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P U R E W A T E R The Kinley Affair Markets have a curious way of spicing up even the most bland controversies. Ask Coca-Cola India. Last August, when the cola major launched its bottled water brand, Kinley, it was soon buffeted by an unsavoury row. It all started when Coke got Kinley certified for quality by the Surat-based Federation of Family Physicians of India. Until early September, it looked like just another marketing move. Then, Indian Medical Association's General Secretary Prem Aggarwal dropped a bombshell. He was quoted by a national daily as saying that Coke had offered IMA Rs 1.5 crore to certify Kinley. As the report said, the request was turned down because IMA deemed certifying mineral water as unethical. Curiously, though, in two separate letters (BT has copies of both) written in June, 2000, Aggarwal had said that IMA was ''keen to consider it (the certification) positively''. A legal notice from Coke later, Aggarwal is infinitely more cautious. ''I never said those things,'' he protests. According to Aggarwal this is what happened: Coke wanted a certification for Kinley. IMA could not strike the deal because it wanted a generic campaign on safe drinking water. ''Who am I to comment on whether those who have certified it have done the right thing?'' asks Aggarwal. This version is more agreeable with Coke's. As a spokesperson for the company puts it: ''Coke initiated discussions with both IMA and FFPI at the same time. We went in for FFPI because it gels better with Kinley's 'family' positioning.'' So is this the end of the story? Most probably not. A fly on the wall of the Food Ministry tells BT that an amendment to the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act may just be round the corner. The Act in its present form bars physicians from recommending any food products, but bottled water is not counted among food products. The amendment will bring bottled water also under the Act's purview. Much ado about nothing. -By Suveen K. Sinha C
A S U A L W E A R Any kid who knows her geography will tell you that the crocodile and the alligator don't co-exist. Crocodiles are found primarily in Africa and Asia, but alligators are only found in the Americas. That's right, unless you're talking about the one that adorns badge brand T-shirts from France's Lacoste. Well, that little green gator has some company now. Crocodile, a brand owned by Singapore-based Crocodile Products Private Ltd. (CPPL), has just unveiled a national launch of its own T-shirts. And, guess what? Its logo is a croc that looks deceptively similar to Lacoste's gator. But the croc and gator aren't thrashing around fighting each other over trademark copyrights. Instead, they seem to be thriving in the same waters: the market for premium T-shirts. Well-heeled Indians seem to be digging deep into their pockets to fork out princely sums for paltry T-shirts. Big daddy Lacoste recently jacked up the price of its cheapest T-shirt from Rs 750 to Rs 900 but that hasn't stopped discerning customers from making a beeline to its 36 exclusive stores. Says Jayant Raj Kochhar, 41, Managing Director, Sports & Leisure Apparel, Lacoste's licencee in India: ''We deliver value, so we are not embarrassed about our price, quality, or value we offer the customer.'' India's answer to the foreign brands is from Proline India, whose eponymous brand retails at between Rs 299 and Rs 899. But everyone seems to be ripping it up in the premium T-shirt market, never mind that it's just Rs 300-crore big. Crocodile is planning to open 25 exclusive outlets, while Proline is banking on multiple channels-multibrand stores, on-line stores and exclusive showrooms-to push its products. Says Jaideep Wahi, 31, Proline's General Manager (Marketing & Operations): ''We'll be launching a media blitz to build the brand afresh.'' And things seem to be working. Last year, Crocodile (which was present only in south India) and Lacoste posted a 40 per cent growth in sales. Evidently, the croc and the gator can live together. Happily too! -By Vinod Mahanta M
O B I L E P H O N E S In the beginning was the clunky cellphone. You pulled out the antennae to receive and make calls; it was too big to be slipped into the back pocket of your 501s; and heavy enough to do five 10-rep sets of curls for your biceps. But all that never really bothered you because it was The Cellphone. And you had one. Today, the cellphone per se is passe. It's no longer a status symbol but a given. And it has to blend in with the rest of one's accoutrement. So, when Trendy Tanya traipses off to tango the night away in her fuchsia tube top, she picks up the cute pink Ericsson T-series that matches. Of course, if she's driving to the mall in her canary yellow Zen, you bet it's the yellow phone that she'll pick up. With the narrowing of the technology differential-most handsets have the same features-marketers are positioning their phones in quite the same way as a Revlon would position its lipsticks: one for every mood. And features? Well, two years ago only the super-premium handsets offered vibrating mode call alert; today, the common garden variety from some marketers sports the same. And, things like voice activated dialling are fast becoming universal features that every handset maker is rapidly adopting. Says Ranjivjit Singh, 37, Director, Ericsson: ''This is a highly innovation driven business where technology is applied for the sake of ingenuity.'' While global market leader Nokia, rival Ericsson, and Korea's Samsung are innovating quickly and furiously, laggards like France's Alcatel, a near-dormant player in the Indian market, are playing catch-up. It has just launched an 'Easy' model which is a basic function phone with basic features only, targeted at women, and 'Max', targeted at teenagers. There's more, though. In the works at Alcatel are Bluetooth-enabled hand sets that will "talk" to each other. If you can think of a feature, then it's probably on its way to your mobile phone. -By Ashutosh Sinha R E T
A I L What does a company that already markets 75 per cent of the items on your dry grocery list do to get an even bigger share of your household spend? Home deliver the products, too. That's what FMCG giant, Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL), is doing on an experimental basis in Mumbai. Since the beginning of August, 2000, the company has been getting its products door-delivered to about 1,000 homes. Says Naimish Dave, 35, Vice-President, Business Consulting Group: ''Catering directly to consumers helps in retaining them, because they have fewer chances to switch.'' Not that switching is a serious threat to a company that has 110 brands (in 950 different packs) and makes everything from salt to flour to soaps to detergents to jams to shampoos to cosmetics. Yet, home-delivery is an expensive proposition for a marketer. If the kirana stores in India provide that service it's because their cost of labour is almost negligible and they cater to a limited distance (typically, a maximum of five kilometres). For the pilot project, HLL-which refused to comment-has roped in the Bangalore-based Les Concierges to manage the deliveries. HLL would not tell how the arrangement works. But it is clear that direct-sale is an option that all manufacturers will need to explore. For one, the Net has made it possible for consumers to choose and order products on-line. Agrees B.M. Ghodeshwar, 44, Associate Professor (Marketing & Strategy), NITIE: ''We see more fragmentation taking place in the country as retailers redesign their product portfolios in view of the market needs.'' But are HLL retailers complaining? One will have to wait for news on that front. -By R. Chandrasekhar C
L O T H I N G Brands age. So do icons. Grasim Industries, the textile brand of the AV Birla group, knows that only too well. Ergo, last month, the company relaunched its flagship brand in an effort to make it more contemporary. As for the icons-its brand ambassadors were Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and wife Sharmila Tagore-it has given them a polite send-off. Says Vikram Rao, 50, Group Executive Vice-President (Fabric & Apparel), Grasim Industries: ''We realised that the fashion plank has not been exploited in the suiting industry.'' As part of the relaunch, the logo has been spruced up to give it a futuristic appeal. The name Gwalior also has been dropped because the company could not register the name, since it also happens to be the name of a city. Besides, there were imitation products that ended up hurting the company's brand. A new communication strategy has been put in place, involving television advertising, posters, and props at the point of purchase. The company already promotes fashion event Grasim Mr. India and an international male pageant, Grasim Mr. International. To get a piece of the ready-to-wear market, Grasim plans to launch a '24-hour suit' that is stitched to size within 24 hours at select outlets. Notes Virat Mehta, 43, Vice-President (Client Servicing), O&M, which recently bagged the Grasim account: ''We are trying to get the glamour back into suitings, and at the same time bring in the relaxed feel to formal wear.'' The price positioning of Grasim and Graviera brands are also being tweaked. Grasim will focus on premium synthetics and pure-wool brands like Scabal, and the price will range from Rs 600 per metre to Rs 6,000 per metre. Graviera will occupy the lower end and sell for Rs 175-200 per metre. Two new products, called All Seasons (for year-round wear) and E-Stretch (lycra-free stretch material) are to be launched in October. The idea: beef up the portfolio. To spruce up designs, a studio is being set up in Delhi. It will employ designers from the National Institute of Fashion Technology and produce about 7,000 designs a year. Talk about a stitch in time. -By Pooja Garg A
D V E R T I S I N G
If awards are the typical adman's obsession no. 1, then arguments about the efficacy of advertising qualify as obsession no. 2. Now the Bombay Ad Club has combined the two by allying with the Advertising Agencies Association of America to bring the Effies (awards for effective advertising) to India. The club's secretary rattles off a series of firsts: India is the first country in the region to have such an award; and this is the first time, an international advertising award will be presented in India to Indian agencies. ''The Effies committee had been approached by advertising associations from several regions. They have decided on India, and this should help the industry grow here,'' gloats Sorab Mistry, 50, Chairman, McCann Erickson India. Looking for a connection between awards and industry-growth may be as difficult as seeking one between advertising and sales. Still, there's no discounting the fact that the Bombay Ad Club was the first to launch annual seminars on effective advertising titled AdWorks. And there's no doubting the stringency of the methodology. Says Kaushik Roy, 43, CEO, Modi Entertainment Network: ''Last year MTV won the adWorks award because it recorded a significant jump in viewership. This year (for the Effies) agencies will have to submit data to prove that the ad actually helped increase sales.'' That isn't going to be easy. Still, if there is one thing that can motivate agencies to do this, it's the promise of an international award. Advertising may work. Or it may not. But awards sure do. -By Shamni Pande |
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