The Hindu Business Line : Needs and wants: The eternal marketing warfare

Consumers (most of them in a dynamic environment) have two states — one is the ‘desired’ state and the other is an actual state. Decision-making begins when the gap between actual and desired state is recognised. A consumer wanting to upgrade his Skoda to a Mercedes has a gap between the states in that facet of life. Most marketing activities rely on this state. The gap can be in terms of functional aspects/experiential aspects/symbolic aspects or any ot her psychological state. Identifying the gap between actual and desired states initiates a range of marketing states. This basic approach is not only eternal to marketing, it is also universal.

There are a number of linkages across stages. Consider a product such as iced tea or an electric toothbrush. In the former case, consuming iced tea is not traditional and in the latter, perceived risk and the concept need to be explained. For iced tea, brand associations are important even at the need stage. In the case of an electric brush, what is known as primary advertising is needed to sell the concept to consumers. The brand has to also take care to ensure that there is a pioneering association created when selling this concept as a competitor may otherwise take advantage of the pioneer selling the concept.

While the need stage recognises various states of a consumer’s psyche, marketers have to be careful when it comes to cultural aspects. Detergent bars and food have been a part of our culture and it is difficult to change them. A fast food brand attacking well-entrenched traditional food habits in India as non-nutritious (and offering nutrition-based fast food) may not be well received by consumers who are completely immersed in the food habits of the specific culture. Ariel and Tide (international brands of P&G) introduced bar detergents given the huge market and consumers’ tendency in the culture to use bar detergents to wash clothes.

Coffee-drinking is confined to the Southern markets predominantly and the penetration rate of this category itself is very low as compared to tea. Tea is regarded a national drink simply because it is a part of the culture. Tea shops (with the kadak strength of tea) for the masses and coffee shops for the emerging sub-culture of urban and Westernised youth substantiate the point.

Cultural aspects matter to a number of need statesThere’s a need for a brand to take care of such cultural practices.

A good example of how a need stage was used for a snack food is the case of Maggi during the ’80s. Need stage also takes into consideration what is known as generic competition - share of the wallet of the consumer towards categories that compete with themselves (not just brands within a category). Though not a part of the Indian palate, Maggi used the two-minute convenience platform to position itself to urban nuclear families — snacking after getting back from school is a popular Indian habit among children. It is interesting to compare the entry of Quaker Oats in the Indian market.

Breakfast is a strongly entrenched habit in the culture and in 27 States possibly as many breakfast dishes are eaten. Quaker Oats recently entered the Indian market. This brand also addresses itself to the heath-conscious urban market that possibly “suffers” from the negative aspects of a lifestyle that is inspired by the West and is not totally a Western one. Quaker Oats, in line with fitness and health trends, says in its TV commercial that this food has fibre, no cholesterol and makes a subtle suggestion that it can be used for breakfast.

The basic minimum price, though a bit more expensive than regular breakfast, is Rs 25. Towards the end of the TV commercial the brand makes a mention of the price.

Using cultural changes

Brands need to also make use of changes in culture. For example, male grooming. Fairness has been strongly associated with Fair & Lovely. Of late, Menz Active, Fair and Handsome and Nivea have positioned themselves on the ‘fairness for men’ platform. Fair & Lovely (the cream for women) itself has changed its positioning to aspirational aspects (middle-class girl becoming a cricketer).

Fairness creams were used by men, much before exclusive creams for this segment were launched, as reflected through research done in India. Even today reports based on research show that men are reluctant to buy personal care products for themselves and this needs to be taken into consideration.

The three brands launched for men have used distinctive strategies. Fair & Handsome’s initial advertisement showed a young man stealing a fairness cream from a women’s hostel, showcasing the inhibition associated with men’s usage of the cream! The same brand is going to use Shah Rukh Khan to reinforce its appeal.

Menz Active showed how a fair-skinned young man can get a break in films. Nivea has taken a different route and does not mention fairness as the benefit as it may have feminine connotations. Instead, it appeals to business executives as the cream that will add brightness during their ‘business day’.

With changes sweeping the consumer mindscape, several products associated with women have entered the men’s domain thanks to creative positioning strategies and consumers’ attempts to establish identities.

The list of cultural cues to trigger the need stage can be further extended.

Vicco Turmeric Ayurvedic Cream probably was the first brand to advertise a facial cream with such powerful advertising campaigns. Four decades ago, in cinema halls throughout the country, there would be no movie screened without the brand’s ad and the Government’s newsreel that was mandatory those days.

Vicco created excellent awareness and triggered the needs of young girls. Until recently, the advertising concentrated on the ‘Vicco-wedding occasion’ link. When environment changes and values /lifestyles change, the brand has to adapt.

Fair &Lovely used the opportunity to position itself as the cream for “all round/all time.” Ear-piercing, jewellery, talc, deodorants, and now fairness cream — the next logical progression in the list may perhaps be flowers for men’s grooming! If that happens, it must be cultural creativity of the ethnic kind!

(S. Ramesh Kumar is Professor of Marketing, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore).

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