Big Bazaar is planning to position itself as a value retailer after being hived off as an independent company within the Future Group. While a new company has been floated under the name of Future Hypermarket, the retailer is now considering a new name to represent its discount format.
Speaking to Business Line, Mr Rajan Malhotra, Chief Executive Officer, Big Bazaar, said, “Although we have registered a new company under the name of Future Hypermarket, we intend changing its name. Big Bazaar is not a hypermarket and is more of a value-for-money format and that is what the new company would stand for.”
Currently, Big Bazaar contributes 64 per cent of the Future Group’s total turnover of Rs 7,000 crore. With its standalone status as a company, Big Bazaar is expecting to drive greater efficiencies in its back-end operations. As Mr Malhotra says, “There would be clarity for the concept as we become a separate company. There would be back-end efficiency in our operations.”
With amalgamation of formats under various heads ranging from Food Bazaar to Furniture Bazaar, Big Bazaar is looking at distinguishing itself as a ‘value’ retailer in its segment rather than being clubbed with the rest of the existing hypermarkets in the country.
Besides, it is looking forward to re-launching its private label, DJ & C, as a national brand by giving the brand rights to Future Brands (the group vertical handling brands in the group). Targeting the youth segment, DJ&C is today worth Rs 200 crore in Bazaar’s kitty. “We intend re-launching it as a national brand through other retail outlets by the end of this month. We believe Big Bazaar has moved into a mature phase and that is a compelling reason to launch our youth brand at a national level. The DJ&C brand has crossed a turnover of Rs 200 crore and now has enough pull to take it to its next level,” states Mr Malhotra.
New categories
Having forged long-term relationships with a host of FMCG players through MoUs, Big Bazaar is open to new categories being tested through its formats. “We are open to the highest selling brands such as Pears and Dove opening the new age categories at our stores,” says Mr Malhotra.
Meanwhile, Big Bazaar has roped in cricketer and India ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the brand ambassador for its extensive collection of fashion apparel.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Seven elements of a timeless brand
A brand is like a human being — it has a personality, a lifespan, emotions and rationality. It is also like a building with intricate architecture.
A brand is an experience. A consolidated experience is the equity formed of the brand; this fosters a strong relationship between the consumer and the brand, which can last for a lifetime.
Brands determine what we eat, what we wear, what we drive, enjoy, and more than ever, how we lead our lives. Brands give us our hopes, our aspirations and our dreams. Therefore, brands ultimately become integral parts of our lives.
So, if the experience with the consumer is right over time, it tends to be part of his or her being. There are some brands which create that experience, fondness and relationship with the consumer. There are others that fall by the way.
We often confuse the leadership of a brand in the market with invincibility or long life. However, a market leader can also die a quick death. BPL, Fiat and Dalda are some cases in point. A brand that has been nurtured well, however, may or may not be a market leader, but it will continue to reign. And, more often than not, it will be one of the top five brands in its space.
What is pertinent is high brand recall among consumers. This recall also needs to have adequate emotional content for it to last.
So, how does one build a timeless brand?
Innovate: A brand that continues to reinforce positive experiences over time and surprises the consumer each time with new and consistent offerings will never die quickly. And innovation doesn’t mean just product innovation. Innovation involves the brand interface with the consumer, the brand experience, its look and feel, its physical availability and its pricing. Brand communication has to be equally innovative.
Brand expression: A brand must express the desired character and identity of a consumer. The brand and identity the consumer aspires for must go hand in hand. If they don’t, then the brand is not “my brand”.
Emotional connect: The brand must have an emotional bond with the consumer, along with a rational connect. Harmony between the two gives it strength, energy and passion. Understanding what gives the consumer emotional satisfaction is important. Brand behaviour has to be such that the consumer always feels secure and satiated.
Ownership: One has to ensure that the consumer is proud to own the brand. If he buys a branded shirt, he should be proud to wear it. If he removes the logo, then it shows that while he connects with the brand at a rational level, where he likes the quality, the brand does not appeal to him emotionally, which is why he doesn’t want to be seen wearing it with the logo.
There must be creation of ownership; the consumer should feel like he owns the brand.
Value delivery: Every brand has a value — the brand creator and brand operators know that. The consumer must get 100% of that value through the process of interface with the brand. That’s where the internal branding comes in. People within the organization must understand the value and nuances of the brand and be able to deliver 100% of it. So, if all the other aspects are strong, but the internal branding process within the company is weak, then you may lose the sting, or sharpness, of an everlasting brand. For, what you deliver falls short of what the brand actually was conceived to stand for.
Relevance: It has to be youthful, and by that I don’t mean that the brand has to be young in age. It has to continue to be relevant to consumers. The brand must understand consumer behaviour as it is relevant today and all its parameters, aspects, rational or emotional, must adjust to the times. If they don’t, the brand gets old and dies. You have to rejuvenate, and make sure the brand remains young...even for a hundred years.
Communication: What we call advertising, below the line and above the line, has to have an understanding of what the consumer wants the brand to be seen as. If there is a disconnect between what the brand wants to be seen as and what you’re delivering, the brand will lose equity. Many campaigns that win awards seriously lack this understanding from the consumer’s perspective.
Lastly, the brand must have humane elements to it. A brand is like a human being — it has a personality, a lifespan, it has emotions and rationality. It’s also like a building with intricate architecture.
A plethora of elements help add or reduce meaningful and economic longevity to a brand. Sometimes, of course, mercy killing becomes essential to help the new generation of brands to prosper. However, the patriarch brands will continue to deliver succour to the enterprise over a long period
A brand is an experience. A consolidated experience is the equity formed of the brand; this fosters a strong relationship between the consumer and the brand, which can last for a lifetime.
Brands determine what we eat, what we wear, what we drive, enjoy, and more than ever, how we lead our lives. Brands give us our hopes, our aspirations and our dreams. Therefore, brands ultimately become integral parts of our lives.
So, if the experience with the consumer is right over time, it tends to be part of his or her being. There are some brands which create that experience, fondness and relationship with the consumer. There are others that fall by the way.
We often confuse the leadership of a brand in the market with invincibility or long life. However, a market leader can also die a quick death. BPL, Fiat and Dalda are some cases in point. A brand that has been nurtured well, however, may or may not be a market leader, but it will continue to reign. And, more often than not, it will be one of the top five brands in its space.
What is pertinent is high brand recall among consumers. This recall also needs to have adequate emotional content for it to last.
So, how does one build a timeless brand?
Innovate: A brand that continues to reinforce positive experiences over time and surprises the consumer each time with new and consistent offerings will never die quickly. And innovation doesn’t mean just product innovation. Innovation involves the brand interface with the consumer, the brand experience, its look and feel, its physical availability and its pricing. Brand communication has to be equally innovative.
Brand expression: A brand must express the desired character and identity of a consumer. The brand and identity the consumer aspires for must go hand in hand. If they don’t, then the brand is not “my brand”.
Emotional connect: The brand must have an emotional bond with the consumer, along with a rational connect. Harmony between the two gives it strength, energy and passion. Understanding what gives the consumer emotional satisfaction is important. Brand behaviour has to be such that the consumer always feels secure and satiated.
Ownership: One has to ensure that the consumer is proud to own the brand. If he buys a branded shirt, he should be proud to wear it. If he removes the logo, then it shows that while he connects with the brand at a rational level, where he likes the quality, the brand does not appeal to him emotionally, which is why he doesn’t want to be seen wearing it with the logo.
There must be creation of ownership; the consumer should feel like he owns the brand.
Value delivery: Every brand has a value — the brand creator and brand operators know that. The consumer must get 100% of that value through the process of interface with the brand. That’s where the internal branding comes in. People within the organization must understand the value and nuances of the brand and be able to deliver 100% of it. So, if all the other aspects are strong, but the internal branding process within the company is weak, then you may lose the sting, or sharpness, of an everlasting brand. For, what you deliver falls short of what the brand actually was conceived to stand for.
Relevance: It has to be youthful, and by that I don’t mean that the brand has to be young in age. It has to continue to be relevant to consumers. The brand must understand consumer behaviour as it is relevant today and all its parameters, aspects, rational or emotional, must adjust to the times. If they don’t, the brand gets old and dies. You have to rejuvenate, and make sure the brand remains young...even for a hundred years.
Communication: What we call advertising, below the line and above the line, has to have an understanding of what the consumer wants the brand to be seen as. If there is a disconnect between what the brand wants to be seen as and what you’re delivering, the brand will lose equity. Many campaigns that win awards seriously lack this understanding from the consumer’s perspective.
Lastly, the brand must have humane elements to it. A brand is like a human being — it has a personality, a lifespan, it has emotions and rationality. It’s also like a building with intricate architecture.
A plethora of elements help add or reduce meaningful and economic longevity to a brand. Sometimes, of course, mercy killing becomes essential to help the new generation of brands to prosper. However, the patriarch brands will continue to deliver succour to the enterprise over a long period
Thursday, June 5, 2008
SELLING DREAMS: Realtors are increasing ad spend.
Brand-building bug bites mid-sized real estate developers
If advertising is all about selling dreams, little wonder that mid-sized real estate developers are roping in well-known advertising agencies to help them sell dream homes.
Consider this: Taneja Developers and Infrastructure has appointed Rediffusion DY&R to manage its advertising account and Omaxe is handled by Lowe India. Besides using the print and radio to promote their offerings, companies such as Parsvnath have broken into the big advertising league with a spate of television commercials that ensure high recall and visibility.
"The real estate sector has witnessed a tremendous growth and companies are striving to differentiate themselves and their offerings from competitors. There is a focus on building a strong brand identity, and leave an impression on prospective buyers," said Mr Pradeep Jain, Chairman of Parsvnath Developers, which recently slotted its advertisement to coincide with the live coverage of the Union Budget by various news channels.
The shift from standalone project based ads to a holistic corporate campaign is also being driven by the fact that developers are working on multiple projects to meet the accelerating demand. Parsvnath's advertising spend is expected to almost double this year from Rs 15-20 crore in the last year.
According to Mr Atul Phadnis, Chief Evangelist, Media e2e, real estate industry is estimated to spend about Rs 300-350 crore in 2006-07, a growth of 30-35 per cent.
One of the reasons for appointing large agencies is because companies are offering premium properties, he felt.
"The stakes are very high and therefore there is need to establish the premium value. Hence professional agencies are being appointed," he said.
Agrees, Mr Ajay Khanna, Executive Director of DLF Retail developers.
"The mid-sized firms are revisiting their traditional advertising strategy to take into account the upmarket positioning of products. Also in some cases, the intention to go public in future may drive the need for aggressive brand-building exercise," he said.
Moreover, property developers have realised that television complements both print and radio.
"What started off with simple property shows during non-prime time has resulted in increased enquiries and sale," said Mr Phadnis.
However, there are some who are treading the beaten path and prefer to attract buyers through local advertising. "Our campaign is still market focused and we are sticking to local advertising strategy for most of the projects, with exception to commercial projects which need to be advertised on a broader scale," said Mr Niranjan Hiranandani, Managing Director of Hiranandani Constructions Ltd.
If advertising is all about selling dreams, little wonder that mid-sized real estate developers are roping in well-known advertising agencies to help them sell dream homes.
Consider this: Taneja Developers and Infrastructure has appointed Rediffusion DY&R to manage its advertising account and Omaxe is handled by Lowe India. Besides using the print and radio to promote their offerings, companies such as Parsvnath have broken into the big advertising league with a spate of television commercials that ensure high recall and visibility.
"The real estate sector has witnessed a tremendous growth and companies are striving to differentiate themselves and their offerings from competitors. There is a focus on building a strong brand identity, and leave an impression on prospective buyers," said Mr Pradeep Jain, Chairman of Parsvnath Developers, which recently slotted its advertisement to coincide with the live coverage of the Union Budget by various news channels.
The shift from standalone project based ads to a holistic corporate campaign is also being driven by the fact that developers are working on multiple projects to meet the accelerating demand. Parsvnath's advertising spend is expected to almost double this year from Rs 15-20 crore in the last year.
According to Mr Atul Phadnis, Chief Evangelist, Media e2e, real estate industry is estimated to spend about Rs 300-350 crore in 2006-07, a growth of 30-35 per cent.
One of the reasons for appointing large agencies is because companies are offering premium properties, he felt.
"The stakes are very high and therefore there is need to establish the premium value. Hence professional agencies are being appointed," he said.
Agrees, Mr Ajay Khanna, Executive Director of DLF Retail developers.
"The mid-sized firms are revisiting their traditional advertising strategy to take into account the upmarket positioning of products. Also in some cases, the intention to go public in future may drive the need for aggressive brand-building exercise," he said.
Moreover, property developers have realised that television complements both print and radio.
"What started off with simple property shows during non-prime time has resulted in increased enquiries and sale," said Mr Phadnis.
However, there are some who are treading the beaten path and prefer to attract buyers through local advertising. "Our campaign is still market focused and we are sticking to local advertising strategy for most of the projects, with exception to commercial projects which need to be advertised on a broader scale," said Mr Niranjan Hiranandani, Managing Director of Hiranandani Constructions Ltd.
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