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APRIL, 2002 |
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Marketing |
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ATV on NTV
After Shangrila TV packed off from NTV screen, it is now the turn of ATV to go on screen. And the occasion is going to be the FIFA World Cup soccer matches, to be presented live in Nepal by Avenues TV (ATV), a brand promoted by Advertising Avenues Nepal Ltd. Though it is not revealed exactly how much money NTV is getting in exchange for the time sold to ATV, Bhaskar Rajkarnikar, the CEO and Chairman of Advertising Avenues said it is likely to cost nearly Rs. 22.5 million in total to bring the live telecast of the World Cup to Nepal. The television rights of the games are owned by KEG Sports, a multinational media firm from which Ad Avenues has purchased the rights for Nepal. Khetan Group company, Himalayan Snax and Noodles (P) Ltd. has become the sponsor for the World Cup live telecast on behalf of Mayos brand of noodles. Dabur Nepal and Nepal Lever Ltd. are the co-sponsors. Gorkha Brewery, the flagship company of Khetan Group, had also sponsored the live telecast in Nepal of 1998 World Cup soccer. Advertising Avenues Nepal Ltd. is the first ad company in Nepal incorporated as a public limited company formed last year by amalgamating a couple of ad agencies. The company is planning to enter all the media businesses – print, radio and TV, says Rajkarnikar. "For this we are starting as a producer of TV program, which we will present over NTV and other telecasters. In the second phase, we will become an independent telecaster". Rocking the Rocket The mustard oil controversy this time is around TM Dugar Group’s ‘Rocket’ brand. Following a complaint lodged by Pro-Public, a consumer protection group, with the authorities that the packet of the brand contained hazardous substance Arzimona Mexicana, the news about it was published in the newspapers. Immediately, Shraddha Foods Pvt. Ltd, the TM Dugar Group firm that owns the brand, issued a denial claiming that the company did not produce the batch number mentioned in the complaint, thus implying that the packet, alleged to be contaminated, was an imitation. Perhaps the company is right, but it is becoming ever difficult for it to prove its claim. The marketing principle says that the owner of the brand should also protect the brand against imitations and duplication. In almost similar situation, Nepal Lever Ltd. is making a high decibel noise cautioning everyone that there are unauthorized versions and even imitations of its brands being sold in the market. Nothing of that sort has been done by Shraddha Foods. Meanwhile, Pro-Public has also filed a writ petition in the supreme court against Shraddha Food. Arzimona Mexicana had rocked the mustard oil industry also two years ago. But this time it is particularly affecting a single unit. TM Dugar Group is formed after the Dugar family separated into a number of independent business groups. Agro-processing is the sector in which all the Dugars are competing among each other. One of the Dugar Group (KL Dugar) has already had a trouble over another type of controversy. Though it is the only holder of Nepal Standard (NS) mark on mustard oil (Dhara brand), it was reprimanded for using medical doctors in its advertisement some time ago. Lito is a special Nepali styled baby food prepared by mixing the cereals and beans. Sarvottam Pitho, that is used for making the Lito is still being sold by Patan Hospital. This recollection is because Chaudhary Group has started advertising about what it calls Chaudhary’s Sarvottam Lito. Obviously Lito is a generic name (so is Sarvottam Lito) and cannot be branded. There still are available a number of other brands of Sarvottam Lito (this scribe has seen at least one). What is distinct about Chaudhary’s is the word Chaudhary’s. Though it may not be an illegal step to name the brand as Chaudhary has done in this case, the question is whether this ad passes the professionalism test. Perhaps some marketing experts may come up with some suggestions. You cannot ask the ad agency to shed light on this, because nowhere is the name of the ad agency featured in the ad. Perhaps it is prepared in-house. Hence, the ad designers forgot that Lito may be produced also by others. As regards the quality of the ad itself, the experts this scribe contacted were of general agreement that it is good in most of the counts - credibility, creativity, and also effectiveness in arousing interest of the prospects. Focusing in the three types of the tastes that its Sarvottam Lito is available in Chaudhary's is trying to compete with Cerelac that comes from India and sells nearly 80,000 - 100,000 units a month, according to one estimate. When all the other airline companies seem to be saving in their advertisement budget on the pretext of low sales due to the downfall of tourism following 9/11, Mountain Air has started a visual ad on TV. Emphasizing on the features of the airline such as punctuality, new technology craft and standard of service as well as the distinguishing blue color of the planes, the ad does not seem to be anything significant in terms of creativity. However, daring out in advertisement is itself a bold decision at present circumstances for an airline company.
By advertorial, it is generally understood to be an editorial style writing in a newspaper or magazine to advertise about some product. One recent advertisement about 1.5 litre Pepsi in PET bottle tried to change the notion. But it vanished soon and is not repeated now. Pepsi Cola ads used in Nepal are mostly the international creations, more particularly made in India. Therefore, though Pepsi ads are generally acclaimed as good, the Nepali consumers may love to see something created in Nepal itself. With giants like Ansal Buildwell of India present in the market, the housing industry has become competitive and professionalised, as compared to simply a brokering business of the past when it used to be handled successfully only by the conmen. The result now can be seen in attractively designed ads from Ansal as well as other players in the field. Surely gone are the days when the housing company ads used to be merely classified displays. One case of innovative looking ad from this sector is that from Sunrise Homes. Coming up with a number of attractive slogans and presenting them in a logically sequenced series of ads in the daily newspapers, the ad creates a favourable impression in the minds of the readers. Furniture’s are getting trendier and are no longer only the utility items, thus needing more innovative advertisements. The latest entrant into this market is Nepal Boards, a member of Golchha Organisation, which has launched designer furniture under the brand Fusion. The ad it has come up with is nicely designed and provides information about all different ranges of the product still it does not litter the ad with too much information. The products look attractive, yet not costly. Naturally you feel like calling up the company the moment you see the ad. Another ad campaign from Golchha Organisation (this time for the Kawasaki Croma motorcycles from Bajaj India) is also in the limelight. A series of three ads emphasizing on the 0% interest rate theme features established model Prasant Tamrakar (of Khukri cigarettes fame) sharing his joy with street boys, enjoying tennis game and fishing in a river. "The idea is to present Kawasaki Croma as a perfect bike suitable for every occasion and wherever you go – be it sports, fishing or social interest", says Ranjit Acharya, CEO of Prisma Advertising, the agency that created the ad. Additionally, the ad also conveys the message that the saving you make by utilizing the 0% interest scheme can be used in many ways. The photographs by Madhav Thapa are superb making the ads really impressive. This campaign of Kawasaki Croma in print media is also accompanied by a support campaign on outdoor media as well. Nepal Lever Ltd. does not want to budge from this column. Its new advertisement on TV as a public information notice on behalf of Pepsodent brand of toothpaste is shot in Nepal. That is the positive aspect. On the negative side, the ad is too lengthy and thus distracting. The ‘dentist’ in the ad does not look as smart and pleasing as the moustached dentist in the earlier ad of the same brand that was dubbed into Nepali from Hindi. Meanwhile, Pepsodent’s another ad is also being shown on TV. This ad about two colours of the paste is again a dubbing. But if the quality of dubbing is this good, perhaps you need not worry about shooting a local ad. Product: Toothpaste Brand: Pepsodent Theme: Public information notice Company: Nepal Lever Ltd. Agency: Thompson Nepal Media: TV Steel rods marketing is also getting interesting these days. The case in point is the competition going on in print ads from two rolling mill companies – Jagadamba Steels and Bageswari Iron. The ad designed by Crayons agency for Murarka Group Bageswari Iron has been presenting Bageswori as a winner iron, whereas the Jagadamba Steels ad tries to depict the brand as a strong iron. "It is Uphar tea. What difference does it make?" That is how the punch line reads for the TV ad of Upahar tea. That means, what difference does it make if you drink any other tea? An otherwise excellently prepared ad is destroyed by the fluke in the selection of the words for the punchline. The storyline arouses interest of the viewers till the end. It is interesting also on repeat viewing - a quality very important for a TV ad. But the lack of any association between the punchline and the product puts the ad in a "confusing" category. Product: Tea Brand: Upahar Media: TV Client: Budhakaran Tea Agency: Not mentioned Other tea brand with new TV ad is Nidhi depicting the brand as something that hallucinates (the man after drinking the tea finds that his aged wife has suddenly turned into a young damsel). (Your comments, contributions on this column will be highly appreciated. Email to aom@businessagenepal.com) New Launches ELANCO Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly & Co. based in USA with an annual turnover of over 13 billion dollars, has decided to enter Nepal by launching some of the key products for the benefit of the poultry farmers in Nepal. At a function held at Narayangarh attended by around fifty poultry farmers and feed millers, the company briefed the audience on several aspects of poultry management, disease management etc. to yield higher profits. Some of the Elanco products like Tylan, Surmax,Coban, Monteban etc. meet the unfulfilled needs of the poultry farmers in helping them to get better control on the management of diseases and better profits, say the company sources. Elanco Animal Health has tied up with Nimbus International Co. P. Ltd., as their copartners for stocking and selling their products in Nepal. Pulsar Launched Hansraj Hulaschand & Co. Pvt. Ltd. has launched in Nepal Pulsar brand motorcycles of Kawasaki Bajaj from India with the Punchline "definitely male", emphasizing on the strength of the machine priced at Rs. 107,900 onwards. Pulsar bikes are available in three variants – 180cc, 150 cc (with electric starter) and 150cc, states the Nepali dealer of Kawasaki Bajaj. Pulsar is ideal for long distance driving with its 18 litre capacity fuel tank. The launch was preceded by an open invitation for a test-ride to everyone with a valid driving license. And the invitation was overwhelmingly responded to with the crowd in the company’s showroom making newspaper headlines. Though Pulsar is being promoted in India with heavy emphasis on its male features, in Nepal this factor is underplayed. This is because motorbikes in Nepal are already regarded as masculine whereas in India they are still addressed as feminine, say company sources. Solvent Printers Digi-prints (P) Ltd. has launched solvent print services in Nepal targeting the outdoor advertisement market and making this otherwisw costly service available also for small business. Compared to Inkjet Pigment Printing technology still prevalent in Nepal for outdoor advertisement, Solvent Printing is a revolution, say the company sources. It can print on any surface provided it is uncoated. And there is no need for any lamination. Moreover it is a large format printing system. For such type of print, the advertisers or their agents so far had to go abroad which required a lead time, involved high costs and provided no opportunity for the last minute changes in the ad. "Now these limitations are not there", says Dinesh Rastogi, the Managing Director of Digi-prints who is long engaged in outdoor advertisement business here through his company Shyam Arts. The costs for outdoor ad are reduced by Digi-prints also because there is no need for any coating and lamination. Thus it is affordable also for small businesses. Digi-print offer three and a half year guarantee for the ad material so produced. The company has been using the plant from APSOM Infotex of New Delhi, India which in turn uses the technology from Digital Graphics Inc. of South Korea. The Korean company had first introduced these machines in India some six months back. According to Gulshan Kumar of Apsom Infotex, his company has sold nearly 29 units of the plant in India and three or of four of them are dependent entirely on business from Nepal. Star Int’l Launches Cheap Bikes Breaking its reputation of dealing only in trendy and therefore costly bikes, Star International Ltd. has launched an inexpensive new bike NF 100-2 targeting those who want to graduate into motorcycles from bicycles. Company sources say that the 100 cc Chinese bikes are priced Rs. 72, 800 (inclusive of VAT), sufficiently low to suit the budget of the lower middle class families. "There also is a financing scheme available for these bikes", says Bandhan Karki, the Sales Manager of the company. Established some seven years ago, Star International has been involved in the import and dealing in all types of motorcycles from around the world and claims that it has in stock all types of spare parts for all types of vehicles – even for those vehicles in which it does not deal . Apart from motorcycles, the company is also dealing in various other machines such as generators, water pumps and power sprays. It is now planning to start dealing also in air conditioners, washing machines, fridges and color televisions. Bosch Power Tools Padma Shree Pvt. Ltd. has launched Bosch Power Tools and accessories in the Nepali market. The Power Tools Division German business group BOSCH, is a world leader in Power Tools and it manufactures under the brand names of Bosch, Dremel and Skil for the trades and do-it-yourself markets. Today, it has 16 plants around the world of which eight are in Europe, five in America and three in Asia, according to Padma Shree sources. The products are targeted mainly to the metal, wooden and construction industries. Padma Shree sources say, the products are priced very competitively. Moreover, the brand offers the widest variety of the tools. Both these features make Bosch the best choice. In power tool accessories, Bosch has a product line comprising more than 8,000 individual items thus making Bosch able to comply with all sorts of requirements. Padma Shree is the authorized distributor in Nepal for Bosch Power Tools and it also represents other multinational companies such as Mazda Motor Corporation of Japan and Komatsu Hanomag of Germany. |
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