Case Study

Manali Pradhan

Geetesh Dodwani

Anagh Mahajan

Ashish Gunjal

Ajinkya Navare

Flagship brand of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

135-year-old brand

12 billion Brand (1200 crore brand)

Horlicks is the leading Health Food Drink in India

Different Positioning in different countries.

Western Countries Claimed to promote sleep when

consumed at bed timeHong Kong

Marketed as café drink Served as both hot and cold drink as

desired

South East Asia Sold as milky-chocolate-flavoured disks in

paper packets, which were then eaten as candy.

Sold in tin containers and 1.5 kg refill packs United Kingdom

Sold in different flavors Rebranded itself for young consumers by

redesigning the packaging and publicizing its consumption at a number of trendy London venues

India Marketed as 'The Great Family Nourisher.. Developed new products specifically for

India Marketed as growth and alertness enhancing

product for children Made available in biscuit form Introduced Horlicks Lite targeting old

customers Introduced Horlicks Nutribar

Horlicks malt powder in jars from India (left) and Jamaica.

A jar, mug and a couple of teaspoons of Horlicks from the UK

Old Horlicks ad aired on radio(embedded sound file)

New TVC (embedded video)

Flagship brand of GSK

India’s 6th trusted brand

Developed this product keeping in mind the need for mothers to provide healthier nutritive snack to their children.

Horlicks brand was invested to substitute milk as baby food.

Horlicks brand makes kids taller, smarter and sharper.

Indians drink more than five million cups of Horlicks everyday

Nearly half of its revenues come from Southern region

The brand currently is worth close to Rs 1,200 core, bringing in the bulk of the company’s annual turnover

It enjoys more than 50% of the market.

Rival brands ----- Cadbury’s Bournvita , Heinz’s Complan, Nestle’s Milo

Cadbury’s Bournvita and Heinz’s Complan both have 15 per cent share.

The largest markets for Horlicks are UK, India and Malaysia

The health food drink segment is classified into two categories - white liquid (Horlicks, Viva, Complan, Milo) and brown liquid (chocolate based drinks: Boost, Bourvita)

Since its inception Horlicks targeted only children between 6 to 16 years.

Market leader for many years Saturation in market

Gradually, the brand extended itself to products catering to a different Target Audience Horlicks Lite variant for old Horlicks Junior Horlicks Women Horlicks Junior Buiscuits Horlick Nutribar

Age-wise targeting

Location-wise targeting Launched chocolate variant for North and West Vanilla and Honey for targeting others

Various attributes are as follows:

1)PRICE2)Taste3)Quality4)NUTRITION5)Packing

High

LOW

COMPLAN

HORLICKS

BOURNVITA

MILO

Cash Cow

LOWHigh

"Horlicks had acquired image of a convalescent brand and a brand primarily for the elders”.

The image was so ingrained in the consumer minds that Horlicks is invariably presented to people who fall sick by those who visit them.

It was considered to be a substitute drink for guests when the filter-coffee decoction is not ready and certainly a drink for the old and sick.

From a boring nutritional drink, GSK has positioned Horlicks as `pleasurable nourishment', by launching it in vanilla, chocolate and honey variants.

Child: "Horlicks is an old person's drink and I drink it only because mama forces me to do so."

Mother: "My kids drink whatever they feel like, and I wish they would ask for Horlicks."

The new brand positioning also finds mention in the product packs which now carry a logo saying — `Now Proven - Taller, Stronger, Sharper.'

This positioning has worked wonders for the brand whose sales were flat for a few years. "Ever since the re-positioning, Horlicks has grown by four per cent in volume and by seven per cent in value."

Junior Horlicks – a 150 crore brand has positioned a product exclusively for children between the ages of two and five

Horlicks Lite for the elderly who often have a sugar problem

For the youth GSK Consumer Healthcare has leveraged the brand to venture into an entirely new product category — energy cereal bars.

Horlicks Nutribar positioned on the twin planks of health and convenience

In the late 1990s, market research showed that Horlicks was seen “as a nourishing, but boring drink” and was beginning to lose significance.

So, in 2003, the brand was revamped: It was made tastier and launched in two new flavours — vanilla and honey.

The brand today talks to every member of the family rather than the entire family

The idea is to address all age groups.

In the early years, mothers were the sole target audience since the product catered to the entire family. However, once pester power became big in the 1990s, the Horlicks advertisements started talking to children too.

The change worked because it was also the time when mothers’ mindset was changing — they had become more indulgent and let children drink what they liked, rather than imposing on them a drink of their own choice.

Horlicks may not be a cheap product but it’s been communicated as a value-for-money product. Parents today are willing to spend more on nutrition for their children

Compared to competitors, Horlicks is the best money proposition and, moreover, the consumer gets value for the money spent

The radio, through which Horlicks reached out to mothers even 40 years ago, is still an effective channel

Communication message — `Now Proven - Taller, Stronger, Sharper.'

Darsheel Safari – the new face of Horlicks

Objective behind Darsheel as a brand ambassador

Theme of Horlicks commercials is based on kids with a positive attitude

Women’s Horlicks

Apart from the TVC, Horlicks is also embarking on print campaigns focusing on school magazines and children-related publication and also BTL Promotions.

It would be supported by branded stalls and merchandise at the venues for facilitating product sampling and visibility.

Contemporary packaging in hues of bright blue and orange.

The Horlicks visual identity has undergone a complete makeover

A unique pillow-shaped pack and contemporary visuals were introduced across the product portfolio, creating stand-out from other hot milky drinks and giving the brand a fresh new image.

Brand Essence :- 'pleasurable nourishment'

Brand Personality:being social, spirited, full of life and vitality

Brand Packaging:-

Ice Age2 Ice Age3

Apart from conventional strategies Horlicks organizesHorlicks Wizkid -

India’s largest interschool and cultural fiesta

GSK is contemplating to expand its Rs 12 billion flagship brand Horlicks into 8-10 new product segments over the next 12-18 months

Leverage on Brand Equity

Intensive growth – use it twice/day

Rival brand, Complan launched comparative advertising campaign Targeted Newspapers from South Low cost drink Vs Complete growth Compared Complan with Horlicks on Ingredients,

Protein Content, Protein Quality, Number of nutrients.

Horlicks launched advertising campaign to counteract Complan’s Claimed that Horlicks had 24 more nutrients than

Complan Spoke about high price of Complan

Go Rural

Promotional activities for Children

Sponsor some Sport’s Competition

Use better advertisement Better Brand Ambassador Better tagline for good recall

Keep away from Guerilla marketing

Keep innovating

Success or a Failure?

Horlicks is a SUCCESSFUL brand

Market leader-More than 50 % market share

Effective Marketing and Communication Strategies

High Brand Equity

Brand loyalty-One of the loyal brands in the market.