2015 New Year's Resolutions for Pharma Marketers

My #1 New Year's Resolution is the same every year: 

Stop telling pharmaceutical marketers what to do all the time.

Unfortunately, I have never kept that resolution. So, here's my list of 2015 resolutions for pharma marketers:

1. Forget about using Twitter to promote brand name drugs to consumers.

Although most pharma marketers know that it is impossible to "fit a square peg in a round hole," they still want to believe it is possible to "fit" all the FDA-required important safety information in a branded Rx tweet as long as they can convince the FDA to sanction the "one-click rule."

Granted, in the past the FDA has itself used this rule in its own tweets about Rx drugs. But it no longer does that and PhRMA's argument that "what's good for the goose is also good for the gander" (see "Drug Industry Rips Into FDA Over Social Media Guidelines") just won't sway the Agency, IMHO. So let's just call the whole thing off and get on with using Twitter for more meaningful dialogues with stakeholders; e.g., tweet chats (see "OMG! AstraZeneca Hosts Twitter Chat & World Does NOT End!" and "How to Host a Successful Pharma TweetChat").

I have a few more.

Free polls from Pollhost.com

Should pharma forget about posting Rx branded tweets on Twitter?

Yes   No

Read more »

Brand Update : Where is Fastrack heading ?

afaqs! today carried an interesting piece about Fastrack's new OOH campaign titled " Sorry for What".The new bold campaign features various models showing their shaven heads, unshaven armpits, guys wearing thongs and with nipples pierced . The campaign has the theme " Sorry for What ".  

Over the last few years , the brand has been trying to project itself as an iconoclastic brand. I think the brand is trying little too hard in driving its message. While the attempts are creatively nice and clutter breaking, the brand seems desperately trying to create controversy propelled image probably inspired by the likes of UCB.

Although there is nothing wrong in trying to be the Indian UCB, the brand should not be seen trying too hard to be rebellious. Its always uncool if you are making an effort to be Cool.

One grouse about this brand is that although the brand is for the younger crowd, the brand is pricing itself out of the market. No advertising can justify an out-of-value pricing. Fastrack's recent helmet launch was  priced too high to justify the value.

Having said that , I like the way Fastrack trying to create a differentiation using the brand image. It is experimenting and one should give credit for that. 

Critique of an Ad Seen in "Modern Pharma Guidance" Magazine

The ad shown on the left is the subject of an FDA/OPDP "untitled letter" (definition), which took aim at a Sunovion professional print ad for seizure med Aptiom.

According to the FDA reviewer of the ad: “Although Aptiom may reduce seizure frequency, FDA is not aware of substantial evidence demonstrating any effectiveness of Aptiom on patients' feelings of confinement associated with seizure."

A typical letter for a typical drug ad seen in a physician-targeted publication/journal.

Imagine, if you will, a parallel world in which exists a trade publication for pharmaceutical legal/regulatory professionals. Let's call the publication Modern Pharma Guidance™. 

I envision this mag containing articles that review FDA guidance documents and the industry's response to those guidances. You know, very similar to these Pharma Marketing News articles: PhRMA Tells FDA How It Wants to Correct "Misinformation" and FDA Tweet Blocks Pharma.

What would the ads look like in Modern Pharma Guidance, assuming the ads are designed by the same agencies that design drug ads in physician journals?

Read more »

Pharma: The Year 2014 in Images

These are my favorite images and posts that appeared in Pharma Marketing Blog in 2014 (see embedded slide deck below - you can also view this directly on slideshare here).

It was a very interesting year, especially since FDA finally released some long-awaited social media guidance for the pharma industry. 2014 was also notable for the proliferation of pharma mobile health apps, which is another emerging area that needs FDA guidance. FDA has said that the guidances it has issued so far do not include mobile. Finally, it was the year of high prices - for both branded and generic drugs.


See below for notes.

Read more »

Et Tu, Amgen? Blincyto's Bling! Bling! Price Tag!

FDA approved Amgen's Blincyto (blinatumomab) on December 3, 2014, as a second-line treatment for Philadelphia chromosome-negative precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which affects around 6,000 patients in the US.

The price tag of $178,000 per two-cycle course makes it one of the most costly drugs on the market.

This is just one of the record number of 15 "orphan" drugs approved by the FDA in 2014 (read "43% of New Drugs Approved by FDA in 2014 were for Treatment of Rare Diseases").

FDA considers Blincyto a "breakthrough" therapy, which means preliminary clinical evidence demonstrates the drug "may have substantial improvement on at least one clinically significant endpoint over available therapy."

On FDA Voice (FDA's blog), commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg said "Consider for example, Blincyto, approved just last week to treat Philadelphia chromosome-negative precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. CDER employed all of its expedited review programs to help get this drug to market as early as possible, five months ahead of its review goal date. The sponsor also benefited from incentives for drugs that treat rare diseases."

Despite the extraordinarily high price of Blincyto, payers are not likely to complain about the price as much as they complained about the price of Sovaldi. Read on to learn why I believe that is true.

Read more »

Pfizer's "Humorous" Menopause Ad Mentions the "V" Word

Pfizer marketers have done it again! First it was an all-female Viagra ad campaign for the treatment of ED (erectile dysfunction; read "Oh Yeah, Baby! Show Me More!... Viagra TV Ads Like This. But Don't Let My FDA See It!").

Now, it's an all-female disease-awareness ad campaign about "vaginal atrophy," which appears to be a symptom of menopause that women don't talk about - hence the name of the video featured in the campaign: "The Talk" (it's embedded at the end of this post).

Three generations of women -- a teenager, her mom, and her grandma (mom's mom) -- act out how difficult it is for women to talk about "woman problems" as my mom would say.

The mom first tries to talk to her teenage daughter about "becoming a woman." "Mom! I know!," says the daughter as she slams her bedroom door. Then, the mom acts the same way when her mom tries to talk to her about menopause. But her mom comes straight to the point: "What about changes to the vagina?," she asks. Grandma then "changes the dialogue" and specifically talks about vaginal atrophy.

Changing the dialogue -- the tagline for Pfizer's letstalkaboutchange.com website -- is what Pfizer hopes this campaign accomplishes because it has a drug to sell: ESTRING - "a local estrogen therapy used after menopause to treat moderate-to-severe menopausal changes in and around the vagina."

Will this ad be criticized as was the Viagra ad?

Read more »

37% of New Drugs Approved by FDA in 2014 were for Treatment of Rare Diseases

New data from the FDA (here) shows that 2014 was a banner year for orphan drugs, which are drugs that treat "rare" diseases/disorders affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S.

The drug approval data from 1994 through 2014 (to date) are plotted in the following charts:

NME=New Molecular Entity, BLA=Biologic License Application; Source: FDA

Let's dig deeper into the numbers.

Read more »

Back to the Future of Mobile Health Apps with Professor SYRUM's Nephew

There is no more cherished and insulting image of a scientist/researcher than the "mad scientist" persona often depicted in cartoons.

A case in point is "Professor SYRUM" from Boehringer's EU-only Facebook game of the same name (see "Happy Holidays from Professor Syrum"). That's him on the near left.

Recently, I became acquainted with an unnamed scientist (physician? pharmacist?) in an animated piece produced by IMS Health to promote its new mobile health app review program (see "Is IMS Health's Mobile Health App 'Certification' Program Doomed to #FAIL?"). That's him on the far left of the image shown above. Let's call him "Doctor IMS."

Do you see the similarities between Professor SYRUM and Doctor IMS? Read on to learn my theory about how they are related.

Read more »

Is IMS Health's Mobile Health App "Certification" Program Doomed to #FAIL?

"Welcome to the wild, wild, west of mobile health apps," says the voice over of an IMS Health animated Youtube video (embedded at the end of this post) that promotes two new mobile health app services:

AppScript - "a secure, cloud-hosted mobile health prescribing solution that helps providers create custom app formularies to prescribe, reconcile and track mobile medical apps"; and 

AppNucleus - "the industry’s most secure app development and hosting platform that offers a flexible, cloud-based publishing platform and pre-built secure messaging, personal health record/wallet and survey tools."

Recall (here) that the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics published a report that included an analysis of about 10,000 apps among the 40,000+ healthcare apps available for download from the U.S. Apple iTunes app store and an assessment of the potential value they provide throughout a patient's journey. The assessment found that "healthcare apps available today have both limited and simple functionality... [and] do little more than provide information."

Obviously, there is a lot of room for the improvement of mobile health apps. I've written about this many times as it relates to the pharmaceutical industry (see, for example, Reigning in the "Wild West" of Mobile Health Apps and A Formula for Patient-Centric mHealth Apps).

Let's just focus on AppScript, which promises to "classify and evaluate more than 40,000 mobile healthcare apps currently available for download on iOS and Android platforms." I have some reservations about how successful this "Software-as-a-Service"/certification program will be.

Read more »

La Maladie du Grand Print Out: A Condition Abetted by Pharma Marketing & "Patient Centricity"

"Of course I was familiar, from my own practice, with the phenomenon of patients making lists, but I'd never known it had a name," says Suzanne Koven, M.D. in a NEJM piece titled "The Disease of the Little Paper".

"I confess that these lists sometimes irritate me, as they do many doctors."

The original term for this condition -- in French -- is "La Maladie du Petit Papier" and is defined as a condition in which “an exhaustive list of purported ailments — [is] carried around by a neurotic patient, often accompanied by extensive documentation of each bowel movement or sip of water.”

Dr. Koven pointed out that in recent years, the diagnosis was expanded to “la maladie du grand print out,” a nod to the indispensability of the Internet to the modern hypochondriac. I would expand it further: "la maladie des mobile et wearables."

I found this interesting because it's possible that online pharmaceutical marketing is a major cause of these maladies. In the pursuit of "patient centricity"pharma also may be driving a wedge between patients and their physicians.

How so?

Read more »

SKINN : Every Day French Perfumes

Brand : SKINN
Company : Titan Company

Brand Analysis : # 552

Titan Company has forayed into the Rs 2000 crore Indian perfume market with the brand SKINN. This is the first launch from Titan after the company has rebranded itself as  Titan Company. 

The launch of SKINN is a smart move because in my personal opinion, Indian perfume market is at a nascent stage with very little penetration.Business Line puts the penetration at 4%.

SKINN as a brand is launched with an endorsement from Titan. It was wise for Titan not to launch this brand as a sub-brand like Titan SKINN, rather SKINN is launched as an independent brand from the launch itself.

The perfumes are created in India but bottled and imported from France. The brand is positioned as  a " French Perfume".

According to reports, the company did ethnographic studies to understand the preference of Indian consumers towards this product category. French perfume houses Olivier Pescheux of Givaudan developed the men's range and Luc Berriet developed women's range. ( source)

The brand is running their launch campaign. The launch TVC however falls into the " Seduction" genre - which in a way is sad. I expected something different from Titan. Rather than seduction, the brand calls it Passion Ignited. SKINN has the tagline  " Everyday French Perfume for him/her" which is rather an  unimaginative tagline.

Watch  the ad here : launch ad of SKINN

The brands are priced in the range Rs 990  for 50 ml and Rs 1790 for 100 ml which makes it pretty expensive for an average Indian consumer. The brand is said to be targeting the young of the 23-27 age group. 

While there is a definite potential for a brand in the Indian perfume space , I wonder whether the brand has priced itself out of the market. Rs 1800 for a 100 ml makes this brand out of reach for many . At the same time, the brand does not have the equity to compete with the established imported brands. By pricing it aggressively, SKINN has lost an opportunity to be a Masstige brand which could deliver decent volumes. At the same time the premium positioning is not reflected in the launch TVC which somehow pegs the brand in the league of the Seductive Deo brands. So IMHO, it is an opportunity lost for SKINN to capture a fair-share of the growing market. 

Galderma and PMCPA Tangle in a Toxic Tussle

Galderma and PMCPA Tangle in a Toxic Tussle

Galderma tried to lay the blame on a rogue Key Account Manager (KAM), but PMCPA would have none of it. You won't believe what PMCPA did.

Read more »

US Internet Users Don't Need No Stinkin' Mobile Apps!

Pharmaceutical companies have a lot of apps in the market, and have been making apps for a long time, but their apps aren’t seeing downloads and usage on par with the apps from other industries.

That’s the conclusion of a new report from Research2Guidance (R2G), which analyzed more than 725 apps from 11 pharma companies. According to R2G, the top pharma companies have 65 apps in the Apple and Google Play app stores on average, compared to 1 to 2 apps from the average health app publisher. However, even the pharma companies with the most downloaded apps have only accrued 6.6 million downloads since 2008 and can boast less than 1 million active users.

But app downloads are poor across the board. Data compiled by eMarketer (shown below), for example, indicate that the percent of US Internet users who do NOT download any apps (39.6%) is greater than the percentage of users who download FREE apps (35.7%)!

Read more »

Brand Update : Dear Engage, Parent in me requests - can you move on please !

Engage, the deo from ITC has made a quick impact in the Indian market. Within a year, the brand has claimed second spot in the India deo market with a volume market share of 8.1% ( source : ET). The brand playing on the " attraction " theme has taken it to the next level.

This season, the brand has come out with the new campaign for the "zero gas" cologne spray version.

Watch it here : Engage Deo

The brand's ads have always forced parents like me who have little kids to scramble for the remote to change channels. The new ad takes the " attraction" to the next level.
 While the rise of the Engage deo can also be attributed to the effectiveness of these ads, my personal opinion is that brands should also be little sensitive to the audience especially the family audience. Ofcourse the counter arguments would be that movies are much worse or explicit, that doesn't justify a suggestive ad.

I am getting old , I suppose. 

Pharma Mobile Ad Spend in 2014

I try to keep track of how money the U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends on digital advertising to see if there are any trends. Of particular interest to me these days is mobile advertising. Below is some data from eMarketer. eMarketer includes marketers of prescription and over-the-counter products, facilities, services, research, healthcare professionals, hospitals and biological products, as well as establishments providing healthcare services, health insurance and social assistance for individuals in its "US Healthcare and Pharma" category. Find more from eMarketer here.

US Healthcare and Pharma Ad Spending in 2014: Mobile vs. Desktop

R&D Cost for Generics is Zero. Nothing. Nada. Nilch. So Why are Their Prices Surging?

According to the latest estimate from Tufts economists, it now costs upwards of $2.6 billion to bring a new prescription drug to market (read "Cost to Bring a New Drug to Market Is $2.6 Billion According to Tufts - 3X More Than in 2003!"). Other estimates range from $59 million to $1.5 billion.

But the gap in price between generic drugs and brand-name drugs in narrowing. Why?

Generic Drugs Kept Health Care Cheaper for 30 Years. Why Are Their Prices Surging?

Cost to Bring a New Drug to Market Is $2.6 Billion According to Tufts - 3X More Than in 2003!

According to a new study by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD), which receives funding from the pharmaceutical industry, the estimated cost to develop a new Rx drug for marketing in the U.S. is $2,558 million or $2.6 billion (see press release). That's 3.25 times the $800 previously estimated and frequently cited by the pharmaceutical industry, pharma trade publications, and the general media.

I have tackled the estimated $800 million drug develop cost gorilla before and garnered a lot of comments from readers, including Dr. Joseph DiMasi, whose team at Tufts came up with that number way back in 2003 (for more on that, read "Tufts Hangs Tough on Opportunity Cost Analysis").

It's about time CSDD threw out the old number and came up with a new, much larger number! But Tufts is not the only academics who have tackled the problem. As I reported in 2011, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSEPS) cam sup with quite a different - much lower! - estimate of $59 million (see "A New Estimate of Drug Development Cost") and the Office of Health Economics (OHE) at the University College London estimated the cost to be $1.5 billion in 2013 (see here).

These various historic estimates are summarized in the following chart:

Click on chart for an enlarged view.

No doubt the new Tufts estimate will reign supreme in coming PR campaigns launched by the pharmaceutical industry and repeated ad naseum in the press.

You'll never guess who said the oft-cited 2003 Tufts estimate was  "one of the great myths of the industry".

Read more »

Imbuing Rx Drug Brands with Human Characteristics Boosts Sales

Rx Drug Personalities Perceived by Consumers

Does Your Wife Prevent You From Watching the New Viagra TV Ad? FDA Wants to Know.

FDA Wants to Peek Into Your Bedroom to Learn If Your Spouse Affects Your Perception of Risks in Those New Viagra TV Ads!

Libero : Love Every Moment

Brand : Libero
Company ; Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget ( SCA)

Brand Analysis Count : # 551

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) now has a competition from a global player in the Rs 4500 crore Indian baby care market. SCA which is a  $10Bn Swedish company has launched its range of baby products in the Indian market. SCA is a global hygiene and forest products company which is Europe's second largest diaper maker. 

SCA has launched its diaper and other baby products like soaps, baby lotion , powder etc. The brand is now running its campaign in my state Kerala for its range of products.

Libero is positioned as a natural product which is skin friendly. The brand is emphasising natural positioning by comparing it to mother's touch. The brand has the tagline " Love Every Moment" which is not something that the brand projects. The brand is currently putting its muscle behind the Natural positioning. 

Watch the ad here  : Libero 

The Indian baby care market is huge by its sheer size . Economic Times estimates that there are ~ 50mn babies in the age group 0-2 years and 304.8mn in the age group of 0-12. The market for baby apparel , footwear and baby cosmetics is estimated to be around $12 bn growing at a CAGR of 17%.

The diaper market is around 2500 crore and baby toiletries market is around Rs 2500 crore.  

J&J has a strong foothold in the baby toiletries market. 

SCA has launched a whole range of products in the Indian market with a branded house strategy. All the products launched has the family brand - Libero. The company is heavily promoting the brand in the visual media. But here one issue is that since the brand is new, consumers would be unsure about trusting it. It is surprising to see why the brand is not promoting its " Swedish Country of Origin" since it would have helped in establishing credibility in this highly sensitive market. 

Brand Update : Colgate Slimsoft Charcoal toothbrush will make you say WhattheBlack !

A black bristled toothbrush for your white teeth !!

Colgate has done something unusual in the Indian market- a black colored toothbrush branded as Slimsoft Charcoal. The brand which is available in other parts of the world is now launched in India with much fanfare.

What is unusual and interesting about the new product is the color of the toothbrush itself. Black color is something that will be in the last option when one chose a color for the toothbrush bristles. However Colgate chose to play contrarian and launched it in the market.

The brand claims to have charcoal infused bristles which will remove bacteria and plaque better than ordinary bristles. Now only Colgate knows what is meant by charcoal " infused" bristles. 

Whatever it might be, the launch is pretty interesting. Conventional wisdom says that black color may repel a customer from buying a toothbrush for cleaning your teeth. Just like whether one would choose a black color liquid floor cleaner !

But marketing is all about defying conventional wisdom.

The black color is definitely intriguing for a consumer and this will prompt him to try the brand. But he may have fight the natural urge not to chose black color . Novelty, the backing of the Colgate brand and the relatively low risk would be the factors that will aid the new product to induce trials. 

To hardsell the new launch, Colgate has initiated a social media campaign with the hashtag : # Whattheblack. The initiative where the brand reached out to key influencers like bloggers with a mystery black gift with only the indication of whattheblack site. The intrigued influencers spread the message on their platforms and according to the reports, this went viral ( source) 

What the new product will definitely do is the bring back some kind of energy back to the toothbrush market. 

Marketing Funda : Brand Refresh

This post is inspired by  my learned Twitter friend @vijaysankaran when he queried about my opinion about the brand refresh by Raymond. I was more familiar with Re-branding and not refresh which lead to more learning about this term. 

Brand refresh is a term that signifies slight modification of the brand ( or brand elements). Radical modification or change of brand elements implies re-branding. 

Refreshing of brand usually happens under following conditions 

• The brand is perceived to be old.
• Brand is trying to appeal to a new segment , for example younger crowd.
• When there is a change in the brand positioning.
• When there is a shift in the characteristics of the TG.
• When the brand elements need modernization . 
• When the brand launches products in other categories ( Brand Extensions)
• When you feel consumers are bored with the brand.
• When nothing else can be refreshed !

Brand often do these refreshing by slightly tweaking the logo/color/tagline /positioning etc but as per the theory , radical changes in the brand elements are entitled to be called as Re-branding. Hence there is only a thin difference between re-branding and refreshing.

As the term implies, refreshing brand make sense especially when one cannot make any radical changes in the product. For example, for products like softdrinks, the product attributes remains the same and only thing that can be changed are the brand related attributes like taglines , slogans etc. 

Brand refresh can be done by 

• New campaigns 
• Changing taglines and slogans ( or introducing a tagline )
• Introducing or changing imagery
• Changing the protagonists in the campaigns
• Introducing brand extensions
• Introduce a brand element which was not there before .
• Re-positioning 
• Re-targeting 

My take on this term is that what ever activities that marketer undertake to make brand fresh without radically affecting the brand elements can be termed as brand refresh. One article rightly compared  Brand Refresh to a Makeover. ( source ).

Brand Update : Raymond formally enters into ready-to-wear segment

Although the reports of Raymond entering into the readymade segment was there since 2007, I feel the brand has only now fully launched itself into this category. The " Complete Man" now has become readymade !

The Indian men's wear market is around Rs 97000 crore and the formal menswear market is estimated to be around Rs 15000 crore ( Source TOI) . Raymond has brands like Park Avenue, Parx, Color Plus and Notting Hill in the segment.

The addition of Raymond will further strengthen the company's portfolio but at the same time would cannibalize the other brands like Park Avenue. Having said that the move has to be seen in the larger picture where the trend is moving towards the ready-to-wear segment.

Raymond is now running the campaign for its ready-wear push. The brand retains the tagline " The Complete Man".

Watch the ad here : Raymond Readymade
The ad is well crafted - simple and elegant.
As long as the brand moves with in the positioning of " The Complete Man ",  the readymade push would be well accepted by the consumers. But Raymond has to create a separate space for its brands with distinct identity to avoid cannibalization.  I think it will be interesting to see how Raymond will be affecting Park Avenue .

Marketing Funda : The cost of Hype

October 6 ,2014 could have been a historical day for Flipkart but in reality, that day proved to be more of a PR nightmare than a marketing success. It may be true that on that day, the company would have emptied its inventory of many products but at the cost of a lot of goodwill .

The huge hype created by Flipkart and the subsequent backlash forces us to refresh some basics in managing expectations. 

One of the classic theories related to expectation and subsequent satisfaction is Expectation-Confirmation Theory ( ECT) . The theory is no rocket science . It simply states that during the pre-purchase stage, the consumer forms expectations either by the conscious act of the marketer or through other means. After the purchase or service encounter, the consumer's satisfaction is decided on the perceived performance of whether the original expectations are confirmed.

Because of the equity established by Flipkart, the consumers expected that on that day 

• They would get a fair bargain .
• The site would work perfectly.
• Orders would be fulfilled.
• Deal would be fair.

Getting a big bargain is a game. Consumers know that and wouldn't mind if the deal is taken by someone else - its a competition. That's why for many consumers, getting discounts is an ego-satisfying process. But when there are news about price tampering and deliberate price increases     preempting the sale, the issue of fairness becomes dominant. It's here that Flipkart got the stick. Consumers were furious not because they didn't get the deal, they felt cheated because of the fairness- factor. 

Here Flipkart simply took the billion day offer to stratospheric levels that even to the best of the intentions, it cannot be matched. Then in reality the entire sale became a nightmare. 

The lessons learned has to be that marketers need to set realistic expectations ( common sense !). But some times common sense need to be emphasized. 

Does Your Lack of Creativity in Packaging Reduce Profits?

In theory, marketingis about the science that builds brands, but in practice, it is often something simpler—getting the packaging right. In a grocery store, a customer is unlikely to be aware of a company’s latest promotional events, but he or she will be acutely aware if the company’s product appears to be attractive and affordable as it sits on the shelf.

Sometimes marketing is more about humble common sense than exciting theories about emerging trends. Consumer interests are often stirred by simple questions.

Describing A Product
Seth Godin once described marketing as “a contest for people’s attention.” Good packaging can make it easier to win that contest.

The questions consumers have about the value of a product on a shelf can often be answered by the package the product is in.

Packaging is much more than putting products in the right-size box and sticking on a label. Packaging should not be underestimated. Sometimes good packaging may be responsible for millions of dollars in sales figures. You can get entrepreneurial and creative even in your use of cardboard boxes. In fact, it would be quite easy to develop a full semester’s worth of information about the best practices around highly-attractive packaging.

3 Common Features

Here are the common features behind good packaging.

1. The package protects the product. Before the product reaches the consumer, it passes through many hands and stops at many destinations as it travels by air, sea, or land to get to the store or the customer’s mailbox. Damaged products will not result in repeat business or referrals.

2. It should make a good impression. For instance, through the careful use of shapes, colors, images, and copy an ordinary box of crayons can fill a child with instant delight at the possibilities of art. Packaging has the power to excite the needs, interests, and desires of the buyer.

3. It should differentiate itself from products provided by competitors.It makes a difference to the consumer if their package comes in a plain cardboard box or one with a few design elements. For some products, plain boxes without printing will suffice—for example, it is a waste of money to have a colorful box for computer printing paper because customers are unlikely to get excited about reams of paper. For others, packaging is very important. For instance, in MLM shipments, consumers always look forward to their monthly shipment of health care products.

An Art and Science
Remember the words of SethGodin: marketing is “a contest for people’s attention.” Good packaging can make it easier to win that contest. In some ways, packaging is a science. Packages have to have the right blend of size, strength, and weight for product protection and reduced storage and distribution costs. Manufacturers are also able to offer direct printing and a choice of one color, two colors, or lots of colors. In other ways, packaging is a science. A box of cereals, for example, in an attractive design will outsell another brand of cereals on the shelf right next to it many times better even if the contents are similar. 

Brand Update : Wagon R Teaches How to Manage Product Lifecycle

The festive season of 2014 saw the launch of  limited edition Wagon R Krest. Wagon R which was launched in 1999 is still the 4th largest selling car brand in India. The product is a classic example of how consistent performance + value-for-money positioning will achieve long-lasting success in Indian market. 

Wagon R has become a success because it is one of  the most practical car in the Indian roads. Be it space, comfort or reliability, Wagon R has delivered consistently over the last 15 years.

On the product front, Maruti has been very smart in ensuring that the product and the brand is kept relevant to fit the changing consumer needs.

The brand went for relaunches and modifications in 2003, 2006 and 2010. 

In 2013, Wagon R launched another variant- StingRay with a new positioning to attract the young consumers. 

This year, the company is keeping the PLC rejuvenated by launching a limited edition product branded as Wagon R Krest. The new variant has new front grille, audio system, reverse parking sensors, new seats and some sticker jobs. The new limited edition is priced at a premium of Rs 22000 over the original Wagon R. 

From 1999 to present, the brand has sold around 1.3 million units and counting.  In the branding front, the company had tried to maintain the brand's visibility . Earlier it used the actor Madhavan as the celebrity endorser effectively. More than the brand's campaign, it is the practicality of the product that has made it a best-seller.
Maruti has plans for a diesel version and an AMT version for this brand. This brand will be here for a long time for sure.

Schmitten Chocolate : Love to Love it

Brand : Schmitten
Company : Rajhans Group


Brand Analysis Count : # 550

The Rs 4500 chocolate market has a new player- Schmitten. Schmitten is a Swiss chocolate made in India ! or to be fair, this chocolate is positioned as a Swiss chocolate. The new brand comes from Rajhans group which is a Rs 3500 crore real-estate developer. 

The new brand- Schmitten is positioned as a premium brand competing with the like of Cadbury Silk and Temptation. Schmitten is the mother brand which is being launched as a moulded chocolate like Dairy Milk. Schmitten also has another product - Hoppits which is a bar-chocolate like 5 Star.

According to newsreports, the chocolate although made in India is made with machine imported from Switzerland, Denmark and Germany and uses Ghanian coco beans and Swiss recipe.

Priced at Rs 80 for 70 mg pack, the brand resides at the premium end of the chocolate market.It is priced competitively for a luxury brand.

Schmitten is launched with the endorsement from Priyanka Chopra. The launch campaign is styled as a musical and the brand has the tagline " Love to Love It ".

Watch the ad here : Schmitten 

The basic premise of the brand's launch message is that its a crime to ask for a bite of Schmitten. The brand had a launch teaser campaign where various punishment for taking a bite of  Schmitten is shown.

Watch : Teaser Schmitten

The musical ad has some kind of a novelty in it but doubt whether the packaging and the ad has succeeded in creating the premium image for the brand. The ad purely talks about the story and doesn't convey any message regarding the USP of the brand.

My take on the launch campaign was that it could have been much better and the premium factor is missing in the ad.

Further the tagline " Love to Love it " is a confusing tagline. What does it actually mean !!

Having said that, since chocolate is an impulse purchase, Schmitten , with its celebrity endorsements would get consumer trials and eventually it is the product performance that is going to be the key. 

Brand Update : Xcent ropes in Shah Rukh Khan

Xcent launched by Hyundai in the sub-meter category has been well received by the customer. According to newsreport, the brand has sold around 35000 units since its launch. To boost the existing success,the brand now has decided to leverage its prized asset- the brand ambassador- Shah Rukh Khan.  

SRK has been the brand ambassador of Hyundai for the last 16 years. According to NDTV, this 16 years association is a record for any brand-celebrity in India. From the launch of Santro to the i10, SRK has been the integral part of the brand campaign for Hyundai. 

But more than the brand promotion, it is the performance of the products that create success in the Indian auto market.

SRK in the new campaign for Xcent amplifies the brand's promise of " more value for money ". 

Watch the ad here : SRK Xcent

In the new campaign, the brand had added an additional claim of " The real family sedan ". The well made ad pitches the brand against the tough competition from the likes of Honda Amaze, Tata Zest, Maruti Dzire etc. 

5 Creative Marketing Uses for Swag

In theory, “swag” is a great way to get a brand or company out there. Receiving anything for free often leaves a memorable impression on consumers, regardless of whether the swag is in the form of a pen, t-shirt or memorable token. 

Marketing tactics lose their influence over time though. People get used to ignoring radio ads, billboards just become part of the blurry scenery, and Internet banner ads become something we avoid clicking. So is swag still a valid marketing tactic?

Just like social media, it depends on your audience. But overall, recent marketing tactics involving swag still make a big splash with consumers. Companies just have to use it in new remarkable ways.

Bookmarks Instead of Business Cards

Everyone has business cards, so how is your’s going to stand out? Get creative! A substitute in the form of a bookmark actually has a purpose beyond sitting in someone’s wallet. Big enough to cram whatever contact information you need, a bookmark contact card will also remind people of you and your business every time they open and close the book they are reading.

Stylish T-Shirts

T-shirts can be one of the most effective forms of swag, since people wear them around town and essentially become a low-cost source of effective advertising for a brand. T-shirts are certainly one of the costlier swag items to produce, though, so it’s important to use a genuinely good design. 

I’ve received t-shirt swag for a variety of reasons from purchasing products as a bonus, similar to what National Abrasives offers, to getting a well-designed t-shirt from Short Stack for talking about their brand in one of my previous articles. 

People may accept a free t-shirt, but they won’t wear it if it’s dull or ugly. Avoid basic white tees and go for something more visually appealing, with a relative fashion sense, instead; it’ll be costly, but worth it if designed properly.

Digital Content

Offering free “digital swag” - in the form of things like a free wallpaper, app, eBook, or digital coupon - usually costs little to nothing to produce, yet can still prove beneficial in exposing your brand. Offer digital swag via social media to increase your following on there, as well. Social media followers and free content often results in higher engagement.

The most important part of digital swag is it must offer real value to your consumer. 
Digital swag is an excellent investment because of its low cost production and high return on investment. Since it’s online, loyal customers and fanatic fans can share your swag and do the work of distribution for you.

Think Outside of Swag

Giving swag isn’t the only option. Take a lesson from the startup Medallia who at this year’s SXSW made a big brand impact by collecting everyone’s swag for the homeless. It was a unique idea that got a lot of media attention for the new company while also doing something good for those in need.

Care Packages

If you want to go all-out, create care packages with consumers’ well-being in mind. A small, brand-laden bag with items like a small water bottle, aspirin, and apple inside will be perceived as a healthy and welcome surprise by consumers, perhaps even elevating their mood. Care package swag may be time-consuming to create, but it will certainly make for a striking impression among consumers.

Swag certainly still works for businesses and brands as a great means of exposure. They can be effectively implemented into most business plans, as long as the swag is creative, interesting and fresh, as the five aforementioned examples are.

Special thanks to Ali Lawrence for today's post. Ali Lawrence is a content specialist for a web design company and blogs in her free time at MarCom Land. Her articles have been published by Hot in Social Media, Yahoo! Small Business, and Business2Community.

Zorrik 88 : Why this great product is not promoted?

Brand : Zorrik 88

Company : Pidilite

Brand analysis count : #549

There are some very useful products in the market which has great usefulness  and potential but seldom promoted by the brand owners. Zorrik 88 is one such product from Pidilite. I have neither heard of this brand before nor remember seeing any ad. I came across this brand when suggested by a hardware store.

I faced a nagging problem of a rusty and squeaky garage gate. Come rainy season,the gate become rusty and the wheels stuck. Putting lubricating oils seldom gave relief.Then one hardware store suggested Zorrik 88. The pack of the brand says it is a quick maintenance spray that cleans,protects lubricates and displaces moisture. Costing ₹60  for a 32 g bottle I thought of giving a try. A couple of spray into the wheels of the gate and bingo the gates began to roll smoothly without any noise.

A nagging problem solved in a minute.

Zorrik 88 was launched in 2006 and is positioned as a quick maintenance spray.  

I was left wondering why this brand was not promoted because rustiness and squeaky hinges and doors are a common problem in many households. This works better than the messy lubricating oil and has more convenience and ease of use than the oil. The problem with these type of products is that consumers search for these products only when the problem surfaces. There is little chance of consumers stock these product anticipating these issues. However in my opinion,this is a really useful product worth promoting. 

Brand Update : Axe finally respond to competition through Axe Signature

So finally a response from HUL to competition. After being relegated to No.3 in the deo market by Fogg and Wildstone, Axe finally launched its answer to the competition- Axe Signature Collection Deo.

It was surprising that HUL which is supposedly the best marketing machine in India took so long to respond to competition. Its almost a replay of the Nirma- Surf episode where the market leader was slow in responding to local competition eventually to find itself dethroned as  the market leader. HUL (in my opinion ) was very slow in reacting to Fogg's entry into the market with the No-Gas proposition. The result is that Axe has been beaten down to number 3 in the market.

Now HUL has responded with a variant branded as Signature Collection. The basic USP is the variant is 3X times more perfume. The brand has the tagline " Don't Fade Away" 

Axe Signature is running its campaign across the channels. The television commercial retains the seduction proposition but is now subtle with that message. The message the new variant is pushing is the long-lasting fragrance. 

Watch the ad here : Axe Signature

The " Don't Fade Away " proposition is smart because that idea is different from the current market leader Fogg's no-gas USP. So Axe is now telling the consumers that it is better than others because other fragrances fade away. The packing resembles Fogg Black Collection cannot be wished away as a coincidence.

Although the message is nothing new, Axe has executed the campaign nicely.

Priced at Rs 225, Axe has priced this variant lower than the competition. 

The entry of Axe into the no-gas segment has market as shift in the market dynamics. The no-gas segment is now growing at 30% and is already worth around Rs 250-300 crore in the Rs 2500 crore deo market. This segment which is now named as body-perfume segment is where all the action is. 

The launch of Signature is expected to arrest the growth of Fogg and Wildstone. Since this is a launch from Axe, old loyalists are bound to try it. Rest is all dependent on the delivery of the promise. 

Positioning Sharing : Axe Signature's long lasting fragrance proposition is not new, the brand Set Wet deo already has the same positioning ( Watch the ad). 

Long-lasting is a widely used positioning. Across various categories brands has been using this positioning and the novelty and believe-ability of this positioning has come down drastically. Pepsodent ( dishum-dishum) , Amaron ( lasts long really long) Colgate Total are some of the brands that share the same positioning. 

RIP Accent ( 1999-2013) Reborn Xcent (2014)

Brand : Xcent
Company : Hyundai
Brand Analysis  : # 548

While there are many conflicting views about re-birth in the human world, the brand-world is full of brands dying and getting re-born in another avatar. One such case is Hyundai Accent. The once best selling sedan from Hyundai died in 2013 when sagging sales prompted the company to pull the plug on one of the most successful automobile brands in India. 

In 2014, Hyundai launched its first sub 4 meter sedan Xcent. The similarity in the brand name cannot be wished away as a mere coincidence. The company wants to continue Accent's legacy and equity into the new born brand.

Compact sedans has been a rage in the Indian market which is primarily fueled by the low tax applicable to sub 4 meter cars.The segment is led by Maruti Dzire. While manufacturers take advantage of the tax factor by putting a boot to the existing sedans, consumers find the proposition of value. Indian consumers have a thing for sedans because it raises the status. So even if the boot looks ugly, consumers are happy buying an ugly sedan than a beautiful  hatchback. 

Xcent is positioned as an affordable family car. The brand uses the tagline " Multiplies your life"  to convey its value for money proposition. 

watch the tvc here : Xcent 

With the price starting at Rs 4.66 lakh, the brand has got the customer attention. According to reports, the company is finding it difficult to handle the demand from the market. 

Regarding the branding, Hyundai may have wanted to carry over the equity of Accent to Xcent. Accent as a brand has strong association with a full fledged sedan. So using that brand to launch a compact sedan  has some risk. Also Accent as a brand is perceived to be an old one. Xcent is a new product in a new platform ( Grand i10) with the fluidic design philosophy. So Xcent was the smart move by Hyundai to get the best of both the brands. 

Smart indeed.

Brand funda : Elasticity of Brand

Article Review : What Makes Brands Elastic? The Influence of Brand Concept and Styles of Thinking on Brand Extension Evaluation Journal of Marketing Vol. 74 (May 2010), 80–92 ( Link)

 In this very deeply research article the authors examine why some brands are more elastic than others. Here the authors describe elasticity as the ability of the brand to extend to other categories

• Research suggest that brand extension success depend very much on the extension fit.That is whether the extensions fit the perception of consumers about the parent brand.
• The more elastic the brand is when the brand is able to extend itself to distant categories.
• Early research suggest that the brand's elasticity is dependent on the parent brand's characteristics.If the brand is positioned on prestige, then it is more elastic and can be extended to multiple categories.
• Functionally positioned brands are less elastic 

This article tries to expand the existing research by saying that while brand's characteristics are important in determining its elasticity, the consumer's style of thinking is also very important determinant in the brand's elasticity. Consumer's thinking styles are classified into Holistic thinking style and Analytical thinking style.

Analytical thinkers focus more on attributes and categories to draw inferences and judgements while holistic thinkers focus on broader connections ( contexts, relationships) between objects. According to the study, brands which have a positioning based on prestige usually have a abstract message which can be transported to multiple categories. Functional brands are at a disadvantage since the functional attributes cannot be moved effectively to distant categories.

The response by the analytical and holistic thinkers to the extension are also significant. Holistic thinkers are able to connect between parent brand and extensions while analytical thinkers will find it difficult to relate parent brand and extensions if they are functionally different.

The study finds that the brand's elasticity is jointly determined by the parent brand's positioning ( prestige vs funtional )  and consumer's style of thinking ( holistic vs analytical)

For prestige brands, analytical and holistic thinkers has similar  response to brand extensions while for functional brands, holistic thinkers had a favorable response towards extensions. The probable reasons can be that when evaluating extensions of functional brands, analytical thinkers focused on functional attributed and their similarities and often found dissimilarities.Another important finding is that prestige brands encouraged holistic thinking in both type of consumers. 

The study also suggest that brand can encourage holistic thinking in consumers through brand architecture. Sub-brands can be used to increase elasticity of functional brands for analytical thinkers.Brands can also bridge the gap for analytical thinkers by elaborate communication about the extension. Marketers has to match the message to the consumer's style of thinking which can make distant extensions receive favorable responses from analytical thinkers.

The article has lot of significance to marketing practice. While conventional marketing wisdom suggest the brands should not extend too far from parent brand, in practice, this may not be possible.The article gives direction for marketers endeavoring such extensions.It is important that marketers understand the consumer characteristics and its impact on the responses to extensions. Prestige brands are difficult to create but it has its advantages when it comes to brand extensions.

#1

Layer'r Shot Deo : Pure Fragrance, Nothing Else

Brand : Layer'r

Company : Adjavis Venture Ltd (AVL)

Brand Analysis Count : # 547

Layer'r was launched in 2013 by AVL which was founded by Mr Devandra Patil. Mr Patil was a co-founder of Paras Pharmaceuticals and later the brothers of Paras decided to start on their own after selling Paras to Reckitt.One of the brothers, Darshan Patel started the Fogg brand under the company Vini Cosmetics which recently became the market leader in the deo category. Devendra Patel entered the deo market with two brands- Layer'r Shot for men and Wottagirl for women.
In the highly cluttered market for deos, the key success factor lies in the differentiation. The market is hotting up with majors like ITC entering the market with its Engage brand which gobbled up around 6% share within a short span of time.
Taking a cue from the success of Fogg, Layer'r has put in some thought with regard to the differentiation. The brand has rightly decided to move away from the " seduction" theme and has gone for some rational approach.
Layer'r differentiation is on the packaging. For the first time in the deo category, the brand has gone in for a transparent packaging. While most of the fragrance products like perfumes comes in transparent bottles, its is the first time that a deo has chosen to be packaged in a clear bottle.
With the USP of transparency, Layer'r has decided to position itself on the bases of " Pure" attribute which is presented in the form of transparent bottle. The brand has adopted the tagline " Pure fragrance , Nothing Else"
Another interesting fact is that the brand calls it a fragrant body spray rather than a deo. Hence the brand is also trying to create a product category different from deo ( in a way) saying that  deo is old style. So the brand is saying to the consumers to ditch the deo and adopt fragrant body spray. Although body spray products are already there in the market, but it is the first time that a brand has pitched itself against the deos.

Along with the packaging, Layer'r has gone in for a celebrity endorsement by the bollywood star Imran Khan. The campaign featuring Imran Khan take a dig at brands like Fogg by saying that  one cannot know what is inside the bottle of deos since you cannot see it.
Watch the campaigns here : Layer'r 1, Layer'r 2
With regard to the USP of the brand, the transparency of the bottle cannot be sustained because anyone can come with a deo in a transparent bottle.
Another differentiator that Layer'r tries to bring is in terms of a  product category of fragrant body spray. But Layer'r is not trying to say why a fragrant body spray is different /better than the usual deo.
The transparent bottle seems to be a good proposition as far as the brand trials are concerned. The added strength of the celebrity endorser will help the brand get trials at the retailer end.
While the competition has almost killed the Axe's positioning of   " seduction" , the Fogg's proposition of  " No gas " bottles has become the next target. New deo brands are now targeting Fogg. Envy brand is already talking about 1000 sprays and now Layer'r talking about transparent perfumes.
Attaining Points of Difference  in the deo market has now become a herculean task for marketers. 

Park Avenue Beer Shampoo : Cheers to Man Hair

Brand : Park Avenue Beer Shampoo
Company : JK Helene Curtis
Brand Analysis Count : # 546

Park Avenue is a cash cow in the portfolio of JK Helene Curtis which owns the prestigious apparel brands like Raymonds , Color Plus, Parx etc. This brand has contributed half of the turnover of the apparel business of the company. Later the company decided to extend the brands to categories like men's grooming market.

According to Business Standard, men's grooming market is worth Rs 4000 crore growing at 25-30 % per annum. So for a company like JK Helene Curtis, it makes sense to extend a popular brand to this category. In September 2013, Park Avenue launched Park Avenue Beer shampoo in the Indian market.

According to ET, there is a research backup that beer is good for hair  and if Park Avenue has its way, then the most popular men's drink will find a new place - men's head ( sic).

Watch the launch ad : Park Avenue Beer Shampoo

The ad is clutter breaking and very funny. The ads were able to drive in the USP of the ingredient and isn't boring for repeated exposure. 

In this launch, the brand has done many things right. Firstly the brand has clearly differentiated itself  by its ingredient. Although other shampoo brands can launch their own version of beer shampoo, Park Avenue has virtually owned the ingredient through first mover advantage.The packaging reflects the brand's USP and the packaging is different and very smart. 

The brand has clearly communicated through its ads that men's hair is different and should be treated differently. The message is communicated through the tagline " Cheers to man hair " . The brand emphases Man Hair in the campaign to drive home the message that it needs special treatment.

So in a campaign perspective, Park Avenue has managed to break the clutter and was able to generate interest among the target group.

The challenge for the brand is to induce trial for the brand. The brand's proposition of a beer in a shampoo is intriguing and that may prompt many to try out this brand. 

Park Avenue has put this brand at the upper strata of the category by pricing it at a premium and beer justifies the premium :-)

Unlike the common practice of using celebrity, Park Avenue has gone for an Irish model Andrew Smith as the beer man ( Source ET) . 

Having said these good words, resemblance to the iconic Old Spice Mustafa campaign cannot go unnoticed. 

Last month, the brand launched its follow-up campaign  featuring the beer man. 

Watch the follow up campaign - Beer man

The second campaign however is not as good as the launch ad , may be the brand wants to take the women in the house into confidence because these purchases are often made by women. 

With many brands like Dove, Nivea, Garnier etc focusing their attention to men's grooming category, Park Avenue Beer shampoo has entered into a highly competitive market. It has done it with style . Now what has to be seen is how men reacts to beer in a shampoo .

He deodorant : Be Interesting

Brand : He
Company : Emami
Brand Analysis Count : # 545

Another deo hits the market with another big bang celebrity. This time, joining the brand-wagon is Emami with the new deo brand for men - He. He  is sort of interesting brand name which Emami chose to call its deo. Wondering how the company pulled off a generic name since it is very difficult to get trademark approval for generic names.

The Rs 2300 crore deo market is crowded but growing fast to accommodate new players. 

He deo has roped in none other than Hrithik Roshan as its brand ambassador . The brand is currently running its launch campaign in various markets. 

Watch the ad here : He Deo 

He deo wants to position as some thing different from the usual deo positioning of seduction. The ad tries to convey the message of the He deo user as a self assured confident and more importantly " Interesting" personality. 

Its interesting to see that it has become a norm that if one uses Hrithik Roshan , then he needs to perform super-human stunts. We have seen this playing out in ads featuring Hrithik. Here also the ad forces this stereotype on Hrithik. So instead of leaning forward and take his sunglasses, our hero chooses " Performed by experts under strict supervision " stunt to get his glasses - how is that for Being Interesting !

And as usual the ad shows " girls" being impressed . So despite trying very hard, He Deo also succumbs to the " Axe Temptation " .

The brand comes in Citrus, Oriental, Marine, Fougere, Woody and Musk fragrances and has managed to create a difference in its packaging which will help it boost trial at retailer end. With the market creator - Axe being sidelined and Fogg being crowned new leader, brands like He can now hope to be in that throne at some point in time only if it can continue to " Be Interesting " !