NMIMS APRIL 2020 ASSIGNMENT - BRAND MANAGEMENT

BRAND MANAGEMENT

1. An entire generation of Indian TV viewers grew up on some terrifying advertising. Cease Fire commercials had conflagrations breaking out in urban settings as householders went about, oblivious. And then there was the ad for Saffola, full of ambulance lights and sirens, panic-stricken faces and heart rate monitors. The brand called itself &lsquoLife Insurance&rsquo, positioning the oil as a bulwark against heart disease. Says Aggarwal, &ldquoWe realised Saffola was in danger of becoming the oil for the unhealthy as opposed to the oil for people who want to be healthy and have an active, fit heart.&rdquo The brand is now about a continuous investment in health.

&ldquoIt&rsquos seen as mama papa brand. But the 30 year and younger demographic are willing to pay premium. Brands need to change with the world. Can it be health for youngsters or does it want to be an older consumer&rsquos health brand is an answer only Saffola can give.

Evaluate the positioning of Saffola and discuss how the positioning strategy has led to the brands success.

2. Bollywood star Salman Khan is returning to the cola space after a gap of three years, this time to endorse brand Pepsi, a move that has surprised a few experts. The two-year deal is estimated at Rs 15 crore, two external industry officials said.

A PepsiCo spokesperson confirmed the signing up of Khan as new brand ambassador of Pepsi but declined to confirm the financials of the deal.

Industry watchers believe this campaign has helped Pepsi get its &ldquomojo&rdquo back. Says brand consultant Harish Bijoor, &ldquoPepsi has reclaimed its position among the youth. Through the campaign Pepsi can be seen talking to millennials in their language.&rdquo Former marketing director, PepsiCo India, Vani Gupta Dandia agrees. &ldquoUsing TikTok and music streaming apps to release the anthem is a good way to extend the campaign. This allowed Pepsi to rebuild its brand equity,&rdquo says Dandia.

While the brand&rsquos old tagline &lsquoYeh dil maange more&rsquo might be tweaked to &lsquoYeh dil maange more swag&rsquo, what remains to be seen is how Pepsi&rsquos newfound swagger converts to sales.

Swag Not War

Cola marketing has come a long way from the days of the legendary Cola Wars. Pepsi&rsquos &lsquoNothing Official About It&rsquo that took the fizz out of the official sponsor of the 1996 Cricket World Cup is perhaps one of the greatest examples of ambush marketing. Pepsi&rsquos current campaign couldn&rsquot be farther from that traditional tactic. Says Lloyd Mathias, former head of PC marketing, HP Asia Pacific and Japan, &ldquoCola as a category has lost its relevance among consumers, as electronics, apparels took over.&rdquo He adds, &ldquoAs a result, &lsquocola war&rsquo as a marketing concept became redundant.&rdquo

Examine the brand personality of Pepsi and its relevance in a promising market like India.

3. Hair oil and edible oil maker Marico will enter the Rs 4,500-crore skincare market in the country by extending its two-decade-old coconut hair oil brand, Parachute, to body lotion and other skincare products, a person directly involved with the development said.

First off the block will be a body lotion at entry-level pricing to compete in the mass segment, the person said on condition of anonymity. The company has carried out a low-key test exercise in the east,

Marico has a skincare presence with its Kaya skincare clinics. But it does not have a presence in the packaged skincare segment. Marico&rsquos hair oil brands include category leader Parachute and Nihar, which it had acquired in 2006 for close to Rs 220 crore.

a. Evaluate the brand extension strategy of Parachute.

b. Comment on the success probability of the brand extension and the potential benefits to the parent brand