Feeling good in bad times

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Recounting McDonald’s and Horlicks’ experiences is not simply to indulge in back-slapping about past successes in the troubled economic times that we face today. The idea is to see what they did to deal with their version of ‘bad times’. While the Horlicks’ positioning ‘win’ is merely a tale of a brand combating the phenomena of its cyclical sales; and McDonald’s was only trying to tide over a global health sentiment; this time the crisis is of global confidence. Globally, as in India, brands in the auto, financial services, FMCG and consumer durables sectors particularly are reeling under the liquidity crisis that the global economy is facing. Sure, America, Japan and Europe are in more trouble than India and China. But hey, remember the bright guy who coined the smartass phrase about the world catching a cold when America so much as stifles a sneeze? Well, so here is India, suffering from the global meltdown, despite a 6-7% projected growth rate, a 300 million strong consuming class in its infancy and more than 40 million government employees having just got tonnes of money thanks to the 6th Pay Commission. But banks are refusing to lend, so consumers have less to spend; some are getting the sack, so others are holding back (from loosening their purse strings that is!); there’s too much negativity in the air, but is it all fair?

Not really! Because the slowdown is temporary and brands that play their cards well will emerge stronger when the tide subsides. Globally, recessions and slowdowns have a knack for either making or breaking a brand. Take the 1930s depression. Unlike its rival dry cereal brand Post in the US market, Kellogg’s maintained its marketing spends. Kellogg went on to dominate the dry cereal market for the next 50 years. Beer company Miller almost doubled its ad spends during the late 70s recession. Seeing them, close competitor Schlitz also increased its spend. But it was a little too late. Schlitz was a virtual nobody when markets returned to normal, while Miller had gained considerable mind and market share.

But this is not merely about ‘abnormally’ increasing advertising spends. It’s about thinking out-of-the-box and daring to dream beyond the clichés of traditional business prototypes… It’s about fresh imaginations and beliefs… and it’s about your marketing programme in its entirety, from product development, to market penetration, to new markets, to your positioning (so that your brand is in sync with the ‘bad’ times). The good news is that a connected world has ensured marketers in India are not just prepared but are already devising and implementing exigency antidotes to deal with this ‘crisis of confidence’. Sure, the dampening last quarter results did cast a gloomy shadow over Corporate India, but for some, their creative – and not necessarily expensive – marketing tactics have begun to pay off, and handsomely at that! The fighter brands seem to have taken a leaf out of Millward Brown’s Survival Tactics for Marketing during Recession – a note published and widely circulated in May 2008.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Cashing in on optimism!

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Want to improve sales in adverse conditions? Positive tag-lines should do the trick...

Crashing stock markets with evaporating values, increasing inflation with rising prices and tight liquidity with the dreaded pink slip issuance; the world is in doldrums. The populace has been engulfed in pessimism as the financial downturn creates an unprecedented hole in its pocket. As a result, purchasing power for even daily goods has been curtailed, hurting the bottom lines of many companies. In this bleak outlook when consumer confidence is at an all time low, corporations need to think out of the box. Vulnerable, major players have come out with ‘feel good’ taglines to hold on to their audiences.

In its bid to actuate things in a positive direction, Coca-Cola has decided to replace the ‘Coke side of life,’ the company’s tag-line of the past three years, with ‘Open happiness.’ Pepsi on the other hand has come up with its new campaign, ‘Every generation refreshes the world,’ while CK has launched the ‘We are one’ campaign. Showing its innovative side, Dunkin’ Donuts has come out with the tagline “You kin’ do it”. Not staying far behind, traditional players like IKEA and Mercy too have unveiled their new feel good campaigns, ‘Embrace change’ and ‘Believe’ respectively. Players claim that the current campaigns are meant to offer encouragement and a spirit of fun during these challenging times. “‘Open Happiness,’ embraces a positive outlook. It is an invitation to open ourselves to the positive aspects, to happiness, and to the potential for a better tomorrow,” explains a Coca-Cola, India Spokesperson to 4Ps B&M.

Before coming to a point, it must be understood that whatever marketing strategies corporations adopt, the sole motive is always boosting sales. Moreover, in the current market situation players cannot afford to lose their current customer base by not being innovative. “There is plenty of evidence suggesting that the tagline when used concurrently with other aspects of the brand such as the logo, colours and other auditory & aural stimulus, is likely to impact sales,” supports Stephen Byrne, Director (Strategy), DIFFUSION. These players are technically betting big on positive psychology in order to persuade audiences. A good and positive tagline increases the brand recall, leading to prompt purchases. “All this is part of a global movement towards more emotive and less functional taglines,” adds Byrne.

Interestingly, most of these ‘feel happy’ taglines are a response to competition’s calls rather than a perceptual favour to consumers. Evidently, the customer was of course always the king, but then it’s the corporations that laugh all the way to their banks!

Ratan Lal Bhagat

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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