Cases On Marketing -b&e

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Cases on Marketing B&E

Cases on Marketing

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Cases on Marketing B&E

Dedicated to our alma-mater MANAGE

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Cases on Marketing B&E

1. USP — Ticking, a la Titan V. Pattabiram and T. N. Madan Building and sustaining a brand is a mammoth task. Many brands start with much fanfare but are often swallowed by bigger brands in a matter of time. A few lose their sheen by wrong positioning; still others by failing their promise. There are but a very few brands that withstand the test of time and competition. Titan is one such brand when it comes to watches and jewellery. Leading specialty retailer Titan is India’s largest specialty retailer. In watches, it owns the famous brands ‘Titan’, ‘Sonata’, ‘Fastrack’, etc, while its jewellery is marketed under equally powerful brands such as Tanishq and Goldplus. The company sells its products through a network of “Specialty stores” that exclusively sport the company’s brands.From a humble beginning in the 90s, Titan has grown into a Rs 3,000-crore retail behemoth. While a strong management and India’s retail boom definitely played their part in propelling Titan’s growth, they do not fully explain Titan’s evolution into India’s largest specialty retailer and one of the largest integrated watch manufacturers in the world. There has got to be more to the story. We believe this has got to do with the company’s ability to identify and penetrate ‘high-potential’ fragmented markets through aggressive and innovative branding. Ticking with watches When Titan decided to enter the fragmented watch market in India, its strategy was to create a larger than life brand. Titan hit upon the concept of “unique customer experience” – a popular concept now, but a very novel one in those days. Titan set up an array of exclusive Titan outlets.These stores had pleasing ambience and a well-trained sales force and provided a unique shopping experience to the customer. What’s more, the company set up exclusive after-sales service centres that soon gained a reputation for the speed and quality of services. Thanks to these initiatives, the brand grew in popularity.After the initial success, the company launched a slew of brands for all customer segments. While ‘Sonata’ was for the value-hunter, Nebula, studded with gems, revealed an elite outlook. ‘Raga’ targeted working women while the Xylus and Fastrack struck a chord with the youth. Titan also promoted international brands such as Timex, Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss to service niche customer groups. Not surprisingly, Titan commands a whopping 60 per cent share of the organised Indian watch market, with sales ticking over 100 million watches per annum.

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Cases on Marketing B&E Branded jewellery market After tasting success in watches, Titan eyed the Indian Jewellery market. India is one of the largest global markets for gold — a metal close to the consumer’s heart both as investment and ornament. Despite the huge potential, this market did not attract branded formats, given the market’s high fragmentation and regionalisation. Titan entered this market with the game plan it adopted for watches — build a brand, offer something for all and provide unique customer experience. Titan launched Tanishq, India’s first jewellery brand, in 1996. Tanishq jewellery also had a standard hallmark which facilitated exchange at any Tanishq outlet across the country — a feature that regional players could not offer. . Tanishq outlets crossed the coveted 100 mark in 2008. Tanishq today has a market share of around 40 per cent in branded jewellery. Porter’s 5 Force Analysis Bargaining power of suppliers: Medium In consumer goods business, Titan enjoys a large market share. But the yellow metal is traded globally as an investment product, prices are quoted internationally and jewellers who source raw gold are price takers. As a company, Titan has to bend to the suppliers to this extent. Bargaining power of customers: Medium Given the brand reputation, Titan exercises a significant pricing power in the premium segments. However, products offered in ‘value for money’ exhibit high price sensitivity. Threat of substitutes: Low Watches and jewellery have been in usage for decades and we see no scope for substitutes for these products. Threat of competition: Medium Organised retail is increasing in prominence as the biggest growth engine of the economy. Of late, many corporate biggies have set foot in this segment. Barriers to entry: Medium Building scale in an already crowded market requires huge financial muscle and unrelenting marketing efforts. This might deter a large number of players from venturing into this business. Also, there are restrictions on FDI investments in retail.Titan has travelled a long and successful journey in its effort to build one of the strongest consumer brands in India. It will be an interesting spectacle to see how Titan’s ‘branding to success’ will play out when globalisation kicks in at full swing in India.

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Cases on Marketing B&E (Adapted from: Business line Oct 11,2009)

2. Rural Marketing by Hero Honda

Two-wheeler makers ‘Discover’ new ‘Passion’ for rural market Manoj Bansal recently changed his two-year-old Splendour for a new Passion Pro at the Hero Honda dealership in Sardhana, a small town about 20 km from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. “I had to move on to a sturdier bike. I have gained weight after all,” says the sugarcane farmer and a Bahujan Samaj Party worker.The poor monsoon has reduced the yield but with the prices of sugarcane expected to be higher, Bansal hopes to earn about Rs 1-1.5 lakh this year. Farmers of Sardanah are expecting sugarcane prices of Rs 170-220 a quintal, significantly higher than last year. Bansal is the kind of prospering “opinion leader” that India’s largest two-wheeler company is looking to tap. Rural markets today contribute about 40 per cent to Hero Honda’s sales, and the company hopes to improve that. Rural market With two-wheeler penetration levels at less than 10 per cent in rural households, it is a large market waiting to be tapped, says a company spokesperson, adding that Hero Honda is mapping the demographic and psychographic landscape of Rural India.In Sardhana, which has a 19th century Basilica built by the courtesan-turned warrior and mercenary queen Begum Samru, professional ear-cleaners are at work on verandas outside shops stashed with DTH boxes. It is a sleepy town surrounded by sugarcane fields and mango groves, and two bike dealerships located within 100 m of each other on the main market street. If you don’t like one dealer you can go to the other. And that’s why childhood buddies Rupesh Chowdhury and Ojaswi Ram are now back at the Hero Honda showroom. Though they had originally planned to buy a Discover 135cc, they didn’t like the sales pitch at Bajaj, but are determined to go home with a bike today. “It’s an auspicious time for big purchases, and it’s a lucky day for my friend here,” says Chowdhury. His red Hero Honda Glamour was a gift from Ram when he couldn’t afford one, and Chowdhury is returning the favour today. Harvest purchases Demand during the ongoing festival season is buoyant, says Mr Milind Bade, General Manager, Marketing, Bajaj Auto. “We will have to wait for a couple of months to see if the impact of poor monsoon leads to a tapering off in sales by the end of the year.” Purchases are now being met from the rabi crop in April, and further sales will depend on the kharif harvest. From a growth of 17 per cent, the two-wheeler industry could settle at 11-12 per cent this year, he says. Satyendra Tyagi hasn’t had a very healthy crop this year, but he’s done well as a milkman. He employs two

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Cases on Marketing B&E people, and recently bought three buffaloes. Unlike Chowdhury, he likes Mr Navneeth Garg who owns the Bajaj dealership. “Honda’s bikes are better. But I’ve already ridden a Splendour, and for a change I’ll go with a Discover,” he says, waiting for the first free service.Tyagi is less forgiving of the “Government which does nothing to improve rural roads, and goes about forgiving defaulters who don’t work to pay back their loans.” The Discover is a portfolio gapfiller for Bajaj which only had the Platina at the entry level. The brand has been a great success, selling 94,000 units in September alone, making it the third largest in the last two months, claims Mr Bade, estimating that half of these numbers would come from smaller towns. “Rural India is now seen as a significant part of the economic growth only because it has been left behind till now. The trickle-down effect and the impact of programmes such as NREGA are being seen. Last year, rural India sustained the economy while urban consumption came down during the slowdown, but let’s not forget that 30 per cent of India still accounts for 60 per cent of consumption,” points out Mr Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Motor Company.With the exception of the Italian-style Basilica of Our Lady of Graces, Sardhana has little to boast about. “There is no electricity for hours. The yam and textile mills have moved to Meerut, and along with them many of the young hands,” says Satyaprakash, an elderly shopowner. More wheels Chowdhury and Ram have several failed businesses behind them. Five years ago, they tried their hand at a cable business. But the additional expense of running a generator didn’t make it viable. Next came a plastic pipe unit for which they even sold their common investment, a Santro that they used for picnics. That failed too. Ram runs his family’s goldsmith business and Chowdhury is back to sugarcane farming.What has changed is people’s propensity to spend, says Garg. But the number of cars in the village is going up; and while Tyagi moves to his second and third bikes, for Mohammed Hussain (name changed), a poor farmer from Nainaputhi village, it’s the family’s first purchase of a two-wheeler.He has come to the Hero Honda dealership to buy a vehicle for his Delhi-based son-in-law, with cash in a cloth bag. The cash comes from his savings; money for the marriage will have to be borrowed from his relatives. (Adapted from:Business line Oct 13,2009)

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Cases on Marketing B&E 3.

Marquee brands in India change name to conquer new markets _______________________________________________________ Boro is slang for a popular profanity in Swahili. Hardly the kind of information that marketers would be interested in one might imagine. Unless of course you happen to be Emami trying to sell Boroplus in Africa. Then you have to think of a new name for the very brand that you are trying to build and so Boroplus becomes Beeuplus. Similarly the concentric circle shape of Good Knight coils is a familiar sight to most of us. However, when Godrej Sara Lee decided to market the coils in Bangladesh it changed the shape to that of an octagon. Surely mosquitoes are not that different? Well perhaps not but the consumer sure is. Turns out that in Bangladesh consumers would rather have a lot of fumes as compared to the low emission variant that sells in India.The list goes on and on. While reams have been written about Indian brands entering overseas markets little is known about how exactly they go about the marketing task. Until now. We tracked down marketers from across categories to get a sense of how they went about building brands in an overseas markets. We spoke to agencies that handle these brands in lands far away to understand how they approach their task. And the one thing that is clear is that establishing brand presence, no matter how big the brand is in India, is a tale of endurance , grit and long term commitment to remain invested in these markets.Even though Emami group director, Prashant Goenka has travelled extensively across Africa, the continent, he says never fails to amaze in terms of its diversity. He’ll tell you Africa is the place to see people bathing with soda instead of water, because they believe it lightens their complexion. Fair skin clearly is not just a desi obsession. “In west Africa, there is a strong French influence and complexions are dark, but in North Africa people with light skin are in majority,” Goenka explains. So there’s huge potential for Emami in the dark continent , particularly in skin care, which today contributes around 35 % of the Rs 100 crore turnover of the international business he states. However, for all that talk of its potential, marketers say the going is tough for one has to be careful. Often particular attention to local nuances translates into customisation not only of product formulations but also brand names. Take Good Knight mosquito coil for example. The coil which is sold in Bangladesh is not the traditional circular coil Indian customers use to engulf themselves in smoke, rather it’s octagonal. The change in design, explains Mohan Sapre, VP, International Operations, Godrej Sara Lee, is based on consumer insights and some back-to-the-lab observations. “The rationale was that the shape allows the active chemicals in the coil to disperse better in a room. However, compare that to the Indian market

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Cases on Marketing B&E which is more evolved, the design has not been replicated here. What sells in India are coils that emit less smoke,” he states, adding; “there is no cookie cutter formula because there are always bound to be some hidden need gaps that we must fill.” And these hidden gaps can emerge if one does pay attention to nuances like language, culture and even the topography of the region . For instance, while marketing Boroplus , Emami realised that the word ‘boro’ is a profanity, in Swahili. So just for that particular market, the brand name has been changed to Beeuplus. “It’s a consumer backward approach as opposed to a company forward approach,” states Vijay Subramaniam , CEO, International Business Group, Marico. Citing an example, Subramaniam says in the Middle East, where the chlorine content in water tends to be high, Marico has reformulated the flagship brand Parachute cream with the promise of nourishment plus protection from harsh water. <<<<>>>>>

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Cases on Marketing B&E

B&E More case on marketing coming up soon!!

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