Wednesday 15 April 2015

Focus in Positioning- Case of HFDs in India

Focused positioning is the essence of well planned and though through marketing strategy. If a brand finds a strong, resonating and a well differentiating platform, it should ‘sit’ firmly on it rather than letting others snatch the throne. Maggi understood it quite well in the early stages of its brand life cycle. They occupied the ‘2 minute’ proposition and focused on it, so much so that 2 minutes is now synonymous with Maggi.  

In HFD category, recently Boost took over Complan for the first time in its lifespan. Complan was a very strong brand which had been losing the market share. Complan fell into the trap of ‘doing too many things’ for its consumers. It had a single minded and relevant proposition of ‘gaining height; which appealed to both genders. The tagline ‘I am a Complan boy and I am a Complan girl’ became quite famous among the TG and brand enjoyed high salience and preference. As the market evolved, Complan designed a ‘complicated plan’ instead. The brand kept changing the value proposition, losing brand salience and also a place in consumer’s mind. 
Amitabh Bacchan may work for many other brands but he as an ambassador was simply a misfit with this category. Though he may qualifies on all parameters like credibility, appeal etc but could not resonate with either core or the support TG of Complan. Brand also changed its positioning to nutrition, thus competing with Bournvita and Horlicks. This made the brand lose its differentiation in the market. 
Complan again re-positioned itself on ‘height’ platform but by then Bournvita had started focusing on this proposition as a part of child’s overall development. Complan left its territory in search for larger market share. Getting back their lost throne is not going to be easy for Complan. I feel that brand lacks direction and focus.
Boost on the other hand focused on kids. It was infact the only brand in HFD category that spoke to kids instead of mothers. Boost had been under the shadow of its elder sibling Horlicks, which is a very strong brand of GSK portfolio. However, lately one could see GSK investing in Boost and hence the efforts seemed to be paying off. Changing their positioning and TG would have diluted the brand salience for Boost.

The basic premise lies in the divergence between what is relevant to the mother and the child. Mothers feel that they know the best for their children whereas children feel that they know what they should have. Due to this, it becomes difficult for any brand to find a value proposition that is relevant to both the mother and the child. Therefore the challenge for Boost was to implement its ‘energy and stamina’ positioning in a way that is relevant to both the stakeholders.

Also, focusing on children instead of mothers gave Boost a differential advantage over competition. Children play a role of influencers in decision making and hence with a brand proposition that is relevant to mothers, they can actually change the decision in their favour. Speaking to mothers would make Boost compete head on with Bournvita and Horlicks which may not be a good strategy considering the latter are strong national brands and also lead to cannibalization with their own portfolio brand.

Positioning requires sacrifice. Do not try to be everything to the consumers. You cannot be a mother, a friend, a partner and a sibling all at the same time. Choose one relationship and live that with all honesty.


Wednesday 7 January 2015

Pediasure: Making mothers a face of the brand

Reference: 
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-07-09/news/51248201_1_abbott-india-pediasure-brand-equity

Mothers play different roles in the lives of the brand. Junior Horlicks, Bournvita LiL Champs..and all other brands are cosely associated with mothers to connect with customers. But for pediasure, what matters more is not the brand but a mother herself. "Winning the hearts and minds of moms is what we do," says the India head of the US pharma major Abbott, which makes PediaSure.
Backed by Abbott, Pediasure has overtaken GSK's Junior Horlicks to become the largest brand in urban India in the Rs 600 crore toddler health food drink segment. It's a lead that's been maintained since August 2013. Its strategy was simple: directing its communication at young mothers and have a sharp focus on the fussy eating habits of children.
"Great product, relevant positioning and a marketing strategy that engages young mothers  are the reasons why PediaSure is consistently leading the category," says Kelshika, general manager of Abbott Nutrition International. The Nielsen figures obtained by Brand Equity from market sources showed that while PediaSure had been increasing its share in urban India, Junior Horlicks held its numero uno position pan India primarily due to its presence in the rural market. However, it's slipping in urban India, which still made up over 2/3rd of its sales. While Junior Horlicks' value share in urban India was Rs 16.34 crore in May 2014, PediaSure stood at Rs 18.59 crore.The brand's almost negligible presence in rural India gives GSK an edge.
However there's plenty of elbow room considering there was an estimated 17.3 million urban toddler households. Penetration at present was just over 10%. The toddler segment had been growing at approximately twice the size of the Rs 5,000 crore health food drink category, registering an expansion rate of over 8% to 9%.
Brand focus is a relatively recent development starting around 2006-2007 when Abbott Nutrition was hived off as a separate business. While a dedicated sales force promoted the brand and consolidated the initial base, prescriptions from doctors helped it get a firm foothold in the urban markets.
What makes PediaSure remark-able is its youth as a brand, relatively modest marketing spend on TV and the fact that it is pricier than Junior Horlicks and Bournvita Li'l Champs combined. The trick has been sharp positioning and a strong on-ground connect with mothers. SureMoms was the property created by the brand to educate and counsel parents and identify signs of fussy eating to guide parents on how to make mealtimes more interesting through a 6-step process. In 2013, it reached over 2 lakh mothers across the country. No place was left unexplored — schools, malls, residential societies, army and navy canteens, offices and nutrition camps set up at clinics. A toll-free helpline continues to offer free nutritional counselling, apart from engaging moms on social media and via the SureMoms website. 
Through 'SureMoms', the brand spoke the language a mother does. The brand understood mothers as the decision maker for toddlers need to be convinced first. Two things have worked for PediaSure. 80% of Indian mothers worry about their child's eating habits and want something to shore up the nutritional requirement. The brand has gone after smart mothers who invest in their kids and view pediatricians as parenting partners. Hence, the brand thought "I am not just a pediatrician, but a mother too" was born. This gave it high credibility and also insulated mothers against price premium. 
Besides positioning and communication, the brand also invested in boosting its distribution network by adding modern trade, department stores, online channels besides chemists to its portfolio. The packaging was made more premium and convenient and smaller SKUs were introduced to generate trials. 
However the brand still operates in a niche. The market is small and with 'one' child norm becoming popular in urban India, it may get smaller. Besides, the brand needs to enhance point-of-sale visibility and interest as it is transitioning to an over the counter space.

6Es framework of brand building Strong brands are assets to the business as they earn premium and create consumer preference. People t...