1) Many Indian brands are expanding into new categories that consumers and competitors may not expect, like Bru coffee brand opening cafes or MTV opening branded cafes. 2) Experts note that line extensions are fine if the core brand stays intact, but cross-category extensions require ensuring the brand's credibility still stands. 3) For extensions to succeed, the brand must have the capacity to properly support and deliver on the extension, like serving good food and drinks, otherwise consumers may blame and lose faith in the original brand.

1. To Stretch, Or
Not To Stretch
BE examines the whys and why nots of a
brand extension

2. Contd…
Hel lo Kitty, the cat with a bowtie owned by Sanrio Japan, is worth a reported $ 7 billion.
There's how ever no simple answer to `what is Hello Kitty?' Depending on who you ask it's
a TV show, a cute character in merchandise aimed at children and tweens: not too
dissimilar from the toongang out of Disney. But things start getting a little ridiculous
around the time you hear of Hello Kitty airlines. Or the maternity hospital in Taiwan. It's
reason enough for every brand owner to wonder if their brand is being leveraged well
enough, if being just one thing (or a couple of other closely related things) is not a
depressingly functional and unambitious way of existing. Especially when a creature like
Hello Kitty gives Sanrio $7 billion worth of reasons to think differently. Many ambitious
Indian brand managers are venturing forth into areas that both the consumers and their
competition would have thought they quite literally had no business being in.
Consider if you will Bru's expansion from a brand that promised “filter coffee like taste“ for
large parts of its existence to starting Bru World Café in 2011 to tap into the coffee bar
craze. Or Lakme shifting its fashion brand to a nationwide chain of salons. Or MTV which is
ambitiously extending into branded cafes, never mind the fact that its competitor Channel
V did just that a few years ago with disastrous results.

3. Contd…
Sudanshu Vats, group CEO, Viacom 18 however considers it a no brainer. The F&B
space is growing at a rapid clip, over 20%, driven by 18 to 30 year olds who form
MTV's core demographic. Besides a study by the brand conducted across 11,000
youngsters in 40 cities reveals “they are keen on experiencing the familiar in an
unfamiliar setting,“ he says. And so a place where youth can express themselves i n
a su r rou ndi ng of their own. According to Shiva Krishnamurthy, category head
tea, HUL, “Physical spaces, like the Taj Mahal Tea House, allow brands to showcase
not only the products that they of fer but also the idea (ie tea excellence) that they
stand for. These spaces also help brands leverage executional equities (i.e. classical
music for Taj).“ The restaurant has given Taj Mahal a chance to reference its long
lasting (and currently dormant) associa tion with table maestro Zakir Hussain. HUL
envisages the Tea House developing into a venue for budding musicians to show
case their talents. But is straying so far away from the template of what the brand is
known for a good idea? One of the reasons Hello Kitty could be stamped onto a
variety of products was that it inherently didn't stand for any single thing.

4. Contd…
Indian consumers prefer their brands one-dimensional observes marketing
consultant Harish Bijoor, with extensions considered frivolities. (See Box)
HUL appears to have almost anticipated such a critique coming up.
Krishnamurthy points out, “While brand was at the centrestage of everything
we did, we engaged experts in the field of designing, architecture and
ensured excellence in every aspect of the tea house.“ The menu was put
together by Gregory Bazire, an India based French chef exclusively to
complement the teas. Besides HUL owns the outlet and is not franchis ing it
out. Which could be the key difference when a brand not particularly known
for serving up a fine dine experience starts to do just that. “Line extensions
are perfectly fine as long as the core stays intact. If the move ment is cross-
category, you have to ask yourself whether the source credibility will stand
the test of time.

5. Contd…
Taj Mahal Tea House and Bru World Café have source cred ibility. MTV getting into
cafes is akin to Café Coffee Day extending itself to MTV's sector (broadcast ing).
Chances of success a question mark,“ observes Jagdeep Kapoor, chairman, Samsika
Marketing Consultants. Adds Jiggy George, founder & CEO, Dream Theatre, a
pioneer in the licensing industry in India.
“In case of Viacom it will definitely be a licensing route. This is far more risky as the
success is largely determined by how good the licensee is. This becomes more
pronounced in F&B (food and beverage) versus other categories.“ In another recent
mandate on extensions, Dream Theatre worked with the BCCL team to extend the
magazine brand Femina into a fashion line with Shoppers Stop.
Said Vineet Jain, managing director of BCCL during Femina FLAUNT's launch in
November; “Femina, one of our flagship brands has had a phenomenal bond with
its readers, over the last many decades. Today, that relationship gets redefined, as
`Femina FLAUNT' moves into their wardrobes.“

6. Contd…
To stretch is inherently not problematic. Where troubles could arise is when
the performance falls short short even of the expectations people have of
the brand to start with. At which point, while it's easier to blame the
extension than the brand itself, it's unlikely to emerge unscathed. As Anand
Halve, co-founder and director of chlorophyll puts it, “If MTV wants to start a
café, the consumer won't have a problem with the brand stretch. But they
won't forgive lousy service.“
So is the extension legitimate or not is not the question, he says, the capacity
to support the extension is; “From a conceptual point of view, brands should
be open to many extensions. So, a Johnson & Johnson that does toiletries for
babies can get into baby food.But if they decide to run a crèche, then they'll
have delivery issues.“

7. For details and bookings contact:-
Parveen Kumar Chadha… THINK TANK
(Founder and C.E.O of Saxbee Consultants & Other-Mother
marketingandcommunicationconsultants.com)
Email :-saxbeeconsultants@gmail.com
Mobile No. +91-9818308353
Address:-First Floor G-20(A), Kirti Nagar, New Delhi India Postal Code-110015