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Ariel Microsystem

In late Oct 1990, P&G flagged off a detergent branded as Ariel in Southern market. The detergent came in granules and to be used in less quantity in comparison to the prevailing formulations available in the market. The detergent market is hopping 1200 crores. And major players include HUL, and Nirma. A HUL lead the market with leadership share of 52 per cent and Nirma comes enjoys second position with 15 per cent market share. Besides these players there are a number of local players which sell products which are clones of the top brands like Surf (blue detergent) and Nirma (yellow). At the time of the launch, the Ariel was priced at 32 for half kilogram, much above Surf (15.80) and Rin concentrate (17.50) and Wheel (5.50). These are HUL products. Nirma had a price very low price of 5.25 for one kilogram. Ariel in this scheme of price was much above all the products available to consumers. P&G executives believed that despite the high price of their detergent it actually does not work out expensive in reality. A pack of half kg of Ariel will last for a months normal washing. It is much superior to all other present brands and just one spoonful of Ariel is sufficient enough for a bucket full of clothes. Therefore it would be acceptable to all consumers notwithstanding which segments they belonged to. The less quantity used in the process would compensate for the high price of the detergent. Further it gives better results saves on the efforts expanded on washing clothes. Research revealed that an average Indian woman washes clothes in two steps: first the clothes are soaked in a detergent and then they are scrubbed with the bar. The company believed that Ariels technology is so good that now the second stage of washing would not be required. That is, this detergent does away with the need to scrub clothes with a bar. It is just a soak and rinse detergent. This has been proved in our experiments and lab tests. The product is based on enzyme technology which gets activated once the detergent is dissolved in the water (for their activation the granules need to be left in the water for two minutes for the optimum wash). The actual benefit of the product is that it makes the washing much simpler, easier and convenient. Washing is a daily chore which women dislike and want to get rid of it if it was possible. One woman applauded Ariel by saying that this product has the capacity to give women dignity. Now they dont have to get on their knees and scrub any more. Besides convenience, Ariel results in saving of money because the cost on bars need not be incurred. Thus with the strength of convenience, saving of time and economy, P&G hoped that this new detergent is likely to win over the market soon. In order to communicate the companys advertising agency created the following ad: The scene is that of typical Indian household where both mother in law and daughter in law always have a love and hate relationship. But usually it is mother in law that generally rule the households in terms of the products to be products to be bought, where these are to be bought from, which brands to buy and how these need to be used. It happens because of experience and power. Usually the daughter in law who moves in the mother in laws house and therefore the latter acquires the position of power and influence. In one sense mother in law represent the continuity, tradition and seat of

approval. On the other hand daughter in law represents newness, modernity, and change. And there lies the conflict. This detergent can not be sold as the detergent of mother in law for it is new technology, new formulation, new usage and new use process. But without mother in laws approval it can not find way into Indian households. Her seal of approval is necessary. A change also in a manner subverts the power equation in the household. The ad agency had to negotiate this opposing ends in their communication. That is winning the approval of mother in law without violating the sense of control and power over the household. The following was the story board of the commercial: The mother in law points to the daughter in law the stains on the shirt of her grandson and advices her to wash the shirt with care and scrub more detergent cake to get the proper wash. This is what she always did and got best results. This is the formula of clean clothes in her household (to be signified indirectly by mannerism). The daughter in law replies that no such harsh scrubbing is needed now because she has got new Ariel micro system. As a result the mother in law give the daughter in law a strange look (implying you are telling me) and makes a face disbelievingly (how is it possible?) Voice over: the clothes which used to appear like this (relatively pale shirt shown on screen) with ordinary washing look like this (sparkling white shirt shown on screen) with new Ariel. And further the there is not need to use bar. Daughter in law is shown to be throwing off the bar and declared now on this is my Micro system. Mother in law, shown to be convinced of the washing looks happy and joins the daughter in law and declared now on it is going be your system. Dilemma: Appraise the product from consumers perspective. What concept the brand should develop for it to be successful? How would you like this brand to be perceived as by the target consumers and what problems can potentially crop up in creating such perception? Is the name fine? The name does not have anything related to product domain. Nirma
Nirma: A YELLOW-COLOURED WASHING POWDER/SOAP BAR Who would have thought that would sell? Well, apparently the people at Nirma. Unfortunately, it still sells big, I think. An often remixed ad, but this was the original shown in movie theaters as well... it featured some good looking young girls including Sangeeta Bijlani... female lead and chorus singing the song, while the four chicks wash their clothes and carry on with their daily housewife life, which includes travelling in autos and buying lightweight vegetables and dealing with goody-goody kids, maybe. There are clips of other members of the family (decided younger members)

pirouetting in bright clothes supposedly washed by Nirma).... Washing powder Nirma! Washing powder Nirma! Dhoodh si safedi, Nirma se aayi, Rangeen Kapda bhi dhul dhul jaye, (OKAY, big deal, so this line refers to the detergent cake and not the washing powder!) Paani mein rehke bhi yeh kam gale (at which point, my mom would always say, saala jhooth bolta hai!) Dheron kapde dhoye aur jyaada chale Washing powder Nirma! Washing powder Nirma! Thoda sa powder, aur jhaag dher saara! (music) Rangeele kapdon ko pal mein ujaala! Rekha... Geeta.... Jaya aur Sushma (they show the four different girls, including Sangeeta Bijlani getting into an auto. It might sound like I am obsessed with her, but that's not true. I used to think she looked like someone else, as is the case with most female celebrities I know) sabki pasand Nirma! Washing powder Nirma! Washing powder Nirma! (with harmony): NIRMA! (at this point in the ad, a girl wearing a polka-dot skirt is spinning around, and she turns into the Nirma girl on the packet) Vimal Washing Powder: This ad featured a very young Dileep Tahil (he was pretty famous in Hindi movies at that point, so I don't know why he did this ad, but people do strange things for money and otherwise). Scene: DT is walking down the street, happy in a sort-of-white kurta and pyjama. The VWP girl on a huge banner comes alive, and here's the conversation (please SING it to the tune of the jingle, imagine the music being played in the extract below): girl: Suno suno, ay babuji (tanv danv tanv danv tanv danv tanv danv) kahan chale? (tanv danv danv danv) kapde kyon hain mailey dhule? DT: MAILEY? Lekin maine to laundry se dhulvaayi thi girl: To kya, zara thehro (winks, accompanied by synth sound of wink, and his clothes become ultra-white) farak dekhlo! chorus: Vimal Washing Powder, kapde dhoye jagmag jagmag Ujwal, ujwal, kapde dikhte nikhaar, rangon ke bahaar laaye jhilmil jhilmil! Vimal Washing Powder!

Reading:

In 1998, McMath wrote a book on the learnings acquired from a lifetime devoted to the study of new product failure: What Were They Thinking? Marketing Lessons I've Learned from over 80,000 NewProduct Innovations and Idiocies . McMath's work got me thinking about some of the unsuccessful products in Indian competitive history and to identify some tips on foretelling flops - a kind of a checklist that could help improve the odds. The brand name evokes confused silence Advice given to a young mother before she named her newborn son: "Think of all the ways in which his classmates will mangle it in school, then stand in the balcony and yell the name out as if calling him home." It's amazing how many on the shortlist failed to pass this test. A couple of simple thumb rules could also be applied to brand names. See if it is understood by your target market. Then stand in a crowded kirana store, pushed around by eager shoppers, yell it out and see if the harassed shopkeeper can understand you too. It may seem rather obvious, but a difficult brand name is potentially dangerous, especially in heterogeneous India. Remember Petit Beurre, a biscuit launched by Britannia in 1990? It meant "little butter" and its history in France, I am told, goes back a respected 150 years. Sadly, Indian consumers are not educated in French, and the name tripped uneasily over the tongues of both consumers and retailers. When I heard one housewife tentatively stutter it out and be asked by the shopkeeper "oh, that Potty biscuit?" - a not-so-nice name for a food item, I think you'd agree - I figured it was on its way out. Many years later, another food company with another tongue-twisting name, played it smart - initial ads of Alpenliebe were devoted to saying the name over and over again, in different tones and cadences, till we were all brainwashed into pronouncing it correctly. This time things will be different You'd think most red-blooded marketing types would never be caught dead launching a me-too. Yet, history tell us that it is the leading cause of new product failure. If you offer nothing different, expect the consumer to be confused. Me-toos either die a quick death, or, if blessed with deep pockets, lead to head-on marketing warfare that drive prices and profitability down as the new entrant attempts to bludgeon their way into improving market share. Maybe a reality check will give you more clarity on the uniqueness or relevance of your proposed differentiation.

Is it a technology in search of a solution? When you do that funnel filter, you do need to ask the question, "Can we make it?", but the first hurdle to pass is "Will she buy it?" Remember the Real Value Vacuumizer - a clunky, expensive contraption that sat on that piece of high-valued real estate - the housewife's crowded kitchen counter, and helped her "keep namkeens fresh"? Ziplock did the job just as well, thank you. Is it the wrong time or place for that idea? Remember these? Milkfood yoghurt, Burn Philp cake mixes, Maggi Tonite: all products that foresaw the move to processed foods, only it was a tad early. On the other hand, no one expected that droves of Indians would flaunt hair in shades of auburn or burgundy till L'oreal's Excellence convinced them it was the chic thing to do. In new product innovation, timing is everything - too early and it gets labelled with that deathly epitaph for innovations gone bust: "far before its time." Too late, and you've given birth to a been-there-done-that me-too. If you are aware (and therein lies the rub) that your product is way down on the diffusion curve and will need a huge amount of persuasion to swing over those early adopters, then do you have a marketing and distribution plan to influence customers? L'Oreal did that by taking over the salon market and peppering the media with images of streaked bercool . Does the market suffer from a "fraction of a fraction of a fraction" problem? I felt a frisson of dj vu when I saw the news that Reckitt has launched dishwasher tablets called Finish. Sorry, that should've been "re-launched". The number of dishwashing machines is minuscule in India. And that is now, in 2006. Back in 2000 when Calgonit was launched, the number of dishwashers probably could be counted on the toes of the marketing team that dreamt up this beauty. So, the potential for Calgonit dishwashing tablets was an infinitesimal percentage of the detergent market that was the used by the tiny percentage of dishwasher users ... you get the idea. Nothing fundamental has changed in the last six years - yes, there is more money sloshing around in nuclear family households, but kitchens are still small, the

bai hasn't become redundant, and the number of dishwashers hasn't taken off as yet. I really wonder whether it is worth revisiting this product idea just now. Is it trying to appeal to too many constituencies? Amul comes up with superb products and ideas - when it sticks to its knitting of coming up with low-end disruptions that is. If you are an MNC with a dairy product and large profit margins, you can trust Amul to rain on your picnic. Yet, dreaming up nifty new-tothe-world ideas is not Amul's forte, as can be evidenced by its sad attempt at coming up with Amul Slimscoop, a healthy ice-cream ... with isabgol. You eat ice-cream to feel good about yourself. You eat isabgol to ... er ... create some internal lubrication. Combining the two is such an unappealing no-no, I am surprised it passed the early filters of a desirable differentiation. Luckily, this one died a quiet little death, and did not hang around to ruin my after-dinner hedonism with its austere therapeutic value. Does it stubbornly refuse to accept cultural issues as immutable? If you expect your shiny new product to overturn deeply ingrained behaviours, well, get ready for a long, long haul. Kellogg discovered that the long way when it hoped to convert a nation of hot-breakfast eating Indians to having cold milk on crispy cereals when it came to India it said it had waited for 15 years in Mexico. Hmm, how long has it been since its arrival? It may just need to stretch that horizon a bit more. The new Ariel ad ... is an old Ariel ad. In the early '90s, Ariel managers shook their heads sadly at the archaic Indian practice of scrubbing clothes with bars. "Not required; just soaking in the powder would do," they said in an ad, which dramatically showed middle-class households chucking unused bars (can you see any Indian household being party to such waste)? Yet, the Indian housewife stubbornly used bars to get rid of the "ring-around-thecollar" and P&G had to succumb to making a bar to cater to this habit. Remember all the fifth-generation shampoos launched in the '90s which based their ambitious plans on a conviction that Indians would stop oiling their hair once they had sampled the conditioning quality of a good shampoo? Flash-forward to 2006, and you have hair-oil major Marico triumphantly buying out HLL's Nihar brand. Not to mention a number of value-added herbal, natural, ingredient-fortified hair oils that have been born to sort out Indian hair problems. Some product categories just won't die. Mind you, this is not an exhaustive list and none of these are exactly rocket science in their insights: yet, there are so many launches that have gone against them that maybe they are not that obvious after all!

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