Kal Aaj Aur Kal
Dr. S Ramesh Kumar
Professor of Marketing, IIM Bangalore

Marketers spend huge resources on several kinds of communication strategies. There has been a great deal of proliferation of brands in almost every product category. Each category consists of brands new to the category: successful brands, which have sustained their success for a length of time and continue to be successful; and brands which have been very successful in the past and are struggling to revive their success. There could be certain interesting questions, which could be raised on communication strategies:

a) Should brand communication strategies be different for different categories of brands? (Categories, which have been mentioned).
b) What factors are to be taken into consideration before formulating the communication objectives for brands in each of the categories?
c) How should the communication be combined with promotional methods to achieve the objectives of communication?

A structured approach towards communication objectives not only provides to focus; it also enables marketers to take into account several changing factors in the environment relevant to the respective marketing situations. Besides the communication objectives themselves may change from time to time. The objective of a new brand (relatively) like Himalaya in the category of cosmetics and over the counter (OTC) drugs may be to create awareness and initiate trials before building conviction around its brand values. The objective of brands like Pond’s or Fair & Lovely, which have a huge base of consumers, may be to emphasise the conviction that the consumers may have shown over the years by buying the brand. This may perhaps be achieved by ensuring that consumers try out the new herbal variant of the brand. It may be observed in this hypothetical situation considered, the brand not only has to emphasise the brand value to make the conviction stronger; it has to also ensure that at least a cross-section of consumers so convinced would try the new herbal variant in an environment which is largely shifting towards herbal formulation with regard to the product category. Monitoring the changes in the environment is vital for communication strategies.

New brands that have made an impact in the
category
In the category of a commodity like atta branded offering have been advertised by MNC brands (Annapoorna and Naturefresh). While there are national brands with huge advertising spends, a brand like Shaktibhog is leading in several markets in the northern part of the country, which consumes a major chunk of the category. The new brand has a market share, which is significantly higher than the share of MNC brands. In such FMCG product categories with which consumers have been familiar for several decades, value is the criteria on which consumers perceive a branded offering. Value in a category like this is not just lower price; it is also a taste that matches with the palate of consumers in a specific geographical region. Shaktibhog delivers on both these factors and the new brand is slowly gaining equity. The brand may not spend heavily on advertising but it has launched sales promotional schemes, which MNC brands resort to frequently. This ensures that there is “an over-all’ value perception associated with the brand. In the liquor market white spirits have an insignificant share of the overall market. Bacardi a new brand has made an attempt to expand the market by introducing `ready to drink’ alcoholic beverages in different flavours. The target segment is executives in the range of 25-30 years age group and the most interesting aspect of this new introduction Bacardi Breezer is the price point at which the prospective consumer can try out the beverage - Rs. 35 to 40 for 330 ml. A new brand in any category has to provide a differentiation, which would appeal to consumers at that point of time. This varies from one category to another. Medimix herbal soap differentiated itself on the herbal plank two decades back when there were only synthetic soaps. A new brand of herbal soap launched in today’s context has to probably define the herbal qualities through an enhanced mix of ingredients to convey the differentiation because `herbal’ is the proposition of several brands both new and old. The established Medimix brand is currently running a campaign, which conveys the brand benefits through appropriate imagery. While consumers all along have perceived herbal to be good for the skin in the category of soaps, there is a need for an established brand to communicate the benefits through appropriate visuals/imagery because a number of brands have been launched in the category. This is the response of an established brand to the strategies of new brands, which have entered the market. Ayush a brand from Hindustan Lever uses the expert endorsement route (accreditation from a well known ayurvedic hospital) and another brand uses the “enhanced ingredients mix” route to appeal to consumers. An established brand, apart from formulating strategies to improve its market position is, also forced by new brands to time its communication strategies/objectives (Medimix example). In a typical context of this kind, the frequency of advertising also becomes important for the established brand because visibility has to be maintained to reduce the number of existing consumers trying out new brands (or to reduce the frequency of purchases concerning new brands). This is a vital objective because the loyalty of existing consumers is based on experience and a brand cannot afford to lose the trust and goodwill among the loyal consumers (in a category like soaps in which consumers tend to try different despite exhibiting loyalty towards a specific brand).
In FMCG categories, a strong `product based’ differentiation (in the herbal soaps sub-category the differentiation centered around `amplifying’ or enhancing the benefits) can achieve positive results within a short span of time. Such a differentiation also backs up the communication objective of ensuring trials among a competitor’s brand besides bringing in new category users who would want to try out the new brand. Fairever (in the fairness cream category), which came into the market with a strong differentiation (saffron based cream) is an example of a new brand making its presence felt in a category almost dominated by a strong brand over a considerable period of time. The differentiation never existed before (at least in a branded and advertised offering) and the brand has gained a rapid market share in the category.
The differentiation brought in by a new brand would have to be perceived by consumers. Optima and Ultra Doux in shampoos, Prudent in toothpastes and All Care in soaps are new brands in the respective categories which do not seem to have made rapid strides after their introduction, though considerable amount of marketing communication efforts could be associated with them.
Successful brand building with advertising as one of the marketing mix elements
Horlicks, Titan, Cadbury’s and Hero Honda are some of the brands which have been not only successful but the ones which have sustained their success (in terms of market share over a length of time). Horlicks has a strong nutritive association. Though the brand may have appealed to only convalescing people a few decades back it is currently positioned towards children. The brand during the mid-eighties made the transition in positioning from being positioned for people who are coming out from sickness to several segments who may require nutrition - professionals, dancers and children. This was made possible through appropriate imagery. While the brand may not have maintained consistency in its association with regard to its user-imagery, it has been able to successfully sustain its `nutrition’ association. The brand was also re-launched a few times over a period of two decades with an improved version of the offering. The brand also strengthened `Junior’ variant (though its other variants like chocolate flavor may not have been very successful). Horlicks is reinforcing its nutritive association by the introduction of its cold shakes (under the brands Horlicks and Boost) targeting teenagers- an attempt to bring in synergy between product-line management, changes in the needs of consumers and appropriate positioning strategies reflected through advertising imagery.
Titan has a dominant share in the quartz watch market, which comprises of a huge chunk of unorganized offering. There have been time phases when the unorganized sector had grown faster than the organized one. Titan has followed the specialized strategy of offering different variants for clearly defined segments. The development of the “gift and warmth” associations over a period of time and the varied offerings to diverse segments with a clear cut positioning strategy have been instrumental in sustaining the market share of the brand. Titan has to a great extent attempted to balance the positive aspects/associations of the mother brand with the option of using sub-brands to appeal to several segments. For example, Nebula is a jewelry watch; Bandhan targets businessmen; World Time, the Globe Trotter and Fast Track the aspirational and upwardly mobile urban youth. Titan also “moved” the experience of buying a watch in the crowded market place to one, which is memorable in the ambience of the exclusive outlet. Titan has been able to bring together the various elements of marketing mix to become a leader in the quartz segment. A very interesting strategy from Titan has been for creation of the brand Sonata. When Titan found that a large chunk of prospective consumers were apprehensive they perceived an elitist orientation towards Titan, Sonata was created without Titan’s association with offerings covering a wide price range. Sonata contributes significantly to the sales volume of Titan. This strategy is a good example, which reflects the caution required in leveraging the equity of a successful brand.
Cadbury’s is one the rare examples in which the target segment itself was changed radically with regard to one of its established offerings. The brand’s Cadbury’s Dairy Milk (CDM) mould type of chocolates targeted children till mid-nineties. The positioning was built over “warmth” associated with the relationship between parents and children. In an attempt to enlarge the chocolate market, CDM changed its target segment to adults. There were a few campaigns, which effectively used imagery in positioning to adults. The first one showed adults from different walks of life enjoying the chocolate; the second campaign focused on the “joys of daily life” by highlighting the spontaneous enjoyment on the cricket field. The brand’s new campaign shows adults sharing the chocolate brand during “joyful and sorrowful” times (vicissitudes of life). Cadbury’s also enlarged the market by introducing lower priced stock-keeping units (SKU) besides introducing wafer-chocolate Perk. Wafer-chocolates have been finding growing acceptance among consumers in the recent times.
In all the three (cases) Horlicks, Titan and Cadbury’s sales promotion aspects have not been very pronounced (as compared to a number of other FMCG brands). Sales promotions have been very limited and this ensures that consumers do not “rush” towards the brand only when a sales promotion is announced. Horlicks has had a sales promotion (contest), which reinforces its brand values. The contest involved matching statements on why different types of consumers preferred the brand and winners were given prices. Besides the thrill of the contest, this kind of sales promotion also is helpful in reassuring the consumers about their choice of the brand and this could prevent consumers from switching over to a competing brand. In the case of Titan and Cadbury’s the brand had made an attempt to adapt to the changing environment by introducing appropriate product line/pricing/branding strategies, which have been instrumental in sustaining their success (especially with the entry of Nestle in chocolates and Citizen and a number of offerings in the unorganized sector in the category of watches).

Marketing communication cannot be the only strategy
There have been a number of brands (some of them being pioneers in the respective category), which have not been able to sustain their success or the stranglehold they may have had over the market in the yesteryears. There may be complexities, which go beyond marketing mix elements but from the viewpoint of marketing, these elements have not been timed to capture the changes in the post-liberalization era. Maruti, Moov, Modi Xerox, TVS mopeds, Park Avenue, Reynolds, Compaq, Pepsodent, Liberty, Hero Honda and Nirma (in the respective category) are brands which entered the Indian context much later after pioneering brands which dominated the pre-liberalized era. Most of these `follower’ brands still continue to make rapid strides in the market by closely monitoring consumer behaviour, trends and competitive strategies. It is clear that the equity built up by brands would have to be sustained through a continuous process of marketing planning.

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