Brand Management Assignment

On

Submitted By: Submitted To:

Esheeta Ghosh Prof. R. Kamble

2011071

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Contents:

1.

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................3

2. Product Line.................................................................................................................................4

3. Brand Ambassadors.....................................................................................................................5

4. Taj Mahal Tea Ads .....................................................................................................................7

5. Promotional Events ..................................................................................................................11

6. Brand Extensions .....................................................................................................................13

7. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….………16

Table of Figures:

Figure 1: Taj Mahal Tea Bags ………………………………………………………….........4

Figure 2: Taj Mahal Packet Tea………..........................................................................................4

Figure 3: Taj Mahal Flavoured Tea Bags - Ginger, Lemon, Cardamon........................................4

Figure 4: Print Ad 1972..................................................................................................................7

Figure 5: Wah Taj campaign featuring Zakhir Hussain and Aditya Kalyanpur 1990....................8

Figure 6: TVC after Brooke Bond acquisition by HUL.................................................................9

Figure 7: Recent TVC featuring Saif Ali Khan with Chitrangadha Singh...................................10

Figure 8: Aapka Taj Andaaz TVC................................................................................................12

Figure 9: 'Pamper Yourself' print ad for Dessert Tea launch.......................................................14

Figure 10: Taj Mahal Green Tea Packaging.................................................................................15

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Having tea is a kind of ritual in India! People are addicted to it, and one can find millions of

Indians, who would like to have one cup of tea every 30 minutes, like we have serial smokers we

can find several Indians who are serial tea drinkers. India is a land of ‘Teaholics’. So, if

something is popular in a land of one billions, and a part of their routine, then one ought to have

lot of brands and competition for it, and tea is no exception to this rule. We have got hundreds of

popular tea bends in India, and new ones are being introduced every month.

True to its name the brand ‘Taj Mahal Tea’ has had its presence for the last four decades and has

been undoubtedly the gold standard of tea in India. It has been a pioneer of innovation and has

evolved consistently with changing times in the Indian Market. It has been popularly known as

‘India’s best tea since 1966’. Having the first mover advantage, it has a series of first attached to

its name: the first premium tea, first to introduce tea bags, first and only tea brand in vacuum

packs, first to usher in new formats and concepts, like instant tea (in the form of Dessert Tea) and

the list is long.

Launched in the 60’s under the umbrella brand Brooke Bond of Hindustan Unilever (Erstwhile

Brooke Bond and company acquired by Unilever in 1982), everything about Taj Mahal is

special. It is special because it is about great craftsmanship. It is special

because it is a connoisseur’s delight. Taj Mahal is not merely a cup of tea but

a superlative experience that demonstrates connoisseurship.

As far as branding is concerned, Taj Mahal lives up to its special trait in terms of brand

ambassador with formerly Zakhir Hussain and now Saif Ali Khan. There is a certain element of

royal flavor attached to the brand.

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Introduction

Over the years, Brooke Bond Taj Mahal tea has been a choice of the astute lot, as a symbol of the best of

India. They ensure the finest quality to create a robust, full-bodied brew with a lingering aroma

that makes an individual say “ Wah Taj” on taking a sip of it. It all started with Taj Mahal packet

tea which was the first premium tea in India. Then they also launched the tea bags, the first tea

bags concept followed by different flavoured tea: ginger, cardamon and so on. They also have

tea bags for green tea. The first vacuum packs ever were also launched by them.

Figure 1: Taj Mahal Tea Bags Figure 2: Taj Mahal Packet Tea

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The brand Taj Mahal has always spoken the words of extraordinary, premium, royal and

exclusivity. Whether it is their ads, or their packaging or even while having their brand

ambassador, they always want to highlight the very fact that Taj Mahal is ‘special’. Taj

Mahal’s first brand ambassador, Ustaad Zakir Hussain, is a symbol of

excellence in the field of music. Ustaad through his rigour, perfection and

talent exemplifies the greatness of Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal has been using the Tabla

Maestro ever since 1990's. This association is the longest association between a brand

ambassador and a brand in the world. Since Ustad Zakir was endorsing only this brand, the recall

was high. Generally brand ambassadors focusing one category can give great results as we w

find in case of Taj Mahal. Over the period of time, the brand ambassador became synonymous

for the brand. Ustad and Taj Mahal was touted as the classic example of a successful celebrity

endorsement. The collaboration with the brand and the ambassador went that far that Ustad once

challenged in a TVC in 2001 that he will stop playing tabla if he come across a better tea. That

TVC created lot of controversy.

The brand Taj Mahal has been very cautious while selecting its brand ambassador, focusing the

royal element of the persona. Even while changing its brand ambassador in 2006 and bringing

in Saif Ali Khan, HUL wanted to keep the royal element alive. HUL had reasons for changing

the brand ambassador. With changing times, the Rs. 200 crore tea brand was losing relevance

among the new breed of consumers, and especially with rivals like Tata Tea roping in youth icon

like Sani Mirza as brand ambassador to connect with the youth. It was time for HUL to decide on

a new twist to the image associated with Zakir Hussain. Saif Ali Khan is an attempt to make the

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Figure 3: Taj Mahal Flavoured Tea Bags - Ginger, Lemon, Cardamon

brand more contemporary. Ustad and his fans are getting older. Hence there is a chance that the

new generation may miss out on the charm of Ustad thereby creating a generation gap. So the

attempt may be to make the brand relevant to the new generation. HUL does not want this to

happen with a power brand like Taj Mahal. But by using Saif, the brand is losing its face. Taj

Mahal had an exclusive face which was something that made a difference to the brand. Saif does

not have that exclusivity. In my opinion, the transition could have been more effective if the

TVC had both endorsers.

Tajmahal Tea was positioned by HLL as the best tea. This " hazaron me ek" tea was promoted

using the baseline " Wah Taj " during the days of Ustaad Zakir Hussain when we saw him

playing the table infront of Taj Mahal saying “Wah Taj”

The brand was consistent in using the same promotional strategy and the baseline. But in 2003

the much popular baseline was changed to " Sabse Khas Taj Ehsas" from the famous and simple

"Wah Taj". 2006 saw the brand going back to the same famous positioning " Wah Wah Taj" with

an additional "Wah".

HUL is cautious about the brand because Tata Tea has serious plans to capture a major chunk of

the premium tea market. Taj cannot rest in its laurels. The problem with highly successful brands

is that over a time, the brand fails to understand the changing demographics of the customer. So

after some years, the brand will surprisingly find itself redundant. It happened with old favorites

like Chetak and Iodex. HUL is careful that it does not happen to Taj.

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The TV Commercials of Taj Mahal Tea has always been a success story ever since the days of

Ustaad Zakhir Hussain. However with the re launch campaigns and a new facelift with Saif Ali

Khan, TVCs of Taj Mahal are yet reach the legendary recall value of “Wah Taj” or “Dip Dip

Campaign”

Wah Taj! Wah Zeenat!

Even before Tabla Maestro Zakir Hussain became the brand

ambassador, one of the oldest print ads way back in 1972 features

Zeenat Aman. Zeenat Aman's film Hare Rama Hare Krishna had been

released in the year 1971 making her the most famous Indian hippie

and the quintessential Indian sex-symbol. This particular Ad could be

older as she looks really young in it. One of the rarer ads available,

who can ever imagine that kohl eyed Zeenat Aman could sell tea

wearing a purple suit, big danglers in ear and having a centrally parte

two-chowtyeed hair. Wah Zeenat! Wah!

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Figure 4: Print Ad 1972

“Wah Taj Boliye” Campaign

Taj Mahal Tea’s first few ads had Ustaad Zakhir Hussain

playing the tabla in front of Taj Mahal. Some of them drew a

link between Ustaad’s rigorous practice of the instrument to

achieve perfection and Brooke Bond experts going through a

lot of rigour to ensure that only the best, freshest and juiciest

tea leaves from a thousand go into every Taj Mahal pack. The

world famous tagline “Wah Taj” came alive in every TVC

that was created. The one message that every conveyed is the rich premium quality of Taj. The

brand has a lot of Indianness attached to it as far as the commercials are concerned. It strongly

associates itself with the Taj Mahal, one of architectural wonders of India. Even the association

of Ustaad Zakhir Hussain indirectly connects to the rich musical bent of Indian culture.

Storm over a Small Tea Cup

Ustad Zakir Hussain and Taj Mahal Tea were cited as the best example of a successful celebrity

endorsement. The collaboration with the brand and the ambassador went so far that Ustad Zakir

Hussain once challenged in a television commercial entitled “Maestro’s Ultimate Challenge” in

2001 that he will stop playing the tabla if he comes across a better tea brand. Needless to say,

the television created lot of controversy. There was raging controversy over this and especially

because a certain section of the society disliked the ‘open support’ for the product. Initially the

ad was changed but it followed up with a more aggressive one called “Tabla Talaash”.

However, this ad campaign “Maestro’s Ultimate Challenge” bagged the gold medallion in the

category of Advertising & Marketing Effectiveness at the New York festivals that honour

excellence in media communication.

‘Tabla Talaash’ Campaign

The new ad campaign, ‘Tabla Talaash’ shows Zakir Hussain playing the violin because

someone stole his tabla, is an extension of earlier ad. With an ad budget between Rs 3 to Rs 4

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Figure 5: Wah Taj campaign featuring

Zakhir Hussain and Aditya Kalyanpur 1990

crore it targeted the housewife. It offered a contest that whoever finds his table will be given a

pair of 22-carat gold tablas. In order to search the tablas, all that one had to do was to purchase a

pack of Taj Mahal Tea and look for a special coupon in it. Taj Mahal offered prizes worth Rs 30

lakh, which include four bumper prizes of a pair of 22-carat gold tablas weighing a kg, ten first

prizes of 22-carat gold jewellery worth Rs 20,000, ten thousand second prizes of silver coins

and several thousand consolation prizes.

The Brook Bond – Unilever Knot

In 2001 when Hindustan Unilever (Erstwhile Hindustan

Lever) bought Brooke Bond, it showcased a TVC proclaiming

an association with a promotional scheme of four sachets of

one of HUL’s signature brands, Sunsilk shampoo free with

Taj Mahal tea.

“Dip Dip Campaign”

Taj Mahal Tea was the first brand to introduce tea bags. Until the mid-1980s, tea bags were

largely purchased by the HORECA sector for out of home consumption by consumers. At

around that time, instant coffee had begun making inroads in major cities of India’s TDA’s (Tea

Drinking Areas – mainly North, East and West India), both in-home and out of home. 

Research initiated by Brooke Bond India’s advertising agency, JWT (then HTA) Bangalore,

revealed inhibitors to tea consumption at in-home social occasions, mainly cumbersome

preparation, and then disposal. While such households were aware of the ease of preparation of

tea bags, they felt awkward in disposing of the tea bag – especially in social settings. Further, tea

bags were perceived to be inferior in strength to brewed (leaf) tea. Instant coffee powder, on the

other hand, offered a win-win alternative.

JWT then designed a campaign to re-position Taj Tea Bags for young, urban working couples in

social occasions at home, with a TVC that simply showed the correct etiquette for disposing of

tea bags in a social setting, as well as the fact that infusion time could be varied to suit varying

preferences in terms of liquor strength.

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Figure 6: TVC after Brooke Bond

acquisition by HUL

Although Darjeeling tea (in tea bags) was the preferred alternative, Brook Bond, at that time, did

not feel confident of the burst strength of tea bags when filled with leaf tea. So Taj Mahal, which

is a CTC blend, was used instead.

With this campaign, adoption of TMTB in urban went up dramatically within a few months of

launch, and stayed there for years. More important, Lipton, then a rival, was blocked from this

segment, and eventually acquired by Brooke Bond. As a matter of interest, even today, three

decades after the campaign, tea in tea bags is referred to as “Dip, Dip, Dip” by consumers and

restaurant staff across India. This term originates from the key phrase in the jingle of TVC

referred to above.

Taj Tea – New Avataar with Saif Ali Khan

After Ustad Zakhir Ali Khan endorsing the Taj Mahal tea brand for years, Suave Saif Ali Khan

was the next in line endorsing the brand. Saif Ali Khan in this first Taj Mahal ad explains his

lady what makes Taj Mahal tea different, its flavor, and its aroma. Taj Mahal Tea - Wah Taj !!

Taj Mahal Tea had its re launch campaigns with a series of ads showcasing the specialty of the

tea. The Taj Gold Pack Commercial focused on the special gold vacuum pack of Taj Mahal Tea.

With this, Taj Mahal Tea is first to introduce vacuum packs. Another TVC that focused on a

different perspective with the same note of highlighting the quality of Taj Tea is Taj Tea

Etiquette commercial. Saif brings in a new outlook to the campaigns attracting the new age

consumers which is mostly the youth. Besides the campaign and changes in the tagline Taj

Mahal tea came up with new look in its packaging making it more premium. The recent ads have

Chitrangadha Singh with Saif Ali Khan narrating the style of having a cup of Taj Mahal Tea. The

entire positioning of the brand have changed from the 90s to recent time, however the Indian

element remains strong even now.

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Figure 7: Recent TVC featuring Saif Ali Khan with Chitrangadha Singh

The brand Taj Mahal Tea has certain unique promotional events undertaken so far that binds the

commodity tea well with the brand, thereby again marking the excellence of the brand. Starting

with sales promotions in the form of free sample distributions to having tea tasting workshops or

conducting contest with high prize return, the promotional activities always have a certain unique

proposition thereby retaining the ‘best tea’ image of the brand.

Taj Tea Trail

The Taj Tea Trail is an hour long tea tasting and appreciation workshop conducted by Brooke

Bond tea experts across the countries in different cities. Each session takes you on a fascinating

tea journey – brewing to appreciating the finer aspects of tea. Taj Tea Trail is a 90-minute

experiential activity wherein you get to romance Tea from all regions across India. You will be

taken on a journey into the History of Tea, its production, How tea is drunk around the world,

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what to look for while buying Tea, How to store Tea, and of course how to brew the perfect cup

of tea!

It’s a fun, interesting and interactive session wherein you can learn, play, win and do a lot more

exciting stuff with your favorite beverage – TEA. All you need to provide is hot water! They

arrange the rest, an expert trainer, the cups, specialized tea tasting equipment, certificates, gifts

and of course, the tea. It is an excellent way of retaining loyal consumer by engaging them in this

tea tasting activity. The several activities that are undertaken are:

Sample various teas in a guided tea tasting 

Learn the art of making the perfect cup

Learn fascinating tea trivia

Become a certified Tea connoisseur

Leave with a Taj Tea Goodie Bag

Enjoy traditional tea-time snacks

Aapka Taj Andaaz:

Taj Mahal tea has always been known for having an exceptional

aroma. Consumers in the past have often written in expressing how

they enjoyed Taj Mahal tea in their own way. Given the high

mobile penetration and usage in its target group, the Taj Mahal

team launched a unique contest called ‘Aapka Taj Andaaz’ this

year in March with the aim to increase the brand’s intimacy with

consumers. This campaign featured Saif Ali Khan along with

actress Prachi Desai who is thought to be a youth symbol targeting the younger generation.

In order to participate, consumers needed to share their way of celebrating Taj Mahal tea. To

enter the contest consumers needed to call 09004190041 -an Interactive Voice Recording System

(“IVRS”)` and record their unique way of enjoying the aroma of ‘Taj Mahal’ tea. On calling this

number consumers could listen to voice recorded message of Saif Ali Khan, where he asked

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Figure 8: Aapka Taj Andaaz TVC

users to share their unique way of enjoying Taj’s unique aroma. Users could record their

message in 7 different languages: Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and English.

The top ten winners won vouchers while 100 consolation prize winners won one year’s supply of

‘Taj Mahal’ Tea. The prizes were given to those consumer’s who’s ‘Andaaz’ is deemed unique

or special. The contest started on 1st March, 2012 and ended on 30th June, 2012, and saw a

participation of more than 85,000.

Taj Enlighten Tareef Awards

Brooke Bond Taj Mahal has entered into a partnership with Enlighten Film Society which has

recently been certified as India’s largest film society by Federation of Film Societies of India.

Brooke Bond Taj Mahal, in association with the Enlighten Film Society annually confers the

prestigious Taj Enlighten Tareef Award to leading talents of Indian Cinema. Amitabh Bachchan,

Javed Akhtar, Mrinal Sen and Shabana Azmi are some of the recipients of this honour.

Free Sample of Taj Mahal Tea

When HUL initiated brand extension of Taj Mahal in the form of flavoured tea bags, it

distributed tea bags of Taj Mahal Tea free of cost, available in three exotic flavors namely

Ginger, Cardamom and Lemon.

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With changing competition by arch rival, Tata tea, HUL is all set to introduce brand extension to

its signature tea brand Taj Mahal.

Tea or Dessert or Both!

Taj Mahal tea has recently extended its brand and launched a completely new variant: Dessert

Tea. The dessert tea comes in three flavors like French Vanilla, Butterscotch, and Dulce. The

new range comes in attractive packaging and is promoted with the brand ambassador Saif Ali

Khan.

The concept of dessert teas is new to India. But it looks strikingly

similar to Cappuccino or in the lines of creamy tea in ice-cream

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flavours. Taj Mahal Desset tea has the slogan "Pamper Yourself" and the ads are already in

various magazines. The brand also has a hip-hop website www.pamperurself.in. The brand is

being positioned as a beverage to indulge in. It is said to create another world whether you are in

office or at home.

The brand is hoping to replicate the success of Bru Cappuccino. The brand stands out with its

unique packaging which gives it a premiumlook. For tea lovers, it is a break from the usual

monotony.

Not many innovations in the category of tea have had success before

as in the case of Lipton Iced tea, despite high decibel advertising.

However these new flavors and variants will bring back the excitement in the tea segment.

Marketers were worried about the tea category losing its charm among the youth. If successful,

dessert teas will open new opportunities for tea marketers.

Go Green: Taj Mahal Green Tea

Keeping in mind the health conscious young consumers, Brooke Bond

Taj Mahal has launched the Green Tea range with three exciting flavours,

Honey Lemon Green Tea, Earl Grey Green Tea and Darjeeling Green Tea

in 2011. The range is available at high end retail outlets and super

markets in packs of 10 and 25 individually wrapped tea bags and priced

at Rs. 40 and Rs. 90 respectively.

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Figure 9: 'Pamper Yourself' print ad

for Dessert Tea launch

Figure 10: Taj Mahal Green

Tea Packaging

The brand Taj Mahal tea has a flavor or India attached to its positioning. Since 1966 it speaks the

brand values of premium, excellence, rigour and most importantly Indian. Its association with

Zakir Hussain and consistent promotional strategy with the baseline as ‘best tea of India’ made it

an extremely powerful brand. However, just as with every powerful brand the aura gradually

becomes redundant, same is the fate of the brand Taj Mahal. With heavy competition from Tata

tea and other brands, Taj Mahal had begun to lose its brand equity. However with four

makeovers and facelift of the brand ambassador, it is slowly creating a newer image of premium

all over again. However the recent ads are yet to have the strong impact that earlier campaigns of

‘Wah Taj’ had.

One area that Taj Mahal Tea needs to focus on is the usage of online branding and reinforcement

of its legendary tagline. In recent years, there is a tendency of the ads of diluting the very

positioning of the brand as the ‘best tea of India’. As an HUL brand, Taj Mahal is likely to

remain always in the ‘Wah Wah’ list of brands, after all with quality parameters intact ‘Taarif

toh mile gi hi’.

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