When Words Lose Weight, Brands Collapse

I saw an advertisement recently. “Free Fridge on AC.” Immediately, two things hit me. One, you never say Fridge in a proper headline. You say Refrigerator. Words are not casual. Words define class. Words signal positioning.

The visual showed a man sitting comfortably on top of an AC. Beside him was the so-called “fridge”. Both the man and the fridge looked heavier than the AC itself. Poor AC. It looked like it would collapse under the weight of bad creative judgment.

It looked like the entire campaign was created on ChatGPT. Even on ChatGPT, the prompt engineering was not up to the mark. As they say, it is not the machine that matters; it is the man who is manning the machine who matters, who can use that machine effectively and efficiently.

And this is a national retail brand. Penny-wise. Pound foolish. The company saved a few thousand by not going to a proper ad agency.  But what did it cost in brand perception?  The brand’s communication comes across as frivolous. You pay peanuts as salaries; you get monkeys as employees. Harsh? Maybe. True? Often. Communication is not decoration. It is a strategy. It is physics. It is psychology. It is a language discipline.

And then I thought of something opposite. RES PV Ltd. Baseline: “Redefining Sunlight.” Just pause. Redefining Sunlight. In 1994-95. When even Google did not exist. When solar was not fashionable. When sustainability was not a buzzword. That is out-of-the-box thinking.

That is vision. And then came the portable solar lantern, Kuteerdeep. What did Narender call it. “Kuteerdeep – Son of the Sun.” Brilliance. Not just a lantern. Not just a rural lighting product. Not just a utility. “Son of the Sun.”

Poetic. Powerful. Memorable. Narender was our Creative Director at GI Communications (P) Limited. He wrote both the above campaigns. I was the Director of Accounts. Those were glorious days. We would debate one word for hours. We would reject ten headlines before approving one. We believed communication deserved respect. Today, software can create images in seconds. But ideas? Ideas still need thinking. And thinking still needs people who care.

Good advertising is not about tools. It is about thought. Not about software. About sensitivity. Not about offers. About ownership of language. If you respect the brand, you respect the word. And when you respect the word, the market respects you.

#MarketingMusings#BrandPositioning#CreativeThinking#AdvertisingMatters#WordsMatter#BrandLanguage#StrategicCommunication#MarketingLeadership#OutOfTheBoxThinking#BrandBuilding#Copywriting#IntegratedMarketing#MarketingProfessor#DrMAnilRamesh#ICBMSBE

Thunder Strikes again - A perfect Match between Thums Up and Allu Arjun's Pushpa's 2!!!

“Thunder striking soon,” the latest campaign of Thums Up, has a twist. One needs to see it twice to understand what it is conveying. Show it to a Caucasian American, and he would be nonplussed. He would understand it as a promo, but it would not make any sense to him.

But for Indians and Indians throughout the world, it makes perfect sense. Thums Up has partnered with Allu Arjun; the Thums Up teaser is for the much-awaited movie Pushpa 2.

Does it make sense? You bet it does. For Allu Arjun, who is endorsing Thums Up, it is free publicity for his movie. For Thums Up, the teaser gets tremendous eyeballs, and the image that Allu Arjun portrays in the movie matches the positioning tack that Thums Up has consistently used.

The positioning is that of a macho man who wants the strongest cola in the market. And even better if that strong man borders on the line between lawfulness and lawlessness. That is Sona Pe Suhaga (That is the icing on the cake). The present generation wants to be a rebel—with a cause or without. A perfect marriage between the brand, its positioning, the brand ambassador, his on-screen image, and movie promotion.

15th Article published in HANS INDIA today (22nd September 2014).

15th Article published in HANS INDIA today (22nd September 2014). It is an article for all marketing buffs "Great Marketing concepts'.

Polo - Mint with a hole Vs MintO - you dont have a hole in the head ..... Campaign Slug Fest!

Polo is a product in the mint candy category. Polo was launched in India in 1994. The brand name of Polo is said to be inspired from Polar meaning cool as the ice from the Polar region. Polo was famous for its positioning as a "Mint with a Hole" which created lot of excitement for the brand. 

The Polo campaign played on the unique shape as a differentiating factor.  The witty campaign garnered lot of attention and created awareness and brand recall for the product.

MintO from Candico aggressively took on Polo and hit Polo where it hurt the most, its positioning. MintO did a great campaign which said "You don’t have a hole in the head, so why should you have a hole in the mint".

It was implying that having a hole in the head meant a person had very little intelligence. It positioned Polo as a Mint for the unintelligent customers.  It was a classic ploy of positioning against the competition aka Avis who positioned itself as a no – 2 against the no – 1, the market leader Hertz.

Suddenly it was not very cool to  have  a Polo mint.   MintO was positioned as a cool brand. Later Nestle dropped its positioning based on the Hole for Polo.

Examples of Positioning and Repositioning - Johnson and Johnson, Vespa Scooter, Marlboro and Debeers (Part 1)

The last post we had discussed Positioning. Let us see some examples: 

1) Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo (Differential Positioning):  Johnson and Johnson is the company that is famed for child care products. It is the mother of all baby category products (pun intended). Thus it is not surprising that mummy care and mummy love is equated with J & J products. Parents willingly spend a bomb as long as they get the best baby care products for their children. J & J’s baby shampoo has that soft, mild smell and texture that gives the baby the soft creamy hair. Mothers used the same mild baby shampoo on themselves. Seeing the marketing opportunity,  J & J launched a “Baby Shampoo” series targeted at adults -  Adult mothers who want the same soft baby hair just like their children hair.

2) Marlboro (Classical Repositioning):  Marlboro is the ultimate male cigarette and the advertising reinforces the same. The famed cowboy, his Stetson hat and the rugged looks have gone a long way in reinforcing that image of rugged manhood. Marlboro had started out as a ladies cigarette. Check out the very red filter. The very red filter was used so that the lady‘s lipstick is not spoiled. Over a century’s what started out as a lady’s cigarette has been repositioned as the ultimate manly cigarette. Talk about persuasive advertising!

3) Scooter: (Classical Repositioning):   Scooter is a product that was invented in Italy. It was a product that was made with the women in mind. The male two wheeler vehicle of choice is the motorcycle. It is heavy manly and sure is rued like the Bullet. Scooter was designed by Vespa keeping women in mind. The lady can get on to it like a ladies bicycle. They need not straddle like a motorcycle (a lady wearing a skirt could drive a Vespa). It was lighter and had a easier kick start. The early Italian Advertising campaigns for Vespa and Lambretta, mainly targeted at women, the advertisement seem to be saying, "I may want to be with you, but I am a busy girl, I have options, I am independent I can do what I want and choose who I want"!

The Vespa called Chetak in its Indian Avatar got positioned as a man’s bike of choice. It was heavy, rugged and had a kick start. The positioning of the lady’s bike of choice had later first occupied by the Kinetic Honda and later by Honda Activa.

Debeers: (Repositioning the customer mindset):  Debeers is the king of diamonds. It had a easy time in the western world where the traditional symbol of love has always been a diamond. A diamond is forever. Diamonds are extensively used in engagements and there was no dearth of customers queuing up to buy its diamonds. In India Debeers faced a problem. In India the metal of choice is gold. So much so that the majority of gold mined and sold in the world finds its way to India (either legally or illegally). Debeers is still working out its positioning strategy in India. It is trying to persuade Indians to buy diamonds along with Gold. It is trying to change the Indian perception that stones are not that glamorous. It is pitching hard to drive home the fact that diamond are forever and so is the bond that is about to be sealed (the engagement ring being the symbol of everlasting love).

Positioning, TOM, Unaided Recall and Aided Recall Concepts

Positioning according to Al Ries and Jack Trout is the space that the brand occupies in the mind of the customer. Oh yes the product has a significant position on the shelf but does it occupy a significant position in the minds of the customer? When faced with an impulse purchase decision to buy a chocolate would the customer blurt out the words “Cadbury Fivestar” or would he utter some other brand name. Battles are won and lost in a split second. 

Human mind is cluttered and has many things to ponder. Tus there is no space for many brands. Positioning is the clutter breaker. It clearly defines what a brand stands for. For example Volvo is the safest car, Charminar is synonymous with Hyderabad, and Hero stands for best in mileage and so on. The brand that occupies the top (Pole) most position in the mind is the TOM (Top of the Mind). On prodding the customer might remember other brands. Brands that he is able to remember with out  aid (or external help) are referred to as unaided recall. 

Best English movie -  I might say “Titanic”. When asked about other most like movies, I might add “Modern Times, Ten commandments”, and may be mention three other movies. That is in any category most people are able to remember six brands without external aid. When shown posters of famous English movies I might happily remember many movies that I might have seen and liked. Movies that were remembered with aid (external help wold fall under the subset of Aided Recall. 

Marketers try their level best to be in TOM or atleast to be in the stage of unaided recall. Both TOM and Unaided recall are ideal. Aided recall status is very costly and cumbersome. Most advertising is reminder advertising that brain washes the customer to make the brand reach the stage of TOM or atleast in the unaided recall stage. 

8th article in HANS INDIA - 'positioning - The battle for your mind'

8th Article in HANS INDIA (5th July 2014). It is a very well liked article of mine. It is about 'positioning - The battle for your mind'

7th Article Published in HANS INDIA "Marketing Lessons From Kellogg's

7th Article Published in HANS INDIA titled "Marketing Lessons From Kellogg's'. It is an article about how Kellogg got its positioning wrong in India and later went on to correct its positioning!

Lifebuoy – the over Hundred Year brand – Positioning Strategy

 Lifebuoy, the strong-smelling, dull red soap came to life through the energetic  advertisements  in  the cinema halls with the tune of “Tandurusti ki raksha karta hai Lifebuoy …” 

First introduced in India in early 1895 Lifebuoy spans nearly 130 years, Lifebuoy moved from being a men's soap to a family soap. Over the years Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) moved away from the strong carbolic scent, it also modified the aesthetics of the outer packaging. The result is a contemporary-looking and fresher smelling soap which promised ‘continuous protection from germs' for the entire family.  

1. Initial Positioning Strategy (from 1894 to 2002): Since 1894 Lifebuoy had largely remained the ultimate mens' bathing bar.

2. Positioning shift (in 2002): The challenge for Lifebuoy was to effect the change, while retaining the core – its disinfectant properties. So the core positioning strategy was moved from men battling grime and dirt to mothers chasing a healthy soap to ensure their children don't get infected. 

3. Reinvesting positioning strategy (2004):  In 2004, Lifebuoy was re-launched with four variants and all the variants came under one ‘umbrella' look. The variants were Lifebuoy Strong, Lifebuoy Fresh, Lifebuoy Gold and Lifebuoy Naturals

4: Seasonal Positioning strategy (2011): Lifebuoy started being sold on a ‘seasonal' platform with the communication proposition being ‘Protection from 10 infection causing germs'.   The ten germs being are flu, sore throat, respiratory infection, dysentery, diarrhoea, rash, skin infection, sore eyes, pimples and ear infection.

5. Positioning Problem in the urban markets: Although Lifebuoy has stuck to its base proposition over the years; analysts say it has not been able to keep many of its urban audiences interested. Given the category and the competitiveness therein, it's not surprising that Lifebuoy has attempted to refresh itself every few years. Over the years, there are many campaigns from the brand that are fresh in public memory, right from the sweaty players on the football field to the Little Gandhi advertisements. 

Keeping in mind Lifebuoy's heritage and lineage, analysts think that if HUL wants to improve its sales in the urban markets it should position the soap as a retro soap that is a soap that harps on its lineage and its traditional values and try to hook on people who were once very loyal to it rather than trying to be a modern soap and compete with other brands of soap.

Rural Market strategy: Lifebuoy has a pan-India presence and the rural markets make up more than half of its overall sales. There are a lot of challenges that the soap faces in these markets.

In rural markets Lifebuoy has to build a relevance of germs. In the case of urban markets a lot of people understand that germs cause illness. In rural markets Lifebuoy has to explain to people that there are things called germs and if they don’t wash their hands the germs will cause illness.

Although the product quality is the same, the company does have cheaper variants of Lifebuoy in rural areas. Lifebuoy is available in 38-gm stock keeping units that cost Rs 5, in rural areas. This aids easy product penetration. 

Effective segmentation and positioning - Horlicks

Growing up is a pain. You romance about it only after you are totally grown up. One of the exciting things about growing up was falling ill. But falling ill is a double edged weapon. You could skip school but you could get loaded up with medicines by your well meaning parents. The worst part was that they could take you to a doctor for an injection. But it was worth it. 

Mothers in India were convinced that giving Horlicks to the child was the best thing especially if the child was ill. The child had to take this white liquid that does not taste very good to become better. The children very quickly realized that Horlicks is better to eat than to drink. Thus began the signature tune that is still running. The boy in the commercial says “I don’t drink Horlicks, I eat it”.

Pan India it was a health drink that had no parallel. Like all the products that were available in India in the 70s and the eighties the packaging was very utilitarian and minimal. Horlicks used to come in a glass bottle and the packaging was as exciting as yesterday’s coffee served cold!

Horlicks meant everything to everybody. It was a health drink that every one consumed. Right from small children to very elderly people. Keeping the nutritional issues aside it was very strange positioning tack.

Horlicks realized this and came out with its own versions of different Horlicks for different customers. Horlicks differentiated products now include

Junior Horlicks – for preschool children.  Keeping the targeted customers in mind the packaging is cute and the package has the picture of a small elephant which is very exciting for the small children.

Horlicks regular - For general use. Regular Horlicks is the health drink for people of all ages. The packaging is contemporary and has great visuals to attract the children and the young adults.

Horlicks mothers – is special nutritional drink with 26 vital nutrients designed keeping the specific needs of the pregnant and breast feeding women. The packaging is very interesting – it is shaped like an hours glass. Hour glass is the shape that all women crave for and this craving is subtly cashed by Horlicks by making its "Horlicks mothers” shaped like a house glass.

Horlicks Lite and Lite bite - A nutritional drink and snack specially designed for all health conscious adults and is also suitable for use by people with diabetes.  The packaging again is very interesting. The Horlicks Lite is thin and tall. The Horlicks Lite drinkers are health conscious and having a thin frame is a desire among these customers.

This Horlicks proves that segmentation could be a very efficient way of holding on and even increasing one's market share. What is needed is a clear focus and clever innovations in adapting the product to the changing needs of the customers. It also would mean tinkering with the product design and packaging to make it more appealing to the target customers.