BRANDING


The AMA defines brand as a "name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers." It create an identity of seller's product and helps consumers distinguish the features of one product from that of the other.


                                           

Branding is the process of building a brand, through various marketing mix activities, in such a manner that customers begin to associate themselves with the brand and develop a unique identity with it. The elements of branding can be elaborated as:

• Brand Name- BRU
• Brand Logo
• Brand Slogan- BRU se hoti hai khushiyan shuru
• Brand Equity
• Brand Promise- Mood enhancer and catalyst for stimulating conversations
• Brand Awareness- TVC's, print, online etc
• Brand Attitude- No. 1 coffee brand in India
• Brand Purchase Intention- To make instant coffee

PRICING

PRICING DECISIONS

American Marketing Association defines price as “the formal ratio that indicates the quantities of money goods or services needed to acquire a given quantity of goods or services.” In other words, pricing is the process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its goods and services. Sellers must carefully price their products as much of the business is dependent on the price decided for a particular product.

Price of any product or service is determined by several factors like-

• Manufacturing cost 
• Market conditions 
• Target demographics 
• Competitors’ prices 
• Producer’s perception about the quality of his own product

Generally, prices are set higher than the cost of manufacture of goods so as to earn a minimum amount of profit.

Pricing is of three types-

a. Reference Pricing- Consumer knows the possible price range of the product, may be from a past experience of buying or prior knowledge about the price of the product. Before buying, consumers employ reference pricing and check the actual price of the price and then buys it.

b. Price Cues- In this, seller price the product at a number ending in '9'. This is a highly psychological pricing. Like, a price Rs. 99 gives consumers that price is in the range of 90 while if it is 100 then it gives the feeling that product is priced in 3 digit numbers and it is expensive.

c. Price- Quality inferences- Many consumers thinks that price is the indicator of quality. Higher the price, higher is the quality. Some brands may adopt the policy of exclusivity and scarcity, signifying their uniqueness and charge premium rates.

BRU Pricing

DISTRIBUTION

DISTRIBUTION

Distribution is the process of transferring of goods from the point of manufacture to the point of sales. A product should be available at the right place at the right time and in right condition, so a distributor make sure about its availability.  Role of distribution channel is vital in covering the market and for the sales of the product. 

Direct & Indirect channels:

In direct channel, seller directly sells to the buyer without employing the intermediaries. Seller saves extra costs by eliminating intermediaries and develops more personal relation with the customer. It limits the scope of gaining mass distribution through wholesaler and retailers.

While, indirect channels consists of smaller organizations which acts as intermediaries in the distribution of goods and services. Agents, wholesalers, retailers and other distributors are facilitators who makes product available to consumers across various geographical regions through departmental, supermarket and retail outlets.

Push and Pull Strategies of Distribution:

In Push strategy, manufacturer's sales force and trade promotion techniques like discount coupons, festival offers and schemes, comes into play. They push the product to consumers and drive sales.

On the other hand, pull strategies are targeted at attracting the customers towards the products by way of advertising and other forms of communication. 

Bru follows the policy of extensive distribution through indirect channels because it has a large customer base. 

Its general trade comprises of-

1. Groceries shops
2. Chemist stores
3. Wholesalers
4. Kiosks
5. General stores

Special displays at-

1. Hotel
2. Restaurants
3. Airport
4. Railways
5. Mall 
6. Concerts
7. Trade shows
8. College events

ANALYZING BUSINESS MARKETS

•BRU belongs to Hindustan Unilever

•It was launched in the year 1968 under the brand of ‘Brook Bond’

•One of the highly consumed coffee brand in India

It is an astonishing 800 - crore instant coffee segment in India

Bru’s market share as up to end of 2011 – 50.2% against Nescafe’s 49.2%. Growth rate is projected to be 25.6% p.a.

BRU and competition in India

Market Share

HOLISTIC MARKETING

The concept of holistic marketing is based on the development, design and  complementation of the marketing program, processes and activities in a manner that a favorable image of the product, brand and the company is established in the minds of the consumers and other related parties. It considers the fact that everything matters in marketing. It integrates both external and internal marketing.





The elements of Holistic marketing are:

• Internal Marketing- Different teams in an organization working in collaboration and have common goal of achieving customer satisfaction.

• Integrated Marketing- Communication channels employed by the company should be well integrated and convey the same message across all platforms.

• Performance Marketing- It relates that the performance of the employees and the company as a whole will determine the sales revenue and brand equity of the firm.

• Relationship Marketing- Customers are the most valuable assets to an organization, without which no firm can function. The company should maintain healthy and harmonious relations with the customers and channel partners as they are the pillars of success of an organization.

SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING

SEGMENTATION


                                        
According to the AMA, market segmentation refers to "the process of subdividing a market into distinct sunsets of customers that behave in the same way or have similar needs. Each subset may conceivably be chosen as a market target to be reached with a distinct market strategy."

It's done on the basis of-

1. Demographic- Consumer market is divided on the basis of their age, gender, income, occupation etc.
2. Psycho-graphic-  Factors such as lifestyle, personality, occasions, benefits derived from consumption of product, user status, usage rate, loyalty status etc are considered.
3. Geographic- Geographically regions are divided into Tier I, Tier II, Tier III etc or urban, semi urban and rural areas.

TARGETING

Once the segmentation has been done, the seller has to decide which segment he is going to target to sell his products. AMA define targeting as "narrowly focusing ads and keywords to attract a specific, marketing profiled searcher and potential customer."


                                        






POSITIONING

Product positioning is defined by AMA as "the way consumers, users, buyers and others view competitive brands or types of products. As determined by market research techniques, the various products are plotted onto maps, using product attributes as dimensions."


                                        

STP for BRU

SEGMENT                           People looking to make coffee instantly

TARGET GROUP               Middle and Upper middle class people

POSITIONING                    Mood enhancer and catalyst for stimulating conversations

                     "BRU se hoti hai khushiyan shuru"

PROMOTION


Promotion is essentially a marketing communication mix which consists of elements such as- personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, advertising and publicity along with new promotional elements like events and experience, interactive marketing and word of mouth marketing.

Promotion tools which BRU uses-

 

Strategy	Channel	Location
Advertising	1.       Print and Broadcast ads 2.       Posters	1.       Popular TV shows and movies 2.       Colleges 3.       TVC’s
Sales Promotion	1.       Sampling 2.       Premiums and gifts	1.       Bru café world 2.       Retail Stores 3.       Colleges
Public Relation	1.       Press kits	1.       Media Launch
Direct Marketing	1.       Social Networking	1.       Facebook, Twitter, Website, E-mail
Events	1.       College events 2.       Movie Promotion- Tie up with movie ‘Aaisha’ for promotions	1.       Colleges, Restaurants, Café

Promotional Campaigns by BRU

Bru has a stronghold in the southern market. Unilever wanted to explore communication strategies and activation methods to help Bru penetrate the Non- south market and increase the home consumption. Part of the project was also dispelling the perception of Bru as a cold coffee brand and at the same time, promoting unconventional uses of Bru coffee.

Others

Typo form portrait of Rajat Kapur for his film Promotion 

 

Other Celebrities promoting their movies and BRU

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is the application of consistent brand messaging across both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels and using different promotional methods to reinforce each other.




                               


Integrated Marketing Communication of Bru

COMPETITION AND INDUSTRY

According to a study conducted by the International Coffee Organization, India is the fifth largest coffee producer in the world. Karnataka alone is responsible for producing 70% of the total coffee output of the country. 
India is responsible for producing only a meager 4% of world coffee output and the industry directly provides employment to about 6 lakh people.

Major players are-

• Bru
• Nescafe
• Tata Coffee

As per 2011 reports, Bru owned 51% market share of coffee industry in India. While Nescafe accounts for 49% market share, Tata and other local players fights for the third position in the industry. 

BUYING DECISION PROCESS

• Who buys this product?

Consumers, who opt for instant drinks and believes in quick preparation of their coffee, are the one who will buy this product. People who prefer preparing coffee for themselves at their own time and convenience without any assistance will be the target customers. 

Other than that, people who are willing to switch from traditional coffee to instant coffee and are ready to shell a few more bucks to save time and effort, will be buying BRU.

• What problem will this product solve?

1. For people who are in hurry, they can make instant coffee and enjoy their drink at any time.
2. Rich, dark enhance taste which was lacking earlier, would be solved by BRU.

• Which attributes are important and why?

1. Brand
2. Trusted Company
3. Price 
4. Packaging
5. Jingle
6. Variants

• If this decision is first time, how will it go?

Factors leading for first time use-

1. Friends
2. TVC's
3. To try new thing
4. Non- availability of substitute

Results-

1. Might turn first time user into a regular customer
2. Brand loyalty
3. Word of mouth publicity

• If this decision is repeat, how will it go?

1. Permanent customer
2. May influence and bring in other customers also
3. Comparison with different brands

• How was the deliberation (thinking) in your head?

1. Which flavor will be preferred most?
2. How coffee drinkers are differentiated from the rest?

INDUSTRY LIFE CYCLE

Industry Life Cycle

It is the overall view of the entire industry of a particular category. In other words, ILC is the aggregate of the PLCs of all the brands under a particular product category. It has five stages:

1. Early Stage Phase- In 1960's there were hardly any coffee manufacturer in India. Under the brand 'Brook Bond' HUL launched coffee in 1968 as an instant coffee beverage. Since then it has created and distributed an array of unique high quality coffee blends.

2. Innovation Phase- Since its introduction as an instant coffee, it has been launched with different varieties such as Bru Cappuccino, Bru Lite, Bru Cold Coffee, Bru Gold, Bru Roast and Ground etc. Earlier it was viewed as a product for the elite and upper middle class, but with time its acceptance is increased and now it has an astonishing 800 crore instant coffee segment in India. 

3. Growth Phase- The name Hindustan Unilever resonated with the consumers of coffee and Bru gained no. 1 status in India in 2011 with 51% of market share. Now also the sales volumes of Bru are sky rocketing, as industry is becoming successful in providing tough competition to the traditional beverage industry.

4. Maturity Phase- Currently coffee industry is in its growth phase only as it has reached to 12-13% market share in the beverage industry in India. So, it is yet to achieve the most consumable drink status and has a long way to go. 

5. Decline Phase- Coffee industry in India will not see decline any time soon.

MARKETING

According to American Marketing Association: Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and process for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offering that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

CUSTOMER VALUE CONSTRUCT

Customer value is a customers' perceived preference for and evaluation of those attributes, attribute performances and consequences arising from use that facilitate achieving the customers goals and purpose in use situation.

F       For BRU, key attributes considered by customers are

•Packaging- It's new innovative packing which locks down the aroma of the dark and freshly brewed coffee

•Flavor - Availability in several flavors, allowing consumers to choose amongst many flavors

•Availability - It's presence in Jar, loose pouch and sachet, again customers can choose what they want.  

CONSUMERS DECISION PROCESS ELEMENTS

What makes you decide whether or not to buy certain product or even buy into certain services mainly depends on inside or outside influences. These influences are internal or external. 
The internal influences that guide through certain buying decisions can be attributed to direct marketing or influenced by a friend, a relative, a colleague, or even society. 
External or environmental influences can also be attributed to social class, family or friends.

Decision process for BRU coffee

1. Need Recognition- Since BRU is the top coffee brand in India, people will automatically think of it when it comes to satisfy the need. 

2. Information search- It takes place while purchasing for the product. Bru has an brilliant TVC with attractive jingle, which reminds people of it while choosing coffee. " Bru se hoti hai khushiyan shuru".

3. Alternate evaluation- In this part customers do not have much choices. They will either go for BRU or Nescafe. Bru certainly has a clear advantage over Nescafe because of its recent innovative packaging like zipper pouches, aroma-lock package, Mini-packs and so on.

4. Purchasing- A customer buys coffee because of his/ her desire of drinking it. So the customer is already decided to purchase it before going to the shop/ cafe.

5. Post- purchasing- Mostly, BRU customers are retained. They already know what to expect from it after their previous experience. Satisfied customers will turn in again for a much better experience. 

LIFE CYCLE CONCEPT

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

Product Life Cycles is the stages which a product goes through during its lifetime. The PLC helps companies to identify the different stages in which its products stands accordingly design marketing strategies to make the product successful. It has four stages-

Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. 

Introduction

The first stage begins with pioneering of the product. It is characterized by low level of competition, low sales volumes, relatively high costs and limited markets. Here marketers aims to increase awareness about the product through intensive advertising, through popular mass media, free trails etc. 

Bru coffee was introduced in India in 1967.

1. Instant premix powder provides coffee lovers with a healthier alternative

2. Ready to drink within 5 seconds, just by adding 200 ml of water anytime, anywhere

3. Categories- Hot and Cold Cappuccino

Growth

In this stage, product gains rapid acceptance in the market. It is characterized by high sales volumes, substantial profits, tough competition, greater visibility in market and distinguished advertising stressing on competitive difference. 

Bru coffee's growth in market was due to-

1. Its universal appeal

2. Instant coffee preparation

3. People's will to shift from regular beverage to new one (from tea to coffee)

4. Enticing flavors

5. Attractive ads

Maturity

This is the most stable stage of the PLC. Here product is stable in volumes, have high customer loyalty, introduction of more variants in product line, with greater efforts from company's side to retain market position. In this stage, any strategy implemented can either lead to further growth of the company or lead to its downfall. 

Bru Coffee is currently in its Maturity stage. It has 47% of market share, just behind Nescafe which have 51% share in the market.

Decline

This is the death stage of the product, where the product loses its customers to competitors. Sales and profits sees downfall, lack of production, lesser distribution, etc are the functions of this stage. 

Bru is going strong in the market and has not seen this stage, despite tough competition from other players like Nescafe, Tata and Reliance. 

PRODUCT MIX AND PRODUCT HIERARCHY

Product Mix

According to the American Marketing Association, product mix refers to "the full set of products offered by the organization for sale. The product mix includes all the product lines and categories." In simple terms, it is the set of product varieties that a company has to offer to the consumers. It's four dimensions are:

1. Width- It refers to the number of product lines that a company sells. A small/ new company will have a lesser product width as it will have basic varieties to sell, build market share and then expand the width according to the market situations.
For BRU coffee the width is six as it has Bru Gold, Bru Exotica, Bru Instant, Bru Cappuccino, Bru Select and Bru Roast & Ground. These all have different characteristics differentiating themselves from each other.

2. Length- It is the total number of products in the mix. Companies that have multiple product lines generally keep tracks of their average length per product line.
Length of product mix of Bru coffee could be the 10 gm sachet and 500 gm packet.

3. Depth- It is the total number of variants of each product. It includes features like flavors and several distinguishing features. Just like length, depth also plays major role in formulating companies strategies.

4. Consistency- This tells us the relationship between different product lines in terms of their use, production and distribution. Product mix may be consistent in their usage but vary greatly in their distribution.
Like, Bru instant may be available in every retail store, but its exotic favorite range may only be available in supermarkets (such as Reliance Mart, Walmart, etc.).


PRODUCT HIERARCHY

The American Marketing Association describes product hierarchy as "an organizational chart type of array of the products offered in a given market, breaking first into product class, then product form, then variations on form, and then brand." Every product hierarchy dimensions have various options so that the array can be designed as per the needs of the analyst.

The product hierarchy for Bru coffee can be elaborated as:

Need Family	Thirst/ Desire
Product Family	Beverages
Product class	Hot/ Cold coffee
Product line	Instant, Gold, Exotica, Cappuccino etc
Product type	Sachets, Loose packets, Jar
Product brand	Bru
Product item	10 gm, 50 gm, 100 gm, 500 gm, 1 kg

MARKETING MIX

It is the mix of controllable marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the desired level of sales in the target market. These  "Four Ps" are -

1. Price
2. Product
3. Promotion
4. Place (or distribution)

1. Price: 

200 gm pouch- Rs. 264 

100 gm bottle- Rs. 167

50 gm pouch- Rs. 97

Bru tries to maintain the price of its offerings or to decrease it, so that it can have an edge over the competitors and can sustain its market leader status. 

2. Product

• BRU coffee, the most popular coffee brand in India.
• Available in different variants 
• Positioned on the theme of happiness, its tagline is "Happiness begins with BRU"
• Annual coffee consumption is 1 lakh tonne

3. Place

• Bru World Cafe
• Kirana shops to malls

4. Promotion 

PRODUCT LEVEL: THE CUSTOMER VALUE HIERARCHY

In planning its market offering, the marketer needs to address five product levels. Each level adds more customer value, and the five constitute a customer- value hierarchy.

• The fundamental level- Core benefit: The service or benefit customer is really buying. 

1. An invigorating beverage prepared instantly.
2. Happiness, celebrating moments with BRU- "BRU se hoti hai khushiyan shuru"
3. Mood enhancer and catalyst for stimulating conversations.

• Second level- Basic product: Marketer must turn core benefits into basic product. 

1. From instant and conventional coffees to a variety of premixes, providing the rich aroma and exotic flavors of Bru coffees.
2. Bru has established its own coffee-shop chain in Mumbai (Bru World Café’) 

• Third level- Expected product: Marketers prepares an expected product, which the buyer was expecting normally with certain attributes and conditions.

1. Instant coffee is offered to save time in the emerging workforce environment.
2. Economic consumption through Rs. 1 for one cup sachet.
3. Available from Kirana shops to Bru World Cafe.

• Fourth level- Augmented product: Offerings from marketers that exceeds customer expectation.

1. Innovative packaging in its 'clip lock' packets

• Fifth level- Potential product:Encompasses all the possible augmentations and transformations product might undergo in future.

Bru Coffee

Hindustan Unilever Limited is an Indian consumer goods company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. HUL's products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. HUL is the market leader in Indian consumer products with presence in over 20 consumer categories such as soaps, tea, detergents and shampoos amongst others with over 700 million Indian consumers using its products. The company has a distribution channel of 6.3 million outlets and owns 35 major Indian brands. 

BRU COFFEE

Ever since its inception, Bru has been on a constant endeavor to bring better products and formats to the consumer with every passing year. Bru’s specially selected and freshly roasted coffee beans offer a great cup of aromatic coffee to the consumers, which makes their moments of genuine warmth and happiness even more special.

important facts-

• India's number 1 Coffee brand
• Only Coffee brand from Unilever
• Enjoys a rich heritage, came into existence in 1962 under the brand name Deluxe Green Label
• Consistently offering better and newer products to the consumer through improved packaging solutions and innovative product formats
• Enjoys a strong presence at various out of home locations