BRAND WARS
Vs
Introduction Horlick s : In India, over 2 b illion cups of Horlicks are drunk every year. Horlicks is the aller, stronger and sharper. onl y y drink clinicall y proven in India to make kids tall The Horlicks available has been scientificall y y developed and specificall y y caters to the nutritional needs of the Indian diet. Horlicks alone e njoys 50% of the He alth Food Drinks market. Horlicks has been a popular brand in India since 1930.Re-launched in 2003; included a new look for the brand targeting its core consumer, child ildren up to 14 years old. New products have been developed specificall al l y for India, catering different segments of the Indian market. Successive generations of Indians over the p ast half-century have consumed it ² stirred in a glass of hot milk or water ² and become totall y y confirmed believers in Horlicks·s virtues of good health and nutrition. This is onl y y to be expected for a brand that consumers have been using since the 1930s. Toda y, Horlicks is one of the best k nown brands in the health food category. It owes its success to a strong brand heritage, commitment to quality, focused communication, a strong distribution network and a deep understanding of consumer needs. Health food drinks provide nourishment for the f amil y y, particular y ly growing children and serve as energ y providers for adults. The market for malted milk powders in India is huge as the pro duct is wide y ly used as a nutrition and energ y supplement by children and adults. The s ize of the market is estimated at Rs. 10,170 million. Horlicks occupies the leading position with over 50% shares of the m arket
Complan : When British soldiers landed on the beaches of Normand y during World War II, they were carrying more than just ammunition for firepower. They carried with them a powdered nutritional supplement called Complan which had been introduced by Glaxo. Glaxo brought Complan to India in 1964 and marketed it through doctors as a convalescence drink. After it we nt OTC in 1969, Complan continued to be perceived as an ethical product. In those da ys its tag line ´Complan has 23 Vital Nutrients whereas Milk has 9µ had established Complan·s superiority over m ilk on nutritional delivery. The brands· next major milestone was reached in 1975 when, in order to expand its user base, Complan made a strategic shift in its target market and positioning. Complan was now repositioned as an ideal nutritional supplement for growing children. In 1994, Heinz bought out Complan from Glaxo. Given Heinz·s commitment to quality and leadership, Complan has evolved into India·s premium health beverage for growing children. It has now come to stand for the Gold Standard of Nutrition). The brand·s positioning as the ¶Drink for growing children· coupled with its superior nutritional formulation are its greatest strengths toda y. Complan·s current consumer base runs into hundreds of thousands of households across the country. It is retailed through more than 225,000 outlets and has an impressive 16.8% share across the entire MFD c ategory Apart from India, Complan is also available in the UK, Australia, Venezuela, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Enriched with 23 vital nutrients in balanced proportion Complan is an ideal nutritional supplement for children in its target segment of four to fourtee n years. It is Heinz·s constant endeavor to upgrade Complan·s formulation as per the latest developments in nutritional sciences and the changing requirements of growing children. Complan ² the Complete Planned Food in a Drink ² is formulated as per the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines suggested for growing children.
T arget
audience
Horlicks: The Great Family Nourisher'
Horlicks is the leading Health Food Drink in India and as the ¶Most Truste d Drinks Brand' (Economics T imes Survey, 2004) in India, enjoys more than half of the Health Food Drink m arket. Although it has been a popular br and in the Indian market since the 1930s, Horlicks underwent a revamp in 2003 to further increase its relevance. The modern & contemporary Horlicks offers 'pleasurable nourishment' with a delicious range of flavors including Vanilla, Toffee , Elaichi and Chocolate. With revitalized packaging synergistic with the new brand personality, it is a favorite with both mothers for its nourishment and kids for its great taste and variety. Horlicks is sold in a number of countries across the world. In different countries, the product has different formulations in order to cater to varying consumer segments and serve different consumer needs In India, the Horlicks available has been scientificall y developed and specificall y c aters to the nutritional needs of the Indian diet. It he lps meet the requirements of essential nutrients in children, such as iron and vitamins that aid iron absorption. From the available data, it has been seen that children in India are not getting enough of these vitamins and minerals from their dail y diet. Research shows that these nutrients are very important for school age children for their attention, concentration and memory as well as their physical performance and growth. Thus, Horlicks is a beneficial supplement for children to aid not onl y their growth, but also enhanced attention and concentration. Earlier Horlicks believed, white drinks are for the e ntire famil y in contrast to the brow ns, whose prime target audience is children. This is probab l y because whites²whose growth rate is f aster than the browns²have the added advantage of being perceived as food which e nhances the healthy image of those who are recovering. But graduall y they realized that they have to focus o n 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. Nowada ys children have tremendous influence on the things purchased for the famil y 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 Ju nior Horlicks (target segment: kids between one and three) will continue to remain the same.
Complan : Complan mainl y 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 t arget other person like. Active people, which needsn the extra nourishment for traveling & sporting activities. Busy Executives , who now & then have to skip their me al due to increase work load. Pregnant Women & L actating Mothers, because they require nutrients during these vital periods. Complan is ideal for growing children, busy adults (especiall y housewives and rushed office-goers), expectant and nursing mother, elder l y people and athletes. It had long been surmised that the actual users of COMPLAN were predominant l y children of school-going age. Later research corroborated this be lief. It was found that close to half of the actual users of COMPLAN were of school-going age. This was a far younger age profile than for other malted milk beverages. It is noteworthy that with sales rapidl y increasing, the next repositioning exercise brought about a much more focused and narrower positioning by target user, instead of broadening its user positioning. This calls for a great degree of str ategic clarity and courage. COMPLAN was positioned single-mindedl y for ¶growing children· in 1981.But, with hindsight, you ma y wish to go more deep ly into the reasons for this sharp l y focused positioning for growing children and apparent indifference to other user, such as the elder ly and the busy, active adult. However, that COMPLAN was consistent ly advertised to the medical profession through ads such as in . Also note that a much higher percentage of COMPLAN sales came from chemists as compared to other malted milk drinks.
Price Complan is priced higher than other competitors because of its nutritional contents and there is no compromise o n the quality of the product and price is given a second thought when it comes to health. COMPLAN
Flavours (Rs)
Weight(gm)
Chocolate
Plain
Mango
Chocolate
200
68
55
60
75
500
140
120
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150
1000
245
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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 HORLICKS Weight(gm)
Elaichi Jar 200 500 1000
57 108 199
Refill pack 103 189
Flavours (Rs) Chocolate Jar 57 108 -
Refill pack 103 -
Honey buzz Jar
Vanilla Jar
108 -
108 -
Product
positioning
Horlicks : y
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It was first patented the malt-based milk drink as baby food. It was a substitute of Milk as Baby Food. In India, It is popular ly known as Mother¶s Horlicks. From a drink th at was supposed to promote a good night¶s sleep to one that can help children grow taller, stronger and sharper, Horlicks has come a long wa y. Simultaneous ly, its brand image, too, has changed³from a fudd ydudd y, boring health drink recommended by doctors to something that is nourishing, and enjoyable. It was initiall y introduced both a substitute & an additive to milk and it was initiall y positioned itself as food for convalescing & a nutrient supplement for kids onl y RepositioningFrom a boring nutritional drink, GSK positioned Horlicks as `pleasurable nourishment', by launching it in vanilla, chocolate and honey variants. It introduced other variants like - Jr. Hor licks, Women¶s Horlicks, Mother Horlicks & Horlicks Lite to reposition itself from the ch ildren segment to other segment for consumption. GSK launched Chill Dood an instant milkshake in the dairy based product market. The brand toda y talks to every member of the f amil y r ather than the entire famil y. The idea is to address all age groups. The Horlicks visual identity has undergone a complete makeover. The packaging of its various segments of products was designed according to the target consumers. The br and strengthens its market position with the power of advertisement and distribution network.
Complan : Complan proclaims itself as Complan for growth and has the taglines: a Complete Planned Food´ and Ideal for Growing children´. Complan has protein content that is 100milk protein which is one of the best proteins for growth. Complan claims to be ideal for the child·s physical and mental development. Complan has been successful in translating its clams of being a nutritional drink, of being a complete planned food into sales growth Complan entered to India in 1964 and marketed it through doctors as a convalescence drink. In those da ys its tag line Complan has 23Vital Nutrients whereas Milk has 9 had established Complan·s superiority over milk on nutritional delivery. RepositioningIn 1975 , in order to expand its user base, Complan made a strategic shift inits target market and positioning. Complan was now repositioned as an ideal nutritional supplement for growing children . In 1994, Heinz bought out Complan from Glaxo. Given Heinz·s commitment to quality and leadership, Complan has evolved into India·s premium health beverage for growing children. The brand·s positioning as the Drink for growing children is its greatest strengths toda y. Complan·s current consumer base runs into hundreds of thous and sof househo ld s a cross the countries
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Marketing strategy Horlicks : It was reall y a surprise to everyone when horlicks re-positioned itself. Initiall y, horlicks was just a nutritional drink positioned onl y for the sick patients and mal nutritioned. But later GSK trend change among the people towards health concern and people were se arching for something nutritional and tastier for their children and hence it repositioned itself as ´complete nutritional drinkµ. With the slogan ´happong , oppang , chappongµ it captivated the childrens mind. Sensing its competitors with complan and it again improved itself to ´T aller, Stronger, Sharper. ´. This made horlicks reall y a leader in the market and its sales grown rapidl y. Before other competitors could react it went ahead. It also affecte d sales of boost but still both are from same compan y they make sure that boost also gets sales in the market. Considering the diabetes patients they also extended to ´horlicks liteµ. For kids they added more nutrients and designed as ´1-2-3 junior horlicksµ. For mother they ch anged with improved nutrients as ´Mother horlicksµ. Being a nutritional drink they were able to extend in the same category. Thus built a strong brand through brilliant marketing. They also consistent ly came up with good series of AD c ampaign. Every AD w as kindling the target audience. It spoke both to the mother and the children that was the secret in their promotion. Every level of emotional and comparison ADS were made to get the market leader position in the market. Every advertisement had group of children and mother convincing more to drink in the people mind. During every exte nsion ads were m ade different ly and carefull y differentiated such that every exte nsion sustains in the market. JWT (J WALTER THOMPSON ) ad agency was responsible for their successful promotion
Horlicks definite ly hold a shelf space because customers expect the pro duct to be available as it is an essential product in their month ly grocery list. Since Horlicks has extended into various categories as Junior Horlicks, Mother·s Horlicks, Horlicks Lite they definite ly requ ire a store space.
Attracting
new customers:
As their campaigning right from its inception of explaining its features to till date with Junior Horlicks , Mother·s Horlicks and Horlicks Lite providing the nutritious benefits it creates a strong awareness thereby pu lling in new customers . The reassurance of the br and is achieved by the existing customers, since it holds a better market share and strong awareness. T ime to respond to competitive threats: GSK Horlicks is one of the br and which comes up with innovative product line they were able to withstand threats at each stage of their growth.
Complan : In its very f irst public appearance, Complan adopted the strateg y of `Positioning by Competitor`. It positioned itself direct ly against milk. `Your bod y needs 23 vital food·, said the first ad. `Milk gives 9 Complan gives all 23` The semi-clinical look of the advertising which reflects the transition from ethical to consumer promotion. The copy gives considerable factual information about these 23 nutrients and how they affect bodil y functions; e.g. protein to build up and repair tissues and cells; calcium for healthy teeth and bones; folic acid to form new blood cells; vitamin A for the eyes, etc. This advertising and the position assumed by the brand created a high degree of awareness and trials. The consumer off take of the br and rose from a volume index of 100 in 1969-70 to 298 in 1973-74. The stead y growth also reflected that a considerable number who tried the brand stuck to it and repeatedl y purchased it. Despite the success of th is strateg y, there was cause for rethinking. What reall y did this positioning imp ly? T aken to its logical extreme. It meant that COMPLAN should Displace milk from the dining table. In India, particular ly, milk has a unique position in the consumer·s psyche. It is regarded as the source of life, growth and health; it is almost an ob ject of revere nce as a necessary ingredient in man y religious rituals. Moreover, with Operation Flood well under w a y , milk, in the form of powder and also as fresh milk from the Mother D airies, was being given a great deal of marketing and advertising support. Fighting milk would not be a cakewalk. And, as a sociall y aware corporate citizen, Glaxo wondered whether it should be in the business of `knocking` milk formed such a vital part of the nation·s health and nourishment plans. Very w ise ly, this positioning strateg y for COMPLAN was abandoned. In fact, here was a classic instance of looking afresh at a key positioning decision: which product class are we competing in? If not milk, then the logical product class definition had to be other malted milk-foods like HORLICKS, VIVA, and BOURNVITA. This can also be described as the health beverage product class. COMPLAN strateg y went through a radical change. It was now decided to position it-not by competitor-but by target user and usage occasion.
COMPLAN·S position could now be stated as follows: COMPLAN is ideal for totall y fulfilling the nourishment needs of people who cannot or do not eat enough because onl y COMPLAN is complete with 23 vital foods for the bod y. (1975-76) is an unambiguous example of advertising designed to serve a clear-cut positioning strateg y. The cinema commercial (TV became available at a later data) dramatized these usage occasions more vividl y: the problem eater child tossing his food aside; the husband rushing off with his u neaten breakfast o n the table; the convalescing elder who has no appetite for food; the harassed housewife herself. In such situations, to what could the worried mother and housewife tur n? What health drink would assure her of all the nourishment that was needed in these special, but everyda y situations? The ads clear l y presented COMPLAN as a product which was unique and COMPLAN in its nourishment value. It was no longer ¶too much of a good thing· but the onl y brand with enough good things to give her the reassurance she needed. Could this position be adequate ly substituted by an y other brand? No wa y. Not onl y COMPLAN advertising, but the product itself wore a new and more attractive look. The package design was cleaned up and modernized. The product·s taste was improved through a change in the manufacturing process. New flavours were introduced: chocolate, because of its universal popularity, especiall y with the young; Cardamom saffron, a typicall y Indian flavour with images of health and goodness; the strawberry flavour was reserve d for later introduction-as a delicious, iced drink. And the price was increased.
Product Why HORLICKS is necessary for life? y
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It improves the immune system of your bod y. Helps in building resistance power Helps in improving Stamina Provides nutrition for growing up. Prevention is better than cure. Helps in maintaining your he alth It Helps children growing up in a healthier wa y HORLICKS improves your resistance level and stamina helping u live a healthier life protection strateg y. It was alwa ys an ideal health supplement. Supports mental & physical development.
overview Why go for COMPLAN ?
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It is specificall y designed to provide balanced nourishment It provides 23 vitamins and minerals for health and vitality It is a rich source of antioxidant vitamins A, C and E It contains calcium for healthy, strong bones It has iron to help maintain physical stamina, strength and mental alertness It provides high-quality protein It is gluten-free and suitable for vegetarians Its balanced goodness contains everything your bod y needs to recover fast from illness. Complan is recommended by healthcare professionals.
Promotion strategy Horlicks : Horlicks is a flagship product from the Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) stable and came into existence in1873. Horlicks commands about 54% market share in Indian Health Drink industry which is valued at around Rs.1300 crores. Hor li cks pos i t i o n s i tse l f w i th n utr i t i o n . I t had a strong nutritive association for very long per iod.GSK decided to extend this nutritive association and the communication was changed from Famil y Nourisher to Pleasurable Famil y Nourisher. GSK began to introduce different flavors (Chocolate, Vanilla, and Elaichi) in an attempt to create excitement in the customers. The p ackaging of the bottle was also changed in order to give the bottle a more attractive look. Horlicks also decided to tap the market of the aged with the introduction of Horlicks lite. The br and w a s further restrengthened by the la u n ch of Hor li cks and Junior Horlicks. . The TV commercial had children going around pang J hapangµ a chant without an y meaning. the town, cheering µEpang O However, the TVC showed their mothers deciding on the choice of health drink. Now, Horlicks has gone a step further in promising not onl y height, but a stronger bod y and a sharper mind. Horlicks wants the children to decide on their healthdrink. The new campaign for Horlicks gives the kid motto: 'B adlo A pne B ac h pan k a S iz e '. The new TVC has Darsheel Safary. Safary and his fr iends are on a mission to change th ings they don't like and question age old practices around them. On the other hand the Horlicks (GSK) claimed: Children have become taller, stronger and sharper . The Horlicks challenge now proven. The brief to the agency was: The target group (TG) is a savvy audience with a short span of attention. So, step into their issues, get into their skin and raise their issues and concerns. The TVC was supported by print, radio and on-ground activities and extended to Horlicks' school programme, Whiz Kids Contest. On the
digital platform, a site, activityindia.com/horlicks, has been launched through which kids can communicate about the things they want to change.
Complan : Complan is a very old high ly nutritional drink in Indian Market and ma y be one of the first in this c ategory. 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 displa y scheme etc. The various sports event it sponsored are: Complan Junior Squash Open 2002, sponsored by Heinz India Private Limited. The Complan junior Open ma y 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 T alent Search, in which a galaxy of former India captains like Poll y 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 ³ North, South, East, West and Central ³ are being put through a rigorous regimen on the fundamentals of cricket. The new tvc of complan showed the mother who uses Complan sa ys that her kid has grown up by an inch. The mother who uses or dinary health drink decides to change over to complan. And other offers like F lying Disc free with every 500gm of Complan. This ad can give short term hike in sales. This ad shows that Complan·s desperate attempt to increase the sales. Refill packs instead of Jar were introduced. Former Indian cricketer Sanja y Manjrekar for Complan( Ear l y 90·s).This is the onl y time when Complan used a celebrity.
Horlicks
v s complan war
: The
ad
In late 2008, a legal battle broke out betwee n GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSK) and Heinz India (Heinz) over the advertisements of their respective health drinks Horlicks and Complan (Refer to Exhibit I for a snapshot of GSK and Heinz). The advertisements talked about how their respective brand was better than the other and showed the competitor's product in bad light when compared to the compan y's products.
The
ad goes like this
:
Scene outside store. Mother and adoloscent child duo - 2 pairs; one Mother's bag showing a refill pack of Complan and the other Mother's bag showing a Horlicks bottle (Both very very CLEARLY - no pixelations, no attempt to hide whatsoever). The spot goes on with the Complan boy sa ying, my health drink has 23 nutrients, how much does yours have? To which the Horlicks boy's answer is 23 nutrients and also something (eludes me, at the moment). The Complan boy goes on to sa y, Mine makes me T aller' with the show of measuring up the height on one's shoulder at the Complan ads, the Horlicks boy replies, mine makes me T aller, Stronger & Sharper'. The Complan boy then sa ys, mine costs Rs.170 and the Horlicks boy replies, mine costs onl y Rs.131. The Complan boy then jubilant ly sa ys, Mummy, In this case we are higher right with the Mother making a grimace of I've-been-had kind of look
The Ad ends with a couple of people carrying a Horlicks billboard with the 3 tenets of T aller, Stronger & Sharper clear ly wr itten in the background. and Complan are the common names of Indian households. These two brands have a decent market share in the Health Beverage market. These two brands are involved in agg ressive advertising in print and television over three decades. No doubt both the brands are a grand success in the Indian market but our stud y aims in disclosing the advertising strategies of both the br ands and how they positioned themselves in the minds of the consumers. Horlicks
The war betwee n these two brands started in the 60·s and is continuing till date. Both the brands have changed a lot in the past 4 decades.
Horlick s
v s. Complan:
After 2000«. Horlicks gaining massive lead in the market. Horlicks launched Horlicks Lite and Mother·s Horlicks. Horlick·s Light was positioned for adults( diabetic patients) and Mother·s Horlicks for pregnant woman. In this mean time Complan launched Complan Ectacy which failed. No doctor·s prescription in the ad. This is because the literacy level of the people has increased and people know what they need. Toda y Horlicks has a commanding market share in Health Beverage se gment. It has got over 50% market share. Complan on the other hand failed to capitalize its initial success. It is growing at a lesser rate when compared to Horlicks
Range
of products
COMPLAN is focused on varieties of products:
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Complan muesli
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Complan for growth
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Complan biscuits
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HORLICKS targeted for 5 different products:
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Mother's Horlicks
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Horlicks Lite
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Women Horlicks
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Horlicks Ninja
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Horlicks nutri bar
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Junior Horlicks
Complan for nutri gro Complan Shake Complan for memory
The Fight
for the Indian Health Drink Market T urns Ugly In late 2008, a legal battle broke out betwee n GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSK) and Heinz India (Heinz) over the advertisements of their respective health drinks and Complan. The advertisements talked about how their respective brand was better than the other and showed the competitor's product in bad light when compared to the compan y's products. In September 2008, Heinz moved the Bomba y High Court ob jecting to advertisements of Horlicks which highlighted the nutritional content and price gap between the two brands, and showed Horlicks as a better and more inexpensive health drink. Heinz v s Glaxo
This suit which was transferred from the Bomba y High Court to the De lhi High Court was filed by Complan (Heinz) against Horlicks. This 30 seconds advertisement placed both the products i.e. Complan & Horlicks next to each other, compares the prices and according to Heinz, passes disparaging comments against the quality and nutritional value of Complan when compared to Horlicks. The law in regards commercial disparagement is crystal clear i.e. a trader can puff up his goods in comparison to his competitors goods but he cannot denigrate or disparage the competitor·s goods while doing so. Therefore while it ma y be perm issible to state that Product A is better than Product B it is not permissible to state that Product B is worse than Product A. There is a plethora of Indian case-law la ying down the criteria for ¶puffing·. J udgment:
In his order, Justice Bhat the The advertisements was held to be in the
realm of puffing. Justice Bhat did not agree with Complan·s allegation that the manner of comparison between both products disparaged its own product and held the same for fair. The interesting part of this judgment is where Justice Bhat draws a distinction between advertisements in different mediums i.e. print and television with the standard of judicial scrutin y being much higher in the latter than in the former. The re ason for this according to Justice Bhat is the fact that te levision advertisements unlike print advertisements m ake an instant impact across consumer classes and the level of impact of such advertisements o n the consumer is much greater than a print advertisement where each word has to be re ad, anal ysed and understood. Advertisers therefore will have to read much more carefull y when creating comparative advertisements for television
Conclusion So, comparative advertisements are important and beneficial from the consumer·s and producer·s point of view onl y to the extent it is providing information about the product and making them aware.
Brand wars, when tastefull y executed , can be an example of successfu l advertising. Brands are built on competitive spirit, but there has to be a long term strateg y in building brands and the proposition should be u nique enough to m ake it co nvincing. E lse it s a kin to s alesmen fighting among each other proving their brand to be better, which ends up actuall y mocking the product.
