LUXOR WRITING INSTRUMENTS PRIVATE LIMITED - MARKETING PENS IN INDIA
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continued from : THE MARKETING MIX
continued from : PROMOTION AND POSITIONING
The theme of advertising differed according to the product
brands. For instance, the advertising campaigns for Pilot brand stressed on
the unique features of these pens. During the 1980s, the advertising
campaigns highlighted Pilot's dual features of a ball point and fountain
pen. In the 1990s, the campaigns stressed on the technology used in making
Pilot pens.
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The campaign created by Contact advertising in 2002,
featured the famous television actor Shekhar Suman[1] , who highlighted Pilot's 'three dimple technology'[2] ,
which helped in smooth writing. In July 2002, LWIPL felt that the students'
memory had to be refreshed with respect to the Pilot brand. An advertising
campaign, 'Pilot - Reads well, Writes well' was launched.. The campaign was very successful and within six
months, the sales of Pilot pens increased by 30%. Explaining the
advantages of Pilot pens, Pooja Jain, General Manager, LWIPL said[3] ,
"Today, the gel fad is dying and the consumer is coming back to a more
dependable and reliable proposition for value for money, which Pilot
offers. Pilot is in fact perhaps the longest surviving and successful
brand in the writing instruments category as it writes four times more
than any other needle point gel pen. Pilot contributes 15% to our total
turnover." The Parker brand received maximum advertising support from LWIPL. Commenting on the target audience, John Hadley, senior
vice-president (sales and marketing), LWIPL said[4] , "Parker's target
group is the top 12 million families in India and that gives us a big
market any way you look at it. |
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Our aim is to provide a decent writing instrument to
Indians."In early 2001, LWIPL roped in the famous film star and television icon
Amitabh Bacchan to promote the Beta and Vector brands of Parker pens. The
primary reason for choosing Amitabh as a brand ambassador was his popularity
among all groups i.e. children as well as elders and masses as well as classes.
According to media reports, he was paid Rs 50 million for featuring in the
advertisement. The ad campaign was a huge success and had a high recall among
television watchers.
In 2001, LWIPL roped in Shekhar Suman to endorse the Papermate brand. The
advertising campaign highlighted its unique selling propositions such as
trouble free writing, better quality and the rubber body of the pen, which
enhanced its grip. It also conveyed the message of romance by highlighting the
two heart shaped symbols, which formed a part of Papermate brand. Though the
campaign attracted reasonably good attention from the viewers, it was not able
to generate the kind of sales that the company expected and hence in July 2002,
the advertising contract for Papermate brand was given to Lowe. In December
2002, an advertising campaign was aired, which featured Papermate as 'Americas
Largest Selling brand." Through this campaign, LWIPL made an attempt to retain
the American identity of the Papermate brand.
LWIPL also made efforts to change the positioning of its brand, if necessary.
For example, when Parker pens were launched, they were positioned as a premium
brand targeted at the upper sections of the society, including senior
executives, businessmen and so on.
However, realizing that young people could also be the potential buyers for
premium pens, LWIPL targeted its Vector brand at young executives and its Beta
brand for the school and college going students. Explaining the necessity to
change the positioning of the Parker brand, Sanjeev Goyle, Vice-President,
Marketing, LWIPL, said[5] , "We want the Parker brand in the pocket of every
youth. To make this happen we've a two-fold approach: one, shift Parker's
positioning from a serious, daddy's pen to a youthful and vibrant brand; and
second, give multiple price and product options to address the entire section
of the consumers.
THE FUTURE
ADDITIONAL
READINGS AND REFERENCES
[1] Shekhar Suman is a famous television personality in India.
[2] 24 A unique technology, which ensures constant flow of ink in the pen, enabling smooth and clear writing.
[3] In an article titled "Luxor launches new TV ad campaign for Pilot," dated July 31, 2002 posted on www.indiainfo.com.
[4] In an article titled "Signing On" by Ganga Subramaniam in Business India dated December 2-16, 1996.
[5] In an article titled "Luxor inks aggressive plans for Parker," dated June 28, 2001 posted on www.financialexpress.com.
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