Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Jan 25, 2007
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Jan 25, 2007 ePaper |
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Marketing
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Brands Linc Pen plans to rewrite brand image R. Ravikumar
"We are targeting 20 per cent of the writing instruments market by 2007-08."
Says Mr Deepak Jalan, Managing Director, "The underlying theme of Linc's new brand campaign — `The beginning of change' — reinforces the company's image makeover and repositioning strategy." According to him, the company is on a fast track and a brand metamorphosis is the need of the hour to gain a competitive edge in the present market scenario. The realisation that the writing instruments business involves a high degree of direct interaction with the consumer has compelled the company to step out of a "manufacturing mindset" and lay more emphasis on the consumer. "A perceptional and attitudinal shift is anticipated for the brand as the new and evolved `brand personality' has an aspirational attribute which clearly defines the shift from producing product-driven campaigns to value-centric campaigns," he says. Earmarking an ad spend of Rs 6 crore, Linc has rolled out a campaign on Star, Zee and the like. "It will soon be followed by print and outdoor campaigns," says Mr Jalan. The new campaign will also be replicated in Tamil to increase brand visibility and saliency among its target audience in the State. The company also plans to initiate campaigns through on-ground contests and promotions as an endeavour to connect with consumers. Currently, Linc has 9 per cent share of the Rs 1,800-crore writing instruments market (20 per cent of which is catered to by the unorganised sector). "We are targeting 20 per cent of the market by 2007-08," says Mr Jalan. According to him, Cello is the market leader with a 26 per cent share. "As the market for writing instruments is quite a segmented one, we are adopting a longer-term strategic investment approach to building the value and equity of the `master brand' Linc and thereby enhance consumer confidence and belief in our products and the brand," Mr Jalan says. In the current "commoditised" approach of the industry for this category, building long-term brand value will be the key differentiator for us to energise and enhance our ability to capture greater value share of the consumer spending, over time, he adds. The company, apart from manufacturing writing instruments including various types of pens, pencils, crayons and markers, also has premium brands Uniball from Mitsubishi Pencil Co of Japan and Lamy of Germany in its product portfolio. Linc's footprints now cover more than 30 countries with the US and the UK as its largest export market. "Global retail majors such as Wal-Mart, Tesco and W.H. Smith stock our products," says Mr Jalan. Exports currently account for around 15 per cent of the company's total sales. The company hopes to increase that to 20 per cent next year. The company hopes to close this fiscal with sales of over Rs 150 crore from the Rs 134 crore it registered last year.
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