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 .

TRESemme : For Salon Style Hair

Brand : TRESemme
Company : Hindustan Unilever

Brand Analysis Count : # 539

TRESemme launched in 2012 was an attempt from Hindustan Unilever to prevent the competition from attacking from the flanks. There premium shampoo from HUL was Dove which was more of a Masstige brand rather than a luxury brand. Hence HUL feels that there is a gap in the product porfolio in the premium shampoo segment which is open for competitors. Already the shampoo brands from HUL stable is facing increasing competition from Lo'real, P&G  and the likes. 

TRESemme was born in 1950. The brand name was coined in honor of Edna Emme who was a cosmetologist and a community leader.The brand came to Unilever from the acquisition of Alberto Culver in 2010.Originally the brand is sold only to salons.

The positioning of TRESemme is interesting .The brand is positioned as a salon like experience for the hair. The insight is through a research which stated that ladies feel that they get more satisfaction when they get salon treatment. Also they trust the salon stylists advice when choosing the brands.This insight made the brand adopt the USP of a 'Salon Like Experience '. The brand initially target the salon frequenting  consumers who was usually the opinion leaders in the category. 

The brand which is priced at a premium is positioning itself as an expert in hair-care. The ads are styled internationally and the message is very rational. 

Watch the ad here : Tresemme ad

The brand over the last one year also have used Youtube very effectively . The brand's youtube channel is rich with videos on hair styles and hair care thus reinforcing the positioning as a premium expert. 

TRESemme will force the competing brands to think about launching their own version of professional endorsed shampoos. Right now Lo'real and P&G have salon products which are not sold outside . It needs to be seen whether the competitors will bring in those brands to fight  TRESemme. 

The Mysterious Games we Play

It was a complete Mystery; I was flummoxed at the news article after reading it, ‘HUL foxes P&G through successful Ambush Marketing’.

It was a great outdoor marketing campaign by P&G in Mumbai, and I think it did get foxed and frustrated by HUL, but the outcome of the whole melodrama that followed is still uncertain.

There were huge outdoor hoardings, model bus-stops, and full page print ads by P&G to create excitement over Pantene and its new packaging. Carefully ironed out, or so P&G envisaged. It was too open to attack, and Dove took the bold step and stepped into the fray. Kudos to HUL for getting it done ‘within a day’. I think it was more of a, ‘done within a month’ than ‘a day’. Competition intelligence as they call it, has definitely come into play here. HUL was waiting for the bait to get hooked on. But still, a campaign rolled out within a few weeks is commendable. (Brand executives would concur)

But did it achieve anything for HUL? Brand connotation with the ‘Mystery Shampoo’ is and will always be Pantene; Dove did nothing to change that.

All that HUL visualized was a retort back at P&G through the necessary buzz within everybody’s mind. They achieved the buzz, but inside the marketer’s head. The consumer was left lurking during the delivery of the Dove message. (‘There is no Mystery, Dove is the No.1 Shampoo’)

Marketing circles were talking about it for weeks, I should know, I was there. But the real consumer, the actual user of the brand & the product didn’t see any value in the fracas between HUL and P&G.

Sadly, this event might in the short run; temporarily, end such campaigns, where the consumer is kept at the edge of his/her seat before the prized message is communicated.

Fiama Di Wills: ITC Shampoos

Ad-Analysis:
ITC has prided itself on breaking the clutter with its different approaches towards advertising in Sunfeast and then Bingo. But it has gone for a safe bet on Fiama Di Wills.
The advertisement looks more like a Pantene TV ad rather than a new entrant.

Description:

Cigarette and FMCG major, ITC has launched its first mass personal care offering, a high-end shampoo. After a year of speculation, ITC has launched its first mass market personal care product. ITC 's shampoo brand, Fiama di Wills is in the premium segment, that’s growing faster at 44%, compared to 21% for the overall market.

Interestingly, ITC didn’t introduce a new brand name for its shampoo. Instead it has opted for a brand extension of its two year old, super premium range of personal care products, Essenza di Wills. But unlike Essenza that was available at ITC hotels and Wills Lifestyle stores, Fiama di Wills shampoos will be stocked at retail stores across India. The product will be available at Rs 99 for a 200 ml bottle.

On the pricing front, ITC is taking established players like HUL and P&G head on.

Expanding its range of personal care products, and following the successful launch of Fiama Di Wills Shampoos, ITC presented yet another world class range of products for the Indian consumer through its new range of Fiama Di Wills Shower Gels.

Fiama Di Wills’ new premium range offers three transparent shower gels with suspended beads. Each variant provides a specific benefit to the consumer:

Shampoo Variants: Silky Strong,Everyday Mild, Aqua Balance, and Volume Boost.

Continuing with its tradition of offering a superior product and brand experience to the modern Indian consumer, ITC also launched today the Superia range of soaps and shampoos in select markets .

Superia offers a range of four soap variants and two shampoo variants with a range benefit of Glowing skin and Shiny hair. Each of the variants have been designed to deliver specific benefits to the various consumer needs.

SOAPS: For Glowing Skin
1. Fragrant Flower with the fragrance of Rose & Lavender Oil
2. Soft Sandal with the fragrance of Sandal & Almond Oil
3. Natural Glow with Neem & Coconut Oils
4. Healthy Glow with Orange Oil

SHAMPOOS: For Shiny Hair
1. Shiny Black with Triple Conditioners and the natural goodness of Hibiscus & Brahmi extracts
2. Vibrant Green with Triple Conditioners and the natural goodness of Amla &
Arnica extracts

Superia soaps will be available in sizes ranging from 50g to 125g, and the shampoos in 125 ml and 55 ml.