A

RESEARCH REPORT

ON
A STUDY TO IDENTIFY SALES MANAGEMENT &

SALES LEADERSHIP

In the partial fulfillment of the requirement for

The award of the degree of

Master of Business Administration

2015-2017

Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow

SUBMITTED TO : SUBMITTED BY
Mr. Himanshu Goyal Mohini
MBA 4th Sem.
Roll No. 1508570052

S.D. COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES,

MUZAFFARNAGAR

1
AKNOWLEDGMENT

2
 Acknowledgment

A single person alone can never be credited for performing any extraordinary work
successfully. It is only possible with the continuous and constant help and guidance that
they receive from others.
This research report too has taken its shape because of the valuable and precious guidance
of our professor. We are gratefully acknowledged.
I further personally feel that making of this project provided us with good exposure to the
subject of finance and especially the Indian insurance sector and it was a very good learning
experience.
My sincere thanks are also due to Dr ASHUTOSH SHARMA (Director) for his significant
help extended for the successful completion of the project. I highly appreciate the help I got
from them in providing me and lot of information regarding the functioning of this
organization.
My sincere thanks are also due to Dr. ALOK KUMAR GUPTA (H.O.D. of MBA), for their
significant help extended for the successful completion of the project. I highly the help I got
from them in providing me and lot of information regarding the functioning of this
organization.

Mohini

3
DECLARATION

4
 DECLARATION

I Mohini, a student of Master Of Business Administration, would like to declare the

Research Report titled A Study to Identify Sales Management & Sales
Leadership in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of M.B.A. is my
own work and it is not submit anywhere else for award of any degree/
diploma/certificate.

Mohini

5
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Particulars Page No.

No.

1. Introduction 10
2 Literature Review 13
3. Research Methodology 19
3.1 Scope And Limitation 22
4. FMCG an Introduction 24
4.1 Market Opportunities 28

4.2 Evolution and Characteristics 30

5. Understanding Differentiation 35

5.1 Types of Differentiation 37

6 Advertisement and Sales Promotion 45
6.1 Understanding advertisement 46
6.2 Understanding sales promotion 51
6.3 Creating differentiation through 61

advertisement
6.4 Problems faced by marketers 65
7. An Empirical View of the Different Types of 75

Consumer Promotions in India

8. Conclusion And Recommendations 90

Annexure 102

6
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

I. ABOUT THE DISSERTATION

7
 INTRODUCTION

Advertisements convey brand differentiation and this may be important in several

categories, which consist of several brands. In FMCG products like tea, coffee and

detergents, differentiation awareness can be created by television advertising, but

in certain categories there may be a need to demonstrate the effectiveness of

brands. Differentiation with which consumers cannot connect may have a

negative implication and if a brand connects consumers with its differentiation, it

is likely to also differentiate itself in terms of getting identified with the consumer. A

detergent or a washing machine, which claims low water consumption has to

demonstrate this claim at a retail outlet especially given the fact that the quality of

water varies across areas even in a specific geographical region. It is also essential

that a good differentiation proposition result in a positive word-of-mouth.

In a certain situation, the company may have two offerings in a product-line and

there is a need to differentiate them clearly depending on the target segments

involved. This is a complex situation where differentiation decides the growth of the

brand and the perceived difference between the offerings. An added layer to the

complexity is the same brand name being used for the offerings. Fairness cream is

a category in which the benefit is the fairness of the complexion. A brand like Fair

and Lovely built over the years still has a strong association with the category but

under tremendous pressure from competitive brands and the most important

criteria which these brands is the herbal touch associated with them. Herbal

ingredients are becoming popular with consumers in several categories and

personal care in India has a strong tradition of herbal care. Fair and Lovely had to

launch its herbal variant (it used the same brand probably because of the brand
8
equity built up over the years). The interesting fact is the differentiation being

conveyed by advertising. The original version uses an aspiration route in which the

brands ultimate benefit is success through confidence.

Estimates based on China's current per capita Consumption, the Indian FMCG

market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4 billion in 2015. The

dominance of Indian markets by unbranded products, change in eating habits and

the increased affordability of the growing Indian population presents an opportunity

to makers of branded products, who can convert consumers to branded products.

Penetration level in most product categories like jams, toothpaste, skin care, hair

wash etc in India is low. The contrast is particularly striking between the rural and

urban segments - the average consumption by rural households is much lower than

their urban counterparts. Low penetration indicates the existence of unsaturated

markets, which are likely to expand as the income levels rise. This provides an

excellent opportunity for the industry players in the form of a vastly untapped

market. Moreover, per capita consumption in most of the FMCG categories

(including the high penetration categories) in India is low as compared to both the

developed markets and other emerging economies. A rise in per capita

consumption, with improvement in incomes and affordability and change in tastes

and preferences, is further expected to boost FMCG demand. Growth is also likely

to come from consumer "upgrading", especially in the matured product

Categories

9
CHAPTER 2

I. LITERATURE REVIEW

10
 LITERARATURE REVIEW

Impact of Effective Advertisement on Consumer Attitude Dr. F.R. Alexander Pravin

Durai

By going through this article I have come across some points which you should

look upon. If you want to read the article it is present in the appendix. Following are

some points:-

Advertising is the only direct method which helps to reach masses of potential

buyers. Advertising, being dynamic, changes with changing methods of distribution

and consumption.

In the present era of information explosion and media influence, these

advertisements playa major role in changing the settled perception or thinking,

which is otherwise called attitude, of the consumer and also the consumption

pattern of the society in general. Thus, the impact leads to cultural and social

changes to a great extent.

Why is there a need of advertising? Advertising is a way of communicating

information to the consumer which enables him or her to compare and choose from

the products and services available. Advertising is the most economical means by

which a manufacturer or an Institutional body can communicate to an audience

whether to sell a product or promote a cause of social welfare.

11
Essentials of Effective Advertisement-the writer thinks that there are 4 important

things for an advertisement to be effective. They are importance of claim,

believable, uniqueness and repetition.

The advertiser must constantly assess the situation to choose the right

environment and ideal time for an advertisement to be launched. Some of the

situations are as follows:-

When there is a favorable primary demand of particular product.

When there is a distinctive product differentiation from other competitive brands.

When mass market is penetrated.

In order to ensure that the advertisements reach the target consumers in a most

effective way and gets right response from them, it has to be ensuring that such

advertisements are presented in the right way. The following steps on the part of

the consumer may ensure that the advertisements are on the right track.

Getting attracted towards the advertisements.

Listening and observing the contents of the advertisements in full.

Continuous watching of the same over a period.

Comparing the advertisements of similar products.

Making a trial purchase as follow up activity.

Assessing the level of utility of the product individually.

Ascertaining the level of utility derived with other similar consumers.

12
In the article Dr. Alexander-- Told about a model which exemplifies the attitude or

response of a consumer to an advertisement.

Techniques of advertising for Fast Moving Consumer Goods

Dr. Archi Mathur- Assistant lecturer, Department of Management Studies, National

Law University, Jodhpur Dr. HK Bedi- Professor, Dean, Department of Management

Studies, National Law University, Jodhpur

This article shows how an advertiser can use different techniques of

advertisements to show FMCG products. The techniques are as follows:

Value added ads- In addition to providing information about the product; Value-

added advertising transforms a product into something more appealing to

consumers than the physical object produced in the factory. Therefore, it is a

missing link between brand attributes and the customer perception, between

product features and need fulfillment, .between benefits and values.

Comparative ads- the advertiser compares the 2 brands of the same product

category. The ad can be copied as the Pepsi and sprite example in the case. They

have used the same story but both have them had a different approach.

Informative ads- these ads are used to provide information to the consumer about

different products and services.

13
Health and Hygiene ads- these ads show that the product is taking care of the

consumer's health. It is emphasizing of the physical attribute of the product. What

does the product do? How does it help you? The ad tells you all. These are some

of the techniques.

Lifestyle ads- Another way to. nave an impact on the consumer's mind is

portraying the life-style of a successful person.

Humorous ads- Humor in the advertisement is normally kept in order to create a

light, jovial and likely kind of an atmosphere

Demographic ads- these ads are meant for different segments based on age, sex

etc. Farex Cereal Food for infants is an advertisement targeted directly towards the

infants, as it comprises a healthy food for them. It is also targeted indirectly towards

the mother.

Packaging ads- Advertisement is trying to lure the customers to buy their products

on the basis of the way they are brought in front of the consumer's eyes ie.

Packaging. Dabur has brought in different flavors in the market of fruit juice. E.g.

Mango, Pineapple, Orange, Mixed Fruit Jete. All these are in different packages,

i.e. 50 ml, 1000 ml, etc. They claim that unlike other juices, which have

preservatives in them, these products are without preservatives. Hence, the punch

line is "Real Fruit Juice".

14
Price ads- Marketers also lure the customers by showing in an advertisement that

a product is available at a lesser price without any compromise on the standard.

Cadbury India advertised the 5-Star chocolate by offering 30% more chocolate in

its 5-Star bar for the same price.

Celebrity ads- Celebrities are mainly used in the advertisement either to lure the

rural people in buying a particular product or in forcing the young generation to buy

the products. This is also called endorsement advertising.,{t is also used in

portraying that a particular product is best in--qtJality because a person who is also

very well known in his/her field endorses it. The impact of these stars in

advertisements enables the company to increase its sale.

15
CHAPTER 3

I. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

II. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

16
 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:

The main objectives of the study are:

1. To assess current consumer sales promotion schemes in the market

2. To assess how consumers differentiate the products based on

advertisements

3. To get an insight into retailers views regarding the schemes being offered in

toilet soap category, and consumer perceptions

4. To study consumer perceptions regarding various schemes in this category

and responses toward them.

5. To study the various methods of differentiation.

6. To analyze the methodology adopted by companies to target end

consumers.

7. To address basic business questions like:

Do companies have the right product/service to offer?

How companies reach their customers?

How the buying power can be created?

8. To prepare new business strategies

17
 Need Identification:
Establishing need for market scan
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Defining the Problem

Establishing Research Objective

Defining Methodology

Data Collection
Primar
Secondar
y
y
Data
Data

Magazines and journals

Too
Libraries. Retailers
ls
Various Associations Consumers
Use
Internet
d

Checklis
t
FGD
Intervie
ws

Analyzing Data

Final Report

18

Final Report
Methodology:

Technique used for the survey is questionnaires, focus group discussions

and interviews. In order to address the above questions an exploratory study

was conducted. The idea was to probe and get deeper insight into sales promotion

scenario in toilet soap market and to tap perceptions of retailers and consumers. In

order to address above mentioned objectives (i) study of secondary sources was

carried out, 10(ii) in-depth interview of six retailers was undertaken and 11(iii)

structured questionnaire was designed to seek consumer responses. Convenience

sampling was used for both retailers as well as consumer studies. Six retailers

ranging from small kirana store to supermarket were approached. All the retailers

were located in the Noida. The respondents for consumer study were postgraduate

students in the age group of 19-24 belonging to middle and upper middle and

upper class. The total respondents were 30 in number. They were residing in hostel

or as PG hence sole decision-makers for this category. Also this age-group being

more experimental and likely to be more deal prone, so their perceptions,

preferences would give some insights to companies planning sales promotions

targeted at them.

19
Scope and Limitations:

The geographical scope of the study was restricted to the NOIDA city due to time

and resource constraints. The study being exploratory in nature, the sample size

was restricted to 30 consumers (student group) and 6 retailers. Focus being mainly

on in-depth probing, the generalizations drawn are only indicative and not

conclusive.

20
CHAPTER 3

I. FMCG AN INTRODUCTION

II. INDIAN CONTEXT

III. MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

IV. EVOLUTION AND CHARECTERSTICS

21
FMCG FAST MOVING CONSUMER GOODS

22
23
BRIEF DECRIPTION OF INDIA FMCG MARKET

24
MARKET OPPORTUNITIES IN FMCG:

25
According to Estimates based on China's current per capita Consumption, the

Indian FMCG market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4

billion in 2015. The dominance of Indian markets by unbranded products, change in

eating habits and the increased affordability of the growing Indian population

presents an opportunity to makers of branded products, who can convert

consumers to branded products.

Penetration level in most product categories like jams, toothpaste, skin care, hair

wash etc in India is low. The contrast is particularly striking between the rural and

urban segments - the average consumption by rural households is much lower than

their urban counterparts. Low penetration indicates the existence of unsaturated

markets, which are likely to expand as the income levels rise. This provides an

excellent opportunity for the industry players in the form of a vastly untapped

market. Moreover, per capita consumption in most of the FMCG categories

(including the high penetration categories) in India is low as compared to both the

developed markets and other emerging economies. A rise in per capita

consumption, with improvement in incomes and affordability and change in tastes

and preferences, is further expected to boost FMCG demand. Growth is also likely

to come from consumer "upgrading", especially in the matured product

categories

26
 EVOLUTION:

1950s-80s Low Investment in the sector

Low purchasing power

Govts emphasis on small scale sector

HLL and other companys urbane focus

Post liberalization

Entry of MNCs

Focus shifted to getting to rural consumer first

Others, like Nestle, remained with the urban population

Latest fad to hit the market is the sachet bug.

Mushrooming of regional brands

Nirma enters and changes the focus to Value for Money in the 70s

Post liberalization, Jyothi Laboratories, Ghari Detergent and Anchor

toothpaste giving the nation-wide brands a run for their money.

27
 CHARECTERSTICS:

Abundant supply in metros. Distribution networks are being

Supply
beefed up to penetrate the rural areas.
HLL expects the FMCG market to triple in market size by FY10,
Demand
which highlights the potential.
Huge investments in promoting brands, setting up distribution

Barriers to Entry networks and intense competition, but the sector is not capital

intensive.
Some of the companies are integrated backwards, which
Bargaining Power
reduces the supplier's clout. Manufacturing is largely
of Suppliers
outsourced.
In case of branded products, there is little that the consumer

Bargaining Powercan influence, but intense competition within the FMCG

of Customers companies results in value for money deals for consumers (e.g.

buy one, get one free concept).

Competition is faced from both domestic, MNCs and also from

Competition cheaper imports, which are increasingly visible in urban

markets. Price wars are a common phenomenon.

FORECAST 2010:

Rural and semi-urban

28
 128 million population thrice the urban

Market size growth from 48k to 100k Crores (Growth of 50% at

10%CAGR)

Increase penetration from the current less than 1%

Problems in the rural sector

Low per capita disposable incomes

Large number of daily wage earners

Acute dependence on vagaries of monsoon

Seasonal consumption

Poor infrastructure roads and power supply

Urban

Market 16.5k to 35k Crores (Growth of 100% at 20%CAGR)

Intense competition severe pressure on margins Focus on newer

products, such as fruit juices

Source: Assocham Report Future Prospects of FMCG

29
30
31
CHAPTER 5

I. UNDERSTANDING DIFFRENTIATION

II. TYPES OF DIFFRENTIATION

III. THE INDIAN CONTEXT

32
 I. UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENTIATION:

Differentiation is the process of adding a set of meaningful and valued differences

that distinguish a company's offering from those of its competitors. Differentiation is

strongest when it satisfies all of the following criteria:

1. Important: the difference delivers a highly valued benefit to a sufficient

number of buyers

2. Distinctive: the difference can be delivered in a clear way

3. Superior: the difference is a better way of obtaining a benefit

4. Pre-emptive: the difference cannot be easily copied

5. Affordable: the buyer can afford to pay for the difference

6. Profitable: the company will earn a return by maintaining the difference

33
BRAND loyalty in fast moving consumer goods categories is a topical issue, with

several brands resorting to price cuts across categories. More importantly, price

cuts or sales promotion by themselves do not seem to have done much for brands

in terms of sustaining brand loyalty. They may attract consumers in the short run:

consumers may stock the brands and consumers new to the brand may try it. But

over a period of time, a brand's value may get diluted in consumers' psyche, and

will eventually lose a strong base of consumers. The following are some aspects of

marketing mix elements and consumer behavior which could contribute to brand

loyalty.

Product differentiation

If the products are differentiated in their characteristics and this difference is

perceivable, there are chances of brand loyalty being formed based on satisfaction

with greater performance or fit of product with needs. In this case, loyalty is driven

by functional or symbolic benefits. Functional benefits would be specific tangible

features of the product whereas symbolic benefits would be intangibles such as

brand personality and `hedonistic' value of purchase.

Price differentiation

If the price differentiation in the market is perceivable, price-led loyalty might exist

in the market. Price-led loyalty is practised by supermarkets, airline companies and

FMCG brands, which come out with frequent sales promotions based on freebies.

Alternatively, price might be taken as an indicator of brand quality, and the

customer might go in for higher priced options. Price-led loyalty has to be carefully

considered with other marketing mix elements and the consumer should never

34
perceive dilution, especially in low-priced bands. Hence, lower prices should create

a sense of value through the product offerings as well as through communication.

Branding activity

If the category is organized and there is branding activity, there will be greater

loyalty than there would have been if the category were unorganized. Branding

activities can differentiate between brands on name, symbol, images and

associations. Branding activity in this context refers to creating strong associations

which will influence the consumers not only with regard to functional attributes but

also with symbolism. Hamam soap's portrayal of its pure ingredients with the child

and mother imagery is a good example of one of these dimensions.

Branding activities in a broad sense could range from advertising to sales

promotion and public relations involving several aspects.

II. The Indian context

The following were the observations from the literature survey and the examples

chosen from the Indian context.

The factors indicate that there will be a large segment of consumers for whom

price-led loyalty will dominate. Hence there will be strong behavioural loyalty in the

segment and only weak attitudinal loyalty. There is thus spurious loyalty in this

sector.

35
There is a moderate level of symbolic and functional differentiation which has been

exploited by strong brands to build a loyal following. Examples of this include

brands such as Dove, Pond's Dreamflower talcum powder, Gold Flake, Will's Navy

Cut, Amul and Cadbury. These brands have probably built strong attitudinal loyalty

through their brand personality and other brand building efforts.

In the FMCG sector, brand habit is high whereas attitudinal loyalty is low. As

creating attitudinal loyalty based on functional differentiation is difficult, symbolic

differentiation is the key. Building strong brand personalities and associated

symbolic benefits is important for crafting customer loyalty.

The factors discussed cannot be treated in isolation: they are to provide a synergy

to result in brand loyalty. The combination of these factors and the timing of the

combination is the topical challenge which marketers face in an environment where

loyalty is slowly eroding.

Local challengers

Some of the most successful FMCG brands in 2002 came, not from the stables of a

Hindustan Lever and a Colgate, but from obscure regional players such as

Kaleesuwari Refineries, Parakh Foods, Anchor Switchboards and Kanpur

Detergents. Over the past couple of years, brands such as Gold Winner and

Gemini in refined oils, Anchor White in toothpastes and Ghari in detergents have

36
managed to sustain double digit growth rates, even as the market leaders have

struggled to hold on to single digit growth rates for their brands.

Yes, the comparison is unfair, as the local brands had a minuscule base to start

with. But these brands have demonstrated it is not impossible for a new challenger

to break into the traditional bastion of one or two large FMCG players. Traditionally,

large FMCG categories in India have been dominated by just one or two players,

who rule the roost by dint of their sheer financial muscle and distribution reach. But,

of late, successful regional brands have been finding chinks in their armour. And

how!

Aggressive pricing

In the edible oils market, as national players were forced to hike their selling prices

in response to rising commodity prices, both Gemini and Gold Winner have used

aggressive pricing to woo consumers away from the national brands. Packed tea

too, has seen similar trends. The limited differentiation in grocery and the flexibility

offered by a restricted area of operations have stood these companies in good

stead. Anchor White, among the few debutants in the toothpaste market to garner a

significant share, first wooed the retail trade with high distribution margins, and then

used rock-bottom prices to lure consumers into trying the product. Though none of

these companies can match the market leaders in adspend, they have used

focused regional and local advertising to draw consumers' attention to their brands.

37
The mushrooming of local and regional media has undoubtedly helped the local

players milk the most from their ad budgets.

Banking on `power' brands

While the local brands have been adding to their brand portfolios, the market

leaders have largely stayed off new product launches.

In keeping with its "power" brand strategy, Hindustan Lever's marketing strategies

in 2002 revolved around rejigging and relaunching established brands such as

Lifebuoy, Rin, Surf and Vim. The company phased out brands such as Sunlight in

detergents, and Jai in toilet soaps, so as to focus better on its 30 power brands.

The strategy appears to have worked, as brands such as Lifebuoy and Rin have

moved into a higher growth trajectory after the relaunch.

In fact, HLL's "power" brand strategy has found a few followers in the FMCG

market, with companies such as Godrej Consumer also announcing plans to focus

on a clutch of key brands.

Streamlining ad spend

While the "power" brand strategy has helped the leading players put their

marketing prowess behind their most important brands, it has not really helped

them save on ad spend. For most FMCG companies, advertising and promotion

spends in 2002 grew faster than their sales. In high penetration categories such as

38
soaps, detergents and toothpastes, marketing efforts of the players revolved

around persuading existing consumers to use more of the product or to upgrade to

a higher-priced brand. The slew of "100 gm free for every 150 gm" offers in

toothpastes and the series of promos on the 2 kg packs of premium detergents

were both intended to induce existing consumers of a product to pep up their

usage of the brand.

Companies operating in relatively low-penetration categories such as chocolates,

shampoos and skin creams tailored their marketing strategies to bringing in new

users, through scaled-down versions of their brands in affordable pack sizes. The

low-priced Chocostik, a liquid chocolate in a small-sized pack, launched by Nestle

India, has helped pep up the company's topline and is now a large contributor to

the company's revenues. Nestle India is now trying out a similar small-sized Rs 5

pack for Maggi noodles.

Shampoos have been among the few FMCG categories to register a positive

growth rate in 2002, and growth in this category has been driven mainly by sachet

packs and by scaled-down 50 ml bottles priced at less than Rs 10.

Overall, the FMCG slowdown of the past three years has served a useful purpose.

At one level, it has made sure that the dominant players in the market no longer

enjoy unlimited pricing power, as they have in the past. There now appears to be a

greater effort on the part of the players to hold selling prices and look at their own

operations to save on cost. At another level, the emergence of the regional

39
challengers has made sure that consumers of FMCG products have a few more

choices in their purchases of essentials. Is selling soap the same as selling a TV?

It isnt. The difference is how the particular product is sold and more importantly,

how is it distributed. India is a unique market, where the manufacturers who deliver

products at the doorstep, which is the ideal way to deliver anything, spoil our

consumers. We have an extremely evolved distribution mechanism for most

products. Different products are sent to the consumer differently. Depending on the

number, the price of the product and the complexity of the selling process,

they may vary from direct selling to selling through a channel that may have as

many as

four levels between the manufacturer and the consumer. A look at a few of them

will show what it means to be a sales person of that product.

Most FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) products are not hard-sold to the end

consumers. Sales are built up largely by pull - a technique using advertising and

consumer promotion. The sell-in happens to the trade i.e. to various members of

the distribution channel - the Carrying&Forwarding/Super-stockist, the distributor,

the wholesaler and most importantly the retailer, who is the interface with the end-

consumer. This chain forms the most important link in getting the product

economically to the consumers doorstep.

A large MNC in the FMCG industry may be covering as many as 1 million outlets

across the country with the help of thousands of distributors. Even a mid-sized

40
company covers at the least 1 lakh outlets. Factoring in the vagaries of operating in

more than 25 different states, each with its own sales tax complexities, different

consumer needs, differences in the distribution structure, not forgetting differing

octroi structures within a state, distribution is extremely complex in India. If the sell-

in does not happen to this channel for whatever reason or is sub- optimal, a

product is likely to fail.

41
CHAPTER 3

I. UNDERSTANDING ADVERTISEMENT

II. UNDERSTANDING SALES- PROMOTION

III. CREATING DIFFRENTIATION THROUGH

ADVERTISEMENT

IV. PROBLEMS FACED BY MARKETERS

42
 I. UNDERSTANDING ADVERTISEMENTS

Whether it is a serial in a regional satellite channel or a One Day International

cricket match, there is a non-stop stream of advertisements, which clutter the

commercial break. Well-established brands attempt to sustain brand recall while

new ones try appealing to prospective consumers to get into their `consideration

set. There are ads for children, housewives and youth. With advertising

expenditure in the order of Rs. 8000 Crores per annum in the recent times and the

proliferation of brands across categories, there is a strong need to consider the

effectiveness of these advertisements. The idea is not to cease advertising but to

consider how considering decisions would have to be considered with non-

advertising alternatives. These non-advertising alternatives may also enable a

brand to create and sustain consistent associations, which may be desirable in

terms of long-term implications. A contemporary approach that creates a synergy

between various aspects of a promotional mix (advertising included) provides a

refreshing approach towards marketing communications. There may be several

objectives of advertising and a promotional mix could be used in an innovative

manner to address each of these objectives depending on the product category

and target segment.

Creating-brand-awareness

When a new brand enters a category or creates a new to the market offering, it

needs to create brand awareness. This would depend on whether the product is a

consumable or a durable. The involvement level in a specific category also matters

on how a brand would want to create awareness. Itch Guard, a new branded
43
offering for minor skin problems, used a simple humorous TV commercial to

convey the concept. While the unit cost of the product may be low, the involvement

level of the consumer on the solution offered by the brand could be associated with

high involvement. A brand in this situation is likely to also benefit from point of

purchase material at pharmacy outlets, departmental stores and even kirana

(grocery) type of shops.

The high-utility solution has to be conveyed to the target segment, which probably

was using traditional substitutes. In this example, a typical brand personality need

not be built at least before the benefit is sold to the consumer and hence all

promotional efforts should be directed at conveying the benefit and creating a

brand association with the category itself (as it is a pioneering brand in the

category). This objective would be achieved by advertising, reminder purchase

posters at the point of sale and perhaps conveying the superiority of the offering

through the route of doctors (though it is an OTC offering).

Kissan Bistix in contrast is a unique offering, which is aimed at children who have

to initially make a change in their habits regarding the consumption of this offering

(should be eaten with a biscuit stick after it is dipped in chocolate/any other side

dish flavour which is a part of the package). Moreover the price of the offering is

Rs. 5 and this would be associated with low involvement. Moreover, there is strong

presence of generic competition and children could buy a number of alternatives

and some of them may have price points below the Rs. 5 level. Mass advertising

perhaps could create trials but it may be difficult to sustain the purchase only

through advertising. Innovative contests built around popular hobbies may enable
44
the brand not only to create excitement but also sustain the interest over a longer

period of time. This may create repurchase and probably a cross-section of the

segment may make the consumption a part of their snacking habit. Acceptance of

an offering like this requires a longer time interval and an innovative approach

towards promotion rather than typical sales promotion or mass advertising or

display at the counter of retail outlets. Besides, given the price point and the

offering there is also a need to be selective in market coverage for the offering.

Creating awareness in a durable category (even if the consumers are familiar with

the category) requires a different approach. A strong feature-back up in the

offering, leading to a possible word-of-mouth from users of the brand, will be

effective after the initial advertising awareness created by the brand. LG, Samsung,

Santro and Whirlpool are brands that have been successful but less than a decade

old in the Indian context.

LG introduced several new to market features in its various product categories;

Samsung which created brand awareness through its World Series ads, also

introduced innovative features in its products and Santros success (in terms of its

market share) can be attributed to product design, advertising and launching of

variants after brand acceptance. New brands depend on innovative features to

create awareness and this happens both by advertising and positive word-of-

mouth. Promotional aspects like an event involving the brand formulated to

strengthen the word-of-mouth could add to the promotional effect. This approach

could be compared with the advertising blitzkreig of several new brands of cars.

Skoda, almost an unknown name in India, has been able to meet with considerable
45
success (in its niche) because of word-of-mouth for its Octovia model than through

conventional advertising. The brand has also been selective in its market launch

and this adds to the expectation excitement for prospective consumers in other

markets to enhance the impact of word-of-mouth.

Concept--Selling

When an offering is a durable and new to market, it poses a challenge to the

company. The product may be a good one but the initial concept selling plays a

vital role in the diffusion of the product. Advertising has to be used in conjunction

with retail demonstration wherever it is appropriate. TV could be used for creating

awareness of the category but print advertisements are required to address the

differing perceptions of consumers about the risks and value associated with a new

offering. The low penetration of rice-cooker may make an interesting case study.

How should the offering be positioned especially when in the urban context gas

stoves have a high degree of penetration? Would the device be useful for cooking

menu other than rice? What is the perception of the target consumer? Or is it

worthwhile to position the offering effectively only as an occasion based household

device? How could demonstration be used to change the negative perception of

consumers? Should all retail outlets be used or only specific retail outlets in an area

be used? How does the usage cost compare with substitutes?

As it can be observed, these dimensions require a mix of promotional decisions.

There is a need to differentiate between primary and secondary advertising while

selling product concepts. Primary advertising sells the concept while secondary

46
advertising highlights the features of the brand. It may be difficult to generalise how

a firm should link these two kinds of advertising. There is a need to consider the

product/market situation before such discussions are taken. When a brand has a

competitive advantage in terms of time (first entry) it could sequence the two kinds

of advertising effectively. When washing machines were introduced in India (even

now the penetration of washing machines is not high) fifteen years back, Videocon

used a very effective primary advertising to sell the concept and create awareness

about the category. It washes, rinses and dries was the message and slowly over

a period of time the brand added features that were very specific to the brand.

Later competitive brands were launched in the category.

The situation becomes complex when a number of brands start introducing their

offerings at the same period of time. The category of quartz watches provides such

an example. HMT made an attempt to sell the concept during the initial stages

when the category was introduced. Titan, which has a huge chunk of the category,

took a major initiative not only to build its brand but also to sell the concept of

quartz watches. Besides there were also a number of offerings from the

unorganised or assembled sector which offered low-price points at the lower end of

the market. In a situation like this, the pioneering brand or any brand, which builds

itself quickly stands to gain. This is because consumers become familiar with the

category within a short time, especially when prices come down rapidly. Besides,

such quick diffusion is also enhanced by the fact that the category is a necessity

item rather than a luxury. There is also the element of social visibility associated

with the category. Hence for a national brand, mass advertising is a pre-requisite,

provided it is supported by the other elements of the marketing mix.

47
 II. UNDERSTANDING SALES PROMOTION

Definition:

For the purpose of this study, following definitions of sales promotion were kept in

mind. Kotler defines sales promotion as: Sales promotion consists of a diverse

collection of incentive tools, mostly short-term designed to stimulate quicker and/or

greater purchase of particular products/services by consumers or the trade.

7Roger Strang has given a more simplistic definition i.e. sales promotions are

short-term incentives to encourage purchase or sales of a product or service.

Hence, any forms of incentives (price cut or value added nature) offered for short

period either to trade or consumers are considered as sales promotion activities.

Following findings and inferences were derived:

1.2 Segment-wise Frequency of Schemes

Thirteen schemes (47%) announced were found to be on popular segment (Rs.8-

15 for 75 gms.) of toilet soap brands. This was closely followed by 11 schemes

(40%) in premium segment (> Rs.15 for 75 gm.). Thus it could be inferred that

companies were trying to upgrade consumers of economy/popular brands to

popular/premium soap brands respectively.

48
Nature of Schemes

With respect to the nature of the schemes, premium (free gifts) were found to be

the most frequently used schemes in both premium and popular segment of toilet

soap industry. No such scheme was offered by any brand in the economy segment.

It could be inferred that as the price of soap in this segment was less than Rs.8, it

might not be possible for the companies to offer this type of premium promotion.

Secondly, the consumers in this segment were likely to be price sensitive and such

a promotion might not be of value to them compared to price offs.

49
Premium (Free Gift) Offers

Six out of 13 premium offers were a part of the companies own portfolio e.g. on

buying 2 Dettol soaps, a Dettol Talc, 18 grams worth Rs.25 was given free.

1.5 Underlying Objectives Based on Table-3, a set of underlying objectives

behind the various sales promotion schemes were inferred:

1.5.1 Bonus Packs:

To reward existing loyal customers

To off-load inventory at factory and distribution level (to attain push)

Bonus pack schemes (Buy one get one free/more for the same price) were

used to load the consumers so that they would not buy competitive brand at

least for short period.

Premium (Free Gifts):

To reward and retain existing loyal customers and to enhance brand image

through interactions/associations.

To act as a constant reminder of the brand.

To encourage brand switching amongst deal prone consumers through

innovative gifts.

To induce trial of new products of the company by leveraging on the existing

brand and its equity e.g. giving (new) Mysore Sandal Talc free with the

50
purchase of 2 Mysore Sandal soaps.

Price-offs:

Contrary to belief, premium soap brands were giving price offs (3 price off out

of 11 scheme announcements in this category Table-3). The underlying

objective could be to offload inventory by pulling customers from popular

soap segment, as the size of the premium segment especially the higher end

of the premium segment might be very small e.g. Dove (priced at Rs.45 for

100 gm) Rs.10 off. It could be inferred that frequent use of sales promotion

activities in premium segment might dilute the brands exclusivity, which

could lead to dissatisfaction and disillusionment among the regular users.

Incentive Price (outlay) Ratio

The incentive price ratio was calculated by taking the monetary value of the

incentive offered to the consumer and dividing it by the amount of money he/she

needs to spend in order to avail the offer. The ratio varied from 0.15 to 1.00 among

various brands (Table-4). The ratios in premium brands varied from .15 to .71. For

example, in case of Mysore Sandal and Palmolive Natural (premium soaps) the

incentive ratio was .15 and .17 respectively. With this level of incentive neither

regular premium soap users will feel rewarded or get attracted, nor the popular

soap users will be motivated to switch.

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The highest incentive ratio in case of Fair and Lovely soap was an introductory

offer. Such a high incentive again was not likely to generate desired response in

terms of trial. Instead the company could have leveraged on its parent brand

namely Fair & Lovely Cream which is well entrenched in the market. So with the

purchase of Fair & Lovely tube free soap would have given better results in our

opinion.

Perceptions about mass media announcements

Five out of six retailers viewed that whenever sales promotion scheme was

announced on TV, it created pull and they were more than willing to stock such

brands. For example Medimix and Dettol contest was not advertised on TV, hence

there was very little awareness leading to unsold stock till 6 months. While Lux

Gold Star which was heavily promoted on T.V. is recalled even today.

Post Promotion Behavior

Retailers observed that in most cases sales promotion scheme on a brand might

encourage a buyer to switch a brand temporarily but he would revert back to

original brand after promotion.

Handling Problems

Many a times retailers had to handle various sales promotion offers simultaneously

in a category and also across categories and there was no formal communication

52
planning either from the dealer or the company. Remembering each offer and

handling was a problem especially for a small retailer which was often a as one-

man show.

Reasons for switching brands:

This could be seen from Tabl below.

As obvious from the above table, sales promotion was not the main reason for

switching brand in this category. Need for variety was the predominant reason.

It was found through deeper probing that even though consumers would have

switched brands due to sales promotion, there was reluctance about admitting the

same and variety was given as a reason for switching.

53
It was further found that consumers had positive disposition towards promoted

brand. As a result when toilet soap brand was changed for variety, the brand which

was promoted had higher probability of purchase than non-promoted brands.

Recall of brands being promoted:

It could be seen from Table-7 below.

As seen from above, Lux (Gold Star offer most promoted and advertised brand)

had the maximum recall. This brand used TV advertisement heavily to announce

sales promotion offers. Six out of 30 did not recall any sales promotion scheme on

any brand. It could be inferred that i) hard core loyals to a particular brand (eg.

Hamam) would never (pay attention to any announcements of any other toilet soap

brand. ii) Unless sales promotion offers were properly communicated to the target

54
audience, required impact might not be created and iii) Unless promotional offers

were of significant value to a consumer, it was likely to get unnoticed and/or

ignored.

Willingness to buy on sales promotion offer

Sixty-three per cent of the sample did not show willingness to buy a brand due to

promotion while 27% showed willingness and 10% were not sure. This indicates

that when 27% showed willingness, and 10% consumers who were not sure, these

groups might be lured through innovative and lucrative sales promotion offer.

Ability to induce tria

Forty per cent of the respondents had said that sales promotion had the ability to

induce trial which reinforces the above inference (3.4).

Long-term impact

In order to understand ability of the promotions to increase long-term sales,

respondents were asked about continuity of purchase of a brand after the

withdrawal of promotion. Eighty per cent of the respondents indicated that they

would not continue. But 20% said they would. Thus, it could be inferred that

promotions in this category (low involvement products) might encourage trial and

brand switching but not long term loyalty.

55
Preference of Schemes:

Price off was the most preferred type of scheme. Sixty-three per cent of the

respondents ranked price-offs as number one or two. This was from an upper

income (biased sample, in which 18 out of 30 were from income group category

>3,00,000/- p.a.

Perceived Quality:

Ninety-three per cent of the respondents had a perception that the quality of the

promoted brands remained the same during promotion, while 7% felt that it was

inferior than before. It can be inferred that promotions were not leading to negative

brand quality perceptions. It was further reinforced when 53% of the respondents

said that sales promotion would not weaken their loyalty towards the brand.

3.9 Perceptions regarding underlying company motivations

On tapping perceptions regarding underlying company motivations for sales

promotion, to increase sales was ranked highest followed by to attract switchers

and to sell excess stocks. While providing value to customers and to reinforce

company image were ranked lowest. This indicates that consumers believed that

companies were undertaking such activities only for their own benefit and not for

the benefit of consumers. Corroborating findings from retailer and consumer

perception studies, it is evident that there was a matching of perceptions regarding

56
nature of scheme (price offs as most preferred type of scheme mentioned by

consumers and retailers perceptions about consumer preferences). Since retailers

observe consumers instore beahviour were frequently and directly, their

perceptions regarding providing consumer behaviour are likely to be accurate.

Such inputs from the retailers would be useful to companies. The retailers had the

perception that those schemes which were announced through mass media had

better response. This was reinforced by the consumer survey which showed that

recall in case of heavily promoted schemes on TV was found to be very high.

Retailers prediction of companies motivation for offering sales promotion were

matching with the consumer perception regarding the same. Thus both viewed that

companies were using sales promotion activities mainly to increase short term

sales or encourage switching or selling excess stock and not really to give value

benefit or enhance/reinforce brand/company image.

57
Implications:

The findings of the empirical study indicate that unless the brand to be promoted is

in the consideration set of the consumer, sales promotion by itself is unlikely to

have any major impact. Clearly this shows that managers need to invest into brand

building exercise so that his/her brand appears in the consideration set of the target

consumers. Only after this should he spend time, money and energy on sales

promotion activities. Sales promotion should not be used in isolation but need to be

integrated with other tools and in line with the overall positioning of the brand. Also

the importance of the role of mass media came out clearly in both the studies.

Companies need to create sufficient awareness about sales promotion schemes

through mass media in order to create awareness The role of retailer in influencing

consumer in brand choice decision in a toilet soap category was found to be

insignificant which also supports the above observations. Toilet soaps are low

involvement products characterised by switching behaviour. Also the person going

to the shop for the purchase of soap is the final decision maker of the brand. Hence

it is essential that companies need to design attractive, striking, visible POPs for

scheme announcements. With respect to nature of scheme, the finding suggested

that premium (free gift) was popular with companies. While both retailers and

consumers preferred price offs. So it is necessary that the perceived value of a

free gift has to be appealing and high for the target consumers. Repetitive use of

the same premium (soap dish) for a prolonged period may have negative 18

58
effect on the loyal customers. When the company is giving its own product free as

premium, it needs to ensure the quality of the product from it as it is likely to

jeopardize the image of both its products.

The findings exhibited that both the retailers and consumers perceived that sales

promotion activities carried out by the companies for increasing sales in short term

and clearing excess stocks. What it implies is that companies need to use sales

promotion synergistically and communicate so that they provide value to the target

audience and enhance brand quality/image perceptions. Companies need to

systematize information flow regarding sales promotion activities particularly at

dealer retailer level. Ensuring proper information flow and devising checks and

measures to reduce misappropriations and implementation flows should be

considered critical aspects for the success of sales promotion activities by the

companies. As retailing is fragmented, direct reach by companies is next to

impossible. Through dealers and proper feedback mechanism, companies keep in

touch with the market. From the study it was found that smaller retailers felt

neglected and not enthused to implement the schemes, particularly when

additional handling, stocking, accounting was required on the part of a retailer

without compensatory margins. It can be seen that the retailer and consumer

perceptions matched with respect to preferences of schemes, underlying

motivations and role of mass media. This implies that the retailer would be a rich

source of information about the consumer and the likely response to sales

promotion activities. Developing a system to tap such responses from time to time

59
both at retailer and consumer level would be helpful for planning future sales

promotion activities. In order to build trust and commitment companies should tap

preferences, perceptions of retailers as well as consumers.

60
61
PROBLEM FACED BY MARKETERS

Fast moving consumer goods players Dabur, HLL are among the major companies

found to violate Advertising Standards Council of India code during the first quarter

of the current calendar year.

ASCI had taken action against 16 advertising campaigns by different companies, of

which seven were asked to withdraw, while nine were asked to modify for violation

of the codes.

The council asked Dabur India to discontinue its Red Toothpaste commercial after

the company was unable to substantiate claims made in a television commercial, in

which it said specific indgredients in the product could give the consumer strong

teeth.

Hindustan Lever's Clinic All Clear, which is now being endorsed by Bollywood

couple Bipasha Basu and John Abraham, was also on the list of defaulters.

The company was found guilty of 'false and misleading' campaigns in its hoardings

and radio commercials. HLL had projected the shampoo as a solution to hair fall

through its tag-line baal girney ka sawaal hi nahi (no question of hair fall). ASCI

ordered HLL to remove the hoardings and radio commercials.

This time around, several FMCG companies have come under ASCI's (Advertising

Standards Council of India) scanner as complaints against their ads have been

upheld by the Consumer Complaints Council for the period between January and

Marchthis year.

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Dabur, Hindustan Lever, Johnson & Johnson and Colgate Palmolive are the few

FMCG majors who have had to withdraw their ads during this period.

For Dabur India, it was its Dabur Red Toothpaste; its pack claimed `strong teeth.'

The TV commercial claimed `Get strong teeth from Dabur Red Toothpaste which

contains laung, pudina and tomar.'

According to the complaint made by a member of the dental profession, the

ingredients declared on the pack are not scientifically and clinically proved to

provide strong teeth. The claim is false and needs to be validated with clinically

proven data, said ASCI. The TV commercial has been discontinued. Assurance is

awaited from the advertiser on the modification of the promotion message on the

product pack, said the advertising standards watchdog.

In the case of HLL, the radio commercials for Clinic All Clear Hair Defense claim

"Baal girne ka sawaal nahi (question of hair fall does not arise)" was looked upon

favourably by ASCI. Its hoardings also claim no dandruff and no hair fall. The

complaint made is about the gross exaggeration of facts, said ASCI. The radio

commercials distort facts and are misleading consumers into believing that Clinic

All Clear stops hair fall. The ads from radio and hoardings have thus been

withdrawn.

Johnson & Johnson's comparison of its Stayfree Secure Dry sanitary napkin brand

to all napkins using a general descriptor of `mehenga napkin' is a gross

exaggeration. The claim being `as good as' is vague and ambiguous as it does not

specify the parameters on which Stayfree Secure Dry is considered equivalent to

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expensive napkins. According to the complaint made, by not specifying any

particular brand of `expensive napkin' for comparison, the TV commercial is leaving

the communication vague and implying `the market leader' position among the

premium product segment.

"As the claim relies on a survey conducted by TNS India, one needs to scrutinise

the survey design, methodology and questionnaire to check the validity of the

survey, study the actual findings and check whether the same reflects in

conclusion," ASCI stated. The TV commercial had been discontinued from March

this year.

For Colgate Palmolive (India), it was its Colgate Sensitive Toothbrush being

positioned as the Dentists' No.1 choice, which ASCI objected to.

"In the absence of a notation in the advertisement on the source supporting this

claim, the advertiser is required to substantiate the claim," read the complaint. In

this case, the ad has been discontinued and the advertiser has assured

appropriate modification in future use.

The study conducted in association with the assistance of Yahoo, MSN, Lycos, and AOL

combined a total of 200 FMCG online campaigns executed across Europe. The aim of the

study was to quantify the average impact that European ad campaigns have on traditional

branding metrics, and create benchmarks for categories such as FMCG which has

traditionally not embraced the Internet as a key advertising medium.

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The research methodology follows global industry standards set forth by Dynamic Logic

(1999) which surveys consumers in two categories; campaign exposed and non-exposed. In

total 160,000 individuals were surveyed across Europe representing the two groups. The

full 'funnel' of branding metrics was surveyed; brands awareness, ad recall, message

association, brand favourability, and purchase intent.

The conclusion of the study found that all 5 branding metrics were positively impacted.

Similarly to other categories, FMCG brands which advertised online had the highest impact

across brand awareness (both aided and un-aided) and brand favorability in line with market

norms and mirroring similar research from the US. Furthermore, it was found that effective

frequency across each of the brand metrics was increasing even at 10+ average exposures,

building the case against perceived 'ad burnout' which traditionally is thought to be at much

lower average exposures levels. Hence FMCG branding metrics continue to increase with

additional exposures.

Problems AndIssues

It is a known fact that an average consumer is bombarded with so many brands

that he/she cannot remember. In order that product should get through the clutter it

is believed that a single selling message has to be repeated for a large number of

times. Thus the most significant problem with the USP approach to advertising is

that it requires a large media budget to repetitively air the advertisements and such

ads often annoy consumers. And hence instead of creating a consumer base it may

drive away the potential customers as against this, UCP by itself provides solutions

to all the marketing problems poised by the widely accepted USP approach.
65
Basically it aims at the core of the problem. It eliminates the problem from the roots

rather than periodic trimming of the tree.

Bridge positioning can play a role in bridging the gap between customer perception

and product USP by relying more on UCP than USP based positioning statement.

Objectives: Objective of the study was to find out finer points of developing bridge

positioning statement and how it can bridge the gap between the UCP and USP.

The study further focused on how bridge positioning can be validated in terms of

sales.

A USP is that distinct and appealing idea that sets your business favorably apart

from every other generic competitor. While A UCP is that distinct and appealing

idea that is built on customers perceptions that sets business favorably apart from

every other generic competitor. Brands which had high success has USP=UCP.

This means positioning statement helps to have better brand recall. Thus, Bridge

positioning statement helped to bring brand come nearer to the customers.

Application of bridge positioning helped to generate better sales and achieve status

of leader brands. UCP and USP matching makes the brand recall better and the

positioning statement in these cases can be called Bridge Positioning.

It is quite obvious that only the clear and well-defined USP is not the panacea for

all marketing ills. Todays trying economic conditions have forced difficult decisions

on companies. Most are making conservative decisions that reflect a survival mode

in business operations. During these difficult times, understanding what customers

think on continuous basis is critical for survival. Most marketers assume the

product USP to stay constant overtime that is contrary to reality. Companies may

66
have to change the USP to stay contemporary and relevant. It is obvious that there

has to be another parameter that makes a success of the product. What companies

need to understand is products UCP. UCP by itself provides solutions to all the

marketing problems poised by the widely accepted USP approach. Basically it aims

at the core of the problem. It eliminates the problem from the roots rather than

periodic trimming of the tree.

If an Organization fails to recognize the customers perception then the initial surge

of customers would quickly come to a screeching halt and the brand would fade

into obscurity along with the organization. On the other hand, following customers

perception not only offers an emotionally positive solution to their needs but also

serves to enhance the current customers perception of the brand. Following this

with an excellent product/service and customer support will leave an indelible mark

on the existing customers memory, which will create brand loyalty. Bridge

positioning was validated in studies by Srivastava(2005) and Srivastava (2006) by

trying Natrilix-SR and Mountain Dew as a test case.

Selection of the brand: Mountain Dew, a lemon drink, with the USP The Spirit of

Adventure - Do the Dew is marketed in India. However, this USP failed to position

Mountain Dew in the minds of the consumers as an adventure drink. This was

reflected by stagnant sales of Mountain Dew in the market.

Similarly, Natrilix-SR a diuretic widely used in India was stagnating and not showing

enough growth.

The study was to focus on UCP and USP of this product and how UCP if

determined through the study can improve sales through better brand recall and

67
preference of doctors. Antihypertensive brand was selected as this segment is

fastest growing segment all over the world including India. Natrilix -SR was

selected for this study.

1. Identifying the USP: After selecting brands, the USP was

identified i.e. as promoted by the company from various sources like

Advertisement, POP, print ads, Sample catch cover and detailing folder.

2. Identifying the UCP: As the important part of the research was to find

out the customer perception of the brands, it was accomplished by using

questionnaire approach of Research Methodology.

3. Formulating the UCP:A ranking technique was used to find the most

important customer perceptions for the brand. On the basis of these

perceptions the UCP was formulated.

4. Test the effectiveness of the UCP:A fresh survey was conducted to

validate the formulated UCP. Inferences and conclusions were drawn

based on this survey. The study was to focus on UCP and USP of these

products and how UCP, if determined through the study, can improve

sales through better brand recall.

This is the core subject of the research and to substantiate the same, two

surveys were conducted. In Survey 1, the objective was to determine

the mind-set of the consumer with regards to relation between the USP

68
 of NatriliX-SR/ Mountain Dew, a lemon drink and their perception about

the product. So basically the aim is to find how existing USP match

consumers perception about NatriliX-SR/ Mountain Dew, a lemon drink.

In the second survey, same consumers were asked about inclination to

purchase /prescribe the brand after changing the positioning statement to

BRIDGE POSITIONING .

III. Differentiation Through Advertisement:

Advertisements convey brand differentiation and this may be important in several

categories, which consist of several brands. In FMCG products like tea, coffee and

detergents, differentiation awareness can be created by television advertising, but

in certain categories there may be a need to demonstrate the effectiveness of

brands. Differentiation with which consumers cannot connect may have a

negative implication and if a brand connects consumers with its differentiation, it

is likely to also differentiate itself in terms of getting identified with the consumer. A

detergent or a washing machine, which claims low water consumption has to

demonstrate this claim at a retail outlet especially given the fact that the quality of

water varies across areas even in a specific geographical region. It is also essential

that a good differentiation proposition result in a positive word-of-mouth.

In a certain situation, the company may have two offerings in a product-line and

there is a need to differentiate them clearly depending on the target segments

involved. This is a complex situation where differentiation decides the growth of the

69
brand and the perceived difference between the offerings. An added layer to the

complexity is the same brand name being used for the offerings. Fairness cream is

a category in which the benefit is the fairness of the complexion. A brand like Fair

and Lovely built over the years still has a strong association with the category but

under tremendous pressure from competitive brands and the most important

criteria which these brands is the herbal touch associated with them. Herbal

ingredients are becoming popular with consumers in several categories and

personal care in India has a strong tradition of herbal care. Fair and Lovely had to

launch its herbal variant (it used the same brand probably because of the brand

equity built up over the years). The interesting fact is the differentiation being

conveyed by advertising.

The original version uses an aspiration route in which the brands ultimate benefit is

success through confidence.

The girl in the advertisement becomes a cricket commentator based on the

confidence built up by the usage of the product. The herbal variants advertising

has a strong focus on the traditional product benefit - facial complexion that

appeals to youth. The nature of the models chosen are different and the ultimate

brand benefit is conveyed to be different (though any fairness cream is supposed

to be associated with fairness). From an explicit benefit associated with the

category (fairness) the advertising differentiation carries the variants of the brand to

a different plane of differentiation. The differentiation also suggests typical

consumer types who may be drawn towards the respective variants. Goodlass

70
Nerolac in its recent advertising campaign for decorative paints, which uses

Amitabh Bachchan, has a focus on imagery - joggers, housewives and children

who have a positive attitude towards the celebrity.

Marketing communication is an area, which offers a high potential to brands to

analyze the utility of several promotional inputs.

71
CHAPTER 7

An Empirical View of the Different Types of

Consumer Promotions in India

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Expenditure on sales promotion by various marketing companies in India is

estimated to be Rs. 5,000 crore and is growing at a robust pace every year

(Economic Times June 15, 2003). Companies in an attempt to drive sales

offer various kinds of consumer promotions from price offs, extra

product, freebies, scratch cards. In the year 2001, there were as many

as 2,050 promotional schemes of all kinds in the Rs 80,000 crore FMCG

industry. In the year 2000, the number stood at 1,954 schemes(Financial

Express, 2000).There have been very few discussions in sales promotion

literature about how different types of promotions may be classified. One

dimension, which has been suggested to classify different promotions, is the

price versus non-price nature of the promotion

. Price promotions are defined as promotions such as coupons, cents off,

refunds and rebates that temporarily reduce the cost of the goods or service.

These promotions focus on the reduced economic outlay required to obtain a

good or service. Non price promotions are defined as promotions such as

giveaways or contests in which value is temporarily added to the product

at full price. Studies, which have compared consumer response to

different promotions, have followed this classification in differentiating

between types of promotion. A list of the different types of price and non price

promotions and their definitions is shown in Table .

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 Table

Although a wide variety of price and non-price promotions are launched in the

market, most of the academic research on promotions has focused on price

promotions, namely price offs and coupon offers (Blattberg, Briesch and Fox,

1995). Promotional tools such as free gift offers, extra product offers that are

increasingly being used in the market place.

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However very little academic theory or research has looked at how

consumers perceive and respond to such promotions. In recent years,

researchers have started comparing consumer response to different

promotions e.g. price promotion versus premium promotion or extra product

promotion versus price promotion .

A first step towards researching different promotions is identification of

the range of different promotions launched in the market place. It

reports the incidence of the different promotions in different sectors

e.g. FMCG, Consumer Durables and Services. Finally, details about

each type of promotion are noted in order to highlight the different

incentives offered by each type of promotion.

The distribution of different promotions across the years is shown in

Table

TABLE

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The product categories analyzed in the study covered Consumer Durables,

Services and Fast Moving Consumer Goods. In total around 54 product

categories were covered in the study.

Frequency of Promotions across Product Categories

Before proceeding with the main analysis, the frequency of promotions across

different sectors of FMCG, Consumer Durable and Services were noted.

The frequency of promotion in these sectors is shown in Table 3.

Table

Frequency of Promotions across FMCG, Consumer Durable and Services

The frequency of occurrence of promotions is similar between FMCG

(45%) and Durables (44%) sectors. The Services sector accounts for the
76
lowest number of promotions. Within FMCG, the most frequently promoted

product categories are soap, detergent liquid/powder and tea. These are also

product categories with the highest level of market penetration (NCAER:

Indian Market Demographic Report, 2002). Within Durables the most

frequently promoted product categories are colour television and personal

computer. The most frequently promoted categories in the Services sector are

Fast Food Restaurants and Cellular Phone Service.

Frequency of Different Promotions in Services, Durables and FMCG

The different types of promotions identified in the study include price offs,

free gift offers, sweepstakes, extra product offers, contests, exchange offers

and buy-more-and- save/get offers. The overall frequency of occurrence of

these promotions as well as frequency of occurrence in FMCG, Durables

and Services was analyzed as shown in Table

77
 The most popular promotion is the free gift promotion, which constitutes more

than half (55 %) of the total number of promotions. This is followed in

popularity by the sweepstake promotion (11%), which in turn, followed by the

extra product promotion (8%) and the price off promotion (8%) in popularity. In

Services, the order of frequency of promotions is the premium promotion

followed by the extra product promotion followed by the price off promotion.

In case of Durables, the order of frequency of promotions is the premium

promotion followed by the sweepstake promotion followed by the price off

promotion.

In FMCG, the order of frequency of the promotion is the premium promotion

follows by the extra product promotion, followed by the sweepstake promotion. A

detailed analysis of each type of promotion is provided in the following section.

Details about Different Types of Promotions

78
The specific details about the different types of promotions - price offs,

free gift offers, sweepstakes, extra product offers, contests, exchange

offers and buy-more-and-save/get offers - are discussed in the following

section.

1. Exchange Offer

This promotion is seen mainly in the consumer durable product category. This

promotion requires the consumer to exchange an old product for a new one

and get some benefit, usually a price reduction. For example, in case of cars,

the scheme offers the consumer a price reduction of Rs. 10,000 on the new

car in exchange for an old car. For pressure cooker, the scheme offers a price

reduction of 40% on exchanging an old cooker for a new cooker. In case of

household durables, the scheme usually requires the consumer to exchange an

old model of a product (e.g. AC, refrigerator, music system, mixer grinder, gas

stove) to get a price reduction on the new model. Apart from exchanging an

old durable good, the scheme also involves exchanging a small TV for a big

TV. Most exchange schemes provide an incentive to purchase in the form of a

price reduction. One exchange scheme involved returning an old washing

machine for a new one and getting an electric iron as gift.

The purpose of the exchange scheme appears to be upgrade existing users

of durable products to newer and larger sized models of a product.

2. Free Gift Offer

79
This promotion is popular across a range of product categories. It offers the

consumer an incentive to purchase in the form of a free product/service. For

example, in case of a car purchase, the consumer is offered a free product

such as a music system or accessories. The consumer may also be offered a

free service such as extended 3-year warranty or free insurance. Often the

product offered free is a complement to the original purchase. This is illustrated

by instances of the following types of free gift offers:

o free pillows with a mattress purchase

o free toothbrush with toothpaste

o free shaving blade with shaving gel/foam.

At times, the product offered as a free gift constitutes an upgrade to the original

purchase. For example in case of Computer Printers, a free Internet connection,

Internet telephony kit, software titles and multimedia package is offered along

with the printer. Or in case of notebook computer/PC, the consumer is offered

a Free Internet upgrade and 20 GB, Web Camera, Printer, Britannica CDs,

software. In case of fast food restaurants, the free products are items such as

soft drink, bread stick, pineapple fudge, garlic bread, ice cream cookies. Here the

free products appear to be use complements to the original product.

At other times the free product may be a related product or product used in a

80
similar context e.g. cooking or cleaning or personal care or eating. For kitchen

products, the free product are items used in the kitchen such as plastic

containers, metal spoon, tawa, non stick pan, idli stand, serving bowl, table mat

and OTG.

In case of detergent powder/cake the free products are related cleaning

products such as bleach, washing soap, washing powder, bucket, bath soap,

floor cleaner and utensil cleaner. In the skin care segment, the free products are

other personal care items such as soap, body lotion, shampoo sachet, shaving

cream and toothpaste. In case of food products, the free product comprises

of other edible items such as biscuits, coffee, namkeen, salt, chocolate.

At other time the free product may be totally unrelated to the original

purchase. For example the consumer may be offered a free pen with a skin

care cream or free batteries with soap. It is possible that, in such, cases, the

products through unrelated are targeted to the same segment of consumers.

This is particularly seen in free gift promotions targeted at children. For

example, in case of health drinks, the free product are items such as cricket

bat, zoom ball, story book, pencil box, biscuits, binoculars, toy bike, cricket set,

football and trendy wristwatch which are valued by children. Similarly, in

case of confectionary products such as chocolates and biscuit, the free

products are products relevant to children such as comics, sticker, toy, tattoo,

magic paint card and magic candle.

In some cases, the free gift offered along with the purchase is another product
81
variant offered by the company. For example in case of fruit juice the

consumer is offered the guava flavor fruit juice when he/she buys 5 packs of

orange flavor. In case of spices, the consumer is offered Kashmiri mirch along

with purchase of the regular spices. Several free gift offers have a pre

commitment of size or value of purchase from the consumer. The consumer

has to make a certain value of purchase before he is entitled to the free gift.

Often, there are smaller gifts associated with purchase of smaller pack sizes and

larger gifts associated with purchase of larger pack sizes of a product. In most

cases, the price of the free gift is not mentioned. The brand name of the free

product e.g. Timex watch or Motorola handset is mentioned in some cases.

82
 3. Sweepstake offer

The sweepstake offer gives the consumer a chance to win a large prize

through luck. It ususaly involves a lucky draw or a scratch card based on which

the winners are decided. The prizes offered on this promotion can be broadly

classified into two types. The first type of prize is a trip to a foreign location

e.g. Paris, London, Thailand, Singapore or Malaysia. Many brands offer a trip

to the South Africa World Cup as a promotional attraction. The second type

of prize are durable products such as Bike, Car, Watch, Washing Machine,

Television, Refrigerator, DVD, Mobile Phone, Cordless phone, PC, Microwave,

Camera, Sunglasses, Gold Jewellery, Gold Coin. Gold has a major appeal as a

prize on the sweepstake promotion across diverse product categories such as

soap and personal computer. In some cases, the details of the prize on the

sweepstake promotion is not specified and is stated as prizes worth Rs. 50

crores.

4. Buy more and savage

This type of promotion requires a consumer to buy two or more products to

avail of the promotional advantage. The promotional benefit is usually in the form

of money saved as a result of buying two ore more products at the same time. In

certain cases, the promotion requires the consumer to buy additional units of

the same product to avail of the promotional advantage. For example, in

case of bath soaps and detergent cakes, this promotion requires the

83
consumer to buy three bath soaps/detergent cakes and get one

soap/detergent cake free. In case of fruit juice the consumer is required to buy 5

packs of

fruit juice and get one pack of fruit juice free. This promotion seems to be

popular in categories where the extra units of the product offered on the

promotion can be stored for future consumption.

When different products are bundled together on this promotion, there is

usually a relationship between the products. For example in case of computer

printers, this scheme requires the consumer to buy a printer and scanner

together and get a price reduction. In case of consumer durables, this scheme

attempts to induce the consumer to buy greater number of products from the

same company. For example the scheme requires the consumer to buy AC

and refrigerator or AC and microwave of the same brand and avail a price

reduction. In FMCG products, this promotion requires the consumer to

buy toothpaste and toothbrush together or buy shaving cream and blade together

to get a price reduction. This promotion is seen in case of Fast Food

Restaurants as well where the consumer is required to buy a pizza, coke mobile

and garlic bread and get a saving on the combination purchase. In case of

FMCG products, this type of promotion bundles together products that are

use complements.

84
 5. Contest offers

Contest offers are seen mostly in products targeted at children. In case of

Fast Food restaurant, this promotion requires the consumer to fill up a coupon

and get a chance to meet a film star such as Hrithik Roshan. In case of soft

drinks, the contest offer requires the consumer to answer a question in an ad

and get a chance to meet a movie star. In other product categories, the prizes

offered on this promotion are similar to those on the sweepstake promotion.

The consumer is offered the chance to win a car or a flat or various

household durable appliances.

5. Extra Product Offers

Most of the extra product promotions (65%) are seen in the FMCG category

where the extra units of product serve as additional consumption units for the

consumer. There are no extra product promotions seen in the durables

product category. In FMCG, the specific products on which the extra

product promotion is launched include Talcum Powder, Detergent Cake,

Soaps, Fruit Juices and Hair Oil. In case of toothpaste the promotion

requires the consumer to buy one toothpaste and get the second toothpaste

free. In a talcum powder extra product promotion, the consumer is offered 20%

extra in the same pack. This promotion is also seen in the Services sector. In

case of Internet service provider, this promotion offers extra hours on the

Internet and free Internet access on Sunday. In case of fast Food restaurants,

the promotion offers a second pizza free along with the original pizza or a slice

85
free along with the original pizza.

Other Offers

A variety of promotions are seen in the Any Other category. One frequent

promotion in the consumer durable category is the 0% finance scheme for

purchase of two wheelers, notebook/PCs, refrigerator, music system, television,

microwave oven, 2 wheeler.

A different kind of promotion requires the consumer to invest money in order to

avail the promotional benefit. In case of fans, this sort of promotion requires

the consumer to purchase 3 fans and pay Rs. 90 to get a wristwatch

worth Rs. 480. Another such promotion requires the consumer to buy a fan,

pay Rs. 40 and get a free camera worth Rs.

300. In case of health drinks, the promotion requires the consumer to pay Rs.

7/- more and get a badminton racket free.

A variant of this promotion is another promotion, which requires an investment

of effort rather than money from the consumer. For example, in case of tea,

the consumer is required to pay Re. 1 and get a Britannia biscuit pack free along

with the tea pack. In case of salt, the consumer is required to collect a

newspaper coupon and pay Re. 1 to get a pack of salt.

Yet other types of promotions require an investment of both money and effort

from the consumer in order to avail of the promotional benefit. For

example, a soft drink promotion requires the consumer to collect crowns and

86
put in some money to get a price discount on the soft drink. In case of ice

cream the consumer is required to collect three ice cream wrappers to get a

scratch card which gives him the opportunity to win lakhs of prizes. In case of

chocolates, the promotion requires a consumer to exchange empty chocolate

wrappers to get movie tickets or bunny stickers free.

87
CHAPTER 8

ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION

I. RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

II. CONCLUSION

88
 I. RECOMMENDATIONS

The word "Recommendation" is self-explanatory. It speaks about the valuable

suggestions. For e.g. If it is asked to suggest on what the company should do to

improve it frcfm its present position? We find lots of suggestions floating. Some of

them make sense and some are to be clipped out.

1. Companies have to increase the awareness level in buyers through TV !

An advertisement since it is one of the main sources of awareness and securing

Information.

2: Effective advertising is necessary to confirm the public about the product at the

right time through the right medium. Therefore, advertisers for

3. 4. Although product benefits can be shown most effectively by TV. It should not

mislead the consumers. The advertisement is judged by its impact, and by its

acceptance by the consumers. What it promises must be there in the

4. Identifying the right Celebrities for different products and the degree of influence

these celebrities have in different stages of decision making

The ad agencies should use simple ads to convey the message of the brand. It

should also be creative and focus on 1 or 2 points. Innovative methods should be

used to make advertising effective.

89
Importance of Claim:

The most important factor determining the effectiveness of an advertisement is the

importance / of claim made in it, Many advertisements make important claims. But

these claims should be important for the consumer too. If a buyer gives importance

for quality, there is no point in speaking about the cheap price, similarly if cheap

price is important the advertisement should highlight only that.

Nowadays advertisement agencies concentrate on USP, i.e., unique selling

proposition. Each advertisement must make a strong factual claim to pull the

consumer into the store to buy.

Believable:

An advertisement must be believable. This can be incorporated in many ways. One

way is .to quote facts and figures about tests proving your claim. However,

negatively speaking, the advertisements should not mention anything unbelievable.

S0Q1etimes advertisement given in prestigious magazines is believed by-the

readers.

Uniqueness:

The advertisement' itself must have something unique about it.

90
Uniqueness draws attention. According to the four fold principle of AIDA (Attention,

Interest, Desire and Action-buying), any effective advertisement should draw the

attention of the customer. It is a 74

mistake to depend entirely on uniqueness. It should be followed by proper claims,

and believability. Typically advertisements whose major objective is to gain brand

recognition and acceptance rather than gaining conviction or buying action rely on

uniqueness.

Repetition:

Repetition is one of the key concepts of advertising. It is better to have a long

series of small advertisement than one extremely long advertisement. Repetition is

a basic principle of memory. Naturally, the more times an advertisement is Iun, the

more likely it is that any person has seen one of the advertisements recently.

Repetition and regency are usually closely related. In fact, an advertisement is

better read upon repeating, certainly repetition lowers advertisement costs.

Companies that are able to spot trends early and those that are committed to

continuous innovation and those that Endeavour to delight the consumer by

meeting her changing needs will lead and prosper in the future. Product superiority

married with a favorable price-value equation will form the basis of winning

initiatives in the coming years.

91
Concentrating spends on a smaller number of brands that are critical to the

business and which enjoy considerable consumer advantage.

Consistently supporting those facing highest competitive pressure with above the

line spends while sustaining momentum on stable brands with tactical activities in

key markets to get incremental sales.

92
 II. CONCLUSION

Advertisement, the foregoing discussion show, is a sharp double edged weapon.

When the claims of an advertisement correspond with the features of a product

purchased as a consequence of such advertisement, the advertisement is bound to

create a positive attitude among the Consumers in the long run. On the other hand,

when the features of the product purchased do not corroborate the claims made in

advertisement, those advertisements are sure to create a negative attitude among

the consumers. It is therefore essentials that an advertisement aims to create faith

and goodwill in the minds of consumer about the product featured by conforming to

the core principles of believability, uniqueness, reputation and reasonable claims.

This Endeavour of the present survey can thus be concluded on a note that

repetition surely has very profound, widespread and long-lasting impact on the

emotions and behavior exhibited by the consumers with regard to their purchase

decisions. Repetition, therefore, is a solution for many of the problems that

marketers face while trying to generate sales and favorable response. But the

frequency and various other factors like emotions, clutter, familiarity/unfamiliarity of

the brand or the ad prove and determine the very subtle demarcation between an

application which improves effectiveness and the same effect considered as a brain

wash or damage

Advertising serves many generic purposes, but for specific categories like FMCG,

the involvement of all stakeholders is vital to the success of an advertising strategy.

93
Innovation and creativity are pillars of great advertising strategies, but equally

important are the content and delivery of the advertisement.

The techniques discussed are not exhaustive. The general awareness of the

consumers is on the increase, because of many factors like urbanization, better

transportation, developments in information technology, media, etc and the average

consumer today is more concerned about the value of his money and time. All

compels the advertisers to innovate and develop new techniques to attract the

customers. We can say that the advertisers use these different means of

advertising in order to lure the customers to buy their products. It is not necessary

to use only one aspect of advertising in an advertisement. Instead, multiple aspects

of advertising are being used to make sure that the consumers buy the respective

company's product.. Briefly, we can say that the different aspects of advertising are

quite beneficial for promoting a product.

Every advertisement has some multiplier effect which gives a greater benefit with

respect to/ the amount spent. Recall of an advertisement varies from individual to

individual, and a company may calculate its advertisement multiplier for measuring

its advertisement effectiveness.

An attempt is made to identify the level of awareness among the respondents

towards TV advertising. From the study it is inferred that TV commercials have

considerable int1uence on the Buying decision as well as Brand preference of the

consumers. The celebrity endorsement is also considered to be an important part

of advertisements to make them more creative and innovative in their reach to the

consumers and their attempt to capture their attention.

94
Following observations are made after making an analysis of data collected from

various respondents and from general discussions with them:

1) TV ads are considered as a most important source of information among the

respondents. This highlights the role the TV commercials play in moulding the

buyer behavior. Thus, purchase decision of the people is definitely impacted by

advertisements.

2) Almost half of the segment of respondents likes to watch ads regularly. This

means TV outperforms other Medias as far as effective presentation is concerned.

It is capable of attracting attention immediately.

3) A significant portion of the people prefers to watch ads because of the '

informative content. This is because of evocation of experience" i.e TV advertising

easily stimulates the experience of using and owning the product. :

4) Brand preference is considered to be one of the prerequisite for brand :

salience-to create the Top of the Mind Brand Awareness. TV ;

commercials go a long way in achieving this as also indicated by the study. ;

Advertising works by reinforcing Brand preference for mature brands. :

5) A small segment of the respondents think that the advertisements are totally true

or reliable. All the rest of them think that they are either sometimes deceptive or

mostly deceptive.

95
6) Major chunk of the respondents feel that celebrities 'presence in the ads is highly

required. They feel models are familiar and their presence is reassuring. Moreover,

because of the high positive image of the celebrities consumers feel the

genuineness of the product/ brand. Celebrity endorsement is generally preferred for

such products as soft drinks, cars, suitings, premium range products and luxurious

items.

7) More than half of the consumers are not able to relate themselves with the

lifestyle shown in the TV ads. This is because the people are not able to conform

the exaggeration shown in the respect of product benefits with their own picture of

reality.

8) When asked to recall an advertisement in respect of any Fmcg, almost all the

respondents were able to recall only one or two advertisements or the tag lines of

their favorite brands. They could also immediately relate the celebrities they have

seen in the respective ads.

9) TV advertising provides a unique blend of sight, colour, movement, sound,

repetition and presentation of the products. This helps TV commercials to gain

advantage over other medias.

96
10) Although informative content is more liked by the respondents but with the

advent of too many satellite TV channels, the use of celebrities has become an

important issue for the advertiser. This is to make the consumer more conscious

and attract towards the product.

Today, creating a different differentiation is becoming difficult and problematic.

Product differentiation should be strong enough to create a wide gap between two

brands. If a differentiation technique does not create a wide gap between the two

brands, then the customer is not able to differentiate the same leading to less brand

loyalty. This is what is happening in FMGC sector especially in soap industry, where

the customer is not able to differentiate between two soaps. Lux, Cinthol appears to

be same which was not the case earlier. As the product differentiation technique

does not create a wider gap between one brand and the other, customer loyalty is

getting eroded.

Can bridge positioning be a tool to solve this problem?

It is possible provided the unique selling point matches unique customer perception

or when the customer perception is same as unique selling point, the positioning

statement can act as a bridge between communicator (manufacturer) and the user.

This `bridge positioning can lead to long-term relationship with the customer.

Most marketers assume that their product USP stay constant. Companies should

change the USP to stay contemporary and relevant. USP based positioning is more

effective However in order to have better brand recall, what companies need to

understand is products UCP.

UCP is a culmination of a multitude of information that the consumer receives from

97
various channels. It is the opinion that the customer forms by being exposed to

advertising, competitors claims and advertising, word of mouth, personal likes and

dislikes, etc.

UCP is also a result of the product experience. Customers

association with a particular product may lead to a formation of opinion for the

brand that the product belongs to and hence may affect the UCP.

A company can determine its UCP using simple tools like Questionnaire Technique,

Focus Group Discussion, Free Association Technique and Value Association

Technique.

Customers interest is focused on what your product or service does for them - the

benefits. How using a particular product solves a problem or improves an outcome.

The key to unlocking the decision to buy is offering benefits that outweigh what the

competition offers. These benefits are also a strong part of the process that leads to

formation of the UCP. (Srivastava, 2005)

It is quiet clear that the company should try and get the highest level of fit between

the USP and the UCP of the product / brand they are promoting. Therefore the

question arises regarding matching the USP with the UCP.

UCP v/s USP-How to bridge the Gap? Bridge Positioning

As already noticed from the conclusions of the research, a fit between the USP and

the UCP is desired for the product to ensure a fair chance of success. But what are

the options available for the brand manager if there are indeed gaps between the

USP and the UCP?

98
Since UCP is formed over the years and has its roots in factors beyond the

immediate control of the company, the company should try and align the USP with

the existing UCP.

99
100
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR COLA DRINKS

Sample of questionnaire for market research:

Name:

------------------------

Address:

-----------------------

Occupation: __________ Sex

Male ( ) Female ( )

1. Under which age group do you fall?

Below 15 ( ) 15 - 25 ( ) 25 35( ) 3 5 - 4 5 ( ) Above 45 ( )

2. When you think of cola drinks, which Brand comes to your mind?

3. Which cola drink ad did u see recently and when?

4. Does an advertisement influence your purchase decision?

Yes ( )

101
No ( )

5. What do u find interesting in' an ad?

6. Whose advertisements/campaigns do you like the most?

Pepsi ( ) Coke ( ) Thumbs Up ( )

7. On a scale of 1 to 5, Rate the quality of advertisement of the following cola drinks:-

Pepsi

Coca cola

Thums up

102
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR CHOCOLATES

Sample of questionnaire for market research:

Name:

-------------------------

Address:

Occupation: _________ Sex

Male ( ) Female ( )

1. Under which age group do you fall?

Below 15 ( ) 15 - 25 ( ) 25 - 35 ( ) 35 - 45 ( ) Above 45 ( )

2. When you think of chocolates which Brand comes to your mind?

3. Which chocolate ad did u see recently and when?

4. Does an advertisement influence your purchase decision?

Yes ( )

103
 No ( )

5. What do you interesting in an ad?

6. Whose advertisements/campaigns do you like the most?

.Kit Kat ( ) Munch ( ) Perk ( ) Dairy Milk ( ) others ( )please Specify______.)

7.On a scal of 1 to 5 , RAte the qualty of advertisement of the following chocolates:-

Kit kat

Munch

Perk

Dairy Milk

Others

104
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TOMATO KETCHUP

Sample of questionnaire for market research:

Name: ________________________

Address: _______~---------------

Occupation: _________ Sex

Male ( ) Female ( )

1. Under which age group do you fall?

Below 15 ( ) 15 - 25 ( ) 25 35() , 35 - 45 ( ),Above 45 ( )

2. When you think of ketchups, which Brand comes to your mind?

3. Which Ketchup ad did u see recently and when?

4. Does an advertisement influence your purchase decision?

Yes ( )

No ( )

105
5. What do u find interesting in an ad?

6. Whose advertisements/campaigns do you like the most?

Maggi ( ) Heinz ( ) Kissan ( )

7. On a scale of 1 to 5 , rate the quality of advertisement of the following ketchups:-

Maggi

Heinz

Kissan

106
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR FAIRNESS CREAMS

Sample of questionnaire for market research:

Name:

Address: _______________________

Occupation: __________ Sex

Male ( ) Female ( )

1. Under which age group do you fall?

Below 15 ( ) 15 - 25 ( ) 25 - 35 ( ) 35 - 45 ( ) Above 45 ( )

2. When you think of Fairness Creams which Brand comes to your mind?

3. Which Fairness Cream ad did u see recently and when?

4. Does an advertisement influence your purchase decision?

Yes ( )

No ( )

107
5. What do u find interesting in an ad?

6. Whose advertisements/campaigns"de you like the most?

Fair and lovely

Fairever

Fairone

Others

7.On a scale of 1 to 5 , rate the quality of advertisement of the following FAirness creams

Fair and lovely

FAirever

FAirone

Others

108
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR DETERGENTS

Sample of questionnaire for market research:

Name: _________________________

Address: _______________________

Occupation: _________ Sex

Male ( ) Female ( )

1. Under which age group do you fall?

Below 15 ( ) 15 - 25 ( ) 25 - 35 ( ) 35 - 45 ( ) Above 45 ( )

2. When you think of Detergents, which Brand comes to your mind?

5. Which Detergent ad did u see recently and when?

6. Does an advertisement influen~e~Nour purchase decision?

Yes ( )

No ( )

109
5. What do u find interesting in an ad?

6. Whose advertisements/campaigns do you like the most?

Ariel ( ) Surf Excel ( ) Tide ( ) Wheel ( ) others ( ) please Specify______)

7. On a scale of 1 to 5, Rate the quality of advertisement of the following Detergents:-

Ariel

Surf Excel

Tide Wheel

Others

110