The FMCG market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4 billion in 2015. Penetration level as well as per capita consumption in most product categories like jams, toothpaste, skin care, hair wash etc in India is low indicating the untapped market potential. Burgeoning Indian population, particularly the middle class and the rural segments, presents an opportunity to makers of branded products to convert consumers to branded products. Growth is also likely to come from consumer ‘upgrading’ in the matured product categories. With 200 million people expected to shift to processed and packaged food by 2010, India needs around US$ 28 billion of investment in the food-processing industry.
Rapid urbanization, increased literacy and rising per capita income, have all caused rapid growth and change in demand patterns, leading to an explosion of new opportunities. Around 45 per cent of the population in India is below 20 years of age and the young population is set to rise further. Aspiration levels in this age group have been fuelled by greater media exposure, unleashing a latent demand with more money and a new mindset.
The importance of consumer sales promotion in the marketing mix of the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) category throughout the world has increased. Companies spend considerable time in planning such activities. However, in order to enhance the effectiveness of these activities, manufacturers should understand consumer and retailer interpretations of their promotional activities so that appropriate differentiation can be used.
Retailers stated that role of word of mouth and television advertising was very important in providing information inputs to the consumers regarding sales promotion activities. This perception of retailers was supported by the consumer unaided recall of sales promotion schemes which were widely advertised.
The research concludes with the discussion of the results, managerial implications limitation of the study and future research directions.
Advertisements convey brand differentiation and this may be important in several categories, which consist of several brands. In FMCG products like tea, coffee and detergents, “differentiation awareness” can be created by television advertising, but in certain categories there may be a need to demonstrate the effectiveness of brands. Differentiation with which consumers cannot “connect” may have a negative implication and if a brand “connects” consumers with its differentiation, it is likely to also differentiate itself in terms of getting identified with the consumer. A detergent or a washing machine, which claims “low water consumption” has to demonstrate this claim at a retail outlet especially given the fact that the quality of water varies across areas even in a specific geographical region. It is also essential that a good “differentiation proposition” result in a positive word-of-mouth.
In a certain situation, the company may have two offerings in a product-line and there is a need to differentiate them clearly depending on the target segments involved. This is a complex situation where differentiation decides the growth of the brand and the perceived difference between the offerings. An added layer to the complexity is the same brand name being used for the offerings. Fairness cream is a category in which the benefit is the fairness of the complexion. A brand like Fair and Lovely built over the years still has a strong association with the category but under tremendous pressure from competitive brands and the most important criteria which these brands is the herbal touch associated with them. Herbal ingredients are becoming popular with consumers in several categories and personal care in India has a strong tradition of herbal care. Fair and Lovely had to launch its herbal variant (it used the same brand probably because of the brand equity built up over the years). The interesting fact is the differentiation being conveyed by advertising. The original version uses an aspiration route in which the brand’s ultimate benefit is success through confidence.
Estimates based on China’s current per capita Consumption, the Indian FMCG market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4 billion in 2015. The dominance of Indian markets by unbranded products, change in eating habits and the increased affordability of the growing Indian population presents an opportunity to makers of branded products, who can convert consumers to branded products.
Penetration level in most product categories like jams, toothpaste, skin care, hair wash etc in India is low. The contrast is particularly striking between the rural and urban segments – the average consumption by rural households is much lower than their urban counterparts. Low penetration indicates the existence of unsaturated markets, which are likely to expand as the income levels rise. This provides an excellent opportunity for the industry players in the form of a vastly untapped market. Moreover, per capita consumption in most of the FMCG categories
(including the high penetration categories) in India is low as compared to both the developed markets and other emerging economies. A rise in per capita consumption, with improvement in incomes and affordability and change in tastes and preferences, is further expected to boost FMCG demand. Growth is also likely to come from consumer “upgrading”, especially in the matured product categories.
Impact of Effective Advertisement on Consumer Attitude Dr. F.R. Alexander Pravin Durai
By going through this article I have come across some points which you should look upon. If you want to read the article it is present in the appendix. Following are some points:-
Advertising is the only direct method which helps to reach masses of potential buyers. Advertising, being dynamic, changes with changing methods of distribution and consumption.
In the present era of information explosion and media influence, these advertisements playa major role in changing the settled perception or thinking, which is otherwise called attitude, of the consumer and· also the consumption pattern of the society in general. Thus, the impact leads to cultural and social changes to a great extent.
Why is there a need of advertising? Advertising is a way of communicating information to the consumer which enables him or her to compare and choose from the products and services available. Advertising is the most economical means by which a manufacturer or an Institutional body can communicate to an audience whether to sell a product or promote a cause of social welfare.
Essentials of Effective Advertisement-the writer thinks that there are 4 important things for an advertisement to be effective. They are importance of claim, believable, uniqueness and repetition.
The advertiser must constantly assess the situation to choose the right environment and ideal time for an advertisement to be launched. Some of the situations are as follows:-
In order to ensure that the advertisements reach the target consumers in a most effective way and gets right response from them, it has to be ensuring that such advertisements are presented in the right way. The following steps on the part of the consumer may ensure that the advertisements are on the right track.
In the article Dr. Alexander– Told about a model which exemplifies the attitude or response of a consumer to an advertisement.
Techniques of advertising for Fast Moving Consumer Goods
Dr. Archi Mathur- Assistant lecturer, Department of Management Studies, National Law University, Jodhpur Dr. HK Bedi- Professor, Dean, Department of Management Studies, National Law University, Jodhpur
This article shows how an advertiser can use different techniques of advertisements to show FMCG products. The techniques are as follows:
Value added ads- In addition to providing information about the product; Value-added advertising transforms a product into something more appealing to consumers than the physical object produced in the factory. Therefore, it is a missing link between brand attributes and the customer perception, between product features and need fulfillment, .between benefits and values.
Comparative ads- the advertiser compares the 2 brands of the same product category. The ad can be copied as the Pepsi and sprite example in the case. They have used the same story but both have them had a different approach.
Informative ads- these ads are used to provide information to the consumer about different products and services.
Health and Hygiene ads- these ads show that the product is taking care of the consumer’s health. It is emphasizing of the physical attribute of the product. What does the product do? How does it help you? The ad tells you all. These are some of the techniques.
Lifestyle ads- Another way to. nave an impact on the consumer’s mind is portraying the life-style of a successful person.
Humorous ads- Humor in the advertisement is normally kept in order to create a light, jovial and likely kind of an atmosphere
Demographic ads- these ads are meant for different segments based on age, sex etc. Farex Cereal Food for infants is an advertisement targeted directly towards the infants, as it comprises a healthy food for them. It is also targeted indirectly towards the mother.
Packaging ads- Advertisement is trying to lure the customers to buy their products on the basis of the way they are brought in front of the consumer’s eyes ie. Packaging. Dabur has brought in different flavors in the market of fruit juice. E.g. Mango, Pineapple, Orange, Mixed Fruit Jete. All these are in different packages, i.e. 50 ml, 1000 ml, etc. They claim that unlike other juices, which have preservatives in them, these products are without preservatives. Hence, the punch line is “Real Fruit Juice”.
Price ads- Marketers also lure the customers by showing in an advertisement that a product is available at a lesser price without any compromise on the standard. Cadbury India advertised the 5-Star chocolate by offering 30% more chocolate in its 5-Star bar for the same price.
Celebrity ads- Celebrities are mainly used in the advertisement either to lure the rural people in buying a particular product or in forcing the young generation to buy the products. This is also called endorsement advertising.,{t is also used in portraying that a particular product is best in–qtJality because a person who is also very well known in his/her field endorses it. The impact of these stars in advertisements enables the company to increase its sale.
The main objectives of the study are:
1. To assess current consumer sales promotion schemes in the market
2. To assess how consumers differentiate the products based on advertisements
3. To get an insight into retailers’ views regarding the schemes being offered in toilet soap category, and consumer perceptions
4. To study consumer perceptions regarding various schemes in this category and responses toward them.
5. To study the various methods of differentiation.
6. To analyze the methodology adopted by companies to target end consumers.
7. To address basic business questions like:
Technique used for the survey is questionnaires, focus group discussions and interviews. In order to address the above questions an exploratory study was conducted. The idea was to probe and get deeper insight into sales promotion scenario in toilet soap market and to tap perceptions of retailers and consumers. In order to address above mentioned objectives (i) study of secondary sources was carried out, 10(ii) in-depth interview of six retailers was undertaken and 11(iii) structured questionnaire was designed to seek consumer responses. Convenience sampling was used for both retailers as well as consumer studies. Six retailers ranging from small kirana store to supermarket were approached. All the retailers were located in the Noida. The respondents for consumer study were postgraduate students in the age group of 19-24 belonging to middle and upper middle and upper class. The total respondents were 30 in number. They were residing in hostel or as PG hence sole decision-makers for this category. Also this age-group being more experimental and likely to be more deal prone, so their perceptions, preferences would give some insights to companies planning sales promotions targeted at them.
The geographical scope of the study was restricted to the NOIDA city due to time and resource constraints. The study being exploratory in nature, the sample size was restricted to 30 consumers (student group) and 6 retailers. Focus being mainly on in-depth probing, the generalizations drawn are only indicative and not conclusive.
I. FMCG AN INTRODUCTION
II. INDIAN CONTEXT
III. MARKET OPPORTUNITIES
IV. EVOLUTION AND CHARECTERSTICS
FMCG -FAST MOVING CONSUMER GOODS
BRIEF DECRIPTION OF INDIA FMCG MARKET
MARKET OPPORTUNITIES IN FMCG:
According to Estimates based on China’s current per capita Consumption, the Indian FMCG market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4 billion in 2015. The dominance of Indian markets by unbranded products, change in eating habits and the increased affordability of the growing Indian population presents an opportunity to makers of branded products, who can convert
Penetration level in most product categories like jams, toothpaste, skin care, hair wash etc in India is low. The contrast is particularly striking between the rural and urban segments – the average consumption by rural households is much lower than their urban counterparts. Low penetration indicates the existence of unsaturated markets, which are likely to expand as the income levels rise. This provides an excellent opportunity for the industry players in the form of a vastly untapped market. Moreover, per capita consumption in most of the FMCG categories
(including the high penetration categories) in India is low as compared to both the developed markets and other emerging economies. A rise in per capita consumption, with improvement in incomes and affordability and change in tastes and preferences, is further expected to boost FMCG demand. Growth is also likely to come from consumer “upgrading”, especially in the matured product categories
§ 1950’s-80’s – Low Investment in the sector
§ Post liberalization
§ Mushrooming of regional brands
|
Supply |
Abundant supply in metros. Distribution networks are being beefed up to penetrate the rural areas. |
|
Demand |
HLL expects the FMCG market to triple in market size by FY10, which highlights the potential. |
|
Barriers to Entry |
Huge investments in promoting brands, setting up distribution networks and intense competition, but the sector is not capital intensive. |
|
Bargaining Power of Suppliers |
Some of the companies are integrated backwards, which reduces the supplier’s clout. Manufacturing is largely outsourced. |
|
Bargaining Power of Customers |
In case of branded products, there is little that the consumer can influence, but intense competition within the FMCG companies results in value for money deals for consumers (e.g. buy one, get one free concept). |
|
Competition |
Competition is faced from both domestic, MNCs and also from cheaper imports, which are increasingly visible in urban markets. Price wars are a common phenomenon. |
§ Rural and semi-urban
§ 128 million population thrice the urban
§ Market size growth from 48k to 100k Crores (Growth of 50% at 10%CAGR)
§ Increase penetration from the current less than 1%
§ Problems in the rural sector
* Low per capita disposable incomes
* Large number of daily wage earners
* Acute dependence on vagaries of monsoon
* Seasonal consumption
* Poor infrastructure – roads and power supply
§ Urban
§ Market 16.5k to 35k Crores (Growth of 100% at 20%CAGR)
§ Intense competition – severe pressure on margins – Focus on newer products, such as fruit juices
Source: Assocham Report ‘Future Prospects of FMCG’
I. UNDERSTANDING DIFFRENTIATION
II. TYPES OF DIFFRENTIATION
III. THE INDIAN CONTEXT
I.
II. UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENTIATION:
Differentiation is the process of adding a set of meaningful and valued differences that distinguish a company’s offering from those of its competitors. Differentiation is strongest when it satisfies all of the following criteria:
1. Important: the difference delivers a highly valued benefit to a sufficient number of buyers
2. Distinctive: the difference can be delivered in a clear way
3. Superior: the difference is a better way of obtaining a benefit
4. Pre-emptive: the difference cannot be easily copied
5. Affordable: the buyer can afford to pay for the difference
6. Profitable: the company will earn a return by maintaining the difference
BRAND loyalty in fast moving consumer goods categories is a topical issue, with several brands resorting to price cuts across categories. More importantly, price cuts or sales promotion by themselves do not seem to have done much for brands in terms of sustaining brand loyalty. They may attract consumers in the short run: consumers may stock the brands and consumers new to the brand may try it. But over a period of time, a brand’s value may get diluted in consumers’ psyche, and will eventually lose a strong base of consumers. The following are some aspects of marketing mix elements and consumer behavior which could contribute to brand loyalty.
If the products are differentiated in their characteristics and this difference is perceivable, there are chances of brand loyalty being formed based on satisfaction with greater performance or fit of product with needs. In this case, loyalty is driven by functional or symbolic benefits. Functional benefits would be specific tangible features of the product whereas symbolic benefits would be intangibles such as brand personality and `hedonistic’ value of purchase.
If the price differentiation in the market is perceivable, price-led loyalty might exist in the market. Price-led loyalty is practised by supermarkets, airline companies and FMCG brands, which come out with frequent sales promotions based on freebies. Alternatively, price might be taken as an indicator of brand quality, and the customer might go in for higher priced options. Price-led loyalty has to be carefully considered with other marketing mix elements and the consumer should never perceive dilution, especially in low-priced bands. Hence, lower prices should create a sense of value through the product offerings as well as through communication.
If the category is organized and there is branding activity, there will be greater loyalty than there would have been if the category were unorganized. Branding activities can differentiate between brands on name, symbol, images and associations. Branding activity in this context refers to creating strong associations which will influence the consumers not only with regard to functional attributes but also with symbolism. Hamam soap’s portrayal of its pure ingredients with the child and mother imagery is a good example of one of these dimensions.
Branding activities in a broad sense could range from advertising to sales promotion and public relations involving several aspects.
III. The Indian context
The following were the observations from the literature survey and the examples chosen from the Indian context.
The factors indicate that there will be a large segment of consumers for whom price-led loyalty will dominate. Hence there will be strong behavioural loyalty in the segment and only weak attitudinal loyalty. There is thus spurious loyalty in this sector.
There is a moderate level of symbolic and functional differentiation which has been exploited by strong brands to build a loyal following. Examples of this include brands such as Dove, Pond’s Dreamflower talcum powder, Gold Flake, Will’s Navy Cut, Amul and Cadbury. These brands have probably built strong attitudinal loyalty through their brand personality and other brand building efforts.
In the FMCG sector, brand habit is high whereas attitudinal loyalty is low. As creating attitudinal loyalty based on functional differentiation is difficult, symbolic differentiation is the key. Building strong brand personalities and associated symbolic benefits is important for crafting customer loyalty.
The factors discussed cannot be treated in isolation: they are to provide a synergy to result in brand loyalty. The combination of these factors and the timing of the combination is the topical challenge which marketers face in an environment where loyalty is slowly eroding.
Some of the most successful FMCG brands in 2002 came, not from the stables of a Hindustan Lever and a Colgate, but from obscure regional players such as Kaleesuwari Refineries, Parakh Foods, Anchor Switchboards and Kanpur Detergents. Over the past couple of years, brands such as Gold Winner and Gemini in refined oils, Anchor White in toothpastes and Ghari in detergents have managed to sustain double digit growth rates, even as the market leaders have struggled to hold on to single digit growth rates for their brands.
Yes, the comparison is unfair, as the local brands had a minuscule base to start with. But these brands have demonstrated it is not impossible for a new challenger to break into the traditional bastion of one or two large FMCG players. Traditionally, large FMCG categories in India have been dominated by just one or two players, who rule the roost by dint of their sheer financial muscle and distribution reach. But, of late, successful regional brands have been finding chinks in their armour. And how!
In the edible oils market, as national players were forced to hike their selling prices in response to rising commodity prices, both Gemini and Gold Winner have used aggressive pricing to woo consumers away from the national brands. Packed tea too, has seen similar trends. The limited differentiation in grocery and the flexibility offered by a restricted area of operations have stood these companies in good stead. Anchor White, among the few debutants in the toothpaste market to garner a
significant share, first wooed the retail trade with high distribution margins, and then used rock-bottom prices to lure consumers into trying the product. Though none of these companies can match the market leaders in adspend, they have used focused regional and local advertising to draw consumers’ attention to their brands.
The mushrooming of local and regional media has undoubtedly helped the local players milk the most from their ad budgets.
Banking on `power’ brands
While the local brands have been adding to their brand portfolios, the market leaders have largely stayed off new product launches.
In keeping with its “power” brand strategy, Hindustan Lever’s marketing strategies in 2002 revolved around rejigging and relaunching established brands such as Lifebuoy, Rin, Surf and Vim. The company phased out brands such as Sunlight in detergents, and Jai in toilet soaps, so as to focus better on its 30 power brands.
The strategy appears to have worked, as brands such as Lifebuoy and Rin have moved into a higher growth trajectory after the relaunch.
In fact, HLL’s “power” brand strategy has found a few followers in the FMCG market, with companies such as Godrej Consumer also announcing plans to focus on a clutch of key brands.
While the “power” brand strategy has helped the leading players put their marketing prowess behind their most important brands, it has not really helped them save on ad spend. For most FMCG companies, advertising and promotion spends in 2002 grew faster than their sales. In high penetration categories such as soaps, detergents and toothpastes, marketing efforts of the players revolved around persuading existing consumers to use more of the product or to upgrade to
a higher-priced brand. The slew of “100 gm free for every 150 gm” offers in toothpastes and the series of promos on the 2 kg packs of premium detergents were both intended to induce existing consumers of a product to pep up their usage of the brand.
Companies operating in relatively low-penetration categories such as chocolates, shampoos and skin creams tailored their marketing strategies to bringing in new users, through scaled-down versions of their brands in affordable pack sizes. The low-priced Chocostik, a liquid chocolate in a small-sized pack, launched by Nestle India, has helped pep up the company’s topline and is now a large contributor to the company’s revenues. Nestle India is now trying out a similar small-sized Rs 5 pack for Maggi noodles.
Shampoos have been among the few FMCG categories to register a positive growth rate in 2002, and growth in this category has been driven mainly by sachet packs and by scaled-down 50 ml bottles priced at less than Rs 10.
Overall, the FMCG slowdown of the past three years has served a useful purpose. At one level, it has made sure that the dominant players in the market no longer enjoy unlimited pricing power, as they have in the past. There now appears to be a greater effort on the part of the players to hold selling prices and look at their own operations to save on cost. At another level, the emergence of the regional challengers has made sure that consumers of FMCG products have a few more choices in their purchases of essentials. Is selling soap the same as selling a TV?
It isnt. The difference is how the particular product is sold and more importantly, how is it distributed. India is a unique market, where the manufacturers who deliver products at the doorstep, which is the ideal way to deliver anything, spoil our consumers. We have an extremely evolved distribution mechanism for most products. Different products are sent to the consumer differently. Depending on the number, the price of the product and the complexity of the selling process,
they may vary from direct selling to selling through a channel that may have as many as
four levels between the manufacturer and the consumer. A look at a few of them will show what it means to be a sales person of that product.
Most FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) products are not hard-sold to the end consumers. Sales are built up largely by pull – a technique using advertising and consumer promotion. The sell-in happens to the trade i.e. to various members of the distribution channel – the Carrying&Forwarding/Super-stockist, the distributor, the wholesaler and most importantly the retailer, who is the interface with the end-consumer. This chain forms the most important link in getting the product economically to the consumers doorstep.
A large MNC in the FMCG industry may be covering as many as 1 million outlets across the country with the help of thousands of distributors. Even a mid-sized company covers at the least 1 lakh outlets. Factoring in the vagaries of operating in more than 25 different states, each with its own sales tax complexities, different consumer needs, differences in the distribution structure, not forgetting differing octroi structures within a state, distribution is extremely complex in India. If the sell-in does not happen to this channel for whatever reason or is sub- optimal, a product is likely to fail.
I. UNDERSTANDING ADVERTISEMENT
II. UNDERSTANDING SALES- PROMOTION
III. CREATING DIFFRENTIATION THROUGH ADVERTISEMENT
IV. PROBLEMS FACED BY MARKETERS
I. UNDERSTANDING ADVERTISEMENTS
Whether it is a serial in a regional satellite channel or a One Day International cricket match, there is a non-stop stream of advertisements, which clutter the commercial break. Well-established brands attempt to sustain brand recall while new ones try appealing to prospective consumers to get into their `consideration’ set. There are ads for children, housewives and youth. With advertising expenditure in the order of Rs. 8000 Crores per annum in the recent times and the proliferation of brands across categories, there is a strong need to consider the effectiveness of these advertisements. The idea is not to cease advertising but to consider how considering decisions would have to be considered with non-advertising alternatives. These non-advertising alternatives may also enable a brand to create and sustain consistent associations, which may be desirable in terms of long-term implications. A contemporary approach that creates a synergy between various aspects of a promotional mix (advertising included) provides a refreshing approach towards marketing communications. There may be several objectives of advertising and a promotional mix could be used in an innovative manner to address each of these objectives depending on the product category and target segment.
When a new brand enters a category or creates a “new to the market” offering, it needs to create brand awareness. This would depend on whether the product is a consumable or a durable. The involvement level in a speci
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