge that the brand face is that its core users have

become old. The customers who liked and used this brand have now

become old and the new generation does not know this brand. Hence

the brand has to be relevant to the new generation competing with

the power brands like Ponds.

2006 saw the brand extending to deodorants. The extension was

branded as Cuticura DeO2.The main USP of DeO2 is its ingredient

Farnesol. The brand has the tagline " Let your underarms breathe".

Although a not thrilling tagline, to some this make sense because this

product will help you smell good without inhibiting perspiration which

is an important function of the body. Most of the deos inhibits

perspiration to control the bad smell.

Unlike the talc ad, the DeO2 campaign is carefully executed to appeal

to the newgen. Cuticura DeO2 will be pitted against Rexona, Fa, etc in

this segment.

The brand has a potential to be a serious player in the personal care

segment. The brand has to exploit its brand equity and strive to be

relevant to the new generation who may have forgotten this brand

source: historypages.net, magindia.com, agencyfaqs, cholayil

Labels: branding, failed brands, FMCG, marketing myopia, personal

care

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 10:33 AM 0 COMMENTS   

M O N D A Y , A U G U S T 2 8 , 2 0 0 6

Akai : The Original Price Warrior Brand : Akai

Company: Videocon

Agency:SSC&B

Brand Count 118

Akai is the brand that changed the Indian CTV industry for ever.The

25000 crore Indian consumer durables market survived at one time

because of Akai. Akai was brought to India by Baron International , a

company floated by the young Kab ir Mulchandani.

Akai was launched in India in 1995 and there after the CTV market

was never the same. Before Akai, the CTV was a luxury affordable

only to the middle class and above. The starting price of CTV at that

time was Rs 15000 and above. It was a big task for a middle-income

family to afford one at that time.

Players like Videocon, BPL, Philips and Onida dominated CTV market

at that time. Akai had to break the stronghold of these players and

how they did it is one of the greatest marketing success stories ever.

From 0 to14% market share within 18 months. That was the outcome.

Akai did this by going by the advice of Don Corleone “ Make an offer

that no one can refuse”.

“ Rs.9999 for a 21 inch color television” screamed full-page ads in

newspapers. It was for the first time that a consumer durable

marketer took full pages that too frequently. Along with the price,

Akai invented the concept of exchange schemes into the Indian

market and customers loved it. Nobody could believe the offer and the

price. I don’t think anyone now also knew how it worked out.You go to

the dealer with an old TV and you could get a discount of Rs 5000 on

the new one. WOW…

Akai positioned itself as a price warrior and the heritage factor of

being a Japanese company boosted the brand image of the company.

The tag “Made in Japan” always impresses Indian consumers and it

helped Akai to scale up in the market with in a short span of time.

Baron also took an unconventional distribution strategy by advertising

heavily before the product hit the market. This created rush in the

market and distributors paid upfront to get the orders and the

company had the money before selling its product. The additional

margins also satisfied the dealers.

The price and the hype affected the market share of

the leaders in CTV market .All the players cut their prices as high as

40% so as to survive. This prompted customers to believe that they

were being forced to pay a higher price before Akai came into the

market. The price offers expanded the Indian CTV market like a

rocket propeller

Akai ran into rough weathers shortly after 1998. Akai globally was

owned by Ontario based Semi Tech corporation. Baron ‘s relationship

with Semi Tech became rough. Baron, to tide over the probability of

severing ties with Akai, forged a deal with Aiwa of Japan for

marketing Hi Fi music systems.

Kabir Mulchandani did the same with Aiwa selling the brand at a

price unheard of and making the product category reachable to

middle class. But Aiwa as an upscale brand ( 51% of the co is owned

by Sony) was not happy by this positioning ,however an the brand was

looking for an upstart in the Indian market and Kabir’s strategy

helped Aiwa to create a brand awareness and expand the market.

Akai thus severed its association with Baron and forged a marketing

relationship with Videocon. Videocon was marketing the brands of

Semitech like Sansui.

Akai struggled to shrug of the image of a low price brand which was

strongly embedded in the mind of the Indian consumer. As Mr

Abrahan Koshy of IIMA says ‘ Discounted brands are promotion

dependant” so to survive Akai had to spend heavily on Advertisements

and it was a difficult proposition.

Baron later tried its luck with another Chinese brand TCL but could

not succeed. Once a poster boy in the media and once acclaimed as a

marketing whiz kid, Kabir Mulchandani has faded in to history as a

one product wonder. He is battling lot of legal issues and nobody talks

about him now. But marketing history remembers him as a Disruptive

Marketer who made two luxury product categories CTV and Hi-FI

systems affordable to the Indian consumer.

Akai expanded the Indian CTV market which is now estimated to be

80 lakhs units per year. The Korean majors currently dominate the

market. Since the launch of Akai in 1995, the entry-level models are

ranging sub 10000, which was unthinkable in the 90’s. Now all the

major players including SONY have a CTV model below Rs 10000.

Even Flat TV starts in this range. All these, thanks to AKAI. But the

brand has now become a marginal player in the Indian market.

Videocon is finding it difficult to fit this brand into its already crowded

product portfolio. Aiwa is fighting it out at the affordable TV and

Music system category with the backing of SONY.

Source : agencyfaqs, estrategicmarketing,businessworld

Labels: branding, consumer durable brands, failed brands, marketing

myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 9:11 PM 1 COMMENTS   

W E D N E S D A Y , A U G U S T 1 6 , 2 0 0 6

Ceasefire: RIP 1989-2002 Brand : Ceasefire

Company: Real Value Appliances

Agency: Grey

Brand Count : 114

Ceasefire was India's first domestic fire extinguisher. It was one of

India's best and worst marketing stories. A brand that virtually

created and ruled a category faded out after12 years.

Fire extinguishers comes in the category of unsought goods and it is

difficul t and expensive to create and

survive in such a product category . Real Value Appliances owned by

Mr. Pheroze Engineer started operations in 1989 bringing to the

country a new concept - a domestic fire extinguisher. The fire

extinguishers were not uncommon to Indian consumers. We see it in

large malls and theaters. But a domestic one was unique. Indian

consumers never thought of having one in their homes.

The product made perfect sense in Indian market ( infact every

market). Our households deal with fire all the time and the risk of fire

being getting out of control is very much there. Hence a marketing

mind would easily see the prospect of cashing in that need : the need

for protection from fire. Thus came in to market Ceasefire. The

product was compact, unique had a catchy name, looked good and

boasted of extinguishing all sorts of fires.

Ceasefire was halon 1211 based fire extinguisher that was very

compact and was handy and easy to use ( with minimum effort). Much

more than the efficacy of the use, it gave a certain peace of mind to

the Indian consumer against the possible fire mishap.

The product was well received in the market. The ads were focusing

on building in the consumer a fear about a possible fire mishap . The

ads were backed by a sales campaign. The company focused on direct

marketing for promoting the product . Since the " Fear of Fire" is so

basic to human psyche, the success was imminent. The product was

priced at a premium and the customers never complained.

Fire extinguishers , like Insurance is one kind of product where

customers are not unhappy if it is not being used. Hence the success

is in keeping the " Fear " alive in the customer's mind. The success of

Ceasefire was much discussed in Management classes those days.

Then buoyed by the success, the company diversified to Vaccumizer

and " rest became history". From a brand that was among the top ten

fastest growing brand in the country to a company referred to BIFR,

things moved very fast from 1997 onwards.

It happened not because the brand failed the company but it was

because the company failed the brand. The unsuccessful new product

like vaccumizer and the alleged mismanagement failed the brand once

gloried as a marketing success story.In 2002, Real Value Appliances

closed down

its operations. May be the brand / company tried to grow very fast

without consolidating, may be because of mismanagement.

It was a brand that lost its life because of faults not of its own. But

surprisingly, no other brands have come forward to take that position.

The product category that was created by Ceasefire is still void. May

be the category may not be appealing to the other marketers. But the

potential is there and the fear is also there.

Source: magindia, indiainfoline, estrategicmarketing.com

Labels: branding, failed brands, FMCG, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 9:52 AM 0 COMMENTS   

T H U R S D A Y , J U N E 0 8 , 2 0 0 6

Yardley : Immense Potential Wasted ! Brand : Yardley

Company: Lornmead

This 235 year old cosmetics brand from England is yet to take off in

India(after crashlanding) despite its long life here. The iconic brand

was a hit in 1950's among the elite Indians but some how missed the

liberalisation bus.

The brand which has a rich heritage was marketed by P&G and since

they did not have any interest in the cosmetic market sidelined this

brand. The brand was relegated to Talcum Powders and with no

promotions and poor pricing has dampened the equity of this brand.

Yardley is now owned by Lornmead which is under the Jatania group :

one of the richest Indian family in UK. If reports are to be believed,

they have big plans for India and Yardley may fit into their strategies.

Yardley has been positioned as the quintessential English brand with

its conservative look and royal touch. Although the brand was

appealing to the TG in early nineties, the newer generation has not

been kind to this brand ( or this brand is not existing to gennext). The

cosmetic market is dominated by the likes of Revlon and Lakme, calls

for a major rebranding exercise for this brand.

A look at their website revealed a whole range of luxurious perfume

and cosmetic range which was sadly not available in India. Yardley

have the advantage of being perceived as a Unisex brand and thus can

extend the brand to a larger audience. Since the perfumes market is

still undeveloped, Yardley have a huge market waiting for it.

What the company needs to do is to get its marketing mix correct and

make the brand contemporary. If it does it fast, the brand has the

potential to make it big

Labels: branding, failed brands, FMCG, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 3:49 PM 0 COMMENTS   

F R I D A Y , M A Y 1 2 , 2 0 0 6

Bajaj RE : The End Of Days?

Brand : RE

Company: Bajaj Auto

Rickshaws were a part of Indian roads as early as 1880 and the

rickshaw pullers of Calcutta are famous in the West as a symbol of

Indian Poor. Rickshaw originated from Japanese words that meant

Human Powered Vehicle. Later these rickshaws become powered by

motors hence became autorickshaw.

Bajaj is the pioneer in this market with a market share of almost 95%.

Auto which is the short form of Autorickshaw started off with a front

engine model with 'Dolby Digital ' sound effects with petrol smoke

which comes free. In 1977 Bajaj launched the rear engine Auto which

bought some decency to this class of vehicle.

Autos are a source of income for lot of families.There are estimated to

be around 24 lakh three wheelers in India. The three wheeler segment

include both passenger and goods carrier and Bajaj enjoys a near

monopoly in this segment. The other players are Mahindra , Piaggio

Greaves. KAL etc.

As a marketer I feel that this segment is going to witness the same

fate as the scooters and as usual Bajaj Auto, unless it wakes up, is

going to be in the same situation as it was in the case of Scooter

segment.

Let us look at the product first. Autos is a mode of public transport.

The reason why it succeeded in India is

a. Cheaper than Taxi

b.Ideal for short distance travel

c. City maneuvering is easy

d.Comfortable than buses.

Over these years all these factors has turned against the Auto. With

the rising fuel prices, the auto rates have increased and is now out of

reach for the lower middle class.This vehicle was earlier fulfilling the

needs of the lower and upper middleclass families of India.But with

the upper middle class going for two wheeler and Maruthi, these

autos now have no significance in their traveling plans. For the lower

middle class, the new auto rates are now not affordable so there is a

shift to two wheelers or buses. For example a one and a half kilometer

trip in an auto will cost you nothing less than 15 Rs while a car will

cost you around Rs.6

The pollution caused by autos have forced authorities to put stringent

norms for this segment. The rash behaviour of the drivers also is

repulsing the customers from this mode of transport. One has to

answer many questions from the auto driver before taking you for the

ride. This segment till now has not understood the ground realities.

The vehicle is pathetic with respect to comfort to passengers aswell as

drivers. The customers are using this product just because there is no

other alternative. It is a sort of De ja vu .. Till now Bajaj has done

nothing to the product. No change in the shape , comfort, technology

etc. Yes they have came out with diesel version, 4 stroke self start and

CNG version but essentially the product is still the same.

The market size is estimated to be around 400000 units per year.

Since this is a major source of income, government will not take a

drastic step to kill the segment . But I foresee a disruptive change in

this segment. Already some disruption is happening. The goods

carrier three whe eler segment is witnessing competition

from other players and the Tata motors have launched a Blockbuster

product TATA ACE to take on the three wheeler goods carrier.

A similar disruptive product will easily kill Autos. Already there are

rumours of Honds seriously looking into this segment. To escape the

fate of Chetak , Bajaj has to once again think in terms of customer.

The autos in order to succeed should deliver more value to the

passenger and the owner. Better mileage, ridability, comfort for the

passenger are a must to survive the next ten years. Drivers should be

trained to be more customer friendly because with their Union

strength it may be possible to get higher rates but not the customers.

With the public transport systems gearing up fo major changes with

better buses, metro rails etc, customers have choices. Taxi's have

sensed this and have changed. Now we have better and courteous taxi

cabs and their business is growing.

Hey Auto : R U listening?

Labels: automobile brands, branding, failed brands, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 9:28 PM 0 COMMENTS   

M O N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 2 7 , 2 0 0 6

Margo:lost in the Neem trees !

Brand : Margo

Company: Henkel

Agency: FCB Ulka

Margo is one of the oldest herbal soaps in India. The brand which is

more than 85 years old is famous for its neem content. The product

although famous for its positive effects to the skin is nowhere in the

market. This is a brand which never changed with the customer.

During its launch, the product had dedicated customer base and since

the product was unique due to its medicinal value , customers tend to

be loyal. The whole brand was having Neem as its core identity.

But Margo failed to understand the changing dynamics of Indian

consumers, more and more choices began to unfold before the

consumer and Margo was becoming a niche brand. Margo was

positioned as a "complete skin care soap". When market became

fragmented with lot of products positioning at different attributes,

Margo was sidelined as a medicinal soap.

The product has inherent negatives, the fragrant was not attractive

nor the shape. It was also less lathering compared to its competitors.

Margo changed hands from Shaw Wallace to Henkel. Although Margo

was relaunched in 2003 with a new fragrance and shape , it has not

excited the market so far. The new positioning is " Margo skin clear

skin". The brand had a following in AP, Tamilnadu and West Bengal

( am not sure about its present status). The single mistake the brand

made was to miss the new generation. It failed to attract the young

users.

With Lifebouy herbal variant and other established brands taking in

the "neem" content away from Margo, this brand needs a hell lot of

money to rejuvenate itself. May be a high decibel big celebrity

endorsement may help this brand ( try Aishwarya for a change) . Can

it change its avatar and fight lifebuoy in the health platform?

This is a brand that failed to change with the customer or changed

very late.

Labels: branding, failed brands, FMCG, marketing myopia, personal

care, soap brands

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 12:11 AM 0 COMMENTS   

M O N D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 0 6

Vimal suitings : Where art Thou ? Brand : Vimal Suitings

Company : Reliance Industries Ltd

Agency : Mudra

One of the oldest and most respected iconic textile brand of India is

languishing some where in the attic of the mega corporation Reliance.

The brand which started of as a Saree brand developed itself into a

mega textile brand for women , men and even for furniture ( Vimal

Harmony is one of the largest furnishing brand).

Vimal suitings was launched in 1980 after the successful Vimal range

of sarees. At that point of time Reliance was a predominantly a textile

company. This brand was carefully positioned as a premium men's

suitings brand. The brand which was handled by Mudra, was

promoted heavily by Reliance. At that time the major competitors

being Bombay Dyeing and Raymonds.

According to the case study of Vimal available in Mudra Website, the

Vimal Suitings brand was developed in 4 stages . The first stage

involved convincing the customer about the quality of the brand

explaining the technology behind the making of Vimal in

advertisements. The second stage involved creating a personality of

the brand using living legends. In the ads, living legends like army

veterans, experts in various fields were used as models to build the

character of the brand as a credible brand. The third stage involved

promoting the brand as a fashion brand or Style gur

u. The ads showed Kabir Bedi and the likes

catched the imagination of the TG. The 4 stage used cricketer as

models to appeal to larger crowd. May be Vimal was one of the first

brands that used cricketer as models ( correct me if I'm wrong).

I would add the fifth stage as letting the brand die without giving it

any marketing support.

The brand was targeted at the young ambitious who are challengers

to the CEO's . The brand personality was stylish, and aspirational.

Vimal was promoted using the famous tagline " OnlyVimal " created

by Late Frank Simoes. The tagline is said to be personally approved

by Dhirubai himself. The brand was a premium brand and the ads

were catchy. Reliance also opened exclusive Vimal showrooms as a

part of promoting the brand.

Later in the 1990's the Reliance business model changed. The

company changed from textiles to petrochemicals and Vimal was not

fitting into reliance business plans. It was the only retail brand of

Reliance ( now we have RIM) and company never focused on Vimal.

As far as a marketer is concerned, Vimal was a great brand with huge

potential ( whether it fits into Reliance plan is another issue). 90's also

saw the shift in the consumer's preference towards readymades.

Although reliance had a readymade brand "Reance" it was a half

hearted move which resulted in a flop.

Vimal was known for its quality and style. Still people remembers its

simple baseline " Only Vimal". Lack of marketing support had virtually

killed the brand. Now the position that Vimal occupied is now owned

by Raymonds and Reid & Taylor.

News reports suggest that Reliance may revive the Vimal brand owing

to their retail foray and the opening of the textile sector to the global

markets. Vimal have already being messed itself up with the launch of

V2 brand which is cheap and available even in grocery stores. What a

way to mess up a brand ! Vimal have stopped marketing sarees and is

said to be concentrating on suitings. Suitings are becoming more

popular because of the increasing globetrotters and professionals.

Reviving Vimal will be very difficult since this brand has lost its touch

with the new Indian consumer.

Oh Vimal!

Labels: branding, failed brands, marketing myopia, readymade

brands, textiles

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 9:54 AM 0 COMMENTS   

W E D N E S D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 0 8 , 2 0 0 6

Yamaha : Not truly Yamaha ! Brand: Yamaha

Company: Yamaha

Agency : Dentsu

Yamaha which once ruled the mind of Indian youth is now in dire

straits. The company which is the second largest motorcycle

manufacturer in the world is having a market share of 5%

in the booming Indian two wheeler market which is growing at a rate

of 12-15%.

Why?

Yamaha is a performance bike manufacturer which recently

celebrated its golden jubilee of its existence . In India Yamaha was

present in a joint venture with Escorts which brought out the

blockbuster Yamaha RX 100 and the cult Yamaha RD 350. Yamaha

and Hero Honda had during the late 80's beat the hell out of scooter

manufacturers , but Yamaha now has lost its edge. Yamaha broke the

partnership with Escorts and started its India operations as a 100%

subsidiary of Yamaha Japan from 2001 onwards.

Yamaha was not able to sustain the momentum it had generated

during 1990's with RX100. RX100 was a bike that had style and

substance. The product was powerful, gave no mech problems and

was embraced by the youth. But after the tight environmental

regulations introduced in 90's , RX100 had to be shelved. RX100 was

replaced by RX135 which was no where near RX100. The ride was

terrible and the product had nothing to boast about. It was the

beginning of decline of Yamaha.

Yamaha was not able to bringout a blockbuster product in the recent

past. It is unfair if I don't mention that there were lot product

launches from Yamaha but nothing clicked. The reason being that the

company was focused on Utility segment ( true that money is there

only in that segme nt). Yamaha did not try to look

at the changing profile of the Indian consumer.

Yamaha also thought that it had the same premium image in the mind

of the customer . It failed to realise that the brand equity has eroded

because of failed product launches. It had no product to showcase its

superiority as a bike manufacturer. While Bajaj demonstrated its

arrival in to the bike segment with Eliminator and Pulsar, Yamaha still

tried its luck in the executive segment which was dominated by

Splendor from Hero Honda.

Yamaha should have realised that inorder to break the Splendor's

dominance, It had to build a brand in the premium segment and using

that image, try its luck in the mid segment. Bajaj launched Eliminator

to show the technical superiority. We drooled at the cruiser and then

grabbed Pulsar. Yamaha failed to do that.

Yamaha tried to shock the market with a low

priced Cruiser Enticer at an unbelievable price of 49000 but the

product failed because the company wanted to play the volume game.

Enticer could not sustain the huge initial it got because the market for

cruiser was only emerging and the product did not live up to the

expectation. Cruiser with only a power of 125 cc was itself a failing

proposition. Now that there is a trend towards low priced cruiser

pioneered by Bajaj Avenger, Enticer relaunch may succeed.

Yamaha then launched Crux and Libero and Fazer in the executive

segment but cou ld not set the market on fire . The

company says that it is moving away from utility bikes to performance

bikes. The launch of Fazer was towards this direction. The product

had an unusual look hence failed to catch the imagination of Indian

bike enthusiasts. Here again the company made a mistake of not

making a statement.

Yamaha is having big plans for India. The company is earmarking 200

crores in revamping its operations. On the marketing side, it has

roped in John Abraham as the brand ambassador.

I am no expert in Motorcycles but I feel that Yamaha now needs to

make a STATEMENT. A powerful statement that will force the

consumers to look up and say " Its a Yamaha".

Just compare the Fazer launched in India and the

Fazer which is showcased int ernationally, the

Indian Fazer is no where near the international one. Why did Yamaha

which wanted to play the lifestyle game launch a stripped down

Fazer ? Had it launched a chunky masculine Yamaha in India, the

brand will move miles ahead in the mind of the consumer. Forget the

price and the volume, bring the best bike to India and make a

statement.

What we have in India is not the Yamaha but only a shadow. Yamaha

if it wants to emerge from the shadows will have to shed the volume

game and seriously build the brand.

To become Truly Yamaha , Change the rules...

Labels: automobile brands, branding, failed brands, marketing myopia

POSTED BY HARISH B AT 12:23 PM 0 COMMENTS   

M O N D A Y , J A N U A R Y 2 3 , 2 0 0 6

Bajaj Chetak (1972-2005) :RIP

Brand : Bajaj Chetak

Company : Bajaj Auto Ltd

The brand which ruled the Indian roads have been laid to rest. Bajaj

has officially stopped the production of Bajaj Chetak from December

2005. The stocks will last may be upto March 2006. The company says

that the product no longer have any relevance to the customer. To

quote Rajiv bajaj " Any one who clings to the past is a failure".

I owned a Chetak: a gift from my father for having secured admission

to MBA program. It was in the year 1996. Later I exchanged it for a

bike in 2001. Still Chetak lingers in me ( or rather haunts me) in the

form of " Back Pain".

The brand which was launched in 1972 virtually owned the two

wheeler segment. If reports are to be believed, Chetak was an

unavoidable dowry in 1970's and 80's. It had a waiting period of more

than 10 years ( can you believe it ? ) and now here I am after 34 years,

writing the epitaph of this brand.

The brand which was named after the legendary stallion of the Rajput

king Maharana Pratap, was known for the reliability and sturdiness.

The brand thrived during the license raj with virtually no competition.

It was during 1990-91 that the brand began the journey to the end.

Bajaj Chetak had a huge brand equity . The brand had the persona of

a " work h orse". With reasonable price and the low

maintenance cost made this product a huge hit among the middle

class Indians.

Promoted along the base line " Hamara Bajaj", this was the Indian

Family vehicle - a position now owned by Maruthi 800.

But then How can a brand that was so popular and successful fail?

Frankly, I am not sure. But here is what I think about this brand...

The primary reason is that the Brand forgot the customers. Another

case of Marketing Myopia. The company failed to understand the

changing perception of the customers towards scooters. Rather than

looking at the customers, the company focused on influencing

Government to block the opening up of economy. Bajaj never did

anything with the product. For 40 years Chetak had the same look,

same quality and style.

During the mid nineties the company realised lately that the segment

has shifted to motorcycles. Scooters were no longer the option. But

did the company made a mistake in discarding the scooter segment ?

Looking at the way the share prices are going, the market thinks that

Bajaj Auto made the right decision. But I think that th

ey made a mistake in leaving the scooter

segment completely. Contrary to expectation, the scooter segment has

not died. It has only changed.

Chetak lost its identity some where during the nineties. What should

be the future of the brand : no body knew. It was only in 2004 that

company made any change in Chetak. In 1994 Bajaj introduced

Classic another scooter with same style as Chetak, but failed.

Bajaj never was serious about product development. The R&D spent

for a long time was a miniscule 1%. The average cycle time for the

new product development was 4-5 years compared to 2-3 years of

Japanese competitors.

Even after the opening up of economy, the scooter segment did not

witness much competition.

The players like Vespa did not had much of success in this segment.

Kinetic Honda managed to carve a niche with its gearless scooters.

Another segment which was growing was the scooterette segment

which was dominated by TVS scooty.

Bajaj never seriously looked at customer perception about Chetak.

The product had serious problems like starting trouble and riding

comfort. The " Tilting the chetak to the side for starting " was a

common joke. Did the company do anything for that ? no

There was nothing wrong with the Promotion. " Hamara Bajaj " and "

No one can beat a Bajaj " were famous base lines. There was nothing

wrong with distribution and the pricing was very reasonable. The

major problem was in the first P : Product.

So without addressing any problems regarding the product , can you

expect the customer to buy the product ?

Bajaj was never a leader in technology ( now they are !!!). They never

bothered to and paid the price . Had Chetak pioneered Electric start,

had it provided more riding comfort, it could have survived.

Somebody have just beat the Bajaj........ the customer!