What's happening in the world of Marketing?

Hello readers. In this blog, I try to do something different. Today, we will analyze some of the latest developments in the world of business. We'll talk about Sebamed v/s HUL, Big Basket v/s Daily Basket, Zomato's different advertisements for different days of the week, Surf Excel's Rang Achche Hain and Condom Alliance's Kaun Dumb Hai campaign.

Sebamed, the German skincare company has been around for a long time. But it is the new kid in the Indian market and knows that India provides the largest potential customer base but also the toughest market competition. And hence it decided to take on the strongest competition face-to-face. Its advertisements in the print and broadcast media in January drew everybody's attention as it mentioned HUL's products showing how the pH level of Sebamed's soap (5.5) is the safest for the skin compared to the pH level of many soaps of HUL. Well, nobody expected HUL to take it easy and it filed a lawsuit against Sebamed and also came up with its own advertisements in the print media. For those who don't know, Sebamed has been promoting its products for having pH 5.5 for a long time now. It was only in January when it decided to go against HUL that its brand and its products came into the limelight more than ever. A string of judgments in favor of Sebamed from the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court has struck a blow to HUL and it definitely won't stay down for long. The battle will be interesting and we look forward to future developments.

Another story of a  duel is the latest Big Basket v/s Daily Basket case where the established Big Basket has served a 'cease and desist' notice to Daily Basket claiming that the use of the term Basket by the start-up is confusing for the clients and hence might hamper its customer base. It has also claimed that Daily Basket's website and mobile app are very similar in UI to its website and app and hence is assumed to be copied. It has asked Daily Basket to surrender its properties and pay a fine of Rs. 2 lakh and not to use the term Basket ever again. It is important to note that the Daily Basket is a 10-month old start-up that is functional only in Coimbatore for now. The Daily Basket in its defense has taken the battle public and its website bbisabully.com (BB is a bully) presents its side of the story trying to bust every claim made by Big Basket. The new kid is enjoying the public support right now. But it will be interesting to see if the matter goes into the Court, and if it does, how the story would unfold from there. At present, both parties are backing their claims with full confidence.

Moving on to Zomato next, for Zomato, Monday is for healthy food, Tuesday is for Dosa, Wednesday is for Oriental, Thursday is for Italian, Friday is for Pizza, Saturday is for Biryani and Sunday is for Mughlai. This is a unique strategy adopted by Zomato where it broadcasts different advertisements on different days. It provides a unique connection with the audiences and might be able to influence many people as well to follow Zomato for the dishes they have reserved for each day. Zomato enjoys a large market share and it continuously tries to take on its competitors for the remaining market share as well. Swiggy too had come up with its Better Half Cook Book advertisement last week and that too had gained popularity among the audiences for presenting cooking as a two-person job instead of the conventional one-person thing. It will be interesting to see who wins the round of advertisements.

Let's move on to Surf Excel next. Its tagline Daag Achhe Hain has been crucial in making its detergent powder a brand famous among middle-aged mothers, with the advertisements showing a smart kid going the extra mile to do something cute and ending up getting his or her clothes dirty. The mother then comes to the rescue with the powder and the kid is motivated to keep doing good acts without fearing stained clothes anymore. During the lockdown last year, they came up with another tagline, Daag Ghar pe Rahenge. But the latest advertisement before the festival Holi with the tagline Rang Achhe Hain goes an extra step to show how even social distancing is no barrier this time around. The advertisement is being liked by many and has drawn a lot of social media attention in a very short time.

And now the final story for today, let's try to figure out Kaun Dumb Hai. Condom Alliance, a group of Condom manufacturers and marketers, has come up with its maiden digital campaign. Based on the outcome of the research that it conducted to understand the usage pattern of condoms by youth and the associated myths and misconceptions behind not using them for protected sex, the group attempts to make people aware with their campaign and ensure long-term behavioral change. The campaign would be three-months long and would come up with more digital content for engaging the audiences and reaching out to more people to spread awareness about using condoms during the act.

And that was all for today. I hope this blog was interesting and helped you know about the latest happenings in the world of marketing, advertising, and business overall.
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