Thursday, April 2, 2009

Volini : Asli Aaram

Brand : Volini
Company : Ranbaxy
Agency : Saatchi & Saatchi

Brand Analysis Count : 390

Volini is a pain relieving brand from Ranbaxy. This brand was one of the most prescribed pain killer gel in its earlier avatar as a prescription product . In 2007 , Volini became an OTC brand. The pain relieving balm market is worth around Rs 700 crore and is dominated by powerful brands like Moov and Iodex.

I am a regular user of Volini thanks to the nagging backpain which I attracted as an incentive from my sales career. And as a customer, I can vouch for the effectiveness of this brand . When I started using Volini, it was a prescribed product. That means you need to have a prescription for buying it.

For products like Volini , once the consumer is satisfied with the results, he starts purchasing it irrespective whether the brand is an OTC or not. Volini had developed a huge brand equity because of its sheer effectiveness.

It may be because of this strong equity that Ranbaxy decided to take Volini to the OTC route. When the brand is moved to the OTC, the company have to depend on advertising and brand building to drive the sales. Once in the OTC segment, these brands often lose doctor's support.

Ranbaxy launched Volini with a campaign which landed the brand in trouble. Ranbaxy tried to put this brand directly against the market leader Moov. The brand used the tagline " Asli Pain Reliever "( meaning Real Pain Reliever) indirectly mentioning that Moov is not a real pain reliever.

The competitors took the brand and the ad to the court and Ranbaxy had to amend the advertisement. So now the brand has the tagline " Asli Aaram " meaning " Real Relief ".

Watch the ad here : Volini Ad

I think that Volini made a big mistake by positioning itself against Moov. It had the potential to stand on its own and create its own identity away from the market leader. Moov had been trying to position itself as a back-pain specialist .

As a consumer, I prefer a brand which is the most effective and the strongest of the lot. I chose Volini because I had the perception that it is the strongest pain relieving gel available. The smell and the sensation and the gel form further reinforced this perception. I have a perception that gel is more powerful than ointment.

As a person who suffers from back-pain, my immediate need is to get fast and quick relief from the pain so that I can carry on with my job. There is a sort of panic when this pain prevents you from leading a normal life. So consumers look for the most effective solution. And consumers have a way of categorising these products on the basis of their effectiveness and in my opinion the strongest wins.
The current positioning of " Real Relief " in a sense is playing down the effectiveness of Volini. " Real Relief " is a highly vague concept compared to Fast relief and Quick Relief. There is a real need for a good effective pain relief product. Doctors suggest that these back pains and muscle pains are lifestyle diseases. The increasing stress levels and the decreasing activity levels make an average Indian prone to these diseases.

Related Brands
Iodex

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