Best Marketing Practice : Uncle John's iDrive

It feels good when a brand innovates on an idea that benefits not only the brand but also the community. One such innovation is the children's park which was created by Cochin ( Kerala) based ice-cream brand Uncle John. Uncle John is a famous local brand of ice-creams marketed by M/S Jojo Frozen Foods Pvt Ltd. The brand name is coined from the name of its founder MC John.

Uncle John's I-Drive is a small children's park located near the NH Byepass at Cochin. Cochin which is the business capital of Kerala only has two well maintained parks for the residents. Both these parks are located in the heart of the city which makes it difficult to reach thanks to the heavy traffic. The launch of this small park which is away from the traffic of the city has proved to be a big boon to Cochinites. The park is modeled as a traffic park for kids with cycles, battery operated cars etc and other standard outdoor plays like slides, see-saw etc.

Pic Courtesy : The Hindu

What is interesting is that the whole concept of the park is ideated and executed by the brand. According to reports, the park is the idea of Mr.Joseph Simon who is a Director at the company which owns the brand. Another interesting fact is that the park charges Rs 25 as the entry fee ( per person) and the users can purchase ice-creams for that amount. The park already is a big hit among the residents of Cochin.

This park  is a classic case of smart marketing practice where the brand takes an initiative to offer something that is useful for the community ( also the target market) at the same time benefiting itself in the process. The investment of the park is huge but it is going to benefit the brand in the long-term. The brand through this idea is able to attract the TG and also makes them experience the products and at the same time provides enjoyment to them. This is a classic case of experiential marketing. 

However, the brand despite being innovative in the concept somehow was not aggressive in promoting its itself  in the park. Except for a hoarding there is not much OOH media inside the park that enhances the brand's visibility. In a typical Sunday, around 700 families visit the park and that is an audience a brand will die for.  There is lot of scope for innovation for the brand inside the park.Hope that the brand is able to sustain the park and gain its true return in terms of brand equity. The brand could have done lot of things inside the park that will enhance the brand's awareness and equity like

• Events
• Memorabilia
• Merchandise
• Contests

In the long term factors like safety, new games/rides, courteous staff, parking facilities, support of the corporation authorities will play a critical role in the success of this unique idea.

Brand Update : Lays Wants to Make Your Moment Magical

This year, Pepsico has brought about another positioning change in its most successful snack brand- Lays. The brand  never really found a sustainable positioning platform ever since it ditched its " No One Can Eat Just One " tagline. The last tagline of the brand was " Be Dillogical " which was introduced in 2009. So for around two years, the brand managers tolerated the positioning. 

This year, the brand decided to experiment yet again with the tagline , bringing in the new one -  "Pal Banaye Magical " meaning " Making Moments Magical ". The brand is running the new campaign featuring the brand ambassador Saif Ali Khan.

Watch the ad here : Lays Pal Banaye Magical

The ad follows the usual theme of group of friends or protogonist ( disappointed because of  cancellation of some event, boredom, etc)  and how brands liven their moments. The idea ( theme) is not at all new and has been used by brands across the world. Recently Titan Raaga used similar theme using Katrina Kaif , Tic Tac also used similar theme and Nano has used somewhat similar idea for their new positioning effort. The expectation of something different was not met by Lays in the current campaign.

Regarding the tagline " Pal Banaye Magical " sounds good and the creatives can work on this theme with a variety of stories. But I would say that it never comes anyway near to the brand's original tagline.And these frequent changes in the positioning doesn't augur well for the brand's overall strength. 

The brand which started its journey by positioning on taste later moved on to occasion based positioning ( har program ka main food) then moved to a higher attribute like Dillogical and then finally to celebrate friendship and togetherness. How ever in the execution front, the brand was not able to bring in any magic to these concepts.

On the other marketing practices, Lays innovated on its range of flavors using customer co-creation. Through a nationwide campaign , the brand solicited ideas of new flavors from the consumers and was able to create lot of buzz in the market. This move also gave the brand lot of innovative flavors to work upon, engage with the customers and also strengthen one of its core attributes - taste and flavors. The move was the blunt or in other words establish points-of-parity with its competitor - Bingo. ITC's Bingo was highlighting its " variety of flavors "  as its USP. Through the co-creation campaign, Lays was able to convince the customers that it is able to innovate on flavors too.

Related Brand

Lays : No one can eat just one

Brand Update : Lays Dillogical

Brand Update : Cadbury Eclairs Moves Up the Value Chain

2011 was an eventful year for Cadbury's Eclairs. The year saw the brand trying to move up the value chain by launching a new variant Cadbury Rich Brownie Eclairs. The move is significant because the brand has done an upward line stretch since the new variant is priced at Rs 2/-.

Cadbury's Rich Brownie variant is a significant move in the Rs 950 crore candy market where the most popular price point is Rs 1/- and  50 paise. The marketers were reeling under margin pressure because of a rise in the input costs at one hand and the price sensitive consumers at the other end. The problem was aggravated by the price competition from Nestle and local brands. Cadbury's still hold market leadership in value terms in this market while losing out the volume leadership to Nestle.

2011 also saw some changes in the positioning of Cadbury's Eclairs. The brand which earlier had the positioning of Doob le Zara ( which meant- immerse in taste) changed the tagline to "Get Lost".

Watch the ad here : Get Lost 
Cadbury's launched the Rich variant with the positioning of Chocolate Fountain. The brand adapted this from the earlier campaigns of Cadbury's Dairy Milk Eclairs' Chocolate Bomb ads. Instead of the heads exploding as bombs, in the Rich variant's ads, the heads explodes into fountains.

Watch the ad here : Cadbury's Rich Eclairs

Since the brand is priced high, the target market for this variant is older customers- the teens and youngsters.

While the new variant is banking on the chocolate fountain, the original Cadbury's Eclairs is experimenting with the " Lost in Taste " proposition. The creative brains finally came up with the tagline " Get Lost". For the first time , a brand is telling the customers to " Get Lost ".  May be the creative guys told the client  to " Get Lost " and client mistook it for the tagline and approved it !
The new tagline is far below the average creative standards for the reason that another brand from the same company i.e 5 Star is having the same positioning. It is common sense that it is not advisable for two brands from the same company to have same positioning. Positioning has to be unique and should not be shared unless it is a branded house. The entire campaign has a negative tone coupled with the tagline which itself is negative.
According to newsreports, the Rich Brownie variant wants to create a space for itself in the market which will convince the customer to pay higher price for the new variant.
Although nobody will have any doubts regarding the quality of these products, the campaigns for these two variants does not match the brand's real worth. Cadbury's have always known for its breakthrough campaigns. The recent ads for Silk, Shots , CDM all were of high quality creative executions. However, the ads for the eclairs does not match the standards of its siblings. What difference is there between the Chocolate Bomb and Chocolate Fountain  ? What difference is there between 5 Star and Get Lost campaigns ? Rather these come across as lazy cut-copy works.

Related Brand
Cadbury Eclairs

Stop Not : Whatever Happens !

Brand : Stop Not
Company : Perfetti van Melle

Brand Analysis Count : # 505

Perfetti Van Melle ( PVM) the leader in the Indian confectionery market and a master marketer who built brands like Alpenliebe, Centerfresh etc has ventured into Indian snacks market. In its biggest diversification, PVM launched its first brand Stop Not in the Indian market. 

Indian snacks market has been a lucrative market thanks to the impulsive great Indian middleclass. Indian consumers has always pampered themselves with  homemade snacks and marketers lured them to switched to packaged snacks. ET has pegged the Indian snack market at Rs 12000 crore ( source) and Hindu Business line puts a figure of  Rs 3000 crore for the packaged snack market . The market is highly competitive and has seen many brands burning out because of intense competition. 

Stop Not is launched in two formats - Stop Not FOFS - which is a filled snack and Stop Not GOLZ which is in the form of rings.The product is made for India using rice and wheat flour and comes in Indian flavors like Yummy Tomato, Khatti Meethi, Spicy South etc.

The main differentiator for  the brand is its packaging and product attribute of   "filled and not fried ". The packaging really is clutter-breaking and gives lot of visibility to the brand.The packaging can also repel many  consumers. The brand has tried to emulate the packaging strategy adopted by Hippo brand of snacks.

Naturally a product launch from a company like PVM evokes lot of interest among the marketers. Marketing enthusiasts look forwards to some clutter-breaking campaigns from a star marketer like PVM. 

Stop Not brand is currently running its launch campaign for its GOLZ variant.

Watch the ad here : Stop Not Golz

The launch ad is nothing but a complete letdown from PVM. Nothing is new in the ad that will create any meaningful impact for the brand. The concept of " taste to die for " has been raped many times by many brands. Wonder why PVM chose to air such a commoditized idea  as its launch campaign.

Stop Not has chosen the tagline " Whatever Happens " relating to addiction to taste. It is interesting to note that the brand is trying to take the earlier positioning - " No one can eat just one " of Lays. Lays had discarded this position and Stop Not is trying to capture that vacant space. But the creative was a big letdown in this regard . 

The clutter-breaking packaging may induce lot of trials by the consumers but the sad fact is that the brand campaign has failed to create any excitement about the brand. Let us wait and see " What ever that happens " to the brand.