Squirrels get a break in Kit Kat commercial

Category: Confectionary (Chocolate)

Company: Nestle

Campaign: Take a break with squirrels

I couldn’t resist myself from writing about the most exciting campaign ever from the stable of Nestle’s chocolate brand, Kit Kat.

In the previous post of Cadbury Dairy Milk’s Shubh Aarambh campaign I have laid out an overview of Indian Confectionary Industry. As stated in the previous post, Nestlé with its brands, Munch, Kit Kat, Bar One and Milkybar, has about 25 per cent of market share in the total confectionary industry. Kit Kat falls under the sub-category of chocolate which is dominated by Cadbury Dairy Milk. In recent period the market share of Nestle Kit Kat was ceded by the Cadbury’s Perk. The recent campaign could be the reaction to this defeat.

Nestlé Kit Kat was launched in India in 1995 and was well received by consumers owing to both the 'finger format' of the chocolate as well as the way its advertising celebrated the 'consumption ritual'. Globally Nestle Kit Kat follows the same proposition of “Have a break have a Kit Kat”. It is very difficult to find out & implement the brand proposition which suits all your markets. But once you find it you will have a cake walk in handling the brand.

Let’s check the effectiveness & rationale of the brand proposition. Brand proposition is nothing but a benefit offered by a brand which gives reason to the consumer to consider your brand. Unfortunately it is very difficult in chocolate category to offer any rational or emotional benefit. Kit Kat is facing the same problems as all other brands in the confectionary category are facing i.e. the problem of brand recognition. As I have mentioned in my previous post, in confectionary category, it is very important to give some reason to the target group to buy your brand to minimise the impulse purchase. You need to create Brand Salience (the brand’s propensity to be noticed or come to mind in buying situations) in the category of confectionary; Cadbury is doing this & that too very effectively. To achieve brand salience what could be better than the proposition like “Have a break have a Kit Kat”, which offers you an occasion to have a Kit Kat i.e. a break.

The 'Have a break, have a Kit Kat' tagline got a 'desi' twist a few years ago, when the brand rolled out its 'Kit Kat break toh banta hai' communication. Now, the campaign marked the return to its 'take a break' ideation, after the brand had given it a rest for a while.

The brand has always targeted the youth and it is logical too. The fast & furious world is driven by youth only. And it is logical to offer them a rest with a Kit Kat.

Key lies in communicating such a good proposition. This time Kit Kat has launched a new ad campaign to extend the brand thought. The new campaign for the brand urges youngsters to celebrate the present and notice the fun events in their surroundings.

The first TVC of the campaign is on air and creating buzz for the brand.  The TVC begins with a visual of two young men sitting in a park. One of them is involved in his work, completely engrossed in his laptop and headphones, whereas the other pops opens a Kit Kat. No sooner does he eat the chocolate than a couple of animated squirrels appear in front of him. He is shocked to see how the male squirrel is wooing the female by singing Bollywood songs and performing some pretty raunchy dance moves. However, when he tries to show his friend the scene, the friend is unable to see what he sees. The friend is clearly not interested in what the first youngster is trying to show him and even expresses a hint of annoyance. The film ends with a VO that states 'Mana ki life bahut busy hai, Par kabhi kahi break lo, Kit Kat khao, Zindagi aapko shayad kuch haseen dikhade'.

According to me till now Kit Kat was at brand benefit stage as it was focusing on the consumer benefits. Till now Kit Kat had TVC’s focusing on the literal meaning of break between tasks & the ‘consumption ritual’ with ‘finger format’. It also tried the theme of ‘more chocolaty’ through its TVC’s. But now it is entering into area of emotions by focusing on the brand value. It is now trying to extend its brand philosophy of ‘take a break’. The ad tells you to get out of your busy, gadget-laden world and get into the real world for a change.

I think it is the time for Kit Kat to engage its consumers further by innovating the ways of the communication. With such a strong brand proposition it can have a ‘National Kit Kat break’ wherein it can appeal people to have a break at a particular time of the day on a particular day of the year. It is like the whole nation taking a break at the same time. For BTL campaigns it can target college canteens & movie theatres in the breaks & intervals respectively.

Wising all the best to Kit Kat!

Cadbury Dairy Milk's Shubh Aarambh

Cadbury Dairy Milk (CDM)

Category- Confectionery (Sub-category- Chocolate)

Company- Cadbury India (Kraft Foods Inc.)

Campaign- Shubh Aarambh

After a long break I am writing this post, it is like Re-Shubh Aarambh for me and my blog. And as per the tradition I would like to start with kuch meetha & what could be better than CDM.

As usual we will start with the industry analysis.

The Confectionery Industry in India is divided into following sub-categories:

1. Chocolates
2. Hard-boiled Candies
3. Eclairs & toffie
4. Lollipops
5. Bubble Gum
6. Mints & lozenges

The total confectionary market in India is valued at about Rs. 4,500 crore, out of which the chocolate sub-category is valued at about Rs. 2,000 crore. In the sub-category of chocolates about 71 per cent market belongs to Cadbury; CDM has about 35 per cent share of the Indian chocolate market. Cadbury 5-Star has about 14 per cent; while Perk and Gems have seven per cent each. Cadbury Celebrations has 5 per cent, and Cadbury Bournville has about 1 per cent market share. Nestlé with its brands, Munch, KitKat, Bar One and Milkybar, has about 25 per cent. The rest includes players such as Amul and others.

I got surprised by the data about CDM’s market share, but it is true. Though CDM is the generic name for the chocolates in India, it doesn’t reflect in the substantial market share. The poor brand recognition, in the chocolate category, is ruing the market share of CDM. Shockingly, still about 80-90% of the consumers ask for chocolate or candies at the retailer’s shop without mentioning any brand name. And they accept any brand given by retailer without any hesitation; rather they don’t recognise the brand. Secondly almost 80% purchases in the confectionary category are impulse purchase. These are the two reasons why Cadbury & other players are spending a lot on the brand campaigns.

The key to success, in terms of market share, lies in the branding & distribution. Till you are not known to the consumer, you should try to be ‘the chocolate’ handed over by the retailer to the unaware consumer. One can’t totally avoid the impulse purchase but one can reduce it. Cadbury is successfully doing it by providing consumers with the ample reasons to buy its products. Be it “Pehli tarikh” or Diwali.

In the chocolate business it is very difficult to differentiate your product. Firstly because of very less tangible benefits attached with the chocolate. And secondly it is low involvement product leaving very less place to play on intangible benefits.

CDM has identified the nabz of Indian consumer. It started by encouraging people to celebrate the small joys of life with CDM. And now it is encouraging people to anticipate the occurrence of something good after consuming the CDM. Right from the celebration of pay day to the festival celebration CDM has captured every moment of joy in the life of Indian consumer. When I analysed the positioning of other players I found very interesting insight, ‘CDM is targeting the start of good things and Nestle’s Kitkat is targeting the break in the good things and again CDM is there to celebrate the end of good things with you’.

With Subha Aarambh CDM is again making place in the heart & mind of the Indian consumer. It is very apt campaign idea nicely justifying positioning.

Now let’s analyse the execution of campaign idea whether it is successful to communicate the positioning or not.

The media mix for this campaign includes television, radio, digital, outdoor and print. The campaign also includes significant point of purchase (POP) activities.

The TVC part of the campaign opens with a scene at a local bus stop, where a teenage girl is devouring a Cadbury Dairy Milk while waiting for the bus. A humble looking, equally young boy asks her for a bite. When she refuses, attributing her behaviour to the fact that he is a mere stranger, he goes on to explain how his mother advocates sweet consumption before doing something noble. Drawn into this explanation, the girl obliges and hands him a piece of her chocolate. Curiosity gets the better of her and she asks him what the good deed is, to which he replies that he is about to drop her home. The scene closes on two blushing teenagers. Too cute.

According to me the execution of the campaign idea is just superb. It connects with the target group and stand out in the crowded jungle of TVCs. The idea is very wide and can be extended across all media channels with all possible interpretations.

In the digital space, the brand plans to tie up with marriage and job portals; and also intends to tie up with Indian Railways for branding on tickets. This is an effort to merge the concept of a happy start i.e. Shubh Aarambh with relevant occasions such as marriage, a new job and the onset of a purposeful journey. I have seen beautiful hoardings of this campaign on the CST station, communicating very good message at the right time & right place.

Parachute Advanced Hair Oil Vs. Veola Hair Oil

Parachute Advanced Hair Oil vs. Veola Hair Oil

Category- Hair Oil

Companies- Marico vs. Bajaj Herbals

Campaigns- Khubsurat hai badhna vs. your best friend

In this post first time I am going to compare the deeds of two brands as they are from the same category i.e. hair oil & also came up with the new campaign at the same time.

Let’s analyse the hair oil market in India.

If you think hair oil is an old-economy product which people stop using once they move up the income chain, then you would be surprised to know that the hair oil market is of around Rs. 3000 crores (against Rs. 2300 crores market of shampoos). Its annual growth is around 25% in spite the fact that many working women don’t use it as regularly as before. Further there is lots of scope to expand as still 50% of the population is using unbranded hair oil.

The overall hair oil market is divided into 4 sub categories.

1. Coconut hair oil

2. Amla hair oil

3. Light or fragrant hair oil (e.g. almond oil)

4. Cooling hair oil

Both the brands are from different sub categories, Parachute represents coconut oil while Veola represents amla hair oil category.

I was just analysing the propositions offered by brands in this category and got very different perspective. What do you think shampoo is the competing or the complementary category to the hair oil?

I think when it comes to the value propositions they are competing. Initially hair oil brands were offering strength & health of hairs and then shampoos too started to position themselves in this space. Hair oils then started proposing glow and beauty of hairs, shampoos followed the same. And finally when hair oils are moving towards the cooling effect, shampoos also started to offer the same. Hence I feel both the categories are competing with each other when it comes to the proposition (consumer benefits).

But when it comes to the time of use of these products they seem to be complementary. Now a days women use hair oil once or twice a week before going to the bed and they use shampoo next day to wash their hairs. So the hair oil is perceived to strengthen the hairs and shampoos are perceived to clean and soften the hairs.

Parachute is still striking the chord with the proposition of hair growth & I think it is rational when all others are struggling with new things to lure consumers. It is necessary to stick to your basics when there is lots of confusion going on in the market.

Veola is a new entrant in the market. And when you are entering in the crowded market you should enter with the strong differentiation in terms of product or price or distribution or promotion. Here Veola failed in product as well as price differentiation and I couldn’t find the data regarding distribution. It is positioning on the proposition of beautiful hairs (emotional benefit).

Now we will see how they are communicating their proposition to their target.

In the hair oil category, due to product’s generic nature, it would be erroneous to position the product on product benefits. Hence most of the hair oils communicate emotionally with the help of consumer benefits. And both the brands (Parachute & Veola) are doing the same but the way of communication is different.

The TVC part of the campaign of Parachute works on the thought that growing as a process is gradual; everyday and beautiful. That it is the everyday experiences and realizations that help a young girl mature towards the beautiful person she is growing into. And I think this is the apt communication when you are targeting young girls. It really strikes the chord with target group by emotionally connecting with them.

Former Miss Asia Pacific and actress Dia Mirza has been chosen to be the face of Veola Amla Hair Oil. In the TVC part of the campaign she portrays the role of an art student trying to seek the attention of her handsome art instructor. But she fails to do so as her professor ignores her. She then discovers her best friend, Veola, which makes her hair soft, shiny and thick. The art instructor starts noticing her after this transformation and finds it difficult to take his eyes off her. The commercial ends with Dia Mirza walking away with confidence and the man of her dreams. According to me it is done-to-death concept not only in hair oil commercials but also in shampoos and other beauty care products. Hence Veola fails to differentiate in promotion too.

Moral of the story: Though you are in the same category with the same proposition, the success depends on how you communicate that proposition.

Pan Vilas 'Shauq Badi Cheez Hai'

Pan Vilas

Company- Godfrey Phillips India

Category- Pan Masala

Campaign- “Shauq badi cheez hai"

“Shauq badi cheez hai “, no no, I am not trying to be poetic, it is the new campaign from Godfrey Phillips India for its premium pan masala, Pan Vilas.

Before going to the campaign we will try to analyse the Indian (tobacco) Chewing Industry.

You will be shocked to hear that the overall Indian Chewing Industry is estimated to be Rs. 11,660 crores. This industry is very fragmented with lots of small players.

It is categorised by two factors,

First, by product type,

1) Pan Masala

2) Zarda

3) Gutka

Second, by price,

1) Premium

2) Non-premium

The premium chewing industry is of Rs. 3075 crores out of which the premium pan masala market is estimated to be Rs. 1500 crores (about 13% of total chewing industry). The reason behind giving all these figures is to introduce you with one important insight. Considering the developing Indian market & the evolving lifestyle of an Indian consumer, there is lot of scope to increase the market share of premium pan masala category. In these types of products the intra-category shift is very difficult due to loyalty of consumers. Hence, either you have to attract consumers from non-premium segment (as consumers evolve in their lifestyle they tend to switch the brand) or you have to attract new consumers, to increase the share of premium pan masala category.

Now, we will focus on some product insights.

To differentiate your product in this category you have two options, either you position it on product attributes or try to connect emotionally with target group. If you choose to position your product (pan masala) on product attributes then you have options like taste, mouth freshener etc. And if you want to connect emotionally with your target then you can have pride, shauq etc. accompanying your product. It is difficult to position these kinds of products on the basis of product attributes, as finally these are supposed to be unhealthy products by their nature. Hence you are left with the option of emotional connect to position your product.

The competitor, Rajnigandha Pan Masala is playing on the ‘pride’ space with its campaign “Muh me Rajnigandha, kadmo me duniya”. ‘Shauq' is the differentiator that was waiting to be owned, and has a seamless fit with the product and the category; hence, the positioning.

Now, does the campaign justify the positioning?

The brand has rolled out the TVC part of the campaign featuring Manoj Bajpai (as nawab) and Jameel Khan (as muneem). The story revolves around an extremely particular nawab who likes things just so: like getting his newspaper ironed so there isn’t any crease on it, using German binoculars to spot beautiful women, getting Queen Victoria’s bicycle to ride around on, and choosing Pan Vilas for his pan masala.

What could be the better option to portray the concept of ‘shauq’ than nawab? I must say great choice of the concept for TVC. Also it is breakthrough from boring and repetitive pan masala ads. Also this concept can be extended to link the product with different other shauqs of nawab.

The TVC would help to pull the new consumers towards the brand. According to me it would beneficial if they concentrate more on the promotions at the point of purchase. It would be helpful to attract consumers from competitor brands. The reason behind this is the consumer behaviour wherein the consumer goes to pan-bidi shop and directly demands for his regular brand. Here you can remind him about new brand as he might be exposed to the TVC and he might think of trying your brand.

“Kya kare shauq badi cheez hai”.

Henko Stain Champion ke saath safai ka nazariya badlo

Henko Stain Champion

Category- Detergent
Company- Henkel India Ltd.

Campaign- “Safai ka nazariya badlo”

Here comes another sub-category “germ killer” in the detergent category. Henkel India Ltd. is here on the battleground of detergents with its new campaign for Henko Stain Champion.

First we will try to analyse the detergent market.

Classification of detergent category-

Classification is generally done on the basis of three characteristics

I) Based on product type

1. Detergent powder
2. Detergent cake

II) Based on the prices

1. Concentrated (for e.g. Surf Excel, Ariel etc.)
2. Premium (for e.g. Tide, Henko etc.)
3. Mid-priced (for e.g. Rin, Tide Naturals)
4. Popular (for e.g. Nirma, Wheel etc.)

III) Based on the functionality

1. Stain Remover
2. Whitener
3. Germ Killer

The overall detergent market is of around Rs. 13000 Crores. It’s generally seen that the stain remover brands are premium brands due to their concentrate nature. Both stain removers as well as whiteners contribute same to the detergent category, stain removers through value & whiteners through volume. But thanks to the recent price war in the detergent category these boundaries between prices are becoming faint. Hence players are now left with the functionality to differentiate their products in the crowded detergent market.

After playing around different positioning like whitener, stain remover, detergent with fragrance, colour preservers etc. I thought there is no gap left for the new entrant or to reposition the current product. But then Henko came up with the new positioning “germ killer”, creating a new sub-category. Also in the detergent category Henkel’s value share is only 6.9%, to increase this share Henkel has to do two things, one to retain existing customers & second to acquire new customers. Now by giving extra benefit of germ killing Henkel is taking care of existing customers, by increasing their switching cost. But to acquire new customers it has to communicate this positioning very clearly.

Now we will see, is this positioning justified or not?

The target group for the detergent category is primarily the housemaker. This group is found to be very loyal to the brands they are using & particularly the brands in the category of soaps & detergents. Over that Henko is in premium category targeting upper class hence promotions & discounts won’t work for it. And these are the stimulators to come up with this type of innovative positioning. Also in these days when people are more concerned about their health & newer bacterial & viral diseases are attacking the human beings, Henkel’s positioning as a “germ killer” is justified.

Now we will analyse the effectiveness of the communication of effective positioning.

Henkel has roped in actor Irfan Khan to advocate its product. It has launched three editions of the ad in fictitious supermarkets in Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. In the ads, as a woman reaches out for her usual detergent in a supermarket, Khan quizzes her about the product's efficacy. While the detergent might make clothes look clean, does it make them germ-free, he asks. He points her to Henko as the one which does so. Also he differentiates Henko on the basis of value it delivers at the same price.

First of all I was a bit sceptical when I heard that Irfan Khan is the new brand ambassador for Henko, considering Henko’s target group. But then when I saw the actual TV commercial I was convinced about the choice of Irfan khan. To communicate the message “safai ka nazariya badlo” very firmly, I don’t think anyone could be better than Irfan Khan. The commercial very clearly communicates the message that germ killing is one of the important values, which has to be delivered to get the full price from customers. The time will tell how much it is successful, to generate the lead for Henko & to increase the market share of the Henkel India Ltd.

According to me this type of innovative positioning deserves the great buzz in the market which can be achieved through the right combination of TVC, print, online media & brand activation. TVC will help to create awareness, print & online media can be used to create the property in line with the brand proposition. Brand activation will help the brand to engage the target group with this unique brand proposition.

IndiGo Airlines 'On time'

Indigo Airlines

Category- Domestic Airline (Low cost carrier)
Company- IndiGo Airlines

Campaign- "On Time"

I got to know about Indigo Airlines’ new campaign through one of my friends. And when I saw the commercial it prompted me to write something on it. Really it is a path-breaking campaign in an airline industry. The journey of TVC, right from the on time chef to becoming world’s powerful economy on time, amazed me.

Indian airline industry is experiencing stiff competition with strong players. And especially when you are in the category of LCC (low cost carrier), which is experiencing more heat, you need to come up with these kinds of innovative ideas. IndiGo has tough competition from Spicejet Airlines & GoAir Airlines. Before going to their individual positioning we will look into some consumer insights.

When it comes to domestic low cost airlines the main competitors are high cost domestic airlines & railways. Now in case of high cost domestic airlines, their strong point is luxury & convenience they have on their offer. So the low cost airlines have very low scope to attract the passengers who prefer luxury over cost. Now the basic question is why railway passenger considers the option of low cost domestic airlines. According to me there are three factors convenience, status & the most important time. Now we will see how the domestic low cost airlines answer to these factors.

During Jan, 2010 Spicejet came up with new campaign 'Get more when you fly SpiceJet'. The campaign positioned SpiceJet as an airline that cares for its customers and offers a flying experience where low fare is defined as high value. While GoAir positions itself as “The smart people’s airline”. Both the competitors position themselves on the basis of value they are offering in low cost. And here is Indigo Airlines with its new campaign focusing on the time factor which is more crucial to attract the target customer who has the option of railways. It has found very fundamental gap in the market & i.e. time.

On-time performance is core to the aviation business, and the new TVC reinforces IndiGo's commitment to providing fliers with an on-time, hassle-free experience at low fares. Featuring IndiGo cabin crew, IndiGo Ground Force and pilots, the TVC tells viewers the story of what happens behind the scene at IndiGo, enabling it to offer it’s unmatched and consistent On Time Performance and hassle free travel experience to all its fliers. From an on-time crew to spotless aircraft, and hospitable service to serving delicious food, the team-in-command puts its best foot forward to ensure customer comfort and punctuality. The TVC can be seen across business, news, movie, general entertainment, sports, travel, lifestyle and regional channels. Although the main push is on TV, the campaign is also being supported with collateral, online and some direct messages.

First of all, I would like to appreciate the idea of “On time” especially when you the part of aviation industry. Another plus point is you can extend this idea to further TVC’s where you can show the various universal concepts illustrating the value of time. Nice demonstration of the connection between the importance of time & the powerful economy. The TVC successfully carries the brand proposition of IndiGo Airline.

According to me, to have greater effect in terms of carrying the message to the target group they need to extend this campaign to outdoor, digital and print media. Further to engage the target group they need to come up with on-ground promotions. And On time is very good concept to execute during on-ground events. You can successfully engage the target group with this kind of concept if you have great idea of execution.

Tanishq Jewellery 'Wedding Jewellery'

Tanishq Jewellery

Category- Wedding Jewellery
Company- Tanishq Jewellery (Tata Group)

Campaign- "Wedding Jewellery"

By this campaign Tata Group’s Tanishq jewellery brand announces its entry into regional wedding jewellery segment.

Before going to the campaign we will see the status of Indian jewellery market. Rs. 1, 00,000 crore worth Indian jewellery market is divided into two segments; gold & diamond jewellery, with gold jewellery representing about 70-75% share. Further gold jewellery market is divided into regular & occasional (mostly comprise wedding jewellery) jewellery segments. Wedding jewellery market is huge representing about 50% of total Indian jewellery market. And this market is dominated by family or local jewellers.

Till now Tanishq was catering to the wedding jewellery market through its standard wedding collection. And this may be the reason behind its failure to compete with local jewellers, who were offering community & region specific wedding jewellery. To fill this gap recently Tanishq entered into the lucrative regional ornaments segment to cater to the diverse requirements of brides from different communities around India. Tanishq will come out with specific traditional collections to cater to brides from the Punjabi, Bihari, Gujarati, Marwari, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Kannada and Marathi communities.

By this strategy Tanishq is planning to expand its market to Tier I & Tier II cities. Each region has specific needs for certain jewellery pieces that are typical to their community. Also sometimes people like to wear jewellery specific to other regions so here is Tanishq one stop shop for every kind of people.

Obviously the TG is ladies who are going through the process of marriage and positioning is ‘branded community specific wedding jewellery’. Further we will see how these points are communicated through the new campaign.

The 360-degree campaign involves print, TVC, digital and BTL initiatives. First we will analyse the TVC part.

The TVC is a tale of how a mother uses Tanishq's range of wedding jewellery to make her daughter see herself as stunning as a bride. This consequently makes her open up to the idea of an arranged marriage. The TVC tries to solve the modern day dilemma of parents who desire to have their daughters marry and daughters who are in no real rush for marriage.

According to me this TVC perfectly aims at the emotions attached with the subject of marriage. Though it may appear exaggeration that, ‘how can a woman takes a major decision like marriage on the basis of jewellery?’, but according to me it carries the emotional message to women in the TG.

Unlike the TVC, which deals with emotional space of wedding, the print campaign showcases the width and range of the specific wedding jewellery for different occasions across ethnic groups. From 16 page ads to cover ads, Tanishq has done it all in seven magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Femina and Grihashobha. Good use of print media which provides the comfort to go into details of the product and also they have chosen right place to communicate.

Tanishq has also launched a BTL campaign, 'Tanishq dulhan' in Tier II and III cities, where the winning brides are given gifts and are styled by the brand on their wedding day. There is also a programme for older couples, who have completed 25 years of marriage. I couldn’t get the specifications of the BTL campaign.

The brand will also launch a big-budget campaign in the digital space.

According to me this is the optimum use of each & every media to communicate with your TG. They have created brand awareness through TVC and further they have used print media to communicate product features in detail with their TG in the regional languages. Also to engage the TG they have BTL part of campaign.

Good going Tanishq!

Launch of Volkswagen Polo

Volkswagen Polo

Category- Premium Hatchback
Company- Volkswagen Das Auto

Campaign- "Launch of Polo in India"

After Beetle I was eagerly waiting for VW Polo & recently saw TVCs of the same. With Polo, VW is entering into very crowded Indian small car market & that too in premium hatchback segment which is dominated by players like Maruti Suzuki & Hyundai. In this segment Ritz & Swift represents Maruti Suzuki & i20 represents Hyundai. Also Ford has entered in this segment with Figo & Honda has entered with Jazz though it is in little higher category when we consider prices.

VW Polo is positioned as German car exclusively made for India. This is very apt positioning when you are entering into the Indian car market at this moment. Because nowadays most of the carmakers make some changes before launching their products in Indian Market, most of the times by just changing the left hand driving to right hand driving but they fail to completely match with the Indian conditions. And here is VW which fills that gap by introducing Polo, which is manufactured at Chakan near Pune, considering Indian conditions. This positioning also appeals to the emotional mind of an Indian.

Now let’s analyse the execution part of the marketing brief given by the German carmaker. The TVC part of campaign is released in four forms. All the TVCs target the sceptical nature of car buyer and try to solve their doubts in a very funny way.

The first commercial shows a sceptical car buyer testing the car's ground clearance, by placing an ostrich's egg under the car and driving over without touching it. He is soon shown being chased by the visibly angry ostrich.

The second commercial has a sceptical car buyer driving through cattle, as he tries to put the car's road handling to test. The ad again ends with the herd chasing the driver.

In the third commercial, the driver tests Polo's claim of running for 27 kilometres on one litre of diesel, as he fills the car with the exact amount of fuel. He soon runs into trouble the car stalls in a forest area, after having run for the claimed distance, as tribal people drag him away.

The fourth TVC has a sceptical car buyer testing the safety and toughness of the car, as he challenges a rhinoceros to 'bring it on'. He soon realises what a bad idea that was, and how tough the car is, as the rhino rams right into the Polo.

Each film ends with a voiceover, which says that the car has already been tested by engineers and one need not put it to any further tests.

According to me, all the four versions fulfil the expectations by focusing on product features as well as appealing the emotional quotient by showing scepticism. Further, the product features such as ground clearance, safety, road handling & mileage are really the requirements for being a successful car in the Indian conditions. But the second part i.e. emotional appeal could have been better than the current one. I feel the commercial seems rude by saying, ‘Our engineers have tested it you need not to’. We Indians don’t like rudeness, we believe in values & cultures. When you get the marketing brief saying, ‘You need to show the efficacy of German technology on Indian roads by showing the Indianness of the car’, then I think you have lots of options to choose from. I have seen one commercial for VW Polo for its launch in one of the Western Countries wherein they have demonstrated car features by fulfilling the needs of family members of different age group. And I think in India what would have been better than showing a car which fulfils the needs of the whole family by giving emotional touch to it.

Other than TVC, I have seen the promotion done by one of the dealers of VW by displaying car at various places, like I have seen it at HDFC bank during lunch hours, where some employees were briefed by the salesman about the features of the car. This is very good strategy to go to your target group to demonstrate the features of your product.

The 360-degree campaign comprises of four TV commercials in addition to innovations in print, outdoor and digital.

Del Monte's Taste Like Never Before

Del Monte Sauce

Category- Ketchups & Sauce
Company- FieldFresh Foods

Campaign- "Taste like never before"

The campaign, breaking the tradition of caring mothers, hungry children and funny characters in the TVC’s of ketchup and sauces’ category, is here by Del Monte. Ketchup and sauces category hasn’t seen much activity in recent years & at the same time consumers are very eager to try out new things in every category including foods and beverages. This acted as a trigger for Del Monte to come up with two new flavours of sauces, Zingo and Twango. Twango is a fruit based sauce and Zingo is the traditional eastern style sauce with garlic, ginger etc. Let’s see how these sauces would tempt the taste buds of consumers.

Del Monte was brought to India in 2007 by a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Del Monte Pacific Ltd. The JV is called FieldFresh Foods Pvt Ltd. The Del Monte product range is very exciting; it has foods that are different from the routine and tastes that are different from the usual. This formed the base of positioning & communication strategy for Del Monte sauces. The sauces are positioned on the unique taste with the tagline, “Taste, like never before”. Till now this category has targeted women & children but Del Monte is focussing on youth & women as their target. According to me this is good thinking because when you are inviting consumers to try out new thing then, who would be better than youth as a target group that too in the category of ketchups & sauces. And it’s mother who buys the ketchups and sauces.

Now the challenge lies in communicating this unique taste to the target group who is also very choosy and dynamic in picking up the ideas expressed in the communication. But fortunately the idea came at the product test stage itself as whoever tasted the sauce wanted to know “What is this sauce?”

TVC which is the part of communication opens with a shot a woman sitting in a passenger train, about to bite into a piece of samosa. Her co-passenger who is about to get off the train, offers some sauce to spice up her samosa. The woman tries the samosa with the sauce and finds it so delicious, that she is hell-bent on finding out what sauce it is. She jumps off the train, searching for that passenger - who, by then has already left the railway station - and overcomes an obstacle course of sorts to eventually find him again. She asks him which sauce was it. That's when the voiceover introduces the brand and its variants.

According to me the TVC is very apt in communicating the idea of unique taste and also achieves the objective of appealing the target group. It is based on the basic human insight that whenever we try new and exciting thing we want to know the source of it, and sometimes adapt the things which are out of way to know the source. But if you interchange the characters of women & boy, according to me it would become more relevant & apt. Your primary target group is youth and if you show the temptation of knowing source with that boy then it would be more appealing to that group. And as mothers buys the ketchup and sauce, showing the sauce with that women in the TVC would carry good message. Also Del Monte wanted to give the Indian touch to the communication, which is achieved by showing such a track and suitable background music.

The inaugural television campaign is being supported by print and digital promotions. Since the brand's target audience is primarily the youth, the online space has been used extensively, with launch announcements on portals and activities on social networking sites.

The brand, as part of its BTL activities, has worked on in-store visibility and merchandising in modern retail and general trade stores, and has also carried out sampling exercises among consumers.

Happy journey with VIP Superlite

VIP Superlite

Category- Luggage

Company- VIP Industries

Campaign "Happy Journey (Animated)"

Planning for summer vacation trip, here is VIP wishing you “happy journey” through its new campaign.

Before going to the campaign, just have a look at the trends in the Indian luggage industry.

Classification of luggage category,

Trends in the luggage industry and consumer behaviour-
Over the past few years economy segment of luggage have shown negative growth, mid-segment have shown stagnant growth and premium segment have shown substantial growth. This trend shows that the luggage is no more just the functional product which people buy once in 10-15 years, it has become fashion object which people buy to complement their clothes and type of trip.
Also in case of luggage material, the demand for soft luggage is increasing over hard or moulded luggage. This is the indication of changing people’s objective of buying luggage for just security to comfort & convenience.

The journey of VIP-
VIP had stronghold in mid-segment but the changing consumer preference and emerging competition forced it to think beyond mid-segment. VIP re-positioned it as travel companion rather than just a luggage brand. It wanted to connect itself to the travelling, so will think of VIP.
In its one of the campaign during 2003, VIP tried to emphasise on the most emotional part of travelling i.e. time of departure. A mother bidding goodbye to her children, a child clinging on to her father who is leaving for work, a young mother trying to cajole her daughter who has come to see her off at the airport, by twirling her suitcase around. These are scenes from the `Bye bye' campaign of V.I.P., which was on all TV channels and was supported by a series of outdoor campaigns.
Then VIP tried to connect itself with youth and hence chose Shahid Kapoor as its brand ambassador. It came up with nice communication campaign with Shahid Kapoor focusing on different features of their product like toughness and lightness.
And now to position VIP as youthful and more lively brand it came up with new animation campaign.

Recent campaign-
In the recent campaign VIP has captured the feeling of happiness & friendship through its animated character.
The ad film opens with a man walking down the road with the new VIP Superlite bag. As he walks down the road, he sees a group of children sitting on the park bench, sad because their football is stuck on the top of a lamppost. The man stands on his VIP bag and lifts the children on his shoulders to retrieve the ball, highlighting the strength and durability of the bag.
Moving on, he sees a couple sitting in the park, bored and tired. He opens his VIP bag to release a big heart, which captures the couple, leaving them happy and vibrant – thus showing the bag’s capacity.
The girl sends a gentle flying kiss to the man, which sets him flying into the sky with the VIP bag, where he is flying alongside an airplane, showing how light the VIP bag is. The TVC ends with a pack shot of the new VIP Superlite range and the tagline: ‘Happy Journey’.
Product features such as strength & light weight are brilliantly woven into the communication. What could be better than animations to express the feeling of happiness? Also this character can be extended to further communications of the brand.
Besides television, VIP has carried out extensive in-store merchandising and posters in its exclusive and multi-brand outlets. Branding has also been done at point of travel, on conveyor belts at airports, Jet Airways' baggage tags, IRCTC tickets and in-flight and in-store magazines.

Maruti Suzuki Ritz

Category- Car

Segment- Premium Hatchback
Company- Maruti Suzuki

Campaign- "Why Choose?"

As usual Maruti Suzuki followed its line filling strategy of lengthening the product line by adding one more car within same product range. Line filling strategy is two edged sword, if it’s done nicely, it gives good results in terms of overall profits, but if it’s overdone, it results in self-cannibalisation & customer confusion. By introducing Ritz in premium hatchback segment where Swift is already present, Maruti Suzuki has again taken the same risk. Maruti Suzuki has been successful in converting this risk into opportunity by differentiating products which are in the same product range. And as usual it’s successful in differentiating Swift & Ritz by positioning Swift as an individualistic car & Ritz as a family car as well as by giving Ritz the sophisticated and luxury tinge.

This is all about strategies formulated within four walls but it’s very important to communicate these differential points to the target group to avoid self-cannibalisation & customer confusion. And I think Maruti Suzuki again won the battle of communication through the recent Maruti Suzuki Ritz campaign comprising TVC.
The first half of the TVC tells us about the trade-offs we do before arriving at any decision in the life and finally compromise on something. The film starts with a boy and a girl, both busy painting two walls: one with pink, and the other with blue. The voiceover says: "Pink or blue"? Second situation shows a lobby in a multi-storey, where an elevator is going up, while another is headed down. Voiceover: "Up or down"? The next vignette: A rose petal falls on a clean white bed, and an earthen pot is broken into pieces. Voiceover: "Apologise or argue"? The next shot is inside a car, where a husband is confused whether he should give time to his wife or his mother. "Wife or mother"? The following clip shows a glutton on a treadmill, while someone is relishing an orange. The voiceover: "Sweat or starve"? The last shot shows a man entering through the glass doors of an office, while another man with a smiling face comes out of it with a carton full of his belongings. The voiceover: "Quit or stick"? Second half the film shifts its focus to the Ritz, and says: "Why choose? When one car has it all: Performance and mileage, comfort and excitement, space and style."

According to me the campaign is successful in touching viewer’s emotional quotient as well as in focusing on product features. Most of the brands prefer to demonstrate product features in the first part of the campaign and then go for emotional appeal when the product is well known. In case of cars, display of the car by different angles as well as while performing is common strategy of communication but recently some of the car campaigns have directly gone for the emotional appeal rather going for display of product features, Volkswagen Beetle is one of the good examples in this category. Here Ritz has done both things and that too very effectively in the same campaign.

The only thing bothering me in this campaign is the frequency of TV commercials, it’s very less. As Ritz is in the phase of awareness it should come up with frequent ads on different TV channels. Also the campaign is going to come up with OOH & radio ads, but according to me all the medium should communicate at the same time to get place in the today’s customer’s mind who is suffering from short term memory syndrome due to bombardment of millions of ads.