Brand Update : Sprite Started Preaching Gyaan !

This summer Sprite has launched a series of campaign under the banner of University of Freshology. This heavily invested high decibel campaign is interesting because it has subtly changed the basic DNA of Sprite ( Indian context). 

Sprite belongs to the sparkling beverages segment which is having a market size of 700 million unit cases and the brand has a market share of 14% . ( Source afaqs). The brand had crafted a special place for itself by differentiating itself as a plain thirst quenching drink.

Sprite gained much traction in the market by promoting simplicity. While the other soft-drinks brand including Coke spend lot of time building hype and building castles on air, Sprite did a contra - thinking and projected itself as a drink that quenches thirst . That plain non-reverence take on the other brands made Sprite a huge hit in the market . 

Sprite was launched with a famous tagline "Bhujaye only pyas , baaki all bakwaas" ( Sprite quenches thirst while rest talk nonsense) .Over these years, the brand experimented with different taglines which were not quite successful as the first one. The brand never the less maintained its posture of a no-nonsense softdrink which was its DNA.

The recent taglines were " All taste, No Gyaan " and "Seedhi baat, no bakwaas, clear hai "

The current campaign of Sprite talks about a hypothetical " University of Freshology " . The University presided by the brand and a fictitious professor will teach youngsters to tackle difficult situations like :-

 How to ogle at girls when you are sitting with your girlfriend ?

How to handle difficult questions especially from papa or mom ? 

etc etc.

Watch the campaign here : Sprite roommate

                                          Sprite Girl friend

                                            Sprite ogling 

Even though the campaign looks quite interesting, there is nothing fresh as far as the big idea is concerned . The idea of a University is pretty stale and has been in the market before in the form of Axe Academy and Horlick's Nutrition Academy  etc. The positioning strategy of a brand posing as an expert is old fashioned strategy.

Here there are two significant changes that has happened interms of brand's positioning. The brand has moved from its core positioning as a Thirst Quencher to Freshness Provider. Thirst and Freshness, although related, are two different platforms. Thirst is a basic need while Freshness is a broader concept  ( benefit). So by shifting focus from thirst to freshness, the brand has made a  significant change in its positioning.But the current positioning has a problem. Another brand from Coca Cola stable - Limca has the positioning based on Freshness. The imagery of water splashing is shown in the commercials of Limca also.Limca has the tagline " Fresh Ho Jao " meaning " Be Fresh " . So is Sprite taking the place of Limca  ? Can two brands from the same company in the same market have same positioning ? Which is more fresh  - Limca or Sprite ? Is Limca on its way out ??? Has the company looked at the similarity in positioning of the brands in their portfolio ? 

Another significant shift is with regard to the brand personality of Sprite. All through the life, Sprite has been a ruthless critic of preaching. It had made sarcastic parodies and spoofs of brands which tried to show off or preach to customers. At one point of time, Sprite even had the tagline  "All Taste No Gyaan " means All taste No Preaching. It is saddening to see such a brand starting a university to teach some Gyaan to the consumers. This is a huge backtracking from the much publicized, much liked DNA of Sprite as a plain Thirst Quencher. The new ads of Sprite even shows the professor having a board which shows Freshology Lessons  ( Gyaan) ! What a paradox.

It is confusing why Sprite thought of such a big shift interms of the brand DNA ? The concept of a honest thirst quencher is a platform which is very strong and relevant. The scope of creative execution was also plenty. Since the brand has strongly associated with that platform, it also acted as a clear differentiator for the brand. If a consumer is asked  about Sprite, he would definitely say that its a clear drink that quenches the thirst , which is a powerful place to occupy in the consumer's mind. I feel that the brand has taken a huge risk in diluting the core positioning and altering the brand personality. The damage will be hard to repair.

Another factor which I have noticed is the audience or the TG which the brand is talking to. Sprite, in its commercials has always been male dominated. In all the campaigns except the Sania Mirza ad, main characters were male but the brand was never perceived to be a drink for men because the ladies were not shown in poor light. But in the latest two campaigns of Sprite, the brand has taken potshots on girls directly which is also a risky move for a gender- neutral product like a softdrink. There was no need to show girlfriends as jealous or boring unless the brand decides to target only male consumers. All though these issues may seem petty, its better to be careful.

The brand also has changed its tagline to " First Drink, Then Think " which may not have much relevance to the brand outside the context of the current campaign. The tagline is neither catchy nor worth remembering unlike the earlier taglines.

All those which has been discussed in this post are changes which have long-term effects. The shift in the core DNA of the brand will dilute the brand's equity which was built over the last 12 years. There is a clear sign of confusion in the brand's vision about its Manthra and Positioning. I think the brand should  First Drink and Then Think ... Clear Hai ?

Related Brand

Sprite

Brand Update : Minute Maid

Minute Maid, launched in 2007 is currently running a new campaign this summer. The brand had caught the Indian consumer's attention through its launch campaign " Where is the Pulp ". The launch campaign was so interesting that it encouraged the consumers to try this international brand from Coca Cola.

The brand had the positioning based on its Pulpy Orangy characteristic . You can really feel the orange pulp when drinking this . This makes the brand unique. The uniqueness makes this brand a niche because there will be many consumers who do not like that pulpy nature of the drink which is Minute Maid's USP.

This summer, the brand is trying to further reinforcing the positioning based on its pulpy-factor. But there is a big difference in the current marketing strategy. If you remember the launch campaign , the strategy was to drive home the USP of the brand. The ad was highly successful in communicating this basic differentiating point. the task of the commercial was to tell the consumer that Minute Maid has more Orange Pulp in it. And the ad communicated it prefectly.

Watch the first commercial here : Minute Maid- Where is the Pulp

The new commercial is now translating this USP into customer benefit. The current positioning is based on the benefit that this Orange Pulp gives to the consumer. The brand promise is that Minute Maid gives you the UPLIFTING Feeling. You feel energized and Uplifted when you drink Minute Maid. So the brand is trying out the equation Pulpy Orange = Uplifting Feeling.

Watch the new commercial here : Minute Maid 2009

The ad is simple and directly conveys the brand's promise. When you drink Minute Maid, oranges comes and lifts you up. The ad backed by good music keeps you glued to the screen and ofcourse there is the temptation to pick up a bottle of the product. A brilliant idea and a very good execution. Kudos to the team.

Related Brand
Minute Maid

Brand Update : Coca Cola

Coca Cola has launched their new campaign in India recently. The new campaign features the brand ambassador Gautam Gambhir and comes with a new positioning.

Watch the new TVC here : Coca Cola

The new campaign is a part of the global communication campaign initiated by Coca Cola known as Open Happiness.The Open Happiness campaign is an extension of the Coke Side of Life campaign of last year. Open Happiness campaign is based on the notion that Coke brings happiness to life. The brand tries to communicate the idea of " Enjoying life's simple pleasures".

In the press release, Coke says that " Central to Open Happiness is the notion of enjoying an ice cold coke and taking a small break from the day to connect with others ".
See the press release here : Open Happiness Campaign

The big idea behind this platform is that Coca Cola offers fun and refreshment whenever you need it.

India is also a market where the company has extended the Open Happiness Communication platform.The latest campaign is the first one on this positioning platform.

And a totally disappointing one. The agency has done total injustice to the wonderful idea that Open Happiness envisages.

Instead of connecting Coke with Happiness , the new ad puts Coke in a dangerous position. The central theme of the new ad is that " Coke ke sath Dost free " means " A friend free with Coke ".

The ad shows Gautam helping out the owner of an deserted store by putting a display that " You get a friend free with Coke " and people starts showing up because of the free offer !!!!

I am not being cynical or critical but here are my concerns about the current theme.

In my little understanding about the Indian youth psyche , the new generation youngsters spent lot of time hanging out with their friends. The new gen likes to have lot of friends and is also influenced heavily by their peers.

And having no friends is UNCOOL. Here Coke is somehow telling the consumers that the users of Coke are those who are in desperate need of friends . And the concept of " Free Dost with Coke" is discounting the value of both Friends and Coke. Why should you give something free ( even symbolic) with Coke. And will you accept a " Free " friend ? And the characters depicted in the ads look like lonely desperate guys searching for friends which is also UNCOOL as far as the younger generation is concerned.

The Indian version of Open Happiness platform has failed to understand the essence of this positioning and miserably failed to connect the concept of happiness and Coke.

Brand Update : Sprite

Summer is setting in and beverages companies are upping their marketing ante. Sprite have heavily started their summer campaign by launching two television commercials. Last time Sprite launched a high profile ad blitz for its variant Sprite Xpress.

This time Sprite is doing the campaign for the core brand. Since its launch, Sprite has been experimenting with its tagline ala positioning. It has changed its famous original tagline of " Buchaye Only pyaas, baaki all bakwas" to
No Gyan only Sprite ,
Seedhi Bath, No bakwaas
then to the last one " Clear hai"

The brand had also experimented with celebrities by roping in Sania Mirza as the brand ambassador. All those efforts have created astounding results.

Sprite had a spectacular 2008. According to Economic Times dtd 11.2.09, Sprite has become the second largest softdrink brand in India thus trouncing Pepsi to No.3 .

Quoting the AC Neilsen study, the following are the market share figures of soft drink brands in India
Thums Up leads the pack with a share of 16.6%
Sprite is the second largest brand with a share of 15.6%
Followed by Pepsi with a share of 13%.

This should have shocked Pepsi .
Sprite has reached the top because it delivered its promise of a no-nonsense simple brand.

Sprite now is an overdrive to cash in on the new found leadership position. Currently the brand is running two TVCs.

Watch the tvc here : Sprite Killer
Sprite Wedding
True to the spirit of the brand, the ads are cool and humorous. It is also interesting to note that the brand now have a combination of all taglines it used in the recent past.
The new tagline is :
Seedhi Baath, No Bakwas, Clear Hai ?

I liked the ads because the characters are cool, plot is simple and funny and even after seeing it for more than 10 times, it is not boring.

Pepsi is also not sitting idle, it had rejuvenated the 7UP brand with some new ads. The ads focus on the lemon content. But the problem with 7UP is that Pepsi has not invested in the brand as consistently as Sprite. 7Up have not yet found the correct positioning platform and Pepsi was little confused in terms of focus with their two brands 7Up and Mountain Dew.

Sprite has reached the top because of consistent investment in brand building. Although it had aberrations, the brand was also consistent in its positioning platform.

Kudos for the marketing team.

Related Brand
Sprite

Canada Dry : RIP ( 1995-1999)

Brand : Canada Dry
Company : Cadbury Schweppes ( Later Coca Cola)
Agency : Mudra

Brand Analysis Count : 371

One of my colleagues yesterday showed me a 1989 issue of Business India where he pointed out an ad of a long forgotten brand - Canada Dry . We passionately talked about the brand which we both liked.

Canada Dry was launched in India in 1995 . The brand ,from Cadbury Schweppes ,was a highly popular brand of softdrinks across the globe. Canada Dry was a much hyped brand because it was from the house of Cadbury. Cadbury Schweppes launched Canada Dry and Orange Crush in the Indian market with much fanfare.

Canada Dry was a Champagne Softdrink. The brand has positioned itself as a champagne and the taste was different and refreshing.

The brand was also promoted heavily in various media. The ad featuring the snow and tiger brings back the nostalgia about this brand. The brand was positioned as a premium cooldrink . The brand gained immediate acceptance because of its association with Cadbury. The brand had the potential to become a premium softdrink brand in India .

But alas, the brand did not last too long in the market. In 1999 CocaCola took over the beverages business of Cadbury Schweppes and like GoldSpot and Limca , Coke killed this brand.

It is sad to see such brands being killed for no reason connected with customers. The only reason for Coke to kill these brands was to make way for Coke's original brands. In the case of Canada Dry , the brand only had a negligible presence in the Indian market.

Look at the Indian market now - Is there a premium softdrink brand in India ? Neither Coke or Pepsi was able to create a premium softdrinks category in India. They have not even tried yet.......

Brand Update : Sprite

On September 2008, Sprite launched a new variant Sprite Xpress with much fanfare. The various news reports celebrated this launch as a packaging innovation which Indian market is witnessing for the first time.

Sprite Xpress is the 350 ml Pet bottle from Sprite. The innovation that the company boast is that this is an " On The Go " Pack. That means that you can carry it with you when you are traveling..

What's new in that ?


According to the Press Release,
"
the new pack is a strategic initiative aimed to build strong connect with the youth. It is designed to offer convenience and adapts to the dynamic and on the move lifestyle of the consumers "

Frankly I did not knew that a simple packaging can do lot of strategic " things " to the consumers.

Coca Cola has been heavily promoting the Sprite Xpress. The variant is being promoted using a long peppy television advertisement .

Watch the campaign here : sprite xpress

The ad is catchy with a good background song . The ad revolves around the theme " outwit to outrun " and have a new tagline ' Ghumo Ghumao'.

The issue with this ad is that the entire foundation of the ad is based in Hindi. The song and the taglines are Hindi. When the ad is to be shown in the South Indian market, the agency will have tough time translating these in local language without losing relevance and sounding funny.


After seeing the ads I couldn't understand the innovation. After a little googling, I finally understood.

The innovation is in the pricing. Sprite was available in three packs : 300 ml glass bottle pack, 500 ml Pet bottle and large one litre Pet bottle.

Now the new pack is 350 ml in Pet bottle priced at Rs 15. The new pack is aimed at those customers who want single use packs while on the move. So offering the single use Pet bottle makes marketing sense.

With regard to the pricing, the new Xpress pack is priced Rs15 . Although psychologically seem to be lower than Rs 20 for 500 ml, in actual sense, the consumer is paying more for less.

In that way Coca Cola is gaining more than Rs 1 per bottle as margin. In a business with wafer thin margins, getting Rs 1 more is nothing but innovation.

That also justifies the extravagant promotion for this variant. The ads have been shot in Malaysia and runs for a full 60 seconds which really costs a bomb at the current advertisement rates.
The true innovation is with regard to the use of OOH media by this brand. According to reports, Sprite has launched a series of 3 D outdoor creatives on various outdoor platforms like elevators, buildings, hoardings etc.

Sprite has to create a big hype around Xpress and brand it as a packaging innovation because it is priced high. As customers , we have to pay more for such kind of " innovations ". The paradox is that this is from a brand which says " No Bakwaas " only seedhi bath ( straight talk !)

On a marketing practice perspective, Sprite has done a good job in launching such a variant. There will be lot of customers especially youngsters who want such single serve bottles which can be taken along with them. The problem with the existing 300 ml glass bottle is that one cannot take it on the go.

According to reports, the company is planning to launch Xpress packs for its brands like Coca Cola, Thums Up, Limca etc.

For customers : you have to be clear about what you are paying for... baki all bakwas

Related brand

Sprite