In Greek mythology there was a Roman athlete named MILOn who was famous for his feats of strength. Legend has it that he once carried a four-year-old bullock through the stadium in Olympia, Greece! You may not grow as strong as Milon by drinking MILO, but it is a very [...]]]> Milo:

In Greek mythology there was a Roman athlete named MILOn who was famous for his feats of strength. Legend has it that he once carried a four-year-old bullock through the stadium in Olympia, Greece! You may not grow as strong as Milon by drinking MILO, but it is a very tasty way to get many of the nutrients you need to grow strong.

Product:

‘Milo’ the energy drink nestled into the Indian market in 1996. The responsibility of launching the drink in a market dominated by time tested Bournvita and Boost was no easy task for Nestle. Being the fifth player in the brown beverage market, the drink was up against Bournvita which had an enviable market share of 40% and SmithKline Beecham, a strong contender, especially in the south. After establishing Milo as the world’s number one energy drink and its taste benefits, the attention shifted to presenting its emotional benefits too. The focus was now on revamping the brand image from being a tasty energy drink to one that provided extra energy to ‘win’. New Milo is for active, growing children its energy releasing B vitamins give them the extra energy, vitality and stamina that make them winners. Milo, the chocolate milk beverage targeted essentially at teenagers in the urban marketplace is the fastest selling product here. The only surprise finding being that instead of growing up kids, senior citizens like to have it everyday with their glass of milk.

Milo now has Actigen – E which consists of

Promotion:

Using the consumer insight that mothers are driven by a need to support their sons’ hard work and help them succeed when under pressure, the agency launched an impressive ad campaign. The research following the campaign revealed the need for Milo to be perceived as a drink with 2 strong deliverables- Energy and Taste. Thus a strategy was adopted wherein the agency targeted children belonging to the age group of 7-12 years and through them their mothers. The strategy worked and led to a 40% volume growth, with the market share growing to 8.8%. The agency came up with commercials addressed to children as the target audience and mothers as the secondary audience. The campaign proved to be successful with the drink emerging as the No. 2 brand in 3 out of 4 zones, and its market share growing to an impressive 11.4%. Not satisfied, the agency undertook another research, which revealed two issues that needed to be addressed immediately. Firstly the pester power, which in this category was not very high and secondly, the fact that Milo’ s brand promise of winning was unfortunately being perceived as an advertising/ marketing claim. Hence Nestle embarked into yet another campaign, this time with the intention of improving the brand image by overcoming a mother’s apprehensions and getting her to subscribe to the brand promise. Other than that it takes an active part in the sponsorship of sports event at both school & colleges, they also distribute T-Shirts having Milo logo and other such apparel. This helps company to promote their product as well as build their Brand Awareness.

Place:

Distribution is the most important thing next to sales. Sales are not possible if the distribution network is not effective. If the product is not available in the market at the right time & at the right place the customer may switch to another product which can be a great loss the company.

Distribution Pattern followed by Milo:

Price:

Taking competition into consideration Milo provides its product at an affordable price to the customer than any other HFD in the market and no compromise on quality is made. Because of such competitive price it is also catering to the middle class & lower middle-class.

Milo
Weight(gm)	Box pack (Rs)
200	45
500	99
1000	180

Packing:

Milo comes in an attractive Box pack which is green in color which is very attractive and eye catching other than that it is light weight as compared to the bulky glass jars of other companies, and it is also convenient to store & handle. With glass jar there is always a chance of breaking and harming the child if he tries to have milk on his own. But the packaging of Milo is so convenient that a child can easily prepare his own milk preparation and have it whenever he wants.

Boost is health food drink (HFD), which is positioned on the energy platform in India. Developed by the Indian R&D team in 1974, and launched in 1975-6 in Kerala, Boost has been one of the fastest growing brands in the Indian GSK Consumer portfolio. Realising that the energy segment had [...]]]> Boost

Boost is health food drink (HFD), which is positioned on the energy platform in India. Developed by the Indian R&D team in 1974, and launched in 1975-6 in Kerala, Boost has been one of the fastest growing brands in the Indian GSK Consumer portfolio. Realising that the energy segment had a huge potential, GSK India launched the brand as the ‘Vitaminised Energy Fuel’ with a unique choc malt taste, a differentiator from the other HFD’s. The brand has always targeted at 8-14 year old boys. This is the section of population most enthusiastic about sports, and also with high-energy needs, in India.

Product:

Don’t let anything come between you and getting the energy and nutrients you need to get the most out of life. A convenient way to increase your intake of protein, nutrients and calories is with a nutritionally complete supplement, like Boost. Glaxo SmithKline (GSK), the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare company that re-launched Boost, enriched with Power Boosters. The New Boost includes copper and Biotin in addition to existing vitamins and minerals, which leads to consistency in performance. Boost provides 50% of the daily requirement of Vitamin B1, B2, B6, B12, A, C, D, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Biotin, Folic acid, Copper and Iron and 25% of Calcium. The vitamins and mineral not only provide adequate energy for the users but also help in the efficient working of body cells (by releasing energy from food), formulation of healthy blood and makes bones stronger.

Price:

We are charging you more if you are purchasing 200gm and comparatively lesser when you are purchasing 500gm. The tendency behind this type of pricing is when you purchase in bulk you get at lesser price.

Consumer behavior:

Energy drinks or milk drinks are perceived as a luxury. This explains the slow off-take. While white beverages are hailed for their therapeutic offerings, consumers look at browns as mere taste additives. Brand loyalties are not very strong as the key target, children, are always looking for new products. Hence our company takes a good care that our each and every promotion strategy is pertaining to our target customer which is the children between the ages of (7-14).

Place:

South has been the major contributor in making boost one of the biggest brown powder brands in India. Today the South zone contributes as much as 80% of the Boost sales and is a household name. In markets like Chennai Boost has approximately 40 – 45% household penetration. The advertising line “Boost is the secret of my energy” has become an ever-present line in every household today. Southern markets had contributed significantly towards the success of the brand. Boost has grown from a market share of seven per cent in 1985 to 24 per cent in 2002.

Distribution Network of Boost

Promotion:

Promotion campaigns such as freebies and contests also play an important role in influencing brand choice. These campaigns are mainly targeted at children who force their parents to buy these products. Free gifts like crystal jars, pet jars and sippers also attract consumers.  It was Kapil Dev who was first roped in by the brand to endorse Boost in 1986, followed by Sachin in 1989 – among the earliest brands that the master-blaster endorsed. Boost’s growth as a brand is pretty much in line with the flowering of Sachin as a batsman, and from a shy kid who way back in 1989 first boyishly intoned “Boost is the secret of my energy” to a man who can face fiery pace bowlers and hostile questions hurled at him with equal aplomb – to Sehwag now, who will give a double boost to the brand along with Sachin. The company also announced the launch of this year’s Boost Cricket Cup, which it instituted in 1998 to promote cricket and identify talent at the grassroots level. This is now restricted to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bangalore, but would be extended to the rest of the country in a year.

“From the beginning, the driving idea was quality.”

Glaxo first marketed Complan in India. Now it is a product of Heinz India Pvt. Ltd. Heinz is comparatively new in India but a trusted name in many parts of the world. Everything except that has changed and changed again through twelve-plus [...]]]> Complan:

“From the beginning, the driving idea was quality.”

Glaxo first marketed Complan in India. Now it is a product of Heinz India Pvt. Ltd. Heinz is comparatively new in India but a trusted name in many parts of the world. Everything except that has changed and changed again through twelve-plus decades of the H. J. Heinz Company – wave after wave of revolutions in nutrition, agronomy, processing, distribution, marketing, packaging, sales and earnings. Revenues have climbed from the thousands in 1869 through the millions, the tens and hundreds of millions, now billions, edging towards ten billion. As Heinz markets have grown from local to national to global – from one product to a dozen, made famous through the 57 Varieties slogan at the turn of the century to several thousand today – the idea of quality, that old-fashioned virtue now born again in the most advanced theories of management, has been the Heinz mainspring.

“Heinz is a global provider of processed food products and nutritional services”

What is Complan?

Complan is much more than a nutritious drink. It is a complete planned food in a deliciously flavored drink. It is easy to prepare. Each cup of Complan contains a balanced combination of all the 23 vital nutrients your body needs everyday. It is therefore an ideal supplement for those with special nutritional needs. Complan works when taken regularly everyday. If you’re recovering from illness, a healthy, nourishing diet is more important than ever. You may not feel up to proper meals but you’ll still need all the nourishment you can get to speed you on your road to recovery – and Complan can provide it. Complan will give you all the nourishment of a complete meal in a delicious, easy-to-prepare drink or healthy cereal. Just one serving is equivalent to 250 calories – and it is fortified with 50% of the RDA of 11 essential vitamins, 25% of the RDA of vitamin A as well as 40% of the RDA of 6 minerals. In fact, Complan provides half your daily allowance of vitamins C and E as well as being an important source of iron and calcium. So, there’s no surprise Complan is recommended by doctors and healthcare professionals all over India.

Vital 23 Nutrients

Approximate composition per 100gm. Energy value 429K cal.

Ingredients:

Skimmed milk powder, sugar, and vegetable oil containing permitted antioxidants caramel, beetroot juice powder, added flavors, minerals and vitamins.

Place:

Complan believes in more or less Direct Selling kind of distribution channel hence it does not have many middle man like C&F Agents, Wholesalers, Stockiest etc. this help the company to charge less to their customer and give them more or less personalize treatment. And the less no of middlemen also helps to increase our profit margin.

Target Market:

Complan mainly target growing children because children need adequate and balanced nutrition to help them achieve their maximum growth potential. Complan with 23 vital nutrients in planned proportions is the ideal food supplement during these crucial years. Other than children they also target other person like.  Active people, which needs the extra nourishment for traveling & sporting activities. Busy Executives, who now & then have to skip their meal due to increase work load. Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers, because they require nutrients during these vital periods.

Price:

Complan is priced higher than other competitors because of its nutritional contents and there is no compromise on the quality of the product and price is given a second thought when it comes to health.

Promotion:

Complan is a very old highly nutritional drink in Indian Market and may be one of the first in this category. Hence it doesn’t require an aggressive kind of promotion techniques. Hence complan is know concentrating on sponsorship of various sports related events and also introducing various schemes such as window display scheme etc.

The various sports event it sponsored are: Complan Junior Squash Open 2002, sponsored by Heinz India Private Limited. The Complan junior Open may be the highest junior prize money tournament in India. The total value of price distributed was Rs. 2.25 lakhs. Heinz India has launched the Complan Under-15 National Cricket Talent Search, in which a galaxy of former India captains like Polly Umrigar, Nari Contractor, Chandu Borde, Hanumanth Singh, Bishen Singh Bedi and former Australian captain Bob Simpson, are involved. Young under-15 schoolboys from all the five zones across the country — North, South, East, West and Central — are being put through a rigorous regimen on the fundamentals of cricket.

In 1960, a factory was built in the state of Punjab, India following pressure from local Government, heavy tariffs and diminishing import permits for Horlicks. This involved using Buffalo milk rather than cows milk, and the modified technology of using vacuum ovens, rather than the [...]]]> Marketing Mix of Horlicks

In 1960, a factory was built in the state of Punjab, India following pressure from local Government, heavy tariffs and diminishing import permits for Horlicks. This involved using Buffalo milk rather than cows milk, and the modified technology of using vacuum ovens, rather than the traditional vacuum pans. During 1969, a second factory was started in Andhra Pradesh, India subsequently increased in size until finished in 1978. The two factories now produce twice the quantity of product now produced at Slough (a factory at England).

The Merger 1989

On July 26, 1989, SmithKline Beckman and the Beecham Group merged to form SmithKline Beecham. SmithKline Beecham was formed with a compelling goal to become an integrated human healthcare company, covering prevention, diagnosis, treatment, cure and disease management — all built around creating customer healthcare solutions for today and tomorrow’s evolving healthcare needs.

Product:

Horlicks is a widely regarded and highly respected 130-year-old brand. GSK has four brands in the health food drinks segment. Apart from Horlicks, which contributes Rs 600 crores in revenue to the consumer healthcare division, it has Boost, Maltova and Viva – the last three are much smaller brands than Horlicks. Faced with stagnating sales in the health food drinks segment, the company has chalked out an aggressive brand push strategy and a revamp for its flagship brand, Horlicks. The relaunch aims to focus on children as Horlicks was previously considered as a nourishment drink for old people. The company expects Horlicks contribution to the total turnover to be around Rs 800 crore which amounts to a major chunk of the company’s turnover. Horlicks is a nourishing malted food drink which combines the wholesome goodness of malted barley, wheat and dairy ingredients.  For more nourishment, Glaxo SmithKline  Consumer Healthcare India Ltd (GSKCH) has relaunched its flagship brand Horlicks.  To enable consumers choose different flavours, Horlicks is now available in Regular, Chocolate, Creamy Vanilla and Honey Buzz varieties in a new package.  Horlicks drinks provide the following essential nutrients:  Proteins, Carbohydrate, Fat, Vitamin A, Niacin, Vitamin B1, VitaminB12, Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, and Iron & Calcium

Price:

HORLICKS JUNIOR
Weight(gm)	Jar	Refill Pack
200	58	-
500	114	105

Target market:

Earlier Horlicks believed, white drinks are for the entire family in contrast to the browns, whose prime target audience is children. This is probably because whites–whose growth rate is faster than the browns–have the added advantage of being perceived as food which enhances the healthy image of those who are recovering. But gradually they realized that they have to focus on one segment of market that is children. Horlicks is now positioned as a pleasurable nourishment drink aimed at children between the age group of 8 -14. Nowadays children have tremendous influence on the things purchased for the family and therefore we want children to prefer Horlicks as a pleasurable nourishment drink. While all the action will be in the general Horlicks segment, the focus of Junior Horlicks (target segment: kids between one and three) will continue to remain the same.

Promotion:

The company has earmarked around Rs 10 crores for brand promotion throughout 2003, and 70% of this will be spent in next six months. Sixty-five per cent of the ad-spend (around Rs 10 crores) will be for the visual medium and the balance for the print and others. Apart from the high-decibel media campaign, the company also plans to conduct an inter-school competition called “Activity 2003” in which around 1.5 million students are expected to take part. Unlike its other drink (the Rs 170-crore Boost, promoted by Sachin Tendulkar); the new Horlicks does not have a brand ambassador. While all the action will be in the general Horlicks segment, the focus of Junior Horlicks (target segment: kids between one and three) will continue to remain the same. The brand will continue to talk to the mother since the purchase decision rests with her.

Place:

It has a strong marketing network in India comprising over 1800 wholesalers and direct coverage of over 4,00,000 retail outlets.  Horlicks sales have been strong in the south and eastern markets which contributes about 46 per cent and 47 per cent of the total sales. Milk-deficient South and East preferred white liquid powders (Horlicks, Viva, and Complan) as the drink could be prepared with hot water.

The nutritional drink or the health drink industry has been marked by competition from various companies in the past few years. The health drink manufacturers in India have tried to retain their brand image by improving their product quality & by meeting consumer’s expectation. [...]]]> Cadbury’s ‘Bourn Vita’

The nutritional drink or the health drink industry has been marked by competition from various companies in the past few years. The health drink manufacturers in India have tried to retain their brand image by improving their product quality & by meeting consumer’s expectation. But only one health drink has successfully captured the heart of millions of Indians & that is………..Cadbury Bourn Vita.

In spite of the fact that our health drink market is flooded with newer fun drinks for kids, Cadbury Bournvita has made a niche for itself as a drink for children who are mentally and physically active. Every bright and sportive kid down the block must be drinking Cadbury Bournvita. In fact nobody has forgotten the jingle screaming ’’BOURN VITA!!’’

Product:

Cadbury India Ltd launched Cadbury Bournvita, a chocolate health drink in 1947 in India. But even before launching its new health product in the Indian market, Bournvita was one of the most loved chocolate drinks around the world. Bournvita is a combination of 2 words, “Brown” & “Vita”. Brown because its brown in colour & Vita because it has lots of vitamins.
If I were to ask you all a simple question like “what is Cadbury Bournvita”….I am sure you would say “Woh powder jo mummy doodh mein milati hai”….But that’s not what Bournvita is all about. It’s a nutritional drink which acts as a dietary supplement providing nourishment along with good taste & flavors.

For today’s kids who detest milk in its pure state unless flavored, this is an ideal drink. It has its own unique flavor, and the taste is rich and full-bodied. It’s so easy to prepare, just instant mix it into your milk. Even a child can manage this for himself when he is in a hurry to run off to play! Many children I have known just scoop up a spoonful of Bournvita fine granules into their mouth and crunch away happily…goes to prove its taste bud friendly value for kids.

Ingredients:
Malt extracts, sugar, cocoa powder, milk solids, liquid glucose, vitamins,

Bourn Vita’s nutritional facts:
1) Gives protein.
2) Provides Vitamin A, Vitamin C & Vitamin B12.
3) Contains Calcium, Iron & Folic Acid.
4) It also provides our body with Niacin, pyridoxine, Riboflavin, & Thiamin

which is very essential for the proper working of our nervous system.

Price:

Normally, price is the most important element in deciding the fate of any product. While purchasing any health drinks however, a housewife or a mother who is the ultimate buyer gives price secondary importance. She will carefully study the taste & nutritive values in the health drinks. I agree that Bournvita is one of the most expensive health drinks in the market (Rs.101 for 500gms) but still due to its good taste & great nutritive values it has captured the majority of the market.

Target Market:

Brown HFD’s target audience has always been kids who are in the age group of 7-15. Why a HFD targets audience in this age group? The answer to this is very simple. Most of the children in this age group have casual eating habits and milk is like a curse for them. This is were a HFD comes into picture the work of  HFD is not only to add flavor to the milk but also act as supplement which  can add nutrition to their child. The other advantage of having this segment as target market is HFD are mostly taken with milk

And the largest consumption of milk is seen in this segment.

Place:

The distribution pattern followed by Cadbury’s Bourn vita is more or less same as the traditional channel of distribution. Cadbury’s distribution network encompasses 2100 distributors and 4,50,000 retailers. The company has a total consumer base of over 65mn. Besides use of IT to improve distribution logistics, Cadbury is also attempting to improve distribution quality. To address the issues of product stability, it has installed coolers at several outlets. This helps in maintaining consumption in summer, when sales usually dip due to the fact that the heat affects product quality and thereby off take.

Promotion:

Bournvita always comes up with consumer promotion activities from time to time e.g. giving free gifts like plastic mugs, chess game or ludo etc. They also come up with the scheme of extra Bournvita for the same price. The ads had very cleverly promoted this drink for intelligent school kids through organizing the famous Bournvita Quiz Contest between different schools. This was a fantastic gimmick on television, which had caught on so well, that even adults would spare some time to watch it without fail. The Quiz Master Derek O’Brian was loved by all, the young and the old alike. This Advertising concept was so successful, that they even came out with the Bournvita General Knowledge Book (a mini encyclopedia). Cartoon Network and Cadbury India has announced a one-year promotional license agreement. Bournvita positions itself as a healthy and nutritious drink for kids. The first promotion is the Toon Mug offer. A 500 gram Bournvita pack comes with a mug featuring some of the best loved Cartoon Network characters. Toon buffs get a choice of over six toon mugs including The Power puff Girls, The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, Johnny Bravo, Dexter and Tom & Jerry. The Bournvita promotion is being supported by television commercials and in-store advertising.

Packaging:

Earlier packaging was not given the kind of importance to what it’s gaining now. Marketers have now realized the importance of packaging in today’s competitive market.

Hence they are concentrating on various aspect of packing such as the color, material used to make the package & cost. They use glass jars for packaging which do not allow moisture to get in the product and also increases its shelf life.

They have also introduced the refill packs so their no problem of buying Jars every now & then. They have also worked upon the color which is now Red & Purple against the old one Brown & Yellow because kids love bright colors.

Marketing mix consist of four important variables of marketing, i.e. 4Ps-Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Apart from the traditional 4Ps, there are also other variables, i.e. Packaging, Posting, and Pace.

Advertising is an element of promotion. However, it not only assists in promoting the product, but also affects the [...]]]>

Marketing mix consist of four important variables of marketing, i.e. 4Ps-Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Apart from the traditional 4Ps, there are also other variables, i.e. Packaging, Posting, and Pace.

Advertising is an element of promotion. However, it not only assists in promoting the product, but also affects the other variables of marketing mix. This can be explained as follows:

1. Advertising and Product: A product is normally a set of physical elements, such as quality, shape, size, colour and other features. The product may be of very high quality .At times, the product is so designed that it requires careful handling and operations. Buyers must be informed and educated on the various aspects of the product. This can be effectively done through advertising. Thus, advertising plays the role of information and education.

2. Advertising and Price: The price is the exchange value of the product. A marketer may bring out a very high quality product with additional features as compared to competitors. In such a case, price would be definitely high. But buyers may not be willing to pay a high price would be definitely high. But buyers may not be willing to pay a high price. Here comes advertising. Advertising can convince buyers regarding the superiority of the brand and thus its value for money. This can be done by associating the product with prestigious people, situations, or events. Alternatively when a firm offers a low price products the job of advertising needs to stress the price advantage by using hard hitting copy. It is not just enough to convince, but it is desirable to persuade the buyer. Thus advertising plays the role of conviction and persuasion.

3. Advertising and Place: Place refers to physical distribution and the stores where the goods are available Marketer should see to it that the goods are available at the convenient place and that too at the right time when the buyers need it. To facilitate effective distribution and expansion of market, advertising is of great significance. Thus advertising do help in effective distribution and market expansion.

4. Advertising and Promotion: Promotion consists of advertising, publicity, personal selling and sales promotion technique. Businessmen today have to face a lot of competition. Every seller needs effective promotion to survive and succeed in this competitive business world.  Advertising can play a significant role to put forward the claim of seller, and to counter the claims of competitor. Through effective advertising, sellers can face competition and also help to develop brand image and brand loyalty.

5. Advertising and Pace: Pace refers to the speed in marketing decisions and actions. It involves among other things the launch of new products or brand variations at greater speed than before. As and when new brands are launched, advertising plays an important role of informing, educating and persuading the customers to buy the product.

6. Advertising and Packaging: The main purpose of packaging is protection of the product during transit, and preservation of quality and quantity. Now a –days, marketers take lot of efforts to develop and design attractive packages as they carry advertising value. A creatively design package attract the attention of the customers. It also carries an assurance of quality and creates confidence in the minds of customers to buy the product.

7. Advertising and Positioning: Product positioning aims at creating and maintaining a distinct image of the brands in the minds of the customers. Through advertising the marketer can convey the positioning of the brand and accordingly can influence the buying decision of the target audience.

STRENGTHS :

India’s geographical location is a culmination of forests, deserts, and mountains ands beaches. Diversity of culture i.e. a blend of various civilizations and their traditions. A wealth of archeological sites and historical monuments.

WEAKNESSES

Lack of adequate infrastructure. A xenophobic attitude among certain sections of the [...]]]> Incredible India :

STRENGTHS :

India’s geographical location is a culmination of forests, deserts, and mountains ands beaches. Diversity of culture i.e. a blend of various civilizations and their traditions. A wealth of archeological sites and historical monuments.

WEAKNESSES

Lack of adequate infrastructure. A xenophobic attitude among certain sections of the people. No proper marketing of India’s tourism abroad. Foreigners still think of India as a land of snake charmers.

OPPORTUNITIES

More proactive role from the government of India in terms of framing policies. Allowing entry of more multinational companies into the country giving us a global perspective. As well as growth of domestic tourism is one of the factors of the development of the tourism industry.

THREATS

Economic conditions and political turmoil in other countries affects tourism. Aggressive strategies adopted by other countries like Australia, Singapore in promoting their tourism affects Indian tourism.