Executive Summary

Brand lose their fortunes of their brand equity if consumer tastes or preferences changes,

emergence of younger brands/competitors or new technology or any new development in

marketing techniques or strategies followed by competitors or just tired out by their

unchanging image over time. Hence Brand Rejuvenation is required to bring back the lost

brand value due to one of the above stated reasons. Brand Rejuvenation highlights the

ageing problem that every brand can face and investigates how companies can take steps

to counter the process.

Brand Rejuvenation is a process wherein a brand which is on the verge of retirement, is

brought back to life to regain markets. Jean-Marc Lehu describes the ageing problem in a

three-part process; identifying the ageing process, auditing the brand to ensure that there is

sufficient capital remaining to make the rejuvenation effort worthwhile, and then making

efficient strategic choices to achieve success. To assist with the identification and

describing of a brand's unique problem, Lehu presents a decision making chart that will

guide brand managers toward the most appropriate strategic choices for their ageing

brands.

The study gives a brief gist of the various causes for brand rejuvenation, the methods of

rejuvenation and also the issues in brand rejuvenation. The study includes insights from

the people involved in branding for various companies and many case studies of brands

that have been revitalized, as well as the process of rejuvenation from the perspective of

the manufacturer.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary...............................................................................................................1

Introduction............................................................................................................................4

Related Literature..................................................................................................................8

Product life cycle................................................................................................................8

Brand life cycle................................................................................................................10

Brand Relaunch................................................................................................................13

Brand Repositioning vs Brand Rejuvenation...................................................................14

Reasons of Rejuvenation.....................................................................................................16

Process of Brand rejuvenation.............................................................................................21

Causes for rejuvenation....................................................................................................21

Principles for Rejuvenation..............................................................................................25

Cases of Brand Rejuvenation...............................................................................................27

Case 1 : Sony....................................................................................................................27

Case 2: Tropicana.............................................................................................................33

Case 3: Onida...................................................................................................................36

Case 4: Wal-Mart, Revitalising beats Re-Positioning......................................................41

Case 5: Nokia...................................................................................................................44

Case 6: Lakme..................................................................................................................49

Conclusion...........................................................................................................................50

Bibliography........................................................................................................................52

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Acknowledgement

I am very thankful to everyone who all supported me to complete the project effectively

and moreover on time.

I am equally grateful to Prof. R. Gupte for his support and guided me regarding the topic.

He had been very helpful for suggesting me the outlines of this project.

It was a very stimulating and motivating experience, which gave me an opportunity to

learn, explore, analyze and investigate that helped me to expand my knowledge horizon.

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Introduction

Conventional marketing wisdom says that for every 100 brands that are born upto 90 could

perish. In fact the life expectancy of many brands in countries like Japan is an average 18

months.

Brand plays a vital role in life of the product. Brand is a unique and identifiable symbol,

association, name or trademark which serves to differentiate competing products or

services. Both a physical and emotional trigger to create a relationship between consumers

and the product/service. Brands identify the source or maker of a product and allow

consumers to assign responsibility for its performance to a particular manufacturer or

distributor. It is a way by which consumers evaluate identical product differently

depending on how it is branded. Branding is endowing products and services with the

power of a brand. For branding strategies to be successful and brand value to be created,

consumers must be convinced there are meaningful differences among brands in the

product or service category.

A brand promise is the marketer’s vision of what the brand must be and do for

consumers. At the end of the day the true value and future prospects of a brand rests with

consumers, their knowledge. Understanding consumer brand knowledge-all the different

things that become linked to the brand in the minds of consumer is thus of paramount

importance becaue it is the foundation of brand equity.

However old age can take a toll on brands. At times seemingly invincible brands age too

often and too soon. Dalda vanaspati, Weston televisions, Kelvinator refrigerators, Murphy

radios, Polsen butter and Campa Cola are just some names that no longer have the

visibility in most Indian shops. However, about two- three decades back shopkeepers

could not do without these brands.

Can these brands that were snowed under in changing circumstances be revived? Can a

new proposition be built on the old legacy? That’s were the business of brand revival

comes in. Today it is the buzz word among the corporations who are scrambling in

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carrying out those old fashioned yet still effective cost revenue analysis in seeing if they

can bring back the old! To get the heritage brands back to the market.

The reason for this is not too difficult to see. Simply because businesses are realizing that

brands have a tremendous asset value or resale value. Also companies in a passive thought

are also revitalizing brands so that they can realize more value from these before getting

rid of these. And today if companies want to sell off brands that make no strategic sense

for them, there isn’t a shortage of buyers for defunct brands either.

Sometimes even if brands get a second chance to prove them at the altar of consumerism it

will not be a so easy. That’s because a reborn brand has a much difficult task at hand than

a new brand-- new brands take off from ground zero but in the case of a dead brand the,

company relaunching it has to first clean up the negative baggage associated with the

brand’s earlier failure before it lands on the same level as the new brand. At the conceptual

level, it is an uphill task. E.g. -- When Dalda was introduced; it successfully entered most

customer homes as Indian households were looking for a cheaper alternative for ghee.

However, Dalda came with 2 negative labels stuck to its neck-- it was a cheaper

alternative and it was not the real thing.

If the marketer ignores or overlooks the brand value created then consumers are unhappy

with the brand which can result in failure of the brand. Brands have played important part

for the company’s image and survival in competitive markets. If the brand face away due

to change in fashion or strategies have not been revived according to markets then Brand

rejuvenation is required. The rejuvenation of brands can often result in success for a

product, which has entered the later stages of its life cycle. Brand Rejuvenation has a more

holistic perspective than repositioning. It creates wider space in terms of market

communication that includes escalated advertising and /or repositioning. Rejuvenation is

the effort to bring a brand which could not make money into the money making bracket,

with a new positioning or communication strategy.

In simple terms Rejuvenation is the hypothetical reversal of the aging

process.Rejuvenation is distinct from life extension. Life extension strategies often study

the causes of aging and try to oppose those causes in order to slow aging. Rejuvenation is

the reversal of aging and thus requires a different strategy, namely repair of the damage

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that is associated with aging. Rejuvenation can be a means of life extension, but most life

extension strategies do not involve rejuvenation.

Therefore, Brand Rejuvenation is a process wherein a brand which is on the verge of

retirement, is brought back to life to regain markets.

The main objectives1 of rejuvenation are:

1. Rejuvenation aims at revival of brand. The intention is to breathe some new life

into a brand that may be showing signs of decline.

2. Even healthy, successful brands may need occasional rejuvenation. Because of

competition, some re-formulation and refinement become necessary from time to

time. The brand has to be updated. It ensures the steady success of the going brand.

3. It helps keep the brand live and in focus.

Objective of the study

This study aims at understanding the Strategies of Brand Rejuvenation undertaken by

companies

Scope of the study

The study will involve understanding of:

1. Causes for brand rejuvenation.

2. Study of cases involving brand rejuvenation.

3. Strategies involved in Brand Rejuvenation

4. Problems involved in Brand Rejuvenation.

Methodology:

The study is done with the help of secondary research. Secondary data would be taken to

understand the branding industry; the trends and issues in brand rejuvenation. The

information will be obtained from journals, newspapers and websites.

Need for Brand Rejuvenation

Many companies have gone through the phase of Brand Rejuvenation or Revival. But to

understand that we need to understand how will a company decide whether Brand

Rejuvenation is required.

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Mature brands tend to share common characteristics. They have not been historically

discounted, but tend to be moderately to higher-priced within their respective categories.

They are profitable, enjoying healthy profit margins. Since these brands have been around

for decades, they normally have widespread distribution in many retail channels, and tend

to be supported by fewer marketing initiatives. Thus, these brands are “out of sight and out

of mind” to many consumers. The rise of new generations of consumers—with new ideas

and evolving needs and wants—meant that although these legacy national pride associated

brands retained their distinguishing characteristics from their competitors, their attributes

were no longer relevant. Consumer mind share translates to market share, thus companies

that choose to revitalize brands must commit themselves to developing a comprehensive

marketing and advertising program. This will recall the brand to its heritage customers,

and bring them back to purchasing its products again. It will also begin to create brand

awareness among new generations of consumers.

Brands need to evolve their legacy to make sure the things that differentiate them from

their competitors are complemented by more relevant purchase drivers. They need to

upgrade the different touch points of the business, create new product brands, eliminate

others, and launch new product lines.

Once a sound decision—based on the research—has been made to revitalize, brand

managers can make subtle, or not-so-subtle changes to the brand core attributes if the

research indicates this is necessary. Or, they might opt to change the brand experience at

every consumer touch point to contemporize or make the brand more relevant to today’s

consumers. Packaging, consumer promotions and advertising, as well as customer service

all factor into the creation of the consumers’ total brand experience.

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Related Literature

Before understanding Brand Rejuvenation Strategies adopted by companies, we will try to

understand different terminologies related to it.

Product life cycle

The market is flooded with products or brands with similar physical features and value

promises and to make the condition worse for the modern marketer, there is a very high

level of media clutter and advertising is fast losing its effect over the customers. The high

cost of media and complexity of consumer response to interactive media makes the

marketer to look for new alternatives for brand management. A research has to be carried

out during various phases of a product. A Product goes through four stages namely

Introduction phase, Growth phase, Maturity phase and Decline phase. It is termed as

Product Life Cycle.

The product life cycle analysis is a fluid document which needs to be revisited annually

for planning purpose. Most product life cycles do not follow a straight path, and various

business and political factors could cause less certainty of the product living through its

life stages as planned.

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Research & Development – Your product/service is in beta-testing mode – not

released for general sales yet – pre-launch – beta-testing are the common terms

used here to identify and ATTRACT the right customers – Innovators

Introduction: Promotion targets the Early Adopters. A product launch needs to be

designed to attract this key group. They will help you build product and brand

recognition.

Growth: Product quality is maintained, improvement, updates released.

Second releases are made here based upon innovator and early adopter feedback

from the launch. Distribution channels added. Promotion to a broad audience. Sales

growth very strong. The early majority are the key customer here and are the

largest and usually most profitable market segment.

Maturity: Sales begin to level out. Product features added and enhanced. New

competition. Promotion focused on differentiation

Decline: Rejuvenate the product, new releases and versions add some bells &

whistles that increase reliability, performance and productivity. Reduce costs –

compete on price with competition

Every business owner must review their business against these categories continuously –

understanding the differences and recognize symptoms appearing if your business or

product service is shifting and transitioning.

The bottom part of the graph above talks about the type of customer who is the ideal

customer for your product-service at each phase of the Product Lifecycle.  You must

understand the importance of marketing to the right customer mindset during the phase of

the lifecycle you are in.

Types Of Customers:

Innovators- Typically very well informed, in-the-know risk takers who will try a

new product usually at a higher price. It’s about being cool – a trend setter. They

love to tell people the new things they are doing. Critical to begin your product

marketing them on board as leaders in your tribe. Pricing is not an issue with this

group.

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Early Adopters – Based upon the “buzz” and recommendation from the Innovator –

they accept early on take some risk, tend to be more educated. They are definitely

opinion leaders respected for what they do and how they do things.

Early Majority- Careful consumers – avoid risk – purchase after it has been proven

by early adopters. Do seek out and rely on recommendations from early adopters

who have proven the product.

Late Majority- can be skeptical, pragmatic, acknowledge they require proof. 

Acquire after it has become commonplace.

Laggards – Avoid change only adopt/purchase when there is no other alternative.

As a prudent marketer, you should pro-actively look to rejuvenating the life cycles of Cash

Cow products, in the BCG matrix, at their matured and declining stages. Some even plan

ahead at the growth stages of their product lines for product life cycle rejuvenation.

Brand life cycle

In a standard product life cycle graph, a product increases in popularity, levels out, and

then declines. But a brand can dramatically influence the shape of your product’s life

cycle. This includes both your company’s brand and your products brands. For the purpose

of understanding how brand changes the shape of a product life cycle we need to first take

a closer look at four stages of a brand’s life cycle.

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Death of the brand

Decline of the brand

Maturity of the brand

Growth of the brand

Birth of the brand

Fig: Standard Brand life cycle

In comparison with Stand Brand life cycle, the following ideologies have to be agreed to

during every stage of the life cycle:

1. Brand Development: the creation of a brand including the brand promise, look and

feel, and other brand elements. Before the birth of the brand, brand development

plays a vital role. What is communicated to the customers is what they buy. Their

buying decision is based on the value that you can or will give to them.

2. Brand Recognition: The growth of the brand is dependent up exposing a brand to

the customer base to increase visibility and ultimately gain brand recognition.

Brand recognition can be done by various ways such as brand elements, value

proposition, and brand building activities.

3. Brand Loyalty: Customers become loyal to a brand and not just one product line.

The growth of the brand is because of its loyal customers.

4. Brand Sustainability / Brand Maintenance: continuing to tweak the brand, increase

brand recognition and brand loyalty.

5. Brand Rejuvenation: When the brand loses its customers it comes to a decline

which has to be taken care of before the brand dies away. Brand rejuvenation and

revitalisation helps revive the brand

When it comes to the product life cycle we are most interested in brand recognition and

loyalty. As brand recognition increases so does product adoption. In other words, the more

the recognition the sharper the curve upward. As brand loyalty increases product decline is

slowed. Essentially, the more loyal customers who are repeat customers the blunter the

curve downward.

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Fig : Brand and Product Life cycle

More important in this discussion, then those two points, is what happens when you have a

declining product with a large brand loyalty base and you use innovation to restart the

Product Life Cycle. The result is a dramatically sharp curve upward of adoption.

Fig : Brand and Product Life cycle with Innovation

Brand does play an important role in the product life cycle. A brand thus ages in the eyes

of its customers and/or its consumers because it loses its appeal, its relevance and usually

all or parto f its identity.

Established brands are resilient, resourceful, and elastic. However such good health is not

a permanent condition. And when brands suffer, there are three key ingredients that can

cause this dilution. They are especially lethal when combined.

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Customers seek meaning in their choices. They need the brands they purchase to

enable them to ‘sleep better at night’ and to ‘say something favorable about

themselves’ to others. When the emotional benefits are lacking, the customer is forced

to expand their consideration set.

Customers seek relevancy in their choices. They need the brands they purchase to

enable them to solve a problem and to satisfy an immediate need. When the functional

benefits are missing, the customer is forced to expand their consideration set.

Customers are consistently and relentlessly introduced to new and improved brands.

Brands are born from competition and they can also die from it. When new brands

reposition or replace existing brands, the customer is forced to expand their

consideration set.

Brand Relaunch

Brand Relaunch is any activity that aims to make consumers reconsider a brand in its

totality versus the launch of individual items or lines. This could be through packaging

changes, product upgrades, a new positioning, or any combination of several changes in

the fundamentals of the brand.

There are many reasons why a brand could be relaunched, including

The availability of new technology,

A desire to upgrade a dated image, or

Competitive actions.

Whatever the reason, relaunches are common, but experience in the real world indicates

that failed relaunches are even more common. Keeping loyal users and Enhancing

customer experience

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Brand Repositioning vs Brand Rejuvenation

Brand positioning is the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a

product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent

theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market

that attracts and retains loyal customers.

In other words Positioning refers to ‘how organisations want their consumers to see their

product’. What message about the product or service is the company trying to put across?

For example car manufacturer Daewoo in the UK, has successfully positioned themselves

as the family value model. Developing a positioning strategy depends much on how

competitors position themselves. Do organisations want to develop ‘a me too’ strategy and

position themselves close to their competitors so consumers can make a direct comparison

when they purchase? Or does the organisation want to develop a strategy which positions

themselves away from their competitors? Offering a benefit which is superior depends

much on the marketing mix strategy the organisation adopts. The pricing strategy must

reflect the benefit offered and the promotion strategy must communicate this benefit.

Ultimately positioning is about how you want consumers to perceive your products and

services and what strategies you would adopt to reach this perceptual goal.

When it comes to Brand repositioning, changing a brand's status in comparison to that of

the competing brands. Repositioning is effected usually through changing the marketing

mix in response to changes in the market place, or due to a failure to reach the brand's

marketing objectives

Brand repositioning is necessary when one or more of the following conditions exist:

Your brand has a bad, confusing or nonexistent image.

The primary benefit your brand "owns" has evolved from a differentiating benefit

to a cost-of-entry benefit.

Your organization is significantly altering its strategic direction.

Your organization is entering new businesses and the current positioning is no

longer appropriate.

A new competitor with a superior value proposition enters your industry.

Competition has usurped your brand's position or rendered it ineffectual.

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Your organization has acquired a very powerful proprietary advantage that must be

worked into the brand positioning.

Corporate culture renewal dictates at least a revision of the brand personality

You are broadening your brand to appeal to additional consumers or consumer

need segments for whom the current brand positioning won't work.  (This should

be a "red flag."  This action could dilute the brand's meaning, make the brand less

appealing to current customers or even alienate current customers.)

Brands have a life cycle which may consist of a number of phases including inception,

growth, maturation, decline, revitalization, and retirement. Brand Rejuvenation is a process

in which a brand on the verge of retirement is brought back to life to regain markets.

Revitalizing a once-popular dormant brand can be a highly profitable strategy under the

right circumstances.

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Reasons of Rejuvenation

Sometimes rejuvenation/revitalization requires the rebranding of a company from the top

down. That can include a refurbishment of the logo, trademark and trade dress to revamp

the entire corporate brand image. Sometimes it involves an updating of the brand’s

products and specific product attributes with better, demanded features. Rejuvenation can

also require repackaging for a fresher, more contemporary brand look to appeal to new

generations of consumers.

While going for a repositioning, it is important to accurately and completely characterize

the breadth and depth of brand awareness; the strength, favorability, and uniqueness of

brand association and brand responses held in consumer memory; and the nature of

consumer-brand relationships. The brand equity in the minds of the customer has to be

analysed. Revitalization strategies obviously involve a continuum, with pure "back to

basics" at one end and pure "reinvention" at the other end. Many revitalizations combine

elements of both strategies. With an understanding of the current and desired brand

knowledge structures in hand, the customer-based brand equity framework provides

guidance as to how one could best refresh the old sources of brand equity or create new

sources of brand equity and achieve the intended positioning. Two such approaches are

possible

1. Expand the depth or breadth of brand awareness, or both. This can be achieved by

improving consumer recall and recognition of the brand during purchase or

consumption.

2. Improve the strength, favourability, and uniqueness of brand associations making

up the brand image. More favourable responses and greater brand resonance can

result when brand salience and brand meaning are enhanced.

Strategically, lost sources of brand equity can be refurbished and new sources of equity

can be established in the same three main ways that sources of brand equity are created. It

starts with: changing brand elements, changing the supporting marketing program, or

leveraging new secondary associations.

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Making Old Brands New

Many once-strong brands wither away into obscurity because their brand managers lose

sight of the customer, and choose to attack the competition instead. Brand managers need

to focus on the three ways customers interact with a brand. Managers need to understand

how customers perceive, choose, and use the brand. This is because, when most people

buy products, they buy 1 or 2 at a time. They anchor on a low number (like 1 or 2), then

buy more if the product's on sale. When promotions suggest high numbers people shift

their reference point to the higher number, and buy more.

Profit pressures on mature brands lead some companies to focus on the competition at the

expense of the customer. In the face of these pressures, companies can either fight the

competition or shore up the loyalty of existing customers. Increasing customer loyalty has

both short and long term benefits, but companies must understand the interaction points

between customer and brand which talks about how customers perceive a brand.

In mature brands this point is very essential. The product might have fallen out of favour,

or the household might already have the product in inventory and it must be used up before

it will be bought again. In these cases choice can influence perceptions and then usage or

usage can influence perceptions and then choice.

Expanding Brand Awareness

With a fading brand, often it is not the depth of brand awareness that is a problem-

consumers can still recognize or recall the brand under certain circumstances. Rather, the

breadth of brand awareness is the stumbling block-consumers only tend to think of the

brand in very narrow ways. Therefore, one powerful means of building brand equity is to

increase the breadth of brand awareness, making sure that consumers do not overlook the

brand and that they will think of purchasing or consuming it in those situations in which

the brand can satisfy consumers' needs and wants

Exploring New Uses that Revitalize Old Brands

Mature brand manufacturers are increasingly researching and developing ways to market

new uses for their products. In order to increase the frequency of usage, additional

applications of the product, either within the situational category or across category,

provides an ample opportunity for increased sales. Arm & Hammer cleverly rejuvenated

its product and brand when the slow-down in home baking adversely affected sales by

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emphasizing its two greatest attributes: the cleaning and deodorizing properties of its

product. By demonstrating myriad uses for baking soda in the home—personal care, pet

care, and home cleansing and deodorizing—Arm & Hammer turned slumping sales into

major sales increases. Then, the company further leveraged its brand’s cleaning and

deodorizing properties into major brand extensions: oral care and laundry care. These new

category extensions have been successful for the 150-year-old brand, which continues to

enjoy great heritage, even as it continues to attract new and ever-younger generations of

consumers.

Improving Brand Image

Although changes in brand awareness are probably the easiest means of creating new

sources of brand equity, more fundamental changes are often necessary. A new marketing

program may be necessary to improve the strength, favourability, and uniqueness brand

associations making up the image. As part of this repositioning to the existing positioning

any positive associations that have faded may need to be bolstered, any negative

associations that have been created may have I be neutralized, and additional positive

associations may have to be created.

Repositioning the Brand

Repositioning the brand requires establishing more compelling points of difference. This

may simply require reminding consumers of the virtues of a brand that they have begun to

take for granted.

Changing Brand Elements

Often one or more brand elements must be changed to either convey new information or to

signal that the brand had taken on new meanings because the product or some other aspect

of the marketing program has changed. The brand name is the most difficult to change.

Packaging, logo and other characters may be changed.

Entering New Markets

Positioning decisions require a specification of the target market and the nature of

competition to set the competitive frame of reference. The target market or markets for a

brand typically do not constitute all possible segments that make up the entire market. In

some cases, the firm may have other brands that target these remaining market segments.

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In other cases, however, these market segments represent potential growth targets for the

brand. Effectively targeting these other segments, however, typically requires some

changes or variations in the marketing program, especially in advertising and other

communications, and the decision as to whether to target these segments ultimately

depends on a cost-benefit analysis.

Changing Brand image

One of the best examples of the successful corporate revitalization is Samsung. In the mid

1990’s, Samsung Electronics’ chairman and senior management made a landmark

decision. They decided that Samsung would no longer provide commodity electronics

products to the world’s retailers, including WalMart, but would instead focus on the

development of innovative product design and stake out its own claim to become a global

brand. The company focused on product innovation and brand-design strategy, and saw a

meteoric rise in sales and brand value in a few short years. The transformation of

Samsung's image from manufacturer of commodity electronics to a product innovator and

leader has provided global business with a stunning brand revitalization blueprint. In the

2005 Interbrand and Business “Annual Report: Global Brands” ranking, Samsung was

rated as the 20th most valuable brand among the world’s top 100 global brands. The

company’s brand value was assessed at $14.9 billion!

Adding value to the product

Another striking example of corporate as well as product revitalization is Cadillac. A long-

loved American luxury automobile brand, Cadillac started dying a slow death in the past

few decades with its stodgy image and lack of consumer relevance. Even mature, affluent

buyers of luxury cars were buying Mercedes, Lexuses and BMWs. Enter in the Escalade—

a powerful SUV loaded with bells, whistles and plenty of edgy urban appeal. Urban appeal

for an affluent, young, hip audience that is willing to shell out $60,000 on average to drive

a Cadillac! Enter in On Star technology to GM’s options package for Cadillac, as well as

its other brands, and there is clearly a perception of additional value, as well as

differentiation from other luxury automobile brands. Once a dying brand, Cadillac is now a

21st century, urban symbol!

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The Process of Rejuvenation

Brands sometimes have had to return to their roots to recapture lost sources of equity. The

meaning of the brand has had to fundamentally change to regain lost ground and recapture

market leadership. Reversing a fading brand's fortunes thus requires either lost sources of

brand equity to be recaptured or new sources of brand equity to be identified and

established.

Fig: Reasons for Brand Rejuvenation

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Process of Brand rejuvenation

Sufficient potential in the brand should be detected in order to revive the brand so as to

justify its rejuvenation plan.

Causes for rejuvenation

The first approach is Brand audit has to be carried out in order to find out that brand is

completely lifeless at that point. This is followed by brand awareness study to establish

whether people still remember the brand and if so under what circumstances.

Ghost Brands are brands that are shadows of their former selves. Ghost brands are once-

famous brand name that remains on sale but is no longer popular. They walk the fine line

between life and death, and are often demoted to the bottom shelf, which is the death row

in many stores. The companies, which own these brands, have four options:1) Revitalize

them, 2) Milk them, 3) Sell them, or 4) Kill them. In case of companies which have truly

become ghosts, the rejuvenation plan may be long and difficult. But it is all the question of

accessing the investment compared to the expected final return. In India, Lakme lost its

base due to competitors like Revlon, Oriflame, L’oreal entered the market due to opening

up of the economy. It affected Lakme but with Lakme fashion week, a national level event

charged with hype, hoopla, and most importantly gargantuan doses of fashion, this glitzy

event helped Lakme re-establish itself as a contemporary, fashionable brand, one which

Indian women would feel proud to use. Strategically, even the bi-annual structure would

have been of some help in this regard, as this brought up a direct link to the fashion events

in Europe, where Spring and Winter collections are the norm.

Second approach is when stakes are high. When the business unit is no longer viable to

continue, it is observed that it is too late and that the effects of ageing are too significant to

be able to be defined, offset and overcome and the brand is left to its sad fate which

occurs in a very short time. General Motors recently reached a conclusion that one of its

divisions Oldsmobile was phasing out and would be discontinued and it would be done

progressively. This decision was taken as the investment would not improve the brand’s

image and subsequently it would hamper then brand image of General Motors.

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Third approach is to sell off the brand by the company. This allows income to flow into the

company and it could help develop other brands.

Determining age of the brand

As we have discussed before Brand or a product has a life cycle. This Life cycle is crucial

for the company to know the age of the Brand. Age is a very interesting notion because for

brands it is as perceived by the other people irrespective of the fact that the brand is old.

This is very difficult to calculate the age by its consumers.

The chronological age is determines only the age of the brand but more importantly we

need to know the biological age. The biological age is based on the health of the brand

which is very subjective hence the criteria to evaluate it hinder the calculation.

The brand manager has to keep in mind while evaluating the brand. An average individual

may believe the brand to be far older than it is in reality and that over and above any

longecity it may have, the individual perceives it primarily as being old. But it also

indicates that a non-average individual may consider the brand to be much younger than it

is in reality and in addition he or she perceives it primarily as being up to date.On other

hand this is undoubtedly the most important point, it means that because this perceived age

is not solely based on objective grounds it may be possible to influence it using an ad hoc

marketing strategy.

Advertising

Brand awareness is built with the help of advertising. Although it is helpful for the

company but sometimes due to incorrect or limited information also results in decline of

the interest of the target market. When Maggi noodles launched in India about two decades

ago, it could not capture the market due to lack of product knowledge. Nestle could not

understand why it sales were not increasing despite the fact it is easy to cook. Hence

concept marketing was born where it tried to explain the process of cooking the Maggi, 2

minute noodle.

We've gotten so comfortable with our old ideas about marketing that we let this one slip

by, but it's a whopper: Brands don't exist, at least not like rocks or tax returns. Brands are

ideas that have no external existence or legitimacy apart from the creative agency of

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human experience. Brands aren't things but rather conclusions, and therefore have no

voice, reputation, attributes, or actions that aren't the result of somebody doing something

(or something happening to them).

When we track brand perceptions or awareness, we're really taking snapshots of moments

in time, and it supports a really old-fashioned, analog way of understanding branding as

something that will sometime, somehow make people do something. Every assumption of

what those measurements mean a minute, hour, or week after we last checked is less a

causal link and more an inferential hope. There are no brands separate from people

thinking about brands.

This should make it impossible for your brand to talk to consumers. People can do things

because of a brand idea, and in its support or to its detriment, but they can only talk about

your brand, not with it. It's what they always did, only now social media channels are an

immensely powerful enabler of deeper, wider, and more frequent conversations. Changing

your fundamental definition of how you approach your branding would change not only

how you use social media, but also repurpose all of your marketing communications to

make every interaction an opportunity for individuals to say things about your brand.

Target Market

If the product is not selected for correct target audience it fails to keep its presence felt.

The brand should connect to the target audience. Vanilla coke under the Brand

Coco Cola faced this problem. Vanilla Coke was touted as the greatest innovation since

Diet Coke in 1983. The brand went global in 2004.

2004 saw the unusual scream " Wakaw" played across mass media. We all looked up in

awe : a brand new variant from Coca Cola : Vanilla Coke. The brand was targeted at the

metro youth was different. It was different in taste, promotion, package, price etc.

Vanilla Coke was promoted in retro style. The brand had Vivek Oberoi , the then

bollywood flame endorsing the brand in an unusual style. Vivek sported the retro look with

typical combination of Elvis style + Shammi Kapoor style in an Old Lamby Scooter

screaming Wakaw. The ads were surely clutter breaking and backed by 360 degree

branding efforts that ensured good publicity. The creative done by the famed Prasoon Joshi

was discussed in all media and that ensured truckloads of free publicity. The brand also got

into viral marketing. The campaign along with Contenst2win asked the customers to SMS

23

Wakaw to 8558 in order to win goodies. According to media reports, the campaign

resulted in 440,000 SMS in just 4 weeks creating a record of sorts.

According to Indiatelevision.com report, the media brief given to the agency was to create

a clutter breaking campaign targeted at youth. The campaign should create a dhamaka in

the market. And rightly so all the client requirements was achieved with in a short span of

time.

But how come a product with such a good start failed so easily. Within one year, the brand

has been taken out from most of the Indian states. The brand is said to be available in

Gujarat, Kolkatta and Delhi. The factors that may have caused the failure of this brand are:

a. The product may have been bad. The TG may not have liked the taste. Although Coke

has test marketed this product, there is always a chance that the customers may have

disliked the taste.

b.The campaign was not targeted at the right segment. This campaign had its fair share of

critics also. I liked the campaign because I have seen the old stars and the lamby etc and

could easily relate the old characters and the concept. But for a twenty year old, he may

not relate or understand the concept. The brand may have lost out in that respect.

c. The brand was priced at a premium over the ordinary coke. This may have discouraged

the TG from checking out the brand. Together with the retro campaign not clicking with

the intended audience may have given a double whammy for the brand.

d. Indian SD industry is a duopoly. Pepsi and Coke rule the roast and there are brand loyal

on both sides. The new variant will be tested first by the Coke loyal and not the Pepsi

loyal. Hence like most of the Product line extensions, the variant will be pitted against the

mother brand. Hence the customers may have compared the new variant with the classic

coke and not as a new drink.

Declining range of Products

The decline of range of products is very often associated with the decline of the category

itself, except in specific and fortunately very rare cases in which the company in question

naively allows the whole of one its ranges to fall into utter neglect. In every case, the cause

of ageing has its roots in a characterstic which is common to all of the products in question

even though the products themselves remain different. It may result in dramatic shift in

fashion that renders the rand and/or category of products entirely out-dated and outmoded.

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Principles for Rejuvenation

Rejuvenating a brand requires new knowledge. The following methodology will provide a

three-dimensional understanding of the current equity in the brand.

Reviewing of the current business strategy: the products and/or services the

company is offering, the number of products and/or services offered, the costs of

producing and delivering these products and/or services and the primary customers

of these products and/or services.

Conduct qualitative research with your current and former customers: How can you

refine your definition of your most desirable customer demographically, psycho-

graphically and behaviorally? What do they think and feel about your brand today?

Why and when do they choose your brand over competing brands? And what are

the sources of trust when customers are choosing a brand in your category?

Conduct a competitive brand audit with your customers: What is the contemporary

consideration set? What is the position each brand owns in the mind of the

customer?

Conduct a visual and editorial audit of current marketing and communications:

What are you communicating to your customer about your brand?

Keeping in mind the causes of Rejuvenation the following can be done:

1. Brand/Product life cycle has to be expanded2. Modifying the brand’s identity3. Dynamizing of advertising4. Renewing the target market5. The expansion of product portfolio

Bottom line: revitalizing a corporate brand when consumer research signals the time is

right, or sales have either come to a plateau, or begun to slump, is an essential component

of ongoing brand management. Revitalizing a brand’s products contemporizes and gives

new life to what could have been perceived as a tired, aging consumer goods line. Finally,

once the corporate brand and product line have been revitalized, rejuvenating the

packaging allows the CPG company to communicate its new, realigned brand message,

prioritize its communication hierarchies and share our firm refers to as its Enjoyment

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Assets™ fully with its customers. And nothing continues to build on the brand’s heritage

and equity with more power than that.

According to the author Larry Light, Former McDonald’s CMO and Joan Kiddon,

President,COO of Arcature LLC, six rules of Revitalisation are

1. Refocus the Organisation

2. Restore Brand Relevance

3. Reinvent the Brand Experience

4. Reinforce a Results Culture

5. Rebuild Brand Trust

6. Realise Global Alignment

When the goals of the company is understood by its employees, they move in the same

direction and hence things fall into place. Organisational alignment provides clarity of

purpose, defines a common brand and business vision, moves the organisation towards the

same destination, sets priorities, ensures brand consistence and defines common goals and

measureable objectives.

We will now see some case studies to understand whether Brand Rejuvenation has worked

for the companies or not.

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Cases of Brand Rejuvenation

Case 1 : Sony

Brand history

Sony Corporation commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational

conglomerate corporation headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It ranked 73 on

the 2011 list of Fortune Global 500. Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of

electronics products for the consumer and professional markets.

Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the parent company of the Sony

Group, which is engaged in business through its six operating segments – Consumer

Products & Services Group (consumer electronics, game & network services),

Professional, Device & Solutions Group (B2B products & services), Pictures, Music,

Financial Services and Sony Ericsson. These make Sony one of the most comprehensive

entertainment companies in the world. Sony's principal business operations include Sony

Corporation (Sony Electronics in the U.S.), Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer

Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Mobile Communications (formerly Sony

Ericsson), and Sony Financial. As a semiconductor maker, Sony is among the Worldwide

Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders.

Sony Revival

Sony after a long time, a brand other than Apple is creating a global buzz about the

impending launch of one its product. Sony with the launched PlayStation 3 which seemed

to have stuck a chord with consumers once again after a long hiatus. It was high time that

one of the world’s iconic brands started reclaiming its rightful position as the leader of the

consumer electronics market. Even though PlayStation 3 seemed to have brought back

some energy and zest for the brand, it is an irony that the life of such a strong global brand

has come to depend on a single product. As one of the pre-eminent global consumer

electronics brand which has enjoyed unparallel brand equity and loyalty, Sony is

surprisingly a classic case study for what a brand should not do to erode its own brand

standing in the market place.

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Over the last couple of years, Sony has been gradually but surely slipping from its ivory

tower and failing to keep up with many of its followers turned competitors such as

Samsung, LG and others. What did Sony do wrong? How could such an iconic brand get

into trouble? This article examines the brand lifecycle of Sony and more specifically

address the issue of how Sony can rejuvenate itself and remerge as the global power brand

and a force to reckon with.

Brand and focus

One of the highly discussed topics in branding is the relevance of maintaining consistency

for brands in the current market place which is characterized by diverse cultures,

increasingly empowered consumers and ever changing trends and consumer preferences.

Consistency is often mistaken by brands for complacency or static existence. Consistency

in the branding lexicon refers to the ability of the brand to convey to the consumers in a

single voice across all customer touch points, the fundamental building blocks of any

brand namely the brand identity, brand image, brand personality, brand essence, key

performance indicators such as quality, features, price points and such. But such a

consistency should not come at the cost of the brand refusing to constantly adapt to the

dynamic market structure. Obviously carrying out these two seemingly contradictory

things becomes highly challenging. Such a complex maneuver proves even more difficult

for an established brand such as Sony, as it will have entrenched brand structure, and brand

management practices. Even though there are many specific reasons for Sony’s slide from

the top, at a corporate level, Sony’s inability to manage consistency while constantly

changing appears to be at the root of Sony’s decline.

An analysis of Sony’s ascent to global prominence and the reasons for its slide from the

pinnacle during the last couple of years brings to fore some pressing reasons. Three major

factors contributed to Sony’s ascent to global supremacy in the consumer electronics

sector and they are:

1. Innovation: Innovation, to a great extent, defined the brand character of Sony.

Sony grew to global prominence due to its ability to constantly create products

even before other companies could conceptualize them. Further, Sony had the

ability to sense the hidden consumer demand and create entire product

categories through its innovative products. When Walkman was introduced into

the market, there was no existing market for portable music. But Sony’s

innovative product brought about an entire generation of products and created a

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new category altogether. Such an innovative culture differentiated Sony from

the other consumer electronics brands for a very long time.

2. Visionary leadership: Sony is a classic case to prove the strategic importance

of a visionary leader in carrying a brand to dizzying heights. Sony’s

management team along with the CEO was responsible to create an

environment that nurtured experimentation, and innovation. Further, Sony was

one of the early Asian brands to recognize the importance of branding, which

was again supported and lead by the management team.

3. Pioneer advantage: Given the innovative edge, Sony emerged as the pioneer

in almost every sector that it was operating in. Being the first mover or in many

cases, the inventor of the category, Sony had a great leeway in defining the

rules of the game as it were. It set the expectations for the other companies that

entered the category. Also, the brand image was enhanced every time a

competitor imitated Sony as it became an indirect way to accept Sony’s

leadership position. Being the pioneer also offered Sony an opportunity to

make more mistakes, test new ideas, and experiment with innovative concepts.

As can be seen, each of these three factors lead into each other thereby creating a virtuous

circle. The combination of these factor pushed Sony into the exclusive club of iconic

brands. But over the last decade, Sony seems to have lost the magic formula. It has been

gradually sliding down from its high seat. Many reasons have contributed to Sony’s

decline:

1. Unrelated diversification: An important and unique factor that has

distinguished several Asian businesses from other Western business is the

extent of diversification. Controlled and managed largely by business families,

companies blow up into conglomerates that does business in very diverse and

unrelated industries. Many Asian companies such as Samsung and LG that

have become global forces to reckon with also started as bloated

conglomerates. But these companies seem to have learnt the importance of

focusing on core competence. As such, Samsung trimmed down its

organization, came out of unrelated industries and channeled its resources

around one or two dominant businesses. But Sony still seems to have stuck up

in multiple businesses. This sort of unrelated diversification not only drains the

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brand's resources to a great extent but also diverts the brand focus from the core

of the brand.

2. Innovation dearth: Case of Apples’ iPod explains this point very well.

Walkman made Sony the undisputed leader in portable music player category.

As is the usual case, success breeds corporate complacency. As such, Sony did

not follow up with any outstanding and innovative product line to sustain the

initial success. Apple came out with iPod that appealed to the younger

generation worldwide and also established its standard iTunes from where

consumers could download songs for a nominal payment. This not only

established Apple as the undisputed leader in mobile music market but also

helped Apple to establish the industry standard. This dented Sony’s brand

reputation. Sony has suffered similar challenges from many brands such as

Samsung, Nokia, LG and others in different product categories. Sony’s lack of

consumer oriented innovation has contributed greatly to its decline in recent

years.

3. Lack of brand evolution: Sony’s past surely contributes an enormous amount

of heritage, history and achievements into the brand identity. But for a brand to

be successful in the current ultracompetitive globalized market place, it has to

make itself very relevant to the current customer segments. Harping back on

past laurels and expecting the customers to still support the brand due to its past

glory will be a grave mistake as has turned out in Sony’s case. Sony has not

been very successful in evolving as the brand for the new masses of the twenty

first century. Apple, Samsung and a few others have hijacked that from Sony.

As such, the brand has not been in with the times as it were and that has

contributed to its slide from the top.

Analysis of the Case Sony

From the case so far, it is clear that Sony has not been very prudent in managing its brand

and its components very well over the last few years. But even then, Sony still continues to

be one of the most valuable brands in the world. What should Sony do to regain its lost

brand supremacy? It seems ironic that for a solution Sony may want to look at a brand that

prides itself on structuring its brand plan based on Sony's - Samsung Electronics. Samsung

Electronics has been hugely successful in creating a brand from scratch and making the

brand one of the top consumer electronics brand in the world. If Sony has to regain its lost

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brand supremacy, then it may want to follow some of the fundamental steps discussed

below:

1. Regain focus: Effects of unrelated diversification has been very pronounced

for many family owned Asian conglomerates. Operating in a number of

unrelated businesses is often justified on the logic of scale and scope

economies. But from a brand perspective, such diversification will be more

detrimental than helpful. Sony, like Samsung, should conduct a due diligence to

evaluate the financial and brand worth of its different business units. Before the

unrelated business units erode the equity of the core Sony brand, it would

benefit Sony to come out of such businesses. Regaining focus and investing in

nurturing and enhancing its core competence will be the first necessary step

towards regaining brand leadership.

2. Elevate marketing/branding to the boardroom: Sony should revamp its

departments that have a direct impact on creating strong customer perception

for the brand - R&D, design, and marketing. For innovation to make any brand

sense, it has to reflect consumer preferences. Innovation has to lead to products

and services that would enhance the relationship between the brand and the

consumer. For this to happen, R&D, design and marketing have to become

more customer-centric. In other words, Sony needs to elevate the marketing

function to the boardroom and enable marketing to take a lead of the business

and the strategy. Marketing and branding can no longer be relegated to a

tactical level handled by marketing managers who hardly have an appreciation

of the larger picture.

3. Brand oriented leadership: Over the last couple of years, many brands have

emerged from Asia that provide tough competition to Sony. Further, with the

resurgence of many American brands, the market place has become extremely

competitive. In such a scenario, Sony’s path back to brand supremacy can

happen only if it is guided by a brand oriented leadership. The CEO and the top

management team at Sony should evaluate the meaning and identity of the

Sony brand to its customers in these changing times and enable the brand team

to innovate and lead the industries in which Sony operates in.

4. Design, features and the cool factor: Given the aggressive strategies of

Apple, Nokia, Samsung and others along with their superiority in design,

customer oriented features and the loyal following of “cool” customers, it

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becomes very important for Sony to regain the cool factor and beef up its

designs and features. Relevance to current customers and the ability to morph

into a brand that can reflect customer needs prove very crucial for Sony as it

charts its path back to the top position.

The brief market euphoria that would follow the launch of PlayStation 3 should not be

confused with long term brand success or the return of Sony as it were. Even though this

latest product will allow Sony a much need breather, it should just be a starting point for

Sony’s resurgence. Sony, by methodically evaluating its brand culture and following the

steps described above, could surely rejuvenate itself in the long run.

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Case 2: Tropicana

Brand History

Tropicana was founded in Bradenton, Florida, USA, in 1947. It is now enjoyed almost

everywhere in the world. Carefully nurtured for over 50 years, Tropicana has matured into

one of the most respected beverage brands. Widely regarded as the world's no. 1 juice

brand, it is today available in 63 countries. Since 1998, Tropicana has been owned by

PepsiCo, Inc. Tropicana Premium Gold was re-launched as Tropicana 100% in 2008.

Brand Advantage

Tropicana continues to select the best fruit to manufacture high-quality juices and original

products, pioneer innovative processes and explore new markets for its products. It is

committed to fostering healthy lifestyles by ensuring that its products are naturally

nutritious and provide the daily benefits that one needs.

In India, Tropicana was launched in 2004. It comes in two categories: 100% Juices (sold as

Tropicana 100%) and Juice Beverages & Nectars (sold as Tropicana).

Re-Branding

Tropicana's rebranding debacle did more than create a customer-relations fiasco. It hit the

brand in the wallet. The iconic straw in orange, created by Sterling Brands, was replaced

by a generic glass of orange juice, prompting many confused consumers to comment that

Tropicana had lost its identity—it now looked more like an uninspiring, generic store

brand, rather than the premium brand it was. An attempt to modernize a slightly dated look

stripped the brand of its pure, natural, and fresh personality.

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Fig: Old packaging vs New Packaging

The new Tropicana Pure Premium packaging (left) had been on the market less than two

months before the company scrapped the redesign.

After its package redesign, sales of the Tropicana Pure Premium line plummeted 20%

between Jan. 1 and Feb. 22, 2009, costing the brand tens of millions of dollars. On Feb. 23,

the company announced it would bow to consumer demand and scrap the new packaging,

designed by Peter Arnell. It had been on the market less than two months.

A swift reversal

Now that the numbers are out, it's clear why PepsiCo's Tropicana moved as fast as it did.

According to Information Resources Inc., unit sales dropped 20%, while dollar sales

decreased 19%, or roughly $33 million, to $137 million between Jan. 1 and Feb. 22.

Moreover, several of Tropicana's competitors appear to have benefited from the misstep,

notably Minute Maid, Florida's Natural and Tree Ripe. Varieties within each of those

brands posted double-digit unit sales increases during the period. Private-label products

also saw an increase during the period, in keeping with broader trends in the food and

beverage space.

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The entire refrigerated-orange-juice category posted flat unit sales and a 5% decline in

dollar sales during the period. As the leader in the category, it makes little sense that

Tropicana Pure Premium would see such a drastic sales decline while the category

remained relatively flat, industry experts said. Through Feb. 22, Tropicana Pure Premium

accounted for about a third of sales in the refrigerated-orange-juice category.

Tropicana: no connection

A spokeswoman for Tropicana in an e-mail said, "No dots to connect here." The company

did not respond to further requests for comment.

"It surprises me that their performance is so different from the rest of the category," said

Gary Hemphill, managing director-chief operating officer at Beverage Marketing Corp.

"It's a little tough to draw conclusions over such a short period of time. But I would say

that's unusual."

Mr. Hemphill said typically when a beverage brand undergoes a rebranding it signals

increased marketing expenditures and leads to improved performance, at least in the short

term. "It gets people to look at the brand again and brings some kind of news and

excitement around the brand," he added. Tropicana had certainly sought to create

excitement around the Pure Premium rebrand, announcing Jan. 8 a "historic integrated-

marketing and advertising campaign ... designed to reinforce the brand and product

attributes, rejuvenate the category and help consumers rediscover the health benefits they

get from drinking America's iconic orange-juice brand."

'Black eye'

Beverage experts were hard pressed to think of another major brand that had pulled the

plug on such a sweeping redesign as swiftly as Tropicana. "It's a black eye when you have

to backtrack that quickly," said Bob Goldin, exec VP at Technomic. "There must be

another example but nothing comes to mind. Tropicana is a big brand, and it was a big

restage. This is something that I'm sure they were not happy about."

While it's impossible to say whether Tropicana has permanently lost share, as a result of

the blunder, competitors are likely taking note. "We think the Minute Maid brand has

opportunity for growth, and we're working hard to make that happen," said Ray Crockett, a

Coca-Cola spokesman.

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Case 3: Onida

Brand History

Household name in television Onida was founded in 1981 and by1982 the company had

started assembling television sets at its own factory. Superior products backed up by

distinctive design, cutting-edge advertising and purposeful marketing made Onida a

household name in India. In addition to televisions, the company has recently made a foray

into other household appliances, including air-conditioners, washing machines, DVDs and

home theatre systems. For business and industry, Onida has introduced state-of-the-art

multimedia presentation products.

Advertising blunder

Onida, is still well known for its brand mascot ‘The Onida Devil’ and its punch line

“Neighbor’s Envy Owner’s Pride”. In the 1980s when owning a television set was

considered a luxury, Onida launched its advertising campaign on the platform of envy, to

promote its television range.

A green-horned devil with a long pointed tail was the spokesperson in all its ad campaigns

till the 1990s. The ‘Devil’ helped Onida gain substantial market share and brand recall

among the customers and become one of the top three television brands in the country. In

1998, Mirc Electronics (the owner of Onida brand) decided to abandon the “Onida Devil”

in its communication campaigns as the brand mascot no longer appealed to the Indian

consumer.

However over a decade now the brand is suffering..

In1998, Onida withdrew the mascot citing the same reasons that they have given now. The

explanation given in 1998 was that Indian consumers no longer find Devil, who

symbolizes Envy, relevant. So they scrapped the famous tagline ” Neighbour’s Envy,

Owner’s Pride ” together with the Devil. But ever since it changed the tagline and mascot,

Onida never found a powerful positioning. After six years of drifting around, Onida

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brought back the Devil with much fanfare in 2004. Media and brand enthusiasts welcomed

the move and eagerly awaited the Devil in a changed modern avataar. But the comeback

was damp squib. The brand suffered heavily due to ownership issues within the company.

There was no brand promotion or new product launches worth talking about since 2004. If

at all there were launches, promotions were not sufficient enough.

Reasons for Onida Ailing as a Brand:

Internal management Problems: One of the main reasons for this is the fight

between the brothers : Gulu and Sonu Mirchandani and their brother -in- law Vijay

Mansukhani over the control of the Onida group. The fight has severely eroded the

share of the brand and even the marketing of Onida. Onida was staging a recovery

after the successful re-launch of the brand and the return of the Devil. But the

family feud has made things difficult for the brand.

Frequent change in Advertising: What is interesting about Onida is the branding.

The creative duty of the brand has partly moved from one marketing agency to

another i.e. from Rediffusion to McCann Erickson. But as usual, when the agency

changes, the entire brand elements changes. For Onida, the change till now

unfortunately is always for the worse. When O&M took the brand from Avenues,

the famous tagline “Neighbor’s Envy, Owner’s Pride” and the Devil was taken off.

The brand suffered for almost 10 years and has never recovered since .The change

of agency from O&M to Reinfusion again changed things and Devil returned in a

new avatar and a new tagline “Nothing but the truth” has now come into existence.

The new arrangement is not making things better. In 2007, Onida launched a new

campaign for its A/C and with a new tagline “It can change your life”. Now the

new campaign for the air conditioner features a new Devil and the tagline has again

changed to “Experience the desire”. Onida which already is in deep trouble is

moving on to further confusion with an unnecessary change in the positioning

strategy. The brand has not been able to consolidate the earlier theme based on

‘truth’. Even before establishing it, the brand has repositioned again.

Aging customer base: The customers of Onida have grown older with times and the

brand has failed to connect itself to the current generation. The “devil” in the

advertisements in not helping it either.

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The following factors have diluted Onida’s Brand Equity:

Onida is proving to be a case study about ” How to Mess up a wonderful brand “.

As a marketer, the ownership of the brand should be with the Company and not the

agency. But what is seen is that the brand managers ‘outsource’ the strategy to the ad-

agency. Things are consistent till the agency handles the account. But when the agency

moves on, the new agency resist continuing the existing strategy since it was crafted by the

competitor. So whatever be the quality of the existing branding strategy, the new agency

will try to change it. This has resulted in many brands drifting from time-tested successful

themes to uncharted territory and often sink in confusion. Onida which already is in deep

trouble is moving on to further confusion with an unnecessary change in the positioning

strategy. The brand has not been able to consolidate the earlier theme based on ‘truth’.

Even before establishing it, the brand has repositioned again. Onida has spent about Rs 40

crore on advertising and promotions in 2008 and its ad spends are estimated at Rs 60 crore

for the current year. Mindshare will handle the media duties for Onida.

Brand amnesia: For old brands, as for old people, memory becomes an increasing

issue. When a brand forgets what it is supposed to stand for, it runs into trouble.

The most obvious case of brand amnesia occurs when a venerable, long-standing

brand tries to create a radical new identity, such as when Onida tried to replace its

original tagline with new one. The results were disastrous.

Brand fatigue:  Some companies get bored with their own brands. This can

happen to products which have been on the shelves for many years, collecting dust.

When brand fatigue sets in creativity suffers, and so do a sale which was and is the

case with Onida.

Brand paranoia: This is the opposite of brand ego and is most likely to occur

when a brand faces increased competition. Typical symptoms include: a tendency

to file lawsuits against rival companies, a willingness to reinvent the brand every

six months, and a longing to imitate competitors.

Comparison with competitors:

Market characteristics

1. The consumer goods market in India is of USD 4.87 Billion.

2. Around 45 companies cater to this market. Onida is having a very small share of

this market.

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3. In the Indian market space, Brand loyalty is giving way to “value-for-price”

contest.

4. There is an intense competition on price.

5. The companies are Companies focusing on product differentiation, value added

offerings and exchange offers.

The MNCs like LG, Sony, Samsung, Phillips and Videocon command a high market share.

These brands score high on following factors:

Product Line: These companies (LG, Sony, Samsung, Phillips and Videocon) have

a wider product range compared to Onida to target customers from all segment.

Positioning: Their Image of a multinational company in the minds of consumer

helped them to grab market share instantly. It gave a perception that these

companies have better technology. Videocon on the other hand leveraged its MNC

image by it tagline of “Indian MNC”.

Advertisements: LG has Abhishek Bachhan, Samsung Has Aamir Khan, Videocon

had Amithabh Bachhan and now Sharukh Khan, and All these players have used

celebrity to a good effect to endorse their brands. On the other hand Onida has an

inconspicuous young couple which does not make an impact…the devil in this case

would had been very powerful.

Visibility: The companies are associated with events and sponsorships. Like LG

and Videocon are associated with cricket. This has resulted in better brand

visibility.

Recommendations to Revitalize Brand Onida:

In order to revamp its position and brand value in the market Onida should use the

following strategies:

Better positioning: Onida should stick with a uniform positioning strategy rather

than changing it with time as they did.

Celebrity Endorsement: The Company should go for a better advertising. The

company can rope in a celebrity to endorse its brand. This way the brand can be

benefited from celebrities brand equity. We suggest rope in a sports icon or a

bollywood star rather than the inconspicuous couple(as per the current ads)  where

the recall value is poor .

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Association with events: The Company has lost its place in the minds of customers.

Also, the loyal customers of Onida have grown older. To regain old customers and

to regain visibility, Association with events can help. Onida’s problem of low

visibility will be solved with its sponsorship of event like rock shows, games,

marathons etc.

Line Extension: The Company should go for line extension in value segment so as

to target more customers in the lower segment. They should introduce more

variants in 14”, 20” and 21” segment. These products will target the young and first

time buyers. These buyers will have an emotional attachment with the brand and as

they graduate to the high end segment, Onida can target them with its high end

products. Onida is now in one of the most difficult times. The brand needs to come

out with a product that will change the game. Changing the mascot is secondary at

this point of time.

Marketing Mix: Onida is facing a marketing problem and more than a branding

problem. Everything is fine with the brand. People recognize the brand. The issue

is on a larger perspective. It needs to concentrate on its entire marketing mix not

just the brand elements. Onida needs to convince the consumers that its products

are better designed and technologically superior. It is about managing

perception .Features can be copied by competitors easily but changing perception is

a difficult task.

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Case 4: Wal-Mart, Revitalising beats Re-Positioning

Mark Ritson's latest column in Marketing covers Wal-Mart's remarkable success in

bucking the credit-crunch blues. The US retailer recently announced an impressive 7.5%

increase in sales for the first three quarters of 2008.

This is some turnaround. Only a year ago most people were saying that Wal-Mart was in

trouble, after several years of stagnant sales, and a so-so share price that lagged low-priced

competitors such as Target (Wal-Mart is the lowest line on the chart on the right; Target is

the turquoise one towards the top).

See here for a typical article from 2007, called "5 ways to fix Wal-Mart". Mark himself

wrote about Wal-Mart's woes.

The risk with re-positioning

One problem Wal-Mart had was the flurry of negative press stories relating to working

conditions. But  Wal-Mart's was also making a flawed attempt to re-position the away

from low prices and make itself more aspirational. The brand signed endorsement deals

with Destiny's Child and country singer Garth Brooks, ran an eight-page ad campaign in

US Vogue and even had a runway show at New York Fashion Week. They also started

selling $500 bottles of wine and expensive jewelry.

In trying to make the brand more aspirational, Wal-Mart had forgotten what made it

famous. Perhaps the company had even started believing the negative press, and lost

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confidence in the brand. Therefore, the re-positioning lacked credibility. It was a good

example of "putting a mini-skirt on your grandma".

Revitalisation as a route to growth

As Mark reports, Wal-Mart's leadership changed approach last year. They focused on

revitalising the brand, rather than trying to re-invent it. As covered in an earlier post on the

James Bond brand, this involves:

- Looking back: what made the brand famous? When was it hot?

- Looking forward: what changes in society and competitive landscape do we need to react

to?

The result is a positioning based on the idea of "Save money, live better". This builds on

the brand's heritage of offering low prices (sausage). It adds some emotional appeal

(sizzle) by talking about the end-benfit of being able to spend the savings to live better.

This positioning goes right back to the roots of the brand and the philosoply of the founder

Sam Walton:

“If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone…we’ll give the world an

opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.”

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This direction has a better chance of working for Wal-Mart. It was also perfectly timed to

position the company as we headed into the doom and gloom of 2008. Middle and upper

class shoppers are discovering the benefits of being savvy savers. 

And what about that Wal-Mart (blue) share price against the more aspirational Target

(red)? The picture below is indeed worth a thousand words...

 

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Case 5: Nokia

Known as the project Nokia's new strategy of rejuvenation causing the public opinion to be

in an uproar, besides changing in management and operation framework, most central part

is that the sum Microsoft reaches extensive cooperation, regards the latter's Windows

Phone as Nokia master intellectual mobile phone platform for this strategy, this is the part

letting the industry be shocked most too. In the intersection of staff and street

demonstration and stock price slump and one sing, decline in the, Nokia move ahead while

being brave under new strategy, no matter its strategy is to start from the reason with

objective science to judge, or struggle on the basis of the personal accidental factor or

faction of board of directors, what Nokia should solve at first is probably interior

employee's morale problem, let the whole group twist into the resultant of forces under

new strategy, it makes one to be really superior the intersection of Windows Phone7 and

products, style competent.

Choose Windows Phone to be reason

Think, move the intersection of Internet and world, capture the intersection of one party

and the mighty goal and speech all over the world as to Nokia, choose Microsoft to be still

optimum. Declare, this is only a kind of assumption, the science decision of supposing this

of Nokia chooses importantly to be based on objective reason and judged at first. This

assumption must be based on three prerequisites: First, Nokia open the platform to fully

assess to Android and even, the open platform is not suitable for the most advanced

intelligent terminal; Second, MeeGo or products that Nokia places the great expectations

before this overly advance, or the maturing status waits to improve; Third, the intersection

of function and mobile phone or existing the intersection of Symbian and products support

Nokia, spend some time while being difficult.

A lot of views think Nokia should be selected the open valley song Android but it should

be close Window Phone going from bad to worse. I disagree with this view. Since Nokia

did not choose to embrace Android, but bought Trolltech (very interesting science and

technology) of the cross platform two years ago ,And devoted to MeeGo and increase

income in the platform by cooperating with Intel and it means Nokia assesses Android to

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some extent, whether can move towards opening to assess to the mobile phone operating

system finally.

Though does not approve the view that Nokia should follow the trend and put into Android

camp, hope even more Nokia adheres to original Symbian +MeeGo strategy. Because it is

reported, in every case contacted the person of MeeGo, offered favorable comment to it

and is full of expectation, lie in promise oneself at the connectivity that good at especially,

there are very great advantages, thought to be a piece of subverting products.

However, the formal issue of MeeGo products is postponed constantly, prove respects

such as its stability,etc. have some questions. Get rid of Nokia, think MeeGo products may

still forward end very much at market orientation either, Nokia needs pressing close to at

present further the demand for the intellectual mobile phone of the existing shape put out

the products, this just makes it chosen Microsoft Windows Phone.

Besides the valley song Android, Nokia can also choose the black strawberry of RIM, HP

platform of purchase Palm for the target of cooperating, but the speech but to moving the

world of Internet and capturing this mighty goal all over the world of one party, choose

Microsoft to be still optimum. Software shop of developer, Nokia of resource of

geographic location, Microsoft of search and advertising business, Nokia of Microsoft, all

these let both sides have much complementation, can be moving the field of Internet and

lifting the great waves, direct at rivals such as the valley song, apple,etc..

The pro-American force controls Nokia

No matter whether the staff of Nokia are willing, because a stream of pro-American forces

are controlling Nokia, just later on have so much dramatic strategy transfers.

This is only a kind of inference too, this kind of inference looks that there are conspiracies

that talks about inclination, but it is not a groundless rumour, it is in more than ten in the

world of Nokia like pestilence to spread between the Wan staff, a very great unstability is

plain.

"How? Is Nokia CEO flicker newly elected? ! " This is that an author saw Nokia and

united the first response after strategy with Microsoft, because the one that explored

meaning making the transition to the Internet firm Nokia in recent years by this strategy

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was totally denied, like European enterprise Nokia style this, scalp the intersection of

Nokia and new the Jin Dynasty angstroms of general (Stephen Elop) Lip river, Steve of

CEO, of strategy this It is exactly the paratrooper coming over from Microsoft.

The Canadians Stephen Elop not joining Nokia until last September have subverted the

management culture of Nokia in many aspects: He is that in Nokia's history the first is not

Finns' CEO, and a rare airborne high tube in recent years too. Its predecessor's health

banks up triumphant (Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo)s with earth ,Work in Nokia in 1980,

predecessor CEO namely the incumbent Nokia's chairman's Ollila (Jorma Ollila) again

Also joined Nokia in 1985. Such management culture, encounter the impact of typical

U.S.A.'s professional manager's culture: Stephen Elop is not old Microsoft, he was not less

than two years until operation time in Microsoft, held a post in Juniper network and Adobe

system company yet before this, it is a typical professional manager.

Is it Nokia which resolves the reform that embrace U.S.A.'s management culture

voluntarily? Have not seemed. " Finnish Business " had reported, Ollila originally chose to

serve the veteran Anssi Vanjoki in twenty-year of Nokia and take over Kang PeiKai last

September, but " this kind plans to seem to receive the opposition of American investors

" ,Later on Anssi proposes leaving office, and then Ollila shows too that would leave the

board of directors of the company after the expiration of one's term of office in 2012 by

oneself. Easy to guess, no matter whether the staff of Nokia are willing, a stream of pro-

American forces have controlled Nokia, just later on have so much dramatic strategy

transfers.

The task of top priority calls mind back

It is the people that Nokia should be stable at present: It is the staff at first, secondly it is

cooperative partners, then consumers. Should say, the competition of the mobile

communication field is the European force and competition of U.S.A. force, if the

European camp defeats in the contention taking moving the communication skill as main

competition content the past, in a new generation taking moving Internet as representative

moves and employs the contention of market, the North American force is occupying the

upper hand, because Internet is Americans' leading world at all times.

Since Nokia proposed from traditional communication terminal enterprise to the Internet

firm made the transition 3 years before, Nokia goes on a road to challenge oneself weak

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spot, it is to challenge oneself to embrace U.S.A.'s culture on culture. Do not dare to say

this kind of challenge will certainly not succeed, but it is not the winner's posture after all

to be self-confident and insufficient. And if Nokia have sure to challenge, succeed in

oneself before the 3 year, succeed in the intersection of transition and what of Internet

firm, today's Nokia, demonstrate from the policy-making level self-confidently and

insufficiently at least.

Stephen Elop has published an internal memorandum before announcing the new strategy

of rejuvenation " Our platform has caught fire " . This is said by a speech that totally

ignores Nokia's capability, even if the description of apple, valley song and Asian new

force three-strand competition force is totally correct among them, do not completely

analyze from Nokia's inherent advantage and status in the article, ambition, others of

excessive growth, make a humble estimate of one's abilities, it seems to be should one take

up an official post the intersection of airborne and CEO for several month should make in

half public occasion either at managing tactics. Even as an outsider, will all be thought to

talk and " say " in this speech ,What's more love the staff of Nokia of the company?

So, no matter Nokia leads along rejuvenating the plan and is based on the rational

judgement of Microsoft by hand, some other conspiracy theories exist, the cooperation

with Microsoft is not the a bundle of negatives making the very unwise move, opposite can

really bring the complementary advantage to both sides and lead the hope which move

Internet. The most important one is, cause people are, if has lost people's support, what

kind of decision must be the decision failing. So, it is the people that Nokia should be

stable at present: It is the staff at first, secondly it is cooperative partners, then consumers.

In the field of movable termination, a product vitalizes situations of a company too many,

Nokia has such capability, there is such glamour too in Microsoft Windows Phone7.

However, it is difficult to make a section of superior advanced products, it is that persons

who research and develop are full of enthusiasm and sincere cooperation of self-confident

Herba Cistanches to be required, until strategy shake and under all change, is there such an

environment?

People that grow up in hero's culture, hope the unparalleled hero he is even if lonely even

if late in one's life, it is not the ordinary person's energy to return the total energy finally

according to oneself, demonstrate this spirit that has of heroes. Nokia is the unparalleled

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hero in the mobile field, Microsoft is the unparalleled hero in the field of Internet, we are

cherishing the same hope.

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Case 6: Lakme

According to popular wisdom, a  good brand is supposed to be one that sticks in the mind

of the consumers, one which spells out a clear message and has its own unique space in the

targets mind. However, sometimes you find that the niche positioning which you have

worked so hard to get is becoming redundant. At this stage, it becomes important to ask

yourself – Do I need to inject some fresh vitality into my brand? Is there something more I

need to add which the customer is not getting currently?

A good example of this is brand Lakme. Lakme started out about the same time as India,

and at a time when the rest of the country was just waking up to the idea of consumer

industry, the prescient executives at Lakme tapped into the nescient beauty segment, and

for the next few decades, Lakme would go on to own the segment. Lakme came to signify

the beauty of the Indian woman. Interestingly enough, the name is a derivative of the

Indian name Lakshmi, which stands for the goddess wealth, who was also renowned for

her beauty.

However, even with this name behind them, Lakme faced many issues stepping into the

nineties. For one thing, with the economy opening up, there were a plethora of new brands

entering the market. Revlon, Oriflame, Avon and Amway all turned up the heat on Lakme,

and with cheap Chinese brands eating into the mass market, it was indeed a turbulent time

for the brand. One of the main weaknesses was that the brand was being seen as an “old”

brand; it had been the bastion of the beauty industry, but with the arrival of the new

brands, there was an urgent need for it to adopt a more contemporary outlook, or else risk

losing its not insignificant customer base.

Enter Lakme Fashion Week. A national level event charged with hype, hoopla, and most

importantly gargantuan doses of fashion, this glitzy event helped Lakme re-establish itself

as a contemporary, fashionable brand, one which Indian women would feel proud to use.

Strategically, even the bi-annual structure would have been of some help in this regard, as

this brought up a direct link to the fashion events in Europe, where Spring and Winter

collections are the norm.

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Conclusion

Rejuvenation of a brand is a challenging task. It requires commitment to the brand purpose

and brand promise. It requires willingness to change belief systems and practices. It

requires the ability to reject outdated views of marketing. And more important it requires

leadership.

When a brand becomes so successful that no one wants to risk a change it is committing

brand suicide. Remember that avoiding change, accepting complacency and resting on

your laurels is a formula for eventual failure. Brand consultant Martin Lindstrom, author

the book Buy-o-logy, says that, “Brands need to grow with their customers and pay heed to

their ever changing needs, whatever those needs may be”. What got a brand to where it is

today may not get the brand to where it needs to go tomorrow. You need to know what to

keep and what to change.

Introducing a rejuvenated brand is distinct from the introduction of a new brand in three

key ways.

Brand strategists understand that it is easier to put a new idea into the mind of a

customer than it is to change one that is already there. The primary task is to

manage the meaning of your brand as you transition it from its current state to the

desired future state.

Position your rejuvenated brand in the category in which you compete by

repositioning the other brands in that category. This ‘rearrangement’ of the brands

will impact both the customer’s consideration set and their purchasing behavior.

Leverage the heritage of the brand. Remind customers that you have made and kept

your promise in the past. Ensure them that you have the skills to do so today.

If the rejuvenated brand exists in a family of brands, its new strong and favorable

associations can enhance the equity of the other brands in that family.

Finally, while adhering to best brand strategy practices is essential, the ability to imagine

the future is most desirable.

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All companies must regularly re-examine their business practices and their brands . In a

dynamic and complex world staying with successful past approaches may not yield

tomorrow’s superior results.

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Bibliography

1. Six rules for Brand Revitalisation by Larry Light & Joan Kiddon

2. Ebscohost server

3. Marketing Management by Philip Kotler

4. Brand Rejuvenation by Jean Marc

5. www.businessdictionary.com

6. www.citeman.com

7. www.beasuccessfulentrepreneur.com/product-lifecycle

8. www.tropicana.com

9. www.brandchannel.com

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