Advertising Strategy of Lehar kurkure

Kurkure is one of the premier brands in the light snack industry in India. It is manufactured by the Frito Lay's Indian division and is marketed by Hirani Industries Corporation. Kurkure is named after the Hindi word 'crunchy' and is one of the popular food products in India. The product comes in 4 flavors to suit the tastes and styles of the consumers. Kurkure has also devised wonderful advertisement and marketing strategies to increase their reach to their target market. In order to increase their sales revenue, the brand has devised upon various advertising strategies. They have roped in various popular super stars to endorse their products. Endorsements by Bollywood Stars have been successful for a lot of brands and in this case too, it has helped increase the revenue of Kurkure. The latest endorsement of Kurkure is the leading actress, Juhi Chawla. The product is using the actress as their brand ambassador. The advertisement of Kurkure is based on funny sequences. Juhi Chawla has been endorsing the brand for a year.
The advertisement of the product comes up with plots of popular serials and films like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi bahu thi, Jassi Jaisi koi Nahin and Mughal-e-Azam. The smart and funny tagline "masti bole to Kurkure" also adds color to the advertisement. The chirpy and charming personality of Juhi Chawla goes well with the name and taste of the brand. In addition to the charming advertisements, the taste of Kurkure has also led to its popularity. The snacks come in 4 flavors namely:
Green Chutney Rajasthani Style
Masala Munch
Red Chilli Chatka
Tamatar Hydrabadi A special flavor named Jaljhalo Hit was launched during Durga Puja in the year 2007. The market of Kurkure has increased to a great extent. The brand contributes around 40 % of the total revenue of Frito Lay India. Due to the immense popularity of the brand, the company has decided to introduce Kurkure overseas. The product has been introduced in United Kingdom, South Africa, Middle East and Australia. The product is available in small, middle and bumper packs. The endorsement by Juhi Chawla has really led to the popularity of the brand. It has made the brand more exciting and tempting. In addition to this, special offers are made to the consumers All these make Kurkure give the competitors a run for their money.

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Panasonic vs. LG: Who Delivered the Sharper Image in Media?
Optimedia's Antony Young on Who Was Better Prepped for Digital TV Switch
by Antony Young Published: June 11, 2009

TV's equivalent to Y2K, will see broadcasters throughout the country switch off their analog TV transmitters to broadcast entirely in digital. In the past year, households have had to get themselves digital-ready -- one bright spark for a consumer-electronics industry hammered by the recession. Unit sales in 2009 of digital TV sets will reach nearly 35 million, up about 8% from 2008. The category is flooded by a multitude of Japanese, Korean, European and Chinese brands. While consumers are all too ready to compare side-by-side price, technology and design, we like to think that marketing and promotion still helps influence brand choice. Panasonic and LG, two brands battling to pull out in front of the pack and compete with established market leaders Sony and Samsung, employed different media strategies. Let's see how they did.";

Antony YoungJune 12, 2009, TV's equivalent to Y2K, will see broadcasters throughout the country switch off their analog TV transmitters to broadcast entirely in digital. In the past year, households have had to get themselves digital-ready -- one bright spark for a consumer-electronics industry hammered by the recession. Unit sales of digital TV sets in 2009 will reach nearly 35 million, up about 8% from 2008. The category is flooded by a multitude of Japanese, Korean, European and Chinese brands. While consumers are all too ready to compare side-by-side prices, technology and design, we like to think that marketing and promotion still helps influence brand choice. Panasonic and LG, two brands battling to pull out in front of the pack and compete with established market leaders Sony and Samsung, employed different media strategies. Let's see how they did.

Communication strategies

The two consumer-electronics marketers had similar advertising budgets but didn't deploy them the same way.
Panasonic promoted its HDTV line Viera through a branded "Living in High Definition" marketing campaign that used TV, newspapers and online social media. It also capitalized on its global status as official consumer-electronics sponsor of the 2008 Summer Olympics and, domestically, of Major League Soccer. Its media mix in the past 12 months heavily skewed toward national newspapers (44%, according to TNS Media Intelligence), cable TV (17%) and online display (14%).
LG's advertising strategy is developed globally and then localized for domestic markets. For many years "Life's good" has dominated LG's messaging for all its various product offerings. In January 2009, LG partnered with Conde Nast Media Group and introduced a slightly different catchphrase -- "Life looks good" -- into the creative global messaging of LG's TV line. Its media mix in the U.S. skewed more heavily to magazines (49%) and national TV (35%).

Brand Speak on Electrolux Kelvinator

by Anand Bharadwaj Executive Vice President (Marketing and Marketing Services), Electrolux Kelvinator

Q. How long have you been in the Indian market? What plans do you have for the Indian market? Being one of the front-runners in white goods segment, what is your marketing strategy built around?

I think we have come to the market place last in the segment of white goods / consumer electronic goods & home appliances company operating in India. All though we came into this business in 1995, we really started our thrust in the Indian vital market in 1997, when we re-launched the Kelvinator brand in India. Prior to that, the Kelvinator was marketed by Whirlpool for 2 yrs. Only in January 1997 we re-launched the Kelvinator brand under our management. So, we have been in the market place for the last 5yrs or so. In that range of time we have made significant inroads in the refrigerator market.
If we go back in history then last yr we were the largest company in terms of shares in refrigerator market. In washing machines we have not really made the same kind of inroads as we made in refrigerators. But obviously our long-term plans are "to become significant players in the washing machine market as well". We have recently developed a revolutionary washing machine, which we call the Washy Talky & are launching it soon. I am confident that it will make our presence felt in the washing machine market as well.

Q. How are your brands positioned? What kind of differentiating strategy do you use?

Right now we are in the middle of developing different brand strategy. Let me just go back to history, In India we acquired a number of brands - Kelvinator was already there when we came. In 1995 we launched Electrolux in the front door washing machine segment. In 1998 we acquired two different brands-Voltas and Allwyn. And if you look at early 1999, we were there in the market space with four different brands- Electrolux, Kelvinator, Voltas and Allwyn.
But we have clear and distinct strategies for each brand. For e.g., if you look at Kelvinator, it is a brand inthe refrigerator segment only and is positioned as 'the coolest one'. Allwyn was positioned around durability -built for the long run- 'Allwyn chalta hi jaye, rukna iska kaam nahin'. Last year, we introduced a new range of Allwyn refrigerators called Sensor with the same theme 'Allwyn Sensor goes on and on and on...ruk na iska kaam nahin'. Electrolux is positioned on freshness plank with a tag line saying -'enjoy the freshness'. On the other hand Electrolux Maxclean was positioned around effective dirt removal and that's why advertising was around dirty children. So, just to summarize we are following a multiple brand strategy and each brand had a very clear position and a very clear focus. What we are doing now is consolidating our brand portfolios as the market place has been very sluggish & there is intense competition in the marketplace.

Q. Indian customers are willing to have world-class products at an affordable price. Comment.

First of all, let me say that consumer is the king. Whatever the consumer wants you have to give him. If you don't give him, the competition will give him and he will go to your competitor. Every company should understand what the consumer wants & that's the first thing! Secondly, every company must give international quality products. However, companies are there to make money, nobody wants to loose. You can't give a Mercedes Benz at the price of Maruti 800! Each company has to figure out what is the right balance between quality and price. If you want to give something, which is really of outstanding quality, then you will have to charge the price for it. On a larger scale you really can't afford to give a 500L refrigerator at the price of 300L refrigerator, because cost has been taken into account. To summarize what I'm saying
You must obviously give the consumer what they want. If you don't give it to them they will go to the next competition for the product they want.
In any category you must offer the best product at the right price. Certainly, all the products should be of international quality because Indian consumers are getting a good exposure through media, they travel abroad & get to see what kind of appliances is available!

Q. What do you think is the best possible communication-mix for any consumer durable category? You in the recent passed have sponsored IIFA awards, what do you think, whether more emphasis should be on above the line activities or below the line activities?

Every company must see that they have a proper mix between above the line activities and below theline activities. And it is very difficult to have a strict formula for what really we need to do. The role of both the activities is to communicate to consumers & to communicate effectively with dealers as well, because, in white goods unlikely in FMCG, dealers are also very important receivers of communication as they also play a very important role in brand choice, telling consumers which brand you should go for.In above the line, there is a debate on whether you should put money on television or on print. I really feel that again there should be judicious mix between television and print. Of course if you look at sheer nos. TV will always outscore press. That is why we and lot more companies tend to pool a lot of money on television but we back it up with certain amount of press advertising which really allows us to give the names of the dealers and if the consumer picks up the newspaper today and is going to buy a refrigerator then it becomes far more easy to see the print ad and go to the market place. Similarly, there has to be judicious mix of above the line advertising and below the line advertising. IIFA awards you were mentioning was really to create excitement around our brand Electrolux Kelvinator and we hope that it has been achieved.

Q. In the last few years promotions have increased and some professionals seen to suggest that above the line advertising has lost some of its effectiveness. Do you agree? If yes, why are the companies looking for newer and innovative ways to reach the customers?

No, it's not totally true. In-fact you will find more companies spending more money on above the line advertising. Yes, last year there have been a bit of pressure because of a sluggish market growth and recession in the Indian economy. During this period companies drastically cut down their ad budget and were looking at newer and innovative ways to reach their target customer. But, this year, we and many other companies have invested heavily on above the line advertising 'mainly in TV'. I feel TV has far more reach than any other medium as it provides both hearing and visual effects. Promotion is there but up the line advertising has not lost its effectiveness. We have invested in both up the line and below the line advertising for our brand. As, we had sponsored the IIFA awards; we have similar plans in future too.

Q. What is your advertising strategy for refrigerator segment this summer?

It's going to be a mix of TV and press. If I have to give you a cut off, it would be 70% TV and 30% press and you will notice that most of the companies like Samsung, Whirlpool, Godrej are spending a lot of money on TV & there you have Electrolux Kelvnator as well.

Q. How was your last year's performance?

For last year, the only way of judging performance is ORG figures vis-à-vis competition, understanding how industry did, how did we do relative to competition. ORG is the only tracking device that we have today. And if we look at the ORG figures for the last year we have gained market share both our major Electrolux brands - Kelvinator and Allwyn. So, to that extent we have done well vis-à-vis competition.
Q. Has the rise in number of media buying and planning agencies affected you? Has it helped your brand to grow as they get best possible rate in the market?

No, it doesn't matter whether it is a media department of an ad agency or it is an independent media planning and buying house like Mindshare or Carat, the client would expect to get the best rate possible, especially, if you are a large spender with them. Our entire evaluation on any agency that buys for us depends on what kind of values they have given us both qualitatively and quantitatively. If we find they are not been able to offer the value that we demand and somebody else is offering then obviously we have to re-look at our relationship with the agency. We expect our agency to give us best value for money.

Q. Are you more inclined towards consumer research?

As I mentioned earlier-'Consumer is the King' and therefore it is important to have the pulse of the consumer for every element of marketing mix. That is, before introducing a new product in the market, we try and figure out with consumers whether he likes that product or not. For example, if I am introducing a new color or a new advertising campaign, then I would first like to know whether the consumer likes the particular color or appreciate the advertising or not! So, we are very consumer oriented to that extent, for every element of the marketing mix we try and figure out or trace the reactions of consumers. And if we find the consumer rejecting a particular product or particular piece of communication or any thing in the market mix, then we go back and try more. We are also firm believers in terms of tracking consumer reactions on a regular basis.
Q. Do you have separate target groups for all the four different brands?

We have different target groups as we have a multiple brand strategy. But, let's take a look at lavish brand today, which is Kelvinator. It is a brand which cuts the upper strata. If you look at the refrigerator market today, 70% of the market is below 200l refrigerators-they are the bulk consumers to you. So, they become the core audience. Yes, you really cannot create communication that talks to the lower end of the market because then there you may eliminate the top layer of the market place. You have to strike a proper balance in your overall strategy so that you can appeal to the entire spectrum without eliminating any of those people.

Advertising strategy of Onida

‘The Onida Devil'Returns

Abstract :

The caselet elaborates on the efforts taken by Mirc Electronics to promote its television brand Onida. The caselet describes how the brand mascot - ‘The Onida Devil', helped Mirc Electronics gain brand awareness for its televisions in the early years. The caselet then examines the marketing communications strategies of the company in the late 1990s after the company abandoned its popular brand mascot. Finally, the caselet provides details of how the company again re-launched ‘The Onida Devil'with the objective to further break away from the clutter and build up brand recall for its television brand.
Issues:

Brand mascot and its role in brand management » Use of advertising appeals in marketing communications campaigns » Promotion of consumer electronics brands in India » Importance of focus group study in marketing communicationsIntroductionOnida, a leading television brand, is still well known for its brand mascot ‘The Onida Devil'and its punch line “Nieghbour's Envy Owner's Pride”. In the 1980s when owning a television set was considered a luxury, Onida launched its advertising campaign on the platform of envy, to promote its television range.
A green-horned devil with a long pointed tail was the spokesperson in all its ad campaigns till the 1990s. The ‘Devil'helped Onida gain substantial market share and brand recall among the customers and become one of the top three television brands in the country. In 1998, Mirc Electronics (the owner of Onida brand) decided to abandon the “Onida Devil” in its communication campaigns as the brand mascot no longer appealed to the Indian consumer.

Source : icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/marketing%20communications/CLMC038.htm

Getting into a lather
by Purvita Chatterjee

HLL is leaving no stone unturned to set its detergent brands apart in the highly competitive segment.

AVANTE-GARDE actress and erstwhile MP Shabana Azmi espouses the cause of water conservation in a Surf Excel ad and the Big B touting the virtues of the new Rin Advanced in yet another spot. With major investments in its detergent brands, FMCG major HLL, whose major share of revenue comes from detergents, is leaving no stone unturned to entice its consumers with new propositions and communication to protect its market share and provide an edge which will make it stand out in a highly competitive marketplace, made more so with an aggressive Procter & Gamble.
Notwithstanding issues such as price cuts, margin pressure and higher input costs, HLL is taking its detergent brands to a level where its consumers can expect a value-added proposition. Take the example of its Surf Excel franchise. The FMCG major has decided to support the cause of water conservation, apart from promising its consumers stain removal. Realising that consumers do not necessarily upgrade in a linear fashion, HLL has decided to straddle almost every price point and offer value-added solutions for each of its detergent brands. So while Surf Excel Quickwash now comes with a new low foam formulation requiring half the amount of water to wash clothes, Rin Advanced has had a makeover to enhance its whiteness proposition (with the B Big asking Yeh Naya Rang Kaun Sa Hai?). The Wheel franchise has also strengthened its proposition with an enhanced fragrance to differentiate itself in the discount segment.
Nitin Paranjpe, Vice-President (Laundry & Household Cleaners), HLL, claims, "With intense competition our challenge is to create differentiation and dominate every price segment."
Explains Paranjpe, "The challenge was to formulate a product which would have the capacity for outstanding cleaning with added features like water reduction and convenience for consumers." By helping consumers reduce the number of rinses while washing, Surf Excel Quick Wash was expected to reduce effort apart from saving `two buckets of water for India everyday.' Besides, roping in an activist-celebrity like Shabana Azmi is also expected to make a difference to the brand.
Surf Excel Blue also offers the added benefit of protecting colours. "People often fear that an expensive product can be harsh on removing stains. Surf Excel Blue promises great stain removal while protecting your colour," states Paranjpe.

Meanwhile, getting the Big B for its new Rin Advanced brand also indicates the steep investments made in the brand. "Having made significant changes in the quality of the product we had to signal the consumer to get appraised in terms of the investment we made in the brand. The story we were telling would benefit with a celebrity like Bachchan," says Paranjpe.
It has also unleashed a new promotion, Safedi Ka Shahenshah, whereby consumers can win guaranteed silver coins and realise their dream of meeting the Big B. Manish Agarwal, Senior Brand Manager, Rin, says, "Rin has always prided itself on its superior whiteness." The discount brand Wheel, with its two variants, Regular and Active, has also been getting a new lease of life. Wheel Regular was recently re-launched to provide enhanced sensorial effect. A new campaign is soon to be launched. To stand out from among the other discount brands such as Nirma, Ghadi and Fena, Wheel's perfume is expected to entice consumers who are looking for an expensive powder but do not have the money to buy it. Targeting the serious value-conscious consumer, Wheel is positioned as a seemingly expensive brand but one which is within the household budget. "Both the Wheel variants are centred around expensive cleaning within your budget," says Paranjpe.
While HLL continues to build new propositions around its brands, reacting to competition is an ongoing task for the FMCG behemoth. Early last year it fought a price battle with P&G when the latter suddenly decided to slash prices for its detergent brands. "Most of the price decreases were not led by us. We were clear that we would respond in a manner which was appropriate so that we do not lose our competitiveness in the market," says Paranjpe.
A senior official of P&G says that the price cuts by HLL and P&G have not led to either eating into the other's shares; rather, it is the smaller players who have been hit by the price cuts.
Industry observers feel that the detergent price wars have been a winning proposition for rivals HLL and P&G, boosting both their individual volumes and growth and growing the category. AC Nielsen estimates for February 2005 show that the detergent category is now growing at a comfortable 4 per cent.
Reacting with new launches to combat competition is also natural for the HLL. For instance, when P&G launched its Tide Bar last year, there was speculation that HLL might follow suit. While industry sources indicate that HLL has been undertaking research to launch a bar under the Surf Excel brand, there is still no sign of it in the market. While Paranjpe refrains from commenting, the company seems comfortable with its bar franchise which spans all detergent categories, including some regional brands such Sunlight and 501.
However, 2005 is going to be a difficult year for HLL with input costs rising. "Most of the detergents are linked to crude oil which is its active ingredient. With prices per barrel increasing, cost increases will be abnormal this year," observes Paranjpe.
Straddling an almost 40 per cent share of the Rs 5,000-crore detergent market, being a hardcore marketer, HLL intends unleashing differentiated offerings with adequate advertising to support its brands in spite of threatened profit margins due to the inflationary trend in raw material prices. Expect more lather to be generated in the detergent market in the months to come.

Business Line a Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publicationsThursday, Jun 09, 2005

Yellow Page Advertising strategies
By Chuck

Yellow Pages Advertising has to be a Part of an Overall Advertising Strategy
Following its invention and introduction, the telephone became an immediate success with consumers. As more and more people subscribed to telephone service, telephone companies were forced to begin using numbers, rather than people's names in order to direct calls. This use of telephone numbers gave rise to a need for directories listing people's phone numbers next to their names.

In the Beginning
The Yellow Pages began when a printer named Reuben H. Donnelley published a directory, using the same white paper as regular telephone subscriber directories, published, in 1886, a directory of classified ads for business that had telephones. The directory proved popular and soon the Donnelley publishing company and local phone companies began publishing directories of classified business ads along with their regular telephone subscriber directories. Somewhere along the line the classified ad phone directories began using yellow, rather than white, paper (there are various conflicting accounts as to how this came about) and the Yellow Pages became a branded product that proved to be highly profitable for both the Donnelley company and local phone companies for most of the next century.
Unlike the regular subscriber telephone directories in which all subscribes are listed alphabetically and usually not charged for the listing (business that want their names to stand out can, for a fee, have their name listed in boldface type and individuals who do not wish to be listed can, for a fee, have their listing omitted), Yellow Page listings are a service for which businesses are required to pay. Even if a company merely wants a simple White Pages style entry in the Yellow Page directory with just the business name and phone number, they will usually be charged. However, a business can have more than just a simple name and number as the Yellow Pages are more than a directory of local businesses. The Yellow Pages is really an organized book of ads for businesses.

Page with individual listings and small ads. Note the four columns.

Full Page Yellow Pages ad
Yellow Page Advertising Strategies
As any good Yellow Pages sales representative will tell you, Yellow Page advertising, to be effective, must be part of an overall advertising strategy. Consumers generally use the Yellow Pages in two ways. The first is to find a business by looking under the classification of the product or service they want. A couple from out of town wants to go out to dinner but doesn't know where, so they look for one nearby under the Restaurants classification in the Yellow Pages. A second way people use the Yellow Pages is to check the telephone number and/or address of a business they have heard about through other advertising. A consumer suddenly has a need for a product or service and either remembers a name from an ad she has seen or heard or knows that she will recognize the name if she sees it. So she goes to the Yellow Pages, thumbs to the section for that product or service and calls or visits the company she is looking for.
Another part of a Yellow Pages advertising strategy is positioning. In the case of a restaurant in the first example above, a Chinese restaurant would want to be listed under Restaurants in order to be seen by people, like the couple in the example above, who are simply looking for a place to eat close by. However, this Chinese restaurant might also want to be included in additional sub-sections of the Restaurants category such as Chinese Restaurants, Foreign Cuisine, Oriental Restaurants. If they also offer take-out food the owners might want to be listed under Take-out Food, Fast Food, or similar sub-classifications. When you think about it, this is basically the off line or pre-Internet version of key words for search engines. Just as web page developers seek to include key words that a consumer doing a search might use to find their product or service and include these key words in the text and/or the meta tags, people planning Yellow Page advertising have to think in terms of business classification categories in order to be certain that their company will be seen by prospective customers regardless of how the customer decides to search for them in the directory.
Because a company's competitors not only have the opportunity to advertise in the Yellow Pages, but those who elect to will also appear in alphabetical order under the same classification as your company, it is important to try to stand out. A well known and popular brand can sometimes get away with a simple listing in one or more relevant categories provided they are certain that people will use the Yellow Pages to look for their specific company. However, for companies which are not household names or whose product or services are commodity type goods which tend to be the same regardless of the firm from which they are purchased, there is a need to stand out. The first way is to use simple boldface type which, assuming their competitors opt for the less expensive standard type, will serve the purpose of drawing the consumer's eye to their ad. Of course, if competitor's do the same thing then those who wish to stand out from the crowd are forced to expand their presence by including their listing within an ad. Ads are generally sold by the column inch. Since the pages of most Yellow Page directories consist of four, 2-inch columns this works out to an ad ranging from 1 or more inches high and two inches wide. Those desiring wider ads can purchase a section of the page, generally starting at an eighth or quarter page and going up to a full page for their ad. For additional fees, graphic images (including photographs) and color can be added. Generally companies use ads to stand out from the competition and/or provide information to the customer explaining either the product/service and/or why their product/service is superior to that of the competition. Again, there are strategies that can be used to minimize the cost of these ads while maximizing the exposure. Here the strategy is to use one ad, or one large ad, in the classification where most people will be expected to look and then simply ad a phrase to the firm's listings in the other sections instructing customers to See our ad on page ---.
Finally, when planning advertising, companies should put their Yellow Page ads in place and then, when preparing advertising for other media be sure to include a phrase See our ad in the Yellow Pages under [enter classification name here]. In this way, instead of having to remember or write down the advertiser's contact information, which most people will neglect to do, the customer simply has to remember the name to look up in the Yellow Pages.

Yellow Pages Change with the Times
The deregulation of the telephone industry in the 1980s and the advent of the Internet and World Wide Web beginning in the 1990s resulted in changes in the Yellow Pages. First, courts ruled that telephone companies no longer had a monopoly on the publishing of Yellow Page directories. This brought competition in the form of multiple publisher's of Yellow Page directories. Consumers were now receiving multiple Yellow Page directories and businesses were faced with the cost of having to advertise in multiple directories as well as multiple classifications in each directory. Of course, this competition also resulted in a decline in the cost of listing and advertising in each directory. Since some vendor's directories tend to be more widely used than others, companies tend to list in the major directories and divide their purchase of the more expensive ads among directories according to price and where they will have the greatest impact.
A further challenge has come from the Internet where some vendors have been publishing both a paper version and an Internet version of their directory and often charging an additional fee for listing in the Internet version along with the paper version. Also, there are a number of Internet only directories that use the name Yellow Pages and provide the same service on the Internet as their paper based cousins provide. While growing, these enterprises have to contend with competition from both traditional paper Yellow Page directories and outfits like Google which offer similar business locater services on the Internet.

Cadbury's advertising startegy

Advertising strategy of Cadbury

Cadbury India Limited (CIL), a part of the Cadbury Schweppes Group, is India’s leading confectionary manufacturer. Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, 5 Star, Eclairs, Perk and Gems are the largest selling brands in their segments. CIL is estimated to have a 65 percent share of the Indian chocolate market.
The Indian chocolate market is estimated to be worthRs. 3.2 billion, with an annual growth rate of 10 percent. Per Capita Consumption levels are very low in India, as compared to 8.7 kg per year in the U.K. The market therefore offers tremendous potential for growth.
In this analysis, we examine some of the interesting aspects of Cadbury’s advertising strategy.
The Advertising Message
Chocolates have usually been viewed as something meant only for children. Perhaps realizing that children would be attracted to any chocolate, irrespective of the brand, CIL targeted adults with their advertising since the early 1990s. Most, if not all, of Cadbury’s advertisements in India feature people over 18 years of age.
The message that CIL seems to be attempting to put across is this: “In every adult, there is a child - let that child express itself, give in to temptation, and satisfy his or her desire to sink teeth into a smooth, creamy, delicious chocolate”. This approach appears to be unique to Cadbury’s. CIL’s biggest competitor, Nestle, often stresses the energy giving aspects of chocolate (for example, in advertising for Nestle Charge), or on other attributes of the chocolate - taste in the case of Nestle Crunch, as a light snack in the case of Nestle Bar One. Nestle specifically targets children in the advertising for Milkybar, its white chocolate, again emphasizing its energy giving properties.
To counter Milkybar, CIL has the Dairy Treat - where it targets the mothers of children by trying to convey the message that its product is full of the goodness of milk, and so equivalent to consuming milk itself.
Message Execution
Cadbury’s multi-award winning campaign - ‘The Real Taste of Life’ - launched in the 90’s attempts to capture the child like spontaneity in every adult. From the old man offering his wife a Dairy Milk chocolate to the dancing girl in a crowded stadium, all reflect the impulsiveness and the spontaneity of the child in the adult.
Cadbury’s Perk, the light snack, addresses the hungry child in every adult, as exemplified by the bride who nibbles at a Perk under her ‘pallu’. Cadbury’s Dairy Treat conveys its message through the mother who refuses chocolates and other treats to her son, till Dairy Treat comes along and quickly changes her opinion about chocolates.
Catchy lines such as ‘The Real Taste of Life’, ‘Khane Walo Ko Khane Ka Bahana Chahiye’, or ‘Reach for the Stars’, are also used extensively, and to good effect in Cadbury’s advertisements.
Advertising Media
Television, the print media and posters have been the main media of communication for Cadbury’s advertisements. However, with their understanding of the peculiarities of the Indian market, CIL has also explored many new ways of getting their message across to the consumers.
Sheet Metal Dispensers: This purple salesperson for Cadbury’s is found in almost every shop stocking their chocolates. Since it is placed on the cash counter, it’s design offers visibility, ease of vending, and protection from the elements. It is also placed in the most appropriate position to cater to the impulse buyers. This ‘first’ from CIL has become so popular that is now the standard design for all chocolate manufacturers.
Visicoolers: Visibility for chocolates drops in the summer, as they disappear into the refrigerator. In high throughput outlets, the visicool er serves the need for cooling while still maintaining the visibility of the product.
Jars: These are provided to small outlets, where they are prominently displayed.
Vending machines: These high visibility machines are provided at busy locations.
Presence in Amusement Parks: Cadbury’s also maintains a presence in many amusement parks across the country, strengthening the association of its chocolates with ‘fun’ occasions.
Conclusion
Cadbury’s strategy to attract consumers is somewhat unique in a sense, instead of focusing on the product, it seeks to tap into emotions normally associated with chocolates. They have also adapted their strategies to the unique demands of the Indian retail sector. The strategy has clearly proved successful, as they have been able to build and maintain a leadership position in the market with many loyal customers.

By Prism-A Newsletter from The Icfaian School of Management (An Affiliate of ICFAI),

Vol. I No. 10 , January2002 ,www.ismindia.org.