What makes Good Day and Santoor tick in a cut-throat market? After crossing the quarter, does the road become trickier?
Good Day – Cash and cashews
Biscuits in India are a staple diet and a favorite, almost prerequisite at tea/coffee breaks and snacks. Good Day arrived when the market was all about ‘glucose’ with cream biscuits being considered indulgence. Britannia offered the ‘goodness of butter’ and positioned it above the glucose segment, at the same time strongly differentiating from the cream biscuit zone. The biscuit major’s earlier offerings Orange Delite and Coconut Crunch had failed to appease the consumers’ palates but Good Day Butter turned out to be a game-changer, being followed by two variants, cashew and pista in the ’90s, tapping the desi attraction to dry fruits. By the end of the decade, it was touted as India’s response to a cookie.
While the range increased with variants such as butter scotch, and rich butter, it was only in 2010 that Good Day added the major chocolate variant, with Choco-chip and Choco nut. By then, it had already conquered a giant market share, easily becoming the cookie for all times and pockets.
Today Good Day known as one of Britannia’s power brands is the largest and fastest growing brand for Britannia and is estimated to have two-third market share in the indulgence segment valued at Rs. 3,300 crore.
Communication
The biscuit has always been talking to the masses in a language they understand, that of warmth and family values. In its infancy, it began with lines such as ‘Kaju ho ya khushi dikhni chaiye’, ‘Acchayi jo chha jaaye’, ‘Khushiyon ke ghar naya mehmaan aaya’, to the more recent ‘Khushi jo dil se chalke’, and ‘Ho jao chocolate khush.’ In 2008, the campaign ‘Iska toh ho gaya Good Day’ did wonders for its brand recall.
As Good Day extends itself into a good third decade, McCann Erickson has created the latest TVC in celebration of the quarter life. Shalini Degan, Category Director – Delight & Lifestyle at Britannia sums it up well: “Over the years, Good Day has become synonymous with generosity and unrestrained joy. Besides celebrating 25 years, we also wanted to resonate the belief of its consumers that Good Day is the seed that sows positivity for all to reap!”
Santoor – A radiant route
With sandalwood and turmeric, sureshot elements for glowing skin and perceived beauty for the Indian woman, being combined in a convenient soap, Santoor began with a masterstroke. Targeting the middle-class lady and promising ‘younger looking’, radiant skin to her consistently, Santoor set a trail for others while steadily gaining popularity and in the next two decades became the third-largest selling soap in India, with a market share of almost 9%. The 1,000 crore brand is exported to 15 countries too.
Senior Vice President of Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting (WCCLG), Anil Chugh feels, “One of the reasons for our growth has been the consistency in communicating to our core proposition while keeping the message contemporary over the years. Being focused on providing value to the customer has contributed significantly to the brand’s success.”
Another factor behind the brand’s relevance is a large range of variants for a wider audience. From the sandalwoodturmeric soap, Santoor now includes under its umbrella face wash, talc, deodorants, hand washes etc, while in its core category it has variants such as Sandalwood and Almond Milk, Glycerine and Chandan.
Communication
The ‘younger looking’ skin underline has meant that its TVCs have had the ‘college student’ who turns out to be a young mother, with a child unmistakably shouting ‘Mummy’ toward their end! This concept however has been adapted to the times and the woman is no longer just a housewife but the ‘career-oriented’ woman in this ‘mistaken identity’ route of communication.
Not leaning upon Bollywood celebs as much as its biggest rival, Lux, Santoor too has of late roped in Saif Ali Khan and Madhavan. DraftFCB Ulka crafted the benefit-led positioning of ‘skin that lies about your age’. Santoor certainly got the universal insight early, that looking younger than one’s age is a big high for any woman!
Santoor and Good Day - The road ahead
The biscuit market in India is currently estimated to be at nearly 12, 000 crores, and is flocked with competition between Parle G, Sunfeast and Priya Gold to keep Good Day on its toes. Foreign entrants such as Unibic too have begun making a mark.
On the other hand, Santoor faces stiff competition from ITC, HUL and P&G mega-brands which always come up with innovative variants and approaches.
Point is, quarter life gained, does the road ahead become tougher for a retail brand? The two brands have undoubtedly enjoyed much loyalty for a long part of their reign, but with the Indian consumer spoilt for choice now, retaining their hold and image will require grit.
Bijoor advises, “To stay relevant, brands firstly need intact product-equity i.e. no compromises over the years in taste, composition or offering. Secondly, brand equity ensures that the proposition is showcased with integrity in the baseline. If you do this right, you have a solid, positive brand equity you can leverage in the future.”
One thing’s for sure, the next quarter ain’t going to be anything like the past quarter for Santoor and Good Day.
Feedback: priyanka.mehra@exchange4media.com
