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 : Pureit Ups The Ante

HUL's first foray into the consumer durable market- Pureit is on an aggressive mode. The brand which was launched in 2004 has taken the battle into the premium segment of the water purifier market with the launch of Pureit Marvella. 

Pureit is a classic case of a brand exploiting an important need-gap in the market. Indian water-purifier market worth around Rs 1200 crore is evolving, growing at 15%. The marketing of water purifiers were skewed towards urban markets of India. Only 8 % of the Indian consumers use water purifier which indicates the poor penetration of this product category into Indian households. The major hindrance for this being high price, installation difficulties, electricity consumption and lack of awareness. Eureka Forbes pioneered the growth of this category in the Indian market. Now this category has lot of players and  new product-lines like RO water purifiers has been introduced.

The major players in the electricity -powered water purifier market however ignored the mass market focusing more on the margin rather than volume. These products which were priced at Rs 5000 upwards were beyond the reach of the average middleclass customers. Even though many such consumers were aware of the health benefits of a water-purifier, it was never in the priority list of high value purchases.

Sensing the opportunity, HUL launched Pureit range of battery operated storage-type purifiers at a price range of Rs 990- Rs 1250. These purifiers did not necessitated any installations which was a definite advantage for those who lived in rented houses. The brand was widely tested in South India before the national launch . According to reports, Pureit has already sold more than 1.3 million units becoming the largest selling water-purifier in India in volume-terms. The brand also created a new category of  non-electric storage- water purifier market which is now worth around Rs 300 crore and growing very fast than the electric category.

One of the problems that Pureit faced during the launch was the doubt about brand's efficacy in the purifying business. HUL is new to this industry and not an expert so consumers rightly doubted the effectiveness of its product . To counter that, Pureit ran a very highly advertised " 1 crore challenge " to convince the consumer that its product is more effective than the competing brands. 

After establishing its name in the mass market, Pureit is now targeting the market-creator Eureka Forbes in an aggressive frontal attack by launching the premium brand Pureit Marvella. Marvella is also a a non-electric purifier with storage capability priced at Rs 7000. The brand also launched its Reverse Osmosis water purifier Puerit Marvella RO at a price point of Rs 13500. These sub-brands directly competes with Eureka Forbes's major product-lines. 

The entry of HUL into the Eureka Forbe's territory was marked with lot of legal fights between the brands because of advertising claims and counter-claims. Now the fight is in the field with both the brands trying to out market each other.

HUL in its typical FMCG style is launching Marvella range with a celebrity endorsement. The brand has roped in Farhan Akther and Praachi Desai as the brand ambassador. The campaign is now running featuring these celebrities. 

Watch the ad here : Pureit marvella

The USP of the brand is its advanced warning system which alerts the consumer to change the RO membrane before it stops working.

The entry of HUL has virtually changed the dynamics of the water-purifier market in India. The market creator was totally out-maneuvered by HUL. Eureka Forbes decided not to counter HUL's foray into mass market because of lack of margin. In strategic terms , the decision made sense because low priced products tend to affect both margins and brand -equity. But Forbes failed to see the shift in the market and the growth of the non-electric segment to become the fastest growing segment. The popularity of the mass market segment also gave confidence for HUL to enter the market of Eureka Forbes. Eureka Forbes countered the HUL's entry by lowering the price of its base models. But HUL is such a formidable player that Eureka Forbes may need all its marketing strength to fight this giant.

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