Brand Update : Cadbury Bournville says its "Not So Sweet " but why ?

Cadbury Bournville launched in 2009 created a new market for premium dark chocolate in Indian market. The brand smartly positioned itself as THE premium chocolate with a tagline of " You don't buy a Bournville , you earn it ". The launch and follow up campaign effectively conveyed the positioning.

But the 2013 campaign comes as a shocker. The brand has ditched the " You have to earn it " positioning and took on something very peculiar - the new tagline is " Not so Sweet".

The new tvc is equally intriguing.

 Watch the new tvc here : Bournville tvc

The question is why a brand like Bournville ditch such a powerful positioning statement and replace that with a dud !

Not so sweet !! now everyone knows dark chocolate is not that sweet so in this ad, what exactly the brand is conveying - only the agency and the brand manager knows. I presume that this ad is directly imported from some other market and put in the Indian media without much thought. The ad is totally disconnected with the Indian market and fails to evoke anything in the consumer's mind. At end of it the question remains " What the heck ?

 Saving cost by killing the brand ?

Related brand

Bournville : You have to earn it 

Brand Update : Axe disappoints with Ranbir doing a Ben Affleck

Axe deo is facing the fiercest competition  in its life in India with local and MNC deo brands breathing down its neck. According to certain reports that came in ET Now's Brand Equity show, the brand had lost its leadership position in the Indian market to the new entrant Fogg.

One of the reason for the trouble is that Axe's positioning has been under threat. almost all deo brands has been aping the positioning theme of Axe thereby diluting the brand's uniqueness in the Indian market. Axe was not able to do much about it and continued with its strategy of frequent launches of new variants and importing ads from its global markets.

For a change, Axe decided to go local in its promotional strategy and roped in the current Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor to endorse the brand. The news came as a surprise since Axe never ( in my knowledge) ran a campaign using a celebrity in India.
Axe launched its new variant Axe Blast with the new celebrity endorsement . The ad is currently on air.

Watch the ad here : Axe Ranbir Ad

What was shocking is that the ad is the exact copy of an older ad ( more than 7 years) of Axe Clicker which is a variant available in markets outside India. The Axe Clicker brand featured Ben Affleck .

Watch the ad here : Axe Ben Affleck

Now if the brand Axe can afford to bring Ranbir to the fold, why did the brand chose to just copy an old theme and present it in the Indian market ? 

Its so cheap a strategy to adopt in an era where information is available to everyone. And its a totally a wrong move when the competition is eating away the share. Ranbir will get eyeballs and may in the short-run help the brand to reinforce the existing awareness.The  current approach is sending warning signals regarding the laziness of the marketing department in attempting to find an easy way out rather than brainstorming on developing a differentiation strategy to take on the competition.

Building Your Brand Online

Improving online rankings of any digital asset: web pages, images, videos, etc., has taken on a different direction thanks to Google's latest update which is having an impact on other leading search engines as well. How can you continue to optimize your assets if you've been impacted by these latest optimization changes? The good news is that search results can still be improved.  However, the methods to optimize your site and brand must change to leverage the recent emphasis of an updated Google algorithm.

What no longer works

The place I like to start when it comes to optimization is with traditional methods of optimization.  In the past you could hire a company based in India and pay them pennies on the dollar to build thousands of links into your website from a variety of sources.  Whether you successfully optimized your website from an on-page perspective first or not didn’t really matter.  All you needed was a series of inbound links including your target keyword phrase and you’d find success.

Then things slowly began to change.  Google made a couple of updates and suddenly stuffing your inbound links with nothing but keywords became less effective.  After the initial Penguin update, incoming links from many sites became much less valuable and recently became a way to penalize websites for gaming the system.  

Where that leaves us today is with a list of techniques that once were highly effective now proving to be highly damaging to new and well established websites.  It would have been enough if Google simply discredited negative listings but now, unfortunately, they took things a step further and have begun to penalize sites for trying to arbitrarily building links.

What’s working now

The next question you are likely asking yourself is if all of those old optimization strategies don’t work, what’s working now.  And the answer is not necessarily black and white.  In fact the newest strategies combine some old methods with new ones.  As an example, instead of starting from scratch, you need to leverage existing web pages found on other domains for branded search. When users search for the company being referred to, the page renders in search results.  Because the content of this page is positive, it makes sense for the business to link to it from their site and promote via their social media accounts.

Another example is leveraging your own social media and digital assets that reside on authoritative websites. It will also show in branded search results and the content can be manipulated by the company it serves.

This is also true of sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+.  Your initial goal should always be to first identify the sites and digital assets that can be promoted but don’t necessarily reside on your domain.

Promoting your own web property

Okay, you’re probably saying, “This is great but I want my website to rank for a select number of keywords.”  Improving the ranking of your site is possible considering newer methods of optimization.  The best place to start is with your own website.  Is it fully optimized?  Are there any technical errors?  Duplicate content?  Easy navigation? Original content?

Focus on your site first from a technical perspective.  If the foundation is strong, you’ll have a much better opportunity to fully optimize the site and begin appearing in search results for your primary keywords. This leads to the second step in optimization – content development.

It used to be that you could create a website and let it be.  Most optimization work was done off site and Google didn’t give much weight to website updates.  Well, today, that just isn’t the case.  Making regular website updates is essential to search engine optimization success.  And updates need to come in the form of regular, original, shareable content.

Natural link creation

This has all been the result of Google’s goal of making organic search more natural and truly organic.  Think about it this way.  If you have valuable content on your site, other people are going to link to it, talk about it, and share it with their networks.  Thanks to social media this is easier than ever.  The best way to being tapping into this source of optimization is a comprehensive content development strategy.

Once content is developed, consider how best to share and promote that content.  As always, slow and steady wins the race.  Don’t expect to generate great content, build a massive list of followers, and see your rankings skyrocket.  To Google that would look suspicious and to you it should seem unrealistic.  Impacting search engine results is a marathon that begins on solid content principles.

Search engine optimization if dependent more on social media, content sharing, and a diversity of digital assets than ever before.  Start with content development and move towards natural link building (this may include social channels, blogging, press releases, etc.) that makes sense in the eyes of Google.  Over time you’ll see results.

1 Million Views on the Marketing Blog

Today marks a significant milestone in the Marketing Blog's evolution.  We've hit a total of 1 million views since the blog started a number of years ago.  Special thanks to all of my avid followers and those seeking information on marketing, online marketing, and everything in between.

Marketing is continually changing and evolving.  I'm so glad that blogs have finally come into their own.  If you don't have a blog I encourage you to follow, participate, and even start your own.  There's nothing like sharing your ideas and building community around a particular topic or niche.

I was recently asked about my blogging experience and what topics I like to cover.  That's what's great about blogging, anything goes.  The goal of my blogging is to share my experience, positive or negative, so we can learn together.  Although I've been marketing for 15 years now, I know that things are bound to change - it's the nature of life and marketing.

The biggest change I've seen.

The biggest change in marketing I've seen over the past decade has been digital.  Each year digital marketing evolves and has been accelerated with the utilization of social media in all types of formats (ppc, video, images, etc.).  I'm sure this is bound to change but I think the driver that will continue to instigate the change is mobile.  It's already changed so many things regarding our access to data and customization that I don't see it ending anytime soon.

My goal is to continue to be out in front of these changes and to work with the marketing community to guide the conversation around digital, mobile, and any new form of media we see coming towards us.  Marketing is my life and it's essential for any company or brand who has something of value to provide to others to be on the pulse of marketing change.

How does marketing impact you?
To celebrate our 1 million views, I'd love to hear from you.  How has or does marketing impact you?  What are you focused on as we move into the future?  Any thoughts on how marketing will change or how it can be leveraged to create value for others?

What's great about running a marketing blog is that you can share with others like you and have them share back.  Be sure to provide your thoughts in the comments section below.

Engage Deo : Couple Deodorant !

Brand : Engage
Company : ITC

Brand Analysis # 526

When a company like ITC launches a product, there is anticipation that the product will be remarkable and will make significant impact on the category in which it is launched. Because of the size of ITC and the marketing power it has, most of the time, the brands do make an impact on the category . Brands like Sunfeast, Fiama etc has proved the marketing acumen on ITC.

So naturally when news spread that ITC is foraying into the deo space , such an anticipation is natural. ITC entered the Rs 1400 ( approx) crore Indian deo market with its Engage brand recently. The launch ads are right now on air. The launch campaign however was disappointing because I expected something unique and different from the rest of the deo brands. But surprisingly, ITC chose to play the same theme which the rest of the deo players are following - the so called " Chemistry " between men and women which is apt for an ad for condom rather than a deo.

Engage is being positioned as India's first ' couple deodorant'. I really don't understand the concept initially but the brand's microsite offers some explanation. These deos come in  three pairs ( hence couple)-Rush ( Male & Blush ( Female), Mate ( male ) and Spell ( Female) and Urge ( male) and Tease ( Female). What I don't understand is whether consumer can only buy these in pairs ( pun intended) ?  And what is that the company is intending to convey ? Is it targeting the married couple who would be buying the pair and thus showing love to each other. What happens if husband like Urge and Wife loves Blush ?? 

The launch campaign was a big dampener . The brand is positioned on the bases of " chemistry between the couples " . The ad mentions that " Love Has An All New Language " which probably is the positioning platform of the brand. However, the romance or attraction or chemistry is the most used theme of all the deo brands and Engage sadly failed to differentiate .The focus on " couple deodorant" also will add trouble to the brand since it may restrict the brand's target segment . Another differentiator is the design. ITC has brought in some freshness in the bottle design that will encourage some trial for the brand. 

Watch the ad here : ITC Engage Deo

I think, ITC has rushed into the launch without creating a powerful differentiator. The brand is now launched as an ordinary deo brands that promises  attraction of opposite sex. The Indian deo market is witnessing commoditisation because there is hardly any difference between the brands either in product or in communication. Fogg brand has moved up in the market giving a run-for-money for market leader Axe because it chose to speak in a different language. Engage sadly failed to offer anything new. 

Joining the AMA American Marketing Association

Are you thinking about joining the AMA (American Marketing Association) or a professional organization in your niche?  Well, as someone who's been in and out of professional associations my entire career, I can definitely share the benefits and pitfalls associated with taking the plunge.

About a year ago, I decided to rejoin AMA and make a true investment in terms of time and effort.  The first thing you need to know, is that you only get out of it, what you put into it.  And the second thing is...it takes time to see any tangible results.  Over time however, the positives far outweigh the negatives or fears of joining an association group.

I don't know what your motivation to become a member may be, networking, job search, growing your business, but having a goal is essential.  Based on my experience with the American Marketing Association, I believe that the initial goal should be developing new relationships and expanding your network of marketing professionals.

Professional association fees can cost a lot especially if coming out of your own pocket.  I know this was my initial hesitation and I really questioned the value I would get for my money. But once you've joined as a member other costs are generally reduced and you quickly see how to make the most of your investment.  In addition to networking type of events, many of these organization encourage continuing education and other fee based services that really aren't available through other channels.  You should decide what's most important to you, what you value most, and work towards leveraging the resources that make it worthwhile.

When I joined my professional association I was looking for contacts that could help grow my business or supplement my staff. With that in mind, I was quickly able to find other people at the AMA who shared similar goals and related experiences, saving me valuable time and effort.  I'm now more convinced than ever that business success is all about who you know and not what you know.  Results are obviously important but the 80/20 rule comes into play.  Said another way, you'll never find potential opportunities if you aren't connected to the right people who are tapped into a pretty steady stream of business opportunities and connections.  Being part of a professional Marketing association is essential if you make a living in the marketing niche.

I'll have to admit that I was a bit intimidated at first.  Walking into a networking event alone, without any prior introductions, can be a bit challenging.  If I could do it all over again, I would have started with a local chapter versus the larger parent organization.  This is true when it comes to the American Marketing Association too.  Local chapters are more hands on and less formal than the national association but I think you must join national before the local chapter.

I guess what I'm saying here is that you should make the investment in your professional association, regardless of your current role.  You can always scale your involvement either up or down based on your current situation. In the past I used associations to gain access to valuable training and industry insights.  Now, I'm using it to expand my network and grow my business.  But that's what's great about belonging to an industry focused group - there are others who share similar goals and come from a similar background.

Before you join any group, think about why you want to join. Honestly, it's half the battle.  Individual experiences with any association will vary but don't expect something for nothing.  If you have specific goals, develop a plan to leverage the association to get there, and do your homework, your chances of success increase 10 fold.  If all you're going to do is pay your annual fee and show up to one annual event, don't waste your time.

For information on the national AMA or New Jersey AMA, click here.  See you at the next event!

Penguin 2.0 and the impact to your business. Is it too late?

For those of you who have been reading my blog for some time, you know that I consult for a variety of companies in need of marketing strategy, planning, and online optimization.  That's why I've decided to blog about the recent conversations I've been having with my clients regarding Google's Penguin 2.0 update.  Even if web optimization has been done correctly, many sites are impacted by Google's decision to cut deeper into traditional optimization strategies.

Getting your arms around Penguin 2.0
The first place that people are seeing an impact is with link development programs they may have been working on.  Even the simple process of link building has been scrutinized to the 'n' th degree thanks to Penguin 2.0.  For example, I've been working with one client who was impacted because a number of the links to his site, which in the past were acceptable, have now been deemed toxic.  Thanks Google!  As such, his ranking have been negatively impacted and the process of link removal is underway.

The second issue with the Penguin update is link profiles and velocity.  We all know that once on page optimization is completed, the next issue that you must focus on from a search engine optimization perspective is that of content and link development.  As such, the process as a whole is being evaluated not only based on inbound link quality but velocity as well.  Google is looking close not just at the links being added but the rate at which they are added as well. This has always been a factor but now carries much more weight.

Finally, Penguin 2.0 is really all about shareability and meaningful content.  I think the word is still out on what defines valuable content but I'm sure relevance is a key factor.   And where there's relevance, there are other signals that help Google clarify quality.  These additional signals could be click-through rate or social sharing. One thing I know for sure is that they matter.

What you can do if impacted by Penguin 2.0
If the latest Google algorithm has negatively impacted your site, begin with an analysis of inbound links.  I recently signed up for Cemper's link detox tool.  Although I'm not thrilled to shell out the $79+ bucks every month, it's now a necessity for SEO's.  Once you identify the toxic and high risk links, use the Google Disavow tool to ensure that Google doesn't associate these links with your site.  Then, submit a reconsideration after a few weeks to have Google re-crawl your site.  Rankings can certainly come back but it takes time.

The next step is to consider a content marketing and distribution plan. There are fewer ways to build links but press releases, blog posts, and social media are still valid.  Focus your efforts on quality content that is truly targeted to your niche and useful among the community.  We're not entirely sure how this will play out but the goal is to be useful to others.

Don't despair.  With each update, the pendulum always seems to swing largely in one direction and then another.  This will all pan out in the wash so be patient but also, be planning your next move.