A PROJECT REPORT ON

“INTEGRATED MARKETING

COMMUNICATION [IMC] IN BRITANNIA”

SUBMITTED TO:

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

ACADEMIC YEAR

(2014-15)

SUBMITTED BY:

ANAGHA PURANIK

ROLL NO: 16

M.COM PART-I (BUSINESS MANAGEMENT)

(SEMESTER 2)

PROJECT GUIDE:

PROF S.N.CHITALE

VPM’S

K.G. JOSHI COLLEGE OF ARTS &

N.G. BEDEKAR COLLEGE OF COMMERCE

(THANE)

2

VIDYA PRASARAK MANDAL, THANE

K. G. JOSHI COLLEGE OF ARTS &

N. G. BEDEKAR COLLEGE OF COMMERCE

CERTIFICATE

OF

PROJECT WORK

This is certify thatThis is certify that

Mr. / Ms. _______________________________________________Mr. / Ms. _______________________________________________ OfOf

M.Com. (BUSINESS MANAGEMENT ) Part.: ____ SemesterM.Com. (BUSINESS MANAGEMENT ) Part.: ____ Semester :_____ Roll No. : _____ has undertaken & completed:_____ Roll No. : _____ has undertaken & completed

the project work titled ___________________the project work titled ___________________

______________________________ during the academic year______________________________ during the academic year ____________________

under the guidance of Mr. / Ms.under the guidance of Mr. / Ms. ______________________________________________________________________

Submitted on _____________ to this college inSubmitted on _____________ to this college in fulfillment of the curriculum of fulfillment of the curriculum of MASTER OFMASTER OF

COMMERCE ( BUSINESS MANAGEMENT )COMMERCE ( BUSINESS MANAGEMENT ) UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI .UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI .

This is a bonafide project work & the informationThis is a bonafide project work & the information presented is True & original to the best of ourpresented is True & original to the best of our

knowledge and belief .knowledge and belief .

PROJECT GUIDE EXTERNAL PROJECT GUIDE EXTERNAL EXAMINER

3

DECLARATION

I ANAGHA PURANIK studying in MCOM Part-1 hereby declare that

I have done a project on reference to “INTEGRATED MARKETING

COMMUNICATION [IMC] IN BRITANNIA”. As required by the

university rules, I state that the work presented in this thesis is original

in nature and to the best my knowledge, has not been submitted so far

to any other university.

Whenever references have been made to the work of others, it is clearly

indicated in the sources of information in references

Student

(ANAGHA PURANIK)

Place: Thane

Date:

4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It gives me great pleasure to declare that my project on “INTEGRATED MARKETING

COMMUNICATION [IMC] IN BRITANNIA” have been prepared purely from the point

of view of students requirements.

This project covers all the information pertaining to “INTEGRATED MARKETING

COMMUNICATION [IMC] IN BRITANNIA ”. I had tried my best to write project in

simple and lucid manner. I have tried to avoid unnecessary discussions and details. At the

same time it provides all the necessary information. I feel that it would be of immense help

to the students as well as all others referring in updating their knowledge.

I am indebted to our principal Dr. Mrs. Shakuntala A. Singh Madam for giving us such an

awesome opportunity. I am also thankful to our coordinator Mr. D.M. Murdeshwar Sir and

also librarian and my colleagues for their valuable support, co-operation and encouragement

in completing my project.

Special thanks to Prof. S.N.CHITALE my internal guide for this project for giving me

expert guidance, full support and encouragement in completing my project successfully.

I take this opportunity to thanks my parents for giving guidance and for their patience and

understanding me while I am busy with my project work.

Lastly I am thankful to God for giving me strength, spirit and also his blessings for

completing my project successfully.

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INDEX

SR

NO.

CONTENTS PAGE

NO.

1. INTRODUCTION 6

2. COMPONENTS OF IMC 8

3. THE SHIFT FROM FRAGMENTED TO IMC 10

4. TOOLS OF IMC & ITS BENEFITS 12

5. BRITANNIA – COMPANY PROFILE 13

6. COMPANY HISTORY 15

7.

8.

9.

10.

11

12

13

14

15

16

17 CONCLUSION

18 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Introduction:-

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is an approach used by

organizations to brand and coordinate their communication efforts. The

American Association of Advertising Agencies defines IMC as "a

comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of

communication disciplines and combines these disciplines to provide clarity,

consistency and maximum communication impact. " The primary idea behind

an IMC strategy is to create a seamless experience for consumers across

different aspects of the marketing mix. The brand's core image and messaging

are reinforced as each marketing communication channel works together as

parts of a unified whole rather than in isolation.

An approach to achieving the objectives of a marketing campaign, through a

well coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to

reinforce each other.

As defined by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, integrated

marketing communications " ... recognizes the value of a comprehensive plan

that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines

advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion and

combines them to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication

impact."

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Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is the application of consistent

brand messaging across both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels

and using different promotional methods to reinforce each other.

It is essential for organizations to promote their brands well among the end-

users not only to outshine competitors but also survive in the long run. Brand

promotion increases awareness of products and services and eventually

increases their sales, yielding high profits and revenue for the organization.

To understand integrated marketing communication, let us first understand what

does brand communication mean?

Brand communication is an initiative taken by organizations to make their

products and services popular among the end-users. Brand communication

goes a long way in promoting products and services among target consumers.

The process involves identifying individuals who are best suited to the purchase

of products or services (also called target consumers) and promoting the brand

among them through any one of the following means:

Advertising

Sales Promotion

Public Relation

Direct Marketing

Personal Selling

Social media, and so on

Integrated Marketing Communication - Let us now understand what does

integrated marketing communication mean?

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Integrated marketing communication refers to integrating all the methods

of brand promotion to promote a particular product or service among

target customers. In integrated marketing communication, all aspects of

marketing communication work together for increased sales and maximum cost

effectiveness.

Various components of Integrated Marketing Communication:

1. The Foundation - As the name suggests, foundation stage involves

detailed analysis of both the product as well as target market. It is

essential for marketers to understand the brand, its offerings and end-

users. You need to know the needs, attitudes and expectations of the

target customers. Keep a close watch on competitor’s activities.

2. The Corporate Culture - The features of products and services ought to

be in line with the work culture of the organization. Every organization

has a vision and it’s important for the marketers to keep in mind the same

before designing products and services. Let us understand it with the help

of an example.

Organization A‘s vision is to promote green and clean world. Naturally

its products need to be eco friendly and biodegradable, in lines with the

vision of the organization.

3. Brand Focus - Brand Focus represents the corporate identity of the

brand.

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4. Consumer Experience - Marketers need to focus on consumer

experience which refers to what the customers feel about the product. A

consumer is likely to pick up a product which has good packaging and

looks attractive. Products need to meet and exceed customer expectations.

5. Communication Tools - Communication tools include various modes of

promoting a particular brand such as advertising, direct selling,

promoting through social media such as facebook, twitter, orkut and so

on.

6. Promotional Tools - Brands are promoted through various promotional

tools such as trade promotions, personal selling and so on. Organizations

need to strengthen their relationship with customers and external clients.

7. Integration Tools - Organizations need to keep a regular track on

customer feedbacks and reviews. You need to have specific software like

customer relationship management (CRM) which helps in measuring the

effectiveness of various integrated marketing communications tools.

Integrated marketing communication enables all aspects of marketing mix to

work together in harmony to promote a particular product or service effectively

among end-users

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Integrated Marketing Communications

Prior to the emergence of integrated marketing communications during the

1990s, mass communications—the practice of relaying information to large

segments of the population through television, radio, and other media—

dominated marketing. Marketing was a one-way feed. Advertisers broadcasted

their offerings and value propositions with little regard for the diverse needs,

tastes, and values of consumers.

Often, this "one size fits all" approach was costly and uninformative due to the

lack of tools for measuring results in terms of sales. But as methods for

collecting and analyzing consumer data through single-source technology such

as store scanners improved, marketers were increasingly able to correlate

promotional activities with consumer purchasing patterns. Companies also

began to downsize their operations and expand marketing tasks within their

organizations. Advertising agencies were also expected to understand and

provide all marketing functions, not just advertising, for their clients.

Today, corporate marketing budgets are allocated toward trade promotions,

consumer promotions, branding, public relations, and advertising. The

allocation of communication budgets away from mass media and traditional

advertising has raised the importance of IMC importance for effective

marketing. Now, marketing is viewed more as a two-way conversation between

marketers and consumers. This transition in the advertising and media industries

can be summarized by the following market trends:

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a shift from mass media advertising to multiple forms of communication

the growing popularity of more specialized (niche) media, which considers

individualized patterns of consumption and increased segmentation of consumer

tastes and preferences the move from a manufacturer-dominated market to a

retailer-dominated, consumer-controlled market the growing use of data-based

marketing as opposed to general-focus advertising and marketing greater

business accountability, particularly in advertising performance-based

compensation within organizations, which helps increase sales and benefits in

companies unlimited Internet access and greater online availability of goods and

services a larger focus on developing marketing communications activities that

produce value for target audiences while increasing benefits and reducing costs

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Benefits of Integrated Marketing Communications

With so many products and services to choose from, consumers are often

overwhelmed by the vast number of advertisements flooding both online

and offline communication channels. Marketing messages run the risk of

being overlooked and ignored if they are not relevant to consumers' needs

and wants.

One of the major benefits of integrated marketing communications is that

marketers can clearly and effectively communicate their brand's story and

messaging across several communication channels to create brand

awareness. IMC is also more cost-effective than mass media since

consumers are likely to interact with brands across various forums and

digital interfaces. As consumers spend more time on computers and

mobile devices, marketers seek to weave together multiple exposures to

their brands using different touch points. Companies can then view the

performance of their communication tactics as a whole instead of as

fragmented pieces.

The other benefit of integrated marketing communications is that it

creates a competitive advantage for companies looking to boost their

sales and profits. This is especially useful for small- or mid-sized firms

with limited staff and marketing budgets. IMC immerses customers in

communications and helps them move through the various stages of the

buying process. The organization simultaneously consolidates its image,

develops a dialogue, and nurtures its relationship with customers

throughout the exchange. IMC can be instrumental in creating a seamless

purchasing experience that spurs customers to become loyal, lifelong

customers.

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The Tools of Integrated Marketing Communications

The IMC process generally begins with an integrated marketing

communications plan that describes the different types of marketing,

advertising, and sales tools that will be used during campaigns. These are

largely promotional tools, which include everything from search engine

optimization (SEO) tactics and banner advertisements to webinars and blogs.

Traditional marketing communication elements such as newspapers, billboards,

and magazines may also be used to inform and persuade consumers. Marketers

must also decide on the appropriate combination of traditional and digital

communications for their target audience to build a strong brand-consumer

relationship. Regardless of the brand's promotional mix, it is important that

marketers ensure their messaging is consistent and credible across all

communication channels.

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BRITANNIA- COMPANY PROFILE

Britannia was incorporated in 1918 as Britannia Biscuits Co Ltd in

Calcutta. In 1924, Pea Frean UK acquired a controlling stake, which later

passed on to the Associated Biscuits International (ABI) a UK based company.

During the ’50s and’ 60s, Britannia expanded operations to Mumbai, Delhi and

Chennai. Exports of sea foods started in the ’70s. In 1987, Nabisco, a well

known European food company, acquired ABI. In 1989, J M Pillai, a Singapore

based NRI businessman along with the Groupe Danone acquired Asian

operations of Nabisco and thus acquired controlling stake in Britannia. Later,

Groupe Danone and Nusli Wadia took over Pillai’s holdings.

In 1977, the Government reserved the industry for small scale sector,

which constrained Britannia's growth. Britannia adopted a strategy of engaging

contract packers (CP) in the small scale sector. This led to several inefficiencies

at the operating level. In April ’97, the Government dereserved the biscuit

sector from small scale. Britannia has expanded captive manufacturing

facilities and has modernized and upgraded its facilities in the last five years. It

has also forayed into the Dairy Business with the launch of Cheese, Butter,

Ghee, Dairy whitener and flavored milk products.

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Britannia's controlling stake is jointly with Groupe Danone and Nusli

Wadia. The Company is controlled by the Wadias. Danone provides product

support and technical assistance to the venture. Groupe Danone is one of the

leading players in the world in bakery products business. It acquired interest in

Britannia Industries in 1989 and acquired controlling stake in 1993. The Wadia

Group, headed by Nusli Wadia, is one of the leading industrial houses in the

country, with interests mainly in textiles and petrochemicals.

Britannia is the market leader in the organized biscuit and bakery

product market in India. They are the only Indian biscuit company with a

presence across all segments, from Glucose, Salted, Arrowroot and Premium

Cream Biscuits. Biscuits contribute 84% of Britannia's total turnover. Other

products include bread (6 per cent) and cakes (2 per cent). Britannia diversified

into dairy products in 1997 with processed cheese and dairy whitener. The

portfolio was expanded with the launch of butter, pure, flavoured milk in

tetrapacks and UHT milk. Dairy products account for 8 per cent of the

company’s total turnover. Over the years, Britannia has trimmed down its wide

product portfolio and focussed on value-added instead of low-margin products.

The company divested a range of unrelated business interests in soyabean

extraction, edible oils, export of cashewnuts and shrimp, granites and software.

The company rationalised its products portfolio by reducing the products from

35 to around 25.

Britannia has share of 20 per cent in the biscuit market. In the

organised biscuit market, the market share is higher at 40 per cent. The

company claims a share of 33 per cent of the organised cheese market and 15

per cent of the milk powder.

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Plant locations

Britannia's plants are located in the 4 major metro cities - Kolkatta,

Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. A large part of products are also outsourced from

third party producers. Dairy products were out sourced from three producers -

Dynamix Dairy based in Baramati, Maharashtra, Modern Dairy at Karnal in

Haryana and Thacker Dairy Products at Howrah in West Bengal.

Competitive position : The entry of new MNC’s have not posed a direct threat

to Britannia, as these MNC’s have positioned their brands in the

premium/health segment. Britannia has maintained market leadership with a

40% volume share and 48% value market share in the organized sector. FMCG

major HLL is expected to venture into the segment. Britannia has been

aggressive in new launches and marketing during the last 2 years anticipating

the competition. It has also recently acquired a stake 49% stake Kwality

Biscuits, gaining a. strong foothold in the southern market

Bread is one of the most widely consumed processed foods in the country. The

market is estimated at 1.5mn tpa. The industry is dominated by a large number

of players in the unorganized sector, which accounts for over 80% of the

market. Britannia Industries and Modern Foods (now owned by HLL) are the

only two players with a national presence in packet slice bread segment. There

are several other regional players who have significant market shares in their

respective local areas. Britannias’s bread business has been slowly degrowing

and registered a 9.4% yoy volume degrowth in FY01.

Dairy : India has emerged as the largest milk producing country in the world

manufacturing 81mn tons of milk pa. The country has one of the largest

livestock populations of the world and this industry plays a crucial role in terms

of providing income to around 70 million farmers in 500,000 villages. The top

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6 states viz. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu

and Gujarat account for 58% of India’s milk production. The market size of

milk in India is worth Rs 45,000 cr and more than 90% of the market is

unorganized. Britannia has forayed into this huge market under a brand called

‘Milkman’. Britannia’s dairy business has been growing at a fast pace on the

low base. Volume growth was 50% and value growth was 47% in FY01. In

value terms the Dairy business contributed to 10% of turnover in FY01. Prior to

the entry of Britannia, the organized market for dairy products like butter and

cheese was dominated by the regional milk cooperatives, such as Amul, Vijaya,

etc. Imported brands are also freely available in the country today. In the

organized domestic segment, Amul remains the dominant player and will

continue to be a stiff competitor, given its sourcing advantage and market

savviness. Significant entry barriers exist, but once the network is in place, it is

a cash generating business. The dairy market offers long-term opportunities for

organized players such as Britannia. Britannia outsources its milk requirement

from Dynamix Diary in Maharashtra and Karnal Dairy In Haryana.

Operating margins have been improving despite the fast pace of new product

launches in the last 2-3 years. Rationalization of manufacturing operations, and

greater contribution of higher margin dairy products have both contributed to

the margin gains. Britannia has decided to hive off its dairy business into a joint

venture with the New Zealand based Fonterra Cooperative. Britannia and

Fonterra will each hold 49% of the Rs2.25bn equity, while the balance 2% will

be held by business associates.

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Britannia- The Highlights

Largest manufacturer of Biscuits in India

Product range includes breads and cakes

One of the best known brands, Britannia is the largest company in the Indian

food processing industry

Four production facilites with over 4367 employees.

Extensive all India distribution network of over 600,000 outlets, making it

among the most wide spread in the industry.

Exporter of various types of Biscuits.

BRITANNIA- THE LAUNCH OF VARIOUS PRODUCTS

Britannia constantly expands its product portfolio to achieve its vision of

converting every third Indian into its consumer. In order to appeal to the

younger generation, the company added two new products -- Sweet Lassi and

Britannia Milkman Cold Coffee to its existing dairy-based drinks portfolio

which includes the `ZipSip' brand of flavoured milk.

In the ethnic food segment, the company introduced a new range of

traditional `namkeens' in Mumbai called Britannia Snax. The new range

includes seven varieties of traditional namkeens like 'Bikaner ki Bhujia' and

'Rajasthani Alu Bhujia' in a price range of between Rs 5 and Rs 20.

Tiger biscuits launch in July 1997 led Britannia’s foray into the glucose

category. Tiger now contributes about 40% to the biscuits turnover and has

been Britannia’s biggest success. The company has ‘Tiger’ brand in the low-

price-low income segment. In this segment, value growth is lower than

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volume growth. ‘Tiger’ brand operates in a competitive market where price is

an important factor.

In Dec. 2000, Britannia dropped its plans to enter the mineral water

segment. The move comes close on the heels of Danone launching its own

mineral water brand, Evian, in India, through a separate wholly-owned

subsidiary, Danone India. Groupe Danone is globally the second-largest

producer of mineral water in the world with brands such as Evian, Volvic,

Ferrarelle Badoit, Font Vella and Aquaprima

among others. The mineral water segment in India

is growing at around 50% annually and is

dominated by Bisleri and Bailley.

In 2001, the launch of Maska Chaska, the

snack biscuit extension of Britannia's 50-50, is selling more than the mother

brand in certain markets like north Karnataka. And in doing so, Maska

Chaska is contributing nearly 30% to the mother brand 50-50's total sales

across the country

In October 2001, Britannia had agreed in-principle to acquire a 49%

stake in Snacko Biscuits, a privately held company, along with the

trademark `Nutrine` and several other trademarks in addition to their

copyrights and designs.

In 2002, the company acquired Kwality biscuits. BIL acquired the

trade mark "KWALITY", the Chef Device and several other trademarks

owned by Kwality Biscuits of Bangalore for a consideration of Rs 30 crore. It

also agreed in principle to acquire 49% equity of Kwality Biscuits.

In March 2002 , Britannia entered into a joint venture with the

Fonterra Cooperative Group, New Zealand. BIL has transferred its dairy

business to the new joint venture. The joint venture was effective from 27th

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March 2002 and is engaged in areas relating to sourcing/manufacturing and

distribution of milk and milk products in India.

In March 2002,Britannia Tiger Chai Biskoot’ a new variant of the Tiger

brand the new hit major Indian markets. With this new launch, the objective

was to target all income groups in India and strengthen the mother brand

‘Tiger’. The product is priced at Rs 4 for 75 gm and Rs 15 for 300 gm.

In October 2002, ‘Tiger Mast Cream’ was launched across the nation.

This launch comes subsequent. This was with a view to fulfil another impulse

buying need of the consumer and to leverage the companys Brand portfolio , of

which Tiger was one of the core brands.

On April 02, 2003  Britannia Industries Ltd (BIL rolled out

‘Britannia Timepass’ in metros and mini-metros. The selling proposition for

the new snacking range was ‘tasty yet healthy snacking option’. The products

are available in two pack sizes of 25g and 50g, priced at Rs 5 and Rs 10

respectively. The launch of Timepass in the snacking category was an effort by

the company to try and strengthen its presence in the snacking segment.

At the moment, Britannia is in the process of rolling out a new variant of its

popular biscuit brand ‘Tiger Mast Cream’ across the country. The company is

also extending its ‘Little Hearts’ range to penetrate the youth segment more

effectively. The consumer response for ‘GoodDay’ has been encouraging. The

price of GoodDay has been taken up only in the south Indian markets to bring in

parity. This brand has shown a healthy growth. The two new variants of Tiger

‘Chai Biskoot’ and ‘Mast Cream’ -- have also met with enthusiastic response.

Such initiatives will enable the company to maintain its growth momentum.

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BRITANNIA – MARKETING

Promotions have been the chief propeller for growth for Britannia. Britannia has

gained the edge by creating an ‘emotional surplus’ for the Britannia brand

through effective communication and providing products for different moments

of consumption. Another equally important move is exciting the consumer with

new products

Among the biggest promotions in 2001 was Britannia's glucose biscuit brand

Tiger's tie-up with the Hindi film blockbuster Lagaan. Biscuits market has

become the third largest category in terms of promotions - after toothpaste and

toiletries - in the last one year.The launch was supported with an advertising

campaign extending to print, POS (Point-of-Sale) materials and outdoor

branding.

Tiger had been positioned it as a biscuit that has to be taken as part of the chai

biscuit break. Chai Biskoot is an interesting extension, which will strengthen the

Tiger mother brand as the product is targeted at people across all income

groups. Tiger has successfully addressed themselves to the lower end of the

market.

Britannia's strategy has also been to drive margins from variants rather

than the mother brands. Britannia's strategy is to keep the price of its mother

brand at the lowest and launch variants at the higher price points and this has

worked for the company till date. Eg. Britannia has leveraged the equity of

Glucose biscuit brands like Tiger to extend it to variants like coconut. Britannia

is clearly playing a volume game. It is driving volumes through the Tiger brand.

22

Another strategy has been to indulge in cross-promotions. In 2000,For

example, the company offered a Little Hearts biscuit packet (priced at Rs 3) free

with the purchase of a 300 gm pack of Tiger. This also helped in pushing trials

for the Little Hearts brand.

Britannia believes its all about how you define the market, or how you redefine

it for yourself. At Britannia they came up with a one-line vision for the

company 'Every third Indian must be a Britannia consumer by 2004.' Because

Britannia believes that packaged products can be bought by just about every

third Indian.

Strategically expanding the product line is what Britannia believes in. Just

selling biscuits was not good enough. Britannia listed all the products used in a

home, and the competitors in each space. They then asked themselves if they

could acquire the No. 1 or No. 2 position in that market. Dairy seemed to be a

good area for them to enter. There were mostly large cooperatives without too

many branded products in the space. Amul was the leading producer. So

Britannia chose cheese, and wanted to become No. 2. In three years, they

became No. 1 in processed cheese.

Britannia's success is largely due to the company's razor-sharp clarity of

purpose. No one competes with Britannia’s low-end brands in terms of price.

Britannia has created an emotional service with their brand, to give the

consumers more than they expect. Britannia says they don't make the best

biscuits in India. What they do provide, however, is consistency-the idea that

wherever you open a packet of Britannia products, you'll get the same thing.

Britannia believes in being realistic and benchmarks itself with what the

consumer expects of them. The consumer in India today needs international

23

products at national prices. Britannia initially gets into an existing category and

then forays into different categories.

A brand built on a "low price-no frill" is what Britannia. Tiger provides a good

example of using this approach. After having achieved success at the lower end

of the market competing largely in the unorganised sector, the brand has

launched cream variants at (relatively) low price points.

Britannia has time and again exhibited its understanding of the Indian

consumer. This has been in the form of new launches, innovative marketing and

promotional schemes. In FY 2001, the company spent Rs 85 cr in advertising i.e

6.7% of net sales. Britannia has tied up with the makers of ‘Lagaan’. Britannia

has been associating itself with cricket and has achieved good results.

Brands need to stay relevant by stretching along with the customer and not

expect the consumer to stay with you, brands need to move on, be a part of the

consumer’s life and create an activated presence by getting the product

involved. The product has done just that.

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BRITANNIA- THE MAKEOVER- EAT HEALTHY, THINK BETTER

Britannia initiated the new positioning in 1996 . They captured logic with

emotion. Their brand equity has been built and nurtured by each and every one

of the employees, who constitute the direct Britannia family, not to speak of the

extended family comprising distributors, suppliers and franchisees. For them,

success comes from becoming a part of their consumers’ lives. They drive thes

organisation with a passion to produce and market ‘tasty yet healthy’ products

in which the consumer perceives value for money. They have built the

consumer’s trust by providing consistent quality and through emotional

bonding.

`Britannia gains most from World Cup promos'

Biscuit major Britannia India's Britannia khao, World Cup jao promotion has

emerged as the most recalled sales promotion among all World Cup-related

cricket sales promotion.

Interestingly, biscuits captured the No 1 slot among all the categories promoted

during the world cup. The campaign was a continuation of the success stories of

`Britannia Khao, World Cup Jao' in 1999. The promotion offered 100 cricket

enthusiasts an opportunity to visit South Africa and cheer the Indian team in

person in a match against Pakistan on March 1, 2003. The offer was valid on

select Britannia products from October 1 2002 onwards.

Wrappers of every such offer pack carried a certain number of runs which could

be exchanged for a specially designed `World Cup '03 scratch card' at any of the

8,000 authorised Britannia Prize centres across the country. On scratching the

pad on the card, the prizes were revealed to the customer. The company's

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previous world cup promotion campaign held in 1999 was considered one of the

largest consumer promotions ever, wherein redemptions alone were in excess of

Rs 1.6 crore. The 2003 year's `Britannia Khao, World Cup Jao' promotion

featured more than one crore prizes.

Britannia Industries in 2003 had an interesting promotional event called

Britannia Milkman Cheese - not just Toppings. The event was targeted at

housewives and others who love to experiment with cuisine.

A free booklet of recipes was offered and participants were also invited to taste

the dishes. A series of such events were held at ITC Grand Maratha Hotel

Mumbai, through February and will carry on into March.

Besides creating excitment around the brand, the event sought to increase

consumption of Britannia Milkman cheese by encouraging customers to use

cheese in new and versatile ways and be creative and innovative in their

cooking

It reinforces Britannia's core values of "Eat healthy, Think better"

A 'Kids for Tigers' campaign carried out jointly by Sanctuary Cub magazine and

Britannia Industries Ltd. saw one million Indian children signing a scroll to

protect their national animal.

On this occasion an educational scholarship was handed over by Mr.Sunil

Alagh, CEO Britannia Industries Ltd. to Mr. B. Mazumdar Chief Wildlife

Warden Maharashtra, for the children of those forest guards who have done

exemplary work towards the saving the tiger.

Britannia's successful foray into the mass market for biscuits through `Tiger'

brand and into the dairy business gave volumes for Britannia when its

26

traditional businesses — biscuits and bread — showed signs of plateauing. With

low penetration of dairy products and snack foods, they offered significant

potential for growth. Therefore, unlike FMCG companies operating in markets

for mature products such as soaps or detergents, there appeared to be

considerable room for growth for Britannia.

In a bid to promote its popular biscuit brand ‘50-50 Maska Chaska’, Britannia

Industries Ltd (BIL) has joined hands with Contests2win.com (C2W), a leading

customised contesting Website.

Britannia Industries Ltd announced a three-pronged strategy to maintain

volumes and market share and to improve sales.

Britannia plans to improve their sales through new product launches, renovation

and improving distribution. They will also focus on all-round cost savings and

improvement in productivity to ensure satisfactory growth in profits

Addressing shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting, Mr Wadia

said the slowdown in the economy was expected to continue and as such

maintaining historical topline growth rates in the coming months would be

extremely challenging.

On the bakery business, he said the company’s strategy was based on increasing

width of consumption through more penetrative distribution strategy and

introducing low price point packs.

The strategy also aimed at maintaining brand leadership through continuous and

contemporary image building apart from increasing depth of consumption

through specific promos to cater to regional preferences.

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BRITANNIA OUTLINES INITIATIVE TO TAP INNOVATIONS

In an effort to better utilise employee innovations for tapping market

opportunities, Britannia Industries Ltd (BIL) had deployed a new initiative

termed ‘opportunity managers’. The rationale behind the initiative, according to

the company, was to leverage out-of-the-box ideas of its professionals to drive

the business forward. It believes that the uniqueness of this practice lies in the

fact that these ideas which the professionals implement need to pro-actively

impact the business.

Any innovative concept that professionals want to implement was something

that needed to be implemented within a six- month timeframe. And the

deployment of the idea indicated a judicious use of the company’s resources.

Further, according to the company, the initiative is not just meant to

institutionalise a culture of innovation in the organisation, but to empower

professionals to use their innovative acumen to usher in value for the

businesses.

Accordingly, any professional who has a distinct business idea needs to make a

presentation to the top management that also comprises the managing director.

“Once the idea is considered feasible for implementation, then the individual

concerned is given complete control to deploy the idea and generate the

promised results for the organisation.

Further, the employee whose ideas have been approved is given total autonomy

to choose the appropriate mix of professionals across levels who need to be a

part of his or her team.

Having pioneered a new concept, the professional then becomes the team leader

for the specific project right from the day it starts getting executed.

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The audience for this initiative is mainly the talent that the company has

inducted from the management campuses. The younger breed of professionals

are not moulded into a defined mindset and hence Britannia believes that they

have the capability to explore a wider gamut of possibilities to come up with

ideas that can trigger growth for the businesses.

Once the said idea has been able to deliver profitable results for the business,

the employee is suitably rewarded with bonuses. This is an effort on Britannia’s

part to acknowledge the benefits that the individual has successfully leveraged

for the establishment.

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BRITANNIA USES CRICKETERS FOR PROMOTIONS

Britannia Industries Ltd (BIL) had signed up six national cricketers, who play

for the Indian team to fuel a mega brand promotion initiative. The move is

aligned to the larger strategy to leverage the three lead brands that the company

has identified across two major categories which include biscuits and snacking

arena. In 2002, Britannia had decided to focus on two segments namely the

biscuits market and the mass market in the snacking arena. And Tiger, 50-50

and Timepass the chosen lead brands in these two categories. The mass market

represents a huge opportunity with its vast consumer base buying both into

branded products and those from the commodity sector. Brands like Tiger, for

instance, owe their success to being able to both gain upgrades from the

unorganised market and increasingly become a preferred brand in the organised

market

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SALES GROWTH – STRATEGIES

At a time when growth rates for most FMCG products had wound down to

single digit, Britannia had managed to sustain a fairly healthy growth in its sales

revenues. This was on account of several factors.

One, the company has rationalised its product portfolio, pruning the number of

brands from 35 to 25, so that it could devote greater attention to key businesses.

Britannia has pruned the total number of brands being offered in the market and

those actually being supported through communication initiatives. This has

given the company a strong roster of solid brands

It also reduced contribution from the low-margin breads business to focus on

faster-growing segments such as biscuits and cakes. This appeared to have

resulted in better utilisation of the adspend. Despite sustaining a high-decibel

promotional campaign over the past years, Britannia's adspend-to-sales ratio

hovered at around 7 per cent, lowest in the FMCG universe.

Two, in 1998, the company moved into the mass market for biscuits

introducing low-priced varieties under the umbrella brand, Tiger. The success of

this brand has enabled Britannia expand its market share in the `Glucose' biscuit

market from 10 per cent to over 20 per cent.

While growth rates in the mid-priced and premium biscuits had flagged, it was

Tiger which had kept Britannia's biscuit business roaring. Meanwhile, the

company kept up the high-decibel promotional campaign to make known its

other major brands -- 50:50, Mariegold, Bourbon, Pure Magic, Nice, Snax and

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Milk Bikis. Britannia Khao World Cup Jao and Britannia Khao Crorepati Ban

Jao were among the more successful of these campaigns.

Three, to pep up overall growth rates, the company had also been leveraging its

brand image to establish a foothold outside of the highly competitive biscuit

market. Over the years, it has launched a slew of dairy products (processed

cheese, flavoured milk, butter, ghee and dairy whitener) and ethnic snack foods

such as Aloo Bhujiya and Chana Choor.

The foray into dairy products appears to be a success, with revenues improving

more than two-fold from Rs 38 crore in 1997-98 to Rs 89 crore in 2000-01.

Coffee Outlets and Petrol Pumps

The company is now in talks with speciality coffee outlets and petrol pumps to

place the products at strategic sites. BIL is taking up festival-specific initiatives

to trigger mobility for brands like ’Pure Magic’ and ’GoodDay Cakes’. The

company plans to launch a range of assortment packs. The initiative is to

improve institutional sales along with enhancing the display appeal for brands.

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BRITANNIA – ADVERTISING

Britannia made its mark in the general public with their first major TV

commercial for Glucose, which showed the then famous character Gabbar

Singh eating the biscuits with the byline- Gabbar ki asli pasand.

Britannia spent Rs. 29 crores in FY97 on advertising, up 39% from the previous

year, and 550% rise since FY91. None of their domestic competitors like Parry

or Bakemans can hope to match this, especially as they largely cater to regional

markets.

Britannia believes in high awareness through two components- one is media

awareness the other relates to point of consumption. The first one means large

advertising spends, and simple messages repeated umpteen times. ‘Eat

Healthy. . Think Better’ also translated as “ Swasth Khao Tan Man

Jagao” .Those are the key words. Britannia tries to get its message across in

four-five words.

Britannia kicked off its repositioning exercise in 1997 when it changed its

logo and corporate slogan as a first step in its makeover plans aimed at

transforming the company from essentially a 'bakery' business to a 'food'

business. Advertising played a crucial role in the repositioning. Key brands

have been re-packaged and re-launched, backed by very visible national

advertising campaigns.

To announce the new launch of a variant of Tiger- Chai Biskoot, the company

launched a high-voltage television campaign which included six ad films from

March 8 2002. For the first time, Britannia roped in six famous Bollywood

directors to produce these films. Earlier, the adfilms for a particular product was

produced by a single director. They used popular old Hindi film songs as the

back ground music for these commercials. With the tagline ‘Chalo Chai

Biskoot Ho Jain’, the commercials were produced by well-known directors Mr

Govind Nihalani, Mr Priyadarshan, Mr Aziz Mirza and Mr Mansur Khan.

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The launch was supported with an advertising campaign extending to print,

Point-of-Sale materials and outdoor branding.

The ad spend for the current promotion world Cup 2003 would be close to Rs

10 to 12 crore

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BRITANNIA – THE COMPETITION

The biscuit market is hotting up with two huge players Hindustan Lever, HLL,

and ITC entering the fray but they still have to get their product mix in place.

They are trying the safe way to bite a share of the mainstream category - the

Maries and the Glucoses.

ITC hasn't had a very smooth maiden run in the biscuit market. Its first product

Bischips-‘I’ bicuits was an odd combination of a baked biscuit and a chip and it

didn't go down too well with the consumers. So after eight months of making

little or no impact, ITC pulled the brand off shop shelves. It's now available

only in Bangalore. ITC claims it's the positioning of Bischips that failed.

ITC is not the only company striving to make inroads into the marie-glucose

segment. HLL began with a fruit cream brand called Greedy Bistiks, but is

currently test marketing its brand of glucose biscuits.

Both companies expect over 10% of the biscuit market in the next few years.

But analysts feel that ITC has an edge over HLL with its pan-beedi shop

distribution and the first mover advantage over HLL.

ITC announced the launch of a range of biscuits and expects the biscuits

segment to contribute Rs 150-200 crore to its turnover in the next four years.

They hope to a have a market share of 10-11 per cent in biscuits in three years.

This would, however, still place ITC at number three behind market leaders

Britannia and Parle.

ITC would initially source its biscuits from two factories — one in Burdwan in

West Bengal and the other at Nagpur. The outsourcing activity could be

extended to a further two factories in the next three years to support the firm's

growth plans.

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Naware said ITC had planned an aggressive media campaign to drive the sales

of its biscuits.

As the two new players shape up their entry strategies and products, the existing

players are working harder to hold their ground.

It is a matter of concern that regional players such as Priyagold offer products at

retail prices that are almost half that of established players such as Britannia.

The product offerings from such regional players may not necessarily be

innovative on taste, but are priced very aggressively and do not compromise on

quality. Some of Britannia's products such as Marie, Good Day and Milk Bikis,

for example, have been the victims of this strategy, registering some decline in

market share in recent months. However Britannia is is launching five new

advertising campaigns. Two of these are for its MarieGold and Tiger brands.

Parle too is looking to launch new products as well as re-launch some of the

older brands. Also it's going to start advertising after a gap of almost a year.

Priyagold is not an isolated case. Several small and mid-sized players in the

FMCG sector have been able to shake up big competitors thanks to well-

focused, region-specific, price-sensitive strategies.

This trend is highlighted more in semi-urban and rural markets, known to

occupy a significant share of the overall Rs 3,000-crore domestic biscuit

market. In fact, close to 70 per cent of Priyagold's sales are accounted for by

semi-urban rural markets, and the skew is expected to continue in favour of

these markets.

On the other hand, intensified competition from regional players has led the

established Britannia and Parle to squeeze their profit margins, offer products at

various price points, introduce small pack sizes, and offer aggressive marketing

promotions. And even as the battle royale continues between Britannia and

Parle on a national level, Surya Agro now claims market leadership in the non-

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glucose biscuit segment, which, according to industry estimates, accounts for 30

per cent of the overall biscuits market.

It is very difficult for any company to enter the domestic biscuits market. First,

consider the competition. Britannia and Parle are very aggressive nationally, in

the East Priya Biscuits is tough competition for any new player, while Duke is

strong in the South. Then, of course, there is Priyagold. Yet another player is

Bakeman's. The second reason is that margins have to be incurred at dealer,

distributor and stockist levels. Then there are other factors such as large

investments involved in manufacturing and brand building. It makes it easier for

any company wanting to enter this segment, therefore, to buy out an existing

brand.

Recent times have thrown up examples of several established FMCG players

going slow on biscuits. Kellogg's recently stopped active production of biscuits,

Dabur has ruled out an entry and Nestle SA sold off the assets of Excelsia

Foods.

The pressure to grow for these companies is high also because of competition

from low priced players like Priya Gold.

The biscuit battle will be fought in the low priced categories of Glucose and

Marie and biscuits.

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CONCLUSION

Britannia Industries Limited is also a major player in the ready to eat food

segment with leadership position in bakery category. The companys’

plants are situated in Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Uttarakhand,

Orissa & Bihar with a capacity of 160,000 MT.The company has

transformed itself from being a primarily a biscuit company in 2008with

diversification efforts into other bakery products & dairy.

Britannia is mainly focusing on exporting its core products. They have

made inroads mainly in gulf and some European markets. They should

try to increase the exports as their partner is no 1 in biscuits it would help

them it could use them as their umbrella brand

Britannia was the pioneer in the sliced bread segment, yet the

contribution of bread in the total turnover is only 6% . Since the market

for packaged sliced bread exists, they should consider relaunching to

capture a larger share of this market.

Britannia is already into packaged beverages, now under their Joint

Venture with Fonterra. Since fruit juices are becoming a popular food

item at breakfast tables in Indian homes, as well as hotels. They also

offer an alternative to aerated drinks and they can be promoted on a

platform of Health with refreshment since Areated Drinks are not healthy.

Marketing Groupe Danone Products

Britannia can market some of the products of it’s parent company in India.

Thus it can expand it’s product line without having to invest much in Research

and Development.

Promotion of Ethnic Products

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Britannia should promote the ethnic products it produces, like Ghee, since these

are commonly consumed in Indian households, it will make Britannia an

indespensible brand to the consumers.

We expect this new initiative to start yielding results from 2014.

Companys’ product categories are all growing at +15% while the overall

industry is growing at +10%. The company has over the years innovated

its product portfolio so as tocommand pricing premium in the market.

Brand leverage has helped Britannia gain foothold in new segment such

as chaas and healthy bread offerings. Innovation backed byadvertisement

exposure to help improve growth. Britannia accelerated the nutritional

drivein the last 3-4 years and has been growing in double digits in this

segment. The adultsHealth and Wellness segment is growing at +20%

levels and Britannia is witnessingsimilar to higher growth.

New introductions, both in the premium and discount segments. Also,

Britannia NutritionFoundation continues to work on initiatives related to

malnutrition in children and women and will partner with the

government, NGOs etc., to pilot and scale upsuccessful initiatives.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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www.britannia.co.in

www.wikipedia.com

www.businesstandard.com

www.just-food.com