An OLD product with the SAME feel in a NEW Package

Any marketing enthusiast would remember the Cinthol Ad featuring the 80's hero,Vinod Khanna Ad. The ad managed to position Cinthol as an exuberant youthful brand which showed the confidence of the young energetic male. The symbol of Vinod Khanna in a horse by the beach stayed on till the 90's and managed to help Cinthol ward of the onslaught of the MNC brands.

Cinthol heavily promoted the product using celebrities of the likes of Vinod Khanna and Imran Khan in 1986 . In 1989 Cinthol tried to catch the lime freshness trend using Cinthol Lime which was a big hit. During 1992 it came out with Cologne. The brand went for a major overhaul in 1993-1995 with a new pack. But there was a customer outcry for the old Cinthol. Eventually the company had to relaunch the original Cinthol and the new range was branded as Cinthol International. By 1993, the soap boasted of an 18 per cent share of the premium segment of toilet soaps.

Then, Cinthol’s fortunes took a turn for the worse. Between 1993 and 1996, it got in-and-out-of a joint venture with Procter & Gamble (P&G), the aftermath of which saw Godrej’s overall market share in soaps slip to a measly 5 per cent. Brand Cinthol today is a shadow of its former self.

Godrej Consumer Products is targeting an over 20 per cent topline growth in its Cinthol brand this year. And in line with this target they have increased their marketing spends for Cinthol by about 20 %. One such move in this direction is the new commercial featuring Hrithik Roshan on the TV screens performing DHOOM 2 Lik stunts bare chested in the new Cinthol ad. When Godrej Consumer decided to relaunch its flagship brand Cinthol last month, it decided to let Hindi film star Roshan do what he’s best at. Accompanying the new action-packed television commercial that’s currently on air, is an entirely repackaged offering from the Cinthol franchise.

On watching the ad you tend to get the feeling that Cinthol is trying to recreate the magic of the 80s and early nineties by making Cinthol contemporary with today's youth but keeping it's brand essence intact. The brand essentially is to offer freshness to the young confident male. Just like it used Macho stars of yester year, Vinod Khanna and Imran Khan for enhancing its sex appeal, it has gone on a similar path to rope in the definition of Macho in today's India - Hrithik.

Hrithik exemplifies energy, passion, and the attitude to achieve what he wants to precisely firring into the "Don't stop" campaign that Cinthol has launched. Whether Hrithik manages to pull consumers to the shelves as he does his fans to the theatres remains to be seen.

A Royal Challenge to the Surrogate ban

A TOI News Article read thus

"The information & broadcasting ministry’s ban on surrogate advertising of liquor and tobacco brands looks all set to blow up into a full-fledged dispute between the government and broadcasters/advertisers.

The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) is likely to meet the information & broadcasting minister next week to discuss issues regarding ban on surrogate advertisements by liquor and tobacco brands on television.

In the meantime, IBF has advised its members to continue running advertisements that have approval from the Censor Board. While big liquor companies refused to comment, media planners and advertising agencies have questioned the I&B’s ban saying that if these brands can be sold, why can’t they be advertised."

As is clear, the hue and cry over the ban on surrogate advertisements for liquor and tobacco has reached an all time high. With an impending ban on surrogate ads there is a lot of debate over whether the brand extensions of liquor and tobacco products fall under the surrogate bracket.

Definition: Surrogate advertising
The dictionary meaning of the word surrogate is substitute. But no one in the industry is clear about the definition of surrogate advertising. According to some, surrogate advertising means advertising the namesake of the main brand. I would say that surrogate advertising is when you advertise one brand in the guise of the another brand.

The Scenario
Some famous brands that employ surrogates are Seagram (which releases CDs), McDowells (soda), Bagpiper (soda, cassettes and CDs), Godfrey Phillips (bravery awards), and Bacardi (cassettes and CDs). This brings us to the question of the big two. Wills Lifestyle and Kingfisher airlines. What probably began as a surrogates went on to become a huge business at least in the case of Wills lifestyle. Keeping the intention of the establishment aside the retail brand has a reputation of its own today and contributes a significant amount to the coffers of the group.

In 2000 the government formed a committee headed by the then additional secretary of the I&B ministry and which included prominent broadcasters to look into this issue. The committee recommended that products with real production and distribution channels cannot be called a surrogate. In that case a Wills Lifestyle can surely be not termed surrogate and manages to move into the Brand extension zone.

Same is the case of Kingfisher airlines which as a business would be bigger than the beer business and can be clearly proved as a legitimate business (Considering so many government officials travel Kingfisher nowadays). The casualties in case of a ban would be the smaller brands.

There were questions raised over the UB group buying the Bangalore IPL team as whether that would amount to Surrogate advertising. As discussions started the bangalore team was unveiled by Vijay Mallya under the name of Royal Challengers. What a master stroke? With the Indian Premier League and the buzz of cricket at its peak the Royal Challengers are on their way to gain more eyeballs for the brand than any event has managed in the past few years.

Vijay Mallya has mentioned during the launch that he would use the team to promote his brands and the promotional video of the Bangalore team stands as a testimonial to the same. The video has several shots of youngsters enjoying a drink as they enjoy the match. Now how is our health crazy health minister going to respond. Knowing him he is capable of demanding a ban on all matches of the RC team telecast on TV. But sadly reality and common sense works otherwise.

As a marketer revels at the ingenuity of such an exercise any ban on the surrogate ads is not to be take easily by the advertisers and the firms. Why allow a product to be manufactured and then not allow the people to know of its existence. And if impressionable teens is the reason then how about banning the million hours of television footage displaying violence, sex and crime.

As such bans continue marketers would come up with innovative ways of reaching the customer with their brands creatively finding place in all sorts of branded content, TV advertorials and in-film advertising. If surrogate ads are banned events would take main stage. Don't be surprised if you end up watchig a reaslity show to find the best bar-tenders in the country.

Kareena pulls a Deepika

No...Kareena hasn't managed to pull Ranbir.... This is with reference to Kareena Kapoor endorsing for Vivel the latest of the soaps launched by ITC in its all out war against HUL. Not so long ago Kareena kapoor was luring customers towards her seductive advertisement for LUX Chocolate seduction limited edition. As a direct jump that is akin to Sourav Ganguly jumping from Coke to Pepsi Kareena has shown that loyalty is not necessarily a precondition for endorsement jumping from HUL's LUX to ITCs Vivel

If we do remember an upcoming, then soon to be famous Padukone in her lemon green bikini managed to win hearts in the Liril Advertisement. Now she is off showing how to have a "Beautiful you, today and Tomorrow" endorsing Fiamma Di wills the luxury soap range of ITC.


Maybe all these celebrities are finding ITC products better(to the pockets atleast:-)), or it is just a coincidence, but nevertheless ITC is making life real tough for HUL. The giant Levers which beat P & G fair and square, has met someone its own size. But the real interesting point to be seen here is the loyalty expected of customers is very rarely exhibited by the brand ambassadors who themselves are rarely loyal to a brand. Although celebrity endorsements do seem to be very effective(although not measurable), such jumps across brands does pose a big problem for the marketing organizations.

Marketers need to come up with loyalty programs that suit the brand ambassadors too nowadays:-)

Rural Retail: The latest buzz

The New Entrant

Kishore Biyani-led Pantaloon Retail, which operates a number of retail format primarily catering to the urban India, is looking at expanding in the rural markets to enhance its presence. Reports exist of Pantaloon Retail's plans to pick up 70 per cent stake in the Godrej Group's rural initiative--Aadhaar. With its latest plans to focus on the rural side, the Future Group looks set to join the bandwagon along with ITC Group. ITC also has a considerable presence in the country's rural side with its e-choupal retail initiative, which is basically aimed at providing a support system to the farmers. Pantaloon Retail currently operates over 6 million square feet of retail space across 48 cities in India with multiple delivery formats covering areas like fashion, food, general merchandise, home, leisure and entertainment, financial services, communications and wellness.

The Biggie - Choupal Saagar

ITC has built a strong platform for its growth through e-Choupal and Choupal Sagars and is best placed compared to others in cashing-on from the growing rural demand. The e-Choupal network comprises of more then 6500 e-Choupals and covering 40000 villages and ~4 million farmers. Apart from the e-Choupal network, ITC also has 21 Choupal Sagars, a chain of retail malls that caters to the needs of rural community by offering FMCG products, farm equipments, medical facilities, banking operations and vehicles. The company has also entered in retailing of fruits and vegetables through three Choupal Fresh cash and carry stores and six Choupal Fresh retail stores.

Hariyali Kissan Bazaar

Another company that has seized upon the importance of reaching out to the rural market is the Rs 2000-crore DCM Shriram group that has launched a chain of rural business centres under the brand name Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar. The Bazaar sells consumer products like farm fuels like petrol and diesel, kerosene and gas, fertilisers, pesticides, seeds, farm implements, vet products, lubes, irrigation equipment, auto parts, consumer durables, drugs, financial services like farm credit, retail banking, insurance and integrated storage facilities. It also acts as a last mile agri-advise and customised agri-solutions on a 24x7 model, explains Chhabra. Each Bazaar is part of a three-four-acre campus, which can accommodate other facilities like farm output warehouses, fuel pumps, tractor service centres, warehouses, bank branches, ATMs etc. The company is planning to rapidly scale up the operations and create a national footprint with over 500 centres across the country.

Godrej Adhaar

The Godrej group is another industrial powerhouse that has walked into the hinterlands by opening its rural malls under the brand name Godrej Aadhaar Stores, which are a complete solution provider for the village folks. A complete solution provider, each Aadhaar facilitates rural credit, water management, agri-inputs supply, advisory services, marketing of rural produce, consumer goods, vet services etc. Aadhaar doesn’t sell its wares at lower price unlike in urban malls but retails only at MRP but only branded items.

Mahindra ShubhLabh Stores

The Rs 6,000-crore Mahindras, the largest farm equipment maker in the country is another key player, that is also into agri-extension services, contract farming. Its branded rural retailing foray is a chain of superstores called Mahindra ShubhLabh Stores, while the farm extension arm is called Mahndra Krishi Vihar. The company has already got into agreements with the governments of Punjab, Haryana, MP, Chattisgrah, Karnataka, AP and TN for contract farming, says an official.ShubhLabh Stores, began in 2002, are present in 11 states—AP, MP, TN, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Bengal and Delhi.Over the past three years, the company has pumped in Rs 20 crore into these stores. Now, it is planning to get into food retailing, following its reported loses in contract farming.

Bingo!!!!

Brand Derby ranked Bingo as the greatest brand launch of this year and beat stiff competition from the likes of Vodafone and Axis bank with their rebranding efforts respectively.

A look at what made Bingo the number 1 launch last year.

The NPD Process

You cannot find a better application of the new product development process that we have read in the Kotler than Bingo. Extensive research was carried out to find the tastes and the likes of the Indian palate to land up at a laundry list of local namkeens (murukkus, matris, etc). It was further formulated into a product by using the knowledge of the chefs of the ITC hotels (Bukhara and the likes) . After trimming it they were able to come up with a total of 16 flavors.

The complete Multimedia approach

ITC went for it all out with their media coverage. Apart from the traditional advertising through TV ads their internet campaign requires special mention. The site www.bingeonbingo.com is a wonderful example of how to engage the net surfing young crowd of today. With capturing data on the user preferences on the first screen to educating the customer about the product the website has it all. But one thing I felt was wrong was the fact that in case an individual gives a birth date that results in his/her age outside 15-25 it denies access. So the user has to enter a fake birth year to fall within this age band. My mom loves Bingo and if she ever has to be rejected by the website she is going to reject Bingo the next minute. A small mistake but nevertheless the website is a trend setter.

The Opposite positioning adopted

Al Ries would have been proud of ITCs' execution of their positioning. Just as he says in his book origin of brands about how a second brand can enter the market and gain share by staying far away from the leader in terms of mind space or by taking an opposite positioning, Bingo was positioned with its Indianised flavors. As Lays was selling its American spicy onion and Spanish tomato Bingo had its own Tandoori paneer tikka, Spicy paneer and more. Wonderful way to hit the Indian mind

Clutter breaking ads

Much has been spoken about the absolutely wacky ad campaign that ITC came up with which clinched the first step of the ladder. The ads with their slapstick humor and irrelevant themes gathered enough eyeballs to result in the awareness of the product. This breathtaking ad campaign fits well into the AIDA model generating enough awareness to make Bingo a household name. Now to take it further and generating interest through subsequent ad ampaigns is a real challenge and I am eagerly looking forward to it.

The muscle power of ITC s distribution

Obviously the brand promise was delivered thanks to ITC s wonderfully strong distribution network. The manner in which close to 4 lakh racks made it to the shops within a short span of time shows their ability to reach out. In fact the sucess of their racks prompted Frito Lays to introduce racks of its own. But just as the prime mover Bingo managed to get that most needed space in front of every store. The care taken to design the racks is also commendable. Visibility was the prime target and to ensure that even the last three racks are never stacked and once they got stacked the impulse took are of the rest to ensure product trials.

Well begun is half done, but the challenge now is to deliver the brand promise. Lays is no more taking it lying down and has responded with its "Chale Change Ka chakkar" campaign. But what's interesting is the fact that Lays uses a brand ambassador approach with Bollywood superstars Saif Ali Khan, Juhi Chawla and latest signing of star cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whereas Bingo still doesn't have an ambassador. Finding one to match its image is quite a task.

Overall a good battle for shelf space, market share and mind space is on cards!!!!

Viral Marketing

By definition Viral marketing is the use of preexisting social networks to pass a marketing message by creating an exponential effect.

Viral marketers is often not a glamorous way of projecting yourself. But you have to admire the virus. He has a way of living in secrecy until he is so numerous that he wins by sheer weight of numbers. He piggybacks on other hosts and uses their resources to increase his tribe. And in the right environment, he grows exponentially. A virus don't even have to mate -- he just replicates, again and again with geometrically increasing power, doubling with each iteration:

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The elements of a Viral marketing campaign may include any or all of the following

1. Gives away products or services
2. Provides for effortless transfer to others
3. Scales easily from small to very large
4. Exploits common motivations and behaviors
5. Utilizes existing communication networks
6. Takes advantage of others' resource

Application
In the Indian context the Bingo ads in You tube is a typical example of a viral marketing campaign. Even today some of those incomplete ads of bingo are available on the net. Such campaigns are extremely useful in the case of technology products. A famous example would be that of the FIFASTREET campaign in Mexico with a wonderful mix of good creative, some athletic individuals and 3 D effects. Click on the link below to check it out.......


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3eEpqLi-DU

Marketing Vs Democracy

Marketing is much maligned. Consumer advocates say it's deceptive and intrusive. Sociologists contend it encourages self-centered materialism. Cultural critics argue that it saps civic spirit and political involvement.

Marketers, preoccupied with individual campaigns, have done a poor job of rebutting these critiques.

Equally beneficial The six benefits that marketing and democracy deliver to society are very similar.

What do you say to the cynics who claim that marketing is bad for society? Is it enough to try to distinguish good marketing from bad? Or to point out that you have to search hard to find individuals who think they consume too much or would prefer fewer choices?

These are weak, defensive responses. The benefits that marketing and democracy deliver to society are remarkably similar.

Improving quality of life

Marketers give consumers information. They offer consumers choice. They want to engage consumers, to earn their interest and loyalty. Most marketers seek to be inclusive, to bring quality and innovation to the masses. A marketer's success depends on an exchange with a customer and subsequent consumption of goods and services that satisfy needs and improve quality of life.

These six benefits are equally relevant in democracies. Democracies depend on informed citizens participating in the political process and making choices among political alternatives. Democracies promote the welfare of all citizens and enable them to be included in political decision making. Indeed, it can be argued that the practice we get as consumers each day in the commercial marketplace makes us better, smarter citizens.

The marketing mix encompasses all of these benefits. Marketing communications accelerate information sharing and new-product adoption. Information makes consumers aware of the choices that suit their needs and thereby stimulates consumption.

Pricing is a key determinant of exchange value. Marketers ensure that products and services are priced at levels that provide value to target consumers as well as profit to producers.

Wal-Mart democracy

Efficient distribution and logistics systems enable exchange. Products reach broad audiences of customers faster and more cheaply than ever. Wal-Mart may be disparaged, but its mission of bringing low prices to everyone is democratic and inclusive.

Product diversity provides freedom of choice and allows consumers to express individuality.

Marketing inherently engages consumers. The creativity in marketing communications, good product design and enjoyable retail experiences all bring fun to our lives. A world without marketing would be a world of sameness, commoditization and inertia.

Bad marketing engages customers as well, with resulting negative word-of-mouth. That's one of the democratic niceties of marketing. Everyone can have an opinion about the latest product or ads. Marketers welcome the risks inherent in being part of the conversation. After all, nothing worries marketers more than when no one is interested in discussing what they have to offer.

Of course, marketing can be abused. But sensible marketers, the vast majority, know that respecting the customer is key to a profitable long-term relationship.

Responding to desires

The scope and impact of aggregate marketing activity cannot be underestimated. It contributes enormously to economic development. In the United States alone, 17 million people hold marketing, sales and customer-service jobs. Marketing's customer focus directs economic activity such as product development toward value-adding innovations that respond to individual desires and improve our quality of life.

Marketing supports the pillars of democratic society. Advertising funds our diverse media, including the internet. These advertising-supported media give citizens access to information about political figures, policies and programs. Marketing know-how helps public policy-makers change citizen behaviors by, for example, encouraging seat-belt usage or good nutrition.

Moreover, the billions of mutually satisfying exchanges that occur daily in the commercial marketplace are part of the glue that builds the trust and respect that hold society together. The top national brands and global brands offer a consistent level of functional product quality and innovation combined with emotional appeal. They adapt where needed to local preferences, but they attract the loyalty of millions of consumers because they deliver the same good customer experience to all.

Starbucks more rewarding

It may even be argued that the commercial marketplace is more attentive to diversity and more democratic than the political marketplace. For the 80% of American adults who are not political junkies, relationships with brands such as Starbucks (the "third place") and BMW (the "ultimate driving machine") are more rewarding than associations with political parties.

Instead of treating citizens merely as taxpayers, donors and voters, politicians ought to treat citizens as well as marketers treat their customers by focusing on how they can better deliver the six benefits common to both marketing and democracy.

Commercial of the year!!

The Nike Ad which came first in the All About Ads countdown 2007 in NDTV. Amazing creative worth every penny spent on it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpvuz8gg79Q

Shampoos off the shelf

With the fmcgs looking for new ways to beat each other in every area, the channel wars has taken a turn with companies actively concentrating on the Chemist channel for future growth. Unlike the rural distribution where Unilever's enjoys a pan-india presence this channel provides an even ground where no clear winner has emerged till now. With a pharmacy every 50 meteres in major cities it, provides a unique challenge where the lesser volumes would still command a lot of resources in terms of Point of sale activities, in store promotions apart form the actual distribution costs.

L'Oreal uses this channel to cross sell its shampoos along with its other personal care products. While P & G and Unilevers are battling it out to win it of the shelf. This necessitates innovations in terms of the schemes offered to the retailers and also in terms of packaging in order to increase off take. In a high impulse purchase category like shampoos packaging forms the biggest challenge and P & G seems to have found the answer with the new look Head and Shoulders which has a unsymmetrical shape taking a dig at the curious customer who would like to hold the bottle. The job is half done once the product is touched by the consumer. Similarly Loreal's Garnier range of shampoos with its distinctive fluorescent green color grabs the attention of the visitor and has managed to attain a fair level of visibility.

Still the availability seems to be the biggest problem for the chemists who frequently complain of a stock out situation. Currently P & G has managed a very decent distribution of its products through the chemist channel whereas HUL is still in an capability building stage. With not even one third of this channel tapped and a huge avenue for increased sales of personal care products through this channel a huge churn can be expected with companies spending a lot to win the battle.