Strategic Business Management and Advertising

1. CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSAL BUSINESS SCHOOL
Name: Priyakshi Nandrajog
Subject: Strategic Brand Management & Effective Advertising
Topic: Fevicol- The Iconic Bond

2. 2
Table of Contents
S. No Particulars Page
1
Introduction
3
2
Critical Analysis of Brand Rejuvenation of
Fevicol
4
3
Critical Analysis of Position and Repositioning
strategies
6
4
Critical Analysis of Brand Equity of Fevicol
9
5
Conclusion
11
6
Bibliography
12

3. 3
Introduction
Fevicol is a brand, which enjoys the status of being identical in the category of product they
represent. The brand is a generic identity in the adhesive category of India, and is rightful in
each and every household. The story of Fevicol began in late 1959, when the Pidilite Industry
was floated by the Parekh group, and the company captured the Indian market for white-glue
or synthetic resin adhesives. The white adhesive was primarily used for woodworks and
secondarily used in footwear, flooring and up-holstery (Pidilite, 2019) .
The brand came up with a unique selling proposition of easy application, whereas in those days
naturals adhesives had to be melted before use. The sale of the adhesives is clearly dependent
on the carpenters, therefore the company pitched the carpenters as their initial strategy and
made them realize the importance and ease of using Fevicol, since not much is saved by using
a cheaper alternative (Pidilite, 2019) .
The brand penetrated the market with its consistent focus on quality using word of mouth
publicity leading to high level trust among the customers and creating a sense of brand loyalty
among its target audience (Pidilite, 2019) .
Apart from the high product quality and maintaining direct and good relations with its target
audience, Fevicol could maintain the leadership position in the adhesives sector in India
(Pidilite, 2019).

4. 4
Critical Analysis of Brand Rejuvenation of Fevicol
Pidlite industries, came into existence in 1959 with a single manufacturing hub and produced
a single product ‘Fevicol’. The company later built a monopoly in the adhesive industry of
India and launched two flagship brands known as M-Seal and Feviquick, capturing more than
70% of the market share individually leading to identical image of the company among the
Indian adhesives (Pidilite, 2019) .
Brand Rejuvenation is a term which involves the process of changing the look and feel of the
product, while leaving the foundations of the brand untouched. The company has adopted
various strategies to rejuvenate its brand among its customers. The company’s product was
unexciting but with the extensive marketing and advertising campaigns the company listed
itself into a top brand (Kotler and Keller, 2016).
It celebrated 50 years, with an advertisement “Moochwali” in India. The company has worked
hard to portray its message through ad campaigns since the very beginning, they have been
comical and atypical, from the unbreakable egg campaign to the bus with villagers glued
together.
The moochwala advertisement takes the viewers through the journey of a village girl who fixed
a moustache with Fevicol for her school play, the moustache never comes off throughout her
adolescence, motherhood, death and finally rebirth (thecasecentre.org, 2019).

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The advertisement conveys a message of “50 saal ka champion” informing the audience about
its presence in the market for over 50 years, it focuses on villages and small towns which
depicts that the product is for everyone (Afaqs, 2019).
The company has no particular target segment, and is relatable to people of all age groups. The
efficacy of the brand is to encourage people all around to try their product.
Fevicol has been creatively strategizing and rising above the physical bond of tables and chairs,
instead it is trying to create a connect/bond with consumers by taking a metaphorical strategy
Fevicol came up with ads which showed an unbreakable egg, as the hen was fed in a Fevicol
box. Such comedy advertisements create a direct link with the consumers.
The company wanted to take a turn in advertising, after making such innovative and relatable
advertisements. Pidilite Industries tied up with Arbaaz Khan for the item song of the movie
Dabang 2 “chipkale saiyaan Fevicol se”. The deal was not on financial terms, but was said to
bring out the brands core proposition in the song which dramatically emphasized the strength
of the Fevicol bond (Afaqs, 2019).
Pidilite Industries portrays its advertisements as Advertising That Sticks. They feel their
advertisements are as innovative as their products, their communication is award-winning,
memorable and something that touches the hearts of consumers in a way most brands fail to
do. With the help of creative and intelligent advertisements the company could keep the non-
interesting category brand alive (campaignlive.co.uk, 2019).

6. 6
Critical Analysis of Position and Re-positioning Strategies
Fevicol, the flagship brand of Pidilite Industries Limited, enjoys the dominance in the Indian
adhesive industry with approximately 70% of the market share. Fevicol, the Largest selling
brand in Asia with a presence in over 50 countries has positioned themselves as the most
reliable and genuine brand although the sector is highly unorganized in nature.
Over the years, in spite of belonging to a largely B2B product category and a low involvement
product, Fevicol has managed to ensure a high brand recall in the mind of customers and had
managed to reach out to every household in India.
Fevicol Brand positioning as a most genuine and a sole player in the adhesive industry is largely
supported by the brilliance and humour behind its advertisement campaigns and had succeeded
in leaving the long-lasting impression on consumers solely because of their hilarious
advertisement campaigns (marketingming, 2019).
The positioning of Fevicol as an adhesive for woodworks and floorings
Initially, Fevicol was positioned as a white glue in India with the purpose of application in the
woodworking and flooring. This was at a time when natural adhesive needed to be melted
before use in the wood furniture making industry.
How they positioned
1) In the early years, while other small manufacturers of white glue and famous multinational
brands like Movicol which no longer exists now, targeted timber and hardware shops to market
their products. Fevicol, on the other hand, used direct marketing as a tactical tool to position
their product by directly approaching carpenters. This strategy proved to be successful and
helped Fevicol to hold the strong foothold in the white glue industry. One such initiative was
Fevicol champions club (FCC) which gave carpenters to expand their social network.
2) Intelligent and humorous advertising campaigns have always kept this brand alive.
Innovative advertisements and the use of every possible advertising media has been successful
in its endeavour to leave a long-lasting impression in the mind of people. Each advertisement
of Fevicol has a particular theme which revolves around an ultimate message which depicts
Fevicol as a strong adhesive which keeps everything together (Bhasin H, 2019).

7. 7
The re-positioning strategy of Fevicol
Initially, Fevicol was only positioned as an adhesive used for furniture and fixing floorings but
as the company expanded its product line with the change in market trend. The later company
introduced many other products like Fevistick, Feviquick and Fevicryl. Depending on the
different nature of product Fevicol as a brand repositioned themselves to capture the same
market share and to grab the brand recall value which all the traditional Fevicol products
succeeded in (Marketingmind, 2019).
Change in tagline, content of material from which the product is made, shape of the packing
and way of pitching the product in the market changed the mindset of consumer towards
Fevicol from an adhesive used in furniture and floorings to the products used to fix plastic,
product used in artwork and used to make embroideries on fabric.
How they re-positioned
Changing the message: In order to change the mindset of consumers, Fevicol changed the
message of traditional Fevicol which was introduced for the purpose of using in fixing furniture
to the brand which also makes sticky less glue (Fevi stick) for the ease of doing craft work for
the students. They re-positioned the brand with the tag line- “No Chip Chip No Jhik Jhik”.
One such is of Fevi Kwik, where Fevicol as a brand re-positioned themselves as an adhesive
which can stick any paper, wood, metal and plastic in just 5 seconds. It was re-positioned
through a tag line- “Chutki Mein Chipkaye”. This changed the entire usage perception of
people.

8. 8
Competitive Advantage and Market Share
The parent company of Fevicol, has a strong image and portfolio which caters to needs of each
and every segment from carpenters to school going students, this helps the company to
penetrate itself into the remotest areas while achieving Economies of scale, it helps in
increasing the visibility of the brand due to high availability of stock keeping units
(Marketingprofs, 2019).
The advertising strategies adopted by the brand has resulted in strong brand recall in the
mindsets of its consumers. The company has launched advertisements from TVC like Dum
laga ke and entered into Bollywood with quirky advertisements in songs such as Chipkale
saiyan.
The brand offerings hold a high percent of the market share, therefore the products used in
Art and Craft segment, Paint and chemical segment fall in the Stars category in the BCG
matrix, while the other offerings are a question mark in the BCG matrix.
The brand, Fevicol follows forward integration with carpenters, craftsman etc. to be able to
understand their needs in a better and appropriate way. It competes with Bondtite, Dendrite
and Araldite to name a few.

9. 9
Critical Analysis of the sources that build the Brand Equity of Fevicol
Brand Equity is defined as the value that is derived from the perception of the consumer about
a brand name rather than the product or service itself. It is basically a phrase that describes the
importance of having a reputed and strong brand name. The company has been efficiently and
effectively marketing its products by showcasing real life problems and relating it with their
product and how using their products makes their life easier. This has enabled the brand to get
a connect with its customers. The brand has won several awards and recognitions for its
innovative and effective advertisements and business operations. Some of them were Abby
Awards (2016), IBL Awards for the most promising company of the year in 2016 etc.
(ETBrandEquity.com, 2019).
Fevicol controlled the market by capturing the largest market share and could gain significant
trust from its customers. It was ranked as the first company in the brand trust report of 2013.
The company was constantly warding off competition with small scale glue manufacturers to
multinationals which had a similar white glue known as Movicol. It created a long-lasting bond
with carpenters, and with the help of its innovative packaging and strong distribution channel
it was within the buying distance of most households which made it a recognized brand. The
company focused on transforming a low involved category product into a most recognized and
established brand, it enjoys a strong brand recall and brand equity which is generally reserved
for soaps, shampoos and cola (Coomber, 2007).
Since, the glue component was a very small cost of the furniture market, carpenters preferred
Fevicol over any other glue brand. The brand succeeded immensely by a strong customer
belief of “nothing is as strong an adhesive as Fevicol”. This belief resounded well in the
surroundings - the contractors, carpenters, architects and interior designers. The company’s
logo depicts the message of nothing is as strong as this, it conveys the strength of adhesion.
The consumer good segment is symbolised by brand equity and distribution reach of the
company. The segment of adhesive products in India enjoys high brand loyalty and has an
insensitive price, as the product holds a small proportion of the total cost of the actual product
(Chamikutty P, 2019).

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11. 11
(exchange4media, 2019)
(exchange4media, 2019)

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Conclusion
Moral, social and religious values play a vital role in the decisive power of societies like India,
brand like Fevicol was able to create an edge over its competitors by participating according to
the rules. The brand has clearly defined set or target audience and hence, sets promotional and
commercials with relatable elements in the campaigns. Humor plays an important role in
Fevicol’s advertising campaigns, it enables viewers to stick on the channel even after repeated
watches. The brand effectively communicates its qualities with symbolic and relatable
instances. It is worth noting that irrespective of positioning, the brand is strongly recognized
by people all around. “So, someone might never use it, but still knows what it is and enjoys the
entertaining commercials”. “This ultimately leads to a healthy word of mouth publicity and
might be helpful if it diversifies into some other sector in the near future, as the brand Fevicol
is known to all”.

13. 13
Bibliography
Books :
 Coomber, S. (2007). Branding. Chichester: Capstone.
 Davis, K. (1985). Marketing management. New York: Wiley.
 Franzen, G. (1999). Brands and advertising. Henley-on-Thames: Admap.
 Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2016). A framework for marketing management. Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
Websites
 Afaqs.com. (2019). Fevicol: Bonding best with humour. [online] Available at:
https://www.afaqs.com/news/story/13822_Fevicol-Bonding-best-with-humour
[Accessed 17 Mar. 2019].
 Bhasin, H. (2019). Marketing Strategy of Fevicol - Fevicol Marketing Strategy.[online]
Marketing91. Available at: https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-fevicol/
[Accessed 17 Mar. 2019].
 Campaignlive.co.uk. (2019). India's most creative partnerships: Fevicol & Ogilvy &
Mather. [online] Available at: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/indias-creative-
partnerships-fevicol-ogilvy-mather/1399430 [Accessed 17 Mar. 2019].
 Campaignlive.co.uk. (2019). India's most creative partnerships: Fevicol & Ogilvy &
Mather. [online] Available at: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/indias-creative-
partnerships-fevicol-ogilvy-mather/1399430 [Accessed 17 Mar. 2019].
 Chamikutty, P. (2019). How Fevicol went on to enjoy equity that billion dollar cola and
soap labels do. [online] The Economic Times. Available at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/how-fevicol-went-on-to-enjoy-equity-that-
billion-dollar-cola-and-soap-labels-do/articleshow/16548227.cms [Accessed 17 Mar.
2019].
 ETBrandEquity.com. (2019). Have you watched Fevicol's new ad campaign for its
latest product? - ET BrandEquity. [online] Available at:
https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/advertising/have-you-
watched-fevicols-new-ad-campaign-for-its-latest-product/63298292 [Accessed 17
Mar. 2019].
 Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. (2019). O&M to
build Fevicol in newer markets – the funny way - Exchange4media. [online] Available
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markets-the-funny-way-17553.html [Accessed 17 Mar. 2019].
 Marketing Mind. (2019). Fevicol's Marketing Strategy That Made It One Of the Most
Trusted Brands In India. [online] Available at:
https://www.marketingmind.in/marketing-strategy-fevicol-best-india/ [Accessed 17
Mar. 2019].

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 MarketingProfs. (2019). Five Steps to Building Brand Equity for the Small Business.
[online] Available at: http://www.marketingprofs.com/8/building-brand-equity-for-
small-businesses-otoole.asp [Accessed 17 Mar. 2019].
 Pidilite. (2019). Advertisements | Pidilite | Pidilite. [online] Available at:
http://www.pidilite.com/advertisements/ [Accessed 17 Mar. 2019].
 thecasecentre.org. (2019). Fevicol: Successful Journey of a Low Involvement Brand.
[online] Available at:
https://www.thecasecentre.org/students/products/view?id=113050 [Accessed 17 Mar.
2019].
 ToughNickel. (2019). Marketing Insight: Brand Audit of Fevicol. [online] Available at:
https://toughnickel.com/industries/Marketing-Insight-Brand-Audit-of-Fevicol
[Accessed 17 Mar. 2019].
 Niche | The Marketing Club of IIM Ahmedabad. (2019). Brand Story:
Fevicol. [online] Available at:
https://nicheiima.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/brand-story-fevicol/ [Accessed
17 Mar. 2019].