Understand your audience

Understanding your audience is indisputably the key to any effective marketing or communications campaign. No wonder, the bigger guys have big departments in place to understand the demographic and pyschographic profiles of their customers (and prospects), that often can be divided into multiple segments! Similarly, the internal communications departments are gaining more insights on their employees to reach out to them in a more effective and efficient manner.

However, off late I have noticed that even the smaller ones are unknowingly becoming more conscious of this and using it to effectively sell, or up-sell, or cross-sell, basically to address the needs of their customers. The best example of using a customer care-about for cross-selling was when after a pedicure, I was asked if I was wearing closed shoes. When I replied in positive, my nail therapist took out a pair of basic flip-flops and said, "Would you like to buy one?.. (continuing in same breath).. only $10?"

I marveled at the ingenuity of these spa guys. They understood their customers, sensed their need, and bingo, there they were! It really didn't require any elaborate business strategy, or market research, or capital investment to sell these flip-flops at this tiny salon! Truly I would have never imagined a manicure and pedicure (only) salon selling flip-flops. Even if I had broken my shoe right infront of their shop, I probably would have never taken a chance by asking them if they had something that I could put on my feet. I mean, I could still inquire if they sold lipsticks for instance; I would take it for granted that they did sell nail paints though.

In retrospect, however, why didn't I buy the pair of flip-flops? So the nail therapist repeatedly asserted that my nail paint would get chipped, and I really didn't care much about it. The damn thing had just costed me $18 (I had a Groupon). If I was paying a hefty price for the nail art, then I may have worried. So can I say that I didn't see value in their work, or atleast as much value? Though honestly I can be quite a tomboy when it comes to stuff related to personal grooming, another reason why I would never pay for nail art sort of stuff, until I get an attractive deal. Not the ideal sort of customer!

So had the nail therapist insisted that I spend more time waiting at the salon to let the nail paint dry adequately, I probably would have bought a pair. I value time, mine and everyone else's. (Bought it more so because I forgot to carry my book along that day). I may have also bought a pair if they were a tad bit cuter, but then selling fancier slippers would definitely lower their profits assuming they continue selling at $10 per pair! Anyway, so this is where she went wrong with me, probably because I comprised a minuscule of her audience, and definitely not the ideal segment.

In conversation with Dean Dipak Jain!

I was cold and drenched on my way to Dean Jain’s home, but the smile that he greeted me with suddenly made me feel very warm and comfortable. He helped me with my jacket and guided me to his make-shift office at home.

While I settled behind an ebony desk with a pile of freshly arrived letters, mostly invitations, and an impressive collection of books, Dean Jain himself returned with a cup of tea and cookies. I surely couldn’t have asked for more from a person of his stature and was struck by his modesty.

His office was tastefully done in beige tapestry and decorated with souvenirs gifted to him from across the world, including an honorary doctorate degree awarded by the Princess of Thailand, his erstwhile student. Amongst the others pictures, I couldn’t help but notice a very old photograph of a much younger him. “This picture was taken by a peer at UT Dallas after I had just arrived in the US”, explained Dean Jain. “I had seldom worn a tie in India, and I bought this one (pointing at the picture) for 50 cents from a garage sale in Dallas”, he chuckled with genuine humility.

Dean Jain has very vivid memories of his youth and deep down, he still is the same person he was back then. He was brought-up in Tezpur in Assam, a disconnected Indian state with a “chicken neck connection”, as described by him, with the Indian mainland since it is squeezed between Bangladesh and Bhutan. He studied at a government school in Tezpur, his hometown, where the medium of instruction was Hindi. He went to Darrang College for his Undergrad and majored in mathematics primarily because rather than fancy laboratories, it just required a paper and pencil. He secured highest marks in the state for his undergrad and graduation, and was therefore appointed as a professor at Guwahati University in Assam on the condition that he completes his PhD within 5 years. In the meantime, he wrote a letter to a professor at Berkley for procuring the professor’s research paper, but through a series of events his letter landed-up with another professor at UT Dallas. Impressed with his academic credentials, he was offered a full funding to pursue his PhD at UT Dallas and thus he came to the US in 1983.

He acknowledged that those who have known him since his early days in his home town wonder how all these years of “living abroad” and a successful career have had no impact on his simple ways. With an extraordinary gleam in his eyes, a melodious softness in his voice and a remarkable humbleness in all his ways, he still is an epitome of a young, modest sobriety only with grayer hair.

Equally surprising was the discovery that he doesn’t wear a watch, or own a laptop, and has never learnt to drive a car. Yet he has never missed a single class in his 25 years at Kellogg. He doesn’t even carry any notes, or paper to refer to while teaching a class. “For me teaching is worship, and every student is a manifestation of God”, he spoke from his heart. I asked him if he maintained a diary for his meetings, and he laughed, “I try to remember everything! Day, date, appointments, occasions, everything”. He could tell me about his schedule upto nine months from then as if reading from a mental calendar and could also recall ‘who said what in which class’. I was curious to learn the trick from him, so he confided “Interest and Involvement in my work”. He added, “My father was blind, and he taught me that if you do things in life as if you are completely blind, you can never go wrong.”

“I have never asked what’s in it for me while taking-on any job”, Dean Jain said. He has never negotiated for his compensation or perks, and has considered every task as an opportunity to learn something new. He also believes that its better to be trusted than liked. Perhaps that was the reason, as aptly noticed by Henry Bienen, Northwestern’s President, why Dean Jacobs trusted Dean Jain immensely, and ended the typical two-year rolling term for an Associate Dean to appoint Dean Jain as the permanent Associate Dean and his permanent ally throughout his tenure.

“The five years that I spent with Dean Jacobs in an administrative role were my best time at Kellogg”, he said. This also provided him with the training to carry forward the Dean’s baton. As a Dean, he had a very disarming personality, and was always available, approachable and accessible for everyone. He neither believed in a ‘close door’ policy nor an ‘open door’ policy, instead he propagated a ‘NO DOOR’ policy and was very transparent in his dealings. At times, he was criticized for not being assertive or aggressive but he has always been a firm believer of “soft gestures create hard impressions”.

Yet he was able to leave an indelible impression on Kellogg! During his eight years in Dean’s office, he immensely enhanced the school’s global presence and reputation. Kellogg partnered with more than 30 premier institutions worldwide and was proclaimed as the best B-school by all notable publications for consecutive years. Dean Jain also strengthened the school’s alumni network by creating a full fledged database and visiting alumni clubs all over the world. Miami campus is another big feather in his cap.

“My only regret is that I couldn’t complete the new campus”, he paused. “In 2007, I started the capital campaign for $250mn towards the school’s expansion and new building but as luck would have it, we found ourselves in the midst of a financial crisis by 2008”, he sighed with disappointment. To add to this, was his father’s demise and personal surgery!

He reflected on his almost 25 years with Kellogg, and attributed his success to those who he worked with – his colleagues, students, staff, and most importantly, Dean Jacobs. “The school was like my home, and the affection of those around me made me look forward to each day I have spent here. As a Dean, the support that I received from my staff was remarkable”, he said.

He recounted the milestones in his career as the most memorable moments. In Winter1990, he was the first professor ever to receive a TCE of 6.8 (on a scale of 7) in the Marketing Research course and from then on, he was nominated for the Best Professor Award for five consecutive years. However, he could never win it because unlike other professors, he was never teaching the same sections and therefore, didn’t have a critical mass to vote for him. “I was always the bridesmaid, but never the bride”, he joked. He believes that his record-breaking TCE ratings caught Dean Jacobs’ eye, and eventually helped him become Dean Jacobs’s trusted confidant. But that wasn’t all. The other important landmarks in his career were – he became the (youngest) Full Professor at Kellogg in 1992, the Associate Dean in 1996 and finally the Dean in 2001.

I was curious to know how INSEAD happened, and he elaborated, “I visited INSEAD as a speaker in 1989 while I was on my way (to get married) in India”, he smiled. “Recently I felt I wasn’t making the best use of my time here at Kellogg. So when INSEAD contacted me I thought to myself that not everyone gets a chance to do it once, whereas I can now do it all over again. I had also been approached by the Marketing departments at Harvard, MIT and other top B-schools off-late but I found this most interesting”, he added.

Elaborating on the support that he received from his family with regard to the acceptance of this offer, he said, “I never like to start a story that I cannot complete, so I consulted my wife even before exploring it further. My wife was extremely supportive. My children are already taking French lessons”, he told.

Dean Jain has managed to maintain a strictly vegetarian dietary habit, and he doesn’t consume alcohol. Wouldn’t it be tough in France, I enquired? “I believe in my principles, and am always myself. I never pretend, or succumb to the social pressure, as a result the others find it easy to accept me the way I am, and get attuned”, he explained.

He hopes to continue his engagement as a Director with John Deere, Northern Trust and Reliance Industries amongst others. He has also been involved with many prestigious companies, to name a few, Nestle, Honeywell, American Express, Microsoft, Boeing, Sony, US Cellular, Philips Electronics, AT&T, Hyatt etc, and would try to maintain some of these commitments. Each year, he receives invitations to be the keynote speaker at zillions of conferences around the world that he looks forward to attending. Infact not many may know that he has been the only person, other than Jeff Immelt, to receive a standing ovation during a keynote address at GE in Chicago.

Despite the relocation and other professional commitments, he plans to ensure that his community service initiatives, that he is very passionate about, don’t receive a setback. Currently, he heads a team to build ‘School of Entrepreneurship and Management’ at the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh to provide education to women from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Iran, Palestine, among others. “My father was posted in Chittagong in the early 50’s”, he sighed and then continued, “Mothers can influence the child greatly so what better than educating the to-be mothers!” He is also involved with other non-profit organizations in India such as Asha that supports tuberculosis patients, and Pratham that provides education to the underprivileged children.

When I asked him to tell the readers something that they don’t know about him, he replied, “My family and I are Tsunami survivors!” I gave him an astonished look as he continued, “We were a few yards from the beach when Tsunami struck. We saw the fishing boats, beach chairs, and just about everything, get swept away and fall into a lagoon that we were standing by. Fortunately, not even a single drop of water splashed on us.”

I was sure that the readers would like to benefit from Dean Jain’s experience and prudence, so I asked him for his parting advice. He encapsulated his wisdom in a few lines, “There is no substitute to hard-work. You must work selflessly, with passion, and without thinking about the credit.” He pauses to add a quote from a previous chairman of coca cola, “There is no limit to what you can achieve and how high you can go in life if you don’t mind who gets the credit. Just believe in yourself, and remember, someone is watching you at all times. Last but not the least, the challenge ahead of you is never greater than the force behind you… and Dipak Jain is always behind each of you.”

Finally, I asked him to help me trace the origin of the popular saying that ‘the Kellogg experience is incomplete without Dean Jain’s hug.’ He explained, “It’s a way of expressing my affection, my respect, my gratitude!” “A gentleman at INSEAD initially referred to it as ‘crossing the line of intimacy’ but now hugs me every time he meets me”, he chuckled, and joked, “I was told not to hug the students during the Graduation Ceremony at Kellogg because it had increased the length of the ceremony, (pauses and rises-up) but I sure can give you a hug.” He hugged, and completed my Kellogg experience.

Valentine Week, or the Spam Week?

Its been quite a week, and while Macy's has been selling me just the dress, Victoria's Secret is selling me its sexiest lingerie collection to seduce my valentine on the Valentine's Day. I wonder if Viagra is also at work, flooding the right inboxes with its promotional offers.

The direct-mail marketer in me couldn't help but analyze and criticize each mail before deleting it, and the only mail that I didn't find as trite was Burlington's mailer with a wee-bit creative subjectline 'Gifts that make scents for Valentine's Day' for the promotion of it's perfumes.

Seriously America, you need a course in creativity from our Bollywood directors! :)

Lufthansa Flavors

Talk about excellent Target Marketing and Customer Engagement, and Lufthansa tops the chart amongst the international airlines!

The airline recently ran an Indian recipe contest, Lufthansa Flavors, for their Indian audience. The contest encouraged and awarded people for submitting an Indian recipe, or voting for their favorite recipe, or even telling a friend about this contest, besides a weekly raffle. They had a dedicated portal, Flavors of India (click to be redirected), for the contest and promoted it heavily on Times of India (TOI) website.

They were clearly targeting the Indians living in the US since the raffle ticket prizes were gift certificates valid for major restaurants chains in the US. Anyway since they don't have domestic operations in India, it doesn't make any sense to target Indians living in India, and causing a huge spillage of marketing resources. Obviously Indians living abroad make for a more qualified audience!

Lufthansa must have availed the geo-targeting option for online advertising with TOI. This implies that Lufthansa's advertisement would show-up each time someone logs onto the TOI website with an IP address from the US. Even from a psychographic perspective, their choice of medium is interesting since a Non Resident Indian (NRI), or a prospective customer for Lufthansa, is quite likely to read the online version of TOI. As a side note, it is also interesting to note their choice of words, for instance, 'raffle' as commonly used in the US and not 'lucky draw' as in India.

But why a recipe contest? I wondered, and came up with a plausible explanation.

Well, food is an important part of both our culture and lives in general (as witnessed by the health of an average Indian). It is also an important way of showing our love and hospitality towards someone. I am sure you have heard stories of how we like to feed our guests to death! It also plays a central role in our festivals, and we do have dishes associated with certain religious and cultural festivals. Moreover, Lufthansa is not the cheapest airline to fly between India-US so I am inclined to believe that it does not target the price sensitive customer, who can put up with a crappy meal to save a few hundred bucks on a 10+ hours flight. Lastly, a recipe contest will also grab the attention of stay-home wives and moms, who by the way travel back home more often.

It would definitely be interesting to know if the contest could have any immediate significant effect on Lufthansa's revenue from the US-India sector even though that may not have been the very objective of the contest.

Hail Blackberry Boys!

Blackberry (BB) had the first mover advantage in the PDA space in India, which, amongst other factors such as the product itself, was responsible for its wide-spread corporate adoption.. to a point where it became a status symbol. Owning a BB signified that you were are a key person in your organization, who needed to be connected at all times.

However, after BB became a part of the corporate clout, a need was felt to broaden its target segment and consequently cheaper BB variants were launched. These phones still supported mailing, browsing and BB messenger to keep one connected on-the-go while compromising on functionalities such as a super camera though you could still make-do with this camera if you weren’t a professional photographer.

At the same time, to maintain differentiation and the status aura for their senior execs and corporate clients, BB was smart to launch attractive options that were sleeker and sexier, and had better functionalities and steeper price tags. Infact, these attractive handsets by BB were comparable to Apple's i-Phone in stylistic features though with a different interface, and the ultimate purchase decision was a function of preference for either QWERTY keyboard and BB Messenger, or Touchpad & i-Ph Apps. Of-course the corporate contracts with telecom operators undoubtedly had a role to play here!

The launch of cheaper handsets, starting from INR 8 to 10k, was a beginning. They also used BB messenger as a potent tool, which in my view worked as a viral. The feature supported free chatting if you and your friend owned a BB and was attractive for young adults, probably in the age group of 16 to 30. The priorities of this segment were BB messenger, browsing and emailing, in this order - the exact reverse for a corporate guy with emailing, browsing and BB messenger as a requirement in that particular order. Thirdly, the compatibility of BB services with Vodafone, along with Airtel, ensured that BB was using the distribution channels of both major telecom operators. Infact, Vodafone now supports the BB services even for its prepaid, low value customers.

It is also interesting, though obvious, to notice the change in BB's advertising message with the change in its positioning. Just try recalling and contrasting the first few ads for BB completely centered around the theme of keeping 'daddy out of his office' so that he could spend more time with his little one to the current Vodafone BB Boys ad now. Click here to view the ad! The BB Boys ad does a great job of coining a catchy term 'BB Boys', which has already become a part of the lingo and is often mentioned on social networking sites. In my view, a long commercial (1 min) such as this is expensive to air but at the same time it focuses on a single message and conveys it effectively to achieve its objective of targeting a new segment of customers.

- Namrta R

Need an India ShopRunner?

It’s interesting to read Ajay Kelkar's perspective on how rather than going through a land grab, where retailers vied for prime retail sites or for customer footfall & share of wallet, they probably could take to a ShopRunner model to get a chunk of the e-commerce pie in India.

Geoffrey Fowler has an interesting article on ShopRunner in the Wall Street Journal. Click here to read!

Now here are a few problems I anticipate with the implementation of this model in the Indian context (besides the "Indian Crab syndrome”).

In India, we have neighborhood bazars (market place) in every area. These are typically general stores that sell a variety of items from sugar & salt to a Valentine Day’s card, and sometimes even underwears. So technically a consumer is a hop-skip-jump away anytime from making a purchase. In addition, these general store owners operate on a relationship basis, which implies that they may provide an upto 10% discount on the Marked Retail Price (MRP) for most items by compromising his commission purely for the sake of retention and relationship. They may even let the consumer make a purchase without an immediate payment, and not charge an interest for it, based upon his discretion and relationship.

Let’s contrast it with the scenario for an average consumer in the US. You have to plan in advance in order to drive 10 miles to a Walmart or a Target to do your (frozen) grocery or purchase household items. So you especially take out some time and aim to stock-up for atleast two weeks, or even a month unless of-course doing grocery is your favorite hobby. You also need a car (or cab) to get back with your stock, good luck if you don’t have one though for most people car is a given! Now, if you have missed out on one or few items in your list or if you just hadn’t anticipated its (or their) need, then placing an online order is but sensible.

Then the products in the US don’t have a MRP. Implication: The retailer’s quantity is a huge determinant of his procurement price from the distributor. And naturally a good price for the retailer would imply a good deal for the customer. In the US where e-commerce is more mature than India, an online retailer may have general more volumes to cash in on through a better penetration of the market place, which in turn could help him price the products competitively (and yet bear the shipping costs). In India, the same online retailer is competing with the general store (or stores) in neighborhood bazar of the customer that provides upto 10% discount on MRP and is damn well accessible to the customer. So the online retailer would not only be required to provide a lower price than the general store, but also bear the shipping costs. Given both these conditions are true, the customer may still buy from the general store if it offers him more variety, assured quality and an immediate possession of the purchased item.

The ‘Amazon Prime’ model sounds great but as Geoffrey Fowler also highlights, there may be service and delivery issues with regard to individual retailers, and more importantly, unlike Amazon they may not be able to makeup for individual losses. Besides, the willingness of an Indian consumer to pay for a service such as Amazon Prime can’t be established until a proper market survey is done.

Lastly, QUALITY is a big concern, and there is a big gap in what is sold to you in the online store and what you actually land-up receiving. In my opinion, the online retailers in India either don’t care about customer retention and just want to make that one sale, or they probably don’t know the distinction between hard-selling a product and misguiding a customer.

- Namrta R

Out-of-the box!

Does the box (or packaging) count?

Do the consumers have a bias towards a better packaged product, and if yes, under what conditions would they be willing to pay a premium for it? I spoke to a tiny sample in order to gather data points to generalize these answers.

A good packaging may improve the overall appeal of the product, thus making it preferred over its competing products or even substitutes. This is true particularly with the items that induce an impulse buy, for instance food. Chocolates come to my mind almost instantly! "I am guilty of falling for lesser known herbal tea that command a premium for their fancy packaging. Sometimes, I prefer buying an extra variety of this tea over coffee" confides Jessica, a 43 year old HR professional. Con: Consumers with a strong brand preference, or loyalists (though the implication of the word 'loyal' is very succinct today).

Another category that commands a premium for good packaging would be the 'aspirational' products. Perfumes, watches and dainty jewelry – what I describe as the luxury products for the rising middle class masses, perhaps a little oxymoronic! I have observed how most companies use exclusive packaging and premium imagery (in sync with the product positioning) to market them, creating an aura of exclusivity and desirability. An imaginative, and mostly innovative, element is added to the packaging of these products through R&D. Mohan, a 27 year old student, asserts, “Perfume bottles resembling nude women et-cetra are commonplace now, so I bought Azuro that comes in a cool kind of a vertical bottle with a surprisingly well balanced centre of gravity”. I am sure these guys spend heck of a considerable budget for their 'Package Development'. This implies that good packaging may also cause an increase in the production cost, and hence the price if the producer decides to pass it on to the consumer – another con!

And then, the last category comprises reusable, sturdy (often also microwaveable) containers – bought by price-sensitive guys, who readily pay a premium, and even hoard-up the product in order to collect similar containers. "I bought 12 kilograms of coffee, or rather 12 one-kilogram packs of coffee simply to obtain the jars they came in. I consider these as a worthwhile collection to my kitchen shelf,” says a 55 year old housewife, Jyotsna, who paid a premium (over the ‘jar-less’ coffee packs) for these jars and is still consuming the same coffee after 1.4 years of buying it.

On the hindsight, I'd assert that even before the inclusion of 'Packaging' as one of the several Ps of Marketing, the astute marketers were already harnessing this consumer bias and often even passing on the packaging cost to their consumers. A related concept was giving out freebies. It would be interesting to find out how the supply-chain cost increases with an addition of a freebie to the product volume. Just a thought!

It'd also be interesting to find out that what proportion of the budget is allocated to Package Development by a FMCG (or CPG) company. After all, packaging seems to be a science and not an art anymore!

- Namrta R

Are you Loyal?

It's amazing how the Loyalty Programs can get you hooked on! These days you can find a Loyalty Card for almost everything - airlines, websites, malls and retail outlets, grocery shops, bars and restaurants, even petrol bunks!

So if I wish to fly to Dubai to satisfy my greed for clothes and shoes, I earn Air Miles, and further reward points for every buck spent on accessorizing and pleasing myself. Sounds good. Thanks to the wallet makers who drive this fetish further by providing ample slots to 'house' these Loyalty Cards.

So I often wondered that why don't the Indian Railways start such a Loyalty Program for frequent travelers such as me. Infact, you will be surprised to know that the IRCTC website doesn't let you book more than 10 railway tickets per month whereas this deserves a discount for the 'bulk buy'! I am sure the railways would have lost a couple of web bookings due to factors such as this and also their comparatively tedious booking procedure, thus making the customers migrate to other (affiliated) travel sites with a more user-friendly interface, ease of booking, discounts and loyalty programs.

But finally they are here with their SOFT (Scheme for Frequent Travelers), and it's better late than never. Now you accumulate miles for every rupee spent on rail travel and can lay claim to free ticket(s) just like you can in any other loyalty program. Of-course they have their own terms and conditions such as they don't give miles on travel in anything less than AC 2 Tier, which in my opinion should be fine. Considering it's so hard to get a confirmed reservation in AC 2 Tier closer to the date of travel, I presume there would be ample 'takers' for this!

However, I feel they still have a few lessons to be learned from their counterparts because their Loyalty Card doesn't come for free. They charge you Rs 500 for signing-up for first year and an annual renewal fee of Rs 300 every subsequent year. Not heard of a paid loyalty program for individuals in a long time now though it may suit the likes of travel agents.

It'll be interesting to notice how this program evolves. I'll keep you updated!

- Namrta R

Product Engineering

And who says that product engineering is all about making the products better! Instead its about increasing the per capita consumption, and hence the sales of the product and the revenue of the company. Himalaya seems to have adopted a unique technique too!

I tried Himalaya's neem (green) facewash way back in 2006, really liked it, and even propagated it to the others. And have pretty much been a brand loyalist since then! They have made minor modifications to their packaging, almost twice, and have even launched a liquid version of the facewash, with a handsome bottle (I presume that 'bottle' is masculine :D) but almost double the price!

A loyalist and a curious observer, Himalaya's latest experiment couldn't escape my observation. In my opinion, their R&D team seems to have increased the cohesive force amongst the molecules of the facewash, which in turn has the quantity per use of the facewash has increased. Let me explain how. (I hope it does make sense scientifically!)

There have been discernible changes to the texture of the face-wash, which now comes out of the tube with a considerable oozing noise. Firstly, it doesn't spread on the palm anymore, in the shape of a coin, as the facewashes, bodywashes and handwashes are supposed to. Instead, it requires holding more like a pearl for it is ALMOST solid. (I attribute this to an increase in the force of cohesion). So basically if you have your palm stretched straight, the face-wash could be a little hard to hold-on it and it would sure go down the drain ('poor' pun-intended). This, obviously, makes it more difficult to froth also as it does require some effort.

I could feel the difference particularly because I am such a zombie in the morning and I so want to go through my ablutions so effortlessly, while the facewash would just slip-off in the basin, from my palm, too often. I also noticed that when I wasn't applying a considerable effort to froth the facewash or rub it on my face, I actually needed re-apply or increase quantity of facewash.

What an amazing way to increase the consumption! More like altering the inherent qualities of the product, which is a factor that they can control. So, while their marketing team worries about increasing their customer base and increasing the per capita consumption per customer, the R&D guys have already implemented a fall-back option in the recessionary environment that would see them through for sometime.

Interestingly, Himalaya seems to have tried this only with their neem facewash. Probably it wants to monitor the effect of this change on the sales of this facewash, if any, before implementing it across their products.

Surprisingly, I don't feel like a consumer who has been fleeced-off some extra bills, I rather feel pleasantly surprised at their ingenuity :P

- Namrta R

Brand Stereotypes and Makeovers

Most people claim that they don't stereotype a brand, yet they always know what to expect in a 'Pink Panther' flick or how exactly does a 'Pears' soap smell. A wee-bit ironical!

I don't particularly hold brand stereotyping as a negative. Indeed, it enables the target audience (or consumers) to associate the brand with something pleasant or desirable (atleast the intent is such), thereby helping them to either identify with it or aspire for it. So, in theory, a positive brand image should ideally run a consumer through the entire brand cycle of awareness > association > consideration > experience > preference > loyalty, giving birth to three more fancy terms in the marketing jargon - Brand Association, Brand Perception and Brand Image! Let me explain each of these three terms, taking Kingfisher as an example.

(I will list down whatever comes to my mind with regard to the brand’s manner, personality, behavior, ethics, values, aspirations, etc! Readers are welcome to add.)

Brand Association: Kingfisher Calendar, Royal Challengers, Vijay Mallaya, Yana Gupta, October Fest, Red, Short Skirts

Brand Perception: Flamboyant, Sexy, Expensive

Brand Image: An up-market air carrier with good hospitality - one of the best on- board comforts, in-flight entertainment systems, airline crew in India

So in Kingfisher's case, the brand stereotyping does work well, atleast with me, by building a positive brand association, perception and image in my mind.

The cons of stereotyping, however, can be equally detrimental. For example, I would any day choose any decently-known bathing soap over Lifebouy, because my childhood memories compel me to still associate the brand with a fuchsia pink soap with a detestable odor. Wonder how much has the improved product and the new ads with fancy models helped change the target audience's perception. And I say target audience, not consumer, because the brand would aim at an aggressive conversion of its prospects (who fall in the broader 'target audience' group) to customers, while safely assuming that the existing customers have a satisfactory experience with the brand. (Albeit at the same time, I am sure that the fuchsia pink Lifebuoy does have a good consumer base, just as ‘Ghari’, the most profitable detergent in Uttar-Pradesh with a robust and loyal pool of customers.)

So, to sum it up, it’s a win-lose deal. You win if you can form the right Brand Image, complement it with your product or services, and hence sustain it. Once you have done that, you are sure to capture more customers and expand your base even within your target segment. However, the problem arises if you go amiss or decide, at any given point, say maybe even 10-15 years later, to start afresh or in the marketing lingo, to affect a makeover. This would mean that you dissociate yourself with your past and present, by fighting a battle in the minds of the consumers, and form new perceptions, associations and image. A task which involves planning and scheming by some astute brand pundits and marketers, and typically takes a long time, costs a bomb, and has the calculated risk of being unsuccessful.

But then of-course, there have been successful 'makeovers' where a brand changes everything about itself in a bid to change its image or the perception of its target audience. Lakme perhaps would be an apt example! It has taken a huge leap from being traditionally housewife-ish to being trendily housewife-ish. Some of the prime ingredients that have gone into the makeover: revamp of products and their packaging, sexy brand ambassadors (started with Yana, and Katrina now), aggressive advertising post celebrity endorsement and Lakme India Fashion Week.

The change has been reflected in the brand's collection, essentially the color palette, which is now localized to suit the Indian complexion and taste. (I couldn't find 'sindoor' for my wedding ceremony anywhere else but at Lakme. FYI, Lakme markets 'sindoor' in shades of red, maroon, gold and copper). The new packaging ensures visibility on the shelf, and compact-ibility for ease of carry-ability. Its distribution network covers local departmental stores as well as malls in most metros, mini-metros and sub-urban areas. I believe, another reason why Lakme has been successful at the makeover is because they have made corresponding changes to its offerings in sync with the brand's new visual identity, associations and image - something which many companies fail to realize. To top it all, Lakme also has a slight price advantage when compared with the other cosmetic brands in the segment.

Lakme extended this success story when a new chapter began for the brand with the inception of Lakme Salons, and now the high-profile Lakme Studios. It is very interesting to note how their salon services are not only premuimly positioned and targeting a higher strata of consumers than its cosmetic products, but also premiumly priced. Of-course they have the first mover's advantage in the 'salon space', being one of the many organized players in the segment.

The makeover makes for an interesting case study although I will not vouch for the fact that the other brands can replicate their success because like I said, it involves a lot and costs even more. HLL is a giant in India and Lakme is their backbone, and I believe their investment was justified from a ROI point of view for them. Godrej has attempted one such makeover, and so has PNB (Punjab National Bank), as also other known and lesser known brands, but they don't really account for success stories. And I can assume that some of them are in business due to their sales team, and not really the marketing.

- Namrta R

PS: Thanks for your feedback Jas!