New Products that did not do well in India Part I

Kingston Filter Kings: was introduced by VST (Vazir Sultan Tobacco). VST had earlier introduced a highly successful cigarette named Charms. Charms was a huge hit as it had a denim pack and it was the cigarette of the rebel. In the eighties it was considered very stylish to tap the charms pack and see a cigarette jump out. Riding on the Charms success Kingston was introduced.

Kingston was projected as the premier filter kings and it was positioned as the cigarette for the upwardly mobile. The promotion had Jamaican beaches, sun, sand and beautiful girls. All this made no sense to the Indians. Sun is available plentifully in India and getting tanned is never an Indian priority. Indians are naturally tanned. The beaches of Kingston and Jamaica meant nothing to the Indian whose ideas of the beaches were limited to Goa and Kovalam. As such there was nothing inspirational about Kingston and the brand died a natural death.

Vacuumizer: was one of the products that was marketed by ABC (Amitabh Bachaan Corporation) limited. Vacuumizer has a very unique promotional campaign. It did carpet bombing. In other words the entire commercials for the Sunday night movie on Doordharshan which that time had the monopoly of television viewers were booked by Vacuumizer. All the advertisements that were featured on that Sunday night were of Vacuumizer.

Inspite of the innovative promotion Vacuumizer failed. Vacuumizer was a product which could keep a product fresh for more than a month. The product can be kept in the Vacuumizer and the box can be sealed. The food will be fresh for a long period of time. For a country that is keen on fresh foods for obvious reason the idea appeared to be very alien. Vacuumizer was a product that came to India too early. If it were to be introduced now it would be a success.

Soy milk: This was a product that was introduced by Godrej. Again a product that came before its time. At the time of its introduction India still had not embarked on the mission of eating healthy food. Eating ghee laden food was the in thing (it still is!). So a product that promised a drink that is nutritious made no sense. And the taste too was alien and the product died a natural death.

Jelly drink: Product of Godrej again. Jelly-O met with cultural resistance. Indians are used to smooth soft drinks and a drink that had granules in it was not liked. And jelly-O had smooth and rubbery granules and the consumers gave it the kiss of death.

Newstime: was the English news paper introduced by the Telugu media baron Ramoji Rao. Ramoji Rao is the owner of the 4th most read Indian news papers and the most read Telugu newspaper Eenadu. Readers expected that Newstime would be successful too. The tagline of Newstime was “all things for all people”. Readers did not understand what Newstime stood for. In the modern world you can’t be all things for all people.

Coin in the paint –Out of the box thinking

Coin in the paint: This article shows the power of innovative thinking. This piece of action has taken place in Hyderabad, India. It is about a small paint manufacturer from Hyderabad. This was a small company that had excellent range of paints but had very limited liquidity. They were being squeezed out of the market by aggressive national paint companies. The company had a limited advertising budget.  And it could not spent money on promotion like the big companies. The company if it were to spend even 10 crores rupees (which was 50% of its turnover) it would not be enough as 10 crores is small change for the big paints companies.

The company needed to think out of the box. It approached a marketing research company and asked it to suggest a way to get a decent market share. The marketing research organization did not give any immediate solution. It studied the market.

It found out that paints marketing is quite different from the others products that are marketed. In most product categories it is the husband, wife, the children or the family together who take a purchase decision. But paint is not a glamorous product. The family does not play any role in the purchase decision. Then who takes the decision?

Study proved that the architect or the painter who make paint related purchase decision in the primary market (house being painted for the first time) in the secondary market (re painting) it is the painter.

So what motivates the painter? Of course quality matters but the painter is more bothered about the margin that is given to him by the distributor that is the most appealing aspect in the paint purchase decision. In other words the commission given by the distributor is pocketed by the painter and the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) is shown to the house owners. The motive of the buying decision is the margin of discount given by the distributor.

The market research organization came out with a brilliant campaign. It told the company to place 1 (one) gram gold coins in selective paint boxes. As expected this ploy proved to be a big hit. As it was not promoted publicly the paint majors were not aware what was happening. The news of the gold coins found is paint boxes spread like wild fire and all painters were buying the paints in huge numbers.

Next the marketing research organization suggested that the company should concentrates on the painter and his family. The painter ability to earn depends on the ability to paint as fast as possible. The company trained the painters in fast painting. They were given the latest tools and brushes. Once the painter was able to paint faster his earnings increased and he became loyal to the small company. Thus the company by its very unique customer relationship Management practices enhanced its brand image and ensured continual patronage from its target customers that is the painters.

Indian Restuarant

Going to USA is a thing that excites and frightens lots of Indians. It is proverbial Mecca of opportunities but most Indians are worried about the so called bohemian life style, the eating habits and the fact paced life. 

A suddh (ultra pure) Brahmin boy had gone to the USA to do his MS. This boy came from a family of Acharyas (a sect of pujaris who are the temple Brahmins). These Brahmins are very particular about madi (a ritual where the food is prepared after taking a bath and the lady of the house will not touch anyone when she is preparing the food).

The poor boy’s worst night mares came true. He was suffering as there is nothing that is pure vegetarian in the USA. Even vegetarian noodles will have a omlette on the top. Our boy was suffering. He was surviving on bread alone. One day he was travelling by the Greyhound bus and he saw a sign that made his heart sing. The sign said “Indian restaurant”. The boy rushed in.

What he finds inside turned his insides out. The restaurant had a huge steak which was being roasted. The restaurant was full of Americans and had a fair sprinkling of Native Americans who were having beer and beef streak. The Brahmin boy almost fainted. He staggered out of the restaurant.

Later a friend of his at the university explained him what the sign meant. “Indian restaurant” means a restaurant that is managed by the Native Americans. The Native Americans are called Indians in USA. The Brahmin boy was confused as the local population is called Indians and the Native Americans are referred as red Indians. This created such confusion that the poor Brahmin almost gave up eating altogether.

Sambar meal

This incident was recited by Mr. Siraj Taher the President of Hyderabad Bird watchers society. Mr. Siraj Taher is an avid bird watcher and a wild life enthusiast. A relative of Siraj was visiting Hyderabad. He was tired of the vegetarian food that was being served to him. 

While he was travelling he found a sign ‘Sambar served here”. Excitedly our man goes inside and orders Sambar. The waiter was puzzled “what will you have the Sambar with?” “Oh only the Sambar, please” “But sir how can you have only Sambar? What about the main dish?” said the puzzled waiter. “Thanks you but I want only the Sambar”. The waiter went inside and bought a bowl full of Sambar (a sort of soup or watery dal that is consumed along with rice and idlis).

The bewildered relative of Siraj looked all around and said “where is the Sambar?” “Sir, this is Sambar”. “But I don’t see any meat pieces” “Why will you see meat? This is a pure vegetarian restaurant”

Intervention by knowledgeable people saved the day. The relative was thinking that Sambar meant the deer that is found in India. In the north India the deer are called Sambar and the poor man thought that the hotel was serving deer meat. The fact of the matter was the hotel has a sign which said “Idly and Sambar served here” but the idly part was not visible and that created the confusion.

Products that did not do well, New Coke and Pepsi AM

The market place is a great leveler. It brings down the giants quickly and mercilessly. The bigger the company the faster they are brought back to realities of the market place.

The most cited example is that of the new Coke that was introduced by Coca-Cola. Market research clearly showed that the young generation liked the taste of Pepsi. This was started by Pepsi who used the concept of a blind trail. Blind trail is a form of product testing where the consumers sample the product blindfolded and then choose the better tasting products. The blind test by Pepsi showed that the consumers overwhelmingly chose Pepsi over coke. It looked as if Pepsi was a product for the young and the hep generation and Coke was the product for the old and stodgy. The media campaign by Pepsi touting the results of the blind trail were so effective that even Coca-Cola bought the idea. 

Coke went through extensive market research and product development and launched the New Coke and expected to rake in the moolah. Simultaneously it withdrew the old Coke. To its surprise consumers rejected the new coke and there were protests all around. Consumers rallied around and there was a hue and cry. Coke in its old form was seen as an iconic American brand and the Americans did not want Coca-cola to tamper with their favorite product. Later Coca-cola introduced the old coke and called it Coke Classic.

Pepsi fared no better. The biggest competitor for Pepsi of course is Coca-Cola. But their bête noire is not each other but the coffee and tea that people drink early in the morning. Most people would like to have their shot of caffeine or thiamine (the stimulants present in Coffee and tea) and they get that shot from their favorite cuppa. Pepsi came out with a grand idea. It developed a product that is high in caffeine and introduced a product Pepsi AM. Pepsi was gung-ho about its product. It was a beautiful combination of a soft drink and caffeine.  

Consumers rejected the product outright. They wanted a shot of caffeine but they wanted it with their coffee. In short people were used to having something hot in the morning and a substitute product when it offers the same stimulant would not be accepted as the substitute was cold. Most of us are not used to having something very cold early in the morning. This effectively rang the death knell for Pepsi AM.

Pepsi introduced a product called Pepsi Maxx in India. It is a 250 ml soft drink that comes in a can. The product claims to have no sugar at all. Pepsi extols the virtues of the concept of "maximum" over that of "zero." It is a counter to the Coke’s diet coke campaign of Zero calories. In India Pepsi is promoting Pepsi Maxx as a energy maximizer as it has caffeine. The product also claims that is not suitable for children.

For a product category that hinges so much on patronage from the children it would be interesting to see how Pepsi Maxx would fare in the Indian market if it is denied to the children. One should not forget that India has very young population. Pepsi need not worry. Enforcement of the rules is quite lenient in India and I am sure that any child who asks for Pepsi Maxx would get it. I am also sure that the restriction of Pepsi Maxx is a statutory obligation because of the caffeine content and not a voluntary restraint from Pepsi Co.