Marketing in Practice

1. New products are launched in every market. But they are successful in few cases. Cite two
cases of successful new brand launch along with your assessment as to why they were
successful. Also, cite two cases of product failures and analyse why they failed.

2. A fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company has to communicate its message. But the
task becomes difficult due to many factors. Leo Burnett has developed a Viewer Response
Scale in which they tried to assess how consumers feel after seeing an advertisement. It
proposed dimensions such as : relevant cues (eg; convey some new idea, induce action),
entertainment (eg; contains humor, fun), executed in an unusual style, re-affirm some
existing positive attitudes, source credibility etc. which ultimately try to reinforce something
into the minds of consumer. Choose any two specific advertisements and discuss what are the
underlying unique elements noticed in each case?

3. The Global market today shows diversity in its consumption pattern. It is myth that advanced
countries follow a similar pattern of consumption. On the contrary, there are many unique
styles of consumption, acquisitions and methods of buying which are noticed around the
world. How do the marketers adapt their marketing strategies to incorporate this kind of
variations?

Last date of submission: November 23, 2010, 1700 hrs.

Success 1 - Apple iPod

When you mention MP3 Player, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is iPod. The words MP3
Player and iPod are almost synonymous in today’s society. The iPod has revolutionized the MP3 Player market
since its initial release and has continued to do so in following releases. So what is it about the iPod that has
captured this market? Perhaps it’s the stylish look or its features or even the way it’s advertised. Whether it is
one of those or all of those things that help sell the product to the masses – it’s definitely working.

October 23rd 2001 – a day that revolutionized the digital music world, Apple Computer now known as Apple
Inc. released their first MP3 Player, the iPod. So what exactly did Apple do with the iPod that was so
revolutionary? Well, the marketing techniques and tactics they used are what made it so successful. “While
everyone else was making an MP3 player that was better/cheaper/faster, Apple was making electronic jewellery
that also played MP3’s. Never focusing on price, they brought to market more value, more style, and new ways
of interacting with digital media.” says David Taber a marketing consultant who then goes on to explain that
strategy really does matter. Apple knew what they were doing when they designed the iPod; they made it work
better on the Mac than on a PC for obvious reasons – to get people to buy more Apple computers, both iPod and
Mac sales benefited from this strategy.

Apple did not stop there, they continued to be that much better, they used better hardware, software, packaging,
and marketing techniques than anyone else. The iPod was also more durable than its competing products due to
Apple’s use of better parts which, in return made it more reliable.
Another thing Apple did well was to make sure they always stayed ahead of the game by releasing new
hardware, software, or better and newer applications for the iPod. People love new and flashy products so this
was a great way to sell a product. The iPod became a fashion accessory and a must have. It almost was as if you
did not own an iPod you were considered not cool. In order to achieve this status of a fashion accessory and
must have item, Apple teamed up with numerous companies to promote it excessively – they would partner with
cell phone vendors, rock bands, radio broadcasters, Myspace, and Facebook, to name a few. However, that
small list was definitely a good place to start. With the growing popularity of Myspace, Apple set up profiles for
the iPod where people could download free desktop backgrounds, screen savers, custom playlists which worked
with iTunes Apple’s audio software that integrates with the iPod.

When you watch the iPod commercials on television – what do you see? You see a bunch of people dancing on
a coloured background. There are women and men, but you don’t know anything else about them. This
advertisement is ingenious for many reasons. For one, you don’t know where these people are. They could be
anywhere in the world. Secondly, you don’t know who they are or what they do for a living. They can be
anyone. All you know is that they are enjoying the music and rocking out. This is what makes that commercial
so great and such an excellent idea. It allows anyone in the world to be that person.

Another thing Apple did right when marketing the iPod was keeping its exterior design almost exactly the same
for many years. This made the iPod instantly recognizable to anyone who saw it. While Apple never gave
discounts on iPod’s, they did however, offer different bundles so you could buy an iPod and something else. In
fact, this summer, they were giving away a free iPod Nano with the purchase of any new Mac. Of course, even
with excellent marketing you need still the product to be bought, so Apple along with all of their other brilliant
marketing techniques made the iPod extremely easy to purchase. You could buy it through numerous web sites,
online shops, their own stores, other stores such as Best Buy, CompUSA, Circuit City, and Fry’s to name a few.

Apple made the iPod huge because of its marketing techniques; however, it was also a success because it was
their main focus for many years. They made people feel as if the iPod was a perfect piece of machinery through
how much time they spent on it and through the customer service they provided for it. In essence Apple created
a market environment where it is almost impossible to beat or catch up to the iPod. The iPod is the MP3 player
market. If you compare the iPod to Creative’s version of it, which is called the Zen or Microsoft’s version,
which is called the Zune, the number of units sold just don’t compare, nor do features, nor does support, or
style, or even ease of use.

Success 2 - Alphenliebe

Alpenliebe had positioned itself correctly from the very day of it’s launch with the tag line jee lalchaye raha na
jaaye.The Ads successfully captures the innocent of a kid and the presence of a kid in every adult. Even before
the song “maa” from the film Taare Zameen Par reflected this universal fact by lending an adult voice to the
otherwise helpless situation of a child, Alpenliebe had started highlighting this aspects. They have targeted both
kids and adult with this idea. In one ad, an old man is looking for his alpenliebe while his wife is counting
prayers on her rosary beads; to his inquiry of as to where is his alpenliebe she repeatedly keeps replying upar
wala jaane. The kid who is sitting on top of the almirah gets annoyed, thinking his grandmother is pointing to
him each time, retorts wah dadi sab upar wala jaane aur wo kyo na jaane jo palang ke neeche chuppi hai, to
which the girl hiding under the bed responds aur wo kyo na jaane jo almari ke andar chupa hai. This ad
amazingly captures well the innocence of the kids who care for nothing but their alpenliebe. The best part is that
the doting grandparents also become party to the mischief of the kids.

Alpenliebe is a difficult name to adopt for a chocolate. So it is a Herculean task to teach Indians ( with 24
languages and a million dialects) pronounce a brand name that does not have a meaning. Theory says that the
brand name should be simple, reflect the brand values and easily pronounced. Alpenliebe broke all rules. In the
initial 30 second ad of Alpenliebe pronounced the name 5 times to ensure that the TG pronounce it correctly.
Why such a complicated brand name is another question all together. But this risk paid off in that the name
became the biggest differentiator and reflected an International image. It is known fact that Indians are crazy
about foreign brands and Alpenliebe capitalised on that.The shape was also unique because most of the candies
at that time was rectangular or cylindrical but Alpenliebe came out with a round shape. More than the shape and
the name, the product itself was good .The company changed the taste of this brand to suit the Indian Palette
making it more creamier and filled with more caramel than the international one.
Alpenliebe was available in three flavors - 'rich milky caramel', 'cream strawberry', and 'chocolate'. In addition
to this, the company also started marketing lollipops under the Alpenliebe brand in the early 2000s in three
flavors - 'rich milky caramel', 'strawberry cream', and 'cola & vanilla'.

In 2006, the sales of Alpenliebe in India were estimated to be Rs. 1.6 billion. It was not only PVMI's biggest
brand but also the biggest brand in the Indian sugar confectionery market.In the following year, PVMI roped in
leading Hindi film actor Kajol for promoting Alpenliebe.
Analysts considered this a big shift considering that this was the first time that PVMI was using celebrity
endorsement for any of its brands. However, Sameer Suneja was quick to point out that the script called for
Kajol's presence and that it would help take Alpenliebe, which was already a big brand, to the next level. The
new pay-off line Laalach Aha Laplap was used, which promoted the message that when a person takes
Alpenliebe once, the desire and greed for the candy increases. The ad campaign, created by McCann India,
showed how a crocodile (animated) accidentally tastes an Alpenliebe and follows Kajol around for more. The
launch of the Alpenliebe Chocoduet was also supported by a similar ad featuring Kajol and the animated
crocodile. In early 2008, Alpenliebe was also involved in co-branding with popular Indian actor Ajay Devgan's
(Devgan) film You Me Aur Hum.
Devgan, also Kajol's husband, appeared in the ad promoting the movie and the brand. Analysts felt that the
concept of Alpenliebe had been beautifully integrated with the movie scenes and the theme. With its latest ad
campaigns, PVMI was trying to increase the market share of Alpenliebe further in the growing sugar
confectionery market in India.

Failure 1 - Pond’s Toothpaste

Pond’s, the popular brand for cosmetics, applied its brand name to toothpaste releasing Pond’s toothpaste.
Pond’s has done a blind test and people were happy with the toothpaste. So Pond’s thought it will extend itself
into the toothpaste category. But when Pond’s actually released the toothpaste with the Pond’s name on it, it is a
complete failure and was not picked from the shelves.

When the Pond’s name and imagery were attached to the toothpaste, no-one was interested. Although Pond’s
had successfully extended its brand before (into soap products, for instance), these extensions had all been
linked by a similar fragrance. ‘The main attribute of toothpaste is taste, this mismatch between taste and
fragrance created a dissonance in the minds of consumers,’ says Dr M J Xavier, professor of marketing at the
Indian Institute of Marketing. ‘To most people Ponds was something to do with fragrance and freshness and
used for external application only.’

This is again an excellent example of the failure to understand the core values of the brand and trying to extend
into other categories. Pond’s is always known for its feminine beauty and has its brand identity surrounded
around the beauty. Pond’s is associated with freshness, fragrance, and clean skin. So marketers have thought to
extend with the attributes of freshness and cleanness into the toothpaste category. One of the important things to
note here is the way the products are used thought both are used for cleanness and freshness. We clean our tooth
with toothpaste and we spit it out, whereas a Pond’s cream is something which we believe will give us clear skin
when it goes inside the skin. So, we apply the cream and leave it. The perception of cleanness and freshness is
taken so differently in different products. Though the attributes are same, how they are achieved also plays a
role in the perception. Marketers should understand that you cannot simply extend a brand to other categories
because the core values are the same.

Failure 2 - Dell’s Web PC

In late 1999, computer manufacturer Dell launched the Web PC. The computer was small (a mere ten inches in
height) and came in five different colours. The aim of the computer was to simplify the experience of surfing the
Internet, while at the same time being attractive. ‘The quality of the customer’s experience will be the defining
source of loyalty in the Internet era,’ Michael Dell told the press at the time. ‘The Web PC is breaking new
ground for our industry as we take our one-on-one relationships with customers to a new level of helpfulness.’
One of the key features of the product was an ‘e-support button’, that instantly launched a self-diagnostic
programme. The button could also connect users directly to Dell’s award-winning online technical support team.

The PC also included a ‘sleep mode’ designed to eliminate the time spent booting up the computer for Internet
access. Users could simply push a button to instantly ‘wake up’ the computer.

The product was heavily marketed through a multi-media advertising campaign, centered around the slogan
‘Born to Web’, which drove customers to a Web PC Web site and free phone number, both of which acted as
direct sales channels. In addition, Dell offered different peripheral products for the Web PC, including such
devices as a digital scanner, a joy stick and a digital camera. The press heaped praise on the product, although
most journalists saw it as an attempt to echo Apple’s iMac strategy, with its emphasis on an eye-catching
design, and user-friendly hardware. In his review for the Washington Post¸ Alan Kay said that although it
‘focuses more on style than computing,’ the Web PC is ‘a decent PC that’ll do most things you want.’

However, despite the number of benefits it offered, the Web PC was a flop. Dell pulled the machine from the
market in June 2002, just six months after its release. Why? A number of reasons. Firstly, the emphasis on
design was misguided. Sure, the iMac had been a success. But Apple had always been about design, and Dell
hadn’t. Dell’s core customers wanted good value and functionality, not groundbreaking design. Dell’s Web PC
was good-looking, but its looks were ultimately irrelevant. Whereas Dell usually uses its own in-house design
team, for this project the company gave the job to a radical San Francisco-based design firm called Pentagram.
‘I’ve designed great things that have been failures,’ the chief designer told Business 2.0 magazine. ‘The product
didn’t fit what Dell is about.’

Computer User magazine noted another problem. ‘Oddly, Dell is targeting its Web PC toward home or home-
office markets where users would generally be better off with an expandable upgradeable system,’ commented
the reviewer. Dell’s core market was traditionally business-orientated.

Then there was the price tag. Although it was billed as ‘low cost’, the price of US $999 was more expensive
than many competing models. ‘Consumers are looking at price first, then styling,’ said Stephen Baker, a PC
analyst at research firm PC Data. ‘No-one aside from Apple has been able to crack that styling thing.’
Furthermore, Dell was selling in a completely new way. By offering a complete package, the world’s number
two computer maker was breaking with its typical practice of offering à la carte pricing that allows customers to
mix-and-match computer chips and other components to create a customized PC. If the Dell brand signified
anything it signified customization and functionality over design. The Web PC failed to offer either one of these
values.