This presentation is based on a Harvard Business Review article "Make the most of a polarizing brand". It also briefly explores the application of such strategies in the Indian Market.

1. Make the most of a
Polarizing Brand

2. Based on a
Harvard Business
Review article by
Xueming Luo
Michael Wiles
Sascha Raithel

4. Marketers at Kraft found surprisingly deep emotions
among the shoppers :
“Many people love Miracle Whip,
but several others detest it”

5. “yummy”
“love it !!”
“Very happy
that Miracle
Whip exists”
“The stuff is
just awful”
“It tastes like
lotion”
“I’d never eat it.
It’s just wrong.”

6. Miracle
Whip
is a polarizing brand

7. But having few people
hate your brand
can be a good thing.
Miracle Whip
experienced a 631%
surge in social media
postings and a 14%
increase in sales.

8. is an important metric for understanding consumer
preferences towards the brand.
Despite being a global market leader, McDonald’s
has a good share of haters who criticize it for the
drastic increase in obesity and harmful dietary
habits.
Brand Dispersion

9. Capitalizing on
Polarization

10. 1Placate the
haters.

11. ➜ best known for cake mixes, icings,
desserts.
➜ faced criticism due to rising
concern about obesity
➜ Started a social network
MyBlogSpark, putting up posts to
defuse complaints.
➜ Brand haters dropped from 4.5% to
2.8%
Betty Crocker brand

12. 2Poke the
haters.

13. Ryanair airlines
➜ known for intentionally provoking its
critics.
➜ created buzz by making tongue-in-
cheek proposals and inappropriate
advertising.
➜ In this way,
reinforced its reputation
among core customers
for going to great lengths
to offer rock-bottom fares.

14. 3
Amplifying a
Polarizing
Attribute

15. ➜ Often a single product characteristic
separates the detractors from the
fans.
➜ Marmite debuted an extra strength
version Marmite XO to amplify the
differentiation.
➜ Such a strategy can bolster loyalty
among the diehard fans.
Marmite

16. Creating
Polarization

17. 1
Drive a wedge
in the market
by targeting a specific
consumer segment

18. Two UK companies in the alcoholic cider
market, Magners and Strongbow
positioned their brands in different ways
and both observed rising sales.

19. BIG
CONCEPTBring the attention of your audience over a
key concept using icons or illustrations
Magners advertised its
drink as a refreshingly
iced summer beverage.
It gained popularity
among the
upscale young
professionals.

20. BIG
CONCEPTBring the attention of your audience over a
key concept using icons or illustrations
Strongbow advertised with the
tagline ‘Bowtime Hard
Earned’ touting the drink as a
reward for a hard days work.
Its appeal among traditional cider
drinkers - working class men
intensified.

21. 2Launch a
provocative ad

22. Progressive Insurance featured ‘Flo’ in a
series of ads.
This super peppy character with a big
personality annoyed many viewers.
But the negative reaction raised brand
awareness and increased sales.
Design ads to turn off a
certain share of viewers.

23. Relevance
in the
Indian
Market

24. A short survey requiring participants to rate the biggest
brands of India on a scale of 1-7 was organized and
subsequent analysis yielded expected results.

26. Clearly, the Indian
Market comprises a
large number of
polarizing brands
which can be a key
measure for
determining
customer
preference toward
the brand.

27. Taking a broader perspective, the
following ‘BIG’ brands of India were also
considered :
HATE LOVE HATE LOVE HATE LOVE
4% 54%
IIT NaMo
21% 38%
Kerala
Tourism
13% 38%

28. Do the Indian
brands employ
strategies
presented in this
article ??

29. Flipkart
Flipkart’s much awaited Big Billion
Day turned out to be a big
disappointment due to service
disruptions, order cancellations
and duplicate products.
The very next day, its co-founders
Sachin and Binny Bansal issued
an unconditional apology hoping
to ‘placate its customers’

30. Uninor
It targets teenagers and
youngsters from the
middle class population.
Most of its
advertisements highlight
the cost benefits of using
Uninor.
Top mobile network operators Airtel and Uninor have
‘significantly diverse target consumers’
Airtel
It targets an elite class
of young upward
professionals above 25
years of age.
Its advertisements
showcase it as the
brand providing the
best network.

31. Thanks!Any questions?
You can find me at:
vansh.dassani.eee12@iitbhu.ac.in

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