BRAND MANAGEMENT XIBMS EXAM ANSWER | XIBMS MBA EXAM ANSWER SHEETS PROVID...

Brand Management

 

                N. B.:       1)     Attempt all Four case studies

                                2)     All questions carry equal marks.

 

 

 

 

 

CASE-1.

 

 

DAIKIN AIRCONDITIONER

 

Circia 2001: A flashback to the US$ 4 million air-conditioner industry in India.

 

The new leaders in the Indian cooling market were the charismatic and international LG, Samsung and the all-American Carrier.  The homegrown warriors (Voltas and Blue Star), with more than thirty years of local expertise, were attempting a spirited comeback.  Not to forget the villains of the drama were the unorganized and unbranded sector with nearly 25% of the market.

 

The Government of India, with its adverse taxation policies (an excise duty of 32% and an import duty of 35%) nearly doubled the cost of any branded air-conditioner.  And the ubiquitous Rain Gods that lashed the country, naturally mitigating the summer heat, ate away the potential sales.

 

In this action packed drama entered the Japanese novice, Daikin a premium split air conditioner.  It was internationally known as a flawless, well-engineered product but it was unheard of, unproved and untried in India.

 

An additional factor that had to be kept in mind was the considerable price premium at which Daikin was pegged (more than 25%); this too in a market traditionally known for its frugality, and where for the most part, an air conditioner itself was a luxury.  And here was a brand, which was not only marketing a “luxury” product but had the temerity to price it even higher than other brands, making the task of rationalizing the purchase so much more difficult for the consumer.

 

The challenge, therefore, was not only to create the consumer’s preference for this 12^th  brand of air-conditioner in the country, but also to actually cajole as much as 25% premium (over the rest of the category) out of him.

 

 

QUESTION: To address this challenge, should it flash the “I am International” tag and hope that this had enough appeal to lure him?  A number of big global brands like Ray-Ban, Kellogg’s and KFC had tried this route without much success! Or, should it follow the International Daikin doctrine of endorsement and say, “Daikin cools the Sony Headquarters” or “Daikin cools the G8 summit”—a proposition that cued in the superiority of the product drawback in both the routes was that the Indian consumer might just turn around and say—“So what’s in it for me?”

 So what should this first time campaign for a new product launch do?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CASE STUDY-2

 

                     A SLIPPERY PROBLEM.

 

 

Let us return to the premium toilet soap market in India. Suppose research has discovered an emerging cluster of consumers—young, modern, well-to-do—who believe that a bath soap should have good-for-skin qualities, who even think well of traditional herbs like Neem, but would accept it only with much more pronounced cosmetic benefits in terms of perfume, lather, colour, shape, and packaging.  Recall our discussion on Margo in the previous chapter.

 

Is it possible for a ‘dressed-up’ Margo to aim for the new position?

Can Margo make the jump from where it is (that is, the way it is perceived now) so as to occupy the preferred position of this new cluster?  Would the present physical characteristics of Margo—dark-green colour, strong Neem perfume, squat shape—permit the brand to match the ideal point of this new cluster merely on the basis of some superficial feature-changes like new packaging and brilliant advertising?

 

 

 

QUESTION:  If the brand manager were to make the gamble of trying to position Margo—with some physical changes—both for his present target segment and the new one, how successful would he be?  On the other hand, suppose he decided to make radical changes to Margo, so as to greatly enhancing its cosmetic values, how would that affect his present loyal segment of users? Should he pause and recall that old saying---“Beware of greed and grow fat”?  Would it be better to consider a new product altogether?   A product whose physical features are specifically designed to fit the new position, and whose concept can be stated as:

 

A highly emollient soap.  Floral perfume with topnote of Neem:

‘The creamy Neem’.  The benefit of pure, age-old neem goodness without the drab looks of average neem soaps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CASE STUDY-3

 

MOTORCYCLES

 

 

Another group os students set out to assess the fit between the images of motorcycles and the sled-concepts of their owners.

 

First, the student researchers made a fairly extensive study of the literature.  They decided to replicate ( on a modest scale) the methodology developed by Naresh Malhotra to measure self-concepts, product-concepts and person-concepts.  Since Malhotra’s study(in the USA) involved automobiles, his scaling method seemed to them to be appropriate.

 

Using, with  minor modifications, the 15 scale items developed by Malhotra, the IIMC students administered a questionnaire to 40 owners of 100 cc motorcycles: 15 were owners of Hero-Honda; 15 of  Escorts-Yamaha; and the remaining 10 of TVS-Suzuki.  All the respondents were within 18-40 years of age, well-educated, urban and middle class males.

 

There were questions also on the perceived physical attributes and functional benefits of the three machines.

 

When the findings were put on graphs, it appeared that Escorts-Yamaha showed the closest fit between brand image and self-concept ot the owners.  The students were conscious of the limitations of their survey, including the small sample size and other problems of methodology.  But even if their findings are regarded as a pilot study and merely indicative, they may provoke the search for more data.  We have reported here in summary, this is what they found regarding the brands, the brand personalities and self-concepts of the owners.

 

The TVS Suzuki advertisements has positioned itself by attributes which are similar to those claimed by Hero-Honda and it has positioned itself directly against the latter.  Thus, TVS-Suzuki is apparently talking to a segment whose self-concept has moved it towards Hero-Honda.  The battle is one of degree—‘more’ economical, ‘greater’ cost-saving.

 

QUESTION: Would it be better for TVS-Suzuki to position itself on the strength of a unique personality—one that is distinct from the somewhat flamboyant, vain personality of Escorts-Yamaha and also distinct from the thrifty, almost parsimonious character of Hero-Honda?

 

 

 

 

CASE-4

 

                HIGH RISK GAME

 

 

But beware!

 

According to an Ernst and Young survey in 1998, fully 72% of brand extensions flop.  The explanation seems to be that the extension did not add anything new or better to attract consumers.  As the Harvard Business Review had pointed out, extensions are more a sign of the marketer’s desperation than inventiveness.

QUESTION: If you have a promising product idea should it carry the mother brand’s name or a new one?

 

 

BRAND MANAGEMETN XIBMS EXAM ANSWER SHEET

  

BRAND MANAGEMETN XIBMS EXAM ANSWER SHEET

Xaviers Institute of Business Management Studies

Subject Title: Brand Management              

                                                                Maximum Marks: 80           

                             

Question No. 1 is compulsory and is for 16 Marks. Please attempt any 4 questions from question number 2 to 9.

1. Case Study : (Compulsory)

BURNOL

Burnol has been around for six decades as a yellow burns-relief ointment.  It has almost become a generic brand.  Its yellow colour reminds one of turmeric, the traditional burns-relief remedy. 

The brand has been recently acquired by Dr. Morepen (a subsidiary of Morepen Laboratories Ltd.) from Reckit Piramal.  The brand has high recall value.  Morepen is the brand’s third owner (Boots is the first, Pirmal second).

Burnol’s position in the mind space of the consumer is that of the burns ointment.  It is open to marketers to reposition the brand.  But sometimes the brand does not budge from its original position.  Burnol is a typical example.  It is so strong as anti-burn ointment that it has become intractable.

Burnol introduced by Boots started domestic manufacturing in 1948. JWT handled the account.  Formerly, it was sold on prescription.  In 1960 it became over-the counter (OTC) product.

As Indian housewives depended upon kerosene or wood-fed stoves, Burnol became an integral part of the household.  In 1967, Burnol’s application was far widened, to include antiseptic properties against cuts and other wounds. But it did not succeed and Boots reverted to its original anti-burns position.  In 1972, Shield was launched by SKF as a competitive brand.  It was followed by Medigard by J.L. Morison.  But they could not affect Burnol.

In 1980, a commercial on DD showed a daughter entering kitchen and getting burns due to oil splash. The mother uses Burnol and the VO says “Haath jal gaya? Shukar hai ghar mein Burnol jo hai”.

Kitchen became safer in 85s after the switch-over to LPG-based cooking and the use of gas-lighter instead of the match boxes.  Burnol started stagnating.

Though the product had high recall, the actual reality was that households did not keep the product handy.  Plain water was being recommended to treat burns.  Turmeric, as it causes stains, was becoming a liability.  The product composition was changed by changing colour from deep yellow to non-staining light yellow.  People were coaxed to keep the product within easy reach, Sales showed some improvement.

In 1995, again it was repositioned as antiseptic for multiple usages. The colour was made even lighter. It was given a new perfume.  But the brand failed to compete with other antiseptic creams such as Boroline and Dettol. The brand could not be moved from its ‘burns’ spot in the consumer mind. It’s becoming generic as a burns remedy proved to be its cause for stagnation. 

In 2000, Burnol was sold to Reckitt Pirmal for 12.5 crore.  It became Burnol Plus.  It was positioned as ‘first aid cream’.  It registered a turnover of ` 6.2 crore in 2002. As Reckit Pirmal joint venture came apart, Burnol was sold to Dr. Morepen in 2003.  It is being relaunched in April 2004.

Burns market including dressings stand as ` 39 crore. Antiseptic market stands at ` 210 crore.  The old need is passing into history. The strategy should be to retain its original uniqueness, and still broad-base it.  There are new dangers such as geysers, irons, ovens and so on.  Burnol can become a cream that ensures safety if present. Burnol should be promoted as brand that cares.

Burnol is now marketed by Dr. Morepen Lab as protective cream which should be kept handy always.

Question:

As a Management consultant give your comments on Burnol as a brand. 

2. What do you understand by the concept of a Brand?  Describe the characteristics of Brands. 

    

3. a. Define the Brand Image. Explain the dimensions of Brand Image.

b. What is meant by Brand Identity? Explain the different elements of Brand                         Identity.

4. Discuss in detail the different stages of brand building process.

5. a. What is Brand Audit?  Explain its importance.

b. Describe the two steps in brand audit. 

6. “Positioning is an outcome of our perceptions about the brand relative to the competing brands” – Discuss with examples.

7. How do consumers perceive and choose brands? Discuss.  

8. What are the different phases of strategic brand management process?

9. Discuss the “TEN COMMANDMENTS” of Global Branding.