FMCG Marico Industries

Client Product Brand Marico Perfumed Hair Oil Hair & Care

Task for the Agency Create awareness for Parachute Coconut Oil Pouch in towns with less than 20000 population in Tamil Nadu

Convert loose oil buyers into Parachute pouch customers, by highlighting the advantages of the Parachute brand

Convince them to pay a small premium for the brand. Communication Strategy The Van Campaign aimed exclusively for women and for the first time conducted by women Get the women folk out of their homes and participate in a van campaign which usually is dominated by men and children Make them stay through the van programme and ensure their active involvement

Result According to Marico, substantial increase in sales reported from the campaign areas A study by Marico showed a 25% conversion from loose coconut oil usage to Parachute Pouch Pack, Post Van Campaign The success of the campaign motivated Marico to repeat the campaign the following year even in towns with 1 lakh + population, with excellent results

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COLGATE PALMOLIVE - CIBACA TOOTHPASTE

Client Product Brand Colgate Palmolive Toothpaste Cibaca

Task for the Agency Cibaca a low-priced brand in the Colgate stable. Well accepted in the rest of the country, except Karnataka. Ajantha a direct competitor making in-roads Need to create awareness in small towns and villages and generate trials. Campaign Theme Why buy any low-priced toothpaste when you can get an international quality toothpaste from the house of Colgate, at the same price point. Campaign Delivery Delivered through a well planned van campaign which included product placement, sampling and sales and interactive product oriented games. A video film using well-known TV stars of Karnataka to drive home the product story.

Result Awareness for the brand increased multifold and reflected in spontaneous increase in sales.

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Durables Philips Consumer Products

Client Product Brand

Philips DTH TV Set Satellite Vardaan

Task for the Agency Agency had been asked to promote their Electronic Entertainment products, viz., Stereos, CTVs, & MTVs among the rural population of Tamil Nadu. Communication Strategy Based on information regarding buyer behaviour 'Philips Super Shows' were conducted in five district headquarters with the intention of motivating dealers as well as opinion leaders to generate word-of-mouth publicity, as a first step This was followed by extensive van operation in 5000+ population areas with audience participation techniques for mouthing the brand, supported by mass media campaign in regional press (district wise edition), rural cinemas, radio, wall painting and intensive merchandising activities The positioning of Philips as "The Super Star of my Home" was created to appeal to the rural audience's pride to communicate that if TV buying is a status symbol, then why not buy Philips and become a Super Star of your neighbourhood

Result Between October '97 and January '98, Philips achieved a 61% growth in Audios, 28% in Color TVs and a 7% growth in B&W TV over sales of the corresponding period in 1996-97, in Tamil Nadu, in a sluggish consumer electronics market. They were able to sustain the growth rate in the following year too

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ACC Suraksha - Karnataka

Client Product Brand ACC Limited Cement ACC Suraksha

Task for the Agency Establish superiority of ACC Suraksha, a blended cement, in a market dominated by graded cements

Create consumer pull

Justify higher price, by establishing the Brand as a Premium Cement

Promote in semi urban/rural areas of Karnataka Communication Platform No other "graded cement" can provide you the double protection, double strength and double durability Only ACC Suraksha - the Double Action Cement can Communication Package Regional local press to reach the opinion leaders viz. Architects. Engineers, Contractors, etc Direct Marketing efforts through field meeting with small groups of Masons & Customers Outdoor for continuous brand awareness Radio - as a reminder medium

Result A post-campaign study initiated by ACC, revealed the following Extremely positive response from Dealers, who believed that the Campaign has strenthened their hands Interaction with Consumers and Masons who attended the meets revealed that ACC Suraksha had occupied a premium position and the myth of 'grades' had been implemented Tangible improvement in off-take in the state of Karnataka where the Campaign has been implemented

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Titan Industries Ltd

Client Product Brand Titan Industries Ltd. Watches Sonata

Campaign for low-priced Sonata Watches in <5K population villages

Pilot in Tirunelveli District

Ground Realities Less than 30% penetration of watches Concept of time in villages is still associated with the arrival of the local bus, train, ringing of temple or school bell, etc. Need for a watch is not strongly felt.

Campaign Objective An exercise in category / brand penetration To get non-users of watches to think of Sonata as a must-have for success of their family and children

Communication Delivery A unique Hub & Spoke model

Communication Delivery A branded TATA 407 covering hub villages of 5K population fully equipped with AV equipment and four promoters Two live skit artists also accompany the van Van carried 3 branded bicycle promoters equipped with audio and a flip chart illustrated story on the importance of a watch, with a hand held mega phone to attract the villagers A collapsible display cum sale counter carried in the van for spot sales Hub Village Activity 3 promoters branch off on their bicycles to cover smaller spoke villages within a 3 to 4 km radius The TATA 407 branded van with the rest of the crew goes around the hub village making announcements, playing the audio software, conducting interesting product related interactive games, giving away spot prizes to winners, offering the watches on sale, etc.

Hub Village Activity An invitation for a show in the evening at a local venue like the community hall or school hall is distributed door to door by the promoters and the skit crew. In the evening at around 6.00 pm when an audience of around 200 nos. gathered at the venue, a pre-formatted show consisting of a specially produced edutainment film on the importance of a watch and a humorous live skit on the same subject is presented to the audience. To assess comprehension, specific questions on the film by lucky draw are asked and those who answer right are given away prizes on the spot.

Spoke Village Activity The branded cycle promoters go around the smaller villages from street to street, making announcement on their mega phone, urging the local residents to come out and participate in the interactive games and win prizes. When a small group of residents gather around the cycle, the promoter unveils a story on a flip chart with an audio playing simultaneously narrating a story on the importance of a watch. At the end a quiz on the story is conducted and winners given away prizes Product message related simple interactive games are also performed and the winners given away prizes.

Campaign Results This campaign undertaken in the Tirunelveli district of TN created tremendous hype for the brand. A simultaneous media campaign was also undertaken by the company covering the local radio channel, theatre branding, bus panels, hoardings etc. According to the feedback received from Titan officials, the campaign generated considerable enquiries for the Sonata brand at the local dealer counters resulting in incremental sales for the brand.

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Services SHRIRAM TRANSPORT FINANCE CO. LTD

Product A basket of loan products for truck owners and truck drivers in Tamil Nadu.

Task for the Agency Evolve a complete communication package, which effectively communicates the various schemes offered by STFC.

Communication Strategy DRIVERS - Appeal to their aspirations OWNERS - Appeal to their business sense Make them stay through the van programme and ensure their active involvement

Communication Delivery

Location specific delivery of the campaign

Once the creatives were ready, it was decided to deliver the campaign in two phases. In the first phase, the small fleet

owners were targeted which was followed by the campaign targeted at drivers.

In both the cases, it was decided to have very focused, target specific get-togethers with very focused creatives to achieve maximum cost effectiveness. The entire campaign for both the target audience was meticulously planned and executed.

Owners Campaign

An exhaustive database of fleet-owners, consisting of both current customers of Shriram, as well as competition was used to deliver the campaign at special "Shriram Prosperity Shows" conducted in hired auditoriums in selected towns of Tamilnadu, to which the Owners were invited

As a first step, a special 'pop-up' invitation card for the show was designed to trigger interest and was personally delivered to the target audience. The invitation card with lucky dip nos., provided a good incentive to ensure better participation, starting with five lucky winners chosen from the invitees who arrived in time for the show.

Everyone who attended was provided with gift kits including promotional brochures and refreshments after the lucky dip coupon was detached from their cards.

As an audience involvement gimmick and in order to promote Shriram logo and to further refine the database, invitees were asked to "guess the money in the briefcase" carried by a cut out of the Shriram mascot and win exciting prizes. Everyone who filled the form got a "thank you" gift which was sent to their houses and the first three correct entries got special prizes.

To add a touch of glamour to the show, an anchor who was a well known TV personality was chosen to conduct the whole show.

The show itself had three major communication packages, the first being a specially created motivational video film based on a popular film tune depicting friendship which is the core message of the owners campaign (i.e.) Shriram your best friend.

Next a special tele film (15 minutes duration) using TV stars and an interesting story line was shown to launch the products and highlight the special features. This was followed by a quiz competition to double check the comprehension

of the main messages in the film providing one more opportunity for a lucky few to win prizes.

Following this was a short testimonial film based on real life stories of Shriram customers on how Shriram financed not only buying trucks, but also helped their general welfare by providing loans for marriages, education, purchase of properties, medical emergencies, etc.

The most awaited moment came next. The time to pick the bumper prize winners. As invitees waited with bated breath, luck favoured some with two wheelers, refrigerators, washing machines, cookers, mixer grinders, water filters, etc.

Everyone who came stayed glued to their seats till the end, enjoying the 90 to 100 minutes of the Week-end evening with entertainment, edutainment and much more. Each show attracted thousands of small fleet owners, the primary target audience. The day after the show, hundreds of fleet owners queued up outside Shriram offices for loans with great hopes.

The campaign which was launched in Tamilnadu in April 2001 has been extended to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh with excellent results.

Drivers Campaign

Unlike the Owners, drivers, who are constantly mobile, had to be reached, where they are found in groups. The Drivers campaign, therefore, started with the Shriram team mapping the locations like Dhabas and wholesale or other markets where the drivers are found in groups.

A specially decorated van equipped with AV equipment and other promotional materials took off to each location based on a predetermined journey cycle plan.

In each location, the drivers were identified and given a specially designed invitation card to attend the Road Show this was important to make them feel special.

At the venue the show started with a video contest - 5 lucky dip winners from the audience had to identify the film star hidden behind the Shriram logo. Every winner had to mouth the theme of the campaign before he was asked to give the answers.

After this a special 15 minutes tele film, which was totally different from the one shown to owners, once again based on a slice of life approach featuring popular film stars was shown. A quiz contest following the show ensured that the core message of the film was clearly understood apart from helping the selected participants to win prizes.

Finally the show ended with distribution of prizes including the bumper prize.

At the show every participant was given a special gift kit including a brochure, giving full details of the two loan schemes and addresses where the company representatives can be contacted.

Each show has been attracting 50 to 100 drivers with very positive response from them, after each show. This campaign which was also launched successfully in Tamilnadu is now being extended to Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Phenomenal Results

Both the campaigns have helped the company achieve excellent results - almost 20 times growth in loan disbursals, establishing Shriram as the undisputed leader in the Truck Finance business.

The phenomenal success of this campaign has been mainly due to the delivery of a well conceived and hard hitting communication package to a very focused target audience. This coupled with the total commitment of Shriram Executives in ensuring the successful implementation of the campaign supported by the excellent infrastructure the group has built in all the markets for handling the impact of such a massive campaign has helped Shriram group take giant strides in the truck finance business. No wonder that an MNC outfit like Citi decided to give its "trust vote" to Shriram by taking an equity stake in two group companies - Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd., based in Mumbai and Shriram Investments Ltd., based in Chennai. This is sure to impact positively the image of the group and help it realise its dream of contributing to the modernisation of the Indian trucking industry. Jai Shriram.

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Farm MRF Bullock Cart Tyre

Client Product Brand

MRF Limited Bullock Cart Tyres MRF Pahalwan

Task for the Agency To enhance brand recall and message retention among farmers and educate them about the advantages of using this product.

Communication Strategy Capitalising on the MRF Strength with the muscleman symbol as well as their leadership in truck tyres, the communication revolved around the brand name and its meaning viz., Pahalwan - Muscleman In a market full of rayon tyres, MRF introduced Nylon tyres for bullock carts. The communication used a unique nylon cord breaking contest with real life pahalwans, thus effectively demonstrating the strength of MRF Bullock Cart Tyres

Result MRF Bullock Cart Tyre became the Brand leader in the segment within 3 years of the launch of our new campaign during which brand share rose from 6% to 30% With the launch of MRF Pahalwan (Bullock Cart Tyre with Nylon strength) in 1994, the brand continues to lead the category with 35% share of the market

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Parry's Paramfos Fertilizer

Client Product Brand E.I.D. Parry (India) Ltd Fertilizer Parrys Paramfos

Task for the Agency

Fertilizer decontrol policy of the Government pushed up the prices of complex fertilizers and farmers started using single nutrient fertilizers to economise on costs with disastrous results in the output. Agency was therefore asked to prepare a communication package that urged farmers to go in for complex fertilizers, despite the expenses involved, to get better harvests. Communication Strategy We moved away from the "Product Content Platform" to "Crop and Soil Need Platform" for the first time in fertilizers to create a niche We advised the client to promote Paramfos for only those crops that needed sulphur, one of the ingredients in Paramfos We promoted intelligent use of agri-inputs for both efficiency and economy and positioned the brand as the choice of intelligent farmers We had to take a completely different route in Andhra Pradesh since the farmers there would not accept the "Intelligent" concept Therefore a region-specific campaign was created for Andhra Pradesh based on the traditional practice of presenting gold on a festive day and positioning Paramfos as the "Golden Fertilizer for Golden Harvest"

Result Successfully positioned Paramfos as a high value for money complex fertilizer, rather than a high price product. Sales in 1997-98 increased by 35% in Tamil Nadu and 90% in Andhra Pradesh over the corresponding period in the previous year

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COROMANDEL FERTILISERS GROMOR FERTILISER

Client Product Brand

Coromandel Fertilisers Fertilizer Gromor

Task for the Agency To promote a well known brand of fertilizer for generations, among the younger generation farmers. Communication Strategy This was achieved by promoting a village-level sports activity Gromor Kreedotsava, an obstacle race on cycle. The cycle is very much a part of the lives of these youngsters and posing a challenge by way of an obstacle race, offered them the opportunity to show their riding skills. Brand messages were used as the obstacles in the race and served to reinforce the top of mind recall

Result The non-preaching and non-intrusive concept achieved the brand connect and acceptability among the younger generation which as per client, reflected in consistent growth of the brand in these markets

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Copyright 2006 ANUGRAH MADISON

April 2005 Issue 31

Click here for top-line facts for the home appliances, athletic footwear and movies industries.

NPD Video Games U.S. & Canadian Comparison Report Inside Outerwear: The Men's and Women's Market The SMB IT Market Report Click here for all of our reports NPD Sports Tracking Europe: Uncovering the Social and Economic Roles of Sports in France

Cover Story

Wal-Mart Appeal: Insights Into Successful Mass-Market Selling

The U.S. retail landscape has experienced a sea-change over the past five years, thanks in part to the growth and influence of one key player: Wal-Mart. Constantly redefining the rules of the retail game, Wal-Mart pressures its competitors to play catch-up and respond to changing marketplace dynamics created by its ever-evolving retail strategies. Part of Wal-Marts success is due to factors such as its brand strategies, product offerings, pricing, store locations, and the chains sheer size more than 3,500 store locations. But what other factors drive nearly 60 percent of U.S. consumers to shop at Wal-Mart each month? To answer this question, important to manufacturers and retailers in nearly every channel and industry, NPD developed a Shopper Segmentation Study focusing on consumer lifestyles, beliefs and store attribute preferences. The January 2005 pilot study surveyed 5,000 adult consumers to explore these issues. Here, we share four key preliminary findings from the study to help your organization better understand who is shopping at Wal-Mart and why. 1. Wal-Mart serves more customers than any other retailer. Each month, Wal-Mart is visited by a larger population (59% of U.S. adults) than any other store, surpassing other merchants by at least a factor of two. The next closest competitors are Target (25%) and Kmart (17%).

The study indicates that shoppers are driven to Wal-Mart for the basic necessities; the chains product mix, prices and brands keep them coming back. Nearly 60 percent of Wal-Marts shoppers purchase food and groceries, 25 percent buy basic apparel items, and 24 percent buy beauty products at the store in a typical month.

2. Many Wal-Mart customers strongly agree that prayer in public schools should be encouraged. Among many attitudinal statements provided to respondents, I believe that the government should encourage prayer in public schools was the strongest predictor of whether or not a consumer shops at Wal-Mart. Among those who Strongly Agree with the statement, 72% (index 122) shopped at Wal-Mart in the past month. Only 41% (index 69) of those who Strongly Disagree shopped at the retailer. Agreement with this statement was associated with Wal-Mart shopping in all regions, urban and rural, except for the Eastern Census Division where no relationship was observed.

Other findings from the attitudinal statements included:

Among those who strongly agreed "I go shopping often" 74% (index 125) shopped at Wal-Mart, Among those who strongly agreed with the statement "I prefer stores where prices are low" 71% (index 120) shopped at Wal-Mart, Among those who strongly agreed "I never seem to have enough money" 67% (index 114) shopped at Wal-Mart.

3. Wal-Mart does not appeal to all consumers equally. To more fully understand Wal-Marts customer set, NPD segmented the national consumer population into five groups, each with shared beliefs and demographics, as follows:

Wal-Mart draws customers from each population segment but at very different rates. "Blue Collar Southerners" are most likely to shop at Wal-Mart (73%, index 124) followed by three other segments at or around 60%. "Older Urban Sophisticates" evidence the lowest attraction to the retailer (38%, index 64).

4. Wal-Mart customers are driven by the same criteria that characterize most successful retail endeavors: value, customer service, loyalty programs and promotions. Among all consumers, the top three claimed drivers for choosing a retailer are:

Best value for dollar High customer service Loyalty programs and promotions

As NPD compared responses to each of these preferences and consumers retailer choices, it became apparent that WalMart has done a good job of adapting its model to these primary consumer drivers. Its current advertising tagline, "Always Low prices, Always," underscores the top consumer-rated attribute. A closing thought: As we studied these data, we began to wonder: Is Wal-Mart adapting to consumers beliefs, preferences and basic needs, or is Wal-Mart indeed influencing or reinforcing these beliefs and preferences among consumers through its marketing and product strategies? Methodology: Results from The NPD Groups Shopper Segmentation initiative included in this article are based on a nationally representative sample of 5,000 respondents who were interviewed in January 2005. The questionnaire identified which stores each respondent visited, along with a battery of more than 125 belief statements, personality statements and store preferences statements. The collected data underwent a series of statistical data reduction techniques, including Factor, Cluster and Regression to segment the Wal-Mart Shoppers.

Interested in exclusive, food-specific Wal-Mart insights? Contact Peter Chung at peter_chung@npd.com for details about a new NPD Foodworld report.

847-692-1768

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Copyright The NPD Group, Inc. 2005. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission from The NPD Group, Inc. TRADEMARKS NOTICE: The following names and terms which may be used in this newsletter are registered trademarks or service marks of The NPD Group: Aftermarket Industry Monitor, BeautyTrends , CREST, FragranceTrack, National Eating Trends, NET, NPD AirTrak, npd.com, NPD Insights, NPD Fashionworld, NPD Foodworld, npdfoodworld.com, NPD Funworld, NPD Techworld, NPD Houseworld, SalesTrac Weekly, Solution Folders, NPD Sports Tracking Europe.
Positioning, Repositioning, Reverse Positioning Strategies Case Study

Case Title:

Lifebuoy in India: Product Life Cycle Strategies

Publication Month and Year : May 2009 Authors: C.V. Chiranjeevi Industry: FMCG Region: India Case Code: POS0003 Teaching Note: Available Structured Assignment: Available

Abstract: The case study helps in understanding the difference between a product and a brand. It also enables to study the behavior of a product during various stages of its life cycle. The current competitive marketing environment during the new millennium is forcing managers to understand the needs of modern consumers and reevaluate the changing opportunities and threats in an evolving global marketing place. The concept of Product Life Cycle (PLC) since its inception in the early 1950s, gained significant recognition as a tool for effective marketing strategy in understanding the behaviour of product on sales, profits, 4Ps of marketing and consumer approval. Since inception in late 19th century, Lifebuoy, was a nimble and good citizen brand of India, reaching millions of rural customers with a promise of health and hygiene as a platform of its business. Its famous advertising jingle, tandurusti ki raksha karta hai Lifebuoy was so famous that it enabled the brand Lifebuoy to be perceived as a red carbolic soap for several decades. The brand passed through prolonged stages of growth and maturity during most of the second half of 20th century and was faced with a decline stage during early 21st century with sales falling at the rate of 15%20% per year. The downward trend of Lifebuoy carbolic soap sales made Hindustan Lever Ltd., to withdraw the product category during 2002 and rejuvenate the brand with prudent marketing strategies by optimally utilising the brand image. This case study analyses how Lifebuoy managed to extend the brand life cycle. Pedagogical Objectives:

To understand the concept of product in product life cycle and brand life cycle To understand how the strategies of brand rejuvenation helped in extending the life cycle of Lifebuoy.

Keywords : Lifebuoy, Product Life Cycle, Brand Life Cycle, Product, Brand, Marketing Strategies, Hindustan Lever, Indian Soap Industry, Carbolic Soap, Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna, Brand Rejuvenation, Brand Management
Related Case Studies

Hyundai's 'Santro' in India: Product Life Cycle Strategies Motorola in China (A): Dealing with an Evolutionary Industry Life Cycle Hindustan Lever Limited: The Organisational Restructuring Samsung in India: Brand Building through Customer Service James Bond: A Meta Brand?

Brand/Marketing Communication Strategies

Case Title:

Tata Teas Jaago Re! Campaign: The Social-Cause Marketing Initiatives and Long-term Branding Initiatives
Publication Year : July 2009 Authors: R. Naga Sandhya & P. Girija

Industry: Not Applicable Region:India Case Code: MCS0001 Teaching Note: Available Structured Assignment: Available

Abstract: This case study primarily deals with Tata Teas Social-Cause Marketing (SCM) initiative, Jaago Re! (Wake Up) campaign and can be used for debating and discussing on, at what stage of the brand life cycle, companies can take up SCM programmes. Tata Teas initial advertising campaigns primarily communicated the physical and functional aspects of the brand like packaging, freshness, taste, energy, etc. However, after attaining market leadership (in terms of volume share), Tata Tea elevated its communication efforts to the self-actualisation level and positioned itself as a catalyst for social-awakening, through Jaago Re! campaign. As part of this campaign, Tata Tea aired commercials on social problems corruption, bad roads, irresponsible politicians, etc. The case study deals with issues like: What has been the impact of this campaign on the brand's image, customer loyalty, sales, etc.? Can this campaign help Tata Tea brand maintain its market leadership in the long run? Is there a need for prominent social problems to be endorsed by powerful brands to bring desired change? Pedagogical Objectives:

To critically analyse and debate on at what stage of brand life cycle does it make sense for any company to come out of its traditional advertising model (highlighting the usual, emotional and physical characters of the product/brand) and focus on intellectual and self-actualisation issues

To understand Tata Teas SCM initiatives The Jaago Re! campaign and establish the relationship between these initiatives and the long-term branding initiatives of Tata Tea To help clarify the difference between social marketing initiatives and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives To discuss and debate on the possible future of socially relevant themes that Tata Tea can possibly integrate into its social marketing initiatives campaign.

Keywords : Social Cause Marketing, Cause Related Marketing, Social Marketing, Brand Life Cycle Strategies, Scope for Social Cause Marketing, Tata Jaago Re!, Corporate Social Responsibility Vs Social Cause Marketing, Brand Communication Strategies, Marketing Communication Strategies, Integrated Marketing Communication Strategies, Brands and Social Cause Marketing, Social Cause Marketing in India, Building a Brand Around Social Causes, Tata Tea's Market Positioning
Related Case Studies

Tata Tea and the Employee Buy Out Model