The Hindu Business Line : For a larger share of voice

THE medicated lozenges business is a cut-throat one, especially, when one faces odds such as niche product type and channels of distribution. Battling this market scenario, Strepsils is enhancing its market share by building brand properties instead of dissipating its resources on high-decibel advertising.

The total market for the medical lozenge category is estimated to be Rs 32 crore (ACNielsen ORG Pharma Audit December 2004). In value terms, Strepsils commands a 47 per cent market and in terms of volume about 33 per cent in a turf marred by seasonality, medicinal nature, and channel of distribution.

"A sore throat is a function of the weather changes. The incidence increases in monsoons and winters unlike other FMCG products that sell throughout the year," says Devendra Shinde, Marketing Manager at Boots Piramal Healthcare Pvt Ltd, the company that owns the brand.

Moreover, Strepsils is an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine and is consumed only when the problem crops up, unlike in some other FMCG categories that depend on impulse. Thus, the issue really is about being visible not just at the right place but also at the right time.

Again, medicated throat lozenges are sold under a drug licence and can therefore be sold only at the chemist's outlets. There are also certain limitations in terms of the marketing activities that can be done with the brand, like sampling and consumer promotions, Shinde adds.

The ringside view is interesting: Strepsils holds its ground against competitors, including Vicks, which are freely available, unlike Strepsils which can only be sold through chemists' stores. Over the last year, the brand has been averaging more than one million lozenges a month, and has sold around four lakh bottles of Strepsils Cough Fighter over last year.

Though Strepsils is available across 1.5 lakh outlets and nearly 3,000 other retail outlets that house pharmacies, the issue of consumer purchase decision and preference persists.

"Consumers do not really take a sore throat too seriously. When there is a slight irritation in the throat, consumers may not immediately purchase a lozenge for sore throat," explains Shinde.

They may actually reach out to a soother that is available at the paan store next door. It's when the soother really does nothing to his/ her throat that he will move on to purchase a medicated lozenge.

However, the IMS ACNielsen ORG Pharma Audit data for December 2004 reveals a tightly-held position. (IMS is a leading provider of business intelligence and strategic consulting services for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.) Market shares in the medicated lozenge market category are quite telling : Strepsils holds 47 per cent, Vicks 51 per cent, Smyle and DCold one per cent each. Much of the credit goes to the brand equity Strepsils has generated over the years.

Strepsils was launched over four decades ago. The first variant to be launched was the Regular in 1963 and was first sold on a doctor's prescription. Nine years later, two new flavours, Orange and Lemon, were introduced.

Ginger Lemon, a completely Indian flavour, was launched in 1977 and the five-flavour menu was completed in the '90s with the launch of Menthol. Over the years, it moved from being a prescription-only product to an OTC brand. Two brand extensions were launched in 2002: Strepsils Cough Fighter, a natural herbal alcohol-free cough syrup, and Strepsils Pain Relief, a lozenge for a painful sore throat.

Interestingly, Strepsils has managed to hold on to its share in spite of being at a 250 per cent price premium over Vicks. "The price premium is an experiential quid pro quo: quick relief from sore throat. Strepsils is not competing on price in this market. It is clearly positioned as an efficacious medicine for sore throats," says Abhijit Sanyal, Chief Executive Officer, Boots Piramal Healthcare Pvt Ltd.

The brand has moved from being a serious medicine to one that is more approachable. Over the years, this transition has been achieved through changes in communication, packaging, product and introduction of flavours.

The advertising agencies associated with Strepsils include McCann Erickson, the agency behind the `No Parking' ad campaign. The account was earlier handled by Lintas. Though the brand positioning has been the same over the years, the treatment changed with time.

The `throat care expert' position has been built on the back of an obvious fact: a clear voice comes from a clear throat. This has been borne out by the brand's communication right from the MGM lion and Sholay ads of the '70s to the current `no-parking' commercial on air.

And then competition reacted with high decibel advertising. While Vicks continued with positioning on throat irritation `Galley me khichh khichh,' Halls aired `Halls. Goli nahin, awaaz ka gola.' The latter, despite being perceived as a candy, somehow hit Strepsils where it hurts the most: the voice turf. With a splurge on high-decibel advertising, Strepsils tweaked its communication strategy by building brand properties. `Strepsils Clear Speak' was an effective property based on the vox populi. The brand property was an avenue for people to criticise and vent their opinion on events such as cricket or budget.

"Developing brand property was a deliberate attempt to sustain the growth of the brand," says Shinde. In course of time, Boots Piramal developed other properties such as Strepsils Throat Care Advisory (STCA) comprising three eminent voice specialists. Every monsoon, Boots releases public interest advertisements from STCA, which educates people about throat-related ailments, and encourages people to write back with their throat-related problems.

Though the company plans to increase its ad spends by 25 per cent next fiscal, it will concentrate on building more of such properties. "Voice is a strategic platform on which all our activities would be centred," says Shinde, while indicating that the company will consider testing successful music-related programmes such as Channel V's Super Singer or Sony's Indian Idols in the next phase of branding. A case of culling the `decibel' out of high-decibel advertising.

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