Marketing Warfare Strategies For MBA students of marketing etc. offensive and defensive marketing strategies offensive: frontal attack encirclement attack bypass attack defensive: position pre emptive counteroffensive mobile conraction Flanking attack guerrila marketing

1. MARKETING
WARFARE
STRATEGIES
By
Aryan K. Keshri
Dhruv Guptaa
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2. MARKETING
WARS
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Coke VS Pepsi
Amazon Vs Flipkart
McDonalds Vs Burger King

3. OFFENSIVE
STRATEGIES
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Frontal Attack
Encirclement Attack
Bypass Attck

4. Lowering prices, competing with market leader
FRONTAL
ATTACK
The challenger pitches its product, advertising,
price, and distribution against those of the opponent
Usually, company with the greater resources will win
Example: Mi vs Realme

5. 05
Mi Vs Realme
Realme began as a direct competitor to Xiaomi in all respects
and aped its marketing strategies very closely. It had dedicated
online distribution, similar segments of Rs 7,000 to Rs 20,000 –
which is where Xiaomi dominates and has been immensely
successful in giving latest specifications at more affordable price
points than Xiaomi. Consequently, Realme’s online market share
jumped from 16.5% to 26.5% in a single quarter last year.

6. ENCIRCLEMENT
ATTACK
Involves launching a grand offensive on several
fronts in an attempt to capture a large share of
market.
It is more feasible when the challenger possesses
more resources than the leader.

7. Maruti was forced by its competition,
Hyundai & Honda to launch a compact SUV
Vitara Brezza against Creta, and Ciaz a
premium Sedan against Honda City and
Hyundai Verna.
Maruti Vs
Others
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8. BYPASS
ATTACK
Involves bypassing or
leapfrogging against the
competitor to occupy easier
markets.
It offers three methods of further
approach: diversifying into
unrelated products, diversifying
into new geographical
markets, and leapfrogging into
new technologies.
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9. By the late 1970s, HMT, in technical
collaboration with Citizen, had
established an enviable brand name and
a reputation for high quality and
reliability
Tatas hired a team with well-developed aesthetic
sense and watch design expertise.
The aim was to capture the market using technical
leapfrogging.
Their product development team put together a
stunning collection using permutations and
combinations of international designs.
HMT VS TITAN
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10. DEFENSIVE
STRATEGIES
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Position Defence
Pre-emptive Defence
Counteroffensive Defence
Mobile Defence
Contraction Defence

11. Occupying the most desirable position in consumers’
minds, making the brand almost impregnable and
then make imitation impossible by using constant
innovation.
India's chocolate market is unimagineable
without Cadbury's Dairy Milk. Various successful
marketing campaigns and constant innovation in
the products has achieved the brand 42% market
share
POSITION DEFENSE
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12. One company can meet its challenger
frontally so the attacker will have to pull
back to defend itself.
Usage of economic or political power.
COUNTEROFFENSIVE
DEFENCE
TOI’s came up with ‘Wake up to
The Times of India’ ad campaign
in 2012. It showed some Chennai
readers droned to sleep by a
boring newspaper. It was an
allusion used to target its rival in
the city – The Hindu.
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13. The company uses market
broadening and market diversification
and begins operating in new markets
or product types. This shifts the
company’s focus from a few products
to the fundamental
generic need or into unrelated
industries.
Example: Vio by Coca Cola
MOBILE
DEFENSE
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14. Launched in 2016 by Coca Cola, with the aim to provide a
ready-to-drink, value-added dairy beverage.
The VIO ‘Spiced Buttermilk’ has been priced for retail at
Rs 15 for a 180ml pack. It is poised against Mother Dairy’s
‘Chach Tadka’, which sells for Rs 12 for a 200 ml pack and
Amul’s ‘Masti Buttermilk’, which is available for Rs 10 for
a 180 ml carton.
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VIO By Coca Cola

15. PRE EMPTIVE
DEFENSE
To challenge first and across the
market - mocking one competitor
here, another there - and keeping
everyone off balance
To signal the launch of a stream
of new products in the near
future by announcing them in
advance, so as to challenge
competition
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16. During early 2000s Titan realized
that their products only appeal to
olderdemographics.
To prevent any competitor from taking
advantage of this fact, Titan pre-emptively
launched its youth segment, Fastrack,
TITAN
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17. Sometimes it is not possible for companies to defend
all their business actions and market.
In strategic withdrawal, which is a contraction that is pre-planned, they
give up the weaker markets or faulty product lines and reallocate
resources to more beneficial ones.
Pepsi's atom despite its successful launch during IPL6, failed completely.
Atom was positioned as a stronger, fizzier cola with a sharp taste
hit to compete with Coca Cola’s second mainstream brand, Thumbs Up.
CONTRACTION
DEFENCE
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18. Involves identifying changes in the
market or competitors positioning
that cause unmet needs to develop
amongst the consumers, and then
attempting to provide a solution to
the consumers.
FLANKING
ATTACK
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Flanking is used by a challenger with
fewer resources and can be more
likely to succeed than frontal attacks.

19. LG SAMPOORNA &
CINEPLUS
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LG recognized that the rural
customers are value conscious and
will pay reasonable premium if
someone delivers sustainable
solutions to long-standing
problems. Thus, LG introduced low-
priced television sets Sampoorna
and CinePlus
It also launched refrigerators,
washing machines and microwave
ovens targeted at price-sensitive
consumers and the share of rural
segment to its earnings increased
later

21. GUERRILLA
MARKETING
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Guerrilla marketing consist of small,
intermittent attacks, conventional and
unconventional, including selective
price cuts, intense promotional blitzes,
and occasional legal action, to harass
the opponent and eventually secure
permanent footholds.
Less expensive than a frontal,
encirclement, or flank attack, but it
usually must be backed by a stronger
attack to beat the
opponent

22. NAHI
KHAREEDA?
Flipkart’s ‘Nahi Khareeda? Achha
Kiya’ campaign was all over the
place.
Shortly after that, Snapdeal indirectly
attacked Flipkart with a campaign saying
‘Acha Kiya bata diya. #YahanSeKharido
Snapdeal.
They placed their new outdoor campaign’s
flyers just below Flipkart’s ‘Achha
Kiya’ campaign.
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23. 22
When Flipkart came out
with its ad saying ‘Today Don’t
Look Anywhere else. India’s
greatest sale ever
is here.’ Snapdeal on the other
hand, released ads which said,
‘For others it is a big day, for
us today is no different’.

24. Coke Vs Pepsi
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Coke and Pepsi have repeatedly pitted
their products, promotions and
distribution networks against each others
Some of these instances were -
1. Promotions
When Coke won the official sponsorship
rights to the 1997 Cricket World Cup, Pepsi
unleashed the 'Nothing Official About It'
campaign and against the 'Uncork a Cola'
campaign.
Coke won the television sponsorship rights for the 1997 Pepsi Asia Cup
and blocked Pepsi from sponsoring the event.
Another Thums Up ad showed two apes copying Pepsi's Azhar and Ajay
Jadeja, with the line, 'Don't be a bunder, Taste the thunder.'

25. 2. Product
Pepsi beat Coke in the Diet-Cola segment, as it managed to
launch Diet Pepsi much before Coke could launch Diet Coke. It
was a major victory, as in some markets, Pepsi's Diet Coke sold
more than Pepsi Cola itself.
3. Distribution Network
Coke went after Pepsi's retail outlets. Coke doubled its reach to
a reported 5 lakh outlets, when Pepsi was at only 3.5 lakh
outlets. However, in its rush to beat Pepsi, Coke seemed to have
faltered on the service front. Many shops frequently ran out of
stock and there was no servicing for Coke's coolers.
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