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Case Study
‘Revital’ising the brand
Ranbaxy's Revital successfully shifted from prescription
to OTC and became a market leader. Sonal Shukla charts out the transition
of the Revital from a Prescription product to an OTC brand
There is more to Revital than just a combination of vitamins, minerals and
ginseng. This is one of the top brands from the Ranbaxy stable that made a successful
transition from prescription to OTC markets in India. The careful planning and
implementation of the marketing strategy, which had a three fold objective of
creating an appeal for the product, moving away from its serious image, and
rejuvenating sales for the product made the move successful for Ranbaxy.
Ranbaxy chose Grey Worldwide to work on the brand during
the transition of Revital from prescription to OTC. The challenge was to craft
an appeal, which would successfully launch Revital in the OTC segment, by moving
from a relatively serious image of Revital, without alienating the already huge
base of loyal user and at the same time energising the sales curve with new
regular users. Ranbaxy entered the OTC segment with Revital in October 2002
after carefully assessing global trends and market potential.
Ranbaxy undertook an extensive market research
to understand consumers and doctors across urban and rural India to augment
insights, to execute a four-pronged switch strategy for Revital that was foraying
into consumer needs through a well-thought television creative.
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Revital is an adult health supplement product and
rides high on a positive health concept giving the user mental and physical
vitality. Revital fits into the users hectic lifestyle empowering them
with energy strength & mental sharpness, enabling them to enjoy life
to the fullest, hence making them live the brand punch line of “Jiyo
Jee Bhar Ke”
- Grey Worldwide came up with a series of ads
for Revital. First phase of communication had 3 television commercials
called the Wake up ad, the bhangra ad and the Govind ad. Each sought
to demonstrate the pre & post usage and benefit scenario of Revital,
where in intake of Revital helped reduced all signs of fatigue and weakness.
- The second phase of television ad the Husmukhbhai
campaign, wherein the puppet portrayal of an everyday man named Husmukhbhai
is seen able to make the most out of life even after a hectic day of
work which his friends and colleagues are unable to because Husmukhbhai
is a revital user unlike others.
- The third & the current phase of television
commercials is Testimonial creatives where a man & a woman talk
about how their lives have been enriched with Revital's regular intake
because it has helped them remain active throughout the day.
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The four-pronged strategy
The plan was to leverage the scientific edge into a functional benefit to acquire
a huge part of the OTC pie. This was done through the following four stages:
Shift from a molecule towards a consumer solution:
A need gap analysis of the product presented Ranbaxy with an unmet need of its
target audience. Today's lifestyle is characterized by stress and fatigue and
Revital was positioned as a solution, one that helped in sustaining energy levels
and promoting overall well-being.
Building emotional Assurance: In order to develop
emotional assurance, the company had to undertake advertising that would help
consumers' to make an informed choice. This was an assurance that was based
on educating him, creating relevance and familiarity instead of making a blind
choice based on prescriptions. Grey Worldwide came up with a series of TVCs
for the same. The first phase of ads looked at creating awareness about the
benefits of Revital, while the second phase of TVCs aimed at building relevance
and moving the product away from a problem-solution image.
The final and current phase of ads focus towards building familiarity and creating
a feeling that many people are consuming Revital today as a part of their daily
health regime. Some of the noteworthy ads are the wakeup commercials, ‘Hasmukhbhai’
commercials and more recent testimonial ads.
Creating brand authority: This involved building channels
of trust for Revital both professional as well as personal. With a view to induce
trials, the target customer was looked at the places where person feels tiredness
the most.
A consumer contact program was launched in 75 cities across India. Direct consumer
promotion was done in ‘anaaj mandis’, wholesale food markets, chemist
outlets and high traffic areas where consumers were informed more about Revital
and its benefits as a daily health supplement.
Enhancing Accessibility: With an intention to be accessible
and available to the consumers in their moment of need, the distribution network
of the company was expanded. Both pharma and FMCG distributors were brought
into the trade ambit of Revital along with efforts made to make Revital available
in more chemists outlets through enhanced geographical spread and also along
side make it available in all kinds of outlets (chemist and select retail stores).
Today Revital is expanding distribution from chemist outlets to general stores
to make it a part of the monthly grocery purchase.
editorial@expresspharmaonline.com
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