• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Ajita Shashidhar

Chennai , Feb. 12

IS everything that you are offering to God pure? This is going to be the central theme of the new ad campaign of Mangaldeep, the flagship brand of ITC's Agarbathi division. The campaign, which was recently launched in Andhra Pradesh and is slated for a national launch in the next couple of months, revolves around the company's proprietary Fragrance Lock technology, which claims to seal the fragrance of the agarbathis, thereby retaining their purity.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr V. M. Rajasekharan, CEO, SBU-Agarbathi Business, ITC Ltd, said, "We found the need for `fragrance lock' in consumer research. The consumers said that they ensured the purity of the flowers and prasad they offered by not smelling them, but it was not so in the case of agarbathis as they had to smell it in order to ensure that the fragrance was to their liking."

He said all the packs of Mangaldeep had the Fragrance Lock, which doesn't let the fragrance of the agarbathis escape. However, each pack also comes with a sample pack containing two sticks, which enables the consumers to smell the fragrance of the agarbathis they are going to buy.

"Therefore, the catch line of our campaign, Poori ho nirmal prarthana, calls upon the consumers to buy a pack of Mangaldeep and complete the purity of their prayer," he said.

The campaign is being handled by Ogilvy and Mather, Chennai, and apart from television, it would also target the print and outdoor media.

The Mangaldeep brand was launched in Andhra Pradesh in December last year, and would hit the other markets in the next couple of months.

Mr Rajasekharan said the company would spend substantially on brand-building this year. "The agarbathi market in India is fragmented with most of the players operating at a regional level. Therefore, we have an opportunity to become a national player."

He said the company was even looking at entering the export market next year, for which it would look at developing specific fragrances. While the agarbathi market in India is around Rs 1,000 crore, the export market is close to Rs 240 crore.

More Stories on : New Products & Services | Personal Products

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Arvind, Pantaloon announce tie-up

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line