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- Brands and consumer choices

Publication: Economic Times


Provider: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd
June 18, 2010
18 Jun 2010, 0252 hrs IST,S Ramesh Kumar,
Topics:

While going around a departmental store, I found a branded traditional snack (marked as
low fat) in one of the shelves. Enquiries with the sales person in the vicinity revealed that
such snacks had a specific segment of consumers (not large in number) who repeatedly
bought the brand and the category. In another location of another city I had come across a
street vendor having lemon juice, tea, lemon tea, soft drinks and tetra-packed drinks. The
vendor was in fact addressing what the marketing literature calls generic competition.
Three aspects emerge from these two scenarios: *In low-priced and variety-ridden, fast-
moving categories, brands need to address generic competition in the consumers
mindscape (how categories compete with one another for the share of a consumers
wallet). *Market segments in these categories may not stick to specific categories during
purchase occasions (meaning that the categories are likely to be substitutable) *Brands
over a period of time need to enlarge the band of consumers in categories that are low
involvement in nature ( in simple terms bought without much deliberation) CONSUMER
MINDSCAPE Brand positioning is a concept that has a perpetual appeal. But in several
categories of fast-moving goods, the mindscape of the consumer extends beyond the
positioning of brands. Pepsi may stand for fun, Tropicana may have a health benefit to be
perceived as a part of the breakfast and Boost may have the proposition of secret of
success aided by appropriate celebrities. Given the proliferation of substitutable
categories and the clutter of brands to gain the attention of consumers, marketers
(whether it be of branded jewelry or a small-scale industry manufacturing and
distributing snacks to the local outlet) need to view the categories from the view point of
the consumer. In the example of the branded snack provided at the beginning of the
article, the branded offering costing Rs 25 per pack was surrounded by Marie Gold (that
does not have trans fat, Good Day biscuits with the promise of pista goodness, a store
brand snack, Aliva brand probably positioned between a biscuit and a snack with the
health proposition and Britannia milk biscuits with the health proposition, Haldiram
snacks, Cadburys low-priced variants and Kurkure close to a traditional snack with
variants. And the important fact was that most of the stock-keeping units offered by
several categories competing with the traditional branded snack offering were much
lower in price (perhaps explaining the small consumer base that exhibits loyalty to the
brand/category in the case of branded snacks). The underlying behavior of consumers is
primarily responsible for the generic competition that may not have existed a few decades
back when categories were not competing with one another. Todays housewife in an
urban context has the choice of choosing Horlicks or Bournvita or Complan (traditional
milk additives) or a healthy and filling evening snack or a vitamin-filled soup made out
of natural ingredients or a glass of pure juice or a local brand of ragi mixed with several
nutritive ingredients or Kelloggs for children. Since most of these categories are aimed at
the mass market, consumers sensitivity towards prices also need to be taken into account
(as only a small cross section of consumers would be able to afford several categories in
several consumption occasions). Most consumers in every purchase situation or
consumption situation are likely have a trade off on the value of the offering bought “in
this context the trade-off between price, taste, symbolic appeal (eating/sharing with
friends) and the health proposition that is getting increasingly being used by several
categories. CONSUMPTION PATTERNS Brands need to have a clear focus based on
the consumption patterns of consumers. The branded snack probably would do better if it
is able to identify localities where consumers stick to a small spectrum of choice when it
comes to generic competition associated with the offering. This would not only ensure
that the offering has a higher probability and higher frequency of getting into the
consideration set of consumers, it will also enable the brand to compete in retail outlets
where consumers do not get lured by the promotional offerings of large brands (typically
in a modern retail outlet). This is just a figurative example to reflect the complexities
associated with generic competition. Consumer behavior provides insights that are vital
to generic competition. Conceptual insights provide directions to marketing strategies:
they also reflect the power of simplicity in a marketing world that is increasingly getting
complex. (The author is professor of marketing, IIM Bangalore) Powered by Indiatimes||
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