Brand Update : Accent refuses to die !

12 years and over 300,000 cars sold worldwide, Accent still proved to be relevant in the Indian market. In the marketing world where brand managers gets bored with the brand even before consumers do, Accent is a different story altogether. 

Launched in 1999, the brand is one of the oldest selling sedan in the Indian market. Despite poor marketing support from the company, Accent once again shows that value-for-money and product performance is the key to unlock the purse of an Indian consumer. This brand is surviving just because of these two factors.

Accent got little or no promotional support from Hyundai for the last few years. Most analysts have written off this brand with a view that Hyundai will eventually phase off this brand. But it did not happen that way. Despite being a perceived dated model, Hyundai still sells decent number of Accent in the Indian market. Priced between Rs 5 Lakh - Rs 5.5 Lakh, this is still the most affordable and reliable entry level sedan in the Indian market.

One of the major factors that contributed to Accent's long run is the lack of competition. Although many brands tried to cater to the entry level sedan market, very few have survived. The only noteworthy competitor being the Indigo CS. With the death of Ford Ikon, Accent's chances of survival got a boost.

Having said that, Accent should have been given more promotional support by the company. Brands don't die. It is often killed. Accent will die not because of poor product performance but lack of marketing support. Hyundai never tried to build a brand image for Accent. The brand never had a memorable positioning . There was never an excitement around this brand and people chose Accent through a rational decision. This lack of emotional quotient of the brand will prove to be the reason of its eventual death.

Ideally Accent should have been nurtured by the company. If BMW or Benz can retain its charm all these years, why not Accent ? 

While product performance helps bring the consumers to the brand, emotional engagement keeps the brand live for ever. There was no attempt from Hyundai to build any type of emotional engagement about the brand.

Hyundai recently launched the 2011 version of Accent. The brand gets a facelift and some cosmetic changes. The launch was a muted affair and the brand's micro-site doesn't have the new pictures uploaded. In one way Hyundai executives were forced to keep the brand alive because of external pressure - lack of competition and demand. Given a chance, they could have just killed the brand ! What a paradox.

Brand Update : Tata Indica Brand Portfolio

Indica is a brand that is an epitome of persistence. Tata Motors through Indica has demonstrated how to manage product lifecycle effectively. The brand which was launched in 1998 has passed through many hurdles. The brand successfully transcended the initial flaws, bad customer /expert reviews and brickbats to become one of the largest selling cars in the Indian auto industry.

The brand survived and thrived because of the constant focus of Tata Motors to improve the product continuously. More than the product innovation, it was the value proposition that forced customers to choose Indica despite all those nagging troubles. You can see lot of Indica customers cribbing about the bad service and constant trip to the service centers but sticking to the brand because of the value proposition. You cannot get a diesel car with that much space at the price at which Indica is selling ( so far).

Tata Motors has been continuously tweaking the brand over these years sometimes making quantum leap in the quality and refinement of the product. A snapshot of the brand's evolution is given below

1998 - Indica announced
2001 - Indica V2
2004 - Rejuvenated Indica V2
2005- Indica V2 Turbo Diesel
2006- Indica Xeta
2008 - Indica Vista

The brand made a quantum leap in 2008 with the launch of Indica Vista. The entire brand personality changed with the launch of Vista. The product's looks and feel had changed completely and it was a rebirth for Indica.
The changes in the product was not limited to exteriors. Indica began sporting different types of engines from Fiat which gave a new perception of quality to the brand.

At the pricing also, Tata Motors consciously raised the Vista brand to a higher level . The Vista is pricier than the original V2 thus reducing the attractiveness of the brand to the Taxi segment. At a price range of Rs 4 - Rs 5 Lakh, Indica Vista is not a cheap diesel car. It was an upward stretch by the brand.

The Indica Brand portfolio is given below.

















The Indica brand portfolio consists now of three sub-brands V2, Vista and Xeta.

V2 is the most economical of the lot and is the original Indica. This product is retained because there is still huge demand for V2 at that price point. Within the V2 range, there are three variants which includes the Indicab which is for the Taxi segment. Price of this sub-brand ranges from Rs 3,50,000 - Rs 3,95,000

Next sub-brand is the Vista. Vista is the new generation Indica and Tata Motors would like this brand to take over the leadership position from V2 in future. The brand is targeting the discerning Indian consumer with its value proposition and good looks.Vista has lot of variants satisfying the various needs of the customer. The Indica Vista Aura is the premium range that sports many goodies that premium brands claim like ABS, Airbags etc. Vista also comes in Petrol version sporting the Saphire engine. Prices range from Rs 3,90,000 - Rs 4,90,000 ( apprx). Within the Vista range, customers are given lot of engine option including engines from Fiat.

Xeta is the petrol variant of Indica V2. I am not sure about the future of Xeta since the petrol segment is heavily competitive and compared to Maruti and Hyundai, Indica Xeta's value proposition is not that attractive as the diesel option. Prices range from Rs 2,72,000- Rs 3,00,000).

The positioning across the brand portfolio remains the same. All the brands focus on the value proposition. But these sub- brands sports different taglines

Indica V2- More car per car
Indica Vista- Changes Everything ( Surprise Yourself is the new tagline)
Indica Xeta - Makes much more car sense.

Vista recently relaunched itself with Drivetech 4 technology and is now sporting a new tagline Surprise Yourself .

Indica in a way is an example of good marketing practice. The brand continues to evolve and is a pleasure to watch.

Brand Update : Wagon R

Wagon R is one of the largest selling brands in the Indian car market. The brand is currently in its maturity stage and Maruti is all set to put Wagon R again into the growth path. The brand has roped in Madhavan as the brand ambassador . The brand hopes that the endorsement from the star will create a new growth path for it.

Watch the TVC here : Wagon R

Wagon R is a highly relevant product for Indian consumers. I have spoken to many Wagon R users and all of them have high regards for this vehicle. Even though the product is a globally " Outdated" vehicle, for Indian consumers the brand has remained very useful. One of the major factors that drive this brand's sales is its usability. The car is easy to drive and extremely comfortable and is virtually trouble-free thanks to the Maruti Reliability.

When the product reaches the maturity stage, marketers change its marketing mix elements to rev up the sales. In the case of Wagon R, Maruti chose to change its promotions. The choice of Madhavan as the brand ambassador will give an added thrust to the brand equity of Wagon R. The brand is feeling that it is not realizing its potential fully in the southern market. Madhavan is expected to boost the brand sales in the southern markets. ( related report)

It is also interesting to see how the brand has used Madhavan in its communication. Madhavan is being used as a model in the TVC rather than as an endorser. Here Madhavan is being used as a character in the TVC plot. He is being cast as an entrepreneur in the ad.One of the reasons cane be that if Madhavan acts as an endorser, no one will believe that he uses a Wagon R. So it makes sense to cast him as a character rather than as an endorser.

Wagon R retains its core positioning as a smart choice car and has a new slogan " Smart Ideas lead the world " . The brand retains its tagline " For a Smarter Race ".
The new campaign is pushing the idea that Wagon R is a smart choice for the consumers. Indian consumers seems to like that idea.
Related brand
Wagon R

Brand Update : Dettol

Dettol celebrated its 75 years of existence in 2008. This highly popular antiseptic brand has come a long way since 1933. After a plethora of extensions and experiments, this brand is still ruling the Indian market as the most preferred antiseptic lotion and also as a premium soap.

The brand celebrated its 75 years by reinforcing the germ killing positioning and the tagline " Be 100% sure ". The brand is currently running a campaign highlighting the efficiency and the multi-uses of the product.

In marketing theory , it is taught that one of the strategy for a brand which has reached the maturity stage of PLC is to find new uses for the product. The Dettol brand is currently in the process of discovering those new uses for the product. When the consumer uses the product for different purposes, the sales naturally increases.

A classic case that is used in most marketing textbook is that of the Baking Soda brand Arms & Hammer. The brand found that consumers use baking soda as a refrigerator deodorant. Arms & Hammer ran a series of promotions to encourage consumers to place an open box of Arms & Hammer in their fridge. The brand later extended itself into various products like toothpaste and antiperspirant . ( Marketing Management, Kotler, Keller 13ed)


The best way to find the new uses for the product is to ask the consumers. Dettol did just that. It ran a series of promotions asking consumers to tell the company , how they used Dettol.

Watch the commercial here : Dettol new uses
The brand asked the consumers to contact them and tell the company on the multiple uses of the product and thus gained lot of insights into the various uses of the brand.

The brand later came out with a series of campaign highlighting the various uses of this antiseptic. Dettol now taken the platform of a multi-use antiseptic which can be used during bath, to clean wounds, to sterilize clothes, floor etc.

Although homemakers has been using Dettol for all these, the company has now taken these uses as a part of the core product. The brand is trying to break the image of Dettol as an antiseptic which is used for cleaning wounds.

Along with this initiative, the brand also reinforced its commitment towards hygiene. The brand has selected hygiene as the core brand value and theme which it will fight for.

In 2008, the brand conducted a study which showed that 78% of frequently touched surfaces in a household is highly contaminated. The brand then conducted a series of awareness campaign to promote better hygiene using Dettol.

Using hygiene as the major theme, Dettol is trying to increase the usage of the product among the households. Because of the excellent brand equity, Dettol is in a position to ride this wave.

Regarding the distribution, recently I wanted to buy this brand from my nearest grocery store but was surprised to find that the product was not stocked there. He told me that Dettol is available only in medical shops. A major super market is also not stocking this brand. I am not sure whether Dettol has stopped selling through OTC . If it is so, then the brand is in for trouble.

Hyundai Accent : What Dreams Drive

Brand : Accent
Company : Hyundai Motors India
Agency : Innocean

Brand Analysis Count : 366

Accent is one of the highly successful long serving car brand in India. Launched in 1999 , this brand is now on its 10 th year in India. The simple fact that this brand has survived the highly competitive market in India speaks volume about the success of this brand.

Accent, when launched competed with the highly successful Maruti Esteem in luxury sedan market. While Esteem perished, Hyundai Accent is still managing its product lifecycle.

Accent is a brand which has survived only because of the product performance and quality. Frankly there is nothing to write about the marketing or branding strategy for this brand. Accent was a highly performing work-horse which was well designed quality product that offered excellent value for money. The company was able to make enough changes in the price which enabled the brand to ride the PLC effectively.

Accent now belongs to the entry level sedan market. When launched it was a premium car. Accent was an instant success because of its product quality and the rub-off from the success of Santro.

The company managed the product lifecycle of Accent using variants. Hyundai regularly updated Accent by launching different variants in line with the changing consumer expectations. There were four variants for Accent in 2002 which were GLS,GLX,GVS Tornado and Viva.

One of the most successful variants was the Accent Viva. VIVA launched in 2002 was positioned as a sporty sedan. The engine was tweaked to give more power and the variant was styled to give it a sporty look. Accent Viva was priced at a premium and was a successful niche variant.

In 2002 , the company launched the first diesel variant of Accent. The brand was the first one to launch the CRDI Diesel engine . Although the CRDI gained lot of interest, there was lot of problems for the diesel variants. Ultimately the diesel version was phased out in 2007.

Accent started losing in the segment when Ford launched Ikon . Later the segment became crowded with lot of product launches by the competitors.

At the branding front , except for the marketing of Santro, Hyundai in my opinion is a lousy advertiser. I don't remember any highly creative campaigns from them for any of their products be it i10, verna or Terracan. The quality of creatives for Santro also have come down drastically. They have always built their brands on the product performance.

For Accent also I don't remember any highy creative or good campaigns. But I remember some lousy ads of Accent trying to position it as a aspirational product. In those campaigns Accent had the tagline " Respect comes naturally ".

Accent had tried out different taglines during its different stages. The frequent changes in the tagline have really messed up the positioning of the brand. Accent is confused about whether it should focus on performance or image. The taglines of Accents were

Sheer Pleasure
Expect More
The Next Step
The Power to Excite
What dreams drive

Although the taglines were more performance oriented, the ads especially the television commercials was unfocused. The agency failed to understand that the core brand value for Accent was its product performance and value for money proposition.

Even in 2008 , Accent topped the segment in customer satisfaction in a survey done by TNS.

There were many rumors about the phasing out of Accent. But like Maruthi, Hyundai also does not believe in phasing out old brands. Auto analysts was predicting the phase out primarily because the brand was considered dated. It has been around for 10 years and consumers have become bored by the brand.
The rumor was further fueled with the launch of another mid size sedan Verna. In global markets Verna is sold as the new generation Accent . And in USA , Accent ( Verna) is one of the largest selling economy sedan.

With the launch of Verna, Hyundai reduced the number of variants for Accent. Now Accent has only one variant.

But Hyundai had other plans for Accent. In 2008 Accent was launched in CNG version. The CNG version is expected to boost the sagging sales of this brand. The launch also is an indication that Hyundai is not going to phase out this brand. This year, Accent was relaunched as Accent Executive with spruced up interiors.

One of the strong points for Accent is its design. Accent is still looking great. If Hyundai plans to keep this brand alive , it should focus on the design. Accent can ride the PLC by positioning itself as a stylish brand. It should experiment with colors and graphics. The product quality is already established,what the brand needs is excitement.

At this stage of the PLC, Accent will get a boost if the brand is endorsed by a celebrity. A high profile young film star can rejuvenate the brand for sure.

Brand Update : Tata Indica

Tata Motors recently launched the new generation Indica Vista. The best selling car from Tata Motors has become even better with a new look and a new positioning.

Tata Indica was launched in 1998 and has sold more than 9 lakh cars so far. It is the second largest selling car trailing Maruthi Alto. Indica is a classic example of managing product life cycle efficiently.

From a shaky start, Indica has come a long way. Written off by many skeptics as Ratan Tata's unachievable dream, Indica has proved skeptics wrong by selling huge numbers. The core strength of the brand being its value proposition.

To sustain in a highly competitive market for more than 9 years is no child's play. Tata Motors has invested heavily in both product and brand development over these years. The new launch is yet again another proof of the company's resilience.

Indica Vista is Tata's entry into the luxury hatchback segment. The segment is dominated by Maruthi Swift. Indica Vista replaces seven variants of the original Indica V2.
Over the last few months, the sales of Indica was showing a decline. A classic case where the product reaches the declining maturity stage. And as theory says one strategy is to go for product modification.

Vista comes with a new style, more space and a new set of engines. The car sports Quadrajet and Safire engines which was build jointly by Tata Motors and Fiat. The new Indica Vista comes in the price range of Rs 3.50 - 4.50 lakh price range.
The original Indica is also retained in the product line. Now Indica offers a wide choice to the customers from price points of Rs 2.80 lakh to Rs 5 Lakhs.

The brand Vista sports a refreshing next generation look . Indica had the weakness of not looking peppy or sexy. That put off many young customers. The new Indica Vista is more curvy and looks pretty cool . But not as sexy as its competitors like Swift or Getz.

The brand now sports a new tagline " Changes Everything ". The slogan is primarily telling the consumers that the brand has changed. The ads are also more tuned to attracting the new generation.
Watch the new tvc here : Indica Vista

More than looks , I feel that Vista will sell more because of value proposition. The acquisition of Land Rover and Jaguar and the Tata Nano has helped a quantum leap interms of brand equity for Tata Motors.

Brand Update : Lux

I cannot but watch this brand with a sense of awe. Lux and the brand's sustenance at the top of the product lifecycle.

There is never a dull moment for this brand. Be it the Chocolate Seduction or the Black Provocateur. Now Lux has launched two exotic variants : Lux Strawberry & Cream and Lux Peach & Cream.

The new variants are the fruit based soap which is now the flavor of the season. Lux has always been in the forefront of identifying and creating new trends in soap flavors.
What is interesting about the two new variants is that these are not promoted using sub-brands. As you may recall , most of the new launches in the recent past for Lux has been using sub-brands.

We had Lux Crystal Shine, Lux Provocateur , Chocolate Seduction etc. I had commented on my last post that HUL may have forgotten the Core brand Lux.

My fears are now found addressed as the new variants represent the core brand . My argument is substantiated by the fact that both these variants contains Cream which is the essence of the Original brand Lux.
The new launch also assumes significance in the light of heightened competition from ITC brand Vivel Di Wills. Vivel has been promoted with Film Stars and also comes in new exotic flavors.

Strawberry is going to be a new trend in the personal care market. I think it was started by Parachute Starz which is heavily promoted as having strawberry extracts.

Soap is a product where loyalty of customers lie not in a single brand but a basket of brands. Since the investment for the product is negligible, consumers are not averse to trying out new flavors or brands. Hence the task for any soap brand is to keep engaging the consumer at either the product lever or at the promotional level.
Brands like Santoor has been investing in promotions while the product essentially remained the same. Lux is taking the product route where consumers are engaged with new flavors and variants.
The new Lux variants are promoted exhaustively in women's magazines. What I liked about both these variants is that it is tempting. Both Strawberry and Peach has a tempting effect to it and I am sure that many consumers will try out these variants.

Tata Sumo Grande : More Than Meets The Eye

Brand : Sumo Grande
Company : Tata Motors


Brand Analysis Count : 319

Tata Motors is in the news for all the good reasons. The latest news being the acquisition of Jaguar & Land Rover. Along with this big news was the relaunch of Tata Sumo.
Tata Sumo is a brand that redefined the commercial vehicle market in India. Tata Sumo was launched in 1994 based on the popular Tata 207 platform.

At that time, the commercial vehicle market was dominated by Mahindra Jeeps. I can say that there was no Multi-Utility Vehicle ( MUV) category . Sumo was an instant success . The success was due to the time-tested value for money proposition. Sumo became the darling of those running passenger-moving business.
The vehicle was rugged, cost effective and spacious,looked good and was ideal for Indian road conditions.

Right from the launch itself Tata Motors tried to position Sumo as a family utility vehicle. As usual the brand was not perceived as a family vehicle. The main reason being the looks. Sumo looked and felt like a commercial vehicle. At that time Tata was perceived to be a truck manufacturer and that secondary association weakened the positioning of Tata Sumo as a family vehicle.
But the good news was the wide acceptance of Sumo as a commercial vehicle. Tour operators and taxi segment embraced this vehicle and soon Sumo became the market leader.

But early 2000 saw the emergence of new competition. Mahindra Bolero and Toyota Qualis gave a new meaning to the category which Sumo created. Qualis redefined the segment and became the market leader. It was also a signal of a shift in customer preferences in this segment. Even passenger-mover segment began to look for attributes like luxury , comfort, styling etc.

But Sumo was a brand that tried to change with times. Although no major changes were made to the product, Tata Motors nurtured the brand with cosmetic changes and tweaking here and there. Tata was not complaining since volume was not bad.The brand also launched a low priced variant Tata Spacio to fight the price competition.

The major change that happened to Sumo was in 2004. Sumo relaunched itself as Sumo Victa. Beyond cosmetic changes, the product had major changes like Power Windows, Power Steering etc. The brand was struggling at that time from the competition from Qualis. But Qualis withdrew from the market in 2004 to move into a new category of luxury MUV with Innova.
Innova soon gained acceptance as a family MUV - a place which Sumo wanted.

Sumo Victa during these period ran a campaign highlighting the positioning of a family vehicle. The campaign featured different profiles of people who had traveled offbeaten paths. The campaign was significant since it was more of a brand building exercise for Sumo. Till that time , all the ads of Sumo was talking about features rather than the brand.

Sumo Victa had the slogan " Kuch Log Sumo Chalate hain " translated to " Some drive a Sumo " . The message was that those who drives Sumo are those who have traveled the ' road less traveled'. But still the brand could not acquire the status of a family vehicle or a vehicle for individual use. But the brand had a set of customers who ran one-man-show business. For them Sumo provided twin benefit of business and family vehicle.

2008 saw something revolutionary. Tata Motors launched Sumo Grande. Sumo Grande has no resemblance to the older version of Sumo. Infact auto analysts say that Sumo Grande is an entirely new vehicle with new engine , new features and a new look.

There is no similarity between Grande and the original Sumo. Grande is positioned as a family car that feels like an SUV. By the look of it, Sumo Grande is an SUV. The brand is currently running a TVC with an international touch. The tvc shot in a foreign location has a catchy music, foreign model and a nice twist. The ad gives a clear support to the positioning of Sumo Grande as an SUV. The brand now has a new slogan " More than meets the eye " . The positioning is based on the premise that Sumo Grande delivers more than what you think it would.

But a big question is regarding the brand name. Why did Tata retain the brand Sumo. The new product is refreshingly new and everything about the brand is new, except the brand name. And for the first time, Grande looks and feels like a vehicle for individuals rather than commercial. The design has smooth curves and imposing looks of an SUV unlike the boxy Sumo. The interiors are spruced up. But Why the brand Sumo.

In theory we talk about the importance of brand associations. Sumo has strong associations with commercial vehicles. Whether Tata likes it or not, Sumo was never perceived to be a family brand. When such a strong association is existing , why did the brand use that name ?
May be the marketers at the company is not confident about launching a new brand . Tata Grande would have been a fine brand with an excellent product. Tatas could have easily drove into the mind of Indian consumers as a family SUV. Branding could have been more effective and Grande would not have to carry the burden of Sumo.

This is an exact reversal of the Maruti Zen example. When Zen was relaunched, the brand had positive association while the new product failed to deliver. In this case the brand have negative association and the product have excellent deliverables.

One reason can be the existing equity of Sumo in the commercial segment. It is where the brand has to decide on the segment. If Grande wants to take the position of Sumo in the commercial segment, it should adopt the brand name Sumo Grande. But then it should forget the family segment. If the brand decides to segment the family segment , the brand name could have been Tata Grande with no reference to Sumo. Tata could either retain the original Sumo or kill that brand which has reached the decline stage of the product-lifecycle.


But what Tata tried is to satisfy both segments which can be dangerous. I am sure that if Tata Grande delivers on performance, the commercial segment will definitely embrace the brand. Scorpio is an example where the brand is positioned as an SUV and is also successful as a commercial passenger mover. Even Tata could have introduced a variant of Grande aimed at commercial segment.

Having said that, I would like to add that Indian consumers believe in functionality more than anything else. Sumo Grande looks promising and initial auto-reviews are also positive. The brand comes with a neat price tag of Rs 6.5 lakhs to Rs 7.5 Lakhs. So there is a good probability that many individuals will try out this brand.