Caught in the Net
The Net neutrality debate is on. How have the brands involved been affected, particularly Airtel and Flipkart?
Rohit, both Airtel and Flipkart have taken flak for this, for sure. These two brands nearly became the poster boys of the “Biased Net” movement. They were seen by users of the internet to be brands that were anti-Net-neutrality brands. Sachin Bansal’s comment a day before the roll-back of the decision to partner with Airtel Zero that this was an innovation did not help. Both brands, in the bargain, were painted as enemies of the free internet movement. By the time both these brands woke up and smelt the coffee, substantial harm was done. Thankfully, both brands retreated. Gopal Vittal came forth and said that Airtel was totally devoted to Net neutrality, and so did the Bansals. And there lies the matter for now.
This refers to your comment on the mango drink wars. If you compare the advertisements of Frooti with Maaza and Tropicana, they don’t lie on the same line of competition. These brands are fighting for different brand images altogether. Then how is it possible to compare different concepts of drinks and their perception in people’s minds?
Sushant, Frooti, Maaza and Tropicana, never mind their fine-tuned brand positioning that brand managers create, fight in the same market, for the same sets of customers, through the same supermarket and shop shelves, through the same medium of television and print and radio and outdoor, in the same great Indian market.
The key point for marketers to remember is that their battle is for the consumer and his money. One approaches the same sets of consumers with fine-tuned brand appeals. At the end of the day, to the consumer, a mango drink is a mango drink is a mango drink. Very few read the fine print, and the biggest volume competitors try to mask it all. Never mind the fact that there is very little mango pulp and lots of sugar syrup in the pack you hold in your hand. On the other hand, the smaller volume brand with the health story in mind is also masking it all a bit. It knows very well that it needs to lead with fun and sensuousness and all. If it takes the health story upfront, the market will reject it and put it in the category of a health drink, which is sadly a niche as of today. For this reason, even brands with a strong health proposition underplay the health side. They lead with fun and sexiness and follow it up with health. This benefits the market leader with volumes on his side as well. At the end of the day, Frooti and Maaza and Tropicana swim in the same big ocean. Each vies to create a different semantic imagery to the same consumer with money in her purse. Therefore, don’t worry about comparing these brands. The rest is pure academic brand semantics, not market reality.
Tanishq and Kalyan Jewelers are in an eyeball-to-eyeball battle with imagery and advertising stances. Who has the edge, Titan or Kalyan?
Bengaluru
Gopal, in reality Tanishq was the first one to start it all. It started the language of functionality and purity in Indian fine jewellery. It was the first to bring in caratmeters into its stores that tested purity. Somehow, as the years passed, Tanishq moved on from the functional to the emotional. Competitors occupied the vacated space and made money. And then Tanishq decides to revisit functionality, which, incidentally, never goes out of fashion with gold and the Indian and Indian-at-heart. It is important for brands to occupy the high ground that is uniquely theirs. One must spend decades fine-tuning these brand propositions. The brand proposition and USP game is one of being unique, staying unique and breathing unique all the while. Abandoning valuable brand propositions and USPs does always carry with it the risk of handing over a well-researched USP on a platter to competition. I guess that’s what happened here.