Sustainable/Holistic Marketing

Healthy long term growth for a brand requires that the marketing organization be managed properly. Holistic marketeers must engage in a host of carefully planned, interconnected marketing activities and satisfy an increasingly broader set of constitutions. They must also consider a wider range of effects of their actions. Corporate social responsibility and sustainability have become a priority as organizations grapple with short term and long term effects of their marketing. Some firms have embraced this new vision of corporate enlightenment and made it the very core of what they do.

The parent company of Kissan i.e. HUL shows more interest in CSR also as:

From 2004 to 2008 it has reduced the emission of Carbon di-oxide by more than 25% in the manufacturing.

HUL follows 5 R strategies to deal with the Green House Gases (GHG):

• Reduce
• Re-Use
• Recycle
• Recover
• Renew

HUL uses Agricultural wastages as the fuel (Ground nut shells, bagasse, saw dust, Coconut shells, cashew etc)

 Kissan has launched a unique marketing campaign, Kissanpur, which encourages children to plan and grow tomatoes and participate in an online contest. The campaign is aimed to bring alive the proposition of Kissan ketchup of ‘100% Real Tomatoes’ while also engaging the kids in a fun and interesting manner.

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) and Marketing Strategies

Any Brands creates its marketing strategy based on expected customer behavior. And in order to know the customer and its expected buying behavior and use it in forming the right marketing strategy, a proper process of segmenting, positioning and targeting is needed

A market segment consists of a group of customers who share a similar set of needs and wants. The marketer’s task is to identify the appropriate number and nature of market segments and decide which one(s) to target.

The major segmentation variables are:

Geographic segmentation:  Kissan, as it’s a part of HUL, which has a huge distribution setup which helps it to reach the masses and rural areas better than the other brands present in the market. It has both width and breadth in marketing.

Demographic segmentation: Primarily for Kissan jam and jelly the company considers children to be the most lucrative customers. Kissan ketchup has a different take on the type of customers.

Behavioral segmentation: Kissan provides special offers during festivals to attract more people towards their product. Offers in special social festival allow a large number of consumers to experience and enjoy the Kissan products

Proper Targeting is very important in order to make the brand successful, it’s not only about targeting the right people but also targeting them in the most appropriate way. So far Kissan Jam has been very successful in targeting the right consumers. However they should further develop on their communication so that the risk of threat from new entrant is restricted and therefore gain a full market coverage.

 Positioning is done after segmentation is done and target markets have been identified, the brand needs to position its products/ services in the most suitable manner to the product/service as well to the target consumers. Positioning is done by following POD and POP methods, in POD (Point of difference) you create a product or service in an existing category but it’s different from the other offerings by competitors and in POP (Point of Parity) you create a product or a service which is very similar to that of the market leaders offering to the consumers. Kissan Jam, follows POD method and has always created a unique taste for its consumers which can be easily identified and along with the introduction of the Squeezo, which is an upside down plastic bottle and is the first of its kind in the country. The packs innovative format is much more convenient to use versus a glass bottle. The new pack is easy to hold and squeeze.The launch was led by the Communication idea of “khud banaao khaana dilchusp” . It has received an awardfor the most innovative packaging.

Kissan was the leader in the ninetees unless Maggi overtook it after that. Maggi is the biggest competitor of kissan in this segment other than Heinz and other local brands.Maggi has the current market share of 32% with Kissan at 27% and the remaining is shared by Heinz and other local brands. Kissan lost its position due to its over confidence and neglecting the brand and quality. But now it has again started to take positive and aggressive measures to regain its position of No.1 in the market by modifying its marketing and strategy. It has launched sachets of jams to add new and small customers to this segment and who can buy according to their demand. Kissan is the only company to have sachet in jam category.

 Kissan is the market leader in the Jam Segment with 65% of market share. The competitors of Kissan in this segment are Druk and other local competitors. Kissan jams are available in various flavours and sizes. By doing so, a customer has more choice.

The brand realized that it wanted to enter a new market and Kissan wanted to tap that section of the society with a product that would help the brand to acquire a part of that market. Butter has saturated fats, monotonous taste, high calories, whereas jam is sweet. For health conscious people, jam was any day a better choice.

Organisational Buying Behaviour

Organization buying is the decision-making process by which formal organizations establish the need for purchased products and services and identify, evaluate, and choose among alternative brands and suppliers.

Major stages of Industrial Buying Process are:

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), India’s largest consumer packaged goods company, has formed partnerships with 3,500 farmers in Karnataka and Punjab to grow tomatoes and fruits to sharpen focus on its foods business and promote sustainable agriculture in the country.

Agriculture and forestry being a large part of its raw materials, HUL believes that sustainable sourcing is important for its business and brands while sourcing locally from India would give it better control on quality and supply.

Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. 

In case of Kissan Jam, the consumer behaviour is influenced by the commercials as well as peer groups and friends. The main target consumers are the mothers who wants a healthy breadspread for their child which is tasty too.

Sales Management

Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm's sales operations. It is an important business function as net sales through the sale of products and services and resulting profit drive most commercial business. These are also typically the goals and performance indicators of sales management.

For Kissan, sales are typically in the retail stores. The consumer just has to ask for that particular Kissan product in the retail shop or if its a super market he just has to locate it and buy it.

Distribution Decisions

HUL’s products are distributed through a network of 4000 re-distributors, stockist covering 6.3 million retail outlets reaching the entire urban population and about 250 million rural consumers. 

There are 35 C&FA’s(carrying and forwarding agents) in the country who feed these redistribution stockists regularly. The general trade comprises grocery stores, chemist, wholesale, kiosks and general stores.

Promotion (IMC/ATL/BTL)

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC): Marketing Communications are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind consumers – directly or indirectly – about the products and brands they sell and IMC is a marketing communications 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 two segments of Marketing Communications are;

      1.     ATL (Above the Line) Communications; Caters to Mass Market by using Mass media like television, cinema, radio, print, Telephone, Internet, Out-of-home etc.

       2.     BTL (Below the Line) Communications; Caters to Niche Market by using Design, Direct Marketing (Telemarketing, mails, catalogues etc.), Public Relations, Sales Promotions, Buzz (Word of Mouth), Sampling, Relationship Marketing, Packaging etc.

      Media Selection is finding the most cost-effective media to deliver the desired number and type of exposure to the target audience. It is decided based on Reach, Frequency and Impact of any particular media.

F    From the very beginning, Kissan introduced a new theory toadvertise their product ‘Kissan Jam’.The theorywas called ‘Law of appetite’ . Then it came up with the new idea headlined as ‘Roti disappears with KissanJam’. This promotion earned much popularity among the kids. 

     

      The two pictures below depict the evolution of Kissan Jam advertisement 

 

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     Sales promotions are non-personal promotional efforts that are designed to have an immediate impact onsales. Media and non-media marketing communications are employed for a pre-determined limited time toincrease consumer demand stimulate market demand or improve product availability. In 1997, Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) had undertaken a new promotion drive aimed at making its Kissan brand leading Indian food brand. Old products were  phased out and contemporary products and ethnic flavours were introduced. As a result, HLL recorded a 40 percent growth in sales between January-May1998. When Rahul Dravid was in his peak form, he endorsed the product using his nick name ‘JAMMY’.

Pricing Strategies

Pricing is the process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its products.
Traditionally Price has been a major determinant of a buyers choice.

Consumer Buying Psychology: 

Reference Prices:  Consumers have fairly good idea of the price range of a product, but rarely do they recollect the exact price. When examining a product, consumers often employ Reference Prices, where the compare the observed price to an internal reference price.

Price- Quality inferences: Many consumers use price as an indicator of quality. Some brands adopt exclusivity and scarcity as a means to signify uniqueness and justify premium pricing. For ex: Watches, perfumes etc.

Price cues: Many sellers believe that prices should end in an odd number because for example: many customers see an amplifier priced 2999/- in the range of 2000/- rather than rounding it off to 3000/-

But prices ending in 5 or 0 are easier for the customer to process and retrieve from memory.

Also the sign of SALE next to a price is shown to spur demand if not over done. Even limited availability (3 days only) is seen to have spurred sales.

Pricing of Kissan Jam

At the time Kissan was formed, consumers had limited purchasing power. Thus Kissan adopted a low-cost price strategy to make its products affordable and attractive to consumers by guaranteeing them value for money.Despite competition, it ensured that the product mix and the sequence in which Kissan introduces its products is consistent with the core philosophy of providing jam at a basic, affordable price to appeal the common masses. This helped Kissan Jam to create its brand image in the household sector of the society.

Therefore the current price offered are:

-      15 gms Sachet- Rs. 2

-      70 gms Squeeze tube- Rs. 24

-      100 gms Tub- Rs. 24

-      200 gms Bottle- Rs. 48

-      500 gms Bottle-Rs. 107

Branding and Brand Management

A brand is a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."
Branding is the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.

Elements of Branding
In marketing language, Branding elements are the trademark able devices that identify and differentiate the brand from the competition. For Kissan Jam, the brand elements that encompass are:

Brand Name: Kissan 

The origins of the brand go back to 1935. Trains passing through Punjab made a stop at a processing unit where farmers sold freshly picked fruits and thus locals started calling that spot Kissan. The name is short and simple and very easy to remember, hence being Memorable and connecting with the consumers. 

Brand Logo


The logo consist of the word Kissan, over the years the font changed but the logo remained the same. The logo is red in colour with white background or in white colour with red background which gives the essence of freshness of fruits and also symbolises the sign of love and care.

Brand Slogan

‘Just Lagao, Kuch Bhi Khao’ is the recent tagline associated. Kissan acts as a catalyst, easing stressful moments at the dining table. With Kissan, good food is loved not shoved!

Kissan wants to be the brand which will help dissolve tension between mother and the family during informal good food moments. Kissan acts as a catalyst, easing stressful moments at the dining table.

Brand Promise

The message clearly states about quality and superior taste. It also clearly tells about being ready to cater to the whole country, thus generating trust