I was never a poet, you gave me the words to write
I wasn’t an artist either, you made me find my creativity
I was not the leader, you gave me the strength to believe
Neither was I a confident man, But now I can take on this world
I had the wings, you taught me how to fly
I feared big ambitions, you told me not to shy
I had my share of setbacks, you said not to cry
Nothing seems impossible, you always inspired me to try
It was your energy that made me cheer
With your direction I steer
I do not know what more to say
You made me what I am, dear!
I don’t know how I would get along
My feelings for you are, all strong
Wish you along with your dreams, flourish
As it is your friendship that I cherish
[this is my first attempt at writing a poem, i did this on the last but one day of my stay at IIMK; and I wish all my graduating friends all the very best for their future]
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
The Laundry war gets dirty – P&G vs. HUL
Have you seen the latest Rin ad by HUL, they have claimed that Rin is better than Tide Naturals in the sense that it fights dirt better.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Advertising/Rin-washes-rivalry-linen-with-Tide-in-public-through-new-TV-ad/articleshow/5629626.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/Ad-part-of-battle-over-market-share/articleshow/5631730.cms
They have taken an aggressive stance by explicitly taking the name of Tide Naturals in the Ad (and showing Tide Natural Rs20 pack), it is a brave move and could prove to be risky if P&G decides to fight it out in court. Some things are noteworthy in this campaign
· The campaign is run very frequently as you notice this Ad every next minute, it is obvious as HUL is not sure how soon they would be forced to stop airing the Ad if P&G moves to the court, so if damage has to be done, it has to be done quickly
· The Ad launch was timed perfectly with a long weekend coupled with Holi, when people are searching in the cupboard for clothes that they can wear on Holi and are worried that their new clothes should not get dirty anyhow in holi celebrations
· The long weekend also ensures that the Ad gets a breathing time as it will make it difficult for P&G to respond in a quick manner, the decision taking will take more time
· The product compared is Tide Naturals and not normal Tide and a third party Laboratory validation is quoted with an * mark
· The Ad capitalise on “Chauk Gaye” phrase which is synonymous with Tide campaigns and ends with “Aunty chauk kyon gayee”
Surprisingly but cleverly HUL has moved to the court and challenged the use of ‘Naturals’ word by Tide, clearly with a two pronged attack on Tide. Well if you have little idea about the detergent market, HUL has been losing its market share to Tide for a long time and I think it has tried too hard to sustain its market share but whether this new all offensive attack on Tide Naturals will help HUL get back its market share? Time will only tell, but lets see what is P&G options now, how should it counter this attack
1. Move to the court, get a stay on the Ad asap, as it is hitting the brand equity of Tide
2. Launch a counter offensive by doing the laboratory test again and disproving the results otherwise
3. Reinforce the Tide brand by some sales promotions or point of sales events, PR, emphasising the cleaning action of Tide
4. Take the war to a whole new level and include Ariel and Surf Excel, attack stronghold of HUL’s other brands and get even
However, a smarter way would be to tell the consumers that by launching this Ad HUL has inadvertently accepted that Tide is the leader in the category and therefore they are forced to compare their product with Tide and not any other brand, so the customers should realise that Tide is already no1 and every other brand is just comparing itself to Tide and looking to match the brand promise this way or the other. Whatever, P&G’s response will be, I am looking forward to watch the detergent war getting dirtier, lets us see how the brand managers of two prestigious FMCG companies fight it out.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Advertising/Rin-washes-rivalry-linen-with-Tide-in-public-through-new-TV-ad/articleshow/5629626.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/Ad-part-of-battle-over-market-share/articleshow/5631730.cms
They have taken an aggressive stance by explicitly taking the name of Tide Naturals in the Ad (and showing Tide Natural Rs20 pack), it is a brave move and could prove to be risky if P&G decides to fight it out in court. Some things are noteworthy in this campaign
· The campaign is run very frequently as you notice this Ad every next minute, it is obvious as HUL is not sure how soon they would be forced to stop airing the Ad if P&G moves to the court, so if damage has to be done, it has to be done quickly
· The Ad launch was timed perfectly with a long weekend coupled with Holi, when people are searching in the cupboard for clothes that they can wear on Holi and are worried that their new clothes should not get dirty anyhow in holi celebrations
· The long weekend also ensures that the Ad gets a breathing time as it will make it difficult for P&G to respond in a quick manner, the decision taking will take more time
· The product compared is Tide Naturals and not normal Tide and a third party Laboratory validation is quoted with an * mark
· The Ad capitalise on “Chauk Gaye” phrase which is synonymous with Tide campaigns and ends with “Aunty chauk kyon gayee”
Surprisingly but cleverly HUL has moved to the court and challenged the use of ‘Naturals’ word by Tide, clearly with a two pronged attack on Tide. Well if you have little idea about the detergent market, HUL has been losing its market share to Tide for a long time and I think it has tried too hard to sustain its market share but whether this new all offensive attack on Tide Naturals will help HUL get back its market share? Time will only tell, but lets see what is P&G options now, how should it counter this attack
1. Move to the court, get a stay on the Ad asap, as it is hitting the brand equity of Tide
2. Launch a counter offensive by doing the laboratory test again and disproving the results otherwise
3. Reinforce the Tide brand by some sales promotions or point of sales events, PR, emphasising the cleaning action of Tide
4. Take the war to a whole new level and include Ariel and Surf Excel, attack stronghold of HUL’s other brands and get even
However, a smarter way would be to tell the consumers that by launching this Ad HUL has inadvertently accepted that Tide is the leader in the category and therefore they are forced to compare their product with Tide and not any other brand, so the customers should realise that Tide is already no1 and every other brand is just comparing itself to Tide and looking to match the brand promise this way or the other. Whatever, P&G’s response will be, I am looking forward to watch the detergent war getting dirtier, lets us see how the brand managers of two prestigious FMCG companies fight it out.
7, 12, 17 …
So what should come next?
Well, I asked this to a Consultant and he told me ‘It depends’, a Financial Analyst told me that it can be no simpler, it is 22 for sure, Mr. Marketer told me that if you do not do anything it will be 22 but if you let me handle that I can increase it, Mr. Accountant told me that he can make the next number anything I want, Mr. Operations told me that whatever it will be he can only handle it if it is within 3σ, Mr HR advised me not to be too inclined to numbers and use some qualitative matrix as well. Now, before you lose interest let me tell you that it is a time series data, does that help you?
Well, I am not sure of the next number in the series. It will depend upon the following
• Number of events happening at local, national or international level that arouse my interest
• Number of people who praises my writing :) or come and comment on my blogs
• The time that I am able to devote to my blog
Yes you get it right, it is the number of blog posts that I have written for the last three years and the next in series will be the total posts that I will write in year 2010 . So what will it be?
Well, I asked this to a Consultant and he told me ‘It depends’, a Financial Analyst told me that it can be no simpler, it is 22 for sure, Mr. Marketer told me that if you do not do anything it will be 22 but if you let me handle that I can increase it, Mr. Accountant told me that he can make the next number anything I want, Mr. Operations told me that whatever it will be he can only handle it if it is within 3σ, Mr HR advised me not to be too inclined to numbers and use some qualitative matrix as well. Now, before you lose interest let me tell you that it is a time series data, does that help you?
Well, I am not sure of the next number in the series. It will depend upon the following
• Number of events happening at local, national or international level that arouse my interest
• Number of people who praises my writing :) or come and comment on my blogs
• The time that I am able to devote to my blog
Yes you get it right, it is the number of blog posts that I have written for the last three years and the next in series will be the total posts that I will write in year 2010 . So what will it be?
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