Example: Advertising and sales promotion: Dabur Honey

How to analyze a case study

Anilesh SethIdeator, Co Founder & CEO, KROWwww.krow.inEx-CEO/MD: LGSI, Qatalys & Supervalu India

www.slideshare.net/anileshhttp://In.linkedin.com/in/anileshsethanileshseth@hotmail.com

First: Do a quick reading- Do quick reading of the case. Get a “feel”- Look at the questions at the end, if any

First: Do a quick reading

- Make a summary of the key points- Make notations on how to use some of the Information provided

Read the case thoroughly

Dabur Honey: Key points • In India, Honey is seen as a traditional product (Existing mindset?)• Most of it is in the unorganized sector• Around 1985, Dabur decided to source from agriculturists and brand it and sell it in

glass jars on shop shelves, offering a consistent quality and ready availability (What “need” was Dabur able to address?)

• This went well with their portfolio of ayurvedic products (What was the positioning?)

• At the time only other company was Khadi Gramodyog – but this was unbranded (no major competition)

• Low demand – restricted to therapy (sore throat), skin conditioner, ingredient in other ayurvedic formulations. Dabur solved the reach problem but there was no new incentive to buy. (main segment: Housewife)

• But they saw huge potential (why? Could they expand the uses and therefore the market?). They had a huge plus in that the brand was synonymous with quality. They were clearly not in a mature market ( large adoption, but potentially huge competition)

Dabur Honey: Key points • By late 1980s, small regional brands started eating away at the low volume market,

and although they lacked wide distribution, Dabur’s sales went from slow to sluggish

• Other brands (Golden Meadows, Allied’s, Mehson’s) started gaining recognition in the undifferentiated market by offering lower pricing and fancy packaging (easy pickings!)

• 1991 Dabur took to national advertising – new platform (purity). Focus on towns with population of 1 lakh plus - spillover effect into smaller areas

• Growth jumped to 20% but not good enough as the base was small• The purity plank didn’t seem to help - (since Dabur anyway was synonymous with

quality). Problem was no new uses compared with just medicinal use• Big competition like Lipton and Nestle started eyeing the market potential if it

were to be sold as a breakfast additive (looking at new uses for the product)• Dabur still had low spends – 10 to 15 lakhs a year. When their agency, Enterprise

did focus groups, they found that using honey for other uses was a problem : the goodness of honey was standing in its way!

Dabur Honey: Key points • Dabur’s umbrella brand that was focused on Ayurveda simply went to confirm this.

The “personality” was dull and traditional. Could taste be another plank?• Objective became to expand usage by targeting the mother who was involved in

family diet and health• Three ad print campaign aimed to reposition Dabur as a tasty, nutritious health

food combined with TV ads to demonstrate its scope of use (repositioning)• Magazines were used to give the housewife detailed suggestions on what it could

be eaten with (expand uses)• Ad spending for 94-95 went upto 50 lakhs – started sponsoring recipe and food

sections in women’s magazines• Increased the jar size, added POP, took more shelf space, gave more incentives to

wholesalers and the sales force• 5 months later, 65 % growth over last year. Shift to the 500 gms jar. Per house

consumption is rising• Dabur has 10% share – all other branded players together account for 4 percent

Questions for discussion

• What should be the advertising and sales promotion strategies for a new competitive product entering the branded honey market?

• Should the new competitor charge the same price as being charged by Dabur or should it be different? Give reasoning in support of your answer.

• Suggest some new sales promotion techniques to Dabur to increase the rate of product trial by those consumers who have not used the product so far

First: Do a quick read

- What tools/frameworks can you use?- Think SWOT, Product-Market Grid, Positioning Maps, Segmentation,

Read the case thoroughly

Organize your information

Organize your information: SWOTStrengths

- Financial?

Weaknesses

- Existing brand value?- Distribution network?

Opportunities

- 14% of the market is with branded players. That leaves a potential of 86% of the 8000 tonnes a year market. Potentially almost 100 crores

- Market is not mature. Growth yet to happen

- Sugar substitute? Other additives?- Further sub-segment the market

(socia economic?)

Threats

- Transnationals- Dabur

Organize your information: Positioning map

UseMedicinal Tasty, nutritious, health food

Pricing

Low

Premium

Dabur

What position can you occupy?

UseMedicinal Tasty, nutritious, health food

Pricing

Low

Premium

Dabur

Sugar substitute

Realm of possibilities

Expanded use…opportunity to subsegment,

reposition, offer multiple brands

First: Do a quick read

- Pretend you are actually there Think 4 Ps of marketing- Web research can provide some “added” dimensions- Pick a position. Debate! Role playing can be fun!

Read the case thoroughly

Organize your information

Immerse yourself!!

Think: 4 Ps of marketingProduct

- Dispenser unit for ease and accuracy of dispensing, with refill packs

- No spill feature- Flavoured honey in small trial

bottles (Ginger, Lemon, Elaichi)

Place

- Adjacent to breakfast foods as additive

- Adjacent to competitions’ jars with flavours (eg Ginger flavored)

- Chemists?

Price

- Potential to offer lower pricing on refill packs

- Potential to offer higher pricing on flavoured variant

Promotion

- Social media/Competitions- Social media engagement – eg

benefits of honey over sugar- Free dispenser- Free trial packs with branded

breakfast foods?

And finally answer the questions

• What should be the advertising and sales promotion strategies for a new competitive product entering the branded honey market?

• Should the new competitor charge the same price as being charged by Dabur or should it be different? Give reasoning in support of your answer.

• Suggest some new sales promotion techniques to Dabur to increase the rate of product trial by those consumers who have not used the product so far

Thank you!