1. What are other brands you know that have faced the issue of commoditization? Provide examples and explain how they have coped with it.
2. What are the issues and challenges in marketing a low involvement product? How can these challenges be addressed? How, according to you, did K-C address this challenge and make Kleenex a superior brand?
3. Critically analyze the let it out campaign. Discuss its pros and cons. What modifications or changes do you suggest that can make it more effective?
4. What are the pros and cons of having a brand name that is so well known that it becomes a verb? Suggest how brands such as Kleenex can protect themselves from their brand name becoming so generic that they lose their copy rights.
1. Commoditization has been a concerning issue for marketers as competition grows fierce. For products such as Kleenex, consumers do not have much to ponder over before making a purchase. The low-cost products do not receive much attention from consumers as they are not loyalist and switch to other similar brands without much consideration. They have limited scope to create differentiation and make a niche for themselves. This pattern could be seen in many industries as technology and innovation has become indispensable. For instance, most of the products in grocery or convenience stores are inexpensive and easily available (Lyons, 2012). So the consumers have sufficient options available to shift their brand loyalty to other alternatives since they are less bothered about digging in more information.
Let’s take the case of biscuit industry in India has been a victim of commoditization in the past (Balakrishna, 2011). In 1997, Once Britannia industries was recognized with biscuits as it was the major contributor in the total revenue generation. However, economic reforms ushered in a new era of industrialization wherein big foreign players stepped into the industry posing stern competition to the local companies. The competitors include ITC, Parle, Bakeman’s, Priya Food etc. They introduced cheap biscuits to entice the consumers to switch their allegiance with Britannia. It was this time when the company felt the pressure to sustain the same growth trajectory as the biscuit market was largely becoming commoditized. The company felt the need to review its marketing strategy to meet the issues and challenges. As part of its reinventing strategy, Britannia embraced two-pronged strategy titled ‘Walking on two legs’ to strengthen company’s market position in the biscuit industry and diversify into new product markets to improve growth prospects. This overarching strategy compelled the company to introduce some conventional changes in the brand logo, and brand message to reaffirm consumer confidence in health and nutritional products. Secondly, it entered into a business alliance with world renowned Danone to develop a new product portfolio to target a broad consumer market. This dual approach helped the company gain the lost momentum back in the mother brand (biscuit) and develop a fresh crop of small brands to satisfy diverse consumer demands.
2. Low involvement products are those for which consumers require minimum amount of information and effort before making a purchase. They are usually low priced essential products which are repeatedly purchased without putting much thought. So, consumers need not explore market for better option. They are of least importance, so consumers do not think much before purchasing them. For instance, your daily soap or bottled water. Such brands are easily available. However, if in case they are not available, consumers can opt for any other brand. Consumers have no special preference to purchase one brand over another. This makes it all the more challenging for the marketers to create a niche as the consumers are not deeply involved in making purchasing decision. The commoditization of low involvement products is a big challenge for companies. Kleenex had become an exclusive tissue brand related with flu and cold season. Once the sales started falling in 2001 with competition posed by other big retailers, the company came out with ‘let it out’ campaign to engage consumers by stirring their emotions. They filmed the videos where consumers poured their heart out whilst using the tissue paper, as part of the public campaign. The campaign hit the chord with the consumers and the sales started improving.
The campaign received mix response from the marketers and other brand analysts. Whilst some applauded the company, there were others who denounced it as a lame marketing gimmick which apparently does not address the root cause of the problem. According to me, the company chose a tried and tested formula to emotionally evoke the consumers to purchase their brand over others. But that does not change the fact that there is no change in the core characteristics of the brand. The company merely transformed the perception of people through the LIO campaign. They effortlessly made Kleenex a special product for consumers as and when they give in to their deeply seated emotions. So now the consumers have one more reason to purchase Kleenex over others. I think the campaign was well staged and enacted, but I do not see it as a permanent solution. Some or the other day, consumers would get tired of it and may put their hand on other products in the market.
3. The ‘Let it out’ (LIO) was an innovative campaign intended to engage the potential consumers with the popular tissue brand ‘Kleenex’. The brand has been associated with cold and flu season ever since it was out in the market. However, the brand witnessed consistent drop in the sales, thereby compelling the US- based company to come out with something unique to attract the consumers. The campaign invited people to sit on a sofa and stir their emotions to use the tissue paper. Though the campaign helped the company increase the sale of the brand, there was lot of criticism from the market. There were many who kind of liked the overall feel of the campaign, there were others who accused the company of ignoring the main issues.
Kleenex as a brand does not require much involvement from the consumers. So, plateau in the sale graph was quite a possibility. However, the company played it well with the LIO campaign targeting the consumer perception. The campaign bridged the gap between the brand and the potential consumers through emotional engagement. They did not manipulate or kind of twisted the facts but focused to unveil another facet of the product. They remained honest with the consumers and allowed them to build an emotional bond with the product. Instead of seasonal purchase, now the consumers would like to replenish their stock for their emotional strength. In a sense, this campaign reflected the need of people to listen to their heart and share their feelings to feel better. In totality, this was a welcoming change and did not harm anyone. However, this did not serve the main problem. Notably, commoditization of the low involvement products is a daunting challenge for companies. Though KC did it well, the problem remains unaddressed. I would suggest the company if it had targeted some other consumer segment to expand its core market. The product could have been promoted through some social campaign to connect with a broad market. Alternatively, effective customer relationship management strategies are the best way to promote and sell low involvement products over a long period of time. They can potentially change the consumers preference without making big investment in other marketing gimmicks for temporary relief.
4. It’s an ironical situation for companies when their brand name is unashamedly used in regular conversation. It raises a huge question on the strength of the brand name in the market. For marketers, it is no less than a paradoxical situation wherein on one side it depicts the high engagement of the consumers with the brand, on the other side it challenges the intellectual rights of the product name. Whilst it is not clear if a company loses profit if the brand name is considered generic, it does create confusion among consumers. For instance, Xerox for decades has opposed the use of word ‘xerox’ in general terminology lest the product would become too generic to retain its novelty (Hoban, 2013). Xerox is a global brand and it would lose its sheen if it continues to be used in generic conversation. The same could be said about FaceTime and Skype wherein the brand name has turned into verb i.e. ‘lets skype’ or ‘ I will facetime tonight’. So while people may not realize that they are actually denouncing the copy rights, the reputation of the associated companies diminishes. There is no specific reason as to why some brand names become too generic whilst many others enjoy the exclusivity. Such allegiance with brand names validate the comfort level of the consumers but it kind of demotivates all those who slogged to make the brand name.
In a brand-dominate market culture, it is a stark reality that many popular brand names have become too generic. What is even more surprising is that these generic trademarks have become common part of the English lexicon which apparently most of the people do not even realize. Marketers allege that the companies spend loads of money in develop a unique product or service name but generic use of the brand names belittles all the efforts. Kleenex has faced the same anomaly and the best way to combat it is through effective marketing to reinforce the name in the mind of the consumers. All the ads and other marketing campaigns must emphasize on the brand name for consumers to realize the facts.
References
Lyons, T.S. (2012). Social Entrepreneurship: How Businesses Can Transform Society.
Balakrisha, S. (2011). Case Studies in Marketing.
Hoban, M. (2013). Google This: What It Means When A Brand Becomes A Verb. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3004901/google-what-it-means-when-brand-becomes-verb
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