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.