If we are asked to name brands that comes to our mind within a minute; we will not choose, rather name the ones with greater brand value. Top 10 brands which are an integral part of our lives are :
Amazon
Apple
Google
Facebook
Uber
Netflix
Youtube
Instagram
WhatsApp
Gmail
With everything including traffic being online, brands have subscribed to the digital mode. The number of audience on the internet has increased remarkably during the pandemic; which is why the brands that didn’t have an online presence suffered terribly.
The popularity of the above mentioned brands is so much, that people have started using the brand names as phrases. Instead of saying ‘search online’ people say ‘Google it’, ‘Netflix and Chill’ is a mood defining phrase, WhatsApp has replaced the traditional messaging mode, and ‘Insta-worthy’ has become an important criteria for pictures. People use or see these brands without realising the impact it leaves behind. Factors such as reliability, performance, innovation and Marketing has helped these brands to evoke extreme consumer reactions. You either love the brand or you hate it. The emotions that these brands generate is so strong, that it has the potential to change a want to a need. For example: Google has managed to establish itself as trustworthy brand. Even if someone doesn’t like Google, he/she has either used it or will use it at some point in their lives.
The brand value or the financial worth of a company is a reflection of its ability to influence the consumers through product/service or promotion. The higher the brand value, the larger the audience’s awareness. The brands which are listed above, they all command high brand value. This is because a lot of factors; Facebook for instance, is constantly developing and growing its business. It bought Instagram and Whatsapp, all of which has billions of users individually. Amazon has an e-commerce website, an online music streaming platform, video streaming platform, e-reading, payment option etc.
Both Facebook and Amazon, in their own way has tried to expand their market and reach to a larger section of the audience. This has resulted in more visibility and increased in conversations about the brand. Premium brands like Apple which mostly targets the millennials, has a high brand value because of the quality and features of its products. Even if you cannot afford an Apple product, you know about an iPhone or a Mac book. Apple has managed to create an atmosphere of luxury and exclusivity around its products, and consumers keep demanding more of it. For Apple, premium pricing works in its favour as consumers want to ‘show’ their products, and value it as an investment.
Although each brand is different in its own way, there are a few commonalities between the above mentioned brands. All these brands allow the users to connect or socialize, and need internet for better functioning. Amazon allows people to shop, read, watch whatever they want or feel is trending; this helps the audiences to connect better globally. Similarly, WhatsApp gives users the chance to reach out to people, send pictures and talk.
Every brand is different when it comes to target audience, mission, vission and ideologies. For instance, Netflix targets 20-40 age group primarily, it operates online so the marketing is mostly done through social media. Google on the other hand is completely different and has a broader target audience.
Thus, creativity and development are two primary factors which help a brand in establishing a good brand value.
In layman terms, stereotype is a generalised belief about people or subject. It may also be called as a stigma or notion attached to it. Every person is different, hence stereotyping them might lead to psychological consequences.
Source : Marketing Week
Sometimes stereotyping comes with a lot of expectations, or probably how we want a person to behave. In such situations, the person who is being stereotyped faces a hard time dealing with expectations or stigma. In social psychology, we often say that our behaviour is directly influenced by how the society treats us. Which is why, a physically attractive person is more likely to be confident and extrovert than everyone else. Social norms add an invisible barrier around us, which restricts us to be our true self.
Nobody likes to be stereotyped no matter how ‘good’ the category is. Comparing or expecting a person to be or act a certain way just because that’s the ‘stereotype’ they happen to fall under, is wrong.
People who stereotype might find it convenient, as it simplifies the social world around by grouping people into categories. It might also enable quick responses, because of having faced a similar situation before. But it might also lead to a complete negative turn of events. Stereotype is like a mental shortcut which people use to predict about someone. But just because a person belongs to a particular group doesn’t mean they share the same ideals or behave similarly. Getting influenced by someone’s appearance and having exact feelings are two completely different things. ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ , this saying demonstrates that appearance and reality are completely different; and we cannot predict one with the other.
In Marketing, stereotyping is based on generalized studies or common perceptions about groups. For example, a dish-washing brand targeting women and showing mothers as housewives, or a sports brand targeting young boys only, etc are examples of stereotyping. In India, domestic products are often marketed to women. Not only gender, brands often resort to age, ethnicity based stereotypes. Although Market segmentation is an important tool to understand consumers, it often gets inclined towards stereotyping.
Santoor Ad featuring Varun Dhawan is a perfect example of stereotyping. It shows that a woman who’s also a mom, cannot look pretty. Beauty doesn’t depend on age, but this ad shows it as something ‘unbelievable’ . Santoor ad link: https://youtu.be/C77_gmVX_bE
Another example of stereotyping in marketing are of beauty brands, which advocate for ‘fairness’ or ‘white beauty’. Fair and Handsome featured bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in it’s advertisement, it showed men having ‘tough’ skin, and ‘fairness’ as an important criteria for beauty. This ad had a lot of stereotypical elements, for example the song ‘pari hoon main’ playing in the background while he is applying ‘pink fairness cream’ , the entire ad is shot at a Gym to show strength as a masculine factor. When actors like Shah Rukh Khan are associated with a brand, a lot of people actually get influenced. Showing such stereotypes will further promote them. Fair and Handsome ad link : https://youtu.be/Zv0vhpaB2Zo
Tide India’s recent ad featuring Ayushmann Khurrana, uses the term ‘modern pati’ just because he cooked his wife a birthday meal. It’s time we normalize men engaging in household chores. It shows Khurrana dressed up as a woman to solve laundry problems, can it be more stereotypical? Tide ad link:https://youtu.be/mbx91rySuSo
While there are a lot of brands that have used stereotyping, some have challenged it too. Ariel’s #SharetheLoad campaign challenges gender stereotypes in the society. It doesn’t show any gender being ‘responsible’ for household chores, but speaks about ‘sharing the load’. This gives out a very important message to the society. Ariel ad link: https://youtu.be/8QDlv8kfwIM
It is important for brands to engage in consumer research for targeting, rather than using stereotypes to do the job. Stereotyping may not only be pressurising but can also lead to mental illness. Brands should be more careful in presenting their products, and use research instead of norms.
In a business, it is not possible to appeal to every consumer. Therefore it is extremely important to ‘segment’ the market. Directing the focus on a segmented group will help in efficient ‘targeting’ , which in turn will ease the brand’s position in the market.
Source: Martech Live
The STP model of Marketing, helps in developing a mission and a vision of the brand. Thus it plays an important role in planning a business. Having similar promotional strategies for products will not help any organisation, as every individual has different demands or requirements. Apart from STP analysis, it is equally important to develop a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) .
Source: Mojo Marketing (gimmemojo.com)
As the name suggests, it is a quality or factor that makes the product/service different from it’s competitors. USP helps the brand to convince consumers to buy the product/service. In this blog, we will be taking three brands, in three different product categories, analyse their STP Model, talk about their USP(s) and discuss their positional strategies.
Product Category: Biscuits
Source: Economics Times
Parle : Parle as a brand is extremely popular in India, primarily for its product Parle G. The brand is known to have memories attached to it. Since, Parle is a brand which has a huge range of biscuits under it the segmentation is demographic and psychographic. For products like Parle G, which has a mass appeal it targets people from different income groups. Whereas, premium biscuits like Milano are targeted to middle or upper- middle class group. Parle has positioned itself as a brand which is an Indian origin and believes in creating memories.
Parle’s TVC for Parle G, ‘You are my Parle G’ showcases emotional relationship between a brother and a sister. The brand focuses on being a constant, hence it asked consumers ‘Who is your Parle G?’. As of 2019, Parle had a market share of 40% .
Britannia: Like Parle, Britannia too is an Indian company. It’s known for its huge range of biscuits, cakes and other Dairy products. Market Segmentation of Britannia is for people who consume bakery and dairy products. Since it’s product ranges from biscuits to cakes and bread, the target consumers are kids and middle and upper middle class families. It’s positioning is of a manufacturer of premium quality, healthy biscuits, bakery and dairy products. They have both healthy and snack-worthy option which is why kids and teenagers like Britannia.
In 2018, they launched an advertising campaign when Britannia Industries completed the 100 years milestone. It was a 10 product feature film, with a new logo and tagline ‘Exciting goodness’. “Through the new brand positioning ‘Excitement and Goodness’ we want to strike a perfect balance providing consumers both indulgent and healthy snacking options. While our Chunkies and Bourbon fall in the indulgent category, brands such as Milk Bikis and NutriChoice provide healthier option,” said Ali Harris Shere, Vice President Marketing at Britannia. Britannia has an estimated market share of 33% .
Sunfeast: Sunfeast is the biscuit arm of ITC limited. It is manufactured in India and abroad. It majorly targets the snacks market. Sunfeast produces glucose biscuit for the mass and biscuits like ‘Dark Fantasy’ for middle and upper middle class people. Sunfeast has noodles, biscuits (digestive, glucose, premium) , cookies etc. Thus the segmentation is for everyone who likes snacks or healthy food. Sunfeast majorly targets the snacks and biscuit market hence kids and teenagers are it’s primary target audience. The brand has positioned itself as a brand which ‘spreads smile’.
Sunfeast is one of the largest biscuit brands of India. The major USP of Sunfeast is that ITC limited is its parent company. Hence, investment and distribution is not something the brand should be concerned about.
Surf Excel : Surf Excel is a Uniliver brand, with markets in Pakistan, India, Srilanka and Bangladesh. Surf excel has a washing powder, bar, and Matic. Hence, it’s segmentation is for anyone who prefers either of these. Target consumers for the brand is any household for washing purpose. Since, the price of Surf Excel is a little more than its competitors, poor people cannot afford it. Therefore, it mainly targets to middle and upper middle class families. The positioning of the brand keeps on changing, to answer the constantly changing washing needs of families.
Because of HUL, Surf excel has a strong distribution network which is one of its primary USP. The advertisement of the brand is extremely popular, be it the holi ads or #DaagAccheHai. Every advertisement comes with a message which gives it a good brand image. Surf Excel has a market share of 17.9%.
Tide : Owned by American company Procter and Gamble, Tide is a laundry detergent. Market Segmentation of Tide is for people who look for economical options in detergent. Tide targets homemakers and middle class families. It has positioned itself as a brand which provides everything required in a detergent at an affordable price and a good fragrance. Tide has a lot of USP like it has a leading market position, low price and good quality, and a flagship brand of P&G. Recently, the brand featured bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurana in it’s advertisements which gained huge popularity. Tide has a market share of 13.5%.
Ghadi Detergent : Ghadi is a product of Rohit Surfactants Private Limited. In a very short span of time the brand has managed to complete with top detergent companies in India. The Segmentation for Ghadi is ‘detergent for every household’. Ghadi’s price is comparatively low, hence it targets lower middle class families, and tier 3 – tier 4 cities. The positioning is that of a brand which provides cleansing at a competitive price. The tagline of Ghadi is ‘Pehle Istemal Kare Phir Vishwas Kare’ , which helped consumers in trusting the brand. The primary advantage for Ghadi is it’s ‘word of mouth marketing’ due to which it has a strong reach in rural areas. Other advantages include good branding and TVCs. The market share of Ghadi detergent is 17.3% .
Thumbs Up : Thumbs up is an Indian brand, with the logo of a red thumbs up. The brand was later bought by The Coca Cola Company to complete with Pepsi in India. The brand’s segmentation is for everyone who like soft drinks. Irrespective of age or gender, Thumbs up can be consumed at all occasions and parties. The target consumer is everyone, from all age groups. Since the prices are affordable, even the poor section of the society can buy it. The tagline of the brand is ‘Taste the Thunder’ which clearly shows that the positioning is essentially masculine. Although, it can be consumed by everyone the brand positions to confident, mature and adventurous people. The recent TVCs of Thumbs Up which features actors Ranveer Singh and Mahesh Babu promotes ‘#ToofaniIraadey’. It shows both men engaged in doing stunts which include jumping off a cliff. Another campaign, #TakeCharge with the same actors, showcase an uncompromising attitude no matter how challenging the situation is. It talks about the ‘Never Give Up’ attitude. The primary USP of the brand has been it’s strong and fizzy taste. It has managed to gain the trust of Indian audience in a short span of time. The name ‘Thumbs Up’ symbolises agreement, which goes well with their positional strategy i.e. confidence and maturity. As of 2018, Thumbs Up had a market share of 42%.
Pepsi : Pepsi is a product by PepsiCo, which is an American multinational food,snack and beverage corporation. Their mission is ‘Performance with purpose’. Like Thumbs Up, Pepsi also has a similar segmentation. Since, it is a non-alcoholic drink, the target consumer is everyone including the younger generations. Through its advertisement, Pepsi has positioned itself as a young, vibrant brand which challenges conventional things. In India, the brand plans most of it’s advertisement around the ‘swag’ factor. It’s recent advertisement campaign ‘#HarGhoontMeinSwagHai’ features bollywood actor Salman Khan. It discourages bullying, and shows how each drop of Pepsi provides ‘Awesome ka tag’ to whoever drinks it. The main USP of Pepsi is that it has a global reach because of it parent company PepsiCo. It is one of the most popular global brands, which includes products like Lays. The market share of PepsiCo under non-alcoholic, ready to drink retail beverages is 19.6% (Source: Economic Times).
Rasna: A soft drink brand owned by Pioma Industries and based in Ahmedabad, Rasna is one of India’s leading soft- drink concentrate brand. It’s segmentation is generally for semi urban and urban class. Though, because of its price anyone can afford it. It can be consumed at any occasion (regular/special). It’s target audience is anyone above the age of 4 years. Because of it fruity taste, kids and adults both can have it. The price and quality of Rasna has added value to it’s positioning. It is available in jars, sachet, boxes etc, so the consumer can choose whatever they want. Rasna’s recent advertisement featured cricketer Rohit Sharma. It showed the product with added ‘insta-energy’. The product initially spoke about flavours has now added glucose, vitamins as added feature. This will not just attract kids, but also parents and teenagers. The minimum price of a satchet is ₹1 for 2 glasses. Hence, anyone can easily buy it. The name Rasna also gives a brief idea about the brand, since its drinks are fruity in taste. The primary USP of Rasna is that it blends well with every one from all class. It has a good advertising strategy, and an efficient sales and distribution network. As of 2019, Rasna had a market share of 80% in the soft drink concentrate market (Source: Forbes India).
Consumer Behaviour varies in different situations, it is largely influenced by the psychological factors. There are people who don’t think a lot before buying, at the same time there are once who tend to think a lot. Factors such as price, brand, quality, assurance etc are usually considered before buying any product/service.
Source: Advertising Row
Let us discuss types of non-buying consumer behaviour: The Complainer– As the name suggests, these people are never satisfied with the product/ service. A person complains only when they know well enough about that particular product/service. It might be because either the consumer is not satisfied with the product or if it isn’t like he/she is accustomed to. I tend to exhibit the behaviour of a complainer at restaurants. Whenever the food I order is not good or how I wanted it to be, I become a complainer.
The Overly – Agreeable: This behaviour is completely opposite to the complainer. People agree to everything about the product/service. Unlike Complainers, people who know very little about the product/service come under this category. I am an overly-agreeable person when it comes to technology. Since my knowledge is very limited about it, I believe in almost everything.
The Expert: Experts are experienced and knowledgeable people, who everyone looks up to for advice. It is extremely difficult to be an expert as it requires regular updates about the field of expertise. I consider myself an expert when it comes to shopping online. Despite being a rational visitor, I have a good eye for detail and can through innumerable options within a very short span of time.
The Pessimist : People who are extremely doubtful about things, and expect the worst out of everything, falls under this category. I am extremely pessimistic about Medicines. The fear of having a wrong medicine makes me cautious about it.
The Staller :Stallers are familiar with a lost of brands and products. They don’t buy often, but have a decent knowledge about a lot of things. They are not experts, hence they have limited knowledge and no experience. I am a staller when it comes to buying groceries. I am aware , but not an expert in this category and have very limited experience.
Online or Digital shoppers are increasing every passing day, especially due to the current scenario. Consumers are more likely to shop online, than go outside and risk the chance of contracting virus. Because of the pandemic, a lot of ecommerce websites have started focussing on marketing their online platform instead of the offline mode. Brands which didn’t have their own website have suffered terribly, especially after March. Initially, consumers had drawn a line between wants and needs, as we saw essential commodities being primarily demanded through ecommerce platforms like Amazon, Grofers etc. But as the number of cases continued to grow and online shopping became the ‘new normal’ , consumers have started shopping other items as well. Puma India MD Abhishek Ganguly said that ecommerce has grown over 40% from last year. “Several first-time online buyers who bought essentials are now buying other categories”, he said (Source – The Economics Times).
Source: Common Thread Collective via bigcommerce.com
The primary objective of ecommerce websites is to get maximum visitors, especially the first- time consumers. Because of the ongoing pandemic, a lot of first time consumers have started using ecommerce platforms, as it is not only time consuming (work from home, online classes etc have occupied a lot of time) but also offers a wide range of products to choose from. This has increased consumer satisfaction, both in terms of safety and product assurance. Since most of us have subscribed to the digital mode for shopping, let us analyse our behaviour/ personas in terms of shopping online. Primarily, there are six types of digital shoppers:
The Wish-lister : Wish-lister’s are the people, who like to make the best of whatever is available to them. These people fantasize on a lot of items and ‘wishlist’ them for later. They keep adding and returning the products to the cart. Essentially confused, but these people are extremely confident about their choices.
The Brand – Oriented Visitor : This behaviour comes with experience. Preferring a certain brand, because of it’s quality, image or price, falls under this category. Such people visit the website only for the brand they like and do not believe in any other brand. They mostly follow the trend and their choices centers around the product’s features.
The Rational Visitor: These people do not fall under the ‘shopperholic’ category, as they are very rational. They try to gather as much information possible before making a purchase. Whenever they visit any ecommerce platform, they make the most out of it. Impulse buying is not something they would endorse. They prioritise everything they need and then place an order, instead of ordering without thinking through.
The Maximizer : These people are slightly similar to the wishlisters, and will try to make the best of all the available options. They are extremely cautious while buying and know the complete detail of every product they have purchased. Their decision is not time bound, only when they are 100% sure they make a purchase.
The Satisfier : People who fall under this category, know what they want. Unlike a Maximizer, they will find the first option that fulfils their demand and move on. They don’t wishlist a lot of products to choose from, rather get their hands on the first product that meets their need.
The Hesitator : They are generally sceptical about their choices. A hesitator, wants to avoid making a wrong decision, which is why they evaluate their choices.
Generally, everyone is a combination of more than one of these personalities. Sometimes we are brand oriented and the hesitator together. It depends on what, when and for who are we shopping. I am both Maximizer and a Rational Visitor. Before shopping online, I always know why and what I need. I will take my time and select whatever I need without hurry. Impulsive purchase is not something I would usually do. Although, there have been instances when I had to buy things without giving in much thought, but that was only because I needed them and couldn’t find them elsewhere.
On August 28, 2020, The Supreme Court announced the decision about the final year exams. A three-judge bench of the Apex court, headed by justice Ashok Bhushan pronounced the verdict in favour of UGC ( University Grants Commission). In an online verdict the Court said, that Colleges and Universities cannot award degrees to students without conducting the final year exam.
On July 6, UGC issued guidelines making it compulsory for the states to conduct exams, this statement by the commission was largely criticized by students across the country. Many petitions were filed by students against the decision, including one by over 30 students from different Universities, represented by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava. Students have been protesting against the UGC through their social media platforms. Hashtags like #Studentslivesmatter and #Cancel_Exam2020 started trending on Twitter. A data from change.org revealed that more than 100 petitions were filed from March for cancelling exams. In a poll conducted by Timesnownews.com, out of 47,972 votes 92% voted for the exams to be cancelled. According to the students, amidst all the emotional and financial stress, the risk of contacting the virus will increase a lot if the exams are held. Students also suggested that instead of promoting everyone, aggregate of previous semester marks can be awarded. They pointed out, that a final year student has already completed 85-90% of the course. Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi representing the Government of Maharashtra said “The UGC guidelines now is a ‘one size fits all’ method and does not consider the issues of transport and accessibility”.Advocate Shyam Divan, representing Yuva Sena said, “Teachers and invigilators are also a homogenous class. Their health and their lives are also important. It doesn’t matter which class or which semester you teach,” as quoted by Live Law. The UGC on the other hand argued that the decision to conduct exams is for the benefit of the students, and not conducting exams will badly impact their academic future. It said, those who won’t be able to appear in the examination because of COVID or other difficulties, as states like Bihar and Assam are facing severe floods, will be allowed to take the examination later. A lot of Universities had already conducted the exam, before the UGC guidelines were released. But states like Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra had decided to cancel the exam because the virus had started spreading at an alarming rate.
The Supreme Court ruled that The Disaster Management Act, 2005 can lead to cancellation of exams but the state authority cannot promote the students.The Act has been enforced across the country in the wake of the pandemic. It empowers the Union government and states governments to frames policies, formulate plans, and take measures for prevention and mitigation of disasters, including relaxations and restrictions on businesses and activities. “States are required to hold final year exams as per UGC guidelines and for any exemption they will have to seek permission” said Supreme Court announcing the verdict. While for a lot of students it is not possible to travel in between a pandemic, the other option of online seemed irrelevant as a lot of places in India still doesn’t have good internet connections. As per 2018 survey by the Telecom Ministry, there are 43,088 inhabited villages in india without mobile services. Delhi University subscribed to the online mode of conducting exams, but the website crashed in the afternoon when the students were trying to upload their answer scripts. Teachers said that several students received the wrong question papers too. Punjab University took the exams offline. Since Chandigarh fell under ‘red zone’, students were extremely nervous to appear for the exams there.
The UGC has directed the Universities to give paramount importance to health and safety, faculty and follow to the COVID-19 guidelines and norms issued by the Central government. Since schools and colleges have been closed since March-end, the Union government has allowed colleges and universities to open in order to conduct the final-year examinations. Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ tweeted “Let’s us keep politics away from education but make politics more educated,” welcoming the decision of the SC. Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, who argued in favour of the students, said the court left it to the states to decide the course of action. “The Supreme Court has recorded most of my legal submissions… States have also been authorised to postpone the exams. I will sincerely request state governments to go for online and home-based final year exams,” he told Hindustan Times.
Consumers view ads to find solutions. Through advertising, marketers remind consumers that they understand their problems. Therefore they sometimes target the negative human instincts and play with the consumer’s weaknesses. Let us discuss with examples:
Kama – Lust, Desire, Craze : Advertisers often target consumers instinct of Lust or Desire especially when it comes to products like perfumes or cars. These advertisements often have a beautiful man or woman to attract the opposite gender and create a desire for the product. Engage deodorant is one such brand which focuses on this instinct. With the theme ‘Its too hard to say goodbye’ it shows two people driven by desire.
Krodha- Anger, Hatred : This particular instinct is a little difficult to implement through marketing. A lot of times brands exploit anger as an instinct through political ad campaigns. That being said, ads about any topic which can get audience fire up or ready to take action falls under this category. But at the same time, ads like Surf excel’s #RangAccheHain or All Out’s Tough mom show anger with a positive message.
Lobha – Greed, Narrow mindedness: Everyone wants to be rich or get something for free. We are always looking up for ways to earn money or win prizes, which is why brands often come up with prizes or free gifts to attract the instinct of greed in a consumer. Payment apps like Google pay, Phone pay have introduced the concept of ‘scratch cards’ which attracted a lot of consumers. Gaming apps like Rummy have also offered cash rewards which became very popular.
Moha- Emotional attachment, Delusion : When it comes to emotions, each brand in it’s own way tries to implement this instinct. Bournvita Badam booster in one of its advertisement talked about exams. The ad showed a school teacher talking to the parents about marks. The ad shows delusion and emotions as basic Instinct.
Mada- Ego, Pride, Stubbornness: Dominos’s Mother’s day ad is a perfect example of the instinct of Ego, Pride and Stubbornness. The #MaaNahiBhoolti ad shows a thankless son and a loving mother. The egoism of the son is used to leave a strong message in the end.
Matsarya- Envy, Jealousy, Show of vanity: Ads usually showcase beautiful people using products that are either out of our price range or totally unnecessary. The desire to be like them is what makes us feel envy or jealous which ultimately leads us to buy the product. Mostly all Beauty related brands use this instinct to make the consumer’s buy for example Ponds.
For any product/ service to work in a market it is extremely important for them to connect to the audience. To establish the connect it is equally important to understand the schema of its audience. The life of any product/ service depends on the relationship between the consumers and the company. Thus, understanding human psyche plays a huge role in Marketing. Marketing a product or a service without understanding the audience is like driving without understanding the traffic rules.
Let us discuss this further, taking five basic human instincts (positive) and analyzing how they are used in Marketing:
Sathya- Truth : Brands must understand its consumer’s instincts. Unless a consumer is convinced with the ad or finds in it a reason to invest, it has not served its purpose. Ogilvy India in association with Ogilvy Pakistan for the launch of Peek Freans ‘Cake Up’, has crafted a story of a working mother who uses Cake up to teach her son the lesson of truth. The theme of the advertisement is ‘real goodness’. It managed to gain over 10 million combined views in just a week. The advertisement focuses on the relationship between a mother and her child, thus manages to strike with the emotional chords of the audience.
Dharma- Righteousness : Kent RO’s ad also talks about the mother-son relationship but uses the phrase of ‘tough- love’. It shows how a son who wants his mother to stay healthy has to go ‘tough’ on her. The entire ad is crafted like a story and ends on a very heart touching note. This ad shows how true dharma lies in the happiness of our family. The element of righteousness helps the audience to relate.
Shanti – Peace : The extremely controversial Surf Excel’s Holi ad is a perfect example of this instinct. It uses religion as its main theme, and with kids in the picture it automatically makes its way into the hearts of the audiences. With the #ranglaayesang, the ad shows two children of different religious backgrounds as friends. It ends with a kid playfully saying the other ‘ baad mein rang padega’, which symbolizes unity and peace between the two religions.
Prema- Love: Cadbury Silk’s recent advertisement is probably one of the best examples to explain the instinct of love.Using an umbrella as a metaphor, this ad is an extension of its existing preposition ‘How far will you go for love’. The film was launched on Instagram with various artists and creators passing an umbrella. With Cadbury Silk mainly targeting the youth of the country, this ad emphasizes on gestures and acts to keep the romance fresh and alive. Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk has established itself as an integral part of expressing love.
Ahimsa- Non violence : As anti- racism protests intensified in America, brands like Nike took part in the conversation and asked its audience for once to ‘Don’t do it’ . The sports brand shared a written video message on Instagram and asked the audience to “Don’t pretend there’s not a problem in America. Don’t turn your back on racism”. When a brand like Nike speaks about an issue and sends a powerful message, it educates a large number of people. Thus, for an instinct like Ahimsa, this ad of Nike is a perfect example.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a psychological theory introduced by Abraham Maslow in 1943. In layman terms, this theory suggests that every human has needs, some of which must be met before others.
Marketing a product/ service requires basic understanding of human psychology. Understanding consumer behavior will help in better communications through marketing. Marketing experts often try to target customers needs based on their product type. As consumers, we also have products we need or wish to need at each stage. Let us now discuss Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs from basic to self fulfillment with examples:
Physiological Needs – These are categorized as our most basic needs. It pertains to our survival needs like air, water, food, shelter etc. Failure in fulfilling some of these needs may lead to death. I have been using products from Amul since a very long time. The brand manufactures a wide range of dairy products at affordable prices. Hence, it caters to our need for food. In India, every person at some point in their life has either used or will use an Amul product. The brand has truly become ‘The Taste of India’.
Safety Needs – Once the physiological needs of a person is satisfied, safety need takes the front seat. It includes personal, financial and employment security; health etc. A lot of websites like Internshala.com , Naukri.com etc been successful in fulfilling the safety needs of the consumers, by giving employment opportunities. Menstrual hygiene product brands like Whisper, Pee Safe have catered to the health and hygiene needs of women.
Social Needs – Humans are social beings, we need to belong to a group big or small. According to Maslow, it is important for humans to love and be loved by others. Absence of this need may lead to mental illness such as anxiety. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram etc provide a perfect platform for everyone to socialise. Coca-Cola in its ‘Share a Coke’ campaign had tried to connect to the consumers using relationship as a key concept. The theme of the narrative being, ‘ Har Rishta Bola, Mere Naam ki Coca-Cola’. Brands often try to connect with the emotional chords of the audience and targeting social needs makes it easier.
Esteem Needs – Need for status, recognition, strength, attention etc falls under this category. Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign launched in 2004 managed to attract worldwide attention.The aim was to celebrate every women and to encourage them to be comfortable and happy with themselves. The ad went viral and actually managed to fulfill the esteem need of consumers. Through a study conducted by its PR agency, Dove managed to perform a case study on 3000 women in 10 countries, only 2% of who considered them beautiful. This is how the idea of a campaign originated. It proved how people need strength, attention and confidence. It also showed how a brand can satisfy esteem needs.
Self-actualization Needs – It is the final stage which deals with achieving one’s full potential. It is extremely difficult for marketers to appeal to this need. Maslow defines this stage as ‘ What a man can be, he must be’. Online learning platforms like Udemy satisfy the self-actualization needs of the audience. They provide a wide range of courses for people to learn and achieve their full potential.
Every company is a part of a larger entity called the business environment. A business environment is divided into two categories; micro-environment and macro- environment. While micro factors are the one’s which directly impact a company (like supplier, public, competitors etc) ; macro factor consists of external factors which a company doesn’t control but is affected by.
Patanjali Ayurved Limited in a short span of time has become a household name in India. It was listed 13th in the list of India’s most trusted brands (The Brand Trust Report) as of 2018, and ranks first in FMCG category. For a brand which started as an ayurvedic pharmacy, efficient marketing has helped Patanjali to extend its basket of products. Let us now discuss the macro factors (PESTEL analysis) of Patanjali :
Political Factors– Patanjali which was founded in 2006 at Divya Pharmacy in Haridwar is a 100% Indian brand. Hence, it’s ideology of ‘Make in India’ goes well with that of the Indian government. Government also encourages development of medicines other than Allopathy. With the UN declaring 21st June as International day for Yoga because of the suggestion of Prime Minister Modi (as it is the longest day of the year) ; the international appeal of Patanjali is bound to grow as it has Baba Ramdev as it’s founder. Patanjali’s IT venture Bharuwa Solutions is registered as a start-up under the ‘Startup Initiative’ of the Modi government.
Economic Factors– The company works on the principle of ‘swadeshi’ product. It also sources it’s raw materials directly from farmers and thus eliminates margin. It also has its own farmland for raw materials which boosts their profit. This is why the price of each product is 15 – 20% less than other competitors making it a highly demanded company in Indian market. GST implementation has also favourably impacted the company, as it increases the income capacity of the middle class (who are it’s main target audience).
Social Factors – Through yoga, Baba Ramdev has a huge following which has impacted the marketing of Patanjali. Consumers are promised chemical free and swadeshi products. The whole idea of Ayurveda and yoga captures the attention of users. Now that Yoga is internationally recognised and practiced, Patanjali has a growing market outside India too. The company promotes herbal products which helps in preventing diabetes and hypertension.
Technological Factors – In 2010, Patanjali Research Foundation was started as a part of Patanjali Yogpeeth in Hyderabad. It aims at using both Science and Ayurveda to provide rich quality products and medicines. In May 2019, the company has launched a technology start-up, Bharuwa Solutions, which boasts of five patented technologies in supply chain management, distribution, soil testing, fertiliser calculation and backward linkage.
Environmental Factors – This is probably one of the strongest factors of the brand. With its aim of producing chemical free products, Patanjali contributes to the environment. They focus on creating natural products with minimum or no artificial interference.
Legal Factors – Patanjali as an alternative medicine falls under the Ministry of Ayush. Which is why when Patanjali launched a medicine claiming it to be a cure for Covid- 19, the Ayush Ministry asked it to stop advertising such claims without showing research and data. Various complaints have been filed against the company including Madras High court . The Medicine Central Control Act 1970, The Drug and Cosmetic Act 1940, The Drugs and Magic Remedies Act 1954 etc are few laws that govern Patanjali and it’s functioning.
In India, Patanjali has become an integral part of every household because of a lot of factors like price, marketing, chemical free products etc. The image of the brand amongst consumers is such that the ‘word of mouth marketing’ works and acts as one of its biggest asset. Hence, the success of any company, largely depends on its ability to adapt and react to the changes in the macro environment. It has to closely monitor the various elements of macro environment which will help in understanding the dynamic nature, and also help adapt to the constant changes in the environment.
Shivangi 