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Table of Contents

Page No.

List of Illustrations List of Tables Executive Summary Introduction -1

3 4 5 7
7 8

1.1 Theory and concept 1.2 Literature Review

Research methodology -2
2.1 Objectives

14
14 14 15 15 15

2.2 Limitations 2.3 Sources of Data Collection 2.4 Sampling Procedure 2.5 Primary Data Collection

Industry Overview
3.1 History of watch market

-3

16
16 16 18 19 19

3.2 Indian watch industry 3.3 Present situation of Indian watch market 3.4 Major brands in Indian watch market 3.5 Segmentation of Indian watch market

Company Profile
4.1 Overview

-4

20
20 21

4.2 Products

4.3 Precision Engineering 4.4 Awards 4.5 Elements 23

22 22

Comparative analysis with similar company Titan watches: Brand positioning strategies-5
5.1 Overall strategies 5.2 Mens segment

23 25
25

26 30 31

5.3 Womens segment 5.4 Childrens segment

Titan watches: Brand Repositioning strategies -6


6.1 New logo and tagline Be More

32
32 33 34 36

6.2 The ad making Aamir Khan 6.3 New collections and designs 6.4 Other strategies

Consumer Awareness Survey-7 7.1 Questionaire


7.2 Data Interpretation 7.3.finding of survey 7.4 articles on titan 7.5 new edge watches with ever green design

37 37
39 52 53 56

8.0 case study

60

9.0 Conclusion 10.0 bibliography

68 69

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List of illustrations
Number 1 Title Page No. Stages in brand strategy development 13 2 The principle of repositioning 15 3 Porters Five Forces Model 20 4 Titan sub-brands possessed by respondents 40 5 Period of Titan watchs use 41 6 Reasons for brand preference 42 7 43 8 Major advertisement media 44 Recall of Titans original tagline

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9 45 10 46 11

Awareness of brand ambassador

Awareness of new tagline

Consumer perception of new designs 47

12

Awareness of new campaign 48

13 49 14 50 15 51 16 service 17 watches 18

Consumer perception of new campaign

Consumer perception of store ambience

Consumer perception of sales personnel

Consumer perception about after sales 52 Consumer perception about display of 53 Overall perception about Titan showroom 54

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List of Tables
Number 1 2 Title Reasons for brand preference Major Advertisement media Page No. 42 44

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Executive Summary
Many brands and companies are constantly reinvigorating their businesses and positioning them for growth. There is a constant need to innovate, reinvigorate, update, recalibrate, or just simply fend off the competition in an effort to better explain "why buy me." Brand positioning creates a specific place in the market for the brand and product offerings. It reaches a certain type of consumers and delivers benefits that meet the needs of several key target groups and users. The actual approach of a company or brand's positioning in the marketplace depends on how it communicates the benefits and product attributes to consumers and users. As a result, the brand positioning of a company and/or product seeks to further distance itself from competitors based on a host of items, but most notably on five key issues: Price, Quality, Product Attributes, Distribution, and Usage Occasions. In recent times, consumerism has undergone a sea change. Consumers today are well informed about the products, as compared to earlier times. Hence, the marketplace has become customer centric. Recognizing the importance of the customers in the business structure, companies have started effecting brand repositioning exercises on a regular basis. In the recent times, a major brand repositioning exercise has been planned by Titan Industries Ltd. in order to provide more to its customers. The company has first gone for change in logo and tagline. Then the communication strategy has been revamped to convey its new position. The present study consists of reviewing the positioning strategies of Titan watches. An analysis of repositioning strategies of Titan also forms part of the study. The main objective of the study is to find out whether the loyal consumers of titan watches are aware of the new positioning strategies of the company and how they perceive them.

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Primary and secondary sources of data have been made use of in the study. The first part of the project, i.e., analysis of brand repositioning strategies of Titan Company has been completed on the basis of secondary data. For this purpose, internet, journals, books, magazines and so on have been made use of. The second part of the project comprises of conducting a survey with the help of questionnaire. The survey is proposed to be conducted on a sample of 50 consumers who are loyal to Titan Company, selected through convenience sampling technique. The questionnaire consists of appropriate mix of open ended and closed ended questions. The data is presented using pie charts and bar diagrams. The conclusion part of the report would provide an insight of consumer awareness regarding brand repositioning strategies and their effectiveness in revamping the brand, Titan.

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Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.1 Theory & Concept 1.2 "A business has two - and only two - basic functions: marketing and innovation." Peter Drucker

The rapid pace of change and intense competitive pressure in today's marketplace demand that brands continuously innovate and reinvent themselves to maintain their relevance and market position. In this context, brand repositioning and other revitalization strategies have become a business imperative for battling brand erosion. The appeal of brand repositioning is further heightened by the rising costs and high risk associated with launching a new brand. Brand repositioning has received little attention in the marketing literature and has mostly been treated as a variation of brand positioning. Biel, for example, has defined brand positioning as "building (or rebuilding) an image for a brand". The goal of positioning and repositioning strategies relates to the management of consumers' perceptions. However, positioning focuses on the creation of brand associations - consumers' perceptions of the attributes that differentiate the brand from competitive offers while repositioning also implies managing existing brand associations. The unique challenge of a repositioning strategy, thus, lies in rejuvenating the brand image to make it relevant in an evolving environment, while honoring the brand equity heritage. Repositioning can be required as the market changes and new opportunities occur. Through repositioning the company can reach customers they not intended to reach in the first place. If a brand has been established at the market for some time and wish to change their image they can consider repositioning, although one of the hardest actions in marketing is to
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reposition a familiar brand. According to Solomon, position strategy is an essential part in the marketing efforts because companies have to use the elements in the marketing mix to influence the customers understanding of the position. During the movement from something less attractive and relevant towards a more attractive and relevant position several of strategic choices has to be made. The ones responsible for the repositioning have to evaluate why a reposition is necessary, and if the offer is the one who will change or just the brand name. There are several risk factors that have to be taken into consideration when preparation for a repositioning of the offering or the brand. During repositioning, the risk of losing the credibility and reliability is high and the need for a thorough strategy is therefore necessary to avoid this occurrence. Some analyst argue that to successfully reposition a establish brand name is almost impossible because repositioning of a brand can make the most loyal customer to switch brand. But, in some circumstances a repositioning is necessary to gain credibility if the brand is eroded. Whenever a reposition is in question it has to be of relevance from a customer perspective, is this achievable? Some brands will on no account be thought on as a luxury brand and therefore an attempt to reposition will only damage the brand image or the actual company. Numerous failed attempts at brand repositioning testify to the difficulty of developing and implementing such a tactic. For example, while the soft drink brand, Mountain Dew has remained relevant to the youth market through continuous repositioning in its thirty years of existence, Levis' Jeans has been losing market share to newcomers such as The Gap, despite numerous campaigns designed to reposition the brand as trendy. The strategic importance of brand repositioning in preserving and enhancing brand equity, coupled with the mixed results of repositioning attempts, underscores the need to develop a better understanding of the dynamics of brand repositioning. Specifically, questions of whether, when and how brands should be repositioned need to be addressed. Research into brand repositioning is relevant not only to the development of brand management theory, but also extends to corporate strategy through an examination of corporate brands.

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1.2 Literature Review The repositioning strategy is rolled out in three stages: introductory, elaboration and fortification stages. This involves the introduction of a new or a repositioned brand, seeking to underline the brands value over others, and to broaden the brand proposition. It is truly tough to change the customers perceived attitude towards a brand, and therefore the risk is great that the attempt to repositioning might be unsuccessful. After rolling out the strategy, it is time to modify the proposition through update of the personality and through repositioning. There are benefits and risks with both of this segments and it is of great significance that they are truly evaluated when deciding the next step in the process. To further understand the stages stated above, figure.1 will guide you through the different phases that follow after establish a brand proposition.

Figure 1: Stages in brand strategy development

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The implication with the term repositioning is that a company modifies something that is already present in the market and in the consumers mind. The definition of repositioning changes different individuals and professions. To view the different definitions and perceive a greater understanding about this concept, three examples of repositioning given by individuals in different professions is stated below: Repositioning is a change, principally about trigging the vision, mission and value in a new direction that is more suited for the brand in the future. (Brand manager consultant) Principally, reposition concerns change the consumers perception of the brand (PR- consultant) Repositioning is built upon the change unique and differentiated associations with the brand in some kind of direction, it is about having a balance between the category party and differentiation when using reposition strategies (Leading brand strategist) From these definitions, it is obvious that reposition is about moving something to a newer and hopefully to a more attractive and relevant position. The purpose of the movement differs with regards to what the company wants to achieve. A company might want to reach out to a larger target group, or be involved in several different positions at the market. There is also a visible relation between price and quantity aspects. When a company perceives the market as a demand curve, the purpose is to down stretch or up stretch in this curve. When moving down it is often spoken of as an expansion down wards, and when moving up and there is a need for reaching the premium segment and expand up wards.

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Figure 2: The principle of repositioning

New Position Price

Previous Position Experienced quality When striving towards a new position in the market, it is important to understand that consumers minds are limited. Peoples minds select what to remember and it is therefore significant to convince the consumers with great arguments. The market demand changes rapidly and therefore reposition can be necessary to meet these demands, newer and stronger arguments have to be established to convince them to stay as loyal customers. As stated in the literature, repositioning is a very complicated matter and therefore there are no detailed theories or models. The aim with repositioning differ from person to person, and the only connection between all the different theories is that repositioning is moving something from somewhere towards a greater position at the market.

Corstjens and Doyle (1989) identified three types of repositioning strategies: (1) zero repositioning, which is not a repositioning at all since the firm maintains its initial strategy in the face of a changing environment; (2) gradual repositioning, where the firm performs incremental, continuous adjustments to its positioning strategy to reflect the evolution of its environment; and (3) radical repositioning that corresponds to a discontinuous shift towards a new target market and/or a new competitive advantage.

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After examining the repositioning of several brands from the Indian market, the following 9 types of repositioning have been identified. These are: 1. Increasing relevance to the consumer 2. Increasing occasions for use 3. Making the brand serious 4. Falling sales 5. Bringing in new customers 6. Making the brand contemporary 7. Differentiate from other brands 8. Changed market conditions. It is not always that these nine categories are mutually exclusive. Often one reason leads to the other and a brand is repositioned sometimes for a multiplicity of reasons. A four-phased brand repositioning approach can be followed to achieve the intended benefits: Phase I. Determining the Current Status of the Brand Phase II. What Does the Brand Stand for Today? Phase III. Developing the Brand Positioning Platforms Phase IV. Refining the Brand Positioning and Management Presentation

The benefits that can be derived from brand repositioning exercises can be summarized as: Value over others Updated personality Relevant position

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Up to date image

The risks associated with such strategies are: Loss of focus Neglecting original customers Losing credibility for the brand Confusing the brand

Therefore, brand repositioning is more difficult than initially positioning a brand because one must first help the customer unlearn the current brand positioning (easier said than done). Three actions can aid in this process: (1) carefully crafted communication, (2) new products, packaging, etc. that emphasize the new positioning and (3) associations with other brands (co-branding, co-marketing, ingredient branding, strategic alliances, etc.) that reinforce the new brand positioning. This exercise is so critical to an organizations success that the organizations leadership team and its marketing/brand management leaders should develop it, preferably with the help and facilitation of an outside brand-positioning expert.

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Chapter 2 - Research Methodology


2.1 Objectives To review the brand positioning strategies of different sub-brands of Titan watches To analyze the brand repositioning strategies of Titan watches. To study consumer awareness and perception about the brand repositioning strategies of Titan watches To recommend suitable measures to be taken by the Titan Company to further improve its brand perception and loyalty among its customers.

This study would help titan industry to understand the gaps in its communication strategy regarding brand repositioning exercises and the further measures to be taken for effective marketing communications.

2.2 Limitations The study is confined to Hyderabad area only There is possibility of sampling errors in the study The responses of the consumers may not be genuine The questions included in the questionnaire may not be comprehensive.

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2.3 Sources of Data Collection The relevant data was collected from both primary sources and secondary sources. The starting point of my information gathering has been the secondary sources such as internet, books, and journals and so on. First, I made a study of the brand positioning and repositioning strategies of Titan watches through secondary sources such as internet, insurance magazines, and journals and so on. Then I conducted a consumer awareness survey on brand repositioning strategies undertaken by Titan watches in recent times.

2.4 Sampling Procedure A sample of 50 consumers who are brand loyal to Titan watches since more than a year and in the age group of 20 30 years have been considered for this study. As Titan has taken up brand repositioning strategies since July 2008, consumers who have seen the previous and new campaign have been targeted

2.5 Primary Data Collection Data was collected through an interview schedule, consisting of both open ended and closed ended questions. The schedule covered parameters like reasons for consumers brand
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preference; recollection of earlier tagline and advertisement, brand ambassador of Titan; awareness of new tagline and campaign featuring Aamir Khan, new designs and so on. The data was collected through e- mails, telephone contacts and one-to-one personal interviews.

Chapter 3 - Industry Overview


3.1 History of the watch market The Indian watch industry began in the year 1961 with the commissioning of the watch division of HMT. The first watch model manufactured by HMT was the Janata model in the year 1962. HMT was the leader in the watch market till the Tatas formed Titan Watches in association with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation in the year 1987. They took a major strategy decision, which later changed the face of the Indian watch market- to manufacture only quartz watches. Liberalization in 1992 and the removal of quantitative restrictions due to WTO has opened the doors for many foreign brands in the Indian market viz. Tissot, Swatch, Omega, Rado, TAG Heuer, Rolex and many others. The import duties on watches are falling which makes the Indian market look attractive for the global majors like Casio, Swatch and Citizen. 3.2 Indian Watch industry: Figure 3: Porters Five Forces Model

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SUPPLIER POWER No strong suppliers Lack bargaining power Rise of China, Taiwan as low cost suppliers

BARRIERS TO ENTRY Cluttered Market Lack of Differentiation

DEGREE OF RIVALRY Increased number of firms Low switching costs Strategic stakes are high

THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES No close substitutes

BUYER POWER Price sensitivity , Buyers Preferences

1. Supplier Power: HMT has its own fully integrated operation for production of its watches. Titan has its own production facilities for which it has invested roughly 120 crore rupees over the years, the manufacturing capacity of which is 6 million units. Also there has been a rise of low cost producers in China & Taiwan which has provided an opportunity for watch makers to outsource watches at low cost, just as Titan has done to outsource the components for Dash. Due to the large supply of watch movements available, there is little supplier power in the watch market. 2. Buyer Power: The Indian watch buyers are very price sensitive, especially in the lower end of the market. There is still a huge untapped market in India with market penetration of only 20 units per thousand people while the world average is more than 100. At the same time there are a segment of people who are willing to pay a premium for watches with good performance and with a recognized brand name. So understanding the buyers preferences is very crucial in this industry in order to gain a substantial market share. 3. Entry Barriers:
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The Indian watch market in the recent years has shown a dramatic increase in the number of brands available in the market due to removal of quantitative restrictions. So the new entrant has to have an offering, which can be positioned and differentiated from the other players in the market. This could be either price or functional or emotional appeal. So the prime barrier for entry, in the current context, for a new entrant is to build a brand image and price competitively. 4. Threat of Substitutes: There are no such substitutes to watch as a product. However, in terms of the companies offering various variations for watches such as pendant watches and jewellery watches, some sort of substitution has developed. Rich consumers prefer to purchase watches more as a fashion accessory rather than simply for its typical use.

5. Degree of Rivalry: There are many companies in the Indian watch market, however, the product ranges offered by them are manifold. This makes the competition very stiff. Also at the lower end of the market it is basically the Value for Money, which differentiates the players. The strategic stakes for the producers are very high. Titan Ltd., the largest company in terms of market share in the organized sector has faced losses in the quarter ended June 2001 despite increase in the market share due to macroeconomic situation. HMT faced a similar situation when Titan was introduced in the 1980s leading to a sharp fall in its market share.

3.3 Present Situation of the Indian Watch Market The Indian watch market is today of 40 million units, out which 60% is in the unorganized sector in which the maximum number of watches are sold are below Rs.300. Quartz watches form two thirds of the organized sector and the rest is split between mechanical and digital watches. Even in the organized sector, three fourth of the sales by volume comes from watches that are priced below Rs.1000.

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Plastic as such is not acceptable to average Indian consumers, especially those from the small towns and rural areas who regard it as cheap and flimsy. They want toughnesswhich translates into a good quality metal model at a reasonable price. Watch is one of the consumer durables whose replacement rate is very high. The replacement rate of watch is 33.8%(Source: India market demographics report, 1998). This is also due to the fact that the estimated scrap rate of wrist watches is 7.8%, which is applicable after 6 years (Source: India market demographics report, 1998). So due to high scrap rate, outdated models, and the shift from the mechanical watches to the quartz watches is causing a very high replacement demand for watches. This along with the low penetration levels represent the untapped market potential for watches in India.

3.4 Major brands in the Indian watch market The major players in the Indian watch market include HMT, Titan and Timex. The other players include Westar, Shivaki, Maxima, SITCO. Foreign brands such as Cartier, Piaget, Omega, Tiffanys and Corrum, Gucci, Longines, Casio, Citizen, Tag Heuer and Espirit are also making an inroad into the Indian market. Titan has been consolidating its market share over the past decade. Timex watches, which entered in India with collaboration with Titan, now independently has also gained substantial market share.

3.5 Segmentation of Indian Watch industry Based on price Mass (Rs.350-600), Popular (Rs.600-900),
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Premium (Rs.900-1500), Super-premium (Rs.1500-8000) Connoisseur segments (above Rs.8000)

Based on user category Mens watches Womens watches Youth watches Kids watches Sports watches

Chapter 4 - Company Profile

4.1 Overview Titan Industries was established in 1984 as a joint venture between the Tata Group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. The company brought about a paradigm shift in the Indian watch market, offering quartz technology with international styling, manufactured in a state-of-the-art factory at Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Leveraging its understanding of different segments in the watch market, the company launched a second independent watch brand-Sonata, as a value brand to those seeking to buy functionally styled watches at affordable prices. In addition it focused on the youth with its third brand Fastrack. It has also premium fashion watches by acquiring a license for global brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss, while. It has also in its portfolio its first Swiss Made watch brand Xylys.
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In 1995, the company diversified into jewellery under the brand Tanishq to capitalize on a fragmented market operating with no brands in urban cities. In 2005, the company launched its second Jewellery brand, Gold Plus, for capitalizing on the opportunity in small towns and rural India. The company has now diversified into fashion Eyewear by launching Fastrack EyeGear sunglasses, as well as Prescription Eyewear. The Company leveraged its manufacturing competencies and branched into Precision Engineering Products and Machine Building from 2003. Today Titan Industries is India's leading manufacturer of watches and jewellery employing 3,800 people. Titan and Tanishq are among the most admired brands in their categories.

4.2 Products The company manufactures over 8 million watches per annum and has a customer base of over 80 million. It has manufacturing and assembly operations at Hosur, Dehradun, Roorkee and Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and an ECB plant in Goa. Its main products are:

Watches : Currently manufactures four main watch brands viz. Titan for the premium segment, Fastrack focused on the youth and trendy fashion space, Sonata for the mass market and Xylys for the premium market. The Titan brand architecture comprises several sub-brands, each of which is a leader in its segment. Notable among them are: Titan Edge The world's slimmest watch which stands for the philosophy of "less is more"; Titan Raga the feminine and sensuous accessory for today's woman, Nebula - crafted in solid gold and precious stones and several other collections like Wall Street, Heritage, Regalia, Octane, Orion, Diva, Zoop, WWF and the Aviator series, all of which form a part of the Titan wardrobe. Sonata is today
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India's largest watch selling brand and is priced between Rs 295/- and Rs 1200/-. The company's first Swiss Made watch Xylys is for the hi-end connoisseur and new age achiever. It also markets Tommy Hilfiger watches under a licensing arrangement and is introducing Hugo Boss. Today, the Titan portfolio has about 65% of the domestic market share in the organized watch market.

The company has 255 exclusive showrooms christened 'World of Titan', making it amongst the largest chains in its category. Titan watches are sold through over 12,000 outlets in over 2,500 cities and internationally in over 30 countries, primarily in the Middle-East and Asia Pacific. Its after-sales-service is itself a benchmarked operation with a network of 750 service centres and amongst the world's fastest turnaround times. The company has a world-class design studio for watches and accessories.

Jewellery : Tanishq is India's largest and fastest growing jewellery brand with a premium range of gold jewellery studded with diamonds or coloured gems and a wide range in 22kt pure gold. Platinum jewellery is also a part of the product range Tanishq is one of India's largest speciality retailers and is transforming the jewellery market in India 102 boutiques in 72 cities across the country. Gold Plus' is the recent retail offering for the mass market with plain gold jewellery selling through 19 stores in 19 towns. The jewellery division has its own design studio.

Eye wear : Titan Eye+ is currently on a pilot mode with 5 stores in 2 cities and has sunglasses under Fastrack brand and prescription eyewear consisting of Frames, Lenses, Sunglasses, Accessories and Contact Lenses of in-house brands and other premium brands.

4.3 Precision Engineering The company's Precision Engineering Division supplies precision components to the avionics and the automotive industry. It also manufactures dashboard clocks as OEM to car manufacturers in Europe and America. The division also provides fully integrated Automation solutions

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4.4 Awards The company has been awarded the following distinctions:

Being named the No.1 Brand in the Consumer Durables category in the "Brand Equity" Survey of The Economic Times, a leading Indian financial daily. The Titan Design Team won the Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year award at the design awards instituted by the National Institute of Design and Business World, a leading Indian magazine. The team has won 7 accreditations also.

Both Titan and Tanishq have been adjudged "Most Admired Brands" as well as "Retailer of the Year" by Images Fashion Forum in consecutive years.

Retail Asia and Media Magazine Singapore adjudged Titan Industries as amongst the leading Retailing Companies in India.

Titan has won the Brand Leadership award at the India Brand Summit. The Time Products Division of the company was awarded the JRD QV Award in 2006.

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4.5 Elements of Industry Structure Let us analyse the industry structure in the 1980s when Tatas decided to make a foray in the watch market. We use Michael Porters 5 forces model to cary out the industry analysis. Industry Structure: The industry consisted of the organized segment which was dominated by HMT, and the unorganized segment consisting of small time local players and the gray market. HMT, the timekeepers to the nation, manufactured only mechanical watches. The HMT watches fulfilled only the functional needs of a watch. Small time players lacked the nation wide reach that HMT had. They also did not have reliable support network. The gray market was flooded with quartz and digital watches from Japan. Though the gray market did not have the support network their sturdy performance and their looks made the Japanese watches very attractive purchases. Buyers: The penetration of watches within India was low, therefore there was a huge untapped market. The buyers wanted watches that offered more than just the functional benefit. There was also a latent demand for quartz analog and digitasl wathes that HMT was unable to fulfill as it manufactured only mechanical watches. The brisk sales of imported watches in the gray market hinted that there was a segment of people who were willing to pay a premium for watches with good design and performance. Suppliers: HMT had fully integrated operation for mechanical watches. There was no concept of having vendors in the watch industry. Since the suppliers role in this industry was very limited they did not have strong bargaining power. Substitutes: The quartz technology had become popular all over the world. Quartz watches from Japan had already beaten the Swiss in their own game in the sixties and the seventies. The Swiss had refused to embrance the new quartz technology and they had suffered because of their adherence to mechanical watches. HMT was making the same mistake in India. Since the imports were not freely permitted, there was no immediate possibility of some company entering into the watch market by assembling imported parts (assembly of completely knocked down kits). New entrants: The demand for watches in the gray market indicated that there was space in the market for a new entrant who would provide watches with good design and reliable performance. The new entrant could score over HMT with good design, over the gray market by providing dependable after sales service, and over the local players by establishing nationwide distribution network.

4.6 SWOT ANALYSIS with that of similar company HMT A. Strengths 1. HMT is the market leader in the mechanical watches which serves t h e lower segment of the society.2. HMT has a very strong brand image because of the quality and reliability offered by the brand.3 . C o m p a n y s l i q u i d i t y p o s i t i o n h a s b e e n q u i t e c o m f o r t a b l e a n d h a s availability of tangible assets such as land and buildings.4. Production facility is flexible enough to adapt to newer technologies. B. Weakness1. No emphasis on Research and Development.

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2. Competitors have successfully been able to innovate continuously there by launching newer designs in the market where as HMT has failed to do so. 3. HMT did not have control over their retailers hence they lost control over prices and trade .4 . N o r e g u l a r t r a d e a u d i t s h a v e b e e n c a r r i e d o u t b y t h e c o m p a n y t o determine what is going around in the market. 5. It restricted product development to quality development only .6. Bureaucratic and centralized decision making inhibited HMTs ability to respond quickly with respect to market changes. C. Opportunities 1. There are good diversification possibilities in products. Apart from the mechanical watches HMT can also focus on multifunctional and d i g i t a l watches with advanced technologies. 2. Company can expand in the market by launching products suitable for customers in a particular market segment like the youth, gift fashion, sports etc. 3. Enlarge network of the sales outlets. 4. Leveraging brand equity of HMT to products such as sports gear, personal accessories. D. Threats 1. Worldwide decline in the production and demand of mechanical watches due to growing acceptance of Quartz watches. 2. Competitors successfully exploited the lifestyle segmentation which HMT failed to .3. More of unorganized manufacturing has been haunting HMT. 4. With the cheap prices and the availability of the watches by the regionalplayers has been a big reason for the decline in market share

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Chapter 5 - Titan Watches: Brand Positioning Strategies

5.1 Overall strategies Since its introduction, Titan has been positioned as a premium brand, providing high quality products. With its numerous sub-brands catering to different segments, the challenge that Titan faces is to create a strong brand image. It follows different positioning strategies, these strategies can also be analyzed as given below: Attribute Positioning: When the company launched its products, it was the first to bring quartz watches to the Indian market. The company successfully leveraged this to penetrate the market and gain a market share. Raga, Classique and Regalia come under this strategy. Classique has been positioned as elegant corporate wear that leaves a quiet, but definite impression and fusion of function and sophistication. Power dressing now has a new weapon! As Magic in gold and bicolour look, the 'Regalia' range represents the essence of dress-wear. Raga has been differentiated and positioned as exclusive watches for women. The Raga and Silver Raga collection is elegant, delicate and feminine with each piece being truly unique.

User Positioning: Titan caters to several user groups- children (the Dash), sportspersons and adventurers (PSI4000 and Fastrack range). The Fastrack range is seen as being contemporary, sturdy and reliable. The advertising, packaging and merchandising of this range is young, vibrant and cool (the ad line says Cool watches by Titan) Benefit Positioning: The Fastrack Digital range offers the customer a functional watch that is also attractive. The digital watch has a techno-geek image, but Titan seeks to differentiate its offering on the basis of superior style and attractiveness.

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Competitor Positioning: With the entry of several foreign watchmakers into the market, Titan had to counter the threat. Most of the entrants are catering to the upper end of the market- Omega, Tissot, Cartier etc. Titan already had the Tanishq brand in this segment. However, it has tried to reposition this brand by increasing the price range to encourage more customers. Quality or Price Positioning: In the overseas market, especially in Europe where it is competing with Swiss and Japanese watches, it is positioning itself as value- for- money: reasonably priced (less than Swiss watches and higher than Japanese), attractively styled and of good quality. In Indian market, Sonata is a perfect example of Price positioning, titan came up with this segment when it was facing heavy competition from lower end segment.

5.2 Mens segment: With Titan positioning its range of watches as a life-style, the Indian market started viewing watch more as a complement to dress than just a time showing machine. They are also realising that, unlike other forms of art that are meant to be admired, high-end jewellery watches have that added bonus: practical luxury with a function other than beauty. Watches have joined the list of tie, deodorant and shoes to represent the occasion and flaunt your status. Dress Wear Titan has three brands positioned for this segment: Nebula, Regalia and Insignia. Nebula: Marketed as the Jewellery collection from Titan, Nebula is targeted towards affluent men who consider wearing gold jewellery a symbol of status. Magical blend of most coveted of metals, Gold and craftsmanship; Nebula is more of a connoisseur watch with the lowest price model at Rs.5500. It is marketed as a watch for discerning individual positioned as a gold jewel.

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Regalia: Incredibly eye-catching. magic in gold. The watch uses the unique combination of gold and bicolour looks representing the essence of dress-wear. In India, gold-look is associated with status but at the same time, the silver-look is the fashion of the day in international watches. With the combination of both, this watch is targeted towards affluent businessmen. The elegant looks and colours make it a strong competitor to the foreign brands like the Tissot, Piaget and Rado. This is also marketed as a watch for gift Special Watch for special occasion, positioning this as a costly gift. Insignia: The World Watch from Titan. The watch with fascinating designs and precision engineering was targeted towards the European markets. The complexity of this watch is 10 times more than a regular titan watch. Though it didnt meet with much of a success in Europe, this tag line and keyword International are used to position this watch as a world-class watch for international traveller with European tastes. Classic Watches Watches that are for every-day use and those with less frills and more value are classified as Classic watches. These watches are normally targeted towards middle and upper middle-income class consumers. Classique:
Power dressing now has a new weapon!

Timeless elegance captured on the wrist.


Classique' is marketed as a fusion of function and sophistication.

Classique with its looks

fits the formal corporate image and is positioned as a watch for corporate employees. This also reinforces the importance of watch along with the dress worn. These watches are generic in their simplicity and find no real competitors except HMT.

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Royale: Collection of designs that suit everyday wear. Royale with its gold plated case and golden straps represents a formal every day watch targeted towards the employees who cant afford multiple watches for occasions. The watch includes designs from simple to dressy eveningwear switching between informal and formal looks based on the place and situation. Spectra: Designed for those who look beyond the ordinary. This brand from Titan extends over wide range of prices from 900-7000. It is a classic premium watch with style, which boasts of combining the sturdiness of steel with richness of gold. The positioning of the watch is not very clear as it is targeted towards the salary earners with its lower price point models and appealing models for the corporate executives at the higher end.

Sports Watches In the Indian scenario the sport awareness is not quite there. And the market is not mature enough that consumers buy special watches for sporting except in the super-premium and segments above that. A sports watch in the mind of an average Indian is a polyamide watch with stopwatch and trendy look. So there is no clear distinction between sports watches and casual watches. But in the available market Timex, Casio, and Titan are major players and after the lifting of QR restrictions, world famous Tag- Heur has also entered India but in the Connoisseur segment of sports watches. PSI2000: Titan has introduced a range of contemporary Precision Sports watches. The brand is marketed as tough, outdoor, adventure brand. (Psychographically segmented) Ranging from 800 to 7500, these watches are in direct competition with foreign brands like Swatch Irony.

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Casual Wear: The segment of watches that has a variety of brands and models to appeal to the youth and mentally young people is casual wear. The watches in this segment are mainly sporty watches, which are unconventional and typically symbolize the attitudes of younger generation. Titan Fast Track Cool watches from Titan. The target audience for this watch, in the 20-35 age group include working adults and postgraduate students of both sexes in metros and mini metros. The Fast Track user, in terms of attitude is one who wears an informal dress, wears branded jeans, shirts, sunglasses and branded informal shoes. The Fast Track personality is that of a young, energetic, achievement oriented person, who seeks to express his or her individuality by braking free from constraints of formal environment, without being a rebel. Built around the Cool concept, this watch from Titan has virtually very few competitors because no one offers the feature combination and price but Casio (in digital range) and Espirit and Swatch (in the analog range) can be considered as competitors feature-wise. Technology Watches Wrist Watches have changed a lot from the inception- a time showing convenience machine to a status symbol. But the underlying concept remained unchanged, convenience. Stretching this concept a bit with the development of technology are the technology watches available in the market. Watch for time, status has in the new technology era is looked for convenience of carrying data. In to the competitive market with people willing to pay a premium for that advantage, a good number of brands have ventured. Technology (2350-8200): Multi-functional watches for the Tech-savvy. This brand is marketed as mergers of classic elegance and technological mastery giving rise to multi-functional chronographs using the solar power. This brand is positioned to compete against the Citizens EcoDrive.

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5.3 Womens segment Dress Wear Titan has chiefly three brands in this category. Nebula (6000-65000)The Jewelers Collection Nebula is a precious jewellery watch from Titan. It is marketed as a magical blend of most coveted of metals and engineering excellence. The Nebula range of watches is positioned as objects of ornamentation. A 21 carat gold watch, studded with gems it is targeted at the upper most end of the market in competition with brands such as Rolex and Cartier. Regalia Regalia range is positioned as Essence of dress wear. It is marketed as Incredibly eye catchingmagic in gold. With the unique combination of gold and bicolor looks and sleek case, Regalia is targeted towards middle-aged women who consider watch to be a status symbol and also representing their delicacy. It is available in many price points between Rs.1800 onwards. Raga and the Silver Raga Raga and the Silver Raga collection are positioned as Ethnic Indian styling for the sophisticated woman. Each piece is truly unique and represents elegance, delicacy and feminine. The designs and the bracelets represent traditional Indian ornaments as well as contemporary style. Both the watches are exclusively designed to appeal to women more as an ornamental possession than a watch. The Silver Raga has been crafted exclusively for the sophisticated woman who believes in value-for-money and who wears silver jewellery with lan. At the beginning, when the brands were launched, they were positioned as Watches for all dresses with changeable dials matching the sari color. But the proposition was viewed with skepticism and hence didnt meet with much success. Keeping in mind Indian womens

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love for jewellery, both these brands are repositioned as a perfect accessory that completes a woman's wardrobe. Casual Wear Fastrack The woman's collection presents the all-new international 'Frosted' look, which is trendy and chic. The ad line : Fastrack- Cool watches from Titan, aims at building the brand around the cool concept. Fastrack is targeted at a personality that is young, energetic, achievement-oriented, who seeks to express her individuality by breaking free from constraints imposed by formal environments, without being a rebel. The positioning of Fastrack for men and women is almost the same.

5.4 Childrens Segment Titan has a brand called Dash! for kids. These are bright, colorful watches targeted at children aged 6-14 years. These watches are priced Rs.250 onwards to Rs.495 and are marketed under the ad line: Wow! Watches from Titan. The three main collections from Dash include the Popeye Collection, which feature cartoon character Popeye, and his friends. There is also a Digital Range, which has features like Ellight, compass, Velco straps. So Titan is positioning Dash watches as Fun watches for kids. Its features such as comic characters also appeal to the frivolous nature of the children. Dash also has a special collection for girls, with changeable bezel rings, priced at Rs.295. There are some other watches such as Pop-Swatch from Swatch, which are positioned using the same appeal that of Dash and are expected to give Dash a tough time at the same competitive prices

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Chapter 6 - Titan Watches: Brand Repositioning Strategies


Titan Industries decided to revamp its flagship watch brand, Titan, with the intention of making it more youthful and relevant to the changing times. The brand, launched more than 24 years ago, has undergone a major repositioning exercise only once before five years ago, when Hindi film actor Aamir Khan was appointed brand ambassador. What followed later was the Whats Your Style? campaign, which tried to increase watch consumption per person, by suggesting the use of different watches for different occasions.

6.1 New logo and tagline - Be More Beyond style Now, Titan wants to move from style statements to personality statements. According to Harish Bhat, chief operating officer, watches, Titan Industries, a watch ought to denote the wearers mood and personality. With the explosion of options in a persons life, our core consumer is changing. And to keep up with them, Titan has evolved too, he says. On the adoption of Be More, Bhat says that that statement is supposed to denote the aspirations of consumers to make more of their lives and be whatever they want to be. The watch allows for such imaginative travels, he says. Titans agency, Ogilvy India, has devised a campaign featuring Aamir Khan that encourages people to find a new strand of their personality every day. It all started with a logo change a few months ago (the same font in a red and white combination), followed by a campaign rolled out now. The ad film opens on a shot of Aamir Khan sitting alone on a roller coaster, stating, Be born every day. Next, he is seen chasing the shadow of an aircraft on a beach, then,

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sitting beside a truck driver, in the middle of nowhere, with a trail of chassis trucks behind him. Here, he asks the viewers to try the adventure of getting off at an unknown station, of exploring unknown lands. As he crashes his vehicle while go-karting, Khan waves to the others around him, while his voiceover explains the importance of making ones own mistakes. Further on, he talks of not making your passport photos last longer than three months you need to constantly reinvent yourself and adopt a new look every day (cut to shots of Khans varied hairstyles and looks in his movies, shown in an ambient way through posters and T-shirts). Shock your reflection! says Khan, as we see him with funny accessories framing his face. The next vignette has him practising meditation while slyly checking out a girl walking past (Explore). Cut to a shot of children, with Khan explaining how we aspired to be different people as kids lets revive that aspiration today. Wearing armour (sword and all), Khan reiterates, Be Born, Every Day. Titan. Be More. Malvika Mehra, group creative director, Ogilvy & Mather Bangalore, says, Be More pushes people to live many lives in one. We want to trigger people into questioning, Why should we be single minded and boring? Time to be multi-faceted, just like Titan! Khan fit the bill as Ogilvy borrowed from his own life and work and his need to constantly experiment and reinvent himself. Be it Mangal Pandey or Lagaan or Dil Chahta Hai, Aamir always manages to look different in every role, explains Mehra. So we showed him doing things that were spontaneous, such as exploring places or go-karting. The idea, simply put, is to live life to the fullest with Titan being the instrument of such expressive liberation. The film was conceptualised by Mehra along with Amit Akali, Anil Thomas, Kunj Shah (who wrote the script) and N Ajesh of Ogilvy. In a sense, says Mehra, the spontaneity in the ad is an indication of Titans gradual shift from the old to the youthful (from My Dads Brand to My Brand). That is the way many categories are moving, she says. 6.2 The ad making Aamir Khan

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The ad was directed by Prasoon Pandey of Corcoise Films; this is Pandeys third Titan film, the earlier two involved Khan and his assistant, played by the late Vihang Nayak. The first film had Khan confused about which watch to match with each outfit hes packing before a trip, while the second film showed him delighting a girl in a mall with a watch. This third film has a much stronger script than those two, shrugs Pandey. Its about bringing a mindset onto the screen with a better celeb-brand marriage. Shot entirely in Chennai, the film has been shot in a way that suggests that multiple locations were used for the shoot, as opposed to one city. We had fast paced shots to spread the look of the film, says Pandey. When asked why Chennai, he quips, Because it was raining in Mumbai then! Several layers were added to the film. To show the aspirations of children, a young girl was shown staring at an object and, later in the frame, you see the object is a butterfly the girl wants to fly. Kids are freer in their thinking than adults and we hope this has been portrayed, Pandey says. Even the last frame of the ad, which has Khan dressed as a mock warrior (with an impromptu utensil serving as his helmet), was made to look like the man had made use of things lying nearby in a spontaneous way.

6.3 New Collections and Designs

Sonatas sub-brands Sonata has launched the Yuva 2008 collection, a series of colourful watches. They are available in both casual and formal styles to complement the young, new look for college or office wear. The collection has watches for both men and women at price s starting at Rs 645. They are available in both gold and steel looks, with both metal and leather straps.

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Sonata, the watch brand from the Tatas, launched the Super Fibre, targeted at the sub-Rs 500 market in urban, semi-urban and rural India. The watches have been designed primarily for youth in the 16-30 age group, and will be available in a price range of Rs 275 to Rs 550. The tag line for this sub-brand is Super Strong, Super Style. The company announced 360-degree marketing campaign for the new offerings. It also unveiled its TV commercial featuring Indian ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in a brand new avatar. Titan Raga Hazel Collection Titan Raga has launched the Hazel collection, inspired by the hues of nature. Priced between Rs 2,195 and Rs 4,000, this range comprises five styles with versions in gold, steel and bi-metal finish. They are available as bracelets and kadas with textured or patterned look and mother-of-pearl dials. Octane Titan has launched the Octane collection of chronograph, multifunction and retrograde watches for the urban man. The range is described as blending style and technology. The collection has over 35 styles and is priced between Rs. 5,000 and Rs 7,500. Nebula Celeste It is a limited edition collection of jewellery timepieces. They are crafted in 18k white and yellow gold. Prices range from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 12 lakhs. Raga Crystals Titan Industries Ltd has unveiled its new Raga Crystals collection of watches in Kerala. The two new watches, called Venus and Fairy Dust, are available in yellow metal and bi-metal versions. Venus is priced at Rs 4,450 and Fairy Dust at Rs 4,750. Titans Stambha A new ladies Heritage wrist watch Stambha signifying fame, prosperity and good luck was unveiled as part of Heritage collection. MrVijesh Rajan, Regional Sales Manager (South), launching the watch collection, said that plans are on the anvil to launch one new
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collection every month, reflecting the 3000-year old art and cultural history of the country. A sale of around 7,500 watches has been fixed as a target for this fina ncial year in the Heritage collection, he added. The prices in the collection range between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000.

Nebula Zeus It is a mechanical automatic watch in solid gold for men. Priced at Rs.1,10,000, the limited edition watch (500 pieces) harks back to an older era of luxury and romance. The Nebula Zeus watch has been crafted using Swiss made mechanical automatic movement with gold finish and a sapphire crystal back cover. Other features include an instant start, a second hand stop device for accurate time setting; 42 hours reserve powers and auto wind convenience. The watch collection was launched by singer and actor, Vasundhara Das.

Raga Shimmer It comprises of a collection of exquisitely designed studded watches that complement both Indian-wear as well as Western-wear. Priced between Rs 2,995 and Rs 4,495, the new collection comprises watches in gold, steel and bi-metal finishes. Raga Diva An exquisite range of watches for women in the Kerala market. Inspired by traditional Kundan work, this collection has been rendered in a delightfully contemporary form. It is priced between Rs 4,000 and Rs 10,000. Titan Nebula Duet Collection Titan Nebula, the premium 18K gold watch brand from Titan, today launched the Duet collection three pairs of specially crafted gold watches for the wedding season. The most premium collection for this wedding season was unveiled by popular actor Gul Panag. Available in mother of pearl dials in both champagne and white options it is priced between Rs.30, 500/- and Rs.1,35,000.

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6.4 Other Strategies Titan is also trying to reach new customer segments. They are now trying to target all adults in socio economic classes A&B. Titan is also looking at innovative retail strategies .

Chapter 7 Consumer Awareness Survey


7.1 QUESTIONNAIRE 1. Which sub-brand of Titan watches do you possess? a) Fastrack b) Sonata c) Raga d) Nebula e) Others, please specify.

2. Since how many months / years have you been using Titan watch?

3. Why do you prefer Titan brand? a) Attractive designs, b) Reasonable price c) Brand image d) Good quality

4. Do you remember the original tagline of Titan watches? If yes, please mention.
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5. Have you seen the advertisement of Titan watches? a) Yes b) No

6. In which media have you seen the advertisement? a) TV b) Newspaper c) Magazines d) Hoardings e) Radio

7. Who is the brand ambassador of Titan watches?

8. Are you aware of the new tagline of Titan?

9. How do you rate the new designs of Titan? a) Poor b) Average c) Above Average d) Good e) Excellent

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10. Have you seen the new campaign of Titan? a) Yes b) No

11. Do you think the new advertisement is effective in inspiring consumers to have a new look everyday and be more in lives? a) Not at all effective b) Effective c) Highly effective

12. How do you rate Titans exclusive showrooms with respect to the following: (1Poor, 2-Average, 3-Above Average, 4-Good, 5-Excellent)

a) Ambience b) Sales personnel c) After sales service d) Display of watches e) Overall showroom

13. What suggestions would you like to give to improve Titans brand image among customers?

7.2 Data Interpretation


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Titan sub-brand owned This was a multiple choice question where respondents were asked to choose subbrands of Titan which they possess. It was found that around 72% of the consumers in the age group of 20-30 years possess Fastrack brand, 14% Sonata, 6% Raga, 4% Nebula and only 2% own WWF and Edge. Figure 4: Titan sub-brands possessed by respondents

Period of use
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The respondents were asked to mention since how long they have been brand loyal to Titan. This was an open ended question and hence various responses were received. The minimum period of use was set as one year, as mentioned earlier, while the maximum period of use was determined. For convenience, the different responses are categorized into three: 1year 4years, 4years 7years and 7years 10years. 64% of the respondents fall into first category, i.e., they are using Titan watch in the range of one to four years. 24% respondents are in second category and the rest 12 % are using it for more than seven years.

Figure 5: Period of Titan watchs use

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Reasons for brand loyalty The respondents were asked to select the reasons from the options given for their preference for Titan watches. For this question, multi-responses were received from the respondents.

Table 1: Reasons for brand preference Reasons Attractive designs Reasonable Price Brand image Good quality No. of respondents ( out of total 50) 39 7 22 25

Figure 6: Reasons for brand preference

Recall of Titans tagline

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Titans tagline, before brand repositioning exercise has been undertaken, was Whats your style. This tagline was adopted during first rebranding exercise in 2004. The respondents were asked to indicate whether they remember the tagline in dichotomous way, i.e., as yes or no. It was found that only 22% of the respondents were able to recall the tagline and the remaining 78% answered in negative.

Figure 7: Recall of Titans original tagline

Titans advertisements
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Titan advertises its watches in almost all media vehicles. The advertisements can be seen in TV, magazines, newspaper, hoardings, billboards, radio and so on. All the 50 respondents have seen the advertisements of Titan watches in various media. This was a multi-response question and the options given to select were restricted to TV, magazines, newspapers, hoardings and radio. The findings of the survey have been summarized in a table as follows: Table 2: Major Advertisement media

Types of media TV Magazines Newspapers Hoardings Radio

No. of respondents 46 25 36 15 4

Figure 8: Major advertisement media

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Brand Ambassador of Titan Aamir Khan is the brand ambassador of Titan since 2004. When the respondents were asked to recollect the same, it was found that 46 of 50 sample size were able to correctly mention the brand ambassador while the remaining 4 did not give any response implying that they are not aware of it.

Figure 9: Awareness of brand ambassador

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Awareness of new tagline Be More The survey has revealed that less than half of the total numbers of respondents are aware of new tagline. 36% of the respondents could correctly mention the tagline while the rest are not even aware that Titan has adopted major rebranding strategies last year. Figure 10: Awareness of new tagline

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New designs of Titan Titan has launched several new designs in 2008 in its existing collections and as per its plans introduced new product collections also. The respondents were asked to rate the new designs as poor, average, above average, good and excellent. 7 respondents feel that their designs are excellent, 39 have rated them as good and 4 have rated as average.

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Figure 11: Consumer perception of new designs

New Campaign of Titan The survey has revealed that the percentage of respondents who have seen the new campaign focussing on be more featuring Aamir Khan is 50%. Figure 12: Awareness of new campaign

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Rating of New Campaign The 50% of the respondents who have seen the new campaign were asked to rate it with respect to how effective the campaign is in inspiring consumers to have a new look everyday and be more in lives. The respondents were asked to rate it as not at all effective, effective and highly effective. 16 out of 25 respondents consider the new campaign to be highly effective while the remaining 9 rated it as effective

Figure 13: Consumer perception of new campaign

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Titans exclusive showrooms The respondents were asked to rate Titans exclusive showrooms on 5 point rating scale Poor, Average, Above Average, Good and Excellent. The factors related to showrooms that were provided to the respondents for rating are store ambience, sales personnel, after sales service and display of watches.

Figure 14: Consumer perception of store ambience


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36 of the 50 respondents have rated store ambience as Good and 7 each rated as Above Average and Excellent. This proves that store ambience plays an important role in consumer perception of service quality. Figure 15: Consumer perception of sales personnel

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With respect to sales personnel, 35 respondents rated them as Good, while 4 each rated as Poor and Average, 7 respondents gave rating of Above Average. Figure 16: Consumer Perception about after sales service

In the survey, 31 out of 50 respondents rated after sales service as Good, 4 each as Average, Above Average, Excellent while 7 respondents rated as Poor.

Figure 17: Consumer perception of Display of watches


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Most of the respondents have given high ratings to the display of watches in Titan showroom. 22 respondents rated it as Excellent, 24 respondents as Good and only 4 respondents gave rating of Average. Figure 18: Overall perception about Titan showrooms

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The respondents were also asked to give overall rating to Titans exclusive showrooms. It was found that out of total 50 respondents, 30 rated as good while the remaining considered the showrooms to be excellent. Around 50% of the respondents rated all the variables related to Titans exclusive showrooms as good. This shows that the store ambience, sales personnel, after sales service and display of watches in the showrooms play a major role in determining the customer perception about brand. Suggestions given by the respondents to improve brand image Varied responses were received for this question. All the responses have been summarized as follows: Introduce more trendy and innovative designs Focus on niche markets such as working men and women Spread awareness about availability of watches in lower segments as most of the consumers feel that Titan brand is synonymous with premium watches. Take steps to change consumer perception that Titan watches are high priced. Improve after sales service.

7.3 Findings of the survey The findings of the consumer awareness survey are listed below: 72% of the respondents in the age group of 20 30 years possess fastrack watch. This shows that the positioning strategy of these watches has been good. Most of the consumers prefer Titan watches for their attractive designs and good quality. However, there is a misconception about pricing of Titan products among the consumers. They perceive them to be high priced.

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Logos and taglines are rarely noticed by the watch consumers. Hence, any change in them also goes unnoticed. Advertisement in mass media such as television, newspapers, and magazines are best means to spread awareness about brand. Celebrity endorsement of watches not only increases the visibility of the product but also gives an assurance to the consumers that it is of high quality. Titan watches designs are rated as good by 78% of the respondents. This indicates that they are looking forward for more innovative designs to be introduced by the company. Only 50% of the respondents have seen the new campaign launched by Titan watches in July 2008. This implies that the reach of the campaign in six months has been to more or less half of the consumers. However, those who have seen the new campaign consider it to be effective in conveying the message it intended to deliver, i.e., to be more in lives. The after sales service and behavior of sales personnel have been given low ratings compared to other variables mentioned in the questionnaire with respect to Titans exclusive showrooms. 7.4 Articles on titan

Titan to open 50 more stores by end of current fiscal August 13, 2008 | PTI NEW DELHI: In tune with its plan to take the total number of exclusive outlets to 300, Tata Group company 'Titan Industries' will open 50 more exclusive stores for its popular watch brand by the end of current fiscal. "Titan at present has 250 exclusive outlets in the country and by the end of current fiscal, we will be adding another 50 stores to take the total number to 300," Titan Industries Global Marketing Head Suprana Mitra told reporters here. Expect Nifty to go down to 5150-5200 levels in the medium term: Ashwani Gujral,... March 21, 2013 | ET Now In an interview with ET Now, Ashwani Gujral, Fund Manager , Ashwanigujral.com, gives his outlook for the market. Excerpts: ET Now: How do you think traders should look at positioning themselves on the Nifty come tomorrow because one never knows where this volatility is going to lead us? Ashwani Gujral: Well, it is very clear where the volatility will lead you because it is always leading you on the downside by the end of the day.
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Young Investor: 23-year old Apra Jain on need to invest regularly April 1, 2013 | Milan Sharma , ET Bureau Apra Jain : I'm 23 years old and I work for a private firm. I started investing when I was 21 years old. I've no short-term goals, just want to build a big corpus. "I want to increase my monthly investments and try out different avenues. I may even try putting money in futures and options. " Started investing at 21 because: I want to grow my personal wealth quickly. I had graduated in finance and investment from Amity University. Tata Sons hikes stake in Titan to 15.22% for Rs 979.21 crore March 28, 2013 | PTI NEW DELHI: Titan Industries today said one of its promoter firms Tata Sons has acquired an additional 4.37 per cent stake in the company from another promoter entity Kalimati Investment for Rs 979.21 crore. In a filing to the BSE , Titan Industries said Kalimati Investment Company transferred 3,87,80,000 equity shares in the firm to Tata Sons today. The transferred shares represent 4.37 per cent stake in Titan Industries, Why low-profile Utpal Sheth is a perfect foil to Rakesh Jhunjunwala August 24, 2012 | Ahona Ghosh , ET Bureau MUMBAI: The year is 2004. Two top analysts of Rakesh Jhunjunwala's (RJ) Rare Enterprises are at the headquarters of Titan Industries in Bangalore. After two days of meetings with some 20 senior executives of the watches and jewellery marketer, the duo rushes back excitedly to Mumbai. The same night one of them makes a presentation of their findings to RJ, illustrating the bright prospects he foresaw for Titan. Titan Industries announces VRS July 28, 2002 | Arun Iyer , TNN BANGALORE: Leading watch maker Titan Industries has announced its voluntary retirement scheme. The scheme which opened on July 25 will remain till August 10. The decision to announce VRS comes even as the board of directors is scheduled to meet on July 31 and covers all full-time employees at the Hosur and Dehradun factories besides the corporate office at Bangalore as also other offices of the company. The company has also intimated Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday . Buy Titan Industries: Ashwani Gujral August 23, 2011 | ET Now Ashwani Gujral, Chief Market Strategist, ashwanigujral.com in a chat with ET Now talks about Titan Industries . How do you see Titan Industries? Titan is probably getting into some kind of a large correction. It has broken levels of 200 although temporarily but even if it goes down I think it will again find strong support at lower levels may be around 170-175. So at lower levels you should try to get back into Titan. If you have it already bought it.
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Emkay puts 'sell' on Titan Industries February 23, 2009 | ET Bureau Research: Emkay Rating: Sell CMP: RS 764 Titan Industries (TIL) is likely to face challenging times ahead on weakening macro economic indicators affecting its watch business, rising gold slowing its jewellery market share gains and its new business initiatives straining cash flows. TIL's watch business is to report a 1.6% and 5.7% fall in revenues and EBIDTA, espectively in FY10E, and a revival thereafter. Emkay believes that it will be difficult. Bearish on Titan Industries: Vijay Bhambwani September 26, 2011 | ET Now Vijay Bhambwani, Author, CEO, BSPLindia.com, in a chat with ET Now, gives his views on Titan Industries What is your view on Titan Industries? My focus would be on the short on Titan Industries primarily for the reason that its stock price is correlated with gold and gold is down now. I would attempt to short near Rs 221 levels keeping a stop at Rs 224 expecting to book profits between Rs 217 to 215. Morgan Stanley upgrades Titan to 'equal-weight' March 21, 2013 | Reuters Morgan Stanley upgraded Titan Industries LTD to "equal-weight" from "underweight", citing under-performing shares, which the bank attributes to concerns about potential government intervention to curb gold imports and disappointing October-December results. A planned money laundering bill from the government could be restricted to bullion and precious gems only, and not apply to jewellery retailing, which would remove an overhang on the stock, Morgan Stanley added. Expect Nifty to go down to 5150-5200 levels in the medium term: Ashwani Gujral,... March 21, 2013 | ET Now In an interview with ET Now, Ashwani Gujral, Fund Manager , Ashwanigujral.com, gives his outlook for the market. Excerpts: ET Now: How do you think traders should look at positioning themselves on the Nifty come tomorrow because one never knows where this volatility is going to lead us? Ashwani Gujral: Well, it is very clear where the volatility will lead you because it is always leading you on the downside by the end of the day. Brokers Call: Oil India, Jubilant, Titan and Bharat Forge March 20, 2013 | ET Bureau MS Stays Overweight on OIL Morgan Stanley has maintained its 'Overweight' rating on Oil India (OIL) with a target price of .Rs686. OIL is arguably the cheapest E&P stock at EV/BOE of $3.8, less than half of the global peer average. Both the fuel price and gas price reforms could lift earnings by > 70% by F2015, we assume ~33% in our base case,"

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Morgan Stanley said in a report. In January, the government announced that it would decontrol bulk. Titan Industries tanks 20% in 2013; is the bull run over? March 14, 2013 | ECONOMICTIMES.COM NEW DELHI: Titan Industries Ltd has slipped nearly 20 per cent so far in 2013 largely on concerns of potential government intervention to restrict gold imports and disappointing Q3 results. The stock, which gained over 60 per cent in the year 2012 compared to a 26 per cent rise in the benchmark index, has corrected by nearly 20 per cent so far in 2013. "Waning macro tailwinds, risk of policy changes, inclusion of the jewellery sector under the Prevention . Titan Industries shares fall on interest cost concerns March 14, 2013 | Reuters Titan Industries shares fell 3 per cent on Thursday on concerns over stress on its working capital cycle and interest costs , dealers said. Concerns over a proposal by the RBI of linking the gold leasing rate (about 3.5 per cent at present, 180-day lease period) to the base rate (about 9-10 per cent) can potentially reduce earnings by up to 10 per cent, HSBC Securities said in a note. . 7.5 Titan: New Age Watches With Evergreen Designs Posted on 01 December 2012. Tags: Raga Watches, Titan Watches Titan is the most trustworthy brand in India as its superb assortment of wrist watches are designed according to the rapidly changing fashion trends. Titan always salutes the innovativeness and it reflects in its wide collection of watches. Each Titan watch is precision engineered and is known for its uniqueness. These beautiful watches are inspired by conventional styles and modish fashion tricks. Titan watches price list are available online where you can get numerous wrist watches and can select your favorite watch according to your preferences and budget.

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Time is the most precious thing in life and to keep a track of the time, you need Titan watches which will always allow you to get updated with the time. Titan Watches are carved with innovation and advanced technology features. Millions of classy as well as designer models are present in todays market. There are a number of brands in the market but Titan has carved a special niche for itself in this particular industry with each passing day. This top watch brand always brings innovation and novelty in wrist watches. Its evergreen trendy designs and classic look make it elegant wrist watches that are designed by leading experts and professionals. Usually Titan watches have been an embellished ornament to show your status for years in the Indian society. Every wrist watch of this famous brand varies and is available in diverse styles and designs and it is designed for numerous categories including men watches, women watches, kids watches, sport watches, formal watches and many others. Its true that fashion changes rapidly but if you are planning to buy Titan watches in India then it is the perfect choice because Titan watches are known for its evergreen designs and styles. Titan offers a variety of designer models of watches from which you can select the best one. Due to advanced technology features, Titan watches are not ordinary timepieces as they have now counted among the luxurious possessions of an individual. Titan keep updated itself as per the peoples changing demands and needs time to time. Its simple as well as classic designs look amazing in every situation and at every occasion. These wrist watches are designed with high-quality features that are the perfect fashion accessory for everyday use. You just dont need extra maintenance as these wrist watches come up with guarantee period that ensure long lasting and enduring traits in it. Titan watches price list are accessible online where one can get budget-friendly wrist watches which are offered at affordable prices. A perfect combination of look and style altogether makes it a classy fashion accessory that is designed for all those people who want to keep themselves up in the society.

Titan men watches Titan presents thousands of new styles and designs which are present in the market. Each of this wrist watch is available in different size, rate, color as well as functionality. But now the trends are changing and a watch has become a fashion statement which has been customized and has been incorporated with so many additional features which include compass, calendar, calculator and much more. Titan has fabulous designer wrist watches
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collection for both men and women. These stylish as well as classy Titan watches for men are carved with excellent styling and innovative designs because a good-looking accessory helps a person to have an excellent image in the society. Titan watches for men are known for simplicity. These watches are especially designed for office going people who love sophisticated style ad designer wrist watches. One can wear these light-weight and delicately designed wrist watches with formal outfits that will surely enhance wearers overall personality. People who want innovative and designer watches, for them Titan Fastrack watches for men offers an amazing collection where each timepiece is designed by leading experts and professionals who have in-depth knowledge about changing fashion trends and styles. It is a common fact that if an individual has a highend timepiece made by a famous manufacturer and tagged by a renowned brand then most of the people consider him or her as a successful person.

Titan ladies watches Woman love fashion and like to be in fashion all the time. Titan Raga watches are the perfect and the most adorable collection of wrist watches for women of all ages. These wrist watches are available in all the possible shapes, styles, price categories, and are also known for their technical characteristics. Titan Raga watches truly exemplifies wearers status and achievements in the life and add more gleam to the personality. Beauty, versatility and glamour are the key features of Titan Raga watches that make these watches the best timepiece accessory which will always make you feel special whenever and wherever you wear it. You can select your favorite choice from the wide range of wrist watches which include casual as well as sophisticated designer wrist watches. Office going woman can select from the wonderful assortment of wrist watches which add elegance and magnificent charm in the wearers personality. Most of the woman like to be simple and sober and for all those woman, Titan brings purely a simple yet pretty collection. Titan Raga watches are motivated by modern women who transcend each and every challenge of life with dignity and confidence. Raga is an assortment of exquisite watches that have equivalent mix of sensuality and modishness.

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Titan has a wide collection of watches which is inspired by both traditional as well as contemporary world. Raga, Purple, Nebula, HTSE, Zoop, Edge, Tycoon, Obaku, Automatic, Bandhan, Octane, Orion are some major segments of Titan that are known for their designer wrist watches. Its Purple, Raga, Obaku and Nebula are some major collections which are purely devoted to the women of all ages. Titan Raga Watches are gaining lots of hype these days as these wrist watches are perfectly designed by the top professionals and experts in the field of watch making. These Titan watches are available online where one can get huge discounts on each model and get the best timepiece at affordable price.

Case study

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8.0 CASE STUDY SUMMARY The consumer wants are now glorifying and increasing consumer awareness has led to a stiff competition amongst all major brands irrespective of the price, mainly focussing on the superior quality. These qualities and value for money which can be termed as benefits and utility of a particular product is offered by big brands. The so called big brands are not only big in terms of monetary value but also in terms quality and service offered. TITAN is one of such brand that is one of the major market players in the Watch industry. Titan Industries Limited (TIL) is a dominant player in the Indian branded watch industry. The company has a presence in most segments of the watch market. TIL, a joint venture between the Tata Group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, commenced operations in 1987 under the name Titan Watches Limited (TWL). With the diversification of TWL into jewellery in 1994, the company changed its name to TIL.In June 2004, the company diversified into other lifestyle products like eyewear by extending its watch sub-brand Fastrack and perfumery with a new brand Evolve, launched in early 2005. The main manufacturing plants of the company were situated at Hosur in Tamil Nadu. It also had an assembly unit at Dehradun in Uttaranchal and a unit that produced electronic circuitry for quartz watches in Goa. TIL reported a turnover of Rs.9.58 billion for the year ended 2003-04. Till 2004, TIL had sold more than 60 million watches. TIL's brands were sold from more than 5,000 multi-brand outlets and 175 exclusive 'World of Titan' outlets. In 2004, TIL manufactured and marketed more than 7 million watches. It was India's leading producer of watches and the sixth largest global player in the category of manufacturer brands7. Its watches were sold in about 40 countries through its marketing subsidiaries based in London, Dubai, and Singapore. TIL also made watches for international labels. The income of the TIL in the past three financial years is continuously increasing. The graphical representation of the income for the last three years can be shown as: Over the past decade TITAN has built an image in the minds of consumer on basis of the quality and the various aspects rendered by the TITAN to the consumer. The consumer mindset can been divided in the following ways(based on recent survey):

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Why does a successful brand want to break out and add a new dimension? The key reason is that consumers evolve significantly. Their passions, obsessions and interests change. So if a great brand wants to remain as consumer-relevant in the future as it has been in the past, it has to reflect this evolution. For instance, concern for the environment features today in many consumers choices. Twenty years ago, the environment may not have featured on consumers radar screens at all. For the past two decades, Titan has been a market leader in watches, a loved and trusted brand, perceived as a statement of elegance and style on your wrist. Yet, last year, when the brand wished to break out and add on the dimension of being youthful and sporty, it achieved this through a new sub-brand, Titan Octane. We introduced breakthrough wrist watches for Indian consumers chronographs, tachymeters, multi-functions, retrograde movements and stunning sporty new designs under a sub-brand which conveyed the high energy of sport. Why a new sub-brand Octane? Because it captured the spirit and energy of sport like the parent brand Titan never could. This breakout route was possible because Titan is a brand with wide appeal across consumer segments, hence can support multiple sub-brands well. Each new sub-brand adds a positive new dimension to the parent brand. At the turn of the century, the ever evolving urban Indian male began to seek action and adventure in his life. He had also become fashion conscious and wanted to make a style statement and make his presence felt everywhere he went. With rising disposable income levels, young Indians started spending more, at the same time they sought more from the products they bought. They expected the products to understand their needs and suit their personality. It was in this scenario that Titan decided to launch its Octane collection of watches in the mid-price segment in August 2007. Octane is a range of chronographs, multifunction and retrograde watches from Titan. The watches are all steel, with leather, metal and rubber strap options. The styling of the range is inspired by racing cars and designed to look like the dashboard of a racing car and embody a sense of masculinity, speed, energy and style. TITAN COMPETITORS The strategies that can be formulated to make TITAN OCTANE the most desirable and sought after watch in the consumers mind. The customers can be classified mainly into 3 categories namely: 1. Existing 2. Potential 3. Substitute The core areas can be exploited if a proactive methodology is implemented in this perfect competition market where in the profit percentage becomes a core area of concern.
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The competition that TITAN faces is not only from the local brands and the international designer time wear but also from the low cost substandard quality Chinese make watches. Narrowing down the competitors, we would like to show the competitors in the following way:

INTERNATIONAL DOMESTIC ESPIRIT CITIZEN SWATCH HMT GIORDANO TIMEX TAG HEUR CIZER TISSOT INSIGNIA OMEGA LONGINESS The breakup of the market share can be shown as: PREVIOUS STRATEGY USED BY TITAN TIL's communication strategy evolved over time. In 1987, the company was known only for the parent brand. Through the 1990s, the company introduced several collections and sub-brands for different segments of the market. Though innovative and appealing, the marketing and communication efforts of these sub-brands were not integrated. Initially, they were advertised under the mother brand, but with the development of the market, it became necessary for TIL to develop separate communication and marketing campaigns for its sub-brands... Though the decision had been made to use Aamir, the company was apprehensive that the actor might dominate the brand (Titan) or the message (multiple ownership).The marketing team at Titan wanted to keep the focus on the brand and the message. A TVC created by O&M was launched in October 2004.The commercial showed Aamir packing to leave for a tour and his assistant bringing him his collection of watches to ask which
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ones he should take out for the trip. The TITAN has kept his brand name alive by continuously launching watches under a different sub brands. As mentioned earlier by us, TITAN has always kept its publicity of the sub brands always different. Till date, none of sub brands under TITAN has had a common advertising and publicity campaign. The varied offerings to diverse segments with a clear cut positioning strategy have been instrumental in sustaining the market share of the (Titan) brand. (TIL) has to a great extent attempted to balance the positive aspects/associations of the mother brand with the option of using sub-brands to appeal to several segments. Over the years, TIL launched several collections/ranges under the mother brand Titan.

TARGET AUDIENCES The major characteristics of the target audience for TITAN OCTANE are: 1. Youth in the age group of 22-30 2. The main target population is from metros, mini metros, but we would also like to target youth from small cities. 3. The TITAN OCTANE brand has sporty look and a racy style look. So the target audiences would be all the people who are trendy towards sports irrespective of the age. the Aspires are value conscious, they are also likely to make impulse purchases. 4. The increase in the popularity of the FORMULA 1 sport and also an INDIAN team now involved in that sport has gained a major fan following. The TITAN OCTANE dial design is similar to the tachometers of a sports car look. So we can correlate the features and target the whole fan following group that too irrespective of age. 5. Our target audience can also be the corporate industry. In the corporate world there often happens corporate gifting happening intra companies and also inter companies in a process of public relations activity. So we can target this sector and build up a contract for the gifting. 6. Our indirect target audience are also the parents of all the youths (20-24yrs in age) who are dependent on their parents for buying accessories.

KEY CHALLENGES The competition TITAN OCTANE is facing is not unified i.e. the challenges are not unified or from a particular factor but it is varied from all sphere all a perfect competition position. We have also maintained opportunities that are considered as challenge to implement. We have listed down all the possible challenges that TITAN OCTANE is
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facing in the market. They are: 1. The brand is facing a tough competition from the Chinese market. The Chinese market is following a phenomenon called dumping. 2. The Indian population scenario consists of a middle class and youths. TITAN OCTANE being on the costlier side pinches the pocket of a middle class youth. 3. The penetration of the TITAN OCTANE is only available in metros and big cities; the market penetration of TITAN OCTANE is not as great as other TITANS sub-brands. 4. Octane watches are completely portrayed as trendy and sporty watches rather than casuals watch. Majority of the target consumer are working in corporate world, and have lesser time for the trends. So the positioning and segmentation of the product is a key challenge. 5. Availability of mobiles, portable PCs, laptops i.e. other substitutes of watches are always to the rescue of the target consumer. 6. Only 27% of the population wear watches. So great marketing coverage and selling is required for complete coverage of market. 7. In India, accessories are still perceived to be belts, shoes, ties etc. But watches are still not considered as a part of wardrobe. 8. Indian concept of Foreign Goods is yet to change wherein the quality of International brands is perceived to be better than Indian brands. 9. Internet accessibility not yet available to many of the target consumer. So it serves as a great challenge to meet the required target with the usage on internet. 10. The range of target audience that the company presently focuses on its radar is very small. 11. The major part of Indian population is less brand conscious. 12. The TITAN OCTANE is only been portrayed as only male brand and it doesnt have female variant models. This appears to be a challenge as females now have been entering in the main stream foray and also a big percentage of the youth population comprises of females. 13. One of the major challenges that seem to appear is that the watch industry has too
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much segmentation. So positioning of product is overlapping with many segments.

STRATEGIES Communication and Advertising The strategies that can be formulated to make TITAN OCTANE the most desirable and sought after watch in the consumers mind. The customers can be classified mainly into 3 categories namely: 4. Existing 5. Potential 6. Substitute The core areas can be exploited if a proactive methodology is implemented in this perfect competition market where in the profit percentage becomes a core area of concern. Taking into consideration that TITAN has always projected their watches as being affordable, this weakness can be turned into strength. 1. As international brands are more expensive compared to what TITAN OCTANE has to offer. So a comparative study and publish manuals available to all possible target audience showing the comparison with the international brands in terms of the quality, services offered and also stating comparison price wise. 2. The malls culture is booming everywhere. We have noticed that TITAN do have WORLD OF TITAN i.e. as good as 175 outlets but very few of them are in malls. Now-a-days malls have become one stop place for shopping. So opening of showrooms in malls will serve a great way for TITAN overall. 3. The corporate relations should be looked upon seriously, so forming a department for TITAN OCTANE will specially serve the corporate relations. This can be more added on by giving a bulk shopping discount and also special TITAN OCTANE gift packaging which looks an impressive package as a whole. 4. In an Indian perspective, India is a country packed of festivals and occasions. For eg. There would be special discount during Diwali, Christmas and also wedding season. In short target and reach out more and more consumer during these occasions. 5. The penetration in the smaller cities can be increased by excessive publicity in the local market and acclimatizing the youth there to the youth in big metros. This strategy will help because the small town youth always try to idolise the youth living in big metros. So this can boost up sales of TITAN OCTANE would add up to the total sales of the product. 6. A new brand variant for females should also be launched. As females are also now entering in the mainstream array and the factor of metro sexuality is now becoming a fashion statement.
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7. To make TITAN OCTANE a part of the brand accessories in the wardrobe, an advertising strategy would be develop in order to create a TITAN OCTANE as a style statement. The advertising strategy would consist of 3 different stages.(Advertising) i. We would rope in brand ambassador for the TITAN OCTANE brand, for publicity at the national level. We opine that the brand ambassador for TITAN OCTANE should be(alternatives): a. John Abraham. We choose John because he is associated with TITAN for the subbrand FAST-TRACK. He, promoting the TITAN sub-brand again, would make people believes that the level of loyalty shown by John towards TITAN and promoting TITAN OCTANE and that there is something special in this brand. Also John has always portrayed a cult image and image that of a sportsperson and also avid biker who loves speed. The phenomenon speed is always associated with him and this also overlap the TITAN OCTANE tag line. b. Akshay Kumar. Akshay is always been portrayed as action oriented person and completely adventurous. He is a role model of many youngsters and he has the ability to connect with the youth. The brand TITAN OCTANE has overlapping features with the persona that off Akshay. c. We also thought of roping in Karun Chandok (GP2 driver) and Alisha Abdullah (Indias first female superbike racer) {after launching female variant of TITAN OCTANE}. Both of them are emerging names in the racing circuit and are completely associated with image that TITAN OCTANE has to show. ii. The publicity for small city youth can be done by promoting an ad campaign showing that the TITAN OCTANE is a style statement for the youths in the city and having a TITAN OCTANE in the wardrobe can change a complete feature of an individual. iii. For publicity at international level, TITAN OCTANE should start sponsoring events like the FORMULA 1, A1 GP, Rally driving competition, the MOTO GP. This would help the publicity at international level. iv. TITAN OCTANE should tie up with reality game shows and use that platform to advertise the range of Watches. 8. TITAN OCTANE should also start sponsoring the college festival and instead of putting up hoardings there, exhibits and various models of TITAN OCTANE should be displayed. So this will help the students present there personally have a look at the variants and get fascinated to the watch. 9. Also TITAN should host exhibition (only display) especially for all brands under TITAN. So all the watch lovers would definitely visit the exhibition and this will help us to collect the database of all the people who are crazy for watches, so we can personally contact those people. 10. Many youths now-a-days are constantly use the internet as medium of communication. So the medium of internet can be fully exploited to promote the brand of TITAN OCTANE. i. Use of social networking sites like ORKUT, FACEBOOK to connect with the youth.
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This can be done by opening communities in which all the fans of TITAN OCTANE can share their views. ii. Opening a special webpage for TITAN OCTANE, in which all the buyers can give the feedback of the brand and can be read by all the potential and substitute consumers. iii. Sending group mail to the entire database available to inform about the features about the TITAN OCTANE. 11. Radio is the best medium to connect to the youth. TITAN OCTANE can capitalise on this opportunity by: i. Coming up with creative jingles, and use the platform for complete publicity. ii. Discount coupons can be distributed through various show contests to enhance sales. 12. The other attributes that can be associated with TITAN OCTANE are watch for it, adventure personified, sport it and speed is style. We consider fuel your watch because OCTANE (gas) chemically is a major component of car fuel.

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9.0 CONCLUSION As stated earlier, only 27% of the Indian population wear watches. So there is a great scope to penetrate in the market, where TITAN has always remained a leader. Also, the target audience that TITAN OCTANE is focussing on, forms a major portion of the watch buyers in India. So there is a tremendous opportunity for growth.

The suggestions to improve consumer awareness about brand repositioning strategy of Titan are as follows:

To increase its visibility, Titan Company can sponsor events similar to fashion shows in which all latest designs launched are displayed. This would have multiplier effect as the latest designs launched by the company gets noticed by different segments of the customers in varied ways.

Tie up with FM radio channels for reminder advertisements and informing customers about various sales promotion offers from time-to-time. Invest more in R&D as customer expectations are changing rapidly. Though Titan has got more product collections, it should focus on introducing more varieties in already existing product collections. In other words, having a limited but more depth in product collections would be more advantageous.

Introduce exclusive collection for working women which is more contemporary and complements both traditional and western wear. Majority of the population in India live in rural areas. So, showrooms should be set up at places nearer to them. Introduce cheaper and rough use watches for this segment. After sales service has to be improved. That is, the process of servicing and repairing of watches should be made faster. This can be done by ensuring the spare parts availability and training all sales personnel in Titan showrooms to undertake these tasks.

Tie up with international watch brands and make them available locally. Make use of internet to spread awareness among consumers about the brand.

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10.0 Bibliography

Sengupta Subroto(2006), Brand Positioning: Strategies for Competitive Advantage. Second Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi.

Gopalakrishnan PS (ed.) (2007),Rebranding: An Introduction. ICFAI University Press, Hyderabad.

ICFAI Journal of Marketing Management ICFAI Journal of Brand Management www.marketingprofs.com www.brandingstrategyinsider.com www.scribd.com www.thehindubusinessline.com www.economictimes.com

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