Game of changing perception: Providing unmet need of “Casual sufferer”

Abstract

So many brands and companies are constantly reinvigorating their businesses and positioning them for growth. There is a constant need to innovate, reinvigorate, update, recalibrate, or just simply fend off the competition in an effort to better explain "why buy me." To move forward, companies and brands need to first take a look at their current brand positioning. But for a moment, even a brief moment, it would make sense to go back to the brand drawing board to answer the question, just what is brand positioning anyway? Brand positioning creates a specific place in the market for your brand and product offerings. It reaches a certain type of consumer or customer and delivers benefits that meet the needs of several key target groups and users. The actual approach of a company or brand's positioning in the marketplace depends on how it communicates the benefits and product attributes to consumers and users. As a result, the brand positioning of a company and/or product seeks to further distance itself from competitors based on a host of items, but most notably five key issues: Price, Quality, Product Attributes, Distribution, and Usage Occasions. As companies and brands today look at brand repositioning, they first have to ask what the reasons for repositioning the brand are. They can include declining sales, loss of consumer/user base, stagnant product benefits, or the competition, including issues such as increased technology and new features. Abbott Laboratories S.C started business in Sri Lanka by the year of 2007. Though products were available in the country for more than three decades, but this was the first time Abbott global decided to operate as an affiliate in Sri Lanka. With a span of 29 products and 24 field staff Abbott was moving positively in the pharmaceutical market especially in the Gastro Intestinal (GI) segment. 2010 was a milestone year for Abbott Sri Lanka, Abbott global acquired Solvay pharmaceuticals, the Netherland pharmaceuticals company which added another 12 products to the basket which giving further strength to the established GI franchise to become stronger.Since three decades of presence in the market throughout various channels, Abbott was able to establish market equity with products like DIGENE, CREMAFFIN, BRUFEN, etc. Digene, the biggest brand to the business (33% contribution) was declining from 2011onwards. Abbot took many initiatives with more emphasis on the ethical side but not able to gain strong hold in the antacid and anti- flatulence (Acid and Acidity problems) market. “Doctors Choice” the campaign laid to acquire the doctors and patient’s preference but entire 2012 product was not moved a single digit of market share instead of lost 2%. There was an impact of price increase which took place in 2010 which lead the brand to be “off the shelf” of many stocking doctors where Digene was generating good revenues from this category. There were some sales promotion activities conducted at both retailers and stocking doctors, was unable to capture the lost share from them. “Doctors choice” campaign was able to make some noise towards the doctor chambers but at the consumer front, it was not as expected. 2013 Q1 brand team decided to expand the positioning to larger target market while changing the positioning statement. The new positioning statement was “Doctors choice for Acidity and acidity related problems”. The positioning was expanding the large target market by reaching the ultimate desire of patients. This attempt was to tap the lifestyle issue of consumers who associate with acidity or other discomforts. The campaign was still focused on the therapeutic segment where materials and inputs were based on the “Doctors choice”. On one hand, this campaign gave some important communications to stake holders about the areas which was not discussed earlier by Digene and it made some space to expand his/her therapeutic diagnosis to a different level. After extensive efforts on the new positioning, still the result was the same, unable to attend the expected out come after investing 12,000$ on all the campaigns and it brought the company to re-think it’s approaches towards customers and consumers.Home remedies are the first line use for medications for GI related issues and it represent the large market which is even unknown till today. In the positioning quadrant it represents “Casual but effective, Good for me” with “Conservative/ Mature”. Largely this category is dominated by Ayurvedicproducts largely no brand name. Kalla, Guli, Churrna, more dominant formats in this category and mostly prepared as household level. Some local Ayurvediccompanies have operating this segments in very low profile manner but there were no proper data been published on reputed source to quantify the size of the market. Glaxo Smithkline Healthcare Limited (GSK)identified this market as a lucrative business and penetrate with more “contemporary and vibrant” way while creating new market segment. ENO the revolutionary brand which changed the market dynamics of Antacid category while investing a large amount of money. “Professional and Scientific/Conservative and Mature segment represents 90% allopathic Antacid market where market is driven by majorly on prescription. Certain amount of OTC (over the counter) sales are happening but largely doctors recommendations are dominating this category. Gaviscon, the market leader in this segment continues to focus on doctors’ level and heavy promotions in scientific manner and thus being able to create the “Original” perception towards the brand. “Gaviscon Dual Action” created a great hype among the medical fraternity in the market which discuss about the functional value of the product to the doctors. There are some brands which operates in the lower section of the same quadrant serving more towards the price as a key driving factor. The market here is a very price sensitive and where great volumes are available. Especially stocking doctor segment where they dispense product which available in their clinic or dispensary. Brands like Belcid, Antiget, Maxajet etc., operates heavily in the segment which continuous fights for sales is observed. Digene as a brand which is stuck in the middle of both Gaviscon and low priced brands. Brand needs to find clear destination how it moves in future. Michel Porter in his book called “Competitive Advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance” mentioned that trying to "hedge your bets" by following more than one strategy. One of the most important reasons why this is wise advice is that the things you need to do to make each type of strategy work appeal to different types of people. “By strengthening the scientific image and in-clinic relevance of DIGENE Gel, while initiating consumer centric initiatives in Tablets and Newer formats, DIGENE will retain its equity while revitalizing the image with contemporary audience and scale up to lead the antacid category”. Anurag concluded the meeting while endorsing that Digene would be reinforced to a new category of a target market to meet the unmet need of “the casual sufferer”. He also made clear instructions to support the entire value chain of Abbott to succeed the repositioning strategy (Minutes of the meeting- Abbott archives 2013) Also visit insight of case study following revealed inputs could be concluded. Based on the theoretical aspect, Martin Lindstrom author of “Brand revitalization principles 2014” book revealed that four types of repositioning could take place based on the “Market “and “Product. At this scenario it is revealed that the product being kept unchanged and market changed (casual sufferer) where the product was not positioned earlier. Based on that, this case study revealed “market repositioning” principle where product was kept unchanged while taking the product to a novel market. Case study also provides an example of evidence based on decision making, where decisions are being based on the real time data by both market and product level. Since it was found that brand becomes obsolete and no relevance to ethical level backed by continuous loss of market shareand therapy shift to newer formats leading the thinking process of repositioning the brand. It also considers the high brand equity in Digene and using the same existing quadrant of the positioning to leverage it towards the scientific approach. It is also reveals that company mitigated the risk by keeping one format in the ethical wing (Digene Gel) and transformed Digene tablets to fully consumerization where in case the failure company still has option of returning to ethical wing where product equity has been preserved. This revealed that “Strategic risk diversification” is an important criterion during the repositioning process. Looking at the point of growth perspective of this brand, needs the clear understanding that how company project next 5 years’ lifespan of Digene. Moving one quadrant to another and doing revitalization have certain limitations as well. It’s a kind of a dilemma that company will face soon that the product with high brand equity and obsolete perception playing in different market will sustain in long run? As the perception towards Digene is simple and common among the consumers where one point even in the current positioning also will make the issues and brand needs to find other available revenue generating options to move forward. Managing life of the product in both physically and emotionally import to drag the lifespan. Though the differentiation makes on the product but it has limitation which unexpectedly downturn the business. Too much concentration on the brands, make short term changes to the brand, new market penetration need to be manage while sensing the anticipate consequences in future. “Obsolete you brand at right time”, great marketing Guru Theodore Levitt mentioned in his Marketing Myopia paper published in Harvard Business Review (1960). The Myopic cultures, Levitt postulated, would pave the way for a business to fail, due to the short-sighted mindset and illusion that a firm is in a so-called 'growth industry'. This belief leads to complacency and a loss of sight of what customers want. To continue growing, companies must ascertain and act on their customers’ needs and desires, not bank on the presumptive longevity of their products. In every case the reason growth is threatened, slowed or stopped is not because the market is saturated. It is because there has been a failure of management and practices. Future of Digene may not be the Digene. Too old, less manage the life cycle, decline perception on both stakeholders (doctors & consumers) and playing in low growth segment need to be considered by the management of Abbott. Still Abbott myopicon the brand name which may lead to greater consequences in coming years.