B R A N D I N GOF

KIDS PRODUCT

INDEX

Particulars Page No.

Introduction 01

Building brands: why is it hard 03

Six steps to branding 10

Important elements in brand 12

Changing Kid’s behavior 16

Best practices by companies 20

- Bournvita 20

- Brand X 24

- Kellogg’s Frosties 26

- Raymond’s ZAPP! 28

INTRODUCTION: BRANDING

Brand is a collection of images and ideas representing an economic producer; more

specifically, it refers to the concrete symbols such as a name, logo, slogan, and

design scheme. A brand is a symbolic embodiment of all the information connected

to a company, product or service. A brand serves to create associations and

expectations among products made by a producer. A brand often includes an explicit

logo, mascots, fonts, colour schemes, symbols, sound which may be developed to

represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign,

symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and

services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other

sellers.

Therefore it makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting your

target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your

prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem.

The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:

Delivers the message clearly

Confirms credibility

Connects target prospects emotionally

Motivates the buyer

Concretes User Loyalty

To succeed in branding one must understand the needs and wants of customers and

prospects. This can be done by integrating their brand strategies through company’s

every point of public contact.

Brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is

the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which company can

influence, and some that company cannot.

A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies day by day. It's

important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building the brand.

After all, brand is the source of a promise to company’s consumer. It's a foundational

piece in marketing communication.

Branding is perhaps the most important facet of any business - beyond product,

distribution, pricing, or location. A company's brand is its definition in the world, the

name that identifies it to itself and the marketplace. A model may be beautiful, but

without a name, she's just "that girl in that picture." Where would Norma Jean be

without Marilyn Monroe, or who would imagine Coca-Cola as just a soft-drink

manufacturer? A brand provides a concrete descriptor to customers and competitors

alike, a name for a product or service to distinguish it from anything else.

Building Brands: WHY IS IT HARD?

It is not easy to build brands in today’s environment. The brand builder who attempts

to develop a strong brand is like a golfer playing on a course with heavy roughs, deep

sand-traps, sharp doglegs and vast water barriers. It is difficult to score well in such

conditions. The brand builder can be inhibited by substantial pressures and barriers,

both internal and external. To be able to develop effective brand strategies, it is

useful to understand these pressures and barriers.

Toward that end, eight different factors (Figure 1) that make it difficult to build

brands will be discussed. The first, pressure to compete on price, directly affects the

motivation to build brands. The second reason, the proliferation of competitors,

reduces the positioning options available and makes implementation less effective.

The third and forth reasons, the fragmentation in media and markets and the

involvement of multiple brands and products, describe the context of building brands

today, a context that involves a growing level of complexity.

The remaining reasons reflect internal and external factors that inhibit brand

building. The fifth reason, the temptation to change a sound brand strategy, is

particularly insidious because it is the management equivalent of shooting yourself in

the foot. The sixth and seventh reasons, the organizational biased against innovation

and the pressure to invest elsewhere, are special problems facing strong brands.

They can be cause by arrogance but are more often caused by complacency coupled

with pride and/or greed. The final reason is the pressure for short term results that

pervades organizations. The irony is that many of the formidable problems facing

brand builders today are caused by internal forces and biases that are under the

control of the organization.

The fact that many brands fail to reach their potential or maintain their equity is

neither surprising nor puzzling when the various pressures against building strong

brands are examined. The real curiosity may be that strong brands exist at all in the

face of these pressures.

Figure: 1

* Pressure to Compete on Price

There are enormous pressures on nearly all firms to engage in price competition. In

industry after industry – from computers to cars to frozen dinners to airlines to soft-

drinks – the picture in today’s market is the same: Price competition is at center

stage, driven by the power of strong retailers, value-sensitive customers, reduced

category growth, and overcapacity (often caused by new entrants and by old

competitors hanging on, sometimes via bankruptcy).

Retailers have become stronger and stronger year by year, and they have used that

strength to put pressure on prices. Whereas a decade ago, information was largely

controlled by manufacturer, retailers are now collecting a vast amount of information

and developing models to use it. As a result, there is an increasing focus on margins

and efficient use of space. Suppliers, particularly those in the third and forth market

share position with only modest loyalty levels are exposed to harsh pressure to

provide price concessions.

* Proliferation of Competitors

New, vigorous competitors come from a variety of sources. A host of food categories

have watched Weight Watchers and Healthy Choice enter their market through brand

extension strategies. In the snack category, Frito Lay has seen regional brands

expand and Budweiser’s Eagle brand break out of its niche to become a major

competitor. The soft drink market has been encroached on by new product forms

that provide real alternatives for the consumers: bottled water, carbonated water,

fruit-based drinks and “new age” drinks, among others.

Additional competitors not only contribute to price pressures and brand complexity

but also make it much harder to gain and hold a position. They leave fewer holes in

the market to exploit and fewer implementation vehicles to own. Each brand tends to

be positioned more narrowly, the target markets become smaller, and the non-target

market becomes larger. Efforts to market to a broad segment thus become more

difficult in face of the complex “brandscape”. Further, some new or desperate

competitors may be motivated to take risks or attempt unusual approaches. The

result can be destabilization of the competitive dynamics. There is also an enhanced

motivation to copy anything that is successful, in part because the risks of copying

are offset by the difficulty of coming up with brilliant new alternatives.

* Fragmenting Markets & Media

At one time, being consistent across media and markets was easy. There were a

limited number of media options and only a few national media vehicles. Mass

markets were the norm, and micro-segmentation did not exist. Brand managers now

face a very different environment, one in which it is difficult to achieve the

consistency that is needed to build and maintain strong brands.

The bewildering array of media options today includes interactive television,

advertising on the internet, direct marketing, and event sponsorship and more are

being invented daily. Coordinating messages across these media without weakening

the brand is a real challenge, especially when promotional vehicles are included in

the mix. A promotion involving a giveaway or a price reduction that “rings the bell”

(that is, results in a noticeable sales spike), for example, may be inconsistent with a

brand identity based upon quality because it signals that the brand needs to lower

price to gain sales. Pressure to include promotions (such as the couponing used by

packaged-goods brands or the cash rebates used by automobile firms) makes it

difficult to keep the brand-building effort on track.

Coordination is all the more difficult because different bard-support activities are

often handled by different organizations and individuals with different perspectives

and goals. When advertising public relations, event sponsorship, promotions, trade

shows, event stores, direct marketing, package design, corporate identity and direct

mail for a single brand are handled by separate organizations, each with direct

influence on the brand – and even worse, when the firm’s internal organization

mirrors this diversity in order to interfere with these various players – conflict and

lack of coordination must be anticipated.

In addition, companies are dividing the population into smaller and more refined

target markets, often reaching them with specialized media and distribution

channels. It is tempting to develop different brand identities for some or all of these

new target segments. Developing and managing multiple identities for the same

brand, however, presents problems for both the brand and the customer. Since

media audiences invariably overlap, customers likely to be exposed to more than

identity relating to the same brand.

Consider the problem of a mature Dewar’s Scotch consumer, accustomed to the

brand’s traditional advertising, who encounters the firm’s advertisements geared for

younger scotch drinkers. Or think of the potential confusion of prestige-oriented

shopper, accustomed to seeing Saks Fifth Avenue advertisement for a Saks discount

outlet. The more numerous and diverse a brand’s image are, the more difficult it is to

coordinate them in support of a strong brand.

* Complex Brand Strategies & Relationships

There was this time, not too long ago, when a brand was a clear, singular entity.

Today, the situation is far different. There are sub-brands and brand extensions.

There are ingredient brands, endorser brands (such as the role of Kellogg’s in

Kellogg’s Rice Krispies) and corporate brands (such as General Electric). The coke

logo can be found on dozen products, including Diet Cherry Coke, Free Diet Coke and

Coke Classic – and it doesn’t stop here. In the grocery store, Coke is a product brand;

at sporting events, it is a sponsoring brand and in the communities where its bottling

plants operate, Coke is a corporate brand.

This complexity makes building and managing brands difficult. In addition to knowing

its identity, each brand needs to understand its role in each context in which it is

involved. Further, the relationships between brands (and sub-brands) must be

clarified both strategically and with respect to customer perception.

But why is this brand complexity emerging? The market fragmentation and brand

proliferation mentioned above have occurred because a new market or product often

leads to a new brand or sub-brand. Another driving force is cost: there is a tendency

to use established brands in different contexts and roles because establishing a

totally new brand is now so expensive and risky. The resulting new levels of

complexity often are not anticipated or even acknowledged until there is a

substantial problem.

* Bias towards Changing Strategies

There are sometimes overwhelming internal pressures to change a brand identity

and/or its execution while it is still effective, or even before it achieves its potential.

The resulting changes can undercut brand equity or prevent it from being

established. Most strong brands, such as Marlboro, Volvo, and Motel 6, have one

characteristic in common: Each developed a clear identity that went virtually

unchanged for a very long time. The norm is to change, however, and thus powerful

identities supported by clear visual imagery never get developed.

* Bias against Innovation

While there may be a bias toward changing a brand identity or its execution, a

psychic and capital investment in the status quo often prevents true innovation in

products and services. There is an incentive to keep the competitive battleground

static; ay change not only would be costly and risky but could prior cause investment

to have a much reduced return (or even make it obsolete). The result is a

vulnerability to aggressive competitors that may come from outside the industry with

little to lose and none of the inhibition with which industry participants is burdened.

Companies managing an established brand can be pleased by past and current

success, and so preoccupied with day-to-day problems, that they become blind to

changes in the competitive situation. By ignoring or minimizing fundamental changes

in the market or potential technological breakthroughs, managers leave their brands

vulnerable and risk missing opportunities. A new competitor thus is often the source

and the beneficiary of true innovation.

There are countless examples of strong brands which neither saw nor responded to

opportunities, watched competitors innovate and attack the core of their quality.

* Pressure to Invest Elsewhere

A position of great brand strength is also a potential strategic problem, because it

attracts both complacency and greed. When a brand is strong, there is a temptation

to reduce investment in the core business area in order to improve short term

performance or to fund a new business diversification. There is an often-mistaken

belief that the brand will not be damaged by sharp reductions in support, and that

the other investment opportunities are more attractive. Ironically, the diversification

that attracts these resources is often flawed because an acquired business was

overvalued, or because the organization’s ability to manage a different business area

was overestimated.

Xerox may be the prototypical example of a dominant brand that lost its position

because of an inadequate commitment to the core business. In the 1960s, Xerox

virtually owned the copier industry; its market share was literally 100 percent.

Barriers to entry included a dominant brand name, a strong set of patents, and a

huge customer base committed to a leasing program and service organization.

Instead of sticking with its strength and defending either the low end by attacking

costs or the high end by developing new technologies, Xerox diverted its resources

into an “office of the future” concept. As a result, the company was blindsided by

Savin, Kodak, and Canon, who entered the industry with innovative, superior and

often less expensive products. While there are many reasons why Xerox lost position

in the 1970s, one key explanation is the brand’s strong equity, which engendered

complacency and a temptation to look for greener pastures.

* Short-Term Pressures

Many times, management by itself is dominated by a short-term orientation. Annual

budgeting systems usually emphasize short-term sales, costs and profits. As a result,

brand building programs are often sacrificed in order to meet these targets. Planning

is too often an exercise in spreadsheet manipulation of short-term financial data

rather than strategic thinking. In addition, because many firms tend to rotate

managers through the organization, the long term becomes much less important

than current results to career paths. Managers feel pressure to perform – to “turn it

around” quickly and visibly.

One key to successful brand building is to understand how to develop a brand

identity – to know what the brand stands for and to effectively express that identity.

Another key to brand building success is to manage internal forces and pressures.

The need is to recognize organizational biases against true innovation and toward

diversification, short-term results, and frequent changes in brand identity/execution

and then to counter those pressures by developing conceptual models and

measurements that support a brand building culture and policies.

SIX Practical Steps to Branding

What does branding really mean? There are a lot of different definitions floating out there, and way too many misconceptions. Branding is the process with which one can "define company’s distinctive value, one that customers desire and are willing to pay a premium for." Branding can be a very complex and involved process, as well it should be. But there are practical steps you can take to steer your branding in the right direction. I've provided them here.

* STEP 1: Define Business Framework

First define business by outlining its vision and mission statements, and core values. A vision is a statement about what an organization wants to become, while a mission statement is a precise description of what an organization does. For example, Nike’s vision statement is, “To Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world", while Apple Computers mission statement reads, “Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings."

Company’s core values should represent the fundamental values and beliefs that define how business behaves, how it will value its customers, suppliers and staff. Some examples would be passion, accountability and respect.

* STEP 2: Define Target Market

Understanding the ideal customer for the product is vital to company’s ability to remain relevant and competitive. Start by profiling ideal customer along categories like sex, occupation, age group, education, geography, income, and buying habits i.e. segmenting the potential market on the basis of demographical, psychological, etc. factors to have better insight in the market.

* STEP 3: Define Value Proposition

What compelling, unique value do company offer to the target market that they simply cannot ignore. Know core competencies, what business does best, and always remember, company can stand for only ONE thing or you will confuse the marketplace.

* STEP 4: Understand Product Intimately

Get to know product intimately and what makes it distinctive and desirable to company’s target audience. What solutions do you offer customers? What are the features and benefits? Where is it positioned along price and quality? What value-added services do you offer?

* STEP 5: Create Brand Graphics and Message

A great logo visually represents your business and lets people know right away what you do. It should be accompanied by a tagline that clearly reinforces your value offer with very few words. For consistency, use a graphics standard which specifies corporate colors, treatments and type fonts that your company adheres to.

* STEP 6: Develop an Integrated Marketing Plan

Develop a plan centered on assuring every dollar you spend brings in more that $1 in return. If not, don’t be afraid to stop and re-assess. Continual testing is the key to finding your best marketing mix. But stay away from the “one-off” approach of putting an ad in one magazine and sitting back waiting for the phone to ring. Rather, use an integrated approach that includes advertising, PR, sales promotion, etc. that creates a synergy and reinforces your campaign message. This makes it easier for your audience to recall your brand. It also helps you develop that perception of omnipresence where your brand name seems to be everywhere.

After completion of these 6 steps, continually measure the brand against this checklist to ensure it stays strong:

* Is your message powerful and compelling enough to gain attention?

* Is your offer attractive enough to distinguish you from the competition?

* Do you engage in creative ways to increase the profile of your company and its competitive advantages?

* Are you consistent and persistent using an integrated marketing approach? Does each medium reinforce the other?

IMPORTANT ELEMENTS IN BRAND

The following elements are integral part of branding process of products targeted to

kids which helps the company to differentiate their offerings (product/services) from

its competitors.

The elements are:

Logo

Tagline

Slogans

Mascots

Colour Schemes

Sound/Theme Song

Now, each element is described as under

Logo:

The representation of a product/service with a logo is an essential part of the

branding process. A logo gives a visual representation to the brand that facilitates

immediate brand recognition. The importance of logo has truly evolved over the

years. Every company today knows that a good logo can work wonders for its

business. Thus, the small graphical image called logo plays an integral role in the

building up of a brand.

Keep in mind that a powerful logo design:

has a strong, balanced image with no little extras that clutter its look;

is distinctive and bold in design, making it easy to see at a glance;

has graphic imagery that looks appropriate for your business;

works well with your company name;

is done in an easy to read font; and

communicates your business clearly

Tagline:

A tag line is a three to seven word phrase that accompanies your logo. It expresses

your company's most important benefits and/or what you want your customers to

remember about working with you. Think of it as the words you want to linger in your

target customer's mind about you and what you have to offer.

Slogan:

However, in this fiercely competitive market, every organization knows that it has to

project its brand in a way that leaves a long lasting impression on the viewers mind.

One of the primary challenges that a brand faces is dealing with changes. The world

is dynamic and so are the customers. Thus to survive in the market and make its

presence felt, some specific product segments need to represent their brands by

taking a step further than just having a graphical image as their logo. They need an

advertising slogan.

Advertising slogans have been a part of logos for years. An advertising slogan can be

a mere slogan or a brand slogan. Depending on the advertising campaign, a slogan

keeps on changing. A product/ service that have customers all over the world need to

have different region-specific slogans to connect with customers of various genres.

Moreover various external events also influence such slogans. However a brand

slogan is not a mere slogan that keeps on changing from time to time. It’s a long-

term investment that conveys the essence of the brand. A brand slogan remains

unchanged unless the need arises to and contributes to the building up of a brand

over a long period of time. It acts like a claim in support of the brand.

A good advertising slogan can only be a result of proper research and creativity. Such

slogans should typically be short and memorable. A mere glimpse at it should draw

attention and convey the message instantly. What can be a good and effective

slogan varies from businesses to businesses. It can be simple and witty; can

underline the benefits of the product; in some cases a direct, crisp and concise

slogan works wonders with the target consumers. The slogan should be distinct and

add credibility to the brand name. It can also be a simple ‘feel good’ expression, or

something that makes the customer feel the need of having that product. The

formation of a brand slogan clearly depends on the competition and the line of

product/ service.

A few strong memorable words can do wonders for a brand. Small phrases like “I’m

loving it”; “Connecting people,” to a single word “enjoy” instantly reminds us of

popular brands like McDonalds, Nokia and Coke. An advertising slogan is such an

indispensable tool that facilitates a logo look relevant through the changing times.

For instance, Coca Cola has a common graphical image as their logo but their

advertising slogans change from time to time to give it a contemporary feel. A good

advertising slogan covers that extra mile to make a logo stick to consumers’ minds

forever.

Mascots:

Brand mascots represent a special type of signs, particularly important in the

children’s segment, because they allow children to establish an emotional

relationship with the brand, and simultaneously they favor their memorization.

According to Keller, mascots are useful to create awareness, because being rich in

images and colour; they catch the consumer’s attention. Beyond that, brand mascots

may help the communication of key attributes of the product / organization. If the

consumers have strong feelings over a mascot, they will probably create favorable

perceptions of the products or organizations associated to that mascot.

There are two types of mascots, the advertising mascots and the brand mascots. The

first ones promote the product’s valorization through the association with the

mascots they use, or they can promote the creation of the product concept, when the

mascot is a user of the brand. These mascots are mainly used in the teenager / adult

segments, where the symbolic function of the brand is very present. As far as the

brand mascots are concerned, these can have several functions: to be the main

visual expression of the brand (through a representation more or less

anthropomorphic); to represent an iconic complement of the brand; and in both

cases to establish the affect connection to the brand.

Colour Schemes:

Color is an important consideration in your brand identity system.  Colors have a

significant impact on people’s emotional state.  They also have been shown to impact

people’s ability to concentrate and learn.  They have a wide variety of specific mental

associations.  In fact, the effects are physiological, psychological, and sociological.

Colors also have a functional impact on readability, eye-strain, ability to attract

attention, ability to be seen at night, etc. This is important in choosing colors for

signing, website pages, prints ads and other marketing media.

Sound/Theme Song:

Sound is nothing but the audio element of the user experience. When used

appropriately, sound can be an effective form of communication that establishes a

non-verbal and even emotional relationship with the users. Sounds can be used alone

or as a supplement to visuals. For example, adding a sound effect to a notification

increases the likelihood that it will be noticed, especially if the user isn't looking at

the screen when an event occurs. It grabs the attention of the user and whenever

user listens to same sound again, it reminds the user about the particular brand.

The role sound plays in product branding, recall, even purchase intent, is undeniably

strong. Consider all the times you've hummed a particularly catchy commercial

jingle. User is well aware of the product associated with it; perhaps a user even feels

an affinity toward it. A good jingle or product theme song can enhance customer

brand perception. In extreme cases (i.e. extremely successful cases), it stays with the

consumer for years.

If a company is endowed with an appealing theme song or jingle that's frequently

heard on TV and radio spots by users, playing it online will enhance the awareness

about brand. It will strike a chord with consumers who are already familiar with your

campaigns and trigger brand recognition and ultimately recall with prospects.

CHANGING KID’S BEHAVIOR

A kid in Mumbai decided whether his father should purchase a Ford, a Honda or an

Accent. A child in Delhi decided on the location where the family should buy their

new house in. In Chennai, the family went by the decision of their children about their

club membership.

The largest kid market in the world, India, is changing rapidly in favour of the child

not only as an influencer but also as a decision maker. Brand marketers should

increase the brand might with kid insight.

As the new Internet age evolves and increases its space, children of the 21st century

are in a position to get more information at a shorter time compared to what their

parents or grand parents could access. This has brought about greater exposure,

greater knowledge among kids and has enhanced not only their influencing power in

choice of brands, but has also turned many of them into decision makers in

categories which are not necessarily categories only for children.

For instance, today, kids many a times not only influence, but can also in some cases

decide a choice of the car brand for their family or a computer brand or even the

choice of an upscale club membership.

This quick change in strengthening of kid power in influencing and deciding brand

choices is having major implications on the marketing plans of various companies.

Let us understand the consumer behaviour patterns in terms of kid power in the

purchase and usage of brands.

I would like to analyse the kid behaviour patterns under two categories - Core

Category, Peripheral Category and Adult Category.

Core Category:

In certain core kid categories such as ice creams, chewing gums, bubble gums, toys,

theme park visits and many others, kids' decision making is clear and many a times

non-negotiable.

The influence on the kid's mind and heart come not only through advertising, but also

through varied promotions and more importantly kid peer pressure. It means that

whether it is children's books or games or certain kid's activities creating good word

of mouth among peer group definitely brings the product or service brand into the

consideration set of the kid. Here too, the Barbie for a little girl and a special toy gun

for the boy child would also influence a child at school and in the neighbourhood.

It is important for marketers to constantly innovate, upgrade and understand child

psychology so that their brands can succeed in the relevant segment.

Peripheral Category

There are certain categories which are peripheral to the needs of children. For

example, a choice of curtains at home including in areas where the kids play or

choice of certain grocery items. Though the kid does not directly consider these

categories to be core to his or her existence, many a time the choice of a ketchup

brand or a brand of “atta” can directly or indirectly be influenced by children.

Recently, a study showed a growing influence of children in choosing brands in

household categories such as toothpaste and toilet soaps. No wonder many

marketers concentrate their communication in influencing children and through them

their parents, towards taking positive decisions in favour of their brands.

Adult category

Conventionally, many people felt that a brand choice of a house or a car or a

refrigerator or club membership would purely be an adult decision. This is fast

changing. The kids are not only becoming strong influencers but they are also, in

some cases actually deciding what the family car or cars should be. This has a

serious implication on branding, which marketers need to understand and not treat

the kids only as kids but also understand that slice of their influencing character

which can be strongly similar to adult behaviour.

“A quick access to knowledge and transparency has made kids grow faster into

decision makers. So, marketers should seriously note this kid power.”

To have a strong and effective kid marketing, one could take a look at “6 I’s of Kid

insight” module.

I — Inquisitive

Kids have become very inquisitive. They are even interested in knowing the amount

of calories consumed or spent. This is because of the recent issues over soft drinks

and chocolates

I — Indulgent

Kids would like to indulge. They want to participate, be it in mobile phones or ice

creams. They are not cautious, but thrifty.

I — Integrity

Kids are discerning. They want to know whether the brand is honest. They are going

away from brands which mislead, which do not have integrity, which don't keep their

promises. They look for authenticity of the product.

I — Influencer

Kids act as influencers not only for kids' product but even for luxury cars, which

holiday to take, and which gadget to buy. The exposure to TV and travel has helped

the kid in becoming an influencer.

I — Involved

When kids' consume or purchase something they are fully involved in, they are not

“apart” but are “a part” of the whole process. Even in schools, they are involved in

education; they want to know what the teachers are giving. Kids have become

conscious about perceived value. They want to know whether they should “brand

switch” or not. For example: The programme, Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi virtually does not

have kids, but the viewership among kids is very high.

I — Incisive

Kids have become sharp and can analyse. They even know what is happening in the

manufacturer's mind. For example, on one pack if he is giving two packs free, the

kids will say that this is because his product is not selling. Kids respect and

appreciate merit.

To effectively communicate brand to children, marketers need to know what makes

kids tick. Children think and behave differently from adults. They are great observers,

highly creative, very insightful, spontaneous, sensitive and volatile.

They have different emotional, social and developmental needs at different stages.

Consumer socialization is the process by which these kids acquire skills, knowledge

and attitudes pertaining to their functioning as consumers in the marketplace.

This is based on child development - how age related patterns emerge across

children’s growing sophistication as consumers, including their knowledge of

products, brands, advertising, shopping, pricing and decision-making. These patterns

are discussed as below:

Three to seven years of age is approximately the Perceptual stage wherein the

child can distinguish ads from programs based on perceptual features, believes the

ads as truthful, funny and interesting and holds positive attitudes towards the ad.

Seven to eleven years of age is the Analytical Stage wherein the child distinguishes

ads from programs based on persuasive intent, understands that the ad may have

contain a bias and deception and can also hold negative attitudes towards ads.

Eleven to Sixteen years of age is the Reflective Stage and here the child

understands the persuasive intent of ads along with the specific ad tactics and

appeals. He believes that the ads lie and knows how to spot the specific instances of

bias and deception. In a nutshell, he is skeptical towards the claims made in the ad.

Analyzing best practices used by Companies to Brand their products

The following examples will describe how companies successfully branded their

products for kids and communicated to the target segment which not only include

kids but also parents.

Brand: Bournvita

Bournvita is a power brand. Bournvita was launched in 1948 and is one of the oldest

brands in the malted beverages segment. The brand is a market leader in the Brown

health drink segment with a market share of over 17 %. This is a brand that has

sustained over time and competition. Cadbury's - true to its reputation has managed

to sustain this brand over these years. The brand has sustained because of Cadbury's

invested in the brand and also ensured that the brand changed in tune with the

times.

Bournvita is a chocolate flavored health drink. When the brand was introduced in the

market, it tried to solve a perennial problem that mother's face: a need for a healthy

food which is tasty. Bournvita offered that unique combination of health and taste.

It’s also interesting to see how this brand has evolved over these years. In 1970s the

brand was positioned as a product that helps in good upbringing.

The brand used the tagline: “Goodness that Grows with you”.

During 1980's the brand changed its focus from Upbringing to Intelligence. The

tagline was changed to: “Brought Up Right, Bournvita Bright”.

In 1990's the brand felt that it should be focusing on the overall health of the kid thus

changed its focus on Body and Mind. The brand also took Energy as a main focus and

thus evolved the famous Voice Over: "Bournvita has proteins, minerals and

carbohydrates".

Along came the famous tagline: “Tan Ki Shakthi , Man Ki Shakthi”.

During 1998, the brand faced intense competition from Milo from Nestle. At this time,

the brown health food drink segment was facing issues of stagnation because of lack

of value addition. Bournvita then changed its positioning on the health platform. The

brand used a marconym RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) to reinforce the

health positioning. The brand used a clever Nutritional meter to communicate the

RDA formula: 2 cups of Bournvita for balanced nutrition.

The brand also set up a Bournvita Nutritional Center where nutrition experts

recommended the right RDA percentage to kids. The brand at that time used the

cricketer Ajay Jadeja to endorse the brand. The brand also harped on the taste and

used the tagline "No Bournvita No Milk" to reinforce the taste attribute.

In the current millennium, the brand has moved to the next level. In the typical

laddering Up strategy, Bournvita has identified Confidence as its Core Brand Essence.

The brand realized that every kid have a chance to excel in his chosen field of

endeavour if he have confidence. The realization has enabled the brand to chalk out

the current marketing strategy. The brand now uses the tagline "Do you have

Bournvita Confidence".

In the Brown beverages segment, Bournvita faces intense competition from Boost. In

order to defend the leadership position, Bournvita has invested heavily in product

development, advertising and sales promotion. In the product development front,

Bournvita had significantly changed its packaging and the latest pack is inspired by

Boost. Along with packaging changes, the brand also had came out with a new

variant: Bournvita Fivestar Magic. The new variant has the unique chocolate with

caramel flavor of Cadbury's Fivestar. The brand is using the brand association with

Five Star as a key differentiator.

All these years, Bournvita has used taste as a consistent theme to attract the

kids. The Five Star Magic variant further reinforced this positioning.

In the advertising campaigns, Bournvita has always been a

heavy spender. Bournvita has been successful in running

two different campaigns for Bournvita: one campaign for the

Bournvita Fivestar Magic and another one featuring

Bournvita Confidence Academy.

Bournvita Confidence Academy is not a School but a reality

show. The show which premiered on July 2007 in the Pogo channel was different from

the usual reality shows. The show featured 7 kids who had exceptional talents in

various fields like dancing, racing, singing, magic, studies etc. In this reality show,

these kids to act as Gurus and was expected to teach each other skills. So you have a

magic whizkid learning to sing. The point is that "You Need Confidence" to venture

into unknown fields. Bournvita Confidence Academy was not the first event that this

brand associates with. Bournvita Quiz was the longest running quiz show in Indian

Television. In the sales promotion front also, the brand was active with its share of

freebies and gifts. The association with Cartoon Network enabled this brand to use

the famous characters like Powerpuff girls and Dexter to the brand's advantage.

As a marketer, the latest focus on Confidence is a smart move by the brand. Its arch

rival Boost has built itself on the energy platform and recently has gained headway

using Sachin. Hence to counter Boost, Bournvita needed to own an important

differentiation point. Confidence is something that every kid looks forward to. By

featuring real whiz kids, the brand has been able to create an impact in the TG. But

the challenge that Bournvita faces is not from Boost but from the Consumer

Promotion trap that both these brands have fallen into. Now most of the sales are

decided by the promotional gifts and freebies than the actual efficacy. Since mothers

are happy whether the kids drink either of these, brand loyalty has become a thing of

past in this segment.

Brand Update: Bournvita li'l Champs

Cadbury's has launched a brand extension for Bournvita - Bournvita li'l Champs. The

new extension is targeting the little kids aged 2-5yrs. The brand is competing with

Junior Horlicks in this segment. The brand is on a high gear and has roped in the

tennis sensation Sania Mirza to endorse this product.

The brand has jumped into this segment for two main reasons. The first reason being

is the potential of the market. The current lifestyle and the family profile have

increased the need perception for health supplements/ drinks for the little ones.

Mothers are always worried about the food intake of the kids and it is a universal

phenomenon that during this age, kids hate food. Hence it is easy to attract mothers

towards such products that promise well being for their little one. The second reason

is that there is only one major player in this category. Hence there is room for

Bournvita to explore this market already created by Junior Horlicks.

Bournvita Li'l Champs is touting on its nutritional content and its 5 Star taste to catch

the target segment. The packaging is refreshingly new and attractive. The brand is

promising the mothers to make their kids champions like its brand ambassador.

There is a difference in the positioning of Junior Horlicks and Li'l Champs. The Junior

Horlicks has positioned on the functional benefit while Li'l Champs is riding on a

higher platform of emotional benefit.

Brand: Brand X by Using Nicktoons

In May 2004, Brand X launched a branding campaign on Nick.com to capitalize on

Nickelodeon's online promotional opportunities and unmatched ability to reach kids

of all ages. To reach Brand X's target of kids ages 6-14, Nick Online developed a

promotion that leveraged a Brand X partnership with a personal video player

manufacturer. The Nicktoons campaign included a Brand X/Nick.com promotional site

and Run-of-Site (ROS) media units on Nick.com.

The video player was prominently featured and a discounted purchase offer for the

player and a video disc was also available to visitors of the promotional site. Through

this promotion, kids entered UPC codes on a Brand X site to unlock digital rewards –

collectible Nicktoons Clips. Nick Online commissioned Dynamic Logic, an

independent, third-party market research firm, to objectively evaluate the

effectiveness of the branding campaign and online promotions. The research

determined that among the target, the campaign significantly increased Brand

Favorability and Purchase Intent for Brand X by as high as 54.6% and 96.4%,

respectively. The point increases in these metrics were statistically significant.

Marketing STRATEGY

Create a cross-platform program using retail placements, on-air and online

components to give kids a fun, compelling and sustained interaction with

Brand X

Reward kids with a digital gift for visiting the promotional site

Build on the strengths of the Brand X partnership with the video player to

create an exciting program for kids on Nick.com

Campaign OBJECTIVES

Drive traffic to the Brand X promotional site on Nick.com

Encourage kids to enter codes from Brand X packages online

Generate interest in the promotion to purchase the video player at a discount

Build equity behind the Nickelodeon Network and specific properties to reach

kids everywhere

Increase Brand X's relevancy to kids

The RESULTS

According to the Dynamic Logic AdIndex study, the program was a highly successful

branding campaign for Brand X. Exposure to the ROS media units led to a statistically

significant increase in Brand Favorability, and the promotional site generated positive

results among the key target audience (kids ages 6-14). Brand Favorability of Brand

X increased by 54.6%

Purchase Intent increased by 96.4% among those exposed to the promotional site

Exposure to the promotional site increased Behavior Intent for Nicktoons by 87.2%

and Interest in the video player among respondents ages 6-14 by 17.4% Boys were

more likely than girls to notice both offers, although girls demonstrated increases in

both brand persuasion metrics (Brand Favorability and Purchase Intent)

The IMPACT

Nick Online and Brand X’s efforts reached the target audience of kids aged between

6-14 through the creation of a highly effective promotional campaign that generated

awareness of and favorability towards the brand.

Through this entertaining marketing program, Brand X was able to build on the

strengths of its brand among kids 6-14, increasing Brand Awareness, improving

brand image and encouraging Purchase Intent among all exposed respondents in

their target market.

Brand: Kellogg’s Frosties and Choco

Kellogg's is an example of multiple product branding, where each product within the

range is given its own clear identity and personality but is also marketed using the

Kellogg's name as an umbrella. Kellogg's has, over the years, built up some key core

brand characteristics, emphasizing quality and nutritional benefits that will apply to

any Kellogg's product. Kellogg’s has many brands under their belt like Frosties,

Chocos, Corn Flakes, etc.

kelloggs wanted to connect with kid consumers and build a strong relationship. One

way of doing this is to create a character that links with the brand and then use the

character’s actions to project the qualities of the product or service. This is because

of fascination of kids towards cartoon character. Kids love to fascinate, imitate the

cartoon characters they admire. So, Kellogg’s wanted to reap benefit of these

behavioral characteristic of kids. Food products promoted by popular cartoons also

help parents to make their children eat with more interest. These characters play an

incredibly important role in children's lives. So, to communicate and to connect each

brand of Kellogg’s, they decided to use characters as a mascot to connect with

potential consumers. They have been using Bear, Tiger and Cock for Chocos, Frosties

and Corn Flakes respectively for number of years.

Tony - the Tiger:

Kellogg’s introduced their mascot “Tony the tiger” in 1952 to create a connection

between brand Frosties and Kids. Very soon, Tony the tiger became famous among

the kids due to his characteristics like friendly, energetic, loveable, Boastful and

almost human.

In the 1970s, consumers were briefly introduced to more of Tony's family including

Mama Tony, Mrs. Tony, and a daughter, Antoinette. During that decade, son Tony Jr.

was even given his own short-lived cereal, Frosted Rice. Such introduction of family

members of Tony only helped Kellogg’s to build an emotional between consumers

and Kellogg’s brand Frosties as it was perceived as a family product.

Initially, the character of Tony was in 2 Dimension. All markets change overtime.

Fashions, tastes, change, technologies develop, and people adjust their lifestyles,

preferences and expectations. Taken together, these factors cause products to

experience a product life cycle that follows a pattern of introduction, growth,

maturity and decline.

Frosties brand was nearing the end of the growth phase in its life-cycle & was moving

towards maturity as more competition entered the market. One effect of newer

products from competitors was that children no longer considered Tony to be as

‘cool’ as other cereal characters... After research they decided to revise marketing

strategy and at the same time modernizing Tony in order to remove monotony in his

appearance. They introduced Tony in 3 Dimension which not only helped to fight

competition successfully but also win back the connection with the consumers.

Brand: Raymond’s ZAPP!

Raymond recently entered into Kid’s apparel segment with a range of apparel from

party wear to relaxed casual wear targeted at kids between the age group of 4 to 12

years. Designed in house, keeping in mind the needs of its target consumers, the

ZAPP! clothing range is available through the “Basics”, “Denim” and other lead

collections. In addition to this, ZAPP! has also entered into a tie-up with Warner

Brothers to make available the complete range of “superman” merchandise in India.

ZAPP! is a brand that is synonyms with fun, attitude and adventure unlimited… A

brand that sketches a new way life for kids!

Apart from apparel range and in-store experience, ZAPP! planned to connect with its

customers through a series of unique CRM activities. The brand introduced a set of

larger than life characters namely, Zion, Ashley, Posh, Pixel and their pet dog Jambo

who are members of the ZAPP! group, who help to connect with the consumers.

Some interesting facts of this ZAPP! group

They live on a planet called Zuto and go to Orion High School in the town of

Zed.

The group possesses a special gadget called “Zapper” which makes them

invisible for 4.13 seconds

The group helps out lids with studies, participate in all school activities

No one can challenge their winning attitude.

Each character of this group depicts kid’s qualities like smartness, popularity,

carefree attitude, adventurous, trendy, innovative, etc. Such kind of description

about the brand name has helped Raymond to connect a cord with the target

consumers.